Shaun Business blogs, English Learning

How to Choose the Right Spoken English Coaching for You

If you’re looking to improve your spoken English skills, enrolling in a coaching program can be a great way to achieve your goals. However, with so many options available, it can be difficult to know where to start. This guide will help you navigate the factors to consider when choosing a spoken English coaching program, so you can make an informed decision.

Determine Your Goals and Needs.

Before choosing a spoken English coaching program, it’s important to determine your goals and needs. Are you looking to improve your pronunciation, expand your vocabulary, or gain confidence in speaking? Do you need a program that is flexible and can accommodate your schedule? Understanding your goals and needs will help you narrow down your options and choose a program that is tailored to your specific needs.

Research the Coaching Options Available.

The first step in choosing the right spoken English coaching for you is to research the options available. Look for coaching programs that have a good reputation and positive reviews from past students. Consider the teaching methods used, the qualifications of the instructors, and the level of support provided to students. It’s also important to consider the cost and whether the program fits within your budget. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from friends or colleagues who have taken a similar course. By doing your research, you can make an informed decision and choose a coaching program that will help you achieve your goals.

Check the Qualifications and Experience of the Coaches.

When choosing a spoken English coaching program, it’s important to consider the qualifications and experience of the coaches. Look for programs that have experienced and qualified instructors who have a strong command of the English language. You may also want to consider coaches who have experience working with students from your native language background, as they may be better equipped to understand and address your specific needs. Don’t be afraid to ask for information about the coaches’ qualifications and experience before enrolling in a program. A good coaching program will be transparent about the qualifications of their instructors and will be happy to provide this information to prospective students.

Look for Reviews and Testimonials from Previous Students.

One of the best ways to gauge the effectiveness of a spoken English coaching program is to look for reviews and testimonials from previous students. These can give you valuable insights into the quality of the program and the experiences of other students. Look for reviews on the program’s website, social media pages, and other online platforms. You can also reach out to current or former students directly to ask about their experiences. Keep in mind that no program will have 100% positive reviews, but look for patterns in the feedback to get a sense of the program’s strengths and weaknesses.

Consider the Location, Schedule, and Cost of the Coaching.

When choosing a spoken English coaching program, it’s important to consider practical factors like location, schedule, and cost. Look for a program that is conveniently located and has a schedule that works for you. Consider whether you prefer in-person classes or online instruction. Additionally, compare the cost of different programs and make sure you’re getting good value for your money. Keep in mind that the most expensive program isn’t always the best, and a lower-priced program may still offer high-quality instruction.

Choosing the right spoken English coaching program can be overwhelming, but by considering your goals and needs, researching available options, checking the qualifications and experience of the coaches, looking for reviews and testimonials from previous students, and considering practical factors like location, schedule, and cost, you can make an informed decision. Remember, finding the right program for you can take time and effort, but it’s an investment in your future and your ability to communicate effectively in English.

Shaun Business blogs, English Learning

Useful Phrases for Business Emails

Free pdf download of phrases for business English emails

In the business world, email communication is essential to building relationships, closing deals, and completing tasks. But crafting a professional and effective email can be challenging, especially if English is not your first language. That’s why we have compiled a list of useful phrases to help you write better business emails.

1. Opening sentences:
– Thank you for your email
– I am writing in regards to…
– I hope you are well

2. Introducing new information:
– I would like to draw your attention to…
– As discussed…
– I am pleased to inform you…

3. Asking for information:
– Could you please provide me with…
– I would be grateful if you could…
– I was wondering if you could help me with…

4. Offering assistance:
– If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to ask.
– Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
– Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.

