We've come to the realization in language learning that using genuine material that interests us in the best way to truly learn a foreign language. ​

​Listening to fake conversations for exams has its purpose, I guess, but they are not going to teach your students anything about business. Maybe you don't know much about business yourself and the idea of teaching business English intimidates you a bit. No worries!

Ok, this may not be a "business channel", but it is a great resource to learn how to communicate better. They give tips and advice on topics like- starting small talk, dos and don'ts in social situations, using body language effectively, and tricks to add to your sense of humor- to name a few.

These will be useful in business if you have business meetings, dinners, you have to meet with clients, and any social situation you may find. 

One thing to keep in mind, they do talk a bit fast. If you're using this for class, you may have to slow the video down or play it several times to catch some of the details.

The target audience for this channel is web designers and professional development for starting your own web design business. He shows his process in designing a professional quality website, gives business tips and strategy, and he goes through case studies of his and others work.

This will be useful for creatives and entrepreneurs who want to learn tips and practical vocabulary in the web design or graphic design field. 

One thing to keep in mind, he also talks a bit fast. Also English is his second language, but he doesn't really hav an accent, but it may be a challenge for some students. If you're using this for class, you may have to slow the video down or play it several times to catch some of the details.

The author of The Four-Hour Work Week has a YouTube channel where he discusses his strategies and ideas to improve productivity in our businesses and lives. He also interviews important guests in their fields to get their top advice for running a business.

This will be useful for creatives, people who create start-ups, CEOs, and anyone who wants to be more productive in their lives.

One thing to keep in mind, he and his guests shares a lot of technical vocabulary that aren't used everyday (for example "batching"). However, he explains them well.

I don't know if you've ever heard of this new TED Talk thing, but let me break it down for you. You can find an expert speaker giving a talk about... oh, you already know about TED Talks? Well, they are a perfect tool for blue belt+ (intermediate or higher) learners to learn about something and practice their English listening. Why aren't you using them more often in your lessons?

This will be useful for students who want to learn about most any topic.

One thing to keep in mind, the topics of TED Talks can quite literally be about anything, so it can be hard to narrow down a search when you want to sit down and practice listening. 

Business isn't a man's world anymore. If you or your students want some content that gives advice, business ideas, or lifestyle videos from a woman's perspective, assign something from Silicon Valley Girl. She speaks clearly, her videos aren't terribly long, and she gives plenty of actionable tips. Her channel also has a bit of variety as well, which could be helpful for some students.

This will be useful for small business owners, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and girls who need a bit of female inspiration.

Another useful thing about her channel is, it seems that she had either taught English abroad or has had some hand in the EFL world because she has been a part of several language-learning start-ups as you will see in the video below. She naturally speaks slowly and clearly which makes it easy to follow what she's saying.

Do you want to make deals, increase sales, know when and how to call people, and close deals? The host, Will Barron, interviews a variety of guests on his show and digs deep into the world of business. If you follow the worksheet above, you will get plenty of gold expressions and content.

This will be useful for people who want English for sales, business strategy, or any kind of business venture.

One thing to keep in mind, he has plenty of guests and some English learners may have a hard time with some accents and speeds of talking. The shows are also long, so lessons or sessions may need to be broken up in bite-size pieces.

This is personally my favorite business channel to follow. I watch something from The Futur every week, if not daily whether on YouTube or Instagram. If you follow the More Than English Podcast on YouTube, you'll see some familiar styles borrowed from The Futur. If anybody is in the field of creating things and trying to turn it into a business, follow The Futur.

This will be useful for any and all creatives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and more specifically graphic designers. Students who want to learn clear, useful, and targeted vocabulary and expressions that they can apply to growing their business.

One thing to keep in mind, there are many different types of videos on this channel. Some videos are long and some are short, some have music in the background and some are just conversations. Taking short excerpts from the longer shows and accompanying it with the listening exercises above, could make for some very ​valuable language lessons for business English learners.

Slow the video - Some of these videos may talk a bit fast for you or your students to catch some things. A simple solution is to click on the gear button and you can change the speed to play faster or slower.

Break up longer sessions - Some of the videos on these channels are longer. A teacher or tutor will want to break them up into bite-size sessions of 4-8 minutes depending on the level of the student and the content being discussed.

Content - The students learn real life expressions in context while learning content to help them in the real  business world instead of isolated expressions.

What else can you find?

If you're looking for a fun, uplifting English listening lesson for your students to do that gets away from the typical 'text book' or 'exam listening', this is a fantastic lesson to do with your class. We're using Bob Marley's famous song ​Three Little Birds. This lesson is adaptable to most levels from white belt to purple belt students. 

- Each time you play the song should have a task directly related to it for the students to perform.

- Play the song as many times as necessary for the students to do the task (but not too many to become bored).

- Play the song WITHOUT showing the lyrics the first couple times.

- Higher level students can focus more on pronunciation and rhythm of combining words.

Encouragement - Their English time with you will have good vibes and feelings with this lesson to be encouraged to do more.

Pronunciation - Have them follow the pronunciation as it says in the song (ex. gonna be alright)

What else can you find?

 I.  Match the two parts of the following sentences from the song.
 

1. Don’t worry                                                                 a. gonna be all right.
2. ‘Cause every little thing’s                                          b. this morning
3. Singing ‘Don’t worry                                                  c. ‘This is my message to you.’
4. Rise up                                                                       d. about a thing
5. Smiled with                                                                e. sit by my doorstep
6. Three little birds                                                         f. about a thing
7. Singing sweet songs                                                 g. the rising sun
8. Singing                                                                       h. of melodies pure and true

 
II. Write as many lines of the song that you can remember. (Only look at this page.) / Write more as we listen again.
 

1. _____________________________                      5. _________________________
2. _____________________________                      6. _________________________
3. _____________________________                      7. _________________________
4. _____________________________                      8. _________________________

 
Note:   ‘cause = because
            gonna = going to + verb
 
 
 III. Answer the following questions.
 

1. What was the weather like when the singer woke up?


2. Was the singer happy when he woke up? How do you know?


3. What did he hear?


4. Where were the birds?


5. What message did the birds’ song have?


6. Is this song an optimistic or pessimistic song? Why?​