Advanced Business English for Finance Professionals

Programme Overview

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for finance professionals who need to communicate with precision and credibility in English. Whether you're preparing board reports, presenting financial results, managing stakeholder communications, or leading investor calls, this programme will give you the grammatical accuracy, finance-specific vocabulary, and professional register to succeed at executive level.

What You'll Learn

Over 16 sessions, you'll develop the specific language skills needed for senior finance communication—from precise numerical language to sophisticated written reports. You'll master the grammar, vocabulary, and structures required to:

Write executive-level reports with appropriate register and structure
Present financial data using accurate numerical and trend language
Handle questions and challenges using diplomatic functional phrases
Adjust tone and formality for different stakeholder audiences
Use advanced grammar structures for concise, professional communication
Build systematic vocabulary for financial reporting and analysis

Each session uses authentic finance scenarios as a framework for teaching language, ensuring you learn grammar, vocabulary, and phrases in realistic professional contexts.

Course Structure

The course progresses through two phases:

Written Financial Communication — Building grammar and vocabulary for professional emails and reports in finance contexts (Units 1-8)
Spoken Financial Communication — Developing presentation language, Q&A skills, and stakeholder messaging for meetings and investor calls (Units 9-16)

Key Learning Approach

Recognize that finance communication requires specific grammatical structures and register choices
Build systematic vocabulary banks for reporting, presenting, and stakeholder communication
Practice authentic finance scenarios while receiving immediate correction on language accuracy

Result: Confident, accurate English communication appropriate for senior finance roles

PHASE 1: WRITTEN FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION

Unit 1: Register and Formality in Business Writing

What you'll learn:

Distinguishing formal, neutral, and informal register in business contexts
Modal verbs for politeness: would, could, may, might
Passive constructions: for diplomatic tone and objectivity
Nominalization: converting verbs to nouns for formal style
Register markers: grammatical structures that signal professionalism
Grammar: Passive voice, modal verbs, nominal vs verbal style

Practice: Rewrite 10 informal business emails in appropriate formal register

Focus: Understanding register as grammatical and lexical choices, not just vocabulary substitution

Unit 2: Email Structure and Functional Phrases

What you'll learn:

Standard business email structure and conventions
Opening phrases: "I am writing to...", "Further to our conversation...", "Thank you for..."
Organizing information: "Firstly...", "In addition...", "Furthermore..."
Making requests: "Would you be able to...", "I would appreciate if...", "Could you please..."
Closing phrases: "Please let me know if...", "I look forward to...", "Should you have any questions..."
Grammar: Present simple for facts, present continuous for current situations, future forms for action items

Practice: Draft status update email to senior stakeholder using taught functional phrases

Focus: Using authentic business email conventions and functional language for clear professional communication

Unit 3: Numerical Language and Financial Precision

What you'll learn:

Accurate presentation of numbers, percentages, and financial figures
Verbs of change: increase, decrease, rise, fall, grow, decline
Collocations: revenue increased, costs decreased, profits rose, margins improved
Prepositions: increased by 15%, decreased to $2M, rose from... to...
Adverbs of degree: significantly, slightly, dramatically, gradually, marginally
Grammar: Present perfect vs past simple for financial results, comparative structures

Practice: Write short summaries of financial data using accurate numerical language

Focus: Grammatical accuracy when presenting numbers and financial figures in professional contexts

Unit 4: Register Adjustment for Different Audiences

What you'll learn:

Adjusting language register based on audience and relationship
Systematic differences between colleague (neutral) and board/investor (formal) communication
Modal verbs: tentative vs confident (might vs will)
Passive voice: increased use in formal contexts
Sentence complexity: adjusting based on audience expectations
Grammar: Nominalization, passive constructions, complex subordination for formality

Practice: Rewrite the same financial information for two different audiences with explicit grammatical changes

Focus: Conscious control of register through grammatical choices based on audience analysis

Unit 5: Report Structure and Cohesion

What you'll learn:

Logical organization of extended business texts
Reference words: this, these, such (linking to previous information)
Discourse markers: however, moreover, consequently, therefore
Signposting language: "This report outlines...", "The following analysis demonstrates...", "Based on these findings..."
Section transitions: "Building on this point...", "In light of these findings..."
Grammar: Cohesive devices, substitution, reference chains

