As for the Armada, merchants from Rouen take English lessons

An international event, theThe Rouen Armada (Seine Maritime) From June 8 to 18, 2023, it will welcome nearly six million visitors, including many non-French speakers.

Faced with this problem, the Normande Company BerlitzTogether with the city of Rouen, it has decided to offer Free English lessons, to promote volunteer traders. So four dates were set and soon sold out.

Lack of training

“We wanted to do something for the Armada. In solidarity with the merchants, we offered them courses,” says Elizabeth de Paolis, Berlitz’s education manager.

For many, they haven’t practiced the language in a long time. ” My position was school. Except for travel, I didn’t use English, so I had a chance,” testifies Amantin Delestre, manager of the Les Petites Hauts store in Rouen.

Like her, other tradesmen are also unconscious: the hairdresser, the waiters, the salesmen. “We all belong to different professions, so we had to adapt the vocabulary. But one moment was very good. Now we have to keep it in mind and practice,” Amandin underlines.

Concepts of trade

In groups of ten, a project Specific They were given a focus on business concepts in English. “We adapted it to traders. For example, we reviewed reception, help for products, advice, collection… For that, we used Perlitz’s method on a verbal basis. We talked to them, discussed among themselves,” observes Elizabeth.

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