Most business English programmes look alike on paper. The difference shows later — in whether people handle their real meetings, presentations and conversations any better. These seven questions help you tell the difference before you sign anything.
1. Start with situations, not levels
A level such as B2 tells you what someone knows. It doesn’t tell you whether they can chair a meeting, push back politely on a deadline or follow a fast discussion with native speakers.
Before you compare providers, write down the situations where English matters for your people. Then ask each provider how they will find out what those situations are — and what they will do with that information.
2. Ask what the material will be
Coursebooks teach general English. Your people need the English of their own work: their meetings, documents, clients and vocabulary.
Ask whether materials are written for your organisation, and whether your own documents and real situations will be used. Ask to see an example.
3. Check how the plan adapts
Work changes from week to week. A learner who has a difficult presentation on Thursday needs help with that presentation — not the next unit in the plan.
Ask what happens when priorities change. A good answer describes how the trainer adjusts sessions, not just how the schedule can be moved.
4. Ask who the trainers are
The trainer makes the programme. Ask about qualifications — recognised English-teaching qualifications such as the CELTA or the Delta — and about experience of business settings.
Ask too whether your people will keep the same trainer. Continuity means the trainer already knows the context and does not have to start again.
5. Make progress visible
Progress in business English is easy to claim and hard to see. Ask what learners receive between sessions — for example, a short record of what was covered — and how progress will be described.
The most useful descriptions are in workplace terms: what people can now do in meetings, presentations and conversations that they couldn’t do before.
6. Match the format to the need
One-to-one training suits individual objectives and busy schedules. Group training works when a team shares the same meetings and situations. Senior people often need support with leadership and stakeholder communication rather than more advanced English.
For a single moment that matters — an important presentation, a negotiation, a meeting someone has to chair — short, focused support is often the better choice than a long course.
7. Start with a conversation, not a contract
A provider who understands your context will want to ask questions before recommending anything. Be cautious of a fixed package offered before anyone has asked about your people.
Ask for a recommendation in writing after the first conversation, and check that there is no obligation to continue.
Seven questions to ask any provider
- Which situations will the training focus on — and how will you find out?
- Will the material be written for our organisation, using our own documents?
- What happens when a learner’s priorities change from one week to the next?
- What qualifications and business experience do your trainers have? Will we keep the same trainer?
- What do learners receive between sessions, and how will progress be described?
- Which format do you recommend for our need — and why?
- What do we receive after the first conversation, and are we committed to anything?
This is also how we work at InContext: every programme starts from the situations your people face at work. See how in our approach, or tell us about your team.
InContext Training