How to find a good ESL agent: Tips from the trenches

April 12, 2010

One question that comes up time and time again is, “How do you find a good agent?” I think that part of the answer is to avoid wasting your time with unproductive potential agents. Sound harsh? It’s not, really. If you’ve ever been in the classroom, chances are that you’ve had a student who wants to monopolize your time in ways that don’t contribute to the overall lesson or are just plain distracting or even bothersome.

As teachers, we learn how to handle students with all kinds of personalities and motives of their own. We learn to set boundaries with them while keeping the lesson focused and hopefully avoid too much disruption in the classroom. We call that good class management. We try to achieve this without embarrassing the student, if possible, while making it clear that as the teacher, we’re the one in control of the class and that’s the way it should be. In fact, if we don’t do that as teachers, we may lose others respect and not be taken as seriously.

The same idea applies to business relationships, particularly when it comes to others outside your school who want to work with you or represent you. The larger your program grows, the more people you will have knocking on your door wanting to work with you. Annoying though it may be, this is a good sign. It means you are being noticed and your image is one of success.

One of the ways that businesses get more business is to let the world know who their partners are. If an educational agent or tour operator can say they are working with ABC Language School and that school is well known in the community, either locally or internationally, then it lends them credibility and prestige.

That’s precisely why you want to take your time establishing new business relationships. It just may be that you don’t want your name associated with that business.

One tactic that I learned while managing a university ESL program was to ask prospective new “business partners” or agents for a package in writing. Sometimes if the person was in the same city as me, either living here or just passing through, they would insist on a personal meeting first. I would gently but firmly state, in every case, that it was our policy to consider written proposal first, before a meeting. The reality was that the first few times I said that, I was fibbing. We didn’t actually have such a policy. Having said that, we quickly created an internal policy that stated we had to receive all proposals in writing before a telephone or an in-person meeting.

Once everyone in the office knew the policy, we all stuck by it, asking frontline staff to help prevent such calls coming through to us. One polite way for a frontline staff member to do this is to say, “If you send the written proposal to my attention, I promise that will hand-deliver it to our manager to ensure she receives it.” Anyone who took the time to send a proposal – even a one-page, detailed letter – would gain our attention, at least long enough for us to review the proposal.

If they couldn’t deliver, we would gently but firmly apologize and move on. I was able to stop wasting time on agents and others who may or may not have had good intentions.

That was the first step. From there, we would ask for references and examples of previous work done. If this caused our prospective business partner distress or caused them to become uncomfortable, we eliminated them from our list of possibilities.

Sometimes, the prospect would say, “Oh, well… our partners are located in a foreign country and no one here speaks the language.” We would always reply that we were prepared to hire professional, accredited translators to check references. Very rarely did we ever hire a translator to check anyone’s references.

The steps we followed were:

  • Insist on a written proposal first.
  • If you receive a form letter or pre-made package, request more details on how exactly they would propose that you work together. Get this information in writing.
  • Insist on references. If they can’t or won’t give these to you, the process ends there.
  • Arrange a phone or in-person interview during which they do most of the talking. Ask about the history of the business, the person’s credentials, and examples of experiences they have had working with other language schools.
    • Close the meeting saying that you will consider their proposal and you will get back to them within a fixed amount of time (usually not more than one week, unless you’re about to leave on a trip). Never agree to anything on the spot.

Part of the process involved abiding by our policies and the next step was to gauge the reaction of our prospective partners at certain points along the way. It became like a behavioral interview.  If the other party wanted to bend our rules from the very beginning, insisted on doing things their way instead of ours or if they became frustrated, aggressive or unwilling to cooperate with us at any time, we knew we didn’t want to work with them.

In the end, there can be any number of reasons why you would choose not to pursue a business relationship, including (but not limited to):

  • The relationship may not be mutually beneficial.
  • What the prospective agent wants to provide for you is not something you need at the moment (i.e. not a “good fit” from a business point of view.)
  • The timing of the proposal is off. This can happen if you are undergoing changes in your organization. You can always ask the other party to check back with you again in six months.
  • Your gut tells you that working with the other party would be a bad decision.

