We'll look at textbooks from other English companies. Find these books on the site:

• Business Results 
• Grammar in Use
• Pronunciation in Use
• Business Vocabulary
• Presentations 

These books contain a lot of good language, but not all of it is going to be relevant to every student. Knowing which parts to skip and which to focus on is integral to teaching a good lesson. Remember, the focus of the lesson is value-added information, so the amount of textbook you go through is not important. Rather, what is important is the amount of useful language the student learns and practices. 

We'll discuss what to focus on, what to change or customize, what to skim through and what to skip altogether. 

There are two goals to aim for when you are teaching:

1. Add new language that is useful for the student
2. Do it in an interesting or relevant way

Follow the i+1 idea from earlier training. Find what the student already knows and then add one thing you think they should know. 

When working through the textbook think about what to focus on, what to do normally and what to skip altogehter. 

At each section, simply ask,

1. Is it new?
2. Is it interesting/important?

Business Results

To start, here is a quick guide to teaching Business Results:

• always spend time on discussion questions
• always spend time on the key expressions
• usually spend time on grammar and vocabulary exercises sometimes spend time on reading and listening
• never spend time on case studies - these are neither interesting nor important. 

Let's open Business Results Upper Intermediate and work through a chapter. 

Discussion questions

These can be left as-is, or you can modify them to be more compelling for your student. Use your judgment and make sure to give the student ample time to come up with an interesting answer. Occasionally students will get stuck on these questions (for example Starting Point 1 of the Business Results Upper Intermediate), in this case provide a model answer or explain some of the background of the question.

For example, BR Upper Int p. 6:

Textbook: What are the impressions of the business in the picture? What kind of business could it be? What impression could it want to give?
Student: Um, I’m not sure, what it means...
You: Ok, so “what kind of business” ...do you think this is a government building?
S: No...
Y: Why not?
S: Well, government buildings are usually boring, but this one is very interesting.
Y: Ok, so what kind of businesses use interesting buildings?
S: I guess, maybe a design company? Like Google?
Y: Exactly. So tell me more, what impressions could design companies want to give?

Key Expressions

Explain to your student that this list is really useful, it’s should be output language. So simply understanding each phrase is not enough.

If there are new phrases, or phrases that the student understands but can’t use, then supply a definition or an example, and then ask for an example from the student.

Prior knowledge of your student’s project, schedule or tasks can make this interesting and fun.

If the key expressions are:

Responding to an argument:

Exactly/absolutely You’re right/ X is right What ... says is right Yes, but...

I’m not convinced.

S: *reads phrases*
Y: So are there any new phrases, or phrases you’ve never used before?
S: Yes, I understand everything. Maybe I’ve never used the last one.
Y: Ah, this is for when you don’t agree completely. Maybe you’re skeptical. Do you know the word, skeptical?
S: No... what does it mean?
Y: It means doubtful, or not easily convinced. Like, I don’t disagree, but I want more information before I agree.
S: I see.
Y: So, you can say, “I’m skeptical” or “I’m just not convinced.”
S: Ok.
Y: So, you like the TV show Suits, right?
S: Yes.
Y: I heard the actor who plays Louis is going to be the new James Bond.
S: Haha! Really?
Y: Maybe....
S: ...
Y: What about the phrase?
S: Oh, right! I’m skeptical. I’m just not convinced.
Y: Good, but not smooth. Did you know Toyota, as in at the car company, recently bought Suntory? S: Really? I don’t think so. I’m just not convinced.
Y: Great. Apparently Trump said that Obama has been spying on him.
S: Really? I’m skeptical.
Y: Exactly.

Grammar and vocabulary

These exercises are great if there is new language, or language that the student isn’t confident using.

First, check what your student already knows (like the i+1 style)

If there is new language you get to teach, you can use Google to check the meaning. If it’s a grammar term you are not familiar with, just google the term. If it’s a word, idiom or set phrase, Google: define “set phrase”.

For example, what’s the difference between “for the moment” and “at the moment”?
After teaching the language (by giving definitions or examples), encourage your student to use it.

For example, BR Upper Int p10 #4:

for the moment / at the moment

You: So, what’s the difference between these?
Student: Umm. At the moment is now, and for the moment... I’m not sure.
Y: Yes, right, at the moment seems like a shorter time than now, it’s more specific. And then

for the moment means that you have a set time that it will finish. It’s temporary. In the future, it’ll be different. You can also say “for now”.

S: Ok, I see.
Y: So what are you doing at the moment?
S: Um, well, at the moment I’m studying English.
Y: Good. And how about for the moment?
S: Well, for the moment, I’m also studying English?
Y: Ok, that’s basically right but you are putting a strong emphasis on it being a temporary action, so I think in the future you’re going to stop studying English. Maybe you’ll study Spanish, or stop studying completely.

S: Oh. I see. So... it’s difficult.
Y: Well, in my case I’m living here for the moment, but I’m thinking about moving.
S: Ok. ...I’m working for my company for the moment, but I’m thinking about changing jobs. Y: Yes, great! You can also say, “for now”, can you give me an example of that?
S: Ok, something that will change. Well, for now I’m a little fat, but I want to lose my weight. Y: Good! You used “for now” perfectly.
S: Thanks
Y: Just be careful. It’s “lose weight”, you don’t need “my”
S: Lose weight. Thanks.

Reading and listening

Deciding whether or not to do these section still follows the, “Is it new?” and, “Is it interesting?” framework, but there are quite a few variables at play:

If the student generally likes to read in class or not
If you think the student’s intonation can use work (you can check words and practice shadowing) If the topic seems interesting
If a lot of the following textbook exercises rely on the reading or listening exercise
If you can finish it in one class or not

Looking at the beginning of lesson 2, there is a reading section that seems short and interesting, and the next page’s discussion questions rely on it. If the student is willing, then it would be a good idea to do it in class.

Now look at the following listening section, number 05. Offer to let the student do it for homework, or read it together now. Most students prefer to read it with the teacher. Turn to audio script 05 at the end of the textbook.

You will see that there are three people and each person says a lot. In this case, I’d read the first section and see if there is much new language, and see if the subject matter is interesting. If the answers are no, then I’d offer to skip the other two people in that audio script.

Other Textbooks

We have textbooks for grammar, pronunciation, presentation and more. The aim is the same:

1. Add new language that is useful for the student 2. Do it in an interesting or relevant way

This means you can use grammar structures or vocabulary points to talk about topics that are interesting or relevant to your student. Feel free to imagine how you might use any kind of language and make interesting examples.

The textbook language is a jumping-off point for an interesting lesson.