Effective,Communication,With,A,Multi Language,Workforce,Toolkit, ,Final,,,,

8/19/2019 Effective,Communication,With,A,Multi Language,Workforce,Toolkit, ,Final,,,,

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Workforce Cohesion Toolkits provide employers and providers of multicultural,

migrant and multi-language workers with good practice and guidance to achieve an

inclusive workplace.

Effective Communication with a Multi-Language Workforce

THE WORKFORCE COHESION TOOLKIT


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C O

N T E N T

S

THISWORKFORCE

COHESION TOOLKIT

HAS BEENPREPARED BY

THE FOLLOWINGPARTIES...

Introduction

Establishing effective internal

Language and Communication Policies

Features of Effective Workplace

Communication

Language Levels and Developing Skills

Checking for understanding

Summary

Appendices

Page 1

Page 16

Page 3

Page 28

Page 33

Page 40

Page 39

W: www.co-operative.coop

Contributions to this publication have

been gratefully received from Institute of

Community Cohesion (iCoCo), Dunbia,

Greencore Cakes (Hull), Hitchen Foods,

Tulip, Speedibake and Vion Food Group Ltd.

W: www.workforcecohesion.org

AuthorsDavid Camp FCIPD;

Stephen Mather

W: www.poultec.co.uk

AuthorsRachel Öner Ba (Hons), MFIL, QTLS;

Ozan Erdinc Ba (Hons), MFIL;Pam Dowling AFIL.

W: www.labourproviders.org.uk


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1. INTRODUCTION

Purpose of this toolkit

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide practical help and guidance to managers in

the food industry on how to better communicate with a workforce where more than

a single language is spoken (referred to throughout this toolkit as a multi-language

workforce).

The business need

There is a clear business case for promoting effective communication within the

workplace. Effective communication leads to better performance, higher productivity

and more staff buy-in. Engaging with staff and supporting their basic skills mean they

feel valued and recognised and therefore generally do more to support the business.

When assigning work tasks, establishing standards, providing health and safety

information and in promoting the company’s internal values and culture, the business

need for effective communication is obvious as are the consequences when it fails.

Issues caused through problems in communication can lead to major incidents such

as:

• Serious and even fatal accidents.

• Product quality and safety issues.

• Legal cases being brought against employers for discrimination.

• Tensions and conicts in the workforce

The potential gains of getting it right in terms of business margin and individual

performance improvement are also highly significant so improved communications

should be seen as an opportunity as well as a challenge.

The challenge of effectively communicating across the entire workforce in every

situation, in an environment where there may be limited English language skills and

where a number of different languages are spoken is also obvious, but clearly does not

reduce the critical need for it.

How to use this toolkit

This toolkit is intended to be an accessible source of practical information and help

and is not intended to be a definitive guide to all aspects of communication in the

workplace. Neither does it propose a “one size fits all” solution to the challenges of

a multi-language workforce, but rather seeks to pull together knowledge, experience

and examples of good practice from a wide variety of sources working in the industry,

including producers, retailers, language experts and governmental bodies.

The toolkit covers many of the main issues that arise in communicating with a multi-

language workforce and looks closely at the difficulties experienced by non-English

speakers compared to the expectations held by their native speaking employer.

Internal Communication and Language policies, as the means by which a company

sets out to ensure fairness and non-discrimination and promote inclusivity at all times,

are also discussed (section 2). In addition to providing practical hints and tips on

the key features of effective communication, it gives help and advice on how cultural

differences affect communication, and how to make communications more accessible

to a migrant workforce (section 3).

This toolkit also aims to provide an insight, through the use of short case studies, into the

ways companies have successfully integrated the language needs of their workforce,

giving practical examples of how communication issues have been addressed and

how building a culture of inclusiveness has been effective. The toolkit will give hints

and tips on the day-to-day support that can be given to people with English language

needs. Looking at direct language issues in particular, topics will cover understanding

language levels (section 4) and capabilities, translation and interpretation and how to

check for understanding (section 5).

Why is it a challenge?

A complex picture

Company• Mission• Values

• Business Objectives

Expectations• Behaviours

• Standards

Operational• Tasks

• Peak Demands etc

Industry Standards• H&S

• Hygiene

• Product quality and safety issues

Social

Types of and reasons for communication


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Why have a Communication Policy?

Establishing and implementing written formal Communication and Language Policiespromotes effective workforce communication, establishes good practice and limits the

likelihood of breaching the Equality Act (see Appendix 1 for details of the Equality and

Human Rights Commission web address where you can download codes of practice).

It should also drive the processes and behaviours required in order to live up to the

stated policy.

A Communication and Language Policy should provide for communications between

management and the workforce and between the different production areas of the

workforce.

What is a Communication Policy?

An overarching Communication Policy is to be recommended regardless of whetherthe organisation has a multi-language workforce and ensures a strategic approach

to the what, when and how of two-way communications within the workplace. Of

course, such an overarching policy would take into account the language dynamics of

the workforce and so would include a Language Policy and would reference strategic

decisions that affect this such as recruitment policies and procedures.

A Communication Policy would also need to consider the current situation as well

as state intended goals. For example, current job requirements may stipulate that a

minimum level of English is required upon recruitment but there may be a number of

people in the business that do not currently speak English at that level but have been

valued employees for many years. The policy, processes and procedures need to take

this reality into account.

The style of communication should also be considered– what skills and support are

required by those doing or responsible for the communication? In a multi-language

environment the previous points would be considered in relation to, and appropriate

for, the level of English spoken by those communicating.

An excellent resource, when putting together an overarching Communications Policy

is the CIPD (The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) Practical Tool

“Taking Employee Communication Seriously”, available through the CIPD website (See

Appendix 1 for web address).

Essentials – Example Communication and Language Policy Content

1. Scope and Strategy

2. Objectives

3. Policy participants/signatories

4. Language Policy

a. Business language and spoken Language Policy

b. Establishing the level of English required for each job at the site

c. Recruitment advertising position

e. Language and literacy testing policy and procedure

i. Recruitment

ii. Existing employees

e. Translation policy

f. Supporting workers whose first language is not English

g. Language teams policy

5. Communication channels

6. Communication, Language and Literacy Training Policy

a. Managers’ communication competency standards

b. ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) training policy

c. Literacy training policy

d. Assessment of understanding methods

7. Policy review framework and timetable

Channel Purpose /Objective Assessment ofUnderstanding Frequency MeasuringEffectiveness

Intranet

Email

Meetings

Training

Notice boards/

Posted Information

Briefs / Verbal

Communication

Written Information

Staff Surveys

Feedback Systems


2. ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE INTERNALLANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION POLICIES


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Why have a Language Policy?

Historically many businesses haven’t established a Language Policy which has meant

an unplanned situation where managers have to react to large numbers of workers

with a variety of levels of English and deal with issues as best they can on an ad-hoc

basis rather than plan, manage and put into practice a thought-through strategy.

