Business English For Success Resource Guide

Hi,

I’m Teacher Joe Gatto. I want to help you improve your English faster so you can achieve your goals and live your dreams.

I’m an IELTS teacher and business English trainer in Thailand. While teaching on Cambly.com, as well as in person in Thailand, I’ve helped thousands of students learn to speak English more confidently.

Most people just need someone to motivate them and create a plan for them to follow so that they achieve their goals faster, so here are some of the best free & inexpensive resources I've found that have helped my students improve their English quickly in order to get the score they need on IELTS and/or get promoted at work.

By following the suggestions below, you'll be able to put together an affordable, self-directed learning program that fits your schedule and budget. These resources are cheaper, better, and more convenient than taking classes at a large language institute in your city.

I think the problem with most business English resources I've seen is that they are always dialogues that make people sound stiff, robotic, cold and corporate. All my students want to speak the way native speakers talk at work; no one wants to sound like a text book. So, the recommendations I have for you here will help you sound more natural & confident in English in general and are not typical, boring business English courses. By learning this way, you'll become a better communicator, feel more at ease, and eventually sound more like a native speaker, which will definitely help you excel in any job.

Bookmark this page so you can come back to it, and go through each recommendation step by step.

FULL DISCLOSURE: When you click on some of the links below and make a purchase, the company pays me a commission...you never pay more and sometimes even pay less.

Now, let’s begin with this outstanding free resource that can help anyone improve their vocabulary & listening comprehension skills in English.

Click here to take a free trial to the Audible app. 

You can download 2 free audio books of your choice to help you practice English anywhere. If you really like audio books, a monthly subscription to Audible is a great way to keep yourself immersed in English and build your vocabulary. 

You can choose any two audio books you want as part of the free trial. These two books got great reviews and they look like they would be very helpful...

1. 1000 Questions and Answers to Learn English

2. Learn English: Must-Know American English Slang Words & Phrases

I believe Lingoda has designed the perfect curriculum for adults to learn English online. The way they teach the classes keeps students engaged, focused, and motivated. And, people learn faster!

Their Business English program is outstanding because native-speaking teachers help you learn to speak confidently in any situation. They offer affordable individual & small-group classes, which are a much better deal than studying at an expensive language institute in your city. Furthermore, their business English classes aren't contrived and boring like most courses I've come across. You'll learn a more natural-sounding style of communication and the native-speaking instructors will elaborate and explain more than what's on the syllabus so that you learn how people really talk at work and can fit in confidently in any business situation where you have to speak English.

In order to go from B2 to C1 in six months, you must first know where you are now. Take a free level test here to find out.

You can read my full review of Lingoda here.

How can you stay focused and immersed in English learning?

For me, the best way is to use smart phone apps because I can do a quick language learning lesson while eating breakfast or waiting for my lunch (instead of wasting time on social media). 

But which ones are best?

I’ve tried several and I can recommend these to you…

First, start with the free version of DuoLingo because it’s fun and engaging. I use it to practice Portuguese when I don’t have much time. The downside is that DuoLingo isn’t very challenging, and the lessons & interface are a bit childish. You will, however, get a good review of grammar and sentence structure while learning some new words.

Second, take a free trial to Mondly because it’s more “grown up” than DuoLingo. I’ve been using it to learn Thai. It’s better than DuoLingo because it’s more challenging and keeps me interested. I learn a lot of new words, phrases, and grammatical structures. 

It’s great because they have a lesson for every day and you can go back to previous lessons from before you signed up. In addition to the daily lessons, they have specialized grammar units and situational vocabulary sections that you can access any time. And, there’s a chatbot that helps you practice quick conversations.

Click here to take a 1-week free trial to Mondly.

Here are a couple more apps I like because the free versions are challenging and keep me focused when I study Thai, Portuguese, or Italian. Find Brainscape and Clozemaster in the app stores.

The next important step to advance your English level faster is to get a tutor and enjoy one on one classes.

You can either choose to take individual classes with Lingoda instead of group classes. 

Or, find a tutor you like on Preply and get a 50% discount via this link. 

