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It’s a Shared Commitment – Talk English Café

Posted by Jayne Edmonds on March 29, 2012

commitmentWhat ensures a corporate ESL program is successful?  The answer is commitment.

Success depends on commitment from three sources:

  • A company’s commitment to employee development and to creating an inclusive, welcoming workplace.
  • Employees’ commitment to self-improvement and to applying new skills.
  • A training provider’s commitment to offering specific, relevant and interesting programming that addresses identified needs.

Shared commitment has come together in the new Talk English Café program, offered by TD Bank in partnership with Workplace Communication Advantage (WCA), an initiative of ACCES Employment Services and Gandy Associates.

TD recognizes that employees’ English language skills are important for ensuring full participation at work and in the community. The company has demonstrated its commitment by supporting a weekly, one-hour, on-site training program for employees who speak English as their second language. The lunch-time program is offered at locations across the GTA where employees can easily attend, and where they can relax and improve their conversational skills. Supporting Talk English Café aligns the principle of welcoming diversity with the practical step of offering English communication training.

It takes energy to remember new phrases, sounds and grammatical patterns, and it takes courage to try new communication strategies, particularly in a professional setting. By regularly attending training during their lunch hour, TD employees have shown commitment to developing their English communication skills. They apply their learning in everyday interactions and, with time, report easier communication and better relationships with colleagues, managers and customers.

TD selected Workplace Communication Advantage to design and deliver Talk English Café because it’s a training provider with a proven track record of providing successful English communication courses. The idea is for participants to learn a language strategy during a lunch-hour session and be able to use it during an afternoon meeting or telephone call. Sessions target everyday workplace communication techniques such as asking for clarification, giving advice or extending a conversation. Practice centres on topics colleagues enjoy discussing, such as travel, workplace dilemmas, giving good customer service, and favourite books and movies.  In addition to increasing their fluency, participants improve their pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary with the guidance of an experienced instructor and through engaging in such activities as debates, role-plays and informal conversations with fellow participants.

This shared commitment to Talk English Café equips employees with bolstered confidence in their ability to communicate, and a feeling that TD cares about their professional development. In return, TD is rewarded with employees with increased abilities to participate and contribute to its continued success.

The results are in …Talk English Café is worth the commitment.

Jayne Edmonds is Program Director at Gandy Associates

Posted in Gandy Perspective, HR's Questions | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Choosing a Business English Program

Posted by Jayne Edmonds on March 2, 2011

When thinking of joining a business English program or bringing one into your company, you might wonder how you can be sure it’s a good program. What selection criteria should you use? These are important considerations when your company wants to fully benefit from its multicultural, internationally trained workforce. To address the distinct features of workplace language training and to make the right choice, I recommend you look for satisfactory answers to the following questions:

Are the teaching materials applicable in your workplace?

English-language training is an enormous industry that primarily prepares students, tourists or business people for study or travel abroad.  Textbooks usually cover such topics as writing an essay; ordering food or giving a sales presentation. However, these programs are of limited use to those working in an English-speaking environment. An optimal business English program teaches the vocabulary heard in workplace conversations.  Therefore, when selecting an oral language program, check that the exercises cover such interactions as colleagues discussing a technical issue, or negotiating a work plan. For workplace writing, instead of essay preparation, look for a course that builds effective email and report writing skills.

Does the program address workplace-related communication strategies?

Workplace communication is complex. Even with fluent language skills, understanding ‘between the lines’ is challenging. Communication strategies such as finding common ground, active listening, and building rapport are valuable skills for navigating team and client dynamics. A good business English program teaches these subtle, yet powerful, communication skills.  Be sure the activities include relevant role-playing activities such as persuading a team member to accept a new idea or overcoming a misunderstanding.

Will the scheduling and location ensure attendance?

A unique feature of language learning is that skills are best internalized in small chunks over an extended period of time. A program that gives participants ample opportunity for review and practice over several months will ensure the most significant learning outcomes. On-site training is ideal to ensure maximum participation and attendance among busy employees

Teaching materials, communication topics and delivery logistics are but three variables that can determine the quality of a workplace English program.  Companies that have found the right Business English program will tell you it can make a significant difference in their employees’ engagement and productivity.

Tell us about your personal or company’s experience with a Business English program or ask us a question about ours by leaving a comment below.

Posted in HR's Questions | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Write Complete Action Items to Ensure Execution

Posted by Jayne Edmonds on July 13, 2010

One of my participants, who is a very good writer and is often given the responsibility of taking meeting notes in her team meetings, commented on how sometimes she has challenges with getting the people on her team to follow through with the action items created in their team meetings.

Ensure your action items are executed by including all of the necessary components.

Ensure your action items are executed by including all of the necessary components.

Together, we examined some samples of the team’s meeting minutes and we discovered that although the meeting minutes were clear and well-organized, the action items were incomplete.

In order to reduce the gap between vision and execution, action items need four specific components:

  1. Who should take the action
  2. What action needs to be done
  3. When the action needs to be done by, and
  4. How the audience will know the action has been accomplished

Who:  The Who component is usually straightforward, yet sometimes it is completely left out or is not specific enough, e.g., ‘All’ can sometimes translate into ‘nobody’.  Whenever possible, use names.

What:  When identifying What needs to be done, choose succinct verbs that clearly express the action.  The active verb form is ideal because it sounds decisive.  Compare these two sentences:

  • Yin will complete the work by 5:00 PM.
  • The work will be completed by 5:00 PM.

When: Whenever possible, specify dates.

How: Specifying ‘How you will know the action has been accomplished’ creates accountability and helps to shift the item from being a good idea to a completed task.

Accountability is key.  Sometimes, the accountability component is apparent, such as ‘William will present the TRT report at the May 5 meeting’.

Other times, an accountability component needs to be added.  For example, if a manager asks team members to update their voice mail messages, how will he/she know if the task has been completed? Rather than listening to each person’s message, a better option is to ask for an email confirmation.

So, the next time you are responsible for taking minutes, be sure to add all four components so that your action items are complete.

Posted in Communication Pointers | Tagged: , , | 8 Comments »

Asking Open-Ended Questions Opens Up Conversations

Posted by Jayne Edmonds on June 18, 2010

A participant once mentioned his conversations with colleagues seem to peter out after a few minutes…they fizzle.  He would like to continue chatting but can’t think of a way to keep the momentum going.

A simple communication strategy came to mind that can help to extend and enhance any conversation.  It’s called Asking Open-Ended Questions.  This strategy is best understood by comparing Open-Ended Questions with Closed-Ended ones.  The response to a Closed-Ended Question is usually a short answer.

Some examples of Closed-Ended Questions:

  • Did you finish the report?
  • What did you eat for lunch?
  • Where did you go in Italy ?
  • What’s the name of your book?

Compare these to Open-Ended Questions:

  • How’s the report coming along?
  • What did you think about Italian food?
  • What was the highlight of your trip?
  • What type of books do you like to read?

Sometimes Open-Ended Questions aren’t questions at all but are statements that encourage a reply such as ‘Tell me about …’ or ‘I’d like to hear more about …’.  As questions, they often begin with ‘Why’ or ‘How’ or ‘What do you think about …’

Closed-Ended Questions are suitable when you are looking for a factual piece of information.  But if you want to extend a conversation or demonstrate your interest in the person or topic, then influence the direction of a conversation by trying Open-Ended Questions.

You’re sure to find that your conversations will take off!

Posted in Communication Pointers | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

 
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