Teaching Pre-experience Learners in the Integrated Business English Class

Differences on teaching goals between general English and business English are obvious to teachers. However, experi-ence gap commonly found among pre-experience business English learners may prevent them from understanding their specific needs of learning business English, hence resulting in the fallback on learning general English. This gap may also lead to their diffi-culties in understanding complex business concepts. This article analyzes the characteristics of pre-experience learners and elabo-rates on potential benefits of"guest speakers"which can be introduced into classes to help students narrow the experience gap.