Job Discussion Forums

[sisyphus]

I have been asked to design a course for Call centre operators ; to enable them to improve their English in call situations, dealing with callers etc. Are there any materials out there geared towards this type of thing, textbooks etc? cheers ....

[spiral78]

I was once involved in such a project (not by choice!) and it basically involved a lot of sitting about and listening to define what the specific call centre dealt with and what language issues the staff had.

This would vary massively depending on the type of calls handled and the L1 of the staff.

Probably why there are few materials really out there for this type of job; the ones I've seen deal only with basics.

[PC Parrot]

I would say develop their listening skills too ...

On the rare occasion someone over in a Gulf call centre actually listens to and digests the specifics of my problem, I compliment them for doing so ...

It's happened twice in 12 years ...

[nomad soul]

[sofinel]

I do not know of any sites. Since I have decided to teach English online, I have been networking myself to obtain people who want to learn to speak English in a Call Center/Customer Service position. I have years of CC/CS experience so it depends if the staffs are going to be taking calls or making calls. The industry has to be considered as well as you have to tailor your conversation towards that. I would start with the main parts of Call Center conversations: the greetings, body and closing.

[suphanburi]

Like Spiral alluded to... "Needs Analysis" is the first step.

.

[nomad soul]

[MuscatGary]

I came across a place in Bangalore that did this but they didn't teach English as such, rather it was mainly rote learning of a script and scripted answers to FAQ's, anything outside of that was referred upwards. The other function was accent neutralisation.