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Dave Basarab Consulting has elevated the training experience, offering an end-to-end comprehensive approach that includes training strategy, instructional design, development, delivery , post program training transfer, and evaluation (via the unique Predictive Evaluation methodology). Virtual Chief Architect Dave Basarab has combined all of these individual training elements with his user-friendly, comprehensive Learning to Performance approach, which significantly increases companies' training ROI.

Why we are different

  • Innovation: Our primary focus is creating learning programs using a Learning to Performance approach.
  • Expertise: Dave offers the depth and breadth of his experience, including working internally at prestigious companies (Motorola, Ingersoll Rand and Pitney Bowes) as well as his knowledge and expertise as a highly-respected, sought-after consultant.
  • Partnership: Basarab collaborates with companies, serving as their own Chief Learning Officer whenever they need to plan, strategize, or implement training initiatives.

Training Services

Enterprise Learning Strategy

Enterprise Learning Strategy

At Dave Basarab Consulting, we're experts in creating Enterprise Learning Plans. We work with you to develop your company's learning strategy and direction.

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Custom Design, Development, & Delivery

Custom Design, Development, & Delivery

Custom training is an effective way of developing the capability required to execute your strategy. We are a custom design house that creates programs specific to your business.

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Learning Burst Development

Learning Burst Development

We can create and deliver your courses via our unique Learning Burst Method - keeping your employees at their jobs while receiving world-class training.

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Predictive Evaluation

Predictive Evaluation

We predict the ROI for your courses and establish success gates. We then evaluate the course against the success gates to show value realized and continually improve results.

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Leadership Development

Leadership Development

Turn-key virtual custom leadership development program that combines world-class leadership speakers/educators with post-event personalized coaching to provide you with a cadre of highly skilled leaders.

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Predictive Evaluation

Designing Learning Materials That Work Across English Proficiency Levels

Training materials can look polished and still fail when learners must decode unfamiliar language before they can apply the content. For employees who speak English as an additional language, dense paragraphs, idioms, unexplained acronyms and rapid audio can create unnecessary barriers.

Designing custom instructional materials for non-native English speakers means adapting the learning experience to real workplace needs. The aim is not to simplify ideas beyond usefulness, but to make essential information clear, memorable and easy to use under normal job conditions.

This matters in Australia’s diverse workforce, where teams may include international professionals, recent migrants, temporary workers and employees in regional locations. A programme used in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane or a fly-in fly-out site must account for different language backgrounds, work patterns and expectations of training.

Start With The Work, Not The Translation

A strong course begins with the decisions and actions employees must perform. A needs analysis should identify common errors, critical tasks, safety requirements and the language employees use on the job. Subject matter experts can explain technical realities, while instructional designers convert that knowledge into teachable steps.

Translation alone rarely solves the problem. A literal version may preserve every word while losing the intended meaning, particularly when Australian expressions or workplace shorthand are involved. Terms such as “bring a plate”, “arvo”, “sort it out” or “no worries” can confuse learners who have studied formal English but have limited exposure to local workplace speech.

Custom materials should therefore distinguish between essential technical terminology and casual language. Keep regulated terms consistent, define abbreviations at first use and replace vague instructions with observable actions. For example, “respond promptly” is less useful than “acknowledge the request within four business hours”.

Build For Comprehension And Confidence

Plain English is most effective when it preserves professional respect. Use short sentences, familiar verbs and one instruction at a time. Headings, diagrams, process maps and worked examples help learners connect written information with a visible sequence of actions.

Audio and video need the same care. Speakers should use a steady pace, clear pronunciation and natural pauses rather than exaggerated speech. Captions, transcripts and downloadable job aids support employees who are processing new concepts, working in noisy environments or reviewing content after a shift.

