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.

Γραμματική

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.

Λεξιλόγιο

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
  • Γραμματική: Present tenses
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Key HR terminology, basics of employment, types of employees:
  • Ανάγνωση: The evolution and importance of HR in organisations
  • Ακρόαση: An interview with an HR manager discussing their role
  • Γράφοντας: Drafting a brief description of one’s HR job role
  • Μιλώντας: Discussing the role of HR in an organisation
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Recruitment and Selection
  • Γραμματική: Past tenses
  • Vocabulary: Job postings, applications, interviews, selection processes
  • Ανάγνωση: The stages of the recruitment process
  • Ακρόαση: A mock job interview
  • Γράφοντας: Creating a job advertisement for a fictional position
  • Μιλώντας: Job interviews
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Training and Development
  • Γραμματική: Going to and Will
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Onboarding, training modules, career progression
  • Ανάγνωση: The importance of continuous employee training
  • Ακρόαση: A workshop on employee development
  • Γράφοντας: Drafting a training schedule for new employees
  • Μιλώντας: Organising initial and ongoing employee training
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Compensation and Benefits
  • Γραμματική: Present perfect
  • Λεξιλόγιο: salary, bonuses, benefits, allowances, deductions
  • Ανάγνωση: How companies decide compensation packages
  • Ακρόαση: Negotiation of a salary package
  • Γράφοντας: Designing a basic compensation package for a role
  • Μιλώντας: Salaries and bonuses
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Performance Management
  • Γραμματική: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Appraisal, feedback, goals, performance metrics
  • Ανάγνωση: The significance of regular performance reviews
  • Ακρόαση: A mock performance review meeting
  • Γράφοντας: Drafting a performance feedback for an employee
  • Μιλώντας: Improving performance
  • Pronunciation: Book and But + connected speech

Module 6

  • Employee Relations
  • Γραμματική: First conditional
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Employee engagement, grievances, mediation, workplace culture
  • Ανάγνωση: The importance of maintaining positive employee relations
  • Ακρόαση: A mediation session between an employee and a manager
  • Γράφοντας: Drafting a memo addressing a common workplace concern
  • Μιλώντας: Conflict resolution
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 7

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

Module 8

  • Trends in HR and the Future
  • Γραμματική: Second conditional
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Remote work, diversity and inclusion, automation in HR
  • Ανάγνωση: The changing landscape of HR in the digital age
  • Ακρόαση: A seminar on the future of HR practices
  • Γράφοντας: Drafting a proposal for incorporating a new HR trend
  • Μιλώντας: 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.