A Language Policy forms part of your overarching Communication Policy and enables

plans to be made and processes to be put into place and rolled out to managers to

ensure that business objectives, basic policies and procedures, required behaviours,

standards and job tasks are understood by all workers, in order to maintain productivity,

good industrial relations and high standards of health and safety. Therefore, having a

Language Policy that works for you is vital.

Language Policy Questions

A key consideration in developing your Language Policy is whether you currently have,or propose to have an English only policy for all communications in the workplace?

If Yes, this would mean that management instructions, health and safety literature,

contracts, recruitment processes etc. will be delivered in English. The implications

of this policy are that a minimum level of English would have to be determined for

employees. This would be tested at recruitment and existing staff would be given

support to meet this level.

Section a) on page 7 explores the question of whether there should be a minimum

standard of English in greater detail.

If No, the implications will be that management instructions etc., as above, would

have to be translated into as many different languages as are present in the workforceand the implications of this policy are that there is no minimum English language

requirement for new or existing employees.

Section b) on page 10 examines whether all or some written and verbal communication

should be translated.

These questions should be considered in line with the following factors:

Language Policy Considerations

Employment, recruitment and non-discrimination law

Skills availability

Health and Safety requirements

Job requirements

Workforce cohesion

6


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Required Level of English – Good Practice

• If you choose a minimum level of English requirement the site must establish that

the English ability required from applicants, employees and agency workers is

appropriate to the job being undertaken. The English language ability should be ata level necessary for the satisfactory and safe performance of the job and be able to

be objectively justified for each individual job role.

• The person specications of all job roles in the company should include this

appropriate English language ability level.

• Candidates for employment (including native English speakers) should be tested

during the recruitment process using an English language assessment test; there

are commercially available Literacy and ESOL assessments and these should be

used by suitably qualified people as the results are usually linked to the National Core

Curriculum levels.

• Where in-house English Literacy and Language selection tests are used, these

should be well designed, reliable, properly administered and professionally validated.

You may want to consult your local college or training provider to check that your

test is fit for purpose.

• It could be direct discrimination to target recruitment adverts to non-English speakers

or indirect discrimination by disadvantaging people of particular non-UK nationalities

or national origins if you were to ask all applicants to complete an application form

in English or take a test which requires a higher standard of wri tten English than the

job itself requires.

English Only – Legal Matters

• To require all conversations to be in English allows most Br itish workers to

communicate in their first language but prevents workers of other nationalities or

national origins from doing so. Such a rule is likely to be indirect discrimination

unless you can show that it has a legitimate aim and is a proportionate way of

meeting that aim.

• When the conversation is directly related to their work or to complying with health

and safety standards, then it is likely to be proportionate for you to regulate the

languages used but only so far as is necessary to ensure that everyone concerned

understands what they and others must, or must not do.

• When conversations take place during break time and are unrelated to work duties,

an English-only rule is likely to be difficult to justify.

• Where casual conversations take place during work time between operatives on a

production line, you would need to consider whether there is any need to regulate

the languages used. What would your aim be in imposing a potentially discriminatoryEnglish-only rule and would such a rule be a proportionate way of meeting that aim?

For example, if Latvian workers while working on a production line chat to each other

in Latvian instead of English, do workers of other nationalities feel excluded? If so, is

there evidence that this affects their work performance? If not then you may not be

able to justify an English-only rule.

a) Recruiting for a required minimum level of English

The decision about whether or not to require a minimum level of English for all workers

(including agency staff) for each role in your business should form part of your Language

Policy. This will be informed by wider business and strategic considerations such as

the availability of skilled labour with a minimum level of English, approach to sourcinglabour and management style.

The following box below identifies important legal considerations. If you choose a

minimum required level of English you will also need to decide what that level should

be. The box identifies important good practice to consider in order to avoid potentially

directly or indirectly discriminating.

You may also need to consider if there are to be exceptions included in this policy,

for instance in the case of certain specialised roles where skills availability are low and

how these exceptions will be managed in relation to the individuals needs and that of

the business.

The creation of whole teams or areas who speak a single language either as part of

a policy or through common practice might appear as a way to deal with a multi-

language workplace but would leave the business open to legal challenge on the basis

that such a practice would effectively amount to segregation of the workforce.


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Communication Channels

Part of your overarching Communication Policy would include the methods used to

communicate and would take into consideration your Language Policy.

Methods may be broken down into:

A. Structured Training

B. Verbal Communication

C. Written Communication

D. Posted Communication

For each of these areas it is worth asking some questions about the methods you are

using now or are intending to use in order to implement your policy within the multi-

language environment you have, making sure that your chosen methods are effective

and compliant.

A. Structured training

This includes induction, classroom based training, web-based and on the job task

based training.

B. Verbal Communication

This includes induction, classroom based training, web-based and on the job task

based training.

Verbal Communication - Think about it...

Training – Think about it

• Can the training be sufciently

understood by all of those on the course?

• Are the language skills of the attendees

sufficient to ensure learning takes place?

• Is the training developed and deliveredin a way that is appropriate and

understandable to those on the course?

• How do you measure the effectiveness

of the training including those with limited

English language skills?

• Is the verbal communication understood by those to whom it is being communicated?

• For purposes of day-to-day management, line managers should be aware that it

could be indirect discrimination to provide information or instructions in a language

which excludes people of particular nationalities or national origins. It may be

appropriate, for example, for a Polish line leader managing predominantly Polish

workers to give instructions in Polish as well as in English, but they must still ensure

that other workers who have a different main language are equally able to receive

relevant instructions.

Case Studies

The importance of channels of communication is recognised by many of the companies

interviewed. Tulip has regular ‘Joint Committee meetings’. The purpose of these is

to give employees a vehicle to contribute to discussions or make suggestions for

improvements. There are representatives of different language groups attending these

committee meetings.

Dunbia has TV screens in all of their main sites that display on a loop multi-language

communications that covers information from their Employee Forums, company staff

discounts and announcements reminding people of their “Speak out” helpline which isrun by an independent company. Employees can speak to someone in a confidential

manner in their own language, any queries are then sent to Dunbia Head Office to reply

to and feedback is translated if necessary.

Greencore Cakes (Hull) hold staff forums where workers from all nationality groups are

represented and invited to share any concerns they may have. This, together with an

‘open door’ policy, means that workers all feel included and have the confidence to

contribute.


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C. Written Communication

This includes contracts of employment, terms and conditions, staff handbooks,

newsletters, company emails and letters.

D. Posted Information

This includes safety notices, notice boards,

performance boards etc.

Written Communication - Think about it...

• There could be challenges to whether contract terms are legally binding by employees

of certain nationalities or national origins if they are not able to understand the terms

and conditions stated in their standard contract of employment.