Although we sent some policies and procedures in place for dealing with prospective new business partners, the bottom line was for us to feel comfortable with the new person. You want your business partners to respect how you run your organization, be willing to provide you with what you need and be as interested in your success as you are.

Remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. You want to ensure you have the time and energy to cultivate strong relationships with your top 20%. Part of being able to do this is to avoid those who have big ideas and good intentions, with no way of ever realizing their goals or yours. Be polite, be considerate and be firm.

© Sarah Elaine Eaton

Related posts:

Tips for finding ESL educational agents

Tips for success at educational trade fairs

Finding an ESL agent – A open discussion (with link to webinar recording and slides)

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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World class business: The basics of intercultural awareness

April 10, 2010

Being culturally aware is like being diplomatic. For some people it seems to come naturally. Others blindly hurtle forward, unaware that their ignorance is offensive to others. In business, being sensitive to other cultures can win you contracts and life-long relationships on which you can build your business – and keep it.

But what exactly is this abstract awareness? Basically, intercultural awareness is knowing why people from different backgrounds act the way they do. Once that we understand that, we can use that information to have better relationships with  them.  This awareness will help you predict how people who come from different backgrounds will act, speak, think, make decisions and perceive the world.

It is important to note that this does not mean endorsing stereotypes or pigeonholing people into categories. It is about being open-minded and willing to understand others for who they are. For example, you may learn that while dining with a Chinese colleague, it is not customary to discuss business. One normally talks about the meal itself and pays compliments to the person who has prepared it. Somewhere, there is probably a Chinese business person who will talk about business incessantly during a meal. The important thing to remember is that you are dealing with an individual and that human interaction is fluid and dynamic. The more flexible and aware you are about what to expect, the better your cross-cultural interactions will be.

If people from other cultures want to do business with us and interact with us, why don’t they learn our customs?  Often they do. But that is only half of the battle. If you make the effort to learn about your counterpart, you will both be making the effort to understand each other, doubling your effort and chances for success.

While your counterpart may act like you and sound like you, he or she isn’t. That person may think in a different language, process information in a different way and make decisions differently than you do. If you understand how culture may affect this person’s character, you may give yourself an edge in business and in communications. That’s an edge that your competitor may not have.

Cross cultural awareness is one of those abstract, “soft skills”. It takes time to cultivate. It is an evolutionary process that continues throughout our lives, if we chose to open ourselves to it. There are a number of ways to gain this awareness, such as through direct contact with the culture or through popular media.

Everyday the media bombards us with images from around the world. Although sometimes we can learn interesting material from the media, it is good to be aware of sensationalism and media bias. It is important to remain open-minded and non-judgmental.

People are usually delighted to about the customs and culture of their homeland. Many of us are embarrassed to ask questions because we fear that we will be judged as ignorant. My experience has been that non-judgmental questions that are motivated by a sincere interest to learn are always answered with enthusiasm.

If you know that you are going to be dealing with someone from another culture it pays to do your homework. The internet and general interest reading material may be helpful. Some things that may be helpful to know before dealing with someone from another culture include such things as forms of address and greeting. Knowing what to call a person and how to greet people properly can win you friends and business. Not doing so, or making a blundered attempt, may be remembered – in a negative way – for a long time. When in doubt, ask how your counterpart would like to be addressed. If nothing else, this shows respect on your part.

Another important issue is table manners.  This is a huge topic, but suffice to say that if you will be dining with clients or prospects from another culture, it is worthwhile to find out what their customs are. Take the time to learn about this before you sit down at the table.

By making the attempt to become culturally aware you will expand your mind as you learn more about the world around you, give yourself an edge in business and negotiations, and enjoy friendships with people from diverse backgrounds. When you become culturally aware, you gain the riches of the whole world. Isn’t it worth it?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Collegiality wins over competition when marketing educational programs

April 9, 2010

Often, we think of other language schools as being our competition. People who work at other educational institutions are colleagues first, and competitors second, not the other way around. This is a call for professional compassion and relationship building to help one another success.

