whitaltizer
Last updated:
22 Elite Business English Resources for Fluency and Career Success
The better your English, the more job opportunities you can get—especially since flexible work is so popular now.
So, by the time you go for an interview, you’ll be ready to wow your future employer and start your successful business career.
Here are my top recommendations for business English resources, including websites with practice exercises, books, podcasts and videos.
Contents
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Websites
1. BBC Learning English
Cost: Free
This site covers a ton of information. It may just be the best resource for learning how to handle yourself in a wide variety of possible business scenarios.
For example, their animated series “English at Work.” tackles common situations like job interviews and presentations. These come with transcripts, listening challenges and a list of important questions.
They also have a series on leadership that goes over interesting topics, like AI and mental health at work. You can pick up even more technical vocabulary with their short films on International Law.
Even if you watch all those, there’s more—their old website is a treasure trove, with sections such as “Talking Business” and “Get That Job.”
2. TalkEnglish.com
Cost: Free
Talk English is a learning website devoted to perfecting your spoken English. From conversations, idioms and grammar rules—they have it all.
The full lesson index has a number of business English exercises, including listening comprehension activities.
For example, if you type “interview” in the website’s search box, you’ll find speaking and pronunciation lessons that’ll prepare you for an interview. These include questions that you might hear at an interview, interactive practice lessons and listening lessons based on level. Clicking on one of the interview questions redirects you to a page where you’ll see the question, its pronunciation and a variety of possible responses.
3. Business English
Cost: Free
This site is a go-to place for students and teachers alike for free learning resources, with topics like common mistakes and idioms. It’s a pretty simple site that’s easy to navigate and even has a blog with educational tips and information.
For starters, check out their free grammar exercises that you can solve at your own pace.
4. EnglishExercises.org
Cost: Free
The name really says it all. This site offers over a thousand different exercises that are free to explore. You can approach them by topic or level.
You’ll be delighted by the variety of audiovisual resources and exercises, all related to business English. If you find there’s a particular grammar point that’s giving you problems, browse their grammar section to find exercises that will allow you to master it.
And once you’re more proficient in English, you might find that you have an opportunity to teach others. If so, you can always come back to this site and create new exercises for students!
5. speakspeak
Cost: Free
Speakspeak is another brilliant learning resource. It has an A-Z grammar rules list, English practice exercises and free e-books to download.
Start with their exercises for all levels that test your business vocabulary. They cover words from finance, sales, marketing and other relevant backgrounds.
You should also take advantage of their “search the site” option on the toolbar at the top of the page. This allows you to find specific grammar and vocabulary topics, like simple present conjugations or prepositions.
6. BusinessEnglishSite.com
Cost: Free, with paid packages (additional glossaries and PDFs) that cost $7
This site is about serious, no-nonsense free content—no fluff. It’s straightforward, vast and full of exercises. After all, it was built by people who have corporate experience or currently work in business.
Start by checking out their video-based comprehension exercises, which provide a variety of audio-based exercises (for all levels) and listening exercises that are specifically for intermediate and advanced learners.
You should then jump over to their reading comprehension section to test your reading abilities. These exercises are intended for intermediate and advanced learners, so they’re perfect if you already have some experience with business English.
7. EnglishForMyJob.com
Cost: Free, with a paid package (collection of practice quizzes) that costs $6
EnglishForMyJob.com is in the same family as BusinessEnglishSite.com, but has several practice worksheets suited for those who work in the hospitality industry.
You can access the exercises individually by choosing from the desired category (for free), or you can buy their 80 exercises in a package as PDFs to save time. This is perfect for those who prefer putting pen to paper.
So if you’re looking for a casual approach to improving your business language skills, you should definitely bookmark this site!
8. Onestopenglish
Cost: Around $2 per month for full access
There’s also Onestopenglish, part of MacMillan Education and an extremely user-friendly site for teaching and learning English.
They have an extensive business English section, with lessons and resources to build students’ abilities in various professional settings. This is another site designed with teachers in mind, but has lots of materials for individual study.
There are tons of lessons to choose from, with worksheets to practice those skills. To access all the content on this site, you can get a monthly or yearly subscription.
But for now, check out their worksheets aimed at improving pronunciation, because after all, impeccable pronunciation makes for a great first impression at the workplace!
Video Resources
9. FluentU
Cost: Free trial, with extended version for around $12 to $30 per month
FluentU is a language learning platform with hundreds of authentic English media clips, including news reports, TED talks and business English videos.
It’s handy for studying because each video already has interactive subtitles. You can hover your cursor over any word while watching and get an instant definition on screen. There are also multimedia flashcards and personalized quizzes to help you review the English you learn.
The video library is constantly updated too, so you can keep picking up new vocabulary and learn English buzzwords.
10. Video Vocab TV
Cost: Free
This video library is incredibly useful, with topics like management, finance, technology and economics. The visuals in the videos help with understanding and the speech is slow enough to follow.
