Business English Courses In Thailand

Business English, English Training, Vocabulary Building

September 18, 2024

Choosing the right English course comes down to your employees' needs.

As an HR Manager or Training Coordinator, you might be asked at some point to arrange English language training for the employees at your company.

Perhaps you are aware of Business English courses or Corporate English courses provided by private language centers in Bangkok. Maybe you’ve even heard of the different types of courses like “General Business English” and “English for Specific Purposes” – or, as we like to call it, “English for Specific Departments.”

There are lots of options available on the market, so choosing the right English language courses for your staff members can probably feel a bit overwhelming.

You have to research what kinds of courses the local language centers are offering, find out what is taught in each course, and choose which one will offer the best results to improve your employees’ language skills – and make your boss happy!

At ECSC Thailand, we understand the challenges that HR and Training Managers face, and we will help you with this important decision.

After reading this blog post you’ll have a better understanding of which type of course is the best option for your company.

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“General” Business English vs. “Specific” Business English

ECSC offers the two different types of English language training courses mentioned above.

We provide General Business English courses (GBE) and English for Specific Departments courses (ESD). Deciding whether GBE or ESD is better for your staff members will completely depend on the HR department’s goals for language training.

Sometimes the goal is for employees to improve their general ability to understand English and speak better in a wide range of business situations. Sometimes it is for employees to improve their English in specific ways that helps their department perform their job duties more effectively.

GBE Courses
- Develop general English skills for many professional situations
- Employees from different teams across your company
- Ideal for Beginner-level English speakers
ESD Courses
- Develop English skills for one’s area of professional expertise
- Employees from the same team within your company
- Ideal for Intermediate-level and above

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Would you like help better understanding the differences between GBE & ESD?

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Do you need GBE Business English courses?

Since GBE provides instruction for students to practice general English ability, these courses help students improve in all areas of English communication.

At ECSC, this includes listening, speaking, pronunciation, and vocabulary.

While our GBE courses include some writing and grammar instruction, the lessons are focused on speaking and building up professional vocabulary. Especially building up something that we call , which are simply multiple-word units of vocabulary like word pairs (called “collocations”), phrasal verbs (verbs with more than one word), and fixed expressions (common phrases).

The multi-words vocabulary in GBE lessons is taught in the context of communication topics common in all workplaces. This includes things like writing emails, speaking in meetings, giving presentations, meeting new colleagues, contacting clients, attending networking events, and talking about your company.

Again, GBE courses are good for employees who need to improve all of their English skills for a variety of work-related situations. The thing that makes ECSC different from other language centers in Bangkok is our focus on vocabulary for work-related situations, not grammar.

If you can think of any employees at your organization who would benefit from more English vocabulary and increased confidence communicating in the workplace, then a GBE Business English course will help.

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Would you like to know more about who General Business English courses help?

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Do you need ESD Business English courses?

Compared to GBE courses which provide English speaking experience in a wide variety of workplace situations, ESD courses are targeted towards upskilling specific departments in your company.

For example, a Sales-focused ESD course contains specific English vocabulary for salespeople, plus instruction on tone and timing. We teach them useful multi-words for negotiations and closing deals, etc.

A Customer Service-focused ESD course helps learners communicate in email and chat clearly and concisely, which is so important in the “communication economy” in which they work. We teach your employees correct emailing structure and multi-words for different styles of messages.

And a Marketing-focused course is really a lot of fun because it gets into vocabulary that helps marketers make an impact in their campaigns and social media. And it helps them communicate with each other better when brainstorming and building out ideas.

If you feel that any of your teams could perform their job responsibilities more efficiently in English, they would benefit from a department-specific ESD Business English course.

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Conclusions and Other Training Options

While choosing the best English training option for your team can seem complicated as an HR Manager or Training Manager, the best option will always depend on the types of tasks your employees need to do in English.

GBE courses allow staff members to learn and practice all skills to improve their general English ability for a variety of business situations; ESD courses allow workers in a specific department to focus on improving their English to perform better in specific job-related tasks.

Hopefully, this breakdown will help you make the best decision for your company’s English training needs, or at least simplify the question: Which employees at your company would benefit from GBE and which teams would benefit from ESD?

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ECSC Thailand helps companies in Bangkok help their employees improve their Business English. To learn more, contact us today about our Workshops & Courses, Executive Coaching, and Onsite Consulting.