The gap of compassion and understanding widens into a chasm when educational leaders who run schools that receive government see themselves as having nothing in common with private schools and vice versa. It gets worse when leaders from one type of institution look down upon fellow administrators who work in another type of institution. I have heard university program administrators  speak about  private schools as being “poor quality” simply because they do not have the history of the academy. Private school managers sometimes think universities are outdated and don’t listen to the needs of the students. On and on the arguments go.

The bottom line is that the people who work at other institutions are our professional colleagues.  Not only would I call for compassion in the profession, among teachers and administrators alike, but also, I urge us to treat one another with respect. This is a topic that could be discussed at length, so for now I will simply suggest that treating each other with more than professional respect alone is not enough. Together we form a community of language teachers, school administrators and managers. We are very proud and protective of our individual schools and programs, which is admirable. I suggest that we take it one step further and become proud of our profession and (heaven forbid someone should use the term when referring to education) our “industry”.

Every language school can benefit from developing excellent relationships with other programs. In order for this to happen effectively, we each will need to stay informed about what programs are offered by other schools and how you can help each other succeed. This may mean simply having a directory of local language schools on hand or a Rolodex full of useful contacts at other schools.

Share information about other schools. Recommend students to your competitors if you can’t help them. For example, if a student comes to you looking for a program that you do not offer, why not refer him to a nearby school that does offer that type of program? Even better, give the student the name and phone number of a person there who can help him out. That way, you won’t be sending the student on a wild goose chase, but you will be giving him a solid lead. This is not only professional courtesy, it will help the students.

Moreover, you will be giving the other school an excellent referral. In return, you can ask that your colleagues send students to you, if they can’t help them.

But don’t stop there.

Use this tactic to build relationships with other schools. If you receive a student because someone at another school recommended your program, give that person a call to thank them. Here’s an example of what you could say:

“Hi, Joe. It’s Mary calling from XYZ language school. Thanks so much for referring María García to our program. It was exactly what she was looking for. I sure appreciate you letting her know about us. I look forward to returning the favour when I have a student who fits well into one of your programs. I hope you’re having a super semester over there at ABC language school. Talk to you soon….”

By following up and acknowledging your colleagues for helping you out, you will help to create a bond with them that, over time, could develop into a strong professional rapport.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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What Gandhi knew about marketing language programs

April 8, 2010

Language program administrators often struggle with how to promote their programs. They want to increase student enrollment and retention in the programs and yet, resources of time and money are often scarce. Moreover, many administrators lack training or interest in marketing and so, it gets pushed aside. Or half-hearted attempts are made through endeavours such as producing a brochure using a template from MS Word.

One question that must be asked is, do language programs have an inherent or intrinsic worth of their own or are they merely a means to an end, such as a way to get a job or to improve one’s chances of getting into a university program (extrinsic worth)?  Language learning and international education enriches a student’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them (and themselves) in ways that are difficult to evaluate and almost impossible to quantify. This personal and academic enrichment in the form of knowledge of language and culture is worthwhile in and of itself. In addition, the skills these programs provide in terms of foreign language communication and cross-cultural competence may lead to better opportunities in terms of education or employment, which are extrinsic to the program itself.

For Mohandas K. Gandhi learning languages was a way to better understand the world around him and ultimately, to change it for the better. Gandhi’s first language was Gujarati. His began to learn other languages in school, where English and Sanskrit were compulsory (Gandhi, 1948, p. 9).

It was during his time in law school that he became committed to learning other languages as a way to advance his work, noting that limited language skills for him meant that he would not work in his desired profession. He stated:

“My weak English was a perpetual worry to me. . . . A friend suggested that, if I really wanted to have the satisfaction of taking a difficult examination, I should pass the London Matriculation. It meant a good deal of labour and much addition to my stock of general knowledge, without any extra expense worth the name. I welcomed the suggestion. But the syllabus frightened me. Latin and a modern language were compulsory! How was I to manage Latin? But the friend entered a strong plea for it: ‘Latin is very valuable to lawyers. Knowledge of Latin is very useful in understanding law-books. And one paper in Roman Law is entirely in Latin. Besides a knowledge of Latin means greater command over the English language.’ It went home and I decided to learn Latin, no matter how difficult it might be. ” (Gandhi, 28)

In addition to learning, to varying degrees, Sanskrit, English, French and Latin, he also learned Hindi and Urdu, in order to communicate with others in his country, understand their situation better and work towards bettering their lives. In addition, while he was in jail he endeavoured to learn Tamil and Telugu (p. 176) and used his skills in these languages to communicate and work with illiterate soldiers in South Africa to help them fight for human rights (p. 88). Finally, he added Arabic and Persian to the list of languages he endeavoured to learn (p. 176-177) and did so through informal lessons with friends. That is a total of eleven languages, including his native tongue.