• You may need to use more than one method to explain basic policies and procedures

or the contents of employment contracts. For example you could provide a written

translation of a whole document or main points into relevant languages, develop a

simplified version with pictorial images to explain mutual obligations or use a ‘buddy’

system pairing the new employee or agency worker with an experienced worker

who speaks the same language and can be relied upon to translate the information

accurately.• Disciplinary, grievance and complaints procedures should be fair and in a form

and language accessible to all employees. You should take steps to ensure that

employees with limited ability to read English understand fully what constitutes a

disciplinary offence and the sanctions that can be imposed.

Posted Information - Think about it...

There should be a process to ensure that the level of

English used on all posted information is not higher

than the level of English ability required of workers

(see sections 4 and 5 for more information).

How will you know?

Part of the Communication and Language Policy should include how you and other

managers will know how effective your communication is, including when giving

work instructions and when communicating company policies and standards. Somesuggestions about how to do this can be found in Section 5.

Case Study

Greencore Cakes (Hull) encourages the use of English throughout the company. This

starts at recruitment when workers sit an English assessment. The results of these

assessments have proven to be very effective and give a score for role suitability;

those with higher levels can then be considered for higher roles. This, in turn, is a

good motivation to learn English for anyone wanting to progress in the company. For

workers who are not as advanced in English, ESOL classes are held twice a week

on site and workers, permanent or agency, can join these classes from day one. Allclasses are funded by Greencore and are scheduled on different work patterns.

Having a minimum standard of English has been effective for the company. Signage

and written documentation is all in English, saving costs on translations. Inductions

and training sessions are held in English and only if there is a real need to translate, is

an interpreter is provided. The company regularly asks workers to repeat back what

they have been instructed. One way this is achieved is through regular audits on the

shop oor by personnel working within the ofces which includes conversations with

workers regarding the role they are carrying out, health and safety, and risks. Also,

workers that are transferred to another role within the business, have to be able to fully

demonstrate physically and verbally that they understand their new tasks before they

can be signed off to do the job.


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Internal Communication Procedures

Establishing and identifying internal communication procedures requires looking at

how you presently communicate with your workforce. The table below can be used

as a guide for things you need to consider in formulating the internal communication

procedures that are right for your business.

Channel Purpose Intended Result Frequency

Intranet

Home Page Company profile and

key business metrics

To keep employees up

to date on business

progress.

Daily

Department Page Current orders and

output targets

To keep department

staff up to date

Daily

Shop Floor Screens Output KPIs and

performance data

Tracking of output and

motivation of teams.

Daily

Email

Information Bulletins.

Director’s messages.

Company Information.

Passing information

one way.

Aid to engagement -

employees understand

progress and issues.

Weekly and as

necessary.

Department summary

reports

Passing information

one way.

Employees understand

what the rest of the

organisation is doing.

Monthly

Channel Purpose Intended Result Frequency

Meetings

Informal lunches with

senior managers

Two way

communication with

line managers and

supervisors.

Discussion on big

issues and upward

feedback on shop oor

issues.

Twice a month

Director’s briefings and

presentations

Two way

communication with allemployees

Presentation of

strategic issues

Three times a year.

Line Managers and

supervisors meetings

Operational briefings Managers understand

what others are doing.

Every other week.

Supervisor’s team

meetings

Operational briefings,

work instructions.

Employee knowledge

of output targets and

order status

Daily

Common interest

group meetings

Cross cultural

communication and

the development of an

inclusive workforce.

Greater knowledge of

co-workers

Monthly as required.

Training

Health and Safety

Training, refreshers andupdates

Safe working practices.

Understanding to betested by ‘teach back’

techniques.

Continued safe

working at all levels.

In accordance with the

Company’s Health andSafety Policy.

Food Hygiene Safe working practices.

Understanding to be

tested by ‘teach back’

techniques.

Continued production

of safe products

In accordance with

the Company’s Food

Hygiene policies.

Noticeboards

Notification of common

interest group

meetings

Cross cultural

communication and

the development of an

inclusive workforce.

Greater knowledge of

co-workers

Monthly/updated as

required.

News, output charts,

rosters, work planningetc.

Simple straightforward

notices conveyinginformation.

Better informed and

engaged employees.

Weekly

Surveys

Employee Survey

(Permanent,

temporary and agency

employees)

To gain a measure of

employee satisfaction

and determine

issues for continuous

improvement.

Formal record of the

employee voice.

Once a year.


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Implementation Processes

The following box identifies factors to consider in developing and implementing written

Communications and Language Policies:

Implementation Tips

How will workers and worker

representatives be involved in

developing and implementing the

Policy?

You could have a Focus Group to discuss

content, making sure all relevant groups

are represented.

Will it be a jointly agreed process with

worker representatives and Trade

Unions where present?

The Focus Group could report back as a

regular agenda item.

What are worker Learning / Safety

Representatives’ roles in ensuring

that workers with limited English

skills are effectively communicated

with?

You should make sure that those

representatives have the skills and

understanding to carry out this role.

What training will be provided to

line managers to communicate in

accordance with the policy?

Provide training for managers and

supervisors in Cultural Awareness as well

as Language Awareness.

How will it be ascertained that

workers find the information

comprehensible and understand the

message being communicated?

Consult a language specialist for advice

if needed.

What feedback loops for workers will

be provided to enable the upward

flow of information?

Involve learning representatives in all

stages of the process.

How will the effectiveness of

individual manager’s communication

skills be measured?

This could be part of your Annual

Performance and Appraisal System.

How and when will the policy be

reviewed?

Schedule regular review dates. Your

communication and Language Policy

may need to be adapted considerably

while it is being implemented for the first

time.

There are some clear features of effective communication to use whoever your audience

is whether you are communicating with an English speaker or a non-English speaker.

Is the information clear?

All the information provided, written or verbal, should be neutral, free from bias and

uncomplicated. You should:

• Re-word documents so that they include words used more frequently rather than

their formal equivalents such as use of ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’.

• Arrange regular feedback sessions with your employees to gather suggestions on

how to improve communication.

• Make sure your communications suit your audience. Whether you are talking or

presenting written information.

• Summarise the discussion at the end. A good communicator realises that clarity

now will save time and prevent misunderstandings later. Summarising also reassures

the audience that you have also been listening and understood any comments and

feedback that they have made.

• Do not be aggressive in your manner. Make sure your tone is suitable for the

audience and be assertive.

• Think about the speed of your speech and whether rushing your message will mean

the listener misses out on vital information.

Communication Essentials

• Make it clear

• Keep it concise

• Make it accessible

• Check it has been understood


3. FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE WORKPLACECOMMUNICATION


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Is it concise?

Be concise with the information you provide. Remember it takes time to develop,

prepare, distribute, read, listen and understand information and time is money. More

complex language can often result in misunderstandings and can be counterproductive.