Practice: Structure one-page financial report with clear organization and cohesive devices

Focus: Creating logically organized texts using discourse markers and grammatical cohesion

Unit 6: Concision and Sentence-Level Editing

What you'll learn:

Grammatical techniques for eliminating wordiness
Converting passive to active voice appropriately
Weak verb phrases: "make a decision" → "decide", "conduct an analysis" → "analyze"
Participial phrases: for combining sentences efficiently
Reduced relative clauses: eliminating unnecessary words
Grammar: Active vs passive voice, participial phrases, relative clause reduction

Practice: Edit verbose business writing to improve concision while maintaining professional tone

Focus: Using grammatical transformations to create concise, powerful business writing

Unit 7: Grammar for Recommendations and Proposals

What you'll learn:

Grammatical structures for persuasive recommendations
First conditional: "If we implement this, costs will decrease"
Second conditional: "If we were to restructure, we could save..."
Mixed conditionals: for complex scenarios
Modal verbs: should (strong), could/might (tentative), would (diplomatic)
Grammar: Conditional structures, modal verbs for strength adjustment

Practice: Write recommendation sections using conditionals and modals to adjust strength appropriately

Focus: Using conditional structures and modal verbs strategically for appropriate recommendations

Unit 8: Integrated Writing Assessment - Board Report

What you'll learn:

Integration of all written communication skills from Units 1-7
Producing complete two-page board report with executive summary
Assessment areas: Register appropriateness, numerical accuracy, cohesive devices, concision, conditionals and modals
Conscious grammatical choices for audience, structure, precision, and persuasion
Detailed feedback on remaining development areas

Practice: Write complete board report with executive summary email demonstrating all Phase 1 skills

Focus: Integration and demonstration of all written communication skills in authentic finance context

PHASE 2: SPOKEN FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION

Unit 9: Language for Structuring Presentations

What you'll learn:

Functional phrases for organizing spoken presentations clearly
Opening statements: "This presentation covers...", "Today I'll demonstrate..."
Transitions: "Moving on to...", "Turning now to...", "Building on this..."
Emphasis: "It's important to note...", "Particularly significant...", "Worth highlighting..."
Closing summaries: "To summarize...", "In conclusion...", "The key takeaways are..."
Grammar: Present simple for structure, future forms for signaling what's coming

Practice: Outline short financial presentation using taught signposting language

Focus: Using functional phrases and grammar to structure presentations clearly for listeners

Unit 10: Describing Trends and Presenting Data

What you'll learn:

Specialized vocabulary for describing financial trends and changes
Verbs of change: increase, decrease, rise, fall, fluctuate, stabilize, peak, drop
Adverbs of degree: significantly, slightly, dramatically, gradually, sharply, steadily
Prepositions: increased by, decreased to, rose from...to, fell by
Grammar: Present perfect for results, past simple for completed periods, continuous forms for ongoing trends
Collocations: automatic combinations of verbs, adverbs, and prepositions

Practice: Describe financial charts and trends using accurate vocabulary and appropriate tenses

Focus: Fluent, accurate use of trend vocabulary with correct grammatical patterns and collocations

Unit 11: Delivery Skills - Clarity and Emphasis

What you'll learn:

Prosodic features for professional credibility: stress, intonation, pace
Word stress: correct stress in multi-syllable financial terminology
Sentence stress: emphasizing content words, de-stressing function words
Intonation patterns: rising for unfinished lists, falling for conclusions
Pausing: creating emphasis and allowing comprehension
Pace: slowing for important numerical information

Practice: Record short financial updates analyzing stress, intonation, and pace for improvement

Focus: Using prosodic features to enhance clarity, credibility, and emphasis in spoken communication

Unit 12: Board-Level Register in Presentations

What you'll learn:

Adjusting spoken register for board-level and executive audiences
Direct statements: for facts and confident assertions
Appropriate hedging: may, might, could for uncertainties
Eliminating: filler words, unnecessary qualifiers, apologetic language
Executive-level expressions: concise, direct, professionally appropriate
Grammar: Simple structures for clarity, appropriate modality, conditional structures for recommendations

