Serve your Client. But can you do too much? In an English class situation, I strongly believe that course content should be shaped to student needs as much, and as often as possible. Why? In my experience, the more a student’s class work is related to reality (what they do everyday in English) the easier it is for them to acquire the language. Vocabulary, dialogue, grammar etc just seems to get hard written into their brain more efficiently when they KNOW they’ll be using that info right after class is over.

But customization, as this article points out, takes time and considerable resources. In the article’s case,  over customization also led to a shut down of a business, when all of his clients started demanding high levels of personalization.

So where could/should English classes sit on customization?  On one side, the most common industry standard is that students are forced to adapt to the school’s course material and methodology. There is little to no customization of course content. This standard of operation usually runs without problem. The student starts a class at his/her level of English. A course book/material is introduced, and is used as the primary means of determining the start/finish of their course. (When you finish book A – and complete the final test for that book, you’re ready for level x.) It’s simple, and easy, and the industry is geared towards that style of work.

The problem: The material is often general. Perhaps focused on business English. Perhaps with case studies and audio that would engage students around general points of interest, but not coming close to meeting the real and often FELT need of say a company actuary manager, for example. Yes, the general course material will serve the actuary student on some levels, but will leave other vital needs unmet.  (Like how do I talk about the risks involved in insuring client x? How do I propose a contract alteration to a client/head office because of local data ? How do I defend my contract proposals to English speaking colleagues?)

Sharper focus is required here to really serve your student. But relying on cookie cutter course design/material won’t come close to cutting it.

The Risks of Customization in TEFL – my company strives to provide English courses that really matter to students. We work hard to customize to individual student needs. Actuary shaped material for Actuary students. HR shaped material for HR students etc. But, as Warrillow discovered, there are often difficult obstacles that present themselves.

• Customized Courses are not Budget friendly: we work with corporate clients with strict budget concerns. There are often tight blocks of hours to conduct our courses in, so bringing in customized material often demands for more course time, which in turn demands more expense. (Which doesn’t go over well with number sensitive clients.)

• Professional Custom Content is rare: Students and many teachers love to work with course books. They are great tools for providing direction, structure, and support. But when you want to serve a specific student need, there’s a great lack of relevant material on the market. Oxford University Press has been stepping into this area with their Express series, which has been wonderful. The material is suitable for intermediate to advanced level students, and seems to be geared toward short courses of 35/40 hours.  It’s definitely an important step in the right direction, but I think more specialized content is needed and at more levels for extended periods of time.

• Teacher Learning curve is often steep: Customization requires that you become fluent with your client’s work. Obviously you’ll not get a degree in their field of expertise, but you’ll need to start working on wading into their world in order to serve them in a relevant way. Vocabulary, abbreviations and acronyms, and plenty of article reading to get up to speed on your client’s day to day reality. All of this takes time and effort to do well, and often teachers just don’t have the time or energy to do this on a regular basis.

So how should/could Teachers and ESL schools serve their clients well and survive at the same time?