• The course assumes that students have a good basic knowledge of general English. It aims to teach students core business vocabulary, develop their professional communication skills, and introduce them to key business concepts.

• It is aimed at learners with little or no experience of working in the world of business. Texts from the business world have been chosen for their interest and accessibility, and students are not asked to draw on their own work experience to complete tasks.

• Each of the 15 units is topic-based. The scope of the topics is broad rather than specialized, including subjects such as company culture, the changing nature of work and the economy, international trade, marketing and advertising.

• All four language skills are developed, with a focus on communicative practice. Each unit begins by introducing students to the core vocabulary relating to the theme of the unit. This is then reinforced through listening and reading texts drawn from authentic sources, information gap and discussion activities, role-plays, mini case studies and creative writing tasks.

• A guided discovery approach to grammar leads students to a clearer understanding of the forms and underlying concepts of English. Each unit has a 'language study' section, linked to a more detailed Grammar guide at the back of the book.

• Regular business concept boxes introduce or revise key concepts in business management, such as the terms of trade and financial indexes. Quotations from prominent business people provide the opportunity for additional discussion.

• Creative writing tasks are included which follow the task types required in the BEC exam.