Case Study as an Active Method of Teaching Business English

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of using active methods of teaching on the example of case study. The notion of active methods of teaching, the description of case study, stages of preparing case studies are given in the paper. The article contains several case studies on business English. Case studies are stories. They present realistic, complex, and contextually rich situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict, or problem that one or more of the characters in the case must negotiate. The peculiarity of active methods of teaching is that it develops practical and critical thinking. This helps the students not only to memorize and render the material which was given by the teacher but involves them in the process of active thinking and practice. Case studies give students practice identifying the parameters of a problem, recognizing and articulating positions, evaluating courses of action, and arguing different points of view.