Corporate Business English Language Training Programs
Since 1985, the English Language Institute (ELI) has provided high quality intensive and semi-intensive Business English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction for short-term visiting international business professionals, as well as U.S. based international employees of local area and multinational corporations. Program instruction is designed to meet the specific needs of both the clients and their corporate sponsors.
Companies that have used ELI’s services include: Chase Bank, Chrysler Corporation, Gore Associates, Hewlett Packard, Hercules Corporation, Konica, American Life Insurance Company, Himont Inc., Terumo Medical, Astra-Zeneca, and Du Pont de Nemours, Inc.
Instruction
Unique features of the programs are:
- private instruction tailored to the communication needs of the client;
- a flexible instructional program arranged to fit the client’s or sponsor’s schedule; and
- instruction offered either on-site* or at the ELI.
Instruction addresses both oral and written business communications.
Oral business communications instruction includes training in formal business presentations, informal negotiations, idiomatic use of English, oral intelligibility, and listening development within the business context.
Written business communications instruction includes training in business correspondence, business reports/proposals, and reading/vocabulary for specific business purposes.
Faculty
The ELI’s corporate business English faculty are specialists in business English language skill development and provide instruction using software, technical equipment, and an extensive library of Business English materials available at the institute.
Assessment
Upon arrival, clients are tested for language proficiency in all skill areas: reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, listening, and speaking. Diagnostic test results and needs analysis provided by the client and/or the corporate sponsor structure the design of an individualized program of instruction. Instruction addresses client(s) skill weaknesses and communication tasks required by the client’s work responsibilities.
Faculty conduct regular progress checks with clients and, as requested, keep corporate sponsors informed with progress reports. These progress checks allow for adjustments in the training–both in terms of intensity and skill focus. Summary reports are submitted to the client and his sponsor upon completion of the training program.
Instructional Schedule
Instruction takes place at the ELI. Clients are scheduled for either a twenty-hour or forty-hour program, and generally meet with instructors twice weekly, each session lasting for two hours. Experience has shown that a client will need at least forty hours of instruction to achieve significant, noticeable improvement in oral communication skills. At the conclusion of each cycle, clients are re-evaluated and either recommended for exiting or continuation. Rescheduling of tutoring sessions is strictly limited to ensure that a client makes progress within a reasonable time period.
*On-site Programs: The Institute will develop on-site courses for companies within a 30 mile radius of the University campus. Such courses usually have an enrollment of between three and six participants, thereby permitting as much personal and individualized attention from the instructor as possible. Additionally, larger classes of ten to fifteen can be created for content-area topics, such as:
- Written Communications in Business
- Culture and Etiquette in American Business
- Making Effective Oral Presentations, and
- Oral Intelligibility.
For more information contact:
Dr. Scott Stevens, ELI Director
Tel: (302) 831-2674
Email: sstevens@udel.edu
Additional business English courses and programs available for interested clients at the ELI include: