Business English For Finance
I always get excited when I hear from my readers around the world. It’s great to talk to ambitious people who know why they need English.
A while ago, I received this question about English for finance:
“I would like to learn English with success. I prefer the financial field. I like to read and listen to lessons.”
Last week, I answered a similar question about English for marketing:
Business English for Marketing
Financial English is a useful skill. You will be able to discuss basic financial topics related to your company’s performance.
Also, you can learn about exciting innovations in the industry, such as Fintech and cryptocurrencies.
Reading and listening to interesting material is crucial. Knowing this will make learning English more enjoyable and effective.
I have 6 suggestions for you to learn English for finance:
Use a course or textbook as a guide.
When you start, I encourage you to use a textbook or an online course about English for finance. Then, get additional practice with the resources in the following steps.
I can recommend this textbook and the audio CD about English for finance as an additional resource:
Book: English for the Financial Sector
Audio CD: English for the Financial Sector
This free 6-week course is a good introduction to English for finance:
Business English course: Finance and Economics
Watch video lessons about English for finance.
Videos are mostly for listening. This is an entertaining way to learn new words and practice reading.
Video lesson: the stock market
Video lesson: talk about money
Bloomberg Markets and Finance Youtube channel by Bloomberg about finance
Listen to English podcasts about finance.
Podcasts are so practical. You will improve your listening skills after a while.
I know that the podcasts below might be difficult to understand. The vocabulary is sometimes advanced, but I encourage you to give it a try.
Download a few episodes and try to understand the general message of each episode. It’s okay if you only understand 1 or 2 words! Then, listen to the episodes again and see if you understood more the second time.
Here are some interesting podcasts you can listen to:
- Business Daily podcast Podcast about money and work that teaches you English for finance
- Wake up to Money podcast Audio news about business and finance
- Bloomberg Radio Podcast about business and economics news
- Financial Times podcasts A wide range of podcasts about the financial sector
- Business English Pod Podcast about finance and accounting for intermediate learners
Read finance articles in English.
- Wired Finance Wired Magazine’s finance section is all about innovation and technology in the financial sector. If you are looking for new ideas and want to learn about innovative solutions, this is what you should read.
- Business News Daily covers basic finance for small businesses and startups
Learn useful words and phrases in English for the financial field.
When you read and listen to English material about finance, write down new words and phrases. Choose the words you think will be useful in the future.
In addition, you can study the most important words and expressions about money, the economy, and banking.
- Mosalingua has a great method of teaching you useful phrases in English for finance. They have a great section on financial English phrases. You will easily remember the words if you use their method.
- Learn financial English vocabulary using flashcards on Quizlet:
English for finance flashcards
- Memrise is a free tool with a section of useful words on banking and money:
Business English vocabulary on Memrise
You can find more great English resources in the Business English toolbox.
Don’t forget to practice writing and speaking!
What are you currently doing to improve your English skills for the financial field?
Reading and listening are important to get used to the language, improve your understanding, and learn new words.
But don’t forget to use what you have learned. Practice writing and speaking regularly. How?
Try these activities:
- Practice the pronunciation of new words using this mobile app:
- Write a post for Twitter or LinkedIn, get feedback on your writing from a tutor or Grammarly, then post it!
- Write a summary of a podcast episode or article and get feedback from your tutor or on Write&Improve.
- After listening to a podcast episode or reading an article, record your comment about one idea you agreed with. Get feedback from fluent speakers on Rhinospike.
The resources and suggestions above are useful as input.
Call to Action
Do you know any other resources for reading, listening or vocabulary? Share them with us in the comments below!
Happy learning!
More useful tips and resources to improve your English skills:
How to improve your Business English writing
Free tools to improve your pronunciation
