This study was conducted on the effect of conventional (basic) and functional (reading) teaching methods on students' performance in shorthand in Federal College of Education, Kano, Nigeria. Five research questions were raised to guide the study. Five null hypotheses were formulated for the study and tested at the probability 0.05 level of significance. Quasi-experimental research design was used for the study. The population of the study was one hundred and two (102) business education students and the selection of the sample size was purposive and it comprised of eighty-six (86) respondents. The data collection exercise lasted for three (3) weeks. Descriptive Statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the research questions and Pearson Product Movement Correlation was used to test null hypotheses one and two and T-test was used to test the null hypotheses three, four and five respectively at 0.05 level of significant. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant difference between the performances of students taught shorthand using basic method and those taught functional method. The study also revealed that there was no significant difference between the performances of male and female students taught with basic method of teaching shorthand. The study further revealed that functional method of teaching shorthand is better than lecture method in Federal College of Education Kano Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher proffer three recommendations, amongst which is basic method of teaching shorthand should be adopted for teaching business education students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, that in the absence of basic method of teaching, functional method of teaching shorthand should be adopted etc.