Shopping WISELY for an ESL Provider

It is unrealistic to expect a barber to ask a customer why s/he needs their hair cut and refuse service if the customer hopes to lose 10 pounds as a result; even though the barber realizes that a new hair cut will not guarantee the desired outcome. Similarly, it is highly unlikely that a sales person will send a prospect away once you knock on their door asking for English language training. Nevertheless, a results-oriented English language training provider must be interested in determining whether or not English training is really going to solve your performance problems and if warranted, advise you to go ahead with a different solution.

So, to be successful in training endeavors, you should find ESL providers that:

Understand the art of tailor-made solutions
Tailor-made programs are sold at a significant premium and providers favor them over off-the-shelf solutions. Before you choose a tailor-made course, understand the advantages and disadvantages of both. Most-importantly however, ensure that there is adequate customization based on well-understood learning tasks and thus there is “more to it” then just your logo on the training materials.

Are able to see the big picture
Corporate training is predominantly about enhancing a company’s business performance. Choose ESL providers that focus on job application of their training solutions and care about your company’s plan to provide participants the opportunity to practice their new skills in the workplace. In addition, expect training providers to consider your company’s values, approach to leadership, strategy, and vision in order to reinforce them during the training.

Approach training evaluation as an 80:20 split
Training evaluation is an integral part of planning processes (pre-training) whereupon performance objectives and criteria should be agreed upon. Expect training providers to spend 80 percent of their time and effort on pre-training evaluation processes and the remaining 20 percent on post-training ones.

Focus on your needs instead of implementation issues
Mistakenly, some ESL providers tend to believe they provide tailor-made solutions when they work with clients on pure implementation issues as the group size, number of training hours, days on which training will take place, financial constraints, etc. Although these are notable features of tailor-made solutions, the true value lies in training material that corresponds to established objectives. Ensure ESL providers understand the art of tailor-made solutions.