Communication Skills: online course with internship agreement
Communication Skills teaches you to work in English with international and distributed teams. You will practise writing explicit requests across time zones, running inclusive hybrid meetings, presenting to second-language audiences, reading intercultural signals and reviewing AI-drafted text. It suits non-native speakers starting their careers. The course runs 100 % online for 180 days at your own pace, includes an internship agreement and costs €200.
- 180 days of access
- 100 % online, at your own pace
- Level: beginner · Working English; no experience needed
- Assessment: 10 quizzes (50 questions) and a final project
- Internship agreement included
- Certificate with a verifiable QR code
- Languages: Spanish, English, French
- Price: €200
Who it is for
- Non-native English speakers who use English as their working language
- Junior professionals joining distributed or multi-office teams
- People entering the international junior job market
- Anyone who writes, meets or presents across time zones and cultures
What do you need to start?
Prior knowledge
- Enough English to read, write and follow conversations at work
- No prior professional or communication training is needed
Software and equipment
- A computer with an internet connection
- A webcam and microphone are useful for the camera presence and presenting topics
- Any generative AI writing tool can be used for the final topic; none is supplied
What you'll be able to do
- Write clear, plain English rather than relying on idioms, and treat non-native clarity as an asset
- Draft written requests with deadline, file and context that work across time zones
- Choose async-first channels when colleagues' working hours barely overlap
- Check understanding and confirm details when listening in a second language
- Plan agendas and chair hybrid meetings so remote participants can contribute
- Distinguish high- and low-context styles and monochronic and polychronic time orientations using Hall
- Read silence in a meeting as one of several signals and pick a clarifying move
- Review an AI-generated draft and rewrite it in accessible, plain business English
Skills you will practise
- Business email
- Async communication
- Meeting facilitation
- Hybrid meetings
- Presenting
- Active listening
- Intercultural communication
- Negotiation in English
- Plain-language writing
- AI-assisted writing review
Syllabus
- English as the language of work — Register, clarity and why careful, idiom-free English used by non-native speakers is an advantage in international teams.
- Business email and written requests across time zones — Writing requests that state what, which file, by when, while adjusting tone to rank and relationship.
- Async-first communication in distributed teams — Working effectively when time zones leave no convenient slot for a quick call.
- Listening and checking understanding in a second language — Following fast native speech and other accents, and confirming what was actually agreed.
- Meetings across time zones — Agendas, facilitation and fair scheduling so remote and hybrid participants are heard, not just present.
- Presenting to an international audience — Structuring a short presentation for second-language listeners and preparing a recorded version for those who cannot join live.
- Non-verbal communication and camera presence — Camera position, lighting, background and body language when the audience only sees you on screen.
- Intercultural communication at work in Europe — Hall's context, time and proxemics concepts and Hofstede's Power Distance Index, applied without turning them into stereotypes.
- Disagreement and negotiation in English — Pushing back on an opening offer and disagreeing with colleagues or clients in clear, appropriate English.
- Accessible, plain and AI-assisted business writing — Reviewing AI-drafted text such as job postings, writing accessibly, and approaching the international junior job market.
Internship agreement
With this course, an intern could draft client and internal emails, prepare meeting agendas and follow-up notes, or help coordinate work across time zones in a delivery or project team. Other possible tasks include preparing short presentations and reviewing or rewriting AI-drafted texts, such as job postings, in plain English. The learner arranges the host company; the school issues the internship agreement.
The internship can run at the same time as the course, within the 180 days of access.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need native-level, idiomatic English to work in an international team?
No. The Communication Skills course starts from the opposite point: in companies where English is the shared language, most colleagues are non-native speakers, and careful, plain English is often easier to follow than idioms such as 'touch base' or 'ballpark figure'. The first module treats clarity and appropriate register as the goal, and later modules show how to check understanding with both native and non-native speakers.
Which methods and frameworks does the course cover?
The Communication Skills course uses Edward T. Hall's high- and low-context communication, monochronic and polychronic time and proxemics, plus Hofstede's Power Distance Index, applied as population tendencies rather than rules about individuals. It also covers async-first working, meeting agendas and hybrid facilitation, presenting to second-language audiences, negotiation language, plain and accessible writing, and reviewing drafts produced by generative AI writing tools.
What kind of role does this course prepare me for?
It prepares you for junior roles where most of the work happens in English with colleagues and clients in other countries and time zones, such as consulting, project delivery or coordination in distributed teams. The final module also looks at the international junior job market. The course is delivered 100 % online over 180 days, with an internship and a final project, and ends with a certificate verifiable by QR code.
What could I do during the internship, and who finds the company?
You find the host company yourself; the school issues the internship agreement and its annex, which the company signs electronically, usually within 1–2 working days. Within the placement you could write client emails, prepare agendas and meeting notes, support colleagues across time zones, present project updates, or review AI-drafted documents for plain, accessible English, depending on what the company needs.
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Content updated: 07/10/2026