The 12th Annual International BESIG Conference was held in Brighton on the 12th-14th of November 1999.

Over 100 delegates from 20 countries participated in the conference. There were 3 plenary sessions and 40 academic sessions, panel discussions, workshops, poster presentations. They covered a wide range of topics related to business language.

The Opening Plenary was given by Joseph O'Connor. He gave an overview of changes in Business English and looked at how demand for Business English mirrors changes in the international financial market.

Dilys Bone spoke about the culture of the EFL classroom and discussed some of the assumptions that language teachers make, but which are not always shared by their students.

Nina O’Driscall explored the problem of using the internet to supplement published Business English materials. The internet provides a wealth of up-to-date company and business information that can be used to support and enrich existing teaching material. Nina O’Driscall provided a forum for evaluating ways in which internet resources can be located, selected and used to enhance the effectiveness of Business English courses. It provided examples of different types of support and suggested ways in which these resources can be used to develop supplementary learning material to support the themes and topics in course books. In particular it will draw on examples from on-line newspapers and company web sites.

Tonya Trappe in her presentation “It’s not what you say, it’s what you know...” underlined the fact, that while some students may be familiar with business in a particular national cultural context, many have no experience of work in today’s global marketplace. Tonya Trappe examined some of the ways in which a content-led approach can both increase students’ awareness of the business world and help them acquire the language skills expected of professional business people.

Jeremy Comfort in his talk “The impact of culture on business” shared his experience over the last twenty years looking at key aspects some key factors and finally what we mean by a good cultural fit. There were many interesting and valuable talks. Dilys Bone, BESIG Coordinator, The English Language Centre did his/her best for the Conference to be a success, for us to enjoy our stay in Brighton.

We, participants of the conference, took an opportunity of visiting many of Brighton’s historical places whilst we were there.

Brighton is a stimulating and bracing place to visit. There are many attractions in the town and we were provided with the “Brighton Guide” to help us make the most of the visit to Brighton.

The magical world of Brighton’s Royal Pavilion was built for King George IV with its magnificent and fantastic furnishings. It is a world of fantasy filled with mythical creatures, astonishing colours and superb craftsmanship, including many original furnishings and decorations on loan from Her Majesty the Queen.