Our mission is ‘English that Matters.’ English that matters to your students, not to us as a school. So the next question to ask is: how well do you know your students and your student’s companies? Here’s a short quiz to get you thinking:

1. Make a list of all your Epicenter students.  (Hope you know them all on a first name basis!)

2. Beside each person’s name, can you write what their job title is?

3. Can you state what each person’s primary functions are at work?

4. Do you know of any projects or programs your students are responsible for?

5. Now think about the companies where your students work. What services/products do they provide?

6. Is there a head office somewhere? Where?

7. Bonus: who are the main competitors and what are the main problems your students and their company face each  day?

If you don’t know some of these, it’s time to do some detective work. (And fast!) I think you should consider the discovery of this info as basic for getting to know each student or group you serve with us. Remember: the more you know about your students and their work, the better you’ll be able to develop English classes that really matter to them.

Another quick question for you today: when was the last time you were able to use your classes to help your students solve a problem they were facing at work? Or when was the last time you were able to bring in material that sparked a brainstorm for a new product/service, or for alterations to an existing one? Or when was the last time your class impacted your students on a professional level, like say made them think hard about how they managing their time or other people?

Quick story: One of our clients is working on stepping into the wireless space to provide insurance. Off and on over the year, I’ve been learning about this project and what they’re trying to do. Just about three weeks ago, I happened to come across a post on Google+ from a contact of mine who happens to be the CEO of a mobile marketing/service development company in the US.  His post was about the near future development of mobile transactions. I sent my students the link, and then brought it into class to read and discuss. Dynamite. Our subsequent classes were like magic! Ideas flew, and whiteboards got filled up as we talked about how the ideas could and would be happening here in Mexico, and what they could be doing about it. All in English. And yes: it was English that Mattered to my students.

Over to you. Do you have any stories to share about how you’ve gotten to know your students so well that your classes had a direct impact on their professional life? Personal life? Company performance? Share! The stories that most embody our mission of ‘English that Matters’ will win two movie tickets. So fire away! (Deadline: End of August.)