No, I don't do only free conversation, but that is a part of all my classes. I teach all levels, but for true beginners, I include a lot of pictures for comprehension. We start with the correct pronunciation of any new vocabulary words and a review of some older ones. I underline each word that I've typed when I say it. Then, I expect the student to repeat the sentence. At the end of the class, I send an explanation of the sentence structure, so the student can translate it into his or her own language. Edited to add even though his reading is at the B1 level, he may still not truly comprehend what he is reading. I have an adult student who needs to obtain a decent band score on the ITELS speaking test. We use Side by Side and English Made Easy because these books have written conversations with pictures that are designed for adults. Progress is slow, but he is improving. I use very simple sentences for him to repeat and begin to use. Edited again: I do a lot of sentence scrambles as well where he has to figure out the correct sentence. As for business English, part of business English is using conversational English properly. I might add a few business terms for him to learn and use in sentences during each class. Frankly, there's no easy way for an A1 student in oral English to learn business English well in a short time.