This course is intended for staff members who are currently working from home and who are interested in improving their spoken English related to participating in group planning tasks. The course is intended for non-native speakers of English who wish to hone their speaking skills in a safe environment.
RESULTS
The focus lies on refreshing existing knowledge, building confidence, acquiring new formulaic phrases, structuring arguments, practicing new skills, integrating coping and compensation strategies, and receiving constructive feedback.
By the end of this course, you can:
- Formulate your opinion
- Structure an argument using connectors and signalling
- Defend a position
- Effectively incorporate different viewpoints
- Use persuasive techniques
- Confidently speak from ad-hoc notes
- Rebut
- Change direction
- Summarise
- Hedge effectively
- Listen effectively
- Buy time to think
- Use compensation strategies when stuck
- Involve people
- Challenge people
- Make suggestions
- Politely interrupt another
- Ask questions
DURATION AND TIME INVESTMENT
The course will consist of 2 sessions of 2 hours each – 60 min. instruction and practice, 15 min. break, 60 min. instruction and practice – over the course of 2 weeks. In addition to the online classes, an extra investment of about 0.5 hour a week is asked of you to integrate knowledge and further develop your skills.The classes will be offered via Canvas. There is no need for pre-existing knowledge of the learning platform.