How Can I Make English Communication Training Engaging for Repeated Learners?

Dear Seniors and friends, I have been asked to handle an English communication session for a group of our employees. The issue is that these employees have previously attended one or two training sessions on this already. However, as there has not been much improvement, their manager wants them to undergo training again.

Request for New Training Activities

Now, I want to give them some exercises and activities that would be interesting and not a repetition of what they have done previously. Kindly suggest some exercises and activities that can be given to them.

Thanks with Regards,

R. Kavitha

Previously, we have had sessions on grammar, sentence structures, and some listening comprehensions, as well as speaking exercises. I am looking for something other than this.

Valuable Exercises for English Communication Skills

What can you think of as a valuable set of exercises and activities that will teach your people good English communication skills?

Dear Kavitha, you know better that it's not very easy to teach or train someone in English overnight. One or two training sessions may not serve the purpose. Take it as a series of activities. A couple of things that you can do are:

1. Send weekly mailers, consisting of new terms or phrases with meanings and examples, to the group of employees. Keep it very simple. Insist they use those words, phrases, etc., on a day-to-day basis.

Eg:
`IFs AND BUTs`

Very often when we tell children to do something, their standard reply is, “But can't I do it later? I want to watch this match on TV!” — or something like that.

They always try to put things off, and they provide all kinds of excuses as to why things should be postponed. They will keep arguing with you till they are blue in the face.

When you tell someone that you don't want any `ifs and buts`, what you mean is that you want them to stop arguing and do what they have been told to. It's your way of telling them to get on with their job. You don't want to hear any more excuses.

Example: I don't want to hear any ifs and buts. You are not wearing all the PPEs properly.

(Take hints from Know Your English column - The Hindu)

2. Have a meeting with those employees on a weekly basis for an hour. Ask them to make a presentation in front of the group on any topic of their choice in English. Do not insist on PPTs. Any topic for 5 to 10 minutes. This way, they will develop public speaking skills in addition to communication skills (and better fluency in English).

Please try these activities and let us think of other ideas subsequently.

I would humbly request you to provide some more information regarding the English language training for the employees.

Questions About Training Requirements

1. Why do they require this training? Is it the managers' requirement or the employees' requirement?
2. What is their educational background? (vernacular or English medium)

As one of my friends has pointed out, improving English fluency is not an overnight job. It requires continuous intervention.

Regards,
Swarnesh

The best way to train your staff is to communicate with them. If you have someone who speaks decent English, I mean one among you who has a command of the English language, then he/she would be perfect to train them. I suggest:

1. Daily emails to employees about "basic English grammar"
2. Interaction/communication during breaks.
3. Correct them if they are wrong in structuring their sentences or pronunciation (but politely and respectfully).
4. Writing assignments (without taking any assistance from the net)

There are many more ways. But remember, unless you involve them in communication activity, they will not improve.

Regards,
AMJAD LALA

@ Sathyaish: Thanks!

@ Kavitha: I also suggest you start an in-house public speaking session on any topic. Randomly select staff and ask them to address others. Very soon, you will see a positive change in employees. The fear of speaking will disappear soon, and they will gradually master the art of introducing themselves to others. Also, their basic grammar will improve in no time. Altogether, it will be fun! Try this, please.

Regards,
AMJAD LALA

Like other friends, I would also like to contribute. Every day, I am conducting 10-minute sessions on communication skills in English. Basically, I am enhancing their confidence in English and reducing any hesitation. During the short sessions, I engage them in group activities and games that boost their confidence and expand their vocabulary. If they make any vocabulary or grammatical errors during the session, I correct them.

Initiatives and Activities

I have initiated topics such as introducing themselves with adjectives like Brilliant Bama, Amazing Anitha, Kind Kannan, etc., and they should connect these with their strengths and explain within the team. I also ask them to "share their first good impression about a colleague sitting next to them" and "describe their strengths." They engage in fantasy discussions for a minute on topics like cars, bikes, backpacks, etc. Additionally, I cover topics such as "telephone etiquette," "email etiquette," and incorporate role plays to maintain interest.

These activities encourage creativity, vocabulary development, and confidence. By participating in these sessions, employees feel relaxed, learn new things, get to know their team members, and are eager to attend these daily rejuvenating and informative sessions.

Regards,

Ramkumari

I hope this information is helpful to you!

Enhancing English Communication Skills

Personal interest in development and homework is very important. Give them assignments like writing 100 English words a day and 50 sentences using them. Importantly, ask them to write down in English everything they did during the day. This practice will help them speak in English to themselves and gradually assist in speaking publicly. If they are genuinely interested in learning, they will improve in just a few months, possibly even weeks.

