The title of this book might not seem very convincing with its promise “make more money” by speaking English but don’t let this small detail put you off. Although the title can sometimes give a false impression of what the book has to offer, there is a lot of useful information readily available in each chapter.
As a teacher I have seen that many times even an advanced level student will become extremely overwhelmed when stepping into the English-speaking business world for the first time. For these students a good course book like this one is essential for preparing them to take on the business world. This is a book that follows a storyline and makes use of entertaining illustrations and scenarios to help students learn important grammar and vocabulary structures. Each lesson focuses on specific business scenarios while telling an entertaining story. I found this method to be very helpful for students to learn specific phrases or business jargon. Teachers will enjoy the book’s structure because it gives them a great point of reference; when speaking to my students about the topic of “firing vs. laying someone off” for example, I always say “remember lesson 3” and the class immediately recalls the situation and knows how to explain the difference between the two expressions.
Every lesson is organized in a way that a story or dialogue is presented and then there is a “definition and example” section where important words from the story are highlighted. After this section comes a multiple choice quiz or a series of comprehension questions to help students review the content of the lesson. The stories in each lesson are engaging, amusing, and somewhat resemble scripts from scenes of The Office. Every story will focus on a specific topic and students will come across all aspects of business including marketing, finance, accounting, and HR issues,- just to name a few.
"The stories in each lesson are engaging, amusing, and somewhat resemble scripts from scenes of The Office."
What I enjoyed about this book is that it did not make the common mistake seen in many Business English books and teach outdated lingo and jargon. Most of the words and expressions used in this book are updated and modern (with the exception of a few). Both teachers and self-study students will find the information in this book both entertaining and useful to use in the workplace. From personal experience I have had former students thank me for using this book in the classroom and many of them have emphasized how many of their regular English lessons failed to teach them the business lingo found in the book.
Although it is a great teaching and self-study tool, the book does not focus enough attention on grammar or writing. From the title alone we can see that the book specifically focuses on speaking and business lingo, but perhaps some activities on business e-mailing would have made the book even better. I also noticed that in a couple of chapters there were a few expressions being taught which seemed irrelevant and a bit uncommon for using at work (ex: scuttlebutt, in cahoots with, schmooze etc.)
The book may have its faults, but it does not make it any less useful. I feel that both teachers and students will enjoy this book for a number of reasons. Teachers will benefit from this book by using it to complement their lesson plans and assigning homework activities. Independent students will enjoy the engaging stories and straight-to-the-point activities that do not require assistance from a teacher or tutor. For both teachers and students I would highly recommend using this book along with another Business English course-book which offers more writing and speaking activities.
