Business English

This course is designed for working professionals who want to feel more comfortable using English in a business or professional context. Those with professional work experience who are currently between jobs (unemployed) are also very welcome.

The focus of the course is on speaking and presentation skills.
Participants will practice speaking English together in guided small-group sessions that simulate a professional meeting environment.
Participants will also develop a deeper engagement with the language by doing manual translations (no google translate!) of short professional texts from Swedish (or another language, if preferred) into English.

Participants will be encouraged to use written materials from their own jobs for course work. If you do not have suitable material from a current or former job to share, material (in Swedish) will be provided.

The course will culminate in participants presenting short English slide decks that they have prepared throughout the course.

Learning Outcomes

• Gain confidence and experience speaking English in a professional context.
• Broaden professional English vocabulary relevant to your own work.
• Learn common mistakes Swedish-speakers make in English and how to avoid them.
• Learn how best to use (or not use) AI for writing in English.

Prerequisites

You should have a basic working knowledge of English – enough to keep up a regular conversation and understand this course page without much difficulty (or need for translation).

Course Materials

You will likely gain the most out of the course if you are able to bring in your own working material from a current or former job. This material can be in any language and can be of any type relevant to your job or line of work. It could be, for example, funding applications, past email messages (written by you), reports, slide presentations, and so on. Anyone enrolled in the course who does not have such material should email the instructor at least one week in advance of the first class.

If you are comfortable working with pencil and paper, it is recommended that you print your materials out and bring hard copies with you to class. Pencils and paper will be provided.

Other course materials:

• A paper (or otherwise offline) dictionary from your regular working language into English would be helpful, but is not required.
• You will need access to a computer to prepare your final slide deck presentation, but you do not need to bring a laptop to class.
• You may bring a laptop to class if you like, but you may be asked to put it away for certain course activities.
• You will be asked to keep your phone in your bag while we're working together in class, in order to optimize language-learning.

Course Leader

Before moving to Sweden with her family, Mandy Pipher designed courses in English and taught English writing and communication at the University of Toronto and George Brown College. She was also a writing and communication coach for Rotman Commerce, the University of Toronto's business school, and a regular contributor to the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper.

Here in Sweden she works as a writer for The Local, an online newspaper for Sweden's immigrant community, and runs an English-language consultancy for Swedish businesses. She has a Master's in English Language from the University of Oxford. English is her native language.