5. Closing sentences:
– I look forward to hearing from you soon.
– Thank you for your time and consideration.
– Best regards,

We have put together a free PDF download for you to print, refer to, and use in your daily business email correspondence. These phrases will surely make your email writing experience smoother and more effective. Happy emailing!
useful-phrases-for-business-emailsDownload
learning as an adult, education, skills
Shaun Business blogs, English Learning

Learning Is for Life: Advice for Adults Going Back to Study

Image from Unsplash

There are so many resources and guides about going back to education, and the problem is, most of them are written for high schoolers. The reality is that over 40% of college students are older, often with kids and full-time jobs. If you find yourself in this demographic, here’s a definitive guide to going back to school as an adult from English Online Training. Let’s get learning!

Why start studying again?

Well, to increase your learning, of course! But there are so many other reasons. For one, you significantly increase your earning potential, as employees are willing to offer higher-paying jobs for more qualified candidates. In addition, you’ll be able to transition into different career paths if you opt for education in another industry. Going back to school also offers specific training to further your career and become competitive in the job market.

What Degree Should I Opt For?

Older students have lots of options for education, including online courses, professional certifications, doctoral programs, traditional degrees, and short diplomas. The one you pick depends entirely on your current commitments and how much time you have to devote to your schooling. For example, if you have a lot of family obligations, an online degree or training program might be right for you. Little more time (and money) on your hands? Go for a more prolonged and more intensive program!

Balancing Work and Life

According to PMI, achieving that elusive work-life balance can be incredibly challenging. Be prepared for an adjustment period as you iron out the kinks of managing your family along with your new schooling commitments. Be sure to enlist the support of your partner and other family members in school drop-offs, preparing meals, and more so you can focus your energy on getting a good ROI from your education. 

If you’re retaining your day job, it will be prudent to set expectations at your work so that your team members can support you through achieving balance as well. Many employers offer professional development courses, which may be worth exploring as an alternative to traditional education, especially if it supports your larger goals and career ambitions. 

Also, one of the best things you can do for yourself when it comes to balance is make sure you’re getting enough exercise! If you don’t have time for the gym, simply incorporating some more walking while running errands can make a big difference in your overall health and wellbeing.

Prioritizing Studying

After all, your schooling will be over before you know it! Make the most of your education by managing your learning. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses will help you take responsibility for your learning. You can then apply your strengths to go above and beyond in your coursework and weaknesses to challenge yourself with complex topics and assignments. In addition, study smart and learn to be strategic about details like note-taking and study timing, so you still have time for work and family obligations.

Education for Education

One of the most valuable things you can return to school for is to pursue an education degree. Getting an education degree will enable you to help pass the gift of education on to the next generation. Also, online degree programs can help you start and finish a degree conveniently within the constraints of your schedule. 

Using What You’ve Learned to Start a Business

When you’re planning your education and deciding what kind of program you’re going to opt for, be sure to also carefully consider your next steps. For example, many individuals choose to go back to school to start their own business. Consider all the details if this sounds like you — from taxes and employees to funding and how to set up a new company. You can learn how to start a new company online. Forming an LLC can be worthwhile for entrepreneurs, as it offers limited liability, tax advantages, and increased flexibility. 

Going back to school as an adult presents a whole new set of challenges. But you’re older, wiser, and with more experience under your belt. This means that you’ll ace your new college experience and make it through with flying colors. You’ve got this!

With over ten years of experience, English Online Training is here to help! Click here to book a free trial lesson.

Thanks to Joyce Wilson at teacherspark.org for writing this post

Shaun Berlin, Business blogs

SME climate hub committed business

The SME Climate Hub is an initiative of the We Mean Business Coalition, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and the International Chamber of Commerce. This partnership is an exercise in radical collaboration that opens the doors for SMEs to join the United Nations Race to Zero campaign — an international campaign that brings together an unprecedented coalition of real economy actors and 120 governments committed to achieve net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.

In collaboration with the Net Zero team at Oxford University, the SME Climate Hub provides tools and resources to enable SMEs to make a climate commitment, take action and measure their progress.​ It is our belief that climate action is everyone’s business.
We know that many businesses like ours are faced with the challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. But we also know that SMEs are vital in driving change and will play a key role in achieving the net zero targets set by the UK government.

