English for work: tips from your own experience
English is in demand not only in outsourcing, but also in many grocery companies. Writing language courses in your already busy schedule is not an easy task, but a real one. In the article we will talk about the proven training program, reveal the features of different formats of classes and list useful online resources.
Occupation Formats
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An integrated approach is always more effective. But, if you don’t have time to study English thoroughly, or you need to quickly pump a specific skill, choose a class format suitable for your goals.
Our company employs 550 people, 180 of whom regularly attend English classes. Each employee has his own tasks: someone interacts with offices in Tel Aviv and London, someone directly cooperates with Unity, Facebook, Google or other partners of the company.
After conducting a detailed analysis of modern teaching methods, we have compiled a flexible program that includes the following formats:
1. Regular group lessons: based on a general course and increase knowledge in general.
2. Individual lessons: as closely as possible correspond to personal goals. They can be carried out for one or several colleagues, if their tasks and levels coincide.
3. Language clubs: focused on developing specific skills. We have video, conversational and grammar clubs.
Regular group lessons
Classes are held on the course Speakout. It complies with the international standard CEFR and includes all aspects of language learning: reading, writing, speaking and listening. It is important that gradation by levels (Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced) also corresponds to CEFR. Studying each of the levels takes from 9 to 12 months with 2–3 classes per week.
You can study Speakout individually with a teacher, but not on your own. The course uses a communicative approach to learning, so for most of the tasks you need a partner.
Each course is divided into modules that are built identically. First, new vocabulary and grammar are introduced and studied. Then one of the elements of the functional style is studied (for example, making conversation, expressing likes / dislikes, giving opinions). And the module ends with video viewing and a number of tasks to it.
It is important that all grammar and vocabulary are taught in context, for example, the structure be going to is studied in the framework of the topic of travel, and used to study in the topic of change in life. At the Intermediate + levels, one of the three classes is necessarily conducted by a native speaker.
For homework and testing, we use the site myenglishlab.com. For all students, a personal account is created, the structure of tasks in which corresponds to the course textbook. After passing through each topic, the teacher opens access to the relevant exercises and tests, determining the timing of their implementation. In addition, you can work with a separate base of video materials and perform tasks for them.
On the Gradebook tab, you can see personal progress: the percentage of correctly completed assignments by module, the time spent on each topic, the assessment of individual skills (grammar, listening, reading, and so on).
The site is adaptive, technical support responds quickly enough, besides Speakout, it works with dozens of different courses.
Clubs
Clubs are a fundamentally different training format. There are no regular groups and the need to attend classes regularly. The topics of the lessons are not related to each other - if you miss one lesson, it will not affect the learning of the next one.
The required level of training for each lesson is announced in advance: the training is more effective if those present are fluent in English equally.
In the grammar club, surprisingly, learn the nuances of grammar. At the beginning of the lesson, the rules are explained, and the remaining time is spent on solving and checking tasks (in the format you write - you sound - you get a feedback). Example topics for such classes:
• Present Perfect vs. Past Simple (Pre-Intermediate +);
• Modal verbs. Expression of Obligation (Intermediate +);
• Prepositions (Pre-Intermediate +).
Conversation club is exclusively a native speaker. This is the most effective way to improve the pronunciation and recognition of English speech.
Classes are held in the format of a friendly conversation. The task of the teacher is to talk the participants, so the club has no restrictions on the use of grammatical structures or tenses. For example, under the theme of Build a school in the cloud, the discussion was centered around the relevance of traditional schools in the future, alternative teaching methods and their effectiveness.
In the video club, they watch and actively discuss serials (Silicon Valley, Once Upon a Time, Friends and others) or TED videos. This format helps to expand vocabulary and develop speech.
Sometimes instead of one of the clubs we have Game Nights: we play board games in English. This expands vocabulary and develops speaking skills.
Individual sessions
The best way to achieve results in a short time is individual lessons. Often we organize them for employees before going to a conference, on a business trip, or when new responsibilities emerge that require a higher level of English.
For example, we recently conducted an intensive three-month course for employees who will have to work directly with the new office in London. Following the test, 4 groups were formed - from Pre-Intermediate to Upper Intermediate.
Classes were held twice a week, for 1.5 hours each. Since written communication is planned between departments, the focus was on developing writing and improving grammar skills. Employees who will be verbally communicated attended a conversational club.
