English for Human Resources

Introduction

English for Human Resources is an online course, consisting of 56 units of English, and providing approximately 60 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards human resources situations. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking, and pronunciation.

Граматика

By the end of the course, students will be able to

  • Use present and past tenses correctly
  • Use the appropriate conditional forms to talk about situations and consequences.
  • Use the present perfect to describe a link between past and present events.
  • Use going to and will to talk about future predictions and intentions.
  • Use the passive form correctly
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns.

Речник

By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 200 expressions used in the human resources field.

Skills

By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and human resources contexts.

Unit summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to Human Resources
  • Граматика: Present tenses
  • Речник: Key HR terminology, basics of employment, types of employees:
  • Четене: The evolution and importance of HR in organisations
  • Слушане: An interview with an HR manager discussing their role
  • Писане: Drafting a brief description of one’s HR job role
  • Говорене: Discussing the role of HR in an organisation
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Recruitment and Selection
  • Граматика: Past tenses
  • Vocabulary: Job postings, applications, interviews, selection processes
  • Четене: The stages of the recruitment process
  • Слушане: A mock job interview
  • Писане: Creating a job advertisement for a fictional position
  • Говорене: Job interviews
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Training and Development
  • Граматика: Going to and Will
  • Речник: Onboarding, training modules, career progression
  • Четене: The importance of continuous employee training
  • Слушане: A workshop on employee development
  • Писане: Drafting a training schedule for new employees
  • Говорене: Organising initial and ongoing employee training
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Compensation and Benefits
  • Граматика: Present perfect
  • Речник: salary, bonuses, benefits, allowances, deductions
  • Четене: How companies decide compensation packages
  • Слушане: Negotiation of a salary package
  • Писане: Designing a basic compensation package for a role
  • Говорене: Salaries and bonuses
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Performance Management
  • Граматика: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Речник: Appraisal, feedback, goals, performance metrics
  • Четене: The significance of regular performance reviews
  • Слушане: A mock performance review meeting
  • Писане: Drafting a performance feedback for an employee
  • Говорене: Improving performance
  • Pronunciation: Book and But + connected speech

Module 6

  • Employee Relations
  • Граматика: First conditional
  • Речник: Employee engagement, grievances, mediation, workplace culture
  • Четене: The importance of maintaining positive employee relations
  • Слушане: A mediation session between an employee and a manager
  • Писане: Drafting a memo addressing a common workplace concern
  • Говорене: Conflict resolution
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 7

  • Legal and Ethical Aspects of HR
  • Граматика: Passive
  • Речник: Contracts, labour laws, non-discrimination, ethics
  • Reading: An overview of European Union labour laws and their significance
  • Слушане: A discussion on ethical dilemmas in HR
  • Писане: Designing a code of conduct for employees
  • Говорене: The implications of a breach in the code of conduct
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 8

  • Trends in HR and the Future
  • Граматика: Second conditional
  • Речник: Remote work, diversity and inclusion, automation in HR
  • Четене: The changing landscape of HR in the digital age
  • Слушане: A seminar on the future of HR practices
  • Писане: Drafting a proposal for incorporating a new HR trend
  • Говорене: The future of work
  • Pronunciation: Fine and Vine + connected speech

Follow-up

Students completing the English for Human Resources course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.