Increase your exposure

Wise Words: exposure

Too much exposure to something is often seen as negative, especially in the world of finance:

• Our direct exposure to Greek government debt is too high.
  
• The bank should reduce its exposure to risky loans.

Too much exposure can be dangerous to your health:

• Exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer.
  
• He died of exposure on Mount Kenya.

In language learning, however, increased exposure is usually a positive thing. Here’s why:

• Exposure to authentic dialogues can help learners to improve their pronunciation.
  
• Through daily exposure to a foreign language, learners can increase their vocabulary.
  
• Regular exposure to a foreign language will improve fluency in the language.

The easiest way to increase your exposure to business English is to live and work in an English-speaking country. As this is not always possible — or desirable — learners have to find other ways to increase their exposure to a language, and in a way that is conducive to learning. We believe that Facebook can be an excellent way to increase your exposure to business English — in combination with Business Spotlight.

Last week, we set up a Facebook fan page for Business Spotlight. We plan to post short articles to our fan page — and hope they will encourage you to become part of our Business Spotlight online community.  We hope our fan page will become a platform for sharing ideas and for keeping up to date with business English and business trends.

Language-learning is not just about exposure — it’s also about participation, socializing and making a contribution. By becoming a fan of Business Spotlight on Facebook you can increase your exposure to business English and become an active participant: write on our wall, take part in our discussions and comment on our posts or share them with your friends.

You might be wondering what the difference is between “becoming a fan” and “friending” someone on Facebook. If you become a fan of our page, you protect your privacy. You will not share any of your personal details with us. We cannot see your personal information, but you will see our posts, tips and recommendations. You've nothing to lose.

Try it out. You won’t be disappointed.