That’s why we’re proud to have signed up to the SME Climate Commitment, meaning we’re ready to take action to reduce emissions, develop green energy initiatives and engage with new green technologies.

The SME Climate Hub has been created to help SMEs meet the commitment.

By joining the SME Climate Hub, we’ll get access to a range of tools and resources, such as:

-A way to measure, track and report our carbon emissions
– Advice on setting targets
– Access to green energy initiatives
– Monthly webinars from experts on relevant concepts
– A forum to support discussion, problem-solving, and collaborative action

We’re confident that through tools such as these we’ll achieve our net zero goals and contribute to helping the EU become as climate-friendly as possible

We’re proud to have made the SME Climate Commitment. Join me and get access to a range of tools to plan how you’ll get to net zero: @SMEClimateHub 

Home – SME Climate Hub

english online training
Shaun Business blogs, English Learning

Companies I have worked with

About these companies

  • Akelius Languages is a language training company that provides courses for refugees in various languages.
  • BMW is a German multinational corporation which produces luxury vehicles and motorcycles.
  • Esanum is a French online medical platform that connects patients with doctors and other healthcare professionals. Guidehouse is a professional services firm that provides consulting, technology, and managed services to businesses and government organizations.
  • Juwelo is an e-commerce platform for jewelry and gems.
  • Labor Berlin is a German fashion and lifestyle company that designs and produces clothing and accessories.
  • Mercedes-Benz Bank is a German bank that specializes in financing and leasing for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
  • Ostdeutscher Sparkassenverband is a German association of savings banks in the eastern states of Germany.
  • Siemens is a German multinational conglomerate that operates in the fields of industry, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure.
  • Solaris Bank is a German fintech company that provides digital banking services to businesses and individuals.
  • ThyssenKrupp is a German multinational conglomerate that operates in the fields of steel production, elevators, and industrial services.
  • UNICEF is a United Nations program that provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.
Shaun Business blogs

Benefits of in-country hire

View in Berlin
View in Berlin

Good human resources management in an international company means getting the right people in the right jobs at the right time. But what is your version of right? There is no one size fits all approach to hiring that means there are no risks and what is right for other digital startups might not be right for yours. If you are thinking about what  the right way is for your company to expand into Europe please read on.

If this is your company’s first step into the relative unknown that is the European market, it’s not possible to get away from the fact that it is different from North America. There are different cultures to deal with. While an American employee may brag about the amount of hours they have worked that week or the lack of vacation days taken that year a European worker is legally entitled to paid time off and will expect to take it. And its not just holidays, there are organisational cultures which vary from U.S. to E.U. too.

Profit is not the only motivator, society as a whole is more of consideration as well and there is far more bureaucracy as a rule in European countries. Having an insider who is used to dealing with the vagaries of town officials and their requests could be invaluable.

If the main base for your company is going to stay in the U.S. then you need to have people you can trust, and who subscribe to your values, in control. It is crucial that they project your company’s principles through your expansion. You might be roughly 5 and a half thousand miles or more away and its unrealistic to be expect to be able to micromanage at that distance (and with those time zones). It might feel safer to send someone who you know, and who knows your company’s way of working. But safer isn’t always better and relocating to another continent is a big commitment. Will your go-to guy (or girl) be able to make that kind of pledge? Would you want them to? Anyone who is going to cross half the world is not going to be able to do it at the drop of a hat.

If you are looking to expand across the Atlantic, it is likely that you are also wanting to grow your network, something which is made much easier with people who have fully developed support infrastructures. If it is truly not what, but who you know, then having the right contacts can be crucial.

Also, having fresh input into your company could be invaluable for the development of your company. The different cultures mentioned earlier will result in a different world view, and fresh eyes might be able to solve a problem you didn’t even know existed. This influx could provide the innovation that turn your great idea into a game-changer. And let’s face it, you are not truly a multinational company while you are exclusively hiring American employees, albeit in “non-American” locations.

