Business English & CAE Preparation

Join our Business English course any Monday of the year and continue your language learning journey while working towards your professional development goals.

• Minimum entry level for this course is B2
• 15 hours per week
• can be taken Monday to Friday 9:00 to 12:15 or Monday to Thursday 13:00 to 17:00
• Study for as many weeks as you like. Short courses (1-week) are possible Monday to Friday.
• Pre-course assessment: Before starting your course, the Academic Team invite you for an online language assessment and can advise you on the best course of study for your needs.
• Clear, structured syllabus which combines Business English with Cambridge C1 exam practice
• Continuous classroom assessment and feedback from experienced and highly qualified teachers.
• Access to a dedicated Academic Team for guidance and self-study planning

*Course content is subject to review after each intake and may be updated in line with industry standards.

Click here to view timetable

Executive One-to-One
20-40 LESSONS/ WEEK

This highly-intensive Business English course provides tailor-made lessons in any aspect of business or workplace English to match your needs perfectly, based on a thorough pre-course needs analysis. It provides maximum contact with our highly-skilled and experienced teachers, who will give you their undivided attention to help you to progress in the shortest possible time.

• 20 to 40 Executive One-to-One lessons available throughout the week
• Flexible timetable

The Business English syllabus places a great emphasis on developing the productive skills of speaking and writing as well as strategic competences, such as compensating for gaps in language, self-correction, and reformulation to improve precision of message.

Learners will develop their ability to use appropriate structure, style, and register for various types of writing types, and will develop their ability to give an extended spoken answer, with no extra prompting.

Below is a selection of learning outcomes specific to Business English and mapped to the coursebook Business Partner C1 (Pearson) & the Global Scale of English for Professional Use.

At the end of the Business English course, learners will be better able to:

• make a detailed, formal, evidence-based argument in a presentation or discussion
• evaluate the strength of a speaker’s assumptions in a linguistically complex presentation or lecture
• propose a range of different options in a complex negotiation
• compare the advantages and disadvantages of possible approaches and solutions to an issue or problem
• make a strong argument during a formal discussion
• make proposals to resolve conflict in complex negotiations
• develop a written case to persuade others about the advantages or disadvantages of a course of action
• write promotional material using descriptive language to advertise a product or service
• distinguish between facts and opinions in linguistically complex written proposals
• follow a work-related discussion between fluent speakers

• Students on our Business English course must be over the age of 18.
• Minimum entry level is B2

What is the CEFR? (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)

The CEFR describes what language learners have to learn to do in order to use a language for communication and what knowledge and skills they have to develop so as to be able to act effectively.

The Framework also defines levels of proficiency which allow learners’ progress to be measured at each stage of learning and on a life-long basis.

B2 

You are working towards achieving CEFR level B2 in English. This is the level at which you are able to account for and sustain opinions in discussion by providing relevant explanations, arguments and comments.

You can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. There are two new focuses at this level- being able to more than hold your own in social discourse, initiating, turn taking, sustaining and closing discussion, and, at this level, you should be more aware of language.

You are able to correct mistakes if they have led to misunderstanding and are beginning to monitor your speech and writing in order to correct mistakes. In class, your teacher plans tasks and activities that practice all skills and help you develop strong communication strategies.

B2+ 

You are working towards achieving CEFR level B2+ in English. B2+ is the level at which we expect learners to interact using a wide range of linguistic and strategic skills which demonstrate their ability to explain a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options, hold their own in social discourse by initiating, turn taking, sustaining and closing discussion.

At this level, you are aware of language and are able to monitor your speech and writing in order to correct mistakes. There is a greater emphasis on how you organize your speech at this level and you are expected to be able to use a wide range language accurately. There is also a greater emphasis on how you express yourself in writing at this level.

C1 

You are working towards achieving CEFR level C1 in English. At this level. You have good access to a broad range of language, which allows fluent, spontaneous communication. There is little obvious searching for expressions or avoidance strategies; only a conceptually difficult subject can hinder a natural, smooth flow of language.

The discourse skills characterised at B2+ continue to be evident with an emphasis on more fluency with clear, smoothly-flowing, speech showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices.

In class, your teacher pushes you to actively take control of your learning and will use material from C2 level if appropriate.

C2
This student is working towards achieving CEFR level C2 in English. This is the level that allows for reading and writing of any type on any subject, nuanced expression of emotions and opinions, and active participation in any academic or professional setting. It is also the level at which the learner can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Learners show great flexibility reformulating ideas in differing linguistic forms to convey finer shades of meaning precisely, even in the most complex situations. The discourse skills characterised at C1 continue into C2 in that what marks out C2 users of the language is that they have greater grammatical accuracy and a wider lexical range than C1 users. C2 users also continue the trend of producing a longer average utterance than at lower levels and these trends continue to be evident with an emphasis on more fluency with clear, smoothly-flowing speech showing proficient use of organisational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices.

Programme Structure: The first 12 weeks of the Business English Route is spent in General English class. This allows you to advance your level of English in the context of everyday general topics. Students move to a Business English half-way through the 25-week programme.

Entry Requirements: Students must have a minimum level of B2 to join the Business class. This means that to begin a 25-week Business English Route, your entry level must be B1+

Making Progress: If you are enrolled on a 25-week course, you can expect to move up a level for the second part of your course. Progress is monitored and students normally move level once they have completed a 12-week course. You may be ready to do the Mid-Course Level Test before Week 12, depending on your level at the start of your course and on how much English you are using outside of the classroom. The level test consists of an online Grammar & Vocabulary test, a Writing test, and a Speaking test.

End of Course Exam: The second part of the programme focuses on Business English with Cambridge Advance CAE booked as the end of course test. Exam preparation is integrated into lessons.

Click here to view the Timetable

Business English Route Exam Options

All non-EEA, visa-requiring students on a 25-week study programme must take an End-of-Course Exam from an external exam provider. CCD Faculty of Language provide preparation for a number of exams, and the Academic Team are always available to offer advice on the best exam for your needs. Preparation and practice tasks for the Cambridge Advanced exam (CAE) are integrated into your Business English lessons and account for approximately 25% of lesson content.

Business English End-of-Course Exam: Cambridge Advanced (CAE)

Although the CAE is a General English exam, comprehensive exam practice and preparation materials complement the Business English syllabus very successfully. General English C1 students may also choose to take the CAE as their end of course exam.

• Cambridge English is globally recognised as a leader in the field of English Language assessment providers, and they offer a wide range of proficiency exams at all CEFR levels.
• CAE is accepted for entry to higher education.
• CAE is a four skills exam and also has a Use of English component that promotes a high degree of linguistic range.

* Please note that if you or your teacher feels that the Cambridge exam at B2 or C2 would be more appropriate for your specific needs, the Academic Team will facilitate this along with providing guidance and a self-study programme.

Learn more about Cambridge CAE on the Cambridge website.