English for Call Centre Staff

Introduction

English for Call Centre Staff 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 call centre situations. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking and pronunciation.

Grammar

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.

Vocabulary

By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 200 expressions used in the call centre 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 call centre contexts.

Unit summary

Module 1

Introduction to Call Centre Terminology:
Grammar: Present tenses
Vocabulary: Essential call centre vocabulary, types of calls, customer service phrases
Reading: Call centre scripts, articles, and reports
Listening: Recorded call sample
Writing: Call summaries and notes
Speaking: Call centre operations and customer interactions
Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

Customer Enquiries and Complaints:
Grammar: Past tenses
Vocabulary: Types of Enquiries, common customer issues, complaint resolution
Reading: Customer inquiries and complaint emails
Listening: Identifying issues
Writing: Customer responses and complaint resolutions
Speaking: Role-playing customer inquiry and complaint calls
Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

Sales and Upselling Techniques:
Grammar: Going to and Will
Vocabulary: Sales strategies, persuasive language, product features and benefits
Reading: Sales scripts and promotional materials
Listening: Successful sales calls and identifying techniques
Writing: Writing sales pitches and follow-up emails
Speaking: Sales calls and upselling techniques
Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

Technical Support and Troubleshooting:
Grammar: Present perfect
Vocabulary: Technical terms, problem-solving, software and hardware issues
Reading: Technical support guides and troubleshooting manuals
Listening: Technical support calls and identifying solutions
Writing: Technical support instructions and summaries
Speaking: Technical support calls and providing guidance
Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

Call Centre Etiquette and Communication Skills:
Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
Vocabulary: Polite expressions, empathy, active listening
Reading: Call centre etiquette and communication strategies
Listening: Examples of effective and ineffective communication
Writing: Personal communication skills
Speaking: Polite and effective communication in role-plays
Pronunciation: Book and But + connected speech

Module 6

Managing Difficult Customers and Situations:
Grammar: First conditional
Vocabulary: Conflict resolution, negotiation, de-escalation techniques
Reading: Case studies of difficult customer situations
Listening: Calls with challenging customers and identifying strategies
Writing: Handling difficult situations
Speaking: Difficult customer scenarios and practicing de-escalation
Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 7

Call Centre Performance Metrics and Quality Assurance:
Grammar: Passive
Vocabulary: Key performance indicators (KPIs), call monitoring, quality assurance
Reading: Performance reports and quality assurance guidelines
Listening: Call evaluations and feedback sessions
Writing: Self-assessments and performance improvement plans
Speaking: Performance metrics and quality assurance with colleagues
Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 8

Professional Communication for Call Centre Staff:
Grammar: Second conditional
Vocabulary: Formal and informal language, presentation skills, email etiquette
Reading: Professional emails, memos, and announcements
Listening: Colleagues and supervisors in various situations
Writing: Professional emails, memos, and announcements
Speaking: Communication skills in different scenarios
Pronunciation: Fine and Vine + connected speech

Follow-up

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