Preply lets hundreds of English teachers create a profile and matches them with students. You’re sure to find one you like and has a schedule that matches yours. You can also try some tutors for free. 

A third option is Cambly.com, which is great for busy professionals because you'll be able to find a native-speaking tutor on-call, online at any time of day. This is perfect for people who are already advanced and just need more opportunity to practice speaking English with a native speaker; you'll also get exposed to various accents.

The key takeaway is that you have to practice speaking one on one with a native-speaking teacher who can correct your mistakes and explain how to say it better next time, so you always remember. This is a sure way to advance your level quickly. Although this isn't free or cheap, it's more affordable than taking in-person classes at a big language institute, and you'll learn faster.

In addition, if you’d like to practice speaking with me, I charge $30 for a 50-minute pronunciation practice/conversation class. Click here for more details.

I believe pronunciation is the most overlooked part of learning English and this can be a problem in the business world. Pronunciation is hard to teach in a group class, therefore students don’t get enough individualized attention. You really need one on one assistance from a native speaking teacher to improve your pronunciation faster.

If you don’t have access to a native speaking pronunciation coach at the moment, here are some free (or low-cost) resources for you…

This is an interesting website that has short audio clips of British English pronunciation for hundreds of common words & phrases. Also check out Forvo. 

Here's an outstanding YouTube channel that will show you how to pronounce every sound in American English. I love it because the exercises are engaging and easy to follow, and the explanations are very clear and thorough.

Sign up for the free accent reduction course at www.rachelsenglish.com because it's the best free English pronunciation course online.

This is a remarkable, free pronunciation course from the University of California that will teach you how to sound more like a native speaker by learning and practicing how we combine words and where we put the syllable stress. You can find other similar courses here.

Few people have the time or money for daily classes with a tutor, even though this is the fastest way to improve. The next best way is to practice speaking daily with the ElsaSpeak app. Click here to take a 7-day free trial. It's really cool because a natural sounding AI program helps you perfect your pronunciation and keeps you motivated to practice and improve often. If you do this everyday your pronunciation will improve dramatically and really boost your confidence!

I recommend you take an IELTS practice test. Preptical offers excellent practice exams that are just like the real IELTS. In addition, a certified IELTS examiner will mark it for you and give you corrections & feedback about where you need to improve. 

If you plan to take IELTS in the next six months, I suggest you take 5 practice exams so you can be sure you’ll get the score you need.

Even if you never have to take IELTS it's a good idea to take one practice test because it's much cheaper than the real exam, and still gives you an idea of your true competence in English. Read this article I wrote to learn why following an IELTS study plan is the best way to improve your English quickly for business, or any situation.

Click here and enter the coupon code, gatto, during checkout to get a 10% discount. If you don’t need to take IELTS, try one practice test anyway to get a realistic gauge of your current English level.

Most of my business English clients prioritize learning how to write better emails in English. This is especially important for sales & marketing professionals who have to convince foreign clients to do business with them. 

Copywriting is the art & science of writing in order to persuade people to do what you want them to do. Learning about copywriting formulas will make it a lot easier for you to write business communications and marketing materials in English. Check out these two articles: https://copyhackers.com/2015/10/copywriting-formula/ & https://buffer.com/resources/copywriting-formulas/ to learn what they are and how to use them.

Reading blog posts written for native-speakers of English to learn to write more effective business communications will help you. First check out CopyHackers because they write easy to follow tutorials that will make you a better writer in English. Copyblogger is equally as good. Reading both will help you build your vocabulary in English and make you a better writer.

Other outstanding explanations of how to write sales/business emails can be found at: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/how-to-write-a-sales-email/, https://sellingsignals.com/how-to-write-a-sales-email/, and https://mailshake.com/blog/sales-email-templates/.

If you really want to make the writing process easy, use an AI writing tool. Jasper will write any type of business communication for you in correct grammar and sentence structure. All you have to do is fill in some of the details about your own products & services. This will save you so much time!

Click here to get 10,000 words free to test it out in your business.