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RATIONALE
Why a customised solution?
Language proficiency is an extremely complex construct and cannot
be ameliorated by a crash course in Business Writing. There
is no quick-fix for poor linguistic competence. Generic
Training programmes are not cost-effective and research has shown
that it does not ensure that there is a retention of skills.
Research findings seem to indicate that in order to maximise transfer of learning, training programmes should:
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Be content specific- with a direct bearing on job function. |
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Aligned with and ultimately inform the demands of the work environment. |
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Have overt support from management structure. |
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Allow sustained mentoring and / or developmental support from a trainer / learning support mechanism over a period of time. |
Therefore, we develop customised training materials based on the specific problems we identify in unedited writing samples of prospective participants. These samples are subjected to a diagnostic assessment and high frequency error analysis. This allows us to ensure that we are able to address the core of the problem.
We follow a communicative, integrated approach to the development of business writing skills. All training is situational and context specific. It is based on typical daily experience and job-function and involves role-play, decision making, and communicative and personal interaction within realistic circumstances. We reject grammar-based models of tuition and favour experiential learning within an immersion model.
Why Plain English
We support the use of Plain English. Many people tend to write:
a. too much
b. bureaucratically, and
c. obscurely
As a result, documents are difficult to understand, poorly written and open to creative misinterpretation which could have significant legal implications.
Plain English is not patronising or over-simple language and it is not about hair splitting grammar. It is merely the most efficient method of written communication. Plain English is everyday adult English, used in daily conversation. The intention is to use the language to convey ideas with the greatest possible clarity in a way that best serves the reader. This essentially means that the language used is stripped of archaic forms and vocabulary and is aided by layout of the text (typography).
This enables the reader to understand the message at first reading and should be concise and unambiguous. This does not mean that it is an inferior or "lower" form of English. Plain English uses standard grammar, punctuation and capitalisation. The tone and style should be professional and appropriate to the circumstances and avoid sexist vocabulary and writing techniques.
Plain English is an international trend. Plain English Campaign is an independent pressure group fighting for public information to be written in Plain English. They have more than 8000 registered supporters in 80 countries. 'Public information' means anything people have to read to get in by daily lives. 'Plain English' is language that the intended audience can understand and act upon from a single reading.
This drive for Plain English is further endorsed by the Consumer Protection Bill of 2006 which aims to promote improved standards of consumer information. This Bill further acknowledges "the right to information in plain and understandable language."
It describes this fundamental consumer right as "a document is in plain language if it is reasonable to conclude that an ordinary consumer of the class of persons for whom the document is intended, with average literacy skills and minimal experience as a consumer of the relevant goods or services, could be expected to understand the content, significance, and import of the document without undue effort, having regard to -
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the context, comprehensiveness and consistency of the document; |
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the organisation, form and style of the document |
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the vocabulary, usage and sentence structure of the text; and |
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the use of any illustrations, examples, headings, or other aids to reading and understanding." |
The South African constitution itself has been written in Plain English which imposes a mandate for clarity in communication.
National governments, councils, multi-national corporations, major industries bodies and others have adopted the plain English model for sound, commercial reasons- plain English saves time and money. Joe Kimble in his book "Writing for Dollars" points out that the savings claimed for plain English as remarkable:
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This US Navy estimated plain English could save it between
$250 - $ 300 million every year. General Electric saved
$275 000, by redrafting manuals into plain English. |
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The US Department of Veterans Affairs saved $ 40 000, redrafting one standard letter into plain English. |
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Customers in three surveys of standard letters from banks unanimously preferred the plain English versions. |
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British Telecom cut customer queries by 25 per cent by using plain English. |
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The Royal Mail saved 500,000 pounds in nine months by redesigning one form in plain English. |
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UK businesses lose 6 billion pounds a year because of badly written letters. |
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A UK Government Plain English initiative saved 9 million pounds in printing costs. |
Methodology
Customisation is the key to success and transfer of learning.
Each of our courses is customised to the specific needs of the client. To do this, we have the following approach:
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Diagnostic Analysis and Strategic Alignment |
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This involves gaining an understanding of the core business processes of the company and job-functions of the course participants.
We require unedited writing samples to allow us to do a high frequency error analysis based on T-Units as a statistical measure.
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Contact tuition |
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The course participants attend contact sessions over a period of 10 weeks. This ensures that the content is broken down into bite-size chunks and allows sufficient opportunity for practise. It has the further advantage of ensuring that there is minimal disruption of the company's business processes.
During this period participants have access to online support.
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Assessment, Sustained Mentoring and Benchmarking |
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After the initial training, one-on-one assessments are done. The assessments are based on random sampling of participants' writing. These samples are subjected to the same statistical analysis and provides a clear and measurable indication of the extent of the transfer of skills. The assessments are realistic and valid rather than contrived assignments.
After the initial assessments, participants have a mentoring period. This is essential because language proficiency cannot be achieved on an ad hoc basis but requires a sustained intervention with follow-up assessments and benchmarking to ensure that there is a transfer of skills.
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ACCREDITED
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