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One of the main reasons for "drop-out" on in-company language programmes is poor attendance. This may be a result of decline in initial enthusiasm after the first few months, illness, holidays, excessive pressure of work, travel overseas, clashes of lessons with other appointments, lack of support from senior management etc. At the start of new courses most of the trainees are full of enthusiasm and attend regularly. Some will then miss a session or two, and then there will be a period of irregular attendance before they drop-out.

PRE-COURSE PREPARATION

Some preliminary work during the planning stages will help to avoid poor attendance later on. Here are some ways of improving the attendance rate of trainees:

• select trainees with sufficient time to attend
• select trainees with a high aptitude for language learning
• ensure that trainees have sufficient commitment
• pay trainees a bonus for good attendance
• fine attendees for poor attendance
• remove trainees from the training programme if they have 3 unjustified absences
• avoid times of peak activity and holiday periods for language courses
• ensure trainees have all the necessary materials and equipment for study (e.g. CD player, walkman, headphones, laptop etc)
• give trainees a preparatory course in study skills (e.g. for employees who have not studied for some time)

THE FIRST SESSION OF LANGUAGE TRAINING

With busy executive it is essential to make a good impression right from the first session so that they do not get the impression that they are wasting their time. A few precautions could help:

• check all equipment is available and working
• check the training room is not double booked
• check there are enough chairs
• check that the trainer can get access to the training room (e.g. with security pass)
• check that there is a white board or flip-chart and markers

This checking is just common sense, but paying attention to detail does pay dividends!

DURING THE LANGUAGE COURSE

Certain strategies can help to minimise poor attendance:

• clear goals for each session, articulated to trainees who are present and sent to those who are absent
• frequent revision of the main structures and functions
• extra 1:1 support (by email and telephone) for absent trainees
• identify why absent trainees are not attending and discuss it with them
• rearrange sessions where many trainees are due to be absent
• give out project work (most suitable for intermediate to advanced level trainees) that trainees can do alone over a period of several weeks - this helps to maintain continuity
• set homework using self-study materials that can be completed independently and monitor from time to time

Regular attendance helps to ensure a rapid rate of progression and thus maintain motivation. Poor attendance means that the trainer has to keep back-tracking and repeating work that may prove to be boring and demotivating for those trainees who attend regularly.

Dr M. I. Freeman (25 January 2005)