Another important factor to bear in mind is speed of delivery. If a week is a long time in politics, 6 months can be a lifetime when it comes to digital start-ups. What is hot right now can quickly become obsolete, or have its potential market wiped out by a competitor who just got to market that little quicker. Although notice periods tend to be longer in Europe (typically 3 months), this compares favorably with the time it would take to relocate the necessary American resources. Once you take into account that the EU is churning out over 2 million graduates a year,  across all fields the future suddenly looks bright when it comes to finding the right talent to help your company progress further.

Shaun Business blogs

Business in profile

CiteAb is fast becoming the go-to place for antibody search. And it’s part of the vibrant southwest tech scene that is making Bath and Bristol an exciting place to do business right now

The simple way to find the right antibody for your experiment

Founded in March 2013 by in as a response to repeated exasperation when trying find the correct antibodies for experiments. Dr Andrew Chalmers, senior lecturer at the University of Bath and co-founder of CiteAb had this to say about his reasons for starting CiteAb:

“My own frustration at the amount of effort students and postdocs in my lab spent looking for antibodies, and the number of antibodies we bought that didn’t work, were real drivers in developing the idea for CiteAb. The time and money wasted made me believe there must be a better way of searching for and choosing between antibodies.”

So they resolved to solve the problem and CiteAb was born. Dr. Andrew Chalmers (University of Bath) and Dave Kelly (Storm Consultancy) were the co-founders, with guidance and support provided by the University of Bath. Their aim was to to help researchers find the right antibody for their experiments – ultimately saving time and money, and helping research progress faster, By June 2013 they already had 1 million antibodies listed on their search engine (it’s now approaching 2 million with the words “Aaah – too… many… antibodies!”) The site now gives researchers access to antibodies from over 60 companies worldwide, rated by their citations in over 100,000 research papers.CiteAb also won an award for ‘best startup’ shortly after they launched, recognising the significant impact they had made in the market within a fairly short amount of time. Now they are looking at ways to ensure the long-term stability and progression of CiteAb, which is a really exciting phase of their development.

What makes CiteAb stand out from their competitors is the veracity of their search results. Unlike other antibody search engines, no company can pay to have their results top listed. CiteAb is unbiased and as Dr. Chalmers explains “The core ethos of CiteAb is that we are completely impartial – we list antibodies according to citations, so the only way an antibody can move up the ratings is to be used successfully in research and be cited by other researchers.”

Typical CiteAb users are research scientists from a range of research institutions and pharmaceutical companies who want to find antibodies that are known to work. Their clients are usually based in the pharmacy or biotechnology sector, often companies that produce and sell antibodies. They work with us to ensure their latest products are listed on CiteAb and they’re also very interested in the data we can show them that reflects the state of the market.

So what comes next for CiteAb? First they built up the data, (CiteAb is the largest citation ranked antibody search engine in the world) now comes the time to analyse it. Recently they’ve been taking a more in depth look at the wealth of publication data held within CiteAb. This has allowed them to produce a series of reports showing market share trends for countries, companies, antibodies and research areas. Unlike the usual market surveys, CiteAb’s are unique in that they’re based on analysis of hundreds of thousands of antibody specific publications, so they are able to provide a comprehensive and unbiased view of the bioscience research market. That huge database of antibody citations also provides a valuable resource to find experimental details when planning antibody experiments.

Being based in Bath has its advantages too: Dr Chalmers has a really strong network of potential CiteAb users here in the city in the University of Bath’s thriving Faculty of Science. The University provided CiteAb with a great deal of support during the initial development and spinout, and continues to be involved on the CiteAb board. Connections within the sector that can be reached through an institution like the University of Bath are invaluable to a small company in its early years. The city of Bath is also conducive to the growth of young companies – especially those with a digital or online angle. According to Matthew Helsby, the development manager at CiteAb “The city has a strong digital presence and there is a lot of support for startups and those new to business.”