Useful design choices include:

  • Explain acronyms and specialist terms before using them repeatedly.
  • Pair new concepts with examples from the employee’s actual role.
  • Use icons and diagrams to reinforce, rather than replace, written instructions.
  • Avoid idioms, humour and cultural references that do not carry across languages.
  • Allow time for learners to replay, practise and check their understanding.

A short learning burst can introduce one procedure, followed by a realistic scenario and a quick knowledge check. This format suits busy Australian workplaces, including retail teams, health services and construction crews where employees may complete training between operational tasks.

Validate Materials With Real Learners

Reviewing content with fluent English speakers is insufficient. Pilot materials with employees who represent the intended audience, including different language backgrounds, literacy levels and levels of digital confidence. Ask them to explain what a task means in their own words and observe where they hesitate.

A subject matter expert can confirm whether the content is technically accurate, while an experienced facilitator can identify where examples sound unnatural. A useful SME perspective can also reveal assumptions that an instructional designer may not notice during development.

Testing should cover more than spelling and grammar. Check whether learners can find the right information, interpret a visual, complete the assessment and apply the process at work. In a warehouse near Melbourne or a regional hospital in Queensland, access to devices, connectivity and quiet study time may differ substantially.

Connect Learning With Workplace Performance

Materials should make the transfer from course to job explicit. Each module can state what learners will do, show a model, provide guided practice and assess the performance standard. Managers then need prompts that help them reinforce the behaviour during team meetings, coaching conversations and daily work.

Evaluation should track adoption and business outcomes rather than relying only on satisfaction scores. A Predictive Evaluation approach can help forecast whether a programme is likely to be used, identify risks before launch and connect learning activity with operational measures.

For an Australian enterprise, those measures might include fewer safety incidents, improved first-contact resolution, lower rework or faster onboarding. If a programme supports teams across Sydney and regional New South Wales, compare results carefully and account for differences in staffing, supervision and local operating conditions.

Practical design checks include:

  • Can employees explain the main action without reading the script again?
  • Does the assessment measure job performance rather than English fluency?
  • Are examples relevant to local regulations, systems and customer expectations?
  • Can managers reinforce the behaviour with a simple coaching prompt?
  • Is support available for learners who need more practice?

Compare Design Choices Before Development

Different material formats solve different problems. The right choice depends on task complexity, risk, learner access and the level of support available after training. A short module may suit a routine process, while a facilitated workshop is safer for judgement-heavy work.

Managers also influence whether new capability becomes normal practice. Research and evaluation focused on manager coaching analysis can help organisations identify where supervisors are reinforcing learning and where additional support is needed.

Design choice Best used for Key adaptation for multilingual learners Evidence to monitor
Illustrated job aid Repeatable procedures Numbered steps, plain verbs and labelled visuals Correct task completion
Short e-learning module Core knowledge and policy Captions, audio controls and frequent practice Completion and assessment accuracy
Facilitated workshop Discussion and complex judgement Small groups, clear turn-taking and scenarios Demonstrated decisions
Manager-led coaching Behaviour transfer at work Conversation prompts and observable standards Adoption over time
Performance support tool Tasks under time pressure Searchable terms and minimal reading load Errors, speed and confidence

The strongest solution may combine several formats: a brief digital lesson, a printable reference card and a manager coaching guide. This gives employees multiple ways to access information while keeping the learning experience consistent across offices, sites and shifts.

Clear language is a design discipline, not a reduction in standards. When materials reflect the work, respect linguistic diversity and measure practical performance, employees can spend less effort interpreting the course and more effort using what they have learned. A reliable starting point is to identify one critical workplace behaviour, express it in plain English, test it with representative learners and measure whether it appears on the job.

Learning to Performance

Learning to Performance, a complete training approach, gives companies world-class training to drive significant return. This approach includes upfront work (Impact Mapping, design), training (for staff and company executives), and post-training efforts to ensure training transfer. This unique recipe - the key for successful training and adoption - is changing the way companies implement training. This methodology could work with any content for organizations in any industry.

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