If you’re a premium member, then you get extra help in the way of study notes and online practice with these videos, but the free option is also nice.
11. EngVid.com
Cost: Free
At EngVid.com you can watch loads of lectures about business-related vocabulary and grammar in English. This free website allows you about 15 minutes of instruction from a native speaker and the option to take a quiz or leave a comment that might get you involved in an online discussion.
Take any chance you can to interact with others in English—even online! Every little bit will help improve your skills.
12. English Central
Cost: Free; subscription available for full access and private tutoring (starting at $22 per month)
These bite-sized videos are fantastic. In about two minutes, you can learn the basics of business introductions, how to write a cover letter and other important business skills. Also, there are subtitles, exercises where you can get practice speaking words in the dialogue and filling in words by typing.
It’s very easy to digest, and there are enough interactive exercises to feel like you’re getting good practice.
13. The Business of English
Cost: Free
Here you can get access to 15 great videos about conducting business and get practice listening to another accent—Australian! These well-crafted videos on ABC Australia take you through a day in the life of a businessman and some of the scenarios you might encounter during an average day’s activities.
Also, it’ll teach you a bit about the business language and culture Down Under.
Courses
14. Coursera
Cost: Free for auditing
Coursera is one of the best websites for MOOCs (massive open online courses). Naturally, it’s an absolute gold mine of wonderfully curated courses on business English. And best of all, these courses are often taught by faculty from prestigious universities.
We recommend you check out “English for Career Development” taught by the University of Pennsylvania. You’ll learn how to enter the job market successfully, create an attractive resume, write cover letters and ace interviews and networking events.
While you’re at it, you can also sign up for “Intermediate Grammar Specialization.” This course will help you navigate tricky grammar bits like modals and adjective clauses, and will help you better understand and speak the English language at a more advanced level.
15. Udemy
Cost: Depends on the course, but many are available at $10 during sales
Udemy is similar to Coursera in that there are a variety of courses for learners who want to improve their overall English ability, as well as improve their business English skills.
Start with this “Full English Course: Intermediate Level” that covers grammar, speaking, reading, listening and even vocabulary, to help you succeed at the workplace.
You can also sign up for “Business English: Easy English for Meetings,” which will teach you how to craft agendas and conduct yourself at both informal and formal business meetings.
Podcasts
16. Business English Pod
Cost: Free for some podcasts; full access for around $10 per month
Business English Pod has over 600 lessons on a variety of subjects. Each episode covers a particular aspect of workplace communication and even comes with quizzes and PDF transcripts.
The podcast episodes discuss diverse topics such as meetings, presentations, job interviews, socializing and travel. Go here for incredibly specific situations, such as how to properly argue your case in a meeting or take control in times of crisis. They always give an example dialogue, and you’re prompted to think about certain questions and listen for specific information.
17. Down to Business English
Cost: Free; subscription needed for scripts and extra episodes, starting at around $6 per month
This podcast is especially suited for those with English as a second or foreign language. They have discussion-based lessons, which means that with this you can kill two birds with one stone: Learn English and stay up-to-date with the business world.
So if you’re up for an innovative approach to learning, try Down to Business English, where business-related news headlines are analyzed to understand worldwide business trends.
18. BBC Business Daily
Cost: Free
The BBC has always been an authority when it comes to teaching English. If you check out their news or plays regularly, your English conversation skills will improve by leaps and bounds. But if you’re short on time, just check out the “clips” from Business Daily.
Doing so will ensure you have constant exposure to challenging learning material and that you are up-to-date on the current trends in the business world.
Find a full list of their podcasts right on the site!
Books
19. Speak Better Business English and Make More Money
Cost: $8.99 (digital) or $29.95 (paperback)
Gillett is a popular ESL teacher that also has the ESL book market topped. Even years after publication, her books are still among the best in the business English category on Amazon.
This book comes with an audio CD and plenty of explanations, exercises and cartoons to help you understand important idioms used in the workplace.
20. Speak Business English Like an American
Cost: $9.99 (digital) or $29.95 (paperback)
Another great book by Gillett for those who want to focus on the American workplace. Even my coworkers from other parts of the English-speaking world and I often feel like we need this book to understand each other.
Gillett takes care to help you understand idioms you might hear inside or outside the workplace in America.
21. Say It Better in English
Cost: $16.99 (digital)
This book is no longer in print, but it can be downloaded onto Kindle. The beauty of this book is the cartoons that give the learner a visual for each useful phrase. It’s pretty simple and concise and was made with the understanding that “time is money.”
22. Longman’s Business English Dictionary
Cost: Starts at $23 (paperback)
It kind of goes without saying that you’re going to need a dictionary at times and this one is the most popular. Even better, now there’s a 2nd edition with 18,000 sample sentences and an interactive CD-ROM that gives you exam practice.
So, there’s your comprehensive Business English plan. Check out these sites, be diligent, listen, read, write, speak and repeat. Soon you’ll be on the other side of the table, interviewing potential employees in English to come work for you. Good luck!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
