Wall Street Institute Expands its Standard Curriculum With Professional Skill-Building Courses

BALTIMORE, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wall Street Institute, the world's premier provider of English language instruction for adults, has expanded its educational curriculum to include specialized courses that teach students how to use English in professional situations.

These new PRO courses are seamlessly integrated into the company's standard course offering. Wall Street Institute previously offered students 17 levels of English language education, ranging from beginner to advanced learners. The addition of the new courses brings the total number of levels available to students to 20. The new courses will be available to the company's 190,000 ESL students around the world in a phased product roll-out occurring throughout 2012.

The new curriculum follows Wall Street Institute's proprietary blended learning method.  The new PRO courses are fully integrated, enabling students to apply what they learn in their standard courses to professional situations - such as running meetings.

"As English is increasingly becoming the language of business around the globe, performing professional duties in English is extremely important to all of our students," said David Kedwards, CEO, Wall Street Institute. "All of our students can now take courses that provide them with English language training to help them achieve their career goals as the new curriculum is a standard part of Wall Street Institute's educational product."

In the new PRO courses, students learn how to use English in a variety of professional situations spanning a variety of job types, including entry-level administrative functions, mid-level managerial skills, and executive level job requirements. Students learn how to take messages, plan travel arrangements, prepare and give presentations, evaluate an employee's job performance, and discuss a company's business objectives - all in English. As the skills learned cross all professions, they are essential to any career, whether in the public or private sector.

"Wall Street Institute's unique blended learning method ensures maximum student involvement and offers a near-immersive experience, so that people truly learn to use the language," said Simon Buckland, Wall Street Institute's Director of Curriculum Development. "By including professional language skills in our curriculum, we are enabling students to apply the language they learn in our centers to their professional lives. This ability to speak English effectively in the workplace is an essential skill for any career in the global economy, and a huge advantage in today's hyper-competitive job market."

The addition of the new courses is a significant investment by Wall Street Institute and parent company Pearson, and shows the company's commitment to offering students the most effective and technologically advanced educational tools to help them achieve their English learning goals.

"Our research shows that our students are very career-oriented, and are learning English to get ahead in their careers or to enter a new profession," said Kedwards. "We want their education to be as seamless as possible, and by integrating these levels into our standard coursework, we feel we will help our students achieve maximum success in actually applying what they've learned here at WSI to their jobs."

The new courses are already available to Wall Street students in China and Germany. They will be available to WSI students in Asia over the next month, and will roll-out to the rest of the Wall Street Institute network throughout 2012.

About Wall Street Institute

Wall Street Institute (www.wallstreetinstitute.com) is the premier provider of English language instruction for individuals and corporate clients around the world. The Company's innovative blended learning method integrates the best of proven learning approaches to provide the most effective English language instruction available for adults. Students listen, read, write, speak, and practice English with guidance and support from highly trained native English speaking teachers. Wall Street Institute's curriculum is aligned to the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (CEFR), according to a study undertaken with the support of the University of Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages Examination group (CESOL). Utilizing both company-owned and franchised centers, Wall Street Institute has provided instruction to over 2 million students in nearly 450 centers in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  Founded in 1972, Wall Street Institute's international offices are in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States, Barcelona, Spain, and Luxembourg. Wall Street Institute is owned by Pearson, the education company.

SOURCE Wall Street Institute