Help for HR When Considering Employee English Training

Advice for HR, Communication Skills Training

April 9, 2025

There’s more on offer than “English Courses.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is intended to help Human Resources Managers and Training Managers choose the right kind of English training for employees in Bangkok. You’ll learn how to first look at employees’ fundamental job tasks then look at what kind of English training they need to do those tasks better.

● ● ●

It is no secret that most Thai professionals would benefit from improving their English communication skills.

So, if you’re a Human Resources Director or Training Manager in a multinational company doing business here, at some point you will probably need to arrange English Training for Employees in Bangkok.

This is an big responsibility for HR departments – and not just with respect to corporate English training, but with any kind of corporate training program. You need to be sure that the vendor to whom you pay money is effective and that you get a good return on your investment.

Training budgets don’t grow on trees!

● ● ●

Making sure you get the right “kind” of corporate English training.

Determining which vendor your company should partner with is one thing for you to consider.

Determining what kind of English communication skills training your vendor delivers to your employees is another thing to consider.

ECSC Thailand is of the opinion that corporate English trainers should not deliver more grammar lessons. That’s because it is not effective and does not result in positive ROI.

So, our first bit of advice would be this:

Find a vendor that clearly demonstrates that they DO NOT primarily teach grammar. They should provide “communication skills training” that privileges business vocabulary and professional soft skills over the “rules” about English.

Then:

Once you’ve found a vendor that provides this kind of training, you can talk to them about how they will customize the business vocabulary and communication skills to your employees’ needs.
There is no point in your vendor teaching your Finance & Accounting Team about English phrases and language techniques that your Sales Team would use.
Any English training should relate directly to your employees’ jobs.

Making sure the training relates directly to your employees’ jobs.

The most important thing to take into account are the job tasks of your employees.

As we alluded to above, teaching vocabulary that is not specific to the learners’ workplace needs would largely be a waste of time.

This may sound obvious, but many vendors offer a one-size-fits-all approach to English training for employees in Bangkok. We think you can do better than that, and it starts with your HR, Training, and L&D personnel being aware of employees’ needs.

They should think about all the things that specific teams or departments do that require communication in Pasa Angrit.

You can just make a simple list, and here we get you started:

Which employees need to write emails in English?
Who needs to make phone calls in English?
Who needs to give presentations in English?
Who needs to give updates in meetings in English?
Who needs to to attend events that require speaking English?

Once you have a list of needs and an idea of which teams would benefit from English training, you can start thinking about which individuals should participate and what style of training they should participate in.

Making sure you choose the right style of training.

Sometimes traditional classes are best for your employees. This is usually the case for beginners who need to brush up on basics of English communication in a professional environment.

You are probably familiar with corporate English courses on offer in Thailand: Small groups of employees meeting twice per week in the company’s conference room, a professional trainer at the white board.

These can be quite effective when done correctly and when there is a long-term commitment. Keep in mind that English is a skill, and improvements do not happen overnight. Sustained effort is generally a must.

Sometimes workshops are best for your employees. This is usually the case for employees who are capable of communicating in English – not quite fluently, but well enough to get through most conversations with native speakers.

But, it is also clear that they would benefit from learning vocabulary (phrases, questions, idioms) that is specific to the business situations in which they work.

For example, maybe you have some employees in the Finance & Accounting Team who can speak pretty well, but lack confidence in business meetings. They probably don’t say much in those meetings because they don’t know how to “jump in” to the conversation properly, or they don’t know how to interrupt politely, etc.

This shyness is easily fixed with a workshop that gives them role-play opportunities, and injection of confidence, and the precise language they need to contribute to their next business meeting in English.

Sometimes something more robust would be best for your employees. ECSC Thailand calls this Onsite English Consulting or OEC.

OEC is intended for companies that want to turn the page on the “old” way of English training and attain English proficiency that’s on the level of companies in, say, Singapore.

How does OEC work? It works by providing your people with a real-time, on-demand English trainer who works onsite at your offices.

They observe, coach, and encourage employees on all things English. The goal is to truly create a culture where English is always present, so eventually your Thai-speaking employees can communicate without hesitation with their native-English speaking coworkers and customers.

We believe it is the future of English training. Be an early adopter and get ahead of your competitors.

So to recap:

Find an English training vendor that you trust
Ensure they don’t teach grammar from a workbook
Determine what kinds of tasks your teams perform in English
Determine which employees would most benefit from English training
Discuss with your vendor which “style” of training would be best for your teams

● ● ●

Visit our Contact Us page to inquire about English communication skills training for professionals in Thailand. Or, schedule a discovery call with our Founder, Don Gorr.

Don Gorr

I'm the Founder & Managing Director of ECSC Thailand. We help companies 'activate the English in their employees' so they can speak English confidently.