He saw learning languages as a way of communicating better with others and understanding the world more profoundly. Not surprisingly, he believed that everyone should learn more than one language, stating that, “It is now my opinion that in all Indian curricula of higher education there should be a place for Hindi, Samskrit, Persian, Arabic and English, besides of course the vernacular.” (Gandhi, 1948, p. 9). Gandhi not only understood the value of learning languages, he passed it on to his students. As with many who work with second and foreign languages, he was both a student and teacher of language.

The work of promoting a language program can be tricky. It is easier to focus on the skills that students will acquire that may increase their chances of meaningful employment when they graduate. Guidance counsellors and teachers can cite careers in the foreign service or international business as good reasons for taking courses in a foreign language. That’s because it is easier to talk about concrete outcomes and examples, than it is to talk about intangible concepts such as personal enrichment and knowledge.

While not everyone who learns another language may go on to have a profound effect on the world to the degree that Gandhi did, any person who learns a new language grows as a human being because they can communicate with others in new ways. This helps to develop a more profound curiosity about the world around us, which leads us to learn more about that world. Learning more about the world and those who live in it leads to deeper understandings of other cultures, other values and other ways of understanding life, love, politics, spirituality and all that is important to humans. Learning other languages opens up new possibilities for personal and professional growth, new opportunities to do meaningful work and ultimately, to value others more deeply because we can communicate with them better and understand them.

The best way to promote languages is to value them deeply, rather than simply focus on the skills that may be gained as a result of taking classes in them. When we learn a new language we change who we are, and we become better for it. That is the real reason we want our students to learn other languages. Focussing on that is in itself one of the best ways to promote our programs.

Reference

Gandhi, M. K. (1948). An autobiography or the story of my experiments with truth (M. Desai, Trans.). Bombay: Navajivan Publishing Centre.

(Originally published in the June 2009 issue of Zephyr, Newsletter of the Second Languages and Intercultural Council, Alberta Teachers Association. It is reprinted here with permission of the editor.)

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Related post: Leadership through Language Learning and Teaching: The Case of Gandhi

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Why literacy teachers need digital literacy

April 1, 2010

It drives me crazy people who are in leadership positions who somehow feel they’re now exempt from the need to learn further. People who work in literacy and languages know their stuff. At least they know it when it comes to traditional literacy. I am baffled by the number of people who work in that sector who lack technological literacy.

These are trained teachers, dedicated tutors and people who really make a difference in the world. Yet, when it comes to technology they flap around giving excuses not unlike their very own learners, trying to mask their own lack of skills. How about, “Oh, I don’t have time,” or “I don’t get all that stuff” or “What good is it going to do me?” or my personal favorite, “I’ve gotten along just fine until now, thank you very much.”

In today’s world where we use tools like the International Adult Literacy and Life Surveys Skills IALSS to demonstrate an individual’s strengths, it seems to me that this very scale should also apply to those who work in the industry, not just the learners.

It’s not enough to know how to turn on your computer and use your mouse. Maybe that would count as Level 2 on the IALLS scale? In today’s world, if we are talking about functional ability to use technology to interact and prosper, we’re looking at the need for skilled leaders – say Level 3 minimum, though even better, Level 4. That means knowing what social media is (and knowing how to use it), exchanging ideas with other professionals in a discussion forum and possibly even knowing how to Skype so you can connect with others far away at a low cost.

So, if you were to score yourself on the IALLS scale for technology, where would you rank?

If it’s good for the learner, it’s good for the leader. How are you supposed to lead by example if you’re not living what you want your learners to live?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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