SCENARIO
LANGUAGE TRAINING
42
4.4
SITUATION
1
Read the situation below and answer the questions.
1
Why does IMA need an English language programme?
2
Which staff will it focus on in its language training?
International Medi-Support (IMS), based in Florence,
Italy, is a charity which provides medical aid to
many countries. Recently the management decided
that English will be the working language of the
organisation. The Human Resources department of
IMA will start by organising English language training
for 200 staff at Head Office. It will prioritise those
who are in most need of training.
2
a
Read the extract from a report from a member of
the HR department at IMS. What are the two problems
concerning the language programme?
2
b
In small groups, discuss and make notes on the
advantages and disadvantages of each proposal, from
the point of view of both the staff and the charity.
3
a
4.6
Listen to three members of the HR
department, Claire, Frances and Sophia, talking about
the English language training programme. What three
topics do they discuss?
3
b
Listen again and answer the questions.
1
What will the HR members do before deciding about
one-to-one classes and British and American English?
2
Why do they decide to run classes for
Administrative staff?
Here are the results of the survey of the staff ’s English language
ability that I carried out recently.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ABILITY
NUMBER
EXCELLENT GOOD
FAIR
POOR
Directors (14)
4
2
2
6
Senior staff (26)
8
6
5
7
Fundraisers (30)
6
2
10
12
Medical staff (32)
10
7
3
12
Administrative
36
15
25
22
staff (98)
We need to keep any training costs low as the budget for language
training for the first year is only €150,000. There are five possible
ways of providing English language training. However, we do
not agree on the best programme. These are the proposals, with
estimated costs.
• Proposal 1:
Send staff to a language school close to
Head Office.
Cost:
10 participants on a four-week course (20 hours a week)
= €20,000.
• Proposal 2:
Hire two English language instructors to give
courses at Head Office.
Cost:
10 participants on a four-week course (20 hours a week)
= €8,000.
• Proposal 3:
Hire a language expert to plan and set up courses
online for staff.
Cost:
no information at present, but this could be expensive
– at least €40,000
• Proposal 4:
Send groups of staff to the UK or USA for a
crash course.
Cost:
for a two-week course (30 hours per week) + air fare +
accommodation = €5,000 per employee for the UK, €7,000
for the US
• Proposal 5:
Provide one-to-one English language training at Head
Office.
Cost:
€80 per hour
REPORT: RESULTS
