Blog Archives

Using Humour to Connect: Creating Brave Spaces

Don’t miss this unique webinar, which feels like a workshop. Join us on Sunday, 14 June at 15.00 (UK time).

Annabelle Baumann will lead this dynamic, experiential webinar for trainers, facilitators, and leaders who want to use humour to build connection, not perform. Rather than focusing on jokes or comedy, the session explores intentional humour as a way to build trust, ease tension, and reduce anxiety.

Drawing on the theory behind Chronosoma practice, participants will explore breath and body awareness as foundations for connection. Guided exercises and playful experimentation will help them read the room, respond authentically, and foster inclusion. Participants will leave with greater clarity and confidence to create brave spaces for deeper communication, engagement, and shared growth.

Annabelle “Bee” Baumann is a stand-up comedian, communication coach, TEDx speaker, and the author of Gurrl, You Ain’t Crazy. Blending sharp wit with motivational humour, Bee turns life’s messiest moments into powerful lessons in authenticity. Her work helps individuals and teams speak with clarity, confidence, and heart, proving that laughter is not just entertaining, it’s one of the most effective tools for connection and courageous communication.

This event is free for all to attend, and certificates will be sent out IATEFL members after the event.  
Follow this link for further information and to register for the webinar

The Break Room

As usual, we will be holding our informal IATEFL BESIG Break Room on the last Wednesday of the month. Come along on 24 June 2026 18.00 – 19.00 (UK time). This is a great opportunity to catch up with IATEFL BESIG members as well as others interested in business English. Use this link to join us in the Break Room

BESIG Workshop: ‘Take Your TIME: A Framework for Teaching Profession-Related Communication in an AI-Accelerated World’ on 18 July 2026 15.00 – 17.00 pm (UK Time).

This interactive workshop gives BE and ESP trainers space and time to reflect on what recalibrations are required in an AI-accelerated world of work, and to take responsibility for the quality of our educational designs. Uncritical AI adoption in pursuit of short-term efficiencies risks eroding essential human capacities for judgment, voice, accountability, and ultimately employability. In profession-related communication, where trust is central and nuances matter, such risks are particularly acute.

The session proposes a framework using the acronym TIME to interrogate our clients’ new realities and provide reference points in support of principled, context-sensitive AI adoption that foregrounds human agency. At a time when the deployment of AI agents threatens to make human workers irrelevant, we take our stand and reaffirm our mission to help adult learners exercise ownership of their thinking, their expression, and their professional identities in ways which add to their employability and value.

Workshop participants will engage in collaborative analysis and practical tasks using a structured workbook to capture insights, test ideas, and adapt the framework to their specific teaching contexts. The session is also an opportunity to come together and be kinder to ourselves as fast-paced change becomes the new norm.

Non-member price – £15; free for members of IATEFL. Follow this link for further information and to register for the workshop.

Speakers- Ioana Crețu & Neil Harris

Ioana Crețu is an independent ESP practitioner and OET Preparation Partner with over 20 years of experience in teaching medical and academic English. She holds a PhD in Education and has a background in applied linguistics, medical translation, and scientific writing. Her work focuses on supporting healthcare professionals to communicate effectively in high-stakes clinical and academic contexts. She is particularly interested in process-based approaches, including the judicious integration of AI in professional communications (training). Ioana contributes regularly to international ESP / ELT communities through workshops, webinars, and talks, and she hosts the ESP Unplugged podcast from IATEFL ESPSIG.

Neil Harris is a UK-based teacher, trainer, and materials developer. In recent years he has specialised in online teacher development for low-resource contexts and ESP, and in particular the design and delivery of OET medical English preparation for individuals plus groups of healthcare professionals. His interest in EdTech has led to the creation of a national special interest group which lobbies for the development of clearly articulated principles and AI solutions for the accredited English language teaching sector. Outside the classroom, Neil is a trustee of English UK and speaks regularly online and in person at international teachers’ conferences.

IATEFL BESIG Travel Grants

We are pleased to announce a travel grant for members wishing to participate in international conferences with a dedicated BESIG strand, such as the 15th ELT Malta Conference on 23–25 October 2026. The link to the application form can be found here. The deadline for the application is September 20.

We also offer the IATEFL BESIG Facilitator Scholarship, which enables an IATEFL Business English SIG (BESIG) member to attend the IATEFL Annual Conference 2027 and expects the winner to give a presentation during the BESIG Showcase. The deadline for application is June 17. More information can be found here

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BESIG Business Issues

We are now accepting submissions for Business Issues 116! Interested members can send their articles, ideas, lesson plans, reviews (conferences or books) and anything that’s Business English related to [email protected] by 10 July 2026. We look forward to showcasing your contributions!  

We are also looking for members to interview for our ‘Meet a Member’ blog. We would love to feature you. So if you are interested or know someone who would be the perfect fit, please email us at [email protected] to get started