Companies these days want more from the language schools charged with training their staffs, and this is raising the stakes for professional teachers to get creative in how they meet this demand.

"It's a big challenge for language schools, not just in terms of the courses they offer, but also the services they provide," says Eva Libenská, marketing manager for Skřivánek, a leading agency that monitors the language school industry here.

The firm recently released a report that said, in part, that companies are also demanding higher foreign language proficiency from their workers. This spells good news for professionals who make careers out of teaching foreign languages, as their services now appear to be in demand outside of traditional classrooms.

Language agencies and schools are reaching out to the human resources departments at large companies in the Czech Republic and offering help in tracking the progress of their employees. Skřivánek specifically offers an online program that allows human resources managers to track individual employees through the language-learning process.

"Companies are requiring to have structured classes with clear and measurable aims. They want to know the money spent on education is well spent," says Maya Kopecká from the Caledonian School.

A booming industry

Although instruction in English is still the most popular here, some agencies are seeing demand for other languages, says Petr Plocek at Channel Crossing, a language agency.

Channel Crossing has seen a 50 percent increase in demand for French in the past year from students who are at the intermediate level in English and are looking to gain different language skills, he says.

Skřivánek's report surveyed the 100 leading language schools and 70 translation agencies in the country. While language schools date to the early 1990s, the study suggests the industry is becoming increasingly visible.

Companies demanding more services for their employees is one reason for that.

Children studying languages at an earlier age is another.

"More and more language schools are offering courses for children. Children are increasingly becoming a big target group for language schools," says Libenská.

International House, a language school, has seen a marked increase in clients, mostly children, in the past year — despite being a player on the Prague language school scene for 10 years now.

"Our department is growing and involved in starting new programs," says Naomi Moir, director of International House's young-learner department.

Kopecká, of the Caledonian School, speaks of a similar boom.

"We have noticed a rise in demand for children classes," she says. "Parents are well-informed and their demands for the quality of lessons and of the teachers is rising."

Getting creative

To meet increasing demand from individuals, companies and parents, language schools have had to get creative.

Many now offer courses complete with babysitting services for busy mothers.

The Internet is also changing the industry: The Skřivánek study said 70 percent of language schools in Prague are now offering courses online.

"Companies are interested in e-learning for three reasons: to save money and time and increase the intensity of the lessons," says Kopecká.

Skřivánek offers a program where companies send their employees away to the Hotel Hláska in Zlenice, central Bohemia, every eight weeks for an intensive, four-day course. They take classes for eight hours during the day and watch television, play games and participate in other language-building activities in the evenings.