You can still be polite and direct with the information you give and you can achievethis by:

• Identifying the key points, ideas and in some cases just key words that you want to

convey in each bit of communication and recognise that the rest is not necessary.

• You should not be abrupt, but succinct and direct. Do not hide the main message of

what you want to say in endless wafe.

Is it accessible?

Giving clear and concise information is not enough unless it is also accessible. Some

questions to consider are:

• Do you have the means to establish which language a person speaks? You could

use a Language Identification card. These are used extensively in the public sector.

(See Appendix 1).

• Do you have an interpreting service available for when needed? (See Appendix 1)

• Are you going to translate documents? The Association of Labour Providers provides

a low cost translation service. (See Appendix 1)

• Do you have bi-lingual dictionaries that can be used to explain simple instructions?

• Have you considered transferring information to pictorial images?

• Have you considered providing on site ESOL classes? (for denition and information

on ESOL levels see section 4).

Has it been understood correctly?

The above steps of providing clear, concise and accessible information will really only

be fully effective if you follow through by checking someone has understood. This final

stage could be seen as a Critical Control Point (CCP).

Neither side should be afraid to ask questions if they do not understand or need further

details about what is being said. Remember that a conversation should be interactive

and not a one-way dialogue. For additional guidance on checking for understanding

see section 5 of this Toolkit.

It may also be valuable to give workers an open channel for feedback, which can help

to understand how the communication has been received; worker committees with

regular meetings can be organised, or make it clear to all that an open door policy

exists.

Conducting Effective Staff Surveys

Well managed staff surveys can assist in increasing workforce cohesion and morale;

resulting in increased staff retention rates, lowered absenteeism, improved productivity,

and increased profitability. There are various actions you can put in place to ensure the

success of your staff survey. These include:

1. Agree the aims and objectives of the survey - talk to managers and workers in focus

groups or individually to decide what the purpose of the survey is, why the organisation

is conducting it, where and when workers will be able to access it and how the results

will be used.

2. Market the survey - create awareness in the workplace; workers need to be given

plenty of notice about an upcoming survey. Use any medium(s) available such asnotice boards or meetings. Emphasise the importance of workers responding and

how valuable their opinion is to ensure necessary improvements can be made to the

organisation; be clear about the processes you have in p lace to review survey findings

and action results.

3. Guarantee employee confidentiality – reassure workers that their responses will

not be linked to them as individuals. This will ensure that workers give a more honest

response and lead to more valuable feedback.


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4. Make your survey accessible – ensure that your workers understand and can access

the survey. Use simple and direct language, and translate the surveys into required

languages when possible. Consider workers with poor literacy levels; use a survey

tool which offers the option of issuing the survey by phone for those workers who

cannot read the survey questions.

5. Consider incentives for completed responses within the given timeframe – research

shows incentives increase response rates. They are especially useful in a longer

survey and can be anything that wil l appeal to the employee demographic.

6. Send reminders - survey reminders can increase your responses by another 10-

15% by providing an additional prompt to workers to complete the survey 7-10

days after the initial invite was sent.

7. Share results - communicate a summary of the key findings with your workers

promptly after survey completion. This will provide assurance that time and effort

spent on completing the survey was worthwhile. Furthermore, transparency will

promote worker inclusion, and reinforce loyalty and trust in the organisation.

8. Take action on findings - it i s imperative that the organisation is committed to making

appropriate changes for improvement based on the findings of the survey. If no

action is taken (or seen to be taken), the survey could potentially have an adverse

effect within the organisation, promoting distrust and often reinforcing some of the

concerns raised in the workers feedback.

Good Communication - Practice, Tips and Techniques in Multi-Language

Workforce

Employees in a fast paced manufacturing environment need to process a lot of

information in the course of their jobs and this information can range from receiving

simple instructions to listening to a technical demonstration. Where those involved in

the communication speak different first languages, in order to make sure that such

communication is effective, here is some practical advice, tips and techniques for

being understood.

Verbal Communication

Three golden rules should apply when communicating with non-English speaking

nationals.

Golden Rules

The Three Golden Rules of Verbal Communication

1. Don’t raise your voice. Shouting can actually make understanding harder, whereas it

is easier to be understood if you are calm and encouraging in your speech. The listener

should not feel embarrassed by not understanding and if they feel at ease, they are

more likely to follow and take part in any conversation.

2. Speak slowly. One of the most effective ways to be understood is to use a much

slower pace than you would usually do. This allows for the recipient to process the

information.

3. Keep your sentences short and to the point. Someone who is unable to speak

English well will be more likely to understand short, clear and simple sentences than

long, complex ones which are hard to follow.

There are however, several other techniques you can use in addition to the three

Golden Rules.

• Pause in between points.

• Actively encourage the worker to ask questions and let you know if they do not

understand.

• Check for understanding (see section 5) after every point made. Ask open questions

such as “So which colour knife do you need to use for raw meat?’ as opposed to

‘Do you understand?’.

• A practical demonstration with the use of mime or gestures can cross many

communication barriers and aid understanding of a difficult topic - beware, though,

that cultural differences can affect intentions here.

• Make sure the words you use can be understood and are not too difcult, avoiding

technical language and jargon.


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Keeping it Simple

Below is a list of example words that can be very difficult to understand. Opposite

these is a suggestion of a more simplified word that can be used:

Advise tell

Belongings things

Commence start

In the event of if

Issue you with give you

On receipt when you get

On request when you ask

Per annum a year

Prior to before

Purchase buy

Regarding about

Request ask for

Should you wish if you want

Terminate end

There are many more examples of how to simplify language and these can be

downloaded from the Plain English Website (www.plainenglish.co.uk).

If you do need to use jargon or technical language relating to a particular job, make

sure you have explained it first. You may wish to consider having a ‘vocabulary’ list

of words that are specific to your industry or their job role – this way they have the

opportunity to research the words by checking with a colleague or looking the word

up. This list can be given out at induction or any training event or update meetings.

Optimising the chances of being understood

• Be prepared to repeat yourself if you are not understood. Firstly, repeat what you

have said then re-phrase if you are still not understood.

• Avoid using irony or jokes. Phrases such as “I wasn’t born yesterday” can be very

confusing.

• Use ‘active’ language such as ‘You must wear a hair net’ rather than ‘Hair nets must

be worn’ – in the second example it is not clear who should carry out the action.

• ‘Buddy’ systems can work very effectively. Wherever possible, pair a new employee

up with a more experienced worker who can act as a mentor. The ‘buddy’ could be

a compatriot or otherwise, but someone who has a more advanced level of English.

• For nal consolidation, always give a hand-out of the main points that were made in

the discussions; however, make sure anything written down is also in ‘plain English’.

Written English

Much care needs to be taken with the use of written English in any document given to

a migrant worker. In fact, the skill of reading can be harder for some, especially those

who have not received any formal language training in the past. Therefore, the same

rules as for spoken instructions apply. The table on page 23 identifies some of the

techniques you can use to make written communication more effective.

