You think you need English language training: maybe you really need soft skills training...

When people come to us for professional English training, they nearly always ask for individual training, to correct mistakes and to understand which tense to use when. While we offer a great personalised programme to help you reach your English communication goals in the most efficient way possible, it’s a mistake to think of language learning as only grammar and vocabulary.

Language is our number one communication tool and good communication requires far more than just sentence structure and words.

Depending on your level, and the environment you work in, you should be looking at English training more holistically: it should cover everything from what lexique to fluency to soft skills training.

Let’s have a look at the different parts of what makes up efficient communication training. First of all, what level are you? If you’re not sure, have a look at this article which explains the CEFRL levels (A1 - C2).

When you’re a level A1 - B1, you have a lot to learn 🤯 (Don't know what these levels are? Read our blog post here to find out more.)

• Grammar & vocabulary: You need the basics of grammar, you need everyday vocabulary and specific vocabulary for your personal and professional life. Our individual coaching is perfect to help you practise the grammar and vocabulary you need orally.

• Fluency: You probably also need some help to speak more fluently and to be able to find the vocabulary you already know quickly and easily. Our individual coaching will help you with this, but you can also join the fluency club to practise speaking about lots of different topics.

• Comprehension: If you’re a B1 level, it’s possible that you’re doing conference calls at work, but you feel it’s difficult to understand people speaking fast, different accents or when you’re tired. You can work on comprehension by yourself, by watching TV and videos in English (with subtitles of course) or you can join one of our “confident conference calls” programmes for a fast comprehension boost.

When you’re at B2 - C1 level, working in English is getting much easier for you, but you still have some things to do. You also need to think about the environment you’re working in: do you need to have “perfect” English? Probably not. Working in an international environment does not require perfect English because you’ll be working with native and non-native speakers.

• Your mistakes: at this level, you might not be sure if you’re making mistakes, and if those mistakes are serious or not. I can assure you right now that 97% of your errors will not cause any communication problems. A lot of people at this level come to me for coaching, when what they really need is reassurance that they don’t look unprofessional. At this level you need a very focussed, personalised training to help you "unlearn" embedded mistakes and help you solve any linguistic issues that are holding you back.

• Writing: if you have to write texts in English such as reports, social media posts or anything that will be public, learning to write well in English is important. We’re not just talking about “correct” grammar, you need to know how to use the English-language style to make your writing easy and clear to read, as well as how to engage your reader and transmit your message. In my opinion, errors in writing are more important than errors in speaking, as they remain in sight. We offer a writing course that can help you write with more impact.

• Presenting: if you’re working in English at this level, you are probably required to present, or at the very least speak up or lead meetings. Presenting is not about delivering a grammatically correct message. You need to know how to define your message, how to make sure your audience remembers it and how to engage your audience so that they listen to you. Our presentation skills workshop is very popular, as is our online presentations course. Both will give you the skills you need to deliver your message with impact.

• Communication & intercultural skills: At this level, you are working in cross-cultural teams and need to be able to communicate clearly yet tactfully at all levels. Doing this in another language is not easy, and that is why we have developed courses to help you communicate within in an international team and to have successful brainstorming and conflict resolution meetings in English.

Think about your own needs in English: do you think you need regular English language training to correct your mistakes? Or do you in fact need to focus on your communication in one particular area and work on that?

If you’d like some help in deciding on what you need for you or for your team, we’d love to help. Set up an appointment here.