Building Your
Business English Vocabulary

You've learned the basics, and what you really want to concentrate on now is your business English vocabulary.

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

What are the best ways to do this?

If you are lucky enough to have a paid job where you are using your English, then you will start to learn some business vocabulary as you work. If you aren't this lucky, and can't get any unpaid work experience or an internship either, then you have to look at other ways to increase your business English vocabulary.

Of course, there are a number of courses, books, computer programs or even apps you can buy. There are websites you can visit. All of these will help you.

If you are looking for something to buy, try to find something that has exercises you can do, not simply a list of words. You will learn much more by reading or listening, then doing something, than you will by just reading or listening.

You need to activate any new vocabulary before you remember it fully. If you do learn new words, try and use them as soon as you can. Even if you only write them in a sentence in your notebook, that will help you. Simply a list of words with a translation in a vocabulary notebook is not the best way to learn any new words or phrases.

Something else you can to do improve your business vocabulary, is to read business websites, newspapers and magazines. The Wall Street Journal is good for articles about finance and the economy, and The Financial Times in the UK is similar.

Magazines such as Business Week or the Economist have useful articles for higher level speakers. Both of these magazines also have very useful websites.

Try and watch business news on TV or on the web. News broadcasts are not often easy to understand, but the more you watch or listen to them, the easier it will become. You will start to hear and recognize new words, and will be able to look them up in a dictionary to find out what they mean.

If you are in an English speaking country and your English is a good enough level, you may want to enroll in a basic business studies course. This will give you a lot of vocabulary, targeted reading, and the opportunity to practice some practical business tasks in English. You will also be able to meet other English speakers, which is always helpful.

If you are not in an English speaking country, then you could try and find a correspondence course in business studies. You won't get the interactive parts of classes you can attend, but it will still be helpful. If that isn't possible either, then a business studies textbook may be useful.

Of course it can be possible to enroll on a specialized business English course, and if you really want to improve your business English vocabulary then this is certainly something worth considering.

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