Among other things, the weekly students sent the teacher six letters. Three letters about what they do at work during the week: what tasks they were assigned to, what they used to accomplish them, what stage the task was and so on. And three letters with reviews: each student read articles relevant to him on professional resources and wrote reviews on them. The teacher answered each letter with a detailed analysis and recommendations. This exercise in parallel develops both writing skills, grammar and vocabulary.
Testing
The CEFR assessment system establishes uniform standards for determining language competence in Europe. They clearly spell out what you need to know at every level of study. Therefore, when you say: “My level is Upper Intermediate according to CEFR”, competent people understand what you are, the rest can see the decoding.
For those who do not have time to study the original document, we offer infographics with requirements for listening, reading, speaking and writing for each level and the official translation of the CEFR grades by level.
There are a number of internationally recognized tests that are a guideline for everyone. But, if you want to know your level for free and agree to a small inaccuracy, we offer you a couple of informal, but quite competent tests in the public domain:
1) English Language Placement Test - a test with multiple choice, unlimited in time. Shows the approximate level of English according to the CEFR.
2) EFSET Express Test - the test consists of two parts: listening and reading. Each task is given 7.5 minutes each, after which the test is automatically completed.
3) Cambridge English Test - a small test with multiple choice, unlimited in time. Website usability suffers a bit, so the result will have to search. After passing you will be told the number of correct answers, which you must relate to the table below. Then click on the link opposite the desired range, and on the page that opens, you will find your level (in the green Key facts block).
useful links
Finally, we collected several useful free resources and grouped them according to the skills they develop:
Audio Podcasts
https://www.eslpod.com/website/index.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04bwydw/episodes/guide
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-150319
Video
https://www.newsinlevels.com
https://www.englishcentral.com/videos
http://ororo.tv/en
http://film-english.com
https://www.ted.com/talks
http://www.meettheboss.tv/video/towards-advertising-technology-integration
https://vimeo.com
Reading
http://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com
http://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.english-at-home.com
http://www.newsinlevels.com
http://todayilearned.co.uk
Grammar
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes (grammar, reading, vocabulary)
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/ (grammar)
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-and-vocabulary (grammar, vocab)
http://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate (grammar)
http://www.english-4u.de/grammar_exercises.htm (grammar, vocabulary, reading)
http://www.e-grammar.org/english-grammar-tenses/ (grammar)
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watch (listening, watching)
http://esol.britishcouncil.org/ (grammar, vocab)
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ (watching)
Other
https://quizlet.com/
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/
Occupation Formats
')
An integrated approach is always more effective. But, if you don’t have time to study English thoroughly, or you need to quickly pump a specific skill, choose a class format suitable for your goals.
Our company employs 550 people, 180 of whom regularly attend English classes. Each employee has his own tasks: someone interacts with offices in Tel Aviv and London, someone directly cooperates with Unity, Facebook, Google or other partners of the company.
After conducting a detailed analysis of modern teaching methods, we have compiled a flexible program that includes the following formats:
1. Regular group lessons: based on a general course and increase knowledge in general.
2. Individual lessons: as closely as possible correspond to personal goals. They can be carried out for one or several colleagues, if their tasks and levels coincide.
3. Language clubs: focused on developing specific skills. We have video, conversational and grammar clubs.
Regular group lessons
Classes are held on the course Speakout. It complies with the international standard CEFR and includes all aspects of language learning: reading, writing, speaking and listening. It is important that gradation by levels (Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced) also corresponds to CEFR. Studying each of the levels takes from 9 to 12 months with 2–3 classes per week.
You can study Speakout individually with a teacher, but not on your own. The course uses a communicative approach to learning, so for most of the tasks you need a partner.
Each course is divided into modules that are built identically. First, new vocabulary and grammar are introduced and studied. Then one of the elements of the functional style is studied (for example, making conversation, expressing likes / dislikes, giving opinions). And the module ends with video viewing and a number of tasks to it.
It is important that all grammar and vocabulary are taught in context, for example, the structure be going to is studied in the framework of the topic of travel, and used to study in the topic of change in life. At the Intermediate + levels, one of the three classes is necessarily conducted by a native speaker.
For homework and testing, we use the site myenglishlab.com. For all students, a personal account is created, the structure of tasks in which corresponds to the course textbook. After passing through each topic, the teacher opens access to the relevant exercises and tests, determining the timing of their implementation. In addition, you can work with a separate base of video materials and perform tasks for them.
On the Gradebook tab, you can see personal progress: the percentage of correctly completed assignments by module, the time spent on each topic, the assessment of individual skills (grammar, listening, reading, and so on).
