Once upon a time, in a vibrant city, there was a young professional named Sofea. She had just moved from Malaysia to work at a prestigious company in New York. Sofea was excited but soon found herself tangled in the web of business English. On her first day, her boss said, "Sofea, let's hit the ground running!" Sofea paused, imagining herself literally running outside. Confused, she quickly realized it meant to start working energetically. This was her first encounter with the tricky idioms of business English. A few days later, during a meeting, a colleague said, "We need to touch base on the project." Sofea imagined touching a base, like landing of an airplane. She soon understood it meant to discuss the project briefly. Idioms like these often left her puzzled.
Sofea also struggled with the abbreviations. Her emails were filled with terms like KPI (Key Performance Indicator), ROI (Return on Investment), and EOD (End of Day). She had to look up these abbreviations constantly to keep up with her work. One day, her manager sent an email saying, "Please advise." Sofea thought she was being asked for advice, but it was actually a polite way of asking for information. The formal tone and specific etiquette of business English were challenging to grasp.
Feeling overwhelmed, Sofea decided to join an English Academy to learn more about business English, where she can learn the nuances of business English through practical lessons and real-life scenarios. And also, can practice speaking and writing, to gain more confidence.
Sofea’s story shows that mastering business English requires more than just vocabulary. It involves understanding idioms, abbreviations, and formal expressions. At Ignite International English Academy, students like Sofea receive the guidance they need to navigate the complexities of business English and succeed in the global business world.
