Syllabus: Spoken English for Working Professionals

Before Week 1 you complete a short placement and baseline check. Checkpoints in Weeks 4, 10 and 14 and a final assessment in Weeks 19–20 show your progress against that baseline.

Phase 1: Build confidence and form sentences (Weeks 1–4)

You can introduce yourself, talk about work, ask basic questions and manage a short conversation.

Week	Class A	Class B	Weekly challenge
1	S1 Professional self-introduction	S2 Your job and workplace	Record a 60-second introduction
2	S3 Daily routines and work schedules	S4 Asking and answering questions	Record five questions and answers
3	S5 Small talk	S6 Polite requests and offers of help	Five polite requests and two polite refusals
4	S7 Giving instructions	S8 Opinions and agreement	Foundation check: an opinion with two reasons

Phase 2: Everyday communication and accuracy (Weeks 5–8)

You can explain past and current work, discuss deadlines and handle basic calls and digital communication.

Week	Class A	Class B	Weekly challenge
5	S9 Talking about past events	S10 Current work and progress	Completed and pending tasks
6	S11 Future plans and deadlines	S12 Problems and their causes	Explain a problem and solution, with an apology
7	S13 Telephone conversations	S14 Online meetings	Meeting introduction and clarification
8	S15 Email and chat communication	S16 Clarifying and confirming information	Simulated message-taking

Phase 3: Take part effectively at work (Weeks 9–12)

You can join a short meeting, report progress, explain problems and negotiate routine work commitments.

Week	Class A	Class B	Weekly challenge
9	S17 Daily work updates	S18 Participating in meetings	A short meeting contribution
10	S19 Ideas and suggestions	S20 Handling workplace problems	Mid-course assessment: explain an issue and propose a solution
11	S21 Teamwork and conflict	S22 Priorities and deadlines	Negotiate two competing deadlines
12	S23 Office vocabulary and collocations	S24 Pronunciation and word stress	Pronunciation recording

Phase 4: Fluency and professional interaction (Weeks 13–16)

You can speak for longer, explain unfamiliar ideas and interact professionally with managers and clients.

Week	Class A	Class B	Weekly challenge
13	S25 Sentence stress and rhythm	S26 Reducing hesitation	Two-minute spontaneous response
14	S27 Paraphrasing and explaining unfamiliar words	S28 Storytelling and sharing experiences	Fluency check: a work-experience story
15	S29 Speaking to managers and senior colleagues	S30 Client and customer communication	Simulated client call, including a complaint
16	S31 Feedback and responding to criticism	S32 Persuasion and negotiation	A proposal and a reply to an objection

Phase 5: Independent professional communication (Weeks 17–20)

You can introduce yourself professionally, take part in workplace scenarios, give a short presentation and answer questions.

Week	Class A	Class B	Weekly challenge
17	S33 Job interviews and career conversations	S34 Networking and self-presentation	A 60–90-second professional pitch
18	S35 Structuring a short presentation	S36 Presenting data, results and recommendations	A short results presentation
19	S37 Handling questions and speaking spontaneously	S38 Integrated office role-play (part of final assessment)	Final assessment, part A: introduction, update and problem explanation
20	S39 Final presentation and questions (part of final assessment)	S40 Feedback and your improvement plan	Final reflection and next-step goals

Phase 1: Build confidence and form sentences (Weeks 1–4)

Phase 2: Everyday communication and accuracy (Weeks 5–8)

Phase 3: Take part effectively at work (Weeks 9–12)

Phase 4: Fluency and professional interaction (Weeks 13–16)

Phase 5: Independent professional communication (Weeks 17–20)

Want to join the next batch?