Tuesday sees the launch of a new course book designed for learners of business English. Double Dealing - Pre Intermediate Business English Course, focuses on the trials and tribulations of a fictitious hotel in Valletta, and follows the staff as they deal with a threat from head office to close the hotel down.
One of the co-authors, Maltese-born Evan Frendo, will be presenting the book at a launch party hosted by MATEFL (Malta Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language), and the Institute of English Language Studies in Sliema; visitors will also receive a complementary copy of the book, and have a chance to meet the author and representatives from Summertown Publishing while enjoying drinks and canapés.
The son of Hector and Avril Frendo, his grandfather, Major George Hogan, was Editor in Chief of the Sunday Times of Malta from 1945 to 1953 and his mother worked on the editorial staff of the Sunday Times of Malta from 1948 to 1853.
Frendo has been involved in business English training and consulting for over ten years, mainly working with German companies. He started his career in the British Army, retiring with the rank of Captain after ten years. He then set up his training company in Germany, where he had 30 employees.
He has written various books, the most recent of which are English for Accounting, published by Cornelsen, How to Teach Business English, recently published by Longman, and the Double Dealing course book series published by Summertown. He is also actively involved in IATEFL, an international teachers' organisation which aims to link, develop and support English language teaching professionals throughout the world.
He currently holds two positions: as secretary he is involved in the policy decisions that affect how the organisation is run; as Business English Special Interest Group co-ordinator he helps to manage the largest networking group of business English teachers in the world.
Frendo is currently based in Singapore, where he is doing a part time Doctorate in Ed; his research is looking at the nature of small talk within the context of intercultural business communication, and how this can best be taught to business English learners.
He also teaches business English at the German European School in Singapore, and is a regular conference goer. This year he will be speaking at international conferences in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Monaco.