Schedule

Professional Speaking Skills

Speaking Skills

24 Hours

Aim of Course

This is the perfect short course (24 contact hours in duration, meeting twice a week over 6 weeks) for working professionals in Singapore whose first language is not English and when communicating with colleagues and customers who want to improve their spoken English skills across a range of business contexts from formal and informal meetings (face-to-face, online and one the phone) to networking and giving presentations.

Learning benefits

Develop & demonstrate the key principles of professional spoken communication through:
  • Clear speech using the key features of pronunciation
  • precise phrasing when speaking using business idiomatic vocabulary, phrasal verbs and collocations/word combinations
  • appropriate and accurate sentence structures by focusing on the key communicative functions of different language structures

Course Syllabus

Develop & demonstrate the ability to

  • understand the key features of spoken English at word level by identifying stressed/unstressed sounds/syllables
  • understand the key features of spoken English at sentence level by using sentence stress, contrastive stress and empathic stress
  • project your voice by pausing, speeding up and chunking
  • use connected speech, correct intonation pitch and rhythm to improve your voice quality
  • use a variety of linking words and discourse markers to skillfully present and communicate key messages clearly and effectively
  • use common phrasal verbs to present and communicate precise meaning clearly and effectively
  • use idiomatic business vocabulary to present and communicate concise meaning clearly and effectively
  • use common business collocations/word combinations to present and communicate concise meaning clearly and effectively
  • use effective conversational fillers and small talk to network effectively
  • use modals, past and future forms to be polite and professional with colleagues and customers
  • use conditionals to negotiate and reach agreement with customers and colleagues
  • use modals to make check/clarify and make suggestions, give advice and instructions, and speculate about future possible outcomes with colleagues and customers