Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S
Background
Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S has had an on-going collaboration with BLS for several years now. Every year employees enrol in courses in English and Danish. There is one specific group of Shipping Trainees who follow an exam preparation course in English, and then take the Cambridge Business English Certificate Examination at Higher level.
Objectives
The key goals of the training are twofold. Firstly, the trainees are required to achieve a pass grade in the examination. Therefore the course has a strong focus on the skills required in the exam (speaking, listening, reading and writing tests about business-related topics) as well as detailed consideration of the format and requirements of the exam. Secondly, the trainees need to acquire a level of English which enables them to function professionally.
Approach
There is a large overlap in the two above-mentioned objectives, as the examination is geared towards preparing people for business communication in English. However, shipping terminology forms a large part of the trainees’ working life, and therefore BLS was careful to include the assimilation of this vocabulary. In addition, following the initial meetings with the language consultant, it was discovered that two of the six group members had some basic grammar weaknesses. Therefore, these two participants were given a 20-lesson grammar course before they were joined by the remaining four participants for the 50–lesson exam preparation course.
Results
All participants were successful in the examination, and also completed the training with sufficient knowledge and skills for their future roles at Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S.
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