Joyce Robertson tries to help her students think outside the box.

"Which box?" or "Where is the box?" they reply.

LEITA COWART/Special (ENLARGE)

Maryann Wysor, Business communications instructor, Georgia State University

For non-native English speakers, idiomatic expressions like "thinking outside the box" can be a challenge.

Robertson is academic provost of the Atlanta English Institute, one of many private and public institutions in metro Atlanta that teach business professionals and college business students the basics and nuances of the language in a business setting.

At Georgia State University, Maryann Wysor teaches business communication in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business' Department of Marketing.

Most of the people she teaches are international graduate students. While undergraduates often need remedial courses to enable them to read, speak and write basic English, most of Wysor's graduate students are already fluent in the language.

The areas in which they need improvement are pronunciation; the specialized vocabulary of actuaries, accountants or marketing professionals; and business communication, from e-mailed memos to formal presentations.

They also get exposure to American ways of doing business, such as the initial handshake and a successful negotiating session.

Many of Wysor's students are from China, Korea or Japan, but she also has had students from the Ivory Coast, Lebanon and Russia.

"I have my students keep a journal and listen to news broadcasts," Wysor said. "They write down what they hear or read — and don't understand — and its context."

Some of the phrases that they question include "tax bite," "blood drive," "take a back seat to . . ." and "Sunday driver."

In class, "I try to explain the usage. It helps improve their fluency and expand their business vocabulary."

Wysor recalled a student who was having trouble being understood in a store when trying to buy a light bulb. His difficulty in pronouncing "bulb," as well as not using the word "light" in front of it, left him and the store clerk frustrated and confused.

International students also may trip over when to refer to a company's name without elaboration in a business presentation. For example, American listeners would know immediately the types of merchandise, store size and typical customer of a store such as Wal-Mart or Target. Or they would know the demographics of a brand name such as Starbucks or Levi's.

It's also important to be immersed in English, Wysor said. Many students live with family members and may not speak English at home.

"When they're not immersed in English, they're not practicing their skills," she said.

That's why she encourages her students to read publications in English; to speak English; and to listen to their children, who are learning English by immersion in their schools.

She also teaches the nuances of social situations, such as how to congratulate a co-worker on his or her wedding or new baby and how to behave at a formal dinner.

When in doubt, Wysor said, the best advice is to follow other people's examples.

Unlike college classes, the Atlanta English Institute deals with corporate clients from all over the world.

The courses are designed specifically for each client, most of whom already have learned the basics of English. Instruction is one-on-one or in small classes designed for a single company.

"They need to be able to communicate using our intonation, pronounce words correctly and understand native speakers — idioms, especially," she said.

Her courses usually are an intense two weeks of training, but some specialized training — for an attorney, for example — can last several months. Many of her clients come from Latin America.

Inlingua uses a similar approach, said Rosine Sauvage, CEO of the Atlanta/Charlotte/Greenville offices of the Switzerland-based language-training company.

Inlingua's training "is for people already proficient in English," Sauvage said. "They need to polish their skills in business English."

Much of the training involves accent reduction and proper intonation when speaking in English, she said. It also helps with correspondence, telephone usage, and negotiation and meeting skills.

Most of the training is one-on-one for mid- and upper-level managers at medium to large corporations and for individuals from small businesses. Most are from Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Participants take the courses, Sauvage said, "to do business with American companies, to function better in their U.S. work environment, to progress within their company [and] to get ready for a new assignment." Instruction programs for Americans are designed to prepare them for positions overseas.

The training can last from one week to three months and also covers corporate and country culture.

For example, Sauvage said, in a business presentation, Americans will tell prospective customers how great their company is. But Europeans and Asians will go into lengthy detail about their company's history and experience and "let the people in the room conclude you are the best."

Shaking hands can be another cultural difference, she said. In America, a firm handshake is a sign of sincerity, but for Asians, it is considered rude.

"In some countries, group performance is far more important than individual performance," Sauvage said. "Sometimes, following rules and discipline is valued far more than creativity and initiative. Highlighting a person's performance for great individual effort may embarrass the individual and make the group react negatively."

The company also trains U.S. executives how to do business abroad.

Language is a key part of that training, Sauvage said. For example, there are many more Chinese who know how to speak basic English than there are Americans who know Chinese. That's also true around the world, she said, where English has become the dominant language of business.

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