Innovative financial English course developed
by global partners
An innovative way of offering English language skills specifically for finance and business students around the world is to be offered by a partnership of the University of Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), Cambridge University Press and ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).
Cambridge Financial English is a ‘blended learning’ course, with a mix of online and face-to-face tuition, intended to help individuals improve their financial English skills. The aim of the course is to develop financial language skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Although the end users of the course will be individuals wishing to improve their financial language skills, the course has been created for tuition providers to deliver either to their potential or existing students; and for employers who have a large international workforce, and wish to add the course to complement their in-housing training offered to employees.
There are numerous benefits for employers and tuition providers delivering the course. For employers, delivering the programme can help improve their employees’ ability to conduct business internationally or with international clients and colleagues; enhance their reputation among clients and stakeholders; improve the exam performance of their trainee accountants and help to attract and retain talented finance professionals by providing comprehensive training opportunities. For tuition providers, offering Cambridge Financial English will enable them to differentiate their institution from its competitors by providing a hi-tech flexible learning solution; the opportunity to increase their course portfolio and introduce new revenue streams as well as enhancing their students’ performance in the classroom and in exams.
The flexible 100 hour course includes modules on basic accounting, teamwork and managing people, tax, banking and insurance, risk assessment, mergers, acquisitions and ethics and corporate governance.
The course is designed to deliver 75 hours online learning and 25 hours of face-to-face teaching, although the course is sufficiently flexible and the resources available to tailor the blend of learning to meet the needs of employers, tuition providers and students.
The online element of the course includes both presentation and self-study material, organised into 20 topic-based modules. Each module contains a mix of language work, specialist vocabulary and a focus on the skills finance professionals need in order to communicate effectively in English. Face- to-face learning sessions focus on consolidating what students have learnt online and enhancing their language skills through a variety of activities. Authentic situations and issues from the financial and business world are presented through realistic video, audio and reading materials.
Comprehensive teaching materials and notes for the face-to-face element of the course have been developed as part of the resources available to help tuition providers and employers deliver the programme. The online element of the programme can be accessed at any time, allowing the flexibility for the course to be delivered in the classroom, workplace or at home.
Cambridge Financial English is designed as a stand alone course to improve language ability in the context of accounting and financial English, but is also an excellent preparatory course for the Cambridge International Certificate in Financial English (Cambridge ICFE). More details are available on the www.financialenglish.org website.
Helen Brand, ACCA Chief Executive, said: ‘English is the key language in the business world, and it is critical that anyone who wishes to succeed in that sector needs to have an understanding of technical terms and phrases which are regularly used. ACCA is delighted to be working with two exceptional partners in Cambridge ESOL and Cambridge University Press to be delivering this innovative means of teaching high level language skills around the world.’
Mike Milanovic, Chief Executive, Cambridge ESOL explained:
“English is the language of the financial sector, and it's really important for employers to be confident that their workforce have the language skills they need. We've worked with experts in financial English to develop a flexible course that combines online study with face to face training. It covers real-life topics that accounting and financial professionals will face and gives them the confidence they need to effectively communicate in the workplace.”
Hanri Pieterse, Managing Director of Cambridge Learning, Cambridge University Press commented:
“In an increasingly competitive world, business students and professionals with busy careers do not always have the time to attend full-time English language courses. The flexibility that blended learning offers is the ideal solution for these kinds of learners. By combining the expertise of our prestigious global partners, we have created a course with high quality learning materials, reflecting the specialist needs of finance professionals while helping to prepare them for the recently launched Cambridge ICFE exam.”