How to Teach English for Economics. Case Study: Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin Vocabulary

Abstract

When teaching English for economics, the connection between content, general vocabulary and specialized terminology is obvious. Therefore, finding interesting texts concerning the latest information in this field, meeting the challenging and changing needs and expectations of the learners, using eclectic teaching methods and techniques adapted to the students’ learning strategies can lead to successful English classes. This paper aims at showing ways of teaching the vocabulary related to cryptocurrency and bitcoin. It presents methods of teaching terminology through individual, pair and group work, highlighting several issues in which students may be interested, such as: definitions of cryptocurrency and bitcoin, frequent questions concerning these terms, discussions (e.g. Are they “bubbles”?, Security issues), words and collocations (“risky”, “unregulated”, “digital”, “private”, “decentralized control”, “exposure risk”, etc.), acronyms.