Business English Online

Business English Online is an electronic learning platform specifically designed to help

you acquire the most typical words and structures in Business English. It was developed
on the basis of a large number of authentic business texts (6m words), which ensures
that the language you learn is relevant and useful.

The learning platform consists of 2 main parts, i.e. vocabulary and grammar. You will be
expected to work through the exercises autonomously. Throughout the year a number of
tests will be organized (see separate schedule).

Vocabulary

Vocabulary has been organized around 6 themes

 COMPANIES
 DOING BUSINESS
 ECONOMIC TRENDS
 MONEY MATTERS
 BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
 GENERAL BUSINESS VOCABULARY

Each of these themes has been further subdivided in short units. For example:
COMPANIES
• A company and its people
• Employment
• Mergers and Acquisitions

Each unit consists of 2 sets of exercises. Exactly the same vocabulary is covered in
each of the sets, so Set II simply offers additional practice. Within each set, you will
encounter every item twice, which will help you remember it better.

In all units, the focus is on collocations (i.e. frequently combined words) rather than on
individual words, because using such word partnerships will make your language more
natural. These collocations have been highlighted in bold in the exercises.

At the end of each unit, there is a glossary with all the key words and collocations that
you need to remember. In addition, a complete list of all the words included in all units is
available on Toledo as an Excel-file, enabling you to make personal vocabulary lists and
to add your own notes.
Grammar

The aim of this section is to brush up the grammar that you learnt in secondary school.
These are the topics covered:

 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

 DETERMINERS
 TENSES
 GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
 CONDITIONAL CLAUSES
 LINKING CLAUSES
 FREQUENTLY CONFUSED PAIRS

Each section contains short usage rules, but the emphasis is on practice. A lot of
exercises are provided: whether you will need to do all of these will depend on your own
grammar level.