Guests at the Logan Airport Hilton in Boston, MA, complained that they could not understand the international staff's English, and that the staff could not understand the guests. Housekeepers, front desk operators, and restaurant staff - the vast majority non-native English speakers - needed to improve their English skills, in particular: pronunciation, listening comprehension, and job-specific vocabulary.

In addition, Hilton managers themselves sometimes had difficulty communicating with and understanding their international staff. When these managers asked their international employees if a set of instructions had been understood, the automatic response was always "Yes." But moments later, these employees' actions would quickly prove otherwise.

The Hilton had relied earlier on English classes from the employee union, but such training had serious limitations. Not enough employees attended union classes or improved their English skills because: (1) they had to commute to the classes; (2) class schedules often conflicted with work; (3) beginners were grouped in with advanced learners; (4) instruction did not focus on the practical job-specific English skills they needed immediately; (5) the teachers were not certified instructors but union workers; (6) class time was often spent promoting the union itself.

English League assessed applicants' current English skills and divided them into groups for appropriate levels of training. We then created a job-specific English training course for the Hilton's housekeepers, front desk operators, and waiters. The training was provided on-site and class times were adapted to employees' available study times.

Additionally, we provided Spanish training to Hilton management, including the General Manager, as most of their international staff were native Spanish speakers. The syllabus was also customized to include job-specific vocabulary and phrases these managers would likely need on a daily basis when communicating with their Spanish-speaking employees.

English as a Second Language training:
· Basic skills
· Safety protocol
· Accent reduction
· Listening comprehension

Spanish training:
· Introduction to Spanish
· Beginning Spanish
· Listening comprehension
· Pronunciation
· Job-specific vocabulary expansion
· Small-talk and basic conversation