That’s not to say it has been completely plain sailing. For Dr. Chalmers, who has a background in research, moving into the business world has meant a completely different way of working. The adjustment took some getting used to and although he wished he would have known that everything would take twice as long as you might expect, he has found the whole process extremely exciting. Luckily David Kelly, the other co-founder, with a background is in web software development, was there to provide support on the business and software side although he said “just learning what an antibody is” was a good first step for him.

Although not currently looking for investors or employees, as they are quite a young startup, CiteAb believe with the future looking as bright as it does that hopefully they will do soon. Opportunities are first posted on their blog so it’s worth keeping an eye on that and they are always keen to hear from people who are interested in CiteAb, so if you’ve any questions please do give them a shout, as “we love to talk about our organisation!”

Additional Info: blog and social media (LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook/Google+)

Shaun Business blogs

Tech blogs – Eastern Europe

berlin
berlin

Over the past 5-10 years, the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) has been quietly building a reputation as a potential competitor to India in the tech outsourcing business. Now signs are pointing to the region being the next global tech start up hub.

For companies with a European base of operations, the advantages of outsourcing to CEE are clear. There is a low cost, (salaries are typically 50% lower than western Europe) highly educated, skilled workforce (Poland ranks above the U.S.A and Germany on the Pearson plc Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment of 39 developed nations in 14th place). Plus there are minimal cultural differences, combined with the fact they are located in the same or neighbouring time zones. Also, important if you are working in a data sensitive industry, for CEE countries in the E.U. the same data protection laws are applied. These ideal outsourcing conditions have led to companies such as  Google, IBM, Samsung, HP, Microsoft, Nokia-Siemens, SAP, HSBC, Xerox, Fujitsu, Symantec, General Electric and many more making use of C.E.E. as an a near-shoring opportunity, with Poland in particular being seen as a outsourcing hub. Capgemini, which provides business and computer outsourcing for almost 100 corporations, including Coca-Cola and Volkswagen operates five centers in Poland.

There are some disadvantages, with most of the outsourcing companies of a much smaller scale than their south Asian rivals. This means they can’t compete directly in cost per capita, and if you have large scale, exact brief that doesn’t need too much supply-side innovation then India may still be the best location to outsource to. However, the CEE countries are able to turn this small size to their advantage, as they are much more able to do innovative, experimental projects with much less direct management than is needed for Indian projects.

So, with so much skilled labour (Romania has an estimated 64,000 I.T. specialists alone) and hundreds of thousands of tech aware, motivated, potential entrepreneurs graduating each year, this has been a period of real growth across the region. This on its own isn’t enough to create a viable tech eco-system, but the thing that is making the real difference is cash. After all, these areas have for a long time had talented, hardworking people. What has changed is huge amounts of capital invested in the area with billions of Euros being pumped into Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia etc to improve their infrastructure and also provide grants to promote entrepreneurship. But it’s not just government money, increased amounts of angel investors and VC’s are increasingly targeting CEE. Over the past few years several startup success stories have emerged across CEE.  These include AVG and Avast from the Czech Republic, Nordeus from Serbia, Filestube from Poland, BitDefender and Soft32 from Romania, and Prezi, Indextools, LogMeIn, and Ustream from Hungary and they have attracted investors seeking scalable ideas. Many people believe that C.E.E. is 10-15 years behind western Europe for tech start ups and, now the money tap has been turned on, the region is primed for massive growth.

So what does this mean for US businesses? While the basic ingredients are there for growth, what is really needed for CEE to truly become a international tech hub is expertise in developing local success stories into global ones. The seed money is there and there are a lot of talented people working hard to grow their start ups but for every Skype there are thousands which can’t make the leap. This is of course the same with every tech hub, but with the right partnerships, and maybe a bit of US know-how, the sky is the limit for these CEE countries and the companies they work with.