Introduction
English for Sales and Client Service 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 the specialisation of customer service. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking and pronunciation.
Gramatika
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Use the present perfect tense to describe situations requiring a link between the present and the past.
- Use the passive form to create a more polite and indirect tone.
- Use modal verbs to talk about the functions of requests, offers and permission.
- Correctly use adverbs to describe events happening over time.
- Use adverbs to describe the manner in which an action is taken.
- Compare adjectives and adverbs using comparative and superlative forms.
- Use indirect questions to increase formality and politeness of speech.
- Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns.
Vārdnīca
By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 200 expressions used in customer service.
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 customer service contexts.
Unit Summary
Module 1
- Introduction to Sales and Client Service
- Grammar: Adverbs of manner
- Vārdnīca: Key vocabulary and phrases used in the customer service industry
- Lasīšana: Principles of Sales and Client Service
- Klausīšanās: A lecture on customer service
- Rakstīšana: A day in the life
- Runājot: Call centre challenges
- Pronunciation: Hot and Heart + connected speech
Module 2
- Building Rapport with Clients
- Grammar: Adverbs of time
- Vārdnīca: Polite greetings, small talk, and active listening skills
- Lasīšana: Getting that connection
- Klausīšanās: A dialogue dealing with a customer problem
- Rakstīšana: Small talk is a big issue!
- Runājot: Connections
- Pronunciation: Hope and Hop + connected speech
Module 3
- Understanding Customer Needs and Enquiries
- Grammar: Comparatives and superlatives
- Vārdnīca: Clarifying questions, paraphrasing, and summarising client concerns
- Lasīšana: What does the client need?
- Klausīšanās: A dialogue with a mixed-up order
- Rakstīšana: Dealing with the public
- Runājot: The client is not a hot potato!
- Pronunciation: Heart and Hat + connected speech
Module 4
- Presenting Products and Services Effectively
- Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
- Vārdnīca: Describing features, benefits, and comparisons with other options
- Lasīšana: Effectively Describing Product Features and Benefits
- Klausīšanās: A dialogue highlighting a product’s key features
- Rakstīšana: Presenting your product
- Runājot: Selling the impossible!
- Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech
Module 5
- Handling Complaints and Difficult Situations
- Grammar: Indirect questions
- Vārdnīca: Diplomatic language, empathy, and problem-solving techniques
- Lasīšana: Complaints: a professional approach
- Klausīšanās: Dealing with a complaint
- Rakstīšana: Handling complaints
- Runājot: Born to deal with angry clients
- Pronunciation: Fine and Vine + connected speech
Module 6
- Closing the Sale and Upselling
- Grammar: Passive voice
- Vārdnīca: Persuasive language, offering add-ons or upgrades, and finalising transactions
- Lasīšana: Mastering the Art of Closing the Sale and Upselling
- Klausīšanās: A lecture on the science of closing a sale
- Rakstīšana: How to upsell like a pro
- Runājot: Unnecessary upgrades
- Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech
Module 7
- The Importance of Providing After-sales Support
- Grammar: Present perfect
- Vārdnīca: Following up, addressing additional concerns, and fostering long-term relationships
- Lasīšana: The Importance of Providing After-sales Support
- Klausīšanās: Two colleagues discuss after-sales service
- Rakstīšana: After-sales service: a waste of money?
- Runājot: When too much is just too much!
- Pronunciation: Cat and Cut + connected speech
Module 8
- Professional Communication in a Multicultural Environment
- Grammar: Requests, offers and permission
- Vārdnīca: Cultural sensitivity, email etiquette, and phone call best practices
- Lasīšana: Multicultural Communication issues
- Klausīšanās: A lecture on cultural sensitivity
- Rakstīšana: Cultural differences
- Runājot: Email disasters
- Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech
Follow-up
Students completing the English for Sales and Client Service course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.