Teaching German to businesspeople: tips?

Question

For a once-weekly class taught to international learners of German, what recommendations can you give me.

Three to four students (but sometimes only two or one). 60 minutes per class. Diverse international clientele (people from North America, Asia, Latin America) but all from the same company. On site at client's office. White board, beamer available. Beginners (some with minimal prior learning). Frequency cannot be increased beyond 1x weekly.

Instructor can assign homework but there is no guarantee that students will get around to it (all work 70-80-hour workweeks).

Books / audiotapes / computer-based learning / exercises. Tell me what works!

Answer 1

If the instructor can assign homework, and the students have commute hours available, I'd recommend the Pimsleur recordings. (Swear to god, I have no stake in Pimsleur, but I do have personal experience with Pimsleur German, and I am really impressed with the results. I'm now on German IV, and can converse with you about the publishing business -- in German!)

Here is why I recommend Pimsleur in answer to your question:

• the lessons are designed to be learned entirely by hearing/speaking, so your students can do them while they commute
• the lessons are business-oriented (lots of vocabulary about meetings, projects, international travel, etc.)

I've been doing the Pimsleur lessons (about 1 a day) for about 8 months. The one thing I really wish I had was a weekly meeting with a live German speaker to ask questions and try out my vocabulary, accent, etc. It sounds like the format you're suggesting, a once-a-week meeting, would be the perfect complement to the recorded lessons.