Wr i t t en Eng lish


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Process Reason or effect

Sentences Keep them short!

Bullet points Use bullet points to clearly separate key pieces of information.

Vocabulary Avoid vocabulary that is too formal or difficult to understand.Use

simpler, more recognisable word

Fami liar words Use words that wi ll be heard on a regular basis, (mak ing sure

these are either explained beforehand or as a footnote to the

text).

No capitals Use lower case print – it is recognised that capital letters are

generally more difficult to read. Capitals are also recognised by

many cultures as having the effect of shouting

Active* not passive language Make sure that you use active verbs as well as simpler language

– “you will be observed” can easily be changed to “He will watch

you”.

Instructions in order It may seem obvious, but make sure instructions are written in

the correct order, preferably without using time-markers such as

‘before that’, ‘afterwards’ or ‘meanwhile’, but with numbers in

sequence.

Be concise If your document is large, consider shortening it and only giving

out the specific information that applies to the worker

Images Use images and photos wherever

possible to help get the message

across – however, beware of culturally

sensitive photos (possibly religious) or

those that are very specific to our

culture (a lollipop lady with her stop sign).

Easily recognisable images are the

quickest way to get a message across,

which is why they are used widely in

Health and Safety signage.

* Source: ESOL for Food Manufacturing booklet, National Skills

Academy for Food & Drink Manufacturing and Poultec Training.

Toolbox Talk Handouts Toolbox Talks are used widely and follow many of these

principles mentioned. Whilst these talks are good for getting amessage about a procedure or law across succinctly, be aware

that some of the language in these talks may still be beyond the

general comprehension of many ESOL workers. You may wish to

go through the Talk first and simplify any difficult language or add

a key explaining vocabulary at the bottom of the page

Allow time When giving out forms, give plenty of time for them to be filled in.

Some learners from Arabic or Chinese speaking countries will struggle with everything

from simple signage to manuals as they are adapting to a new script, having not been

brought up using the Roman alphabet or reading from left to right. Writing in a new

script is difficult and can make a person’s writing look scruffy or childish. It is easy then

to make incorrect assumptions on a person’s educational background by the quality

of their written language.

* Verbs are active when the subject of the sentence does the action. Verbs are not active when the subject of the

sentence has the action done to it.

Case Study

Speedibake created a cartoon baker character called PePE to help employees in their

factories recognise the correct type and specification of Personal Protective Equipment

(PPE), hence the name PePE, that is needed in any specific area.


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With over 13 different languages being spoken, translations did not always fully

explain the exact type of PPE required and their internal audit programme identified

non conformances in the PPE section, for example; some operatives using a general

purpose glove when handling hot trays that really required a glove with a greater level

of protection. They therefore felt there was a need to develop an understandable tool

to protect their multicultural, multi-language workforce from injury and to keep them

safe.

To implement PePE into Speedibake, there was clear communication to ensure that

all employees were aware of the changes, risk assessments were carried out and all

departments had input and responsibility so that it was not just the function of the

health and safety department.

By using a set of standard cartoon style PPE drawings - linked to a standard PPE

specification sheet, signage can be created to show the particular hazards in any area

or for any task and the PPE required without the need for text. Simply click on the item

of PPE, then copy and paste it onto the PePE character.

Speedibake’s theory is that if you need to know what PPE is required in any area, justlook for PePE! The development and production of the PePE character and all the

associated tools and scenes has only cost Speedibake around £1000.

PePE was introduced into the Speedibake sites in the summer of 2011 as part of

their “Safety First” program which over the years has had phenomenal success with

incidents dropping from 151 five years ago, to just 17 in the last business year.

Speedibake was awarded a top prize at the Institution of Occupational Safety and

Health (IOSH) for their PePE cartoon character.

Dealing with Cultural Differences

Cultural differences can have a big impact on communication, whether written or

spoken. With regards to speaking, some cultures raise their voices as a sign of being

more assertive. Other cultures however speak much more softly. Even with the best

will in the world, miscommunication is likely to happen, especially when there are

significant cultural differences between people. There are some preventative methods

to bear in mind:

Potential Cultural Misunderstanding

• Be neutral when speaking - when talking to various nationalities it pays to be more

neutral with the tone and volume you use.

• Be considerate of other people’s input into the conversation. Many cultures will not

interrupt, but wait their turn. Some cultures do interrupt and it is not considered rude,

so be tolerant of this.• Don’t touch - patting a head may be considered to be a friendly or affectionate gesture

in our culture, it is considered inappropriate by many Asians to touch someone on

the head, which is believed to be a sacred part of the body. In the Middle East, the

left hand is reserved for bodily hygiene and should not be used to touch another

person or transfer objects. In Muslim cultures, touch between opposite sexes is

generally inappropriate.

• Use eye contact wisely – we may think that good eye contact is a demonstration of

attentiveness. In many cultures; however, including Asian and middle Eastern, eye

contact can be rude, especially between opposite sexes.

• Be aware of gestures – hand gestures may have a different meaning and/or be

offensive to those from other cultures. One common example is the use of a finger or

hand to indicate “come here please”. This gesture in some cultures is very offensive.

Pointing is also considered to be rude in some cultures and Asians typically use their

entire hand to point to something.

B e a w a r e o f

g e s t u r e s

h a n d g e s t u r e s m a y h a v e

a d i f f e r e n t m e

a n i n g a n d /

o r b e o f f e n s i v

e t o t h o s e

f r o m o t h e r c u

l t u r e s.

Eff ti C i ti ith M lti L W kf


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To communicate effectively, you need to be aware of many different factors and the

information given is not an exhaustive list of good practice. There are many other

features to take into consideration, such as how culture and educational background

can have an effect on communications. Your main aim should be to make your working

environment as inclusive as possible and to engage with all your staff using the most

appropriate methods to make sure communications are understood.

One idea is to have a representative; a member of the training or HR team could be

nominated for liaison or advise on matters concerning the communication and training

of staff who speak English as another language. This member of staff could have

received some basic awareness training or be able to use support documents that are

available for employers.

Case Study.

A lack of cultural understanding can have an effect on working relationships. A team

leader at Greencore Cakes (Hull) wondered why workers were disappearing from the

production lines at the same time each morning. A potential conict was avoided after

a quick look at a religious calendar informed HR that their workers were probably

going off to pray. When questioned, the workers were so pleased that the employer

had taken the trouble to look this up. The company now has a dedicated prayer room

and workers have agreed with their supervisors to stagger the timings that they go to

prayer to ensure that there are always enough staff on the shop oor.

Tulip also has an outside consultant delivering regular training to every manager and

supervisor on ‘Dignity at Work’. The sessions cover topics such as how to speak

to people appropriately and cultural and religious awareness. They are currently

developing an in-house training programme to reach all employees.

Why is it important to understand Language Levels?

