Making Business English Teaching International through the Use of Social Networks: A Case Study in a CLIL Context

Abstract

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers might be expected to use realia in their lessons as it is thought to be designed to meet the students’ real needs in their professional life. Teachers are then expected to offer authentic materials and set students in authentic contexts where their learning outcomes can be highly meaningful. The present paper is aimed at studying different digital tools that can be employed in the Business English (BE) lesson as a way to offer a collection of formats businesses are currently using so as to internationalise and advertise their products and services. A secondary objective of our study will then be to progress on the development of multidisciplinary competencies students are expected to acquire during their degree. Findings will confirm students’ interest in working with updated realia in their BE lessons, as a consequence of their strong belief in the necessity to work with updated didactic resources. Despite the limitations social media can have as a means to teach BE, students will still find it highly beneficial since it will foster their familiarisation with the digital tools they will need to use when they get to the labour market.