Teaching foreign language courses for Romania’s largest multinational companies immediately makes you realize that this entails more than just a trainer and a class of students. These courses are customized to the learners’ needs, whether online or on-site. The students are employees of Romania’s largest companies eager to learn a foreign language.
What do we, as an agency, do? First and foremost, we don’t teach the actual courses. We handle everything behind the scenes. We allocate trainers, test the students for their level (free of charge), form the classes, manage the entire educational process, host the final evaluations, and receive and implement feedback from them. How does a course take place?
Step I: First Contact
Everything starts with our new partner, usually an HR person from a company in Romania or abroad. They come to us with a request to teach their colleagues from “insert department name here” a foreign language. Unlike other agencies, we relieve them of any other tasks from now on. Once we have identified the company’s needs, we offer a per-case, unique solution.
“From the moment the client chooses to work with us, we take full responsibility. From testing and organizing the groups to constantly monitoring the courses through feedback from teachers and learners, we’re the ones dealing with everything” – Andreea Dombi, project manager of the Foreign Language Courses Division.
The project manager talks directly with those benefiting from the course, and the HR person or assigned person within the company is being briefed broadly and only consulted in “critical” situations, which are extremely rare.
Step II: Free Testing
“The initial level of foreign language skills is first tested for free. Each student receives a multiple-choice test they can fill out online, of course, ensuring they follow the deadline we suggested. Then, we carefully analyse the test results and determine their level, thus forming groups as homogeneous as possible for a learning environment adapted to their skills and needs” – Mădălina Tudoran, project manager.
Then comes a speaking test. Students interact with one of the trainers. Correctly assessing the student’s level is crucial for the smooth running of the lessons that follow.
Step III: Classes and Trainer Allocation
Next comes the creation of the classes or groups. The project manager and trainer develop a proposal for the company that best suits its tastes and needs. Preferences, schedules and employee availability, targeted departments, and everything related to the smooth running of the course are taken into account.
“In the first session, I ask and note down the objectives of each participant. Then, I create a plan for the first half of the module, covering both their specific objectives (e.g., improving their technical vocabulary) and general ones (e.g., developing the ability to speak fluently). In the second part, we discuss progress, review objectives, and add new ones if requested. For me, open communication between teacher and students regarding their expectations is very important” – Iuliana Szekeli, trainer at Swiss Solutions.
From case to case, one or more trainers may be involved in the same project, depending on the number and complexity of the classes, the availability of learners, and their needs.
Step IV: The Course
Almost all our courses happen online. Some also occur in physical format, depending on the client’s needs. Each course lasts around 100 days, with 48 hours of actual classes. A peculiarity of our agency is that every course is entirely different from the last one. Emphasis is placed on the needs of the students. Once identified, course materials are then created from scratch.
“We have a course management platform purchased from the United States, a software that redefines how we monitor progress and manage attendance. We provide clients with access to vital information. This tool brings transparency and efficiency to the learning process” – Alexandra Liesz, manager of the Foreign Language Courses Division at Swiss Solutions.
Step V: The Final Evaluation
A personalized final evaluation is a must for a custom-made course! Each student is assessed at the end of the course, and as a “reward” for their effort, they receive the famous diploma with its supplement. The most important thing is to see a clear difference between the student’s language levels before and after the lessons.
“We encourage all students, as well as our teachers, to be honest and communicate what they want to achieve from these courses. We want to support everyone who comes through our doors, as honest feedback from the students drives our growth. They showed us that the recipe for success lies in making changes and adapting to the current social realities, and we want to thank them for their support” – Andreea Dombi, project manager.
Should you be interested in one of our foreign language courses, hop in for a 30-minute demo lesson. You can virtually high-five one of our trainers, and directly experience the classroom atmosphere, over a foreign language lesson worthy of 2024.
Shoot us an email now, and we’ll schedule your first lesson right away.