In this episode, Anna speaks with Ian McMaster, a leading voice in business communication and a long-standing figure in the business English community, about how the field has evolved over the past decades. Drawing on his extensive experience in publishing, consulting, and professional networks, Ian reflects on how he entered the profession, key shifts in materials and methodology, and changing client expectations. They also discuss the role of ‘perfect English’ in today’s global workplace and consider what the future of international business communication could mean for teachers and learners.

All views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official position or views of ETAS.

About Ian
Ian McMaster is a business communication consultant, journalist, and author. He served as editor-in-chief of Business Spotlight magazine from 2001 to 2021 and previously coordinated IATEFL BESIG. His most recent publication, co-authored with Bob Dignen, is Trainingsbuch Business English – Kommunikation und Zusammenarbeit in internationalen Teams (Haufe). Ian is a longtime member of ETAS and a regular presenter at international conferences. Ian’s LinkedIn.

Find out more about ETAS: ⁠https://www.e-tas.ch/⁠

Send us your comments and suggestions: ⁠podcasts@e-tas.ch⁠

Podcast team:

Host: Anna Boyko

Editor: Maria Terec

In this episode of the ETAS Podcast, Anna welcomes educator and EdTech observer Ben Hoyt to explore what AI really means for the language classroom. Drawing on decades of teaching experience and a long history with digital technologies, Ben reflects on the rapid rise of generative AI and shares personal observations from both teaching and studying, raising important questions about learning, creativity and accountability. This episode invites listeners to consider AI's true place in English language teaching.

All views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official position or views of ETAS.

Content warning:
This episode includes discussion of distressing experiences related to mental health, including self-harm. You may wish to skip the section from min. 38 to min. 40:30 and from min. 43 to min. 43:30.

About Ben

Ben has worn many hats in ETAS since he joined around 15 years ago. In addition to being the ETAS president, he also served as the Web Chair and a member of the web team for many years, which included the years of “Surprise! All events have to be online now” during the pandemic. He’s been teaching English for almost 20 years but that came after his first career as a digital artist and computer animator in San Francisco. He was on the internet before Google existed and has followed tech trends enthusiastically ever since. He did online teaching back in 2010 and has been integrating digital tools into his real-life classrooms since before then.

Find out more about ETAS: https://www.e-tas.ch/

Send us your comments and suggestions: podcasts@e-tas.ch

Podcast team:
Host: Anna Boyko
Editor: Maria Terec