We cannot expect for everybody in the workforce to have the same level of English.Workers’ backgrounds may vary considerably. Some may have achieved high

qualifications in their countries and speak several languages, therefore they already

have better study skills and can pick up a language more easily. Some may have

received very little or no formal education in their countries and maybe cannot read

and write in their own language. Others may have a good understanding of the written

language from previous self-study, but find it hard to speak English, while others have

lived in England for a while and speak relatively well but have never attended language

classes to improve their skills and find the written word difficult.

In addition there are numerous reasons why workers who are not native speakers may

find it difficult to understand conversations in English:

• They may be in a formal interview or discussion which most people nd stressful insome way, in addition to having to perform in a second or third language.

• People often do not like to admit that they cannot understand.

• They may not be familiar with an accent.

• The conversation may be taking place in a noisy environment.

• If there are other people in the room who speak the same language they can be a

tendency to over rely on translation from a colleague, especially if there are friends/

partners who they perceive to speak better English. In addition to this, some people

feel embarrassed to speak in a foreign language in front of their peers/partners,

especially if they come from a culture of mocking people who make mistakes.

If you have a minimum language requirement, then the information must be presented

in a way that could be understood by all. This means that you need to make sure that

all your communication is not above this minimum level of language. You may need

to get assistance from your ESOL provider with setting and checking language levels

ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages and is a set of courses

designed for people whose main language is not English.


4. LANGUAGE LEVELS ANDDEVELOPING SKILLS


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Experience shows that many manufacturing companies in the UK have a high

proportion of workers with ESOL needs. Anyone with ESOL training requirements

could have needs in any of the four main skills:

• Speaking

• Listening• Reading

• Writing

ESOL is divided into six levels:

ESOL

Pre-entry A total beginner level with no exam outcome

Entry 1 Equivalent to Key Stage 1

Entry 2 Equivalent to Key Stage 1

Entry 3 Equivalent to Key Stage 1Level 1 Equivalent to NVQ Level 1 / GCSE grades G-D / Key Stage 2

Level 2 Equivalent to NVQ Level 2 / GCSE grades C - A* / Key Stage 3/4

It is important to understand what the abilities of workers are at different ESOL levels.

See Appendix 2 to get an idea about the capabilities of ESOL learners carrying out

a common speaking task in the workplace, that of discussing absences from work.

ESOL levels in the workplace

Based on the levels of learners enrolled on workplace ESOL courses, the majority of

migrant workers in the manufacturing sectors in England are Entry 1 to Entry 2 levels;

a level which could be described as not fully competent in basic English at work.

Entry 3 is the level learners should aim to reach in order to meaningfully cope with

day-to-day language of work, procedures and understanding instructions and

generally getting on better with colleagues. Furthermore, it is a good platform

for progression, going on to study other vocational workplace courses such as

NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and Apprenticeships or CIEH certified

industry qualifications.

The last two levels on the scale are Level 1 and Level 2, Level 2 being the equivalent to

grades C-A* at GCSE. Levels 1 or 2 would be appropriate levels for Supervisors and

Managers to function competently, with paperwork and instructions in mind.

Understanding possible effects of language difficulties on worker behaviourIn order to be able to include workers effectively, it is desirable to have some

understanding of the difficulties faced by ESOL learners.

Shifting Perspective

Imagine the scenario. You may have an experienced employee who evades attending

training sessions or has a negative attitude towards reading a form or manual. This

employee, whether their main language is English or not may have communication

issues or difficulties in reading or writing or maybe cannot read or write at all. Once

this fact is revealed their behaviour begins to make sense and steps can be taken to

support and possibly develop this person’s skills.

For many migrant workers whose main language is not English, these difficulties

are there from the beginning of starting their job. An ability to effectively show their

capabilities in any role can be hindered by their lack of ability to express themselves

in English.

Vocabulary and “false friends”

Common areas of difficulty in English for workers for whom English is not their first

language are not simply matters of grammar. Vocabulary can also be an issue. Clearly

someone still learning a language has a limited number of words to use to make

themselves understood and the likelihood is that they will not understand some of

the words a native speaker is saying to them. In addition to a restricted vocabulary

some words in one language can look very similar to a word in English, but can mean

a different thing. These are called ‘false friends’. We are all aware of the example

‘pants’ in American English means ‘trousers’ in British English. Some examples from

languages we now frequently hear in the UK are:


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False Friends

• Fabryka (Polish) factory (English), not ‘fabric’

• Hazard (Polish) gambling (English), not ‘hazard’

• Agenda (Polish) department, branch (English), not ‘agenda’

• Agenda (Portuguese) diary (English), not to be used for ‘meeting

agenda’

• Avisar (Portuguese) warn (English), not ‘advise’

• Injúria (Portuguese) insult (English), not ‘injury’

• Real(Portuguese) royal (English), not ‘real’

• Caution (French) deposit, security or bail (English), ‘not

caution’

• Eventuálne (Czech) possibly (English), not ‘eventually’

• Dislokacija (Lithuanian) location (English), not ‘dislocate’

The use of slang and colloquialisms

Expressions and idioms can be particularly difficult for a worker with limited English

to understand. Trying to understand colloquial expressions (i.e. phrases common

in everyday language rather than in formal speech) can be very hard, especially as

English speakers very often use them as they sound friendly. An example would be

“This is Arturas; he will show you the ropes rather than you fathoming it out”. The ESOL

learner will automatically start translating this saying literally and come to an abrupt halt

when faced with the word ‘fathoming’!

Colloquialisms

• “He will show you the ropes rather than you fathoming it out”

• “You mustn’t use that machine till you have had the training. It is best to be on the

safe side”

• “There’s safety in numbers”

• “Come on; time is money”

Developing skills through ESOL training

ESOL training can aid staff retention and development if they can see a path of

progression within the company. Most learners state at the end of ESOL courses in the

workplace that they can see a benefit in their work such as being able to communicate

better with their supervisor.

There are training providers who can deliver courses in the workplace directly, fitting

around shift patterns. Some of the best types of course you can offer your staff

are those that have been contextualised to the industry or job the employees are

working in.

If you are unable to find a provider in your area, you could contact your local Skills

Funding Agency. Alternatively, the National Sector Skills Councils have details of

Training Providers affiliated with their sectors (See Appendix 1).

Case Study

Try to build links with a local training provider or college which can provide ESOLclasses. The Tulip Redruth site at Cornwall is one company that established ties with

their local college and regularly has two teachers on site delivering ESOL. The training

is free to workers and available to them within their work day. Training is available for

two hours and employees are offered to finish their shift one hour early (paid) to attend.

The training has been very successful with an excellent pass rate.

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Whether or not workers have understood communication is forefront on many

employers’ minds. A common comment is “How do you know spoken communication

has been understood?” “How do you know things have been translated or interpretedthe way you wanted them to be?”*

*Typical comments raised by HR Managers of major food manufacturing companies

consulted.

