Professional Skills

Overview

ELA adopts a unique and innovative approach to its English language courses for professionals. We offer English programmes that engage students in real language for the real world. Our students will experience a classroom environment which prepares them for the type of day-to-day activities they will face in their own workplaces.

In the international workplace there are a number of activities common to many different business and professional fields. Our programmes challenge our students to produce authentic language for authentic purposes in authentic contexts.

Language focus

Learning the grammar rules for the Present Perfect tense or the Second Conditional is not going to help you in the middle of a business negotiation or in responding to an urgent request from a client! Of course grammar is important but it is much more important to develop the language skills you need to communicate clearly, confidently and professionally to get the results you want. This is exactly what ELA’s Professional Skills courses will help you to achieve.

 Each course covers a wide range of topics and will focus on developing the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. There will be a particular focus on vocabulary development as well as reviewing relevant grammatical structures. Features of pronunciation relevant to specific communication tasks will be integrated throughout the course.

Real work-based tasks

At ELA we see the classroom as a dynamic environment. We want our students to enjoy their time in class but also to benefit fully from the time and effort they invest. The Project Work component of the course gives students the opportunity to integrate the different aspects of the programme and to collaborate with colleagues on authentic tasks. This could, for example, involve researching a particular topic online in order to produce a report or presentation to be delivered to the group. Our experienced trainers also use engaging simulation activities to provide students with further opportunities to practise their English in real-life contexts. Typical simulation activities might involve practical problem solving skills in teams.

 All students will have access to the ELA Resource Centre and ICT Suite in order to work on project assignments and to benefit from the various English language learning resources available.

Who is it for?

If you currently need English for work or will soon be starting a new job which will involve communicating in English, ELA’s Professional Skills courses will give you the help you need to achieve your goals.

These courses are suitable for people involved in any field of work. However, if you require specialised language training for a specific industry or profession, we can provide a premium custom-designed programme to match your needs.

Premium Professional Skills English programmes can also be customised to the particular needs of a group or an entire company.

KEY FEATURES

• interesting and professionally relevant topics
• integrated skills-based syllabus
• vocabulary boosting activities and study strategies
• functional, practical language tasks
• pronunciation activities integrated into the lessons