Miami - Business Year

What can you expect on this course?

When you join our Business Year programme you will:

• Take a placement test to check your current level of English.
• Join a class with other business-focused students of the same level.
• Meet your personal mentor, your teachers and your Business Year Co-ordinator.
• Receive your personal Language Portfolio, a unique study tool made to your individual needs, goals and motivation for learning Business English.
• Start a interesting and challenging English language course, designed to improve your General English level and allow you to communicate fluently and effectively in a variety of corporate situations.
• Be provided with the support, monitoring and feedback you need to succeed as you progress towards fluency.
• Receive continual personal assessment through class tutorials, homework and regular tests.
• Have confidence that your learning is improving, you are reaching your goals, and your new skills are opening doors of opportunity for you.

Get an international qualification in Business English

As a Business Year student, you will get an EC Diploma at the end of your course, with the grade depending on the quality of the work you have produced throughout. In addition, you will also have the opportunity to prepare and sit for an internationally-recognised Business English exam:

Business English Certificate (BEC) A highly-regarded international qualification that shows employers your skills for using English in the workplace, BEC is an ideal English language exam if you are preparing for a career in business. There are three different levels of BEC, and you will be encouraged to work hard towards the highest qualification you can attain: BEC Preliminary (Intermediate), BEC Vantage (Upper Intermediate) or BEC Higher (Advanced).

BULATS Developed and jointly run by Cambridge ESOL, the Alliance Française (France), Goethe-Institut (Germany) and the Universidad de Salamanca (Spain), the Business Language Testing Service (BULATS) is designed to test the language skills of those who need to use a foreign language at work. EC will train you in how to achieve the best score possible in your English BULATS exam.

Become fluent in the language of international business

With a focus on relevant corporate situations, you will develop the fluency, accuracy and confidence to deal with clients and colleagues in English, plus the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills you need to function in a wide range of business situations. Language will be taught within such contexts as:

Personal identification - e.g. exchanging information about yourself, your role and your company, completing forms, exchanging correspondence which gives personal details

Travel and meetings - e.g. making reservations, enquiries, orders and conference bookings

Using the telephone - e.g. common abbreviations and acronyms, giving and interpreting numerical data, exchanging information, taking messages

Buying and selling - e.g. understanding prices and rates, negotiating contracts, making agreements, making offers

Products and services - e.g. advertising and branding, product launches, trade fairs, supply and distribution, making comparisons, customer support

Results and achievements - e.g. describing and explaining company background, performance results, trends, events and changes

General business environments and routines - e.g. planning meetings, arranging appointments, making recommendations and justifying decisions

Professional relationships and entertaining clients - e.g. inviting, accepting and refusing offers and invitations, welcoming foreign visitors, discussing interests and leisure activities

Health and safety - e.g. understanding a company's health and safety policy, instructions and notices

Company structures, systems and processes - e.g. exchanging information on company facilities, production, ordering and delivery systems, and company processes such as staff selection, promotion and appraisal

General business issues - e.g. management, HR, promotional strategies, training courses, conferences, recruitment, company budgets, sponsorship, use of IT

Mentoring and guidance

On this course you will get an excellent level of personal attention, with motivation and support provided on three levels:

• Regular one-to-one meetings with your personal mentor.
• Class tutorials, to add a personalised layer to your learning in the classroom.
• Meetings with your Business Year Co-ordinator, who is dedicated monitoring and tracking your academic results, and ensuring your time at EC is as successful and rewarding as possible.

Additional Business Year benefits include:

• Reading Club, focusing on topics relating to the business world.
• Independent Research Skills, which will improve your research and presentation skills.
• Lectures on a variety of interesting topics.
• Structured guidance to help with participation and motivation in class.
• Pronunciation classes.
• Llibrary with books and resources for private study, research and review.
• Social and leisure activities.
• Personal Language Portfolio, which will help you become more independent in your learning journey.