Checking for understanding is a trademark of good communicators. Non-native

speakers of English can operate at di ffering levels in each aspect of language, namely

speaking, listening, reading and writing. Therefore, it is important to establish and

know what skills they are good at, initially, in order to convey information and then to

check for understanding afterwards.

It is important to check the understanding of employees with ESOL needs regardless

of how simple the information is. However, it is also important to remember that not

understanding simple information is not due to a lack of intelligence but to a lack of

language skills, which can be developed in time.

What follows are three examples where misunderstanding has occurred. For each of

these examples there are some important lessons that can be taken from the situation

and how to avoid them happening in your business.

When Misunderstandings Occur - Example 1

Karwan is from Iraq and came here 10 years ago when he was 19. He has had no

previous education either here or in his country. He is very talkative, confident and

friendly. He is uent in English and when he speaks it is not initiall y obvious that English

is not his first language.

He got offered a job after his successful interview and was asked to read and sign

things during his induction to confirm that he understood. He did so as he didn’t want

to lose his job. It later became clear that Karwan could hardly read and write. Therefore

he was not able to follow the written instructions, although he was good at his job and

a quick learner if somebody explained verbally what he had to do.

Lesson from example 1

What lessons can we learn from this?

• There should have been a formal or informal needs assessment after the interview

to establish his level of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. This could have

been used to decide how to convey information.

• Never assume full understanding without checking for it using appropriate methods.

Written material could have been read out for him to repeat/retell the information

or demonstrate it to confirm his understanding. All of this could have also been

recorded as proof using a company mobile phone or camera.


Vadims from Lithuania came here two years ago. He has got a strong accent and is

not a competent speaker of English, but his writing and reading skills are a lot better.

He is an agency cleaner. The company supervisor, in a rush, told him not to put bleach

in the water to clean the oor.

She said, “Use the blue bottle not the bleach, bleeeaaacchh, okay?”

Vadims: “Okay!”

He went ahead and used bleach every time he cleaned the oor until he was spotted

doing so.


What lessons can we learn from this?

• Okay? is not a good way of checking understanding.

• He probably didn’t hear the negating word ‘not’. ‘No bleach’ would have been more

effective.

• He should have been given written instructions with images/real pictures as well

as verbal instructions. This wasn’t done as they thought his English was not good

enough to understand written texts.

• He should have been given an opportunity to demonstrate his understanding using

or showing the correct cleaning product.


5. CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING


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Employers need to be sure and not just assume that their employees understand

health and safety rules, company policies and procedures, etc. Assumptions could

result in very dangerous and/or costly situations in the workplace. This danger is

recognised in the army, therefore they frequently check for understanding in their radio

communications by repeating information back to confirm it. This is also very true in

commercial operations.


An employee used a no win no fee lawyer to sue his company after a commercial

accident. The employee had signed to confirm understanding of the health and safety

rules. The employee was then asked to read what he signed out loud in the court. He

could not read a single word.


What lessons can we learn from this? You should not assume full understanding, simply because the information was

provided on a piece of paper or it was signed by the employee.

What are the signs of not understanding?

In order to be able to check for understanding effectively, first we need to investigate

the signs of not understanding and look at the common mistakes people make when

checking for understanding. Unless a person tells you that they don’t understand, or

you spot them doing the task incorrectly, the real signs tend to be non-verbal.

Typical indications they don’t understand

• Glazed/puzzled look

• Lack of facial expressions

• Not focused, uninterested or lack of eye contact

• Squinting eyes

• Leaning forward to hear better

• Putting head to one side

• Repeatedly looking at the person sitting next to them

• Procrastinating, trying to delay the task or forget about i t entirely.

How not to check for understanding

It is important to remember utterances such as ‘yes’ and ‘okay’ in agreement are not

indications of full understanding. For employees, it can be difficult to say ‘no’, and ‘yes’can be used as a short cut for a break and to end a conversation. Therefore you must

try not to use the following language for checking understanding:

• ‘Do you understand?’

• ‘You know what I mean?’

• ‘Obviously?’ ‘It is obvious.’

• ‘Okay?’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Yes?’

• ‘Isn’t it easy?’

• Or anything similar in person’s rst language, e.g. ‘Comprende?’

• Complicated structures to sound polite, unless the person has already got a high

level of English, e.g. ‘Would you be kind enough to recap what has been said?’


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Checking for understanding

Ask workers to:

• Verbally explain their understanding

• Physically demonstrate their understanding

• Respond to open questions

• Take short and appropriate tests/ assessments

1. Ask workers to verbally explain their understanding so that they:

• Repeat back the key information.

This is very useful with small chunks of information such as numbers and days. The

employee is encouraged to repeat the key information back. Non-native speakers

of the language do usually find it difficult to distinguish between similar sounding

numbers, for example, 15 or 50; 13 or 30; 14 or 40. This can cause many problems if

checking for understanding is not encouraged. The employer might end up with more

stock than needed because of a very simple misunderstanding, or end up charging

less for a product for example £15 instead of £50.

• Re-tell/explain the procedures

2. Ask workers to physically demonstrate their understanding:

This is a more tactile approach and can be very useful as it does not usually require

any verbal language exchange and simple non-verbal communication such as body

language can be used to elicit their understanding. This approach requires more

planning and is more structured.

This could be done in many different ways, some examples of which are:

• Role-play in group settings

• During induction and/or training sessions. For example, how to greet and serve

customers and use of correct customer friendly language. Scenario cards could

be created including commonly faced cases to check if the employee follows the

correct procedures.

• Demonstrating, e.g. stock control and manual handling

• Take part in drills such as a re dril l

• Pick the correct sign or label after information is given, e.g. going to the correct re

assembly point

• Using timelines* to explain their understanding, e.g. concept of past and future; howfar in the future; to give priority over certain tasks; what time to start; rota.

*Timelines - a graphic design used to show events along a period of time, represented

by a long bar labelled with dates alongside it and (usually) events labelled on points

where they happen.

• Use a trafc light system – green; amber; red to demonstrate their level of

understanding. This is less threatening than ‘Do you understand?’

• Asking specic questions, e.g.’ So what time are you starting next week?’

• Short tests, e.g. at induction and in group settings

One of the most important aspects here is that there is a mutual responsibility to make

sure communication is understood.

Making the difference

Undoubtedly, of all the communication skills, listening is the one that makes the biggest

difference and is the sign of a good communicator. When the principle communicator

uses empathetic listening, the listener is compelled to reciprocate and listen back more

carefully and take an open mind to being inuenced. This creates an atmosphere of

caring, respect, and effective working relationships.

Useful/effective techniques to check for understanding

Effective Communication with a Multi-Language Workforce Effective Communication with a Multi-Language Workforce


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This toolkit provides some practical help for effective communication within a

multi-language workforce. The tips and hints are aimed at workers where English is not

their first language; however, you should bear in mind that many of the suggestions

and techniques covered in this Toolkit are suitable for workers with low levels of literacy

in English also.

