Business English is a highly sought-after skill that requires a special kind of classroom. As the teacher, choosing a textbook for your class is one of the most important steps to take in your preparation.
Today’s business English textbooks are designed to give learners techniques and structures for specific situations while solidifying their fundamental vocabulary and grammar. Discover 20 of the best business English textbooks below, along with tips for choosing which ones are meant for you and your classroom.
“Market Leader” takes a four-skill approach to learning Business English with relevant and challenging communicative activities on every page.
Each unit covers a theme and includes authentic reading materials, listening activities and case studies that really put things into perspective for the reader.
Students will love “Market Leader” if they’re at a lower-intermediate level or above and seeking to improve their overall Business English.
This book is designed as in introduction into English for business.
It covers essential vocabulary, grammar and expressions and follows a modular structure.
The modules are uniquely divided into Business Topics (focusing on discussion), Business Skills (focusing on functional practice) and Learning Strategies (techniques to help students across several situations).
This is a complete self-study guide for learning business English that is meant for all levels.
You can either have students use the guide on their own or take exercises from the book to complete them as a class.
The guide is extremely visual and covers common words and phrases as well as relevant grammar. There are listening, writing and reading exercises, making the textbook extremely well-rounded.
Topics covered include emails, negotiations and job applications.
This book will give students the chance to learn proper business English grammar and put it in to practice.
Grammar is a very important part of business English as good grammar will create a more professional image. This book provides plenty of examples and practice sections.
Additionally, it offers advice and tips on topics such as giving presentations and stating opinions.
This book is specifically designed for ESL students and is focused on advanced grammar and understanding of business English.
This book will help students gain confidence and improve their business English speaking abilities.
It includes advanced grammar and idiomatic expressions as well as lessons on business etiquette and cultural differences. It also includes a CD with dialogues which is great for listening practice.
The “Oxford Business English Dictionary” is specifically designed for English language learners. It’s useful if you want to find a term’s definition quickly.
This works similar to any other dictionary but with a more clear focus on business concepts and even examples and break-downs of business processes.
It comes with a CD version and there are “study pages” to help you use business English vocabulary in real-world contexts.
This book is a great resource for business English idioms as it has 200 idioms available.
The idioms are present within sample texts, so you can see exactly how they’re used in natural conversation. Additionally, the book provides exercises to practice using the idioms.
There is also an option to buy an accompanying audio cassette that will allow students to hear the idioms used while they read them.
This book teaches students idioms and common business expressions in American English and even comes with a CD so they can hear them!
Use the book with the CD to teach new idioms and expressions and practice clear pronunciation.
This is a great choice for students that specifically aim to work in the U.S. or work with American colleagues as it is focused so much on American business English.
If students already have a good understanding of English and want to improve their writing skills, this book is a good choice. It covers how to write reports, letters, memos and emails among other things.
It includes examples and exercises as well as notes on grammar.
This book teaches business English writing for the U.S. It includes samples and examples of reports, proposals, resumes and more.
The book also has exercises and focuses on sentence structure and different verb forms.
The Characteristics of Good Business English Textbooks
While there are so many options for textbooks, you need to look at what you want for your students in order to choose the right on. Here are some tips when analyzing which textbooks might work for you:
It needs to be relevant. The business world changes so rapidly. The best Business English textbooks are revised frequently enough to stay either current enough or general enough that they don’t fall behind the times.
It needs to be four-skill focused. That is, it needs to contain activities to support speaking, writing, reading and listening.
It needs to be functional. Your students aren’t in your class to learn about business. If they want that, they can get an MBA. They’re there to learn how to complete business functions in English: with the right phrases, tone and logical order.
Look for books with structure. The book should have a good flow with a balance between content, examples and practice opportunities.
How to Choose the Right Textbook for Your Class
Finding the right text for your class is a simple matter of following “The Three Ls:” Level, Learner and Length.
First, find out what the students’ levels are – but not only their English levels. Equally important here is their Business English level. Do they use English for business on a regular basis? If so, in what capacity? For how long? All of this can tell you how difficult your chosen textbook should be and how deeply it needs to delve into business topics.
Next, find out what kind of learners your students are. What are they looking for out of their lesson? Perhaps your students want to build their business vocabulary while also reinforcing their grammar. Or they might be more interested in functional practice using discussions, role plays and case studies. Then again, they might want a bit of both. Look at how the text is built and what kind of activities it emphasizes, and see if it matches the needs of your learners.
Finally, what is their course length? Are they going to take several lessons over a lengthy period? Or are they going to do something more short-term? Some Business English textbooks are better suited for long-term courses, while others are more flexible and could easily be customized for a shorter program.
Now that you know of 20 of the best business English textbooks and how to choose the right one, you are well on your way to prepping for an amazing course!
If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.
The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.
FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.
For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:
FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.
The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.
