Business English

• To foreign and local business' who want to enhance the communication and English skills of their staff
• In a friendly and professional environment
• In a small, safe and beautiful town close to the premier tourist destinations in South Africa

• Friendly, competent and professional staff with both corporate and English teaching experience
• An opportunity to study in one of the most beautiful regions of South Africa that offers great tourism opportunities
• A safe environment
• An all inclusive tuition cost

• Intensive courses of 140 hours, 7 hours a day over four weeks, including two dinners a week. One is a 'working' dinner where a guest speaker will speak for an hour. The other will be an evening of entertainment and relaxation. There will also be four weekend excursions in and around the area included in the price.
• Individual courses tailored to the inherent standard of the client, ranging from 10 hours in length to individual student requirements. These courses are one-on-one and aim to maximise the learning experience for the participant.

• Needs analysis. We assess the needs of the company, the job and the individuals and define the language level required by the job. In-company training departments must make decisions about the type of training required: individual vs. group, in-house vs. language centre. In these interviews we investigate the learning style of the learner, the job description and we define the learning purpose. We investigate the interaction they have through the business medium, the topic of communication, and the mode of interaction (formal vs. informal, spoken vs. written). This helps us to determine the specific course content.
• Assessment of level. We test all learners by means of a formal Business English test and interview. The results of this test assist us in placing learners into groups with similar abilities and needs.
• Syllabus. Set courses will have fixed objectives and syllabi. Special courses require a special syllabus. The one-on-one courses develop syllabus and content on an ongoing basis.
• Course Objectives. Defined precisely in relation to the needs analysis findings. May be worded in terms of the tasks/skills required in the job (job experienced learners) or course of study (pre-job experienced learners) or in terms of required language improvement (e.g. command of structures or pronunciation)
• Learners Expectations. Learners are likely to be more goal-orientated and to expect success. Business people normally have high expectations of efficiency, quality and professionalism.
• Materials. Print, audio and video materials are used. We also develop materials for specific courses when necessary.
• Methodology. Many learning tasks and activities will be the same as on a general English course, especially for teaching structures, vocabulary and social English. Role-plays are common to both although the situations and language will differ. TIES also borrow ideas from management training - e.g. problem solving, decision making and team building tasks. Job experienced learners will be given many opportunities to present and discuss aspects of their work.

• Evaluation of Progress. We use an off-the-shelf business English test. For informal assessment, the emphasis is usually on evaluating the success of communication - i.e. did the speaker/writer express the idea precisely enough and appropriately enough for the target situation?
• Describing Levels of Performance. Definitions of performance objectives and methods of assessment vary. We predominantly use the UPM scale which has been specifically designed for use with business and professional people and which can be readily used by both language training professionals and company training managers with little knowledge of language learning. Some examples are shown below:
• UPM Language Ability Scale, Level 2: Extremely limited communication. Some everyday vocabulary and phrases are known, e.g. normal greetings, perhaps also some words connected with own subject sphere. A person at this level can "survive" in the language (e.g. travel without getting lost, give basic details about himself) but cannot function in it at work.
• UPM Language Ability Scale, Level 6: Good Communication ability. Has full command of the grammatical structures of the language; begins to use nuances of meaning successfully; has a rather extensive general vocabulary. At this level a person is able to take part in discussions and negotiations in the role, for instance, of seller.

• Size (of monologues)
• Speed
• Fluency
• Comprehensibility
• Independence
• Mother tongue interference
• Range of vocabulary
• Appropriacy of language use
• Accuracy