Practice: Prepare and deliver three-minute board update using appropriate register and confident language

Focus: Adjusting spoken register for executive audiences through grammatical and vocabulary choices

Unit 13: Handling Questions and Challenges

What you'll learn:

Functional language for responding to questions during presentations
Clarifying: "Could you clarify what you mean by...", "Are you asking whether..."
Buying time: "That's an important point...", "Let me think about that for a moment..."
Structuring answers: "There are two aspects...", "Let me address that in two parts..."
Deferring: "I'll need to verify those figures and get back to you..."
Grammar: Indirect questions, conditional structures for hypotheticals, modal verbs for certainty levels

Practice: Respond to challenging questions about financial performance using taught functional phrases

Focus: Using functional language to handle Q&A professionally and maintain credibility under pressure

Unit 14: Investor and Stakeholder Messaging

What you'll learn:

Adjusting language for external stakeholder groups and cross-cultural audiences
Hedging devices: modal verbs, conditional structures for investor communication
Reported speech: conveying stakeholder feedback diplomatically
Passive constructions: for handling sensitive information
Investor-appropriate terminology: avoiding internal jargon while maintaining credibility
Grammar: Hedging, reported speech, passive voice for diplomacy

Practice: Prepare investor update messages (written and spoken) using stakeholder-focused language

Focus: Adjusting language choices based on external stakeholder relationships and cultural considerations

Unit 15: Managing Pressure and Maintaining Structure

What you'll learn:

Maintaining grammatical accuracy and structure under time pressure
Automatic patterns: signposting phrases accessible under stress
Quick structures: "There are three reasons...", "Looking at this from two perspectives..."
Buying time phrases: while organizing thoughts professionally
Rapid response frameworks: structuring impromptu answers using taught patterns
Grammar: Practiced patterns that remain accurate under pressure

Practice: Respond to unexpected questions without preparation, maintaining structure and grammatical accuracy

Focus: Producing accurate, structured English under pressure through practiced patterns and functional phrases

Unit 16: Integrated Speaking Assessment - CFO Presentation

What you'll learn:

Integration of all spoken communication skills from Units 9-15
Complete board presentation with investor Q&A session
Assessment areas: Grammatical accuracy, register, financial collocations, delivery features, response structures, performance under pressure
Demonstration of: signposting, trend language, board-level register, prosodic features, Q&A strategies
Comprehensive feedback on achievements and remaining development areas

Practice: Deliver mini board presentation with challenging Q&A demonstrating all Phase 2 skills

Focus: Integration and demonstration of all spoken communication skills in authentic senior finance context

Strategic Language Development

Not generic business English → Systematic development of finance-specific structures and vocabulary
Not random practice → Structured progression from foundations to complex communication
Not business skills → English language teaching with finance contexts

Language Skills Developed

Grammar: Register control, conditional structures, modal verbs, cohesive devices, tense accuracy
Vocabulary: ~150 finance-specific collocations and expressions taught systematically
Pronunciation: Stress, intonation, and pace appropriate for professional credibility
Functional Language: Phrase banks for structuring, signposting, responding, and hedging

Professional Confidence

Communicate financial information with grammatical accuracy
Adjust register appropriately for different stakeholders
Structure complex information clearly in speech and writing
Maintain language accuracy under time pressure and stress

What You'll Have at the End

✅ Control of formal business register through conscious grammatical choices
✅ Accurate numerical and trend language for financial reporting
✅ Systematic vocabulary banks for written and spoken finance communication
✅ Structured frameworks for organizing presentations and responses
✅ Functional phrases for handling questions and challenging situations
✅ Delivery skills (stress, intonation, pace) for professional credibility
✅ Experience with integrated board report and presentation with Q&A
✅ Confidence to communicate in English at senior finance level

Ready to Begin?

This programme will develop your English language proficiency for senior finance communication through systematic grammar teaching, vocabulary building, and intensive practice in authentic contexts.

Let's start with Unit 1!

Programme designed for B2 → C1 level English learners
Individual units can be adjusted based on your specific needs and progress

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