Many of the suggestions provided in this Toolkit are simple to implement, others may

need a little more training and development of staff responsible for implementing

the communication plan. Whatever you decide to do, by far the best principle is to

work on the basis that you have a whole organisation approach to clear and effective

communication. Set an overall policy and stick to it; get all staff involved and actively

encourage the use of both written and spoken English in the workplace at all times,

from recruitment through to appraisals, but give the practical and measured support to

those workers who need it. Endeavour to have all your documentation in plain English,

with pictorial aids where necessary. Finally, remember effective communication is not

just language but also about culture. Provide cultural awareness training to all workers

and promote fairness and tolerance in the workplace at all times.

If you would like further help and advice you can access a range of resources and

practical approaches available to promote workplace skills development and integrate

them into your own practice. Links to these resources can be found in Appendix 1.

Equality legislation

Equality and Human Rights Commissionhttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/equality-act/equality-

act-codes-of-practice/

ESOL support

Workplace Language Literacy and Numeracy Toolkit produced by the East Midlands

Development Agency and Greater Nottingham Learning Partnership

www.thenetwork.co.uk/thetoolkit/index.html

Support for Literacy, Language and Numeracy – Learning and Skills Improvement

Service -

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/sflln

For help creating a Communication Policy

CIPD (2010), Taking employee communication seriously, 2010

http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/practical-tools/hr-employee-

communication.aspx

Assistance with skills and training:

Consult your National Skills Academy for help with finding a Training Provider to help

you with your English language training needs or vocational courses:

National Skills Academy for Food and Drink

www.foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk

Excellence Gateway gives you access to a comprehensive collection of information

and resources, networks and development opportunities,

www.excellencegateway.org.uk

g g

6. SUMMARY

g g

APPENDIX 1– USEFUL READING AND WEBSITES

T h e t i p s a n d

h i n t s

a r e a i m e d a t w

o r k e r s

w h e r e E n g l i s

h i s n o t

t h e i r fi r s t l a n g

u a g e.

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Whole Organisation Approach (Employers)

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/pdf/QIA-WOA-Employers.pdf

Get On at Work

http://www.move-on.org.uk/getonatwork.asp

Language assistance:

For help and advice to present language in a clear and concise manner:

Plain English Website

www.plainenglish.co.uk

To identify which language a worker speaks, consult:

Language Identification Card

http://apps.languageline.co.uk/trainingsites/leicestershireCC/LICcard.pdf

For help with interpreting:

Association of Labour Providers

http://www.labourproviders.org.uk/langcomm_live_tele_interpreting.aspx

For help with translation needs:

Association of Labour Providers

http://www.labourproviders.org.uk/alp_document_translation.aspx

Faith Calendar:

www.interfaithcalendar.org/

ESOL Levels

Pre-entry

At this level a learner cannot make a sentence and needs constant repetition to

understand sometimes just simple vocabulary. This level of learner doesn’t know

simple vocabulary such as numbers above 10 or 20, days of the week or colours. They

would rely totally on colleagues to explain instructions or to complete forms for them.

ESOL Level 1

ESOL Entry 1

Speaking

At this level, the learner will most likely lack confidence and would probably leave it

until the last minute to request time off or phone on the day to say they are not coming

in. They will talk in short utterances or very simple sentences with the present simple

tense only. They would therefore form statements such as “Today I not in. I go dentist.”

or “Daughter sick.” They would not have got to grips with using the verb ‘can’ to ask

for permission or using intonation to indicate politeness.

Listening

They would struggle to understand “When will you be back in?”, and would definitely

not understand “When can we expect you back?” or “Have you been to see a doctor

and got a sick note?”

Reading and writing

They would not be able to read the section of a staff handbook on absence procedures

and would need this translated or get help from a fellow language speaker. They would

be able to read some signs mainly by association of images or colours of signage

in their countries. They would need assistance to complete basic forms and would

struggle with phrases on forms such as ‘Country of Origin’.

Entry 1 level can best be described as a ‘beginner’ language learner.

g g

APPENDIX 2– ESOL LEVELS


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ESOL Level 2

Entry 2

Speaking

This typical level learner would have slightly more confidence and is likely to feel

confident enough to ‘pop their head’ round the door of the Personnel office. They may

not have enough confidence or ability to phone into work as talking on the phone is still

a big barrier. They are likely able to construct the statement “I am not in today because

I am go to the dentist”. They are able to link statements together in one sentence

(telling work why they can’t come in) therefore statements are clearer.

They would not be able to talk confidently in the past tense, so explaining a recent

absence would be difficult and be in ‘broken’ English. They would, however, be able

to use more polite and appropriate language and have more of an understanding of

cultural aspects of English, e.g. “I can have tomorrow off, please?” They have got to

grips with ‘Can I’ for permission, but are just learning more polite terms such as ‘Could

I’, and would use more intonation in polite requests.

Listening

They would be much more confident in listening and would understand more than they

are able to speak. They could cope in basic work scenarios and get the gist of most

instructions as long as they are not given in too long, complicated sentences.

Reading and writing

They would be able to read signage and get the gist, but may not understand language

for specific purposes or technical language.

Entry 2 level can best be described as an ‘elementary’ language learner.

ESOL Level 3

Entry 3

Speaking and listening

A learner at this level would be able to get by in most day-to-day situations with

reasonable confidence. They are typically the worker who normally speaks on behalf

of his peers, and liaise on common issues such as absence, pay issues and other

problems at work.

They would be able to construct a longer and clearer sentence such as “Excuse me,

can you help my friend? Next week he can’t come to work because he has a problem…

his mother is ill in Poland and must to go home. He is ying on Sunday”. The sentence

may not be totally grammatically correct, but the message is still clear and precise. A

learner at this level would be able to explain future and past actions: “Sorry I am late. I

went/I have been to doctor’s and I must wait more than I hour.” Again, mistakes exist

grammatically, but it is clear and polite.

This level would be able to understand a standard group training session in, say,Health and Safety, but would need the assistance of a pre-translated list of terms and

a dictionary. They would also be able to describe the events of an accident or other

incident at work.

Overall, Entry 3 learners have a greater command of:

Grammar- they can talk in the past, future and maybe conditional (i.e. “I would ask for

time off if it wasn’t busy”).

Vocabulary – they have a wider knowledge of words enabling clearer and more detailed

explanations and can recognise more complex words and associate meanings from

other familiar words.

Understanding – they will understand colleagues and managers’ instructions withgreater ease and understand some vocabulary for specific purposes (First Aid terms

or describing ailments).

Culture – they should know the appropriate language to use in different situations,

therefore getting on better with colleagues.

Entry 3 learners can best be described as ‘lower-intermediate’ language learners.

Documents

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