The site is adaptive, technical support responds quickly enough, besides Speakout, it works with dozens of different courses.
Clubs
Clubs are a fundamentally different training format. There are no regular groups and the need to attend classes regularly. The topics of the lessons are not related to each other - if you miss one lesson, it will not affect the learning of the next one.
The required level of training for each lesson is announced in advance: the training is more effective if those present are fluent in English equally.
In the grammar club, surprisingly, learn the nuances of grammar. At the beginning of the lesson, the rules are explained, and the remaining time is spent on solving and checking tasks (in the format you write - you sound - you get a feedback). Example topics for such classes:
• Present Perfect vs. Past Simple (Pre-Intermediate +);
• Modal verbs. Expression of Obligation (Intermediate +);
• Prepositions (Pre-Intermediate +).
Conversation club is exclusively a native speaker. This is the most effective way to improve the pronunciation and recognition of English speech.
Classes are held in the format of a friendly conversation. The task of the teacher is to talk the participants, so the club has no restrictions on the use of grammatical structures or tenses. For example, under the theme of Build a school in the cloud, the discussion was centered around the relevance of traditional schools in the future, alternative teaching methods and their effectiveness.
In the video club, they watch and actively discuss serials (Silicon Valley, Once Upon a Time, Friends and others) or TED videos. This format helps to expand vocabulary and develop speech.
Sometimes instead of one of the clubs we have Game Nights: we play board games in English. This expands vocabulary and develops speaking skills.
Individual sessions
The best way to achieve results in a short time is individual lessons. Often we organize them for employees before going to a conference, on a business trip, or when new responsibilities emerge that require a higher level of English.
For example, we recently conducted an intensive three-month course for employees who will have to work directly with the new office in London. Following the test, 4 groups were formed - from Pre-Intermediate to Upper Intermediate.
Classes were held twice a week, for 1.5 hours each. Since written communication is planned between departments, the focus was on developing writing and improving grammar skills. Employees who will be verbally communicated attended a conversational club.
Among other things, the weekly students sent the teacher six letters. Three letters about what they do at work during the week: what tasks they were assigned to, what they used to accomplish them, what stage the task was and so on. And three letters with reviews: each student read articles relevant to him on professional resources and wrote reviews on them. The teacher answered each letter with a detailed analysis and recommendations. This exercise in parallel develops both writing skills, grammar and vocabulary.
Testing
The CEFR assessment system establishes uniform standards for determining language competence in Europe. They clearly spell out what you need to know at every level of study. Therefore, when you say: “My level is Upper Intermediate according to CEFR”, competent people understand what you are, the rest can see the decoding.
For those who do not have time to study the original document, we offer infographics with requirements for listening, reading, speaking and writing for each level and the official translation of the CEFR grades by level.
There are a number of internationally recognized tests that are a guideline for everyone. But, if you want to know your level for free and agree to a small inaccuracy, we offer you a couple of informal, but quite competent tests in the public domain:
1) English Language Placement Test - a test with multiple choice, unlimited in time. Shows the approximate level of English according to the CEFR.
2) EFSET Express Test - the test consists of two parts: listening and reading. Each task is given 7.5 minutes each, after which the test is automatically completed.
3) Cambridge English Test - a small test with multiple choice, unlimited in time. Website usability suffers a bit, so the result will have to search. After passing you will be told the number of correct answers, which you must relate to the table below. Then click on the link opposite the desired range, and on the page that opens, you will find your level (in the green Key facts block).
useful links
Finally, we collected several useful free resources and grouped them according to the skills they develop:
Audio Podcasts
https://www.eslpod.com/website/index.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04bwydw/episodes/guide
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-150319
Video
https://www.newsinlevels.com
https://www.englishcentral.com/videos
http://ororo.tv/en
http://film-english.com
https://www.ted.com/talks
http://www.meettheboss.tv/video/towards-advertising-technology-integration
https://vimeo.com
Reading
http://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com
http://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.english-at-home.com
http://www.newsinlevels.com
http://todayilearned.co.uk
Grammar
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes (grammar, reading, vocabulary)
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/ (grammar)
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-and-vocabulary (grammar, vocab)
http://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate (grammar)
http://www.english-4u.de/grammar_exercises.htm (grammar, vocabulary, reading)
http://www.e-grammar.org/english-grammar-tenses/ (grammar)
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watch (listening, watching)
http://esol.britishcouncil.org/ (grammar, vocab)
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ (watching)
Other
https://quizlet.com/
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/391533/
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