Teaching workplace language, soft skills and culture: frameworks for trainer success

1. 1 Teaching workplace language, soft skills and culture: frameworks for trainer success The importance of knowing what we are doing and why we are doing it Dr. Jane Lockwood Head of the Centre for Language in Education, HKIED Director of Education FuturePerfect Business English Specialists-Manila

2. 2 Today we�re going to discuss� the role of the workplace communications trainer the knowledge, skills and awareness we need as workplace communications trainers the development of such trainers the impact we seek to make in the workplace

3. 3 The role of the workplace language trainer The ELT workplace trainer as curriculum designer has the added responsibility of becoming familiar with the contextual terrain of the workplace and extrapolating what is relevant to the design, implementation and evaluation of ELT workplace programmes that are commissioned�while teachers are prepared to accept responsibility for curriculum development, and to see themselves as prime agents in the curriculum process, they can face great difficulty if the added burden of their redefined role is not recognised nor trained for� Nunan(1988) Syllabus Design Cambridge University Press

4. 4 The BPO workplace Let�s consider the business processing outsourcing (BPO) workplace as an example of this statement Teams of communications trainers are being formed to assist in pre- and on-the-job language training for call centre agents

5. 5 Training end-to-end: the demands on the call center trainer in the workplace

6. 6 Do these questions sound familiar? Are they ready for the floor? Should we do the language training first? Is it better to integrate communications and product training? How? How much language training do they need? How do we know it works? Should we do language training, culture training and soft skills training at the same time? But aren�t they different? Can we get pronunciation results in 2 weeks? How can we improve C-Sat scores? Why are they getting good C-Sats but we�re still getting complaints from the customer? If they passed the training requirements, why are they having problems on the phone? Why do agents sound vague? Respond with silence? Sound abrupt? Why are they losing control of the call?

7. 7 Does it all make you feel like this? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

8. 8 What do workplace trainers needs to know? The work of a language and culture trainer in the workplace draws on the disciplines of: Linguistics and applied linguistics Communications theories: where do soft skills fit? Intercultural studies Education (especially adult learning in professional contexts) Use of technology in language learning Business Requirements Analysis Assessment and program evaluation

9. 9 Linguistics and Applied Linguistic theory Frameworks for understanding language and how it works at work� Sociolinguistic vs Structural approaches Does �knowing grammar� mean you can use it? Text and context paramount as a starting point (Halliday 1985) Authentic materials Why is it important to analyze texts from authentic interaction before designing the syllabus and materials?

10. 10 Communications theories and soft skills training Why are CSRs encouraged to �smile at the customer� when they are talking on the phone? What are paralinguistic features and how do they affect the interaction/transaction? How is communication achieved successfully when you can�t even see the customer?

11. 11 Intercultural Studies What is culture? Is it different from language? How is it embedded in language? Can culture be taught? What frameworks exist in this discipline that can help the trainer design, train for and evaluate intercultural sensitivity in the call center context? (Earley and Ang 2003)

12. 12 Adult education How do adults learn in the workplace? The value of peer learning. (Boud 2006) Are training programs the most effective way of imparting knowledge, awareness and skills? How long should we expect it takes to train a call center agent to become competent on the phones?

13. 13 Blended learning and the use of IT in training What is blended learning? How can we train �just in time� and on the desk top? How do we decide what can be taught on line and what face-to-face? What kinds of technology should we be using in the training of call centre agents?

14. 14 Business Requirements Analysis How does the workplace context affect the curriculum design, delivery and evaluation process? What do businesses expect in terms of outcomes? How do we manage business expectations? How do we measure what we do? (Kirkpatrick 1987)

15. 15 Assessment and program evaluation What is an appropriate language assessment approach for the ITES industry? (Douglas 2000) What do trainers need to know and do in language assessment? Who are the stakeholders in training program evaluation?

16. 16 The workplace trainer as communications expert Language expert Education expert Intercultural expert Assessment expert Soft skills training expert Business consulting expert

17. 17 How do we develop these trainers?CTWE and CELTA Certificate in Teaching Workplace English (CTWE) designed specifically for the workplace and the teaching of adults Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) designed generally for college teaching of adults (Cambridge �ESOL)

18. 18 A comparison CELTA: School leavers; no formal qualifications No practical classroom experience Training for colleges and EFL centers Use of commercially available EFL materials It is a practical course aimed at ensuring participants can make a positive start in their EFL classrooms in college settings DELTA: Theoretical frameworks for language teaching

19. 19 A comparison CTWE: A response to Manila BPO training: Graduates (some with postgraduate degrees) in the workplace Many have training and instructional design experience No TESOL background Most have excellent classroom management skills although very teacher centred Requirement for tailor-made solutions in their workplaces

20. 20 The essential difference is� CTWE addresses the critical issues of: -workplace curriculum design and materials design -English language assessment in the workplace -tailor-made materials design based on the use of authentic materials and product/services knowledge -program evaluation -role of trainer as internal consultant -product/services,intercultural,soft skills issues in the workplace

21. 21 Principled framework Sociolinguistic view of language: language performance is context sensitive; language is a system of choices-not a system of rules where language, soft skills and language are inextricably combined. Professional skills are acquired and staged over time. Language assessments need to be multi- purpose and context sensitive: valid, reliable and practical.

22. 22 Let�s professionalize workplace training! Who are we as professionals? What are our beliefs about language and language learning? How do we develop our knowledge, skills and awareness? Where and what do we seek to impact?

23. 23 References Halliday MAK ( 1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar London. Arnold Boud, D (2006) Combining Work and Learning: the disturbing challenge of practice In Learning Outside the Academy Ed. Richard Edwards, Jim Gallacher and Susan Whittaker Early,P.C. &Ang,S (2003) Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures Stanford Universrity Press Forey,G & J. Lockwood I�d love to put someone in jail for this: An initial investigation of English in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) industry in English for Specific Purposes 26 (2007) pp308-326 Forey,G;J. Lockwood &H. Price (09/2007) English in the Philippine Call Centers and BPO operations: Issues, opportunities and research. In Asian Englishes Today: Philippine English: Linguistic and Literary Perspectives edited by Professors Ma. Lourdes Bautista and Professor Kingsley Bolton

24. 24 Thank you!