Job Discussion Forums

[Phil_b]

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/454809/0/clases/ingles/empresas/

For those of you looking for business english classes - worth reading.

NB: I'm not in Spain, how realistic is the stuff here?

[sheikh radlinrol]

[outofseoul]

I have to agree. Based on my limited experience here in Spain, the article seems to be a pretty fair description of the situation.

I have Spanish friends who take English classes in their companies and rave about how good their teachers are. While others can't believe how unprofessional their classess are for things like mixtures of extreme multi-level students, or for teachers photcopying, surfing the internet, talking on their phone, making long or multiple trips to the bathroom, during class time.

Personally, I haven't encountered a lot of schools here that do an excellent job of providing teacher resources, materials or support either.

My impression is that there is quite a bit of variation in the effectiveness and professionalism of business English classes on all fronts: the schools, the companies, the students and the teachers.

[Glenlivet]

I don't speak or read Spanish although I gather the article is about varying teaching standards. Could someone give a brief precis please?

[outofseoul]

I am on holiday for semana santa and it might be good practice for me so I will give your request a go.

The title of the article is "Who Gives English Classes in Your Company?" It talks about how many schools who provide English classes for companies don't know what they are doing. They tend to hire young backpackers with no proper qualifications as teachers, but who happen to be nice guys.

Teachers arrive late, are unprepared, don't plan the classes, are inappropriately dressed, kind of lost and don't speak Spanish at all. The companies on the other hand, put all the staff in the same class regardless of their level, have inflexible schedules and permit cancellations.

It is predicted that with the economic crisis, companies will be more selective and there will be better suited teachers with business experience.

Some students of in-company business English classes say that it seems schools don't know their teachers' abilities for they seem surprised by complaints from in-company classes and hurry to find replacements so as not to lose the client. As well, teachers don't usually correct student mistakes.

On the other hand, students seem to not take the classes seriously because they are not paying for the classes out of their own pockets. They come late, show disinterest, skip classes. A class of ten may only have three students still attending at the end of the course.

[Glenlivet]

Thanks for that outofseoul. Hopefully more selective recruitment will be advantageous for us in our intended move to Spain!