Once they improve from within, whatever you teach them will become familiar and easy to comprehend. Otherwise, it is akin to watching a movie in an unknown language where you remember and understand the content, yet you do not know how you acquired that knowledge. When you hear the storyline from the movie later on, you may only recall having watched it, feeling a sense of familiarity but unable to pinpoint the exact details. Assumptions persist in your mind that the story you heard resembles the movie you watched, but in reality, you cannot confirm it.

Resources for Learning English

Encourage them to subscribe to certain sites that aid in learning English and to take simple tests. One such site is Easy English, which offers free online English tests. There are plenty of similar sites available if you wish to learn more.

Thank you.

First of all, I would like to appreciate everyone's suggestions. I want to share my personal experience in this matter, though a bit time-taking but a worthy and result-giving task.

Translation Practice

Try to give them a small story or any small paragraphs in Hindi/their regional language. Ask them to translate it into English at home. This is because if anyone can't write accurately in English, then he/she will not be able to speak correctly in English. So, give them small translation practice. You can, on the other day while taking your English session, address everyone and provide them with the translated answers to those paragraphs given earlier. During this session, you can explain to them how you translated it sentence by sentence.

Daily Reading Habit

Suggest them to give half an hour every day to reading a newspaper or any simply written novel.

Hope these suggestions will help you somewhere, but make sure you ask them to learn grammar rules, tenses, and a few words of vocabulary every day.

Regards,
Kanchan

Dear Kavita, Regards! English is a language, and it comes with practice! It can't be learned overnight. Whoever is the group of people, just make them speak and ask them to avoid other languages in routine work; then you will surely get the result. (Avoiding does not mean to disrespect but for the sake of learning, stick with English)

Steps to Improve English Communication

Please go through the steps below. I practiced these six months ago in my organization to improve English communication.

• Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them. When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

• Until you learn the correct pronunciation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down. If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you. Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech—it is more important that everything you say be understood.

• Listen to the 'music' of English. Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'. First, understand the lyrics, then hear the song.

• Use the dictionary. Try to familiarize yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say. (Thesaurus)

• Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you. Record these words, listen to them, and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.

• Pronounce the ending of each word. Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.

• Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day. Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

• Record your voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes. Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

Group Discussion

This is the best technique to learn and improve English communication skills quickly. Choose a word daily and discuss it within your friends' circle by giving examples. Everyone in the group has a different opinion, thus developing a more concrete idea during usability.

Daily Exercise

Nowadays, we have initiated displaying two words daily. We ask everyone to search for their meanings, and at the end of the day, we gather for 10 minutes and have a group discussion on both words.

Hope this exercise will help you a lot.

Regards,
Naresh Kumar

If you are thinking about improving your spoken English, it only comes if you speak. Debate and general discussion among employees are very helpful.

Hi Utrina,

Do this religiously:

1. Read the English newspaper.
2. Watch English news.
3. Communicate with others in English (you may face humiliation, but just DON'T CARE about what others think about you. Keep going).

You will see a big improvement in your language skills - Inshallah!

Good luck,
AMJAD LALA

There are a number of good suggestions from our friends at Cite HR. However, one basic aspect needs to be clear first—what is the proficiency/language level of the group? Accordingly, plan their programs. A few tips (summarizing some of the points too):

1. Have at least one weekly session of at least 2 hours and daily 10-minute sessions with an individual/small subgroups.

2. The sessions need to be interactive, and the group strength should be a maximum of 20-25 (ideal).

Some Ideas for an Interactive Session:

- Have a topic or a picture—the group can be divided into teams of 4-5, and they should make some presentation (with or without aids).

- A film review—based on some recent film.

- Debates.

- Group discussions.

- Have an audio (similar to IELTS series) and give them a mock test.

- Grammar Quiz—dividing into 4 or 5 teams. You be the quizmaster.

I can give you more suggestions, but please give me the pre-training assessment (overview) to guide you further.

Wishing you all the best.

Regards,
H. Prasad

Senior Training Advisor

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I am not sure whether this posting is too late. A host of excellent suggestions have already been posted by several members. Ask the trainees to make small sentences. The same rule is to be followed in all forms of communication, whether spoken, written, reading, or listening. Let this trend continue as far as possible. It will produce amazing results.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai

You can conduct a 3-hour training session on what they already know and how they can use it effectively. For example, focus on words with similar pronunciations like "beer" and "bear," "rack" and "wrack," etc. I hope my comment will be valuable for you.