Language courses for companies are usually a long-term project, involving many people to organise and then implement. It is also known to be a project that requires a certain amount of money to be planned in the company’s budget. It is worth spending more time at the planning stage of the course so that it can be run efficiently and effectively later. So, what should I pay special attention to when organising a language course and why?
NEEDS ANALYSIS
Knowing and thoroughly analysing the real needs of the company and the employees who will be delegated to the training is perhaps the most important aspect of any language project. You should always start with this, as it will allow you to choose the best learning format and tailor the content included in the training programme, facilitate the selection of the appropriate trainers, and have a major impact on the choice of the right training materials.
An honest needs analysis in the form of specific questions (open or closed), which are closely tailored to the company’s specifics, industry or organisational structure, will give us the confidence that the proposed solution will be optimal and beneficial for this particular business partner. A well-conducted needs analysis is also the starting point for all major agreements, the basis for the negotiation of the terms of cooperation and the final contractual provisions, and is therefore worth the time and attention.
ORGANISATIONAL QUESTIONS
Another important element of the training project is, of course, the key organisational issues, which include, among others, the following:
- choice of language (English courses, German courses, Italian courses, etc.)
- in the form of workshops (live meetings or distance learning),
- total training time (total academic hours),
- duration of the lesson (60 or 90 minutes),
- frequency of meetings (once or twice a week)
- schedule of lectures (mornings or evenings, specific times),
- the distribution of participants according to their level of proficiency in the foreign language (beginner, advanced or proficient). The FOCUS language level setting can help here, allowing you to test all 5 language skills. More than 40 languages: English language level detection, German language level detection, Russian language level detection, etc.
- the size of the training groups (minimum and maximum number of persons),
- selection and specialisation of teachers (foreign language or mother tongue),
- learners preferences for the specific content or language skills they most want in or outside the work environment.
Organisational issues within the company, such as the availability, capacity and equipment of the teaching facilities, or the technological options available to students, will determine to a large extent how language teaching will be carried out, and must therefore be heard unequivocally at the initial stage of discussions with the client.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
It is very important to have a single, overarching strategic goal for language learning (e.g. to increase the communication skills of the company’s employees), or to define specific goals for different groups, different departments or different job roles. Without it, it is difficult to talk about an effective return on investment, which is of course the language training provided by employers to their employees.
Both the project organiser (the company), the trainees (the employees) and the facilitators (the trainers) need to be clear from the outset about what the assumptions are, what the learning process and the course as a whole will look like, and what specific requirements (professional or personal) they will need to meet in order to achieve specific and measurable results, as well as personal satisfaction with their progress.
METHODOLOGY, TOOLS AND TRAINING MATERIALS
Choosing the right teaching method (direct or communicative), matching the forms of work (individual, pair or group), selecting modern teaching tools and choosing the right teaching materials (course book with exercises, special materials or the necessary teaching aids) are the other important factors for the effectiveness of a language project. If the wrong methodological approach is used (e.g., grammar and translation) or the wrong lexical and grammatical content is chosen or the wrong language skills are developed (reading instead of speaking or writing instead of listening), participants not only do not see the point of learning something that is not relevant or even useless to their needs, but also do not identify with the assumptions and objectives of the course and do not make the progress they would expect, and sometimes even feel dissatisfied or disappointed, and so drop out of the language course quite quickly.
COMMUNICATION
Transparent and thorough communication with participants is essential for the organisation and delivery of language training. Adult students need a lot of relevant information, which should be given to them at the appropriate time (during the course or well in advance) so that they are aware of all the applicable rules and requirements for participation in the project, i.e. so that they have a specific objective, understand the rules of participation, know the timetable of meetings, are informed in time of any changes so that they can adapt to them, and have a shared sense of responsibility for the course in which they are participating. It is therefore important to keep in constant contact with students, keeping them fully informed of class dates, conditions of attendance, planned breaks, dates of tests, grading scales and criteria for assessing progress, cancellations or rescheduling of classes or substitutions. The lack of constant and essential communication between the organiser and the trainee leads to misinformation, creates chaos and has a negative impact not only on attendance and activity, but also on the engagement of all parties in the learning process.
MOTIVATION
Both extrinsic (i.e. coming from the employer and the teacher) and intrinsic (individual, coming from the employee) motivation are important and are crucial for success in a job such as learning a foreign language. It is the driving force behind performance, progress and results.
Determination and consistency lead to concrete results, which is very satisfying. Keeping participants motivated in the lectures and outside the classroom is therefore not only the basis but also a real challenge for both the organisers and the trainers who run the meetings. Various motivational and loyalty programmes, supplementary materials and engaging exercises, gamification or language challenges help to keep motivation at an appropriate level, which translates into a sense of satisfaction and high scores in the final tests.
SATISFACTION SURVEY
At the end of the language course, it is worth conducting a participant satisfaction survey to check how participants perceived the training, whether it was effective, whether it was in line with students expectations and the programme’s assumptions about the format, the content and the method of organisation.
The results obtained in the form of feedback will provide important data that will have a major impact on the design and content of future courses. It will enable employers to better tailor their training offerings to the real needs, expectations and interests of their employees. The training evaluation survey is therefore a very important tool to summarise the efforts of all those involved in its design and implementation.
In summary, employer-organised English language courses for companies, or any other foreign language courses for employees, are a real challenge for any company, and can be a complete success as long as a number of key elements are taken into account during the preparation phase and later on in the implementation phase, which will have a significant impact on their success.
From an in-depth needs analysis, to clarifying all the key issues underlying the training, to ensuring proper organisation and communication with participants, to using appropriate forms of motivation and supporting active student engagement in the learning process, to providing comprehensive feedback at the end of the project, the language course provider can be sure that it has made every effort to ensure that the German, English for Business or any other language course for businesses of its choice fulfils its function while delivering a measurable return on investment.
