Chris Schorr

I have spent 20+ years in Taiwan's business environment, and I understand the training challenges here from the inside. Too many programs focus on grammar scores while skipping the listening and speaking skills that actually matter at work. Southern Taiwan in particular still tends to treat training as a cost rather than an investment. My job is to bridge that gap: meeting HR expectations for measurable results while building skills that last beyond the training period. Before moving into training, I worked as a Sales and Marketing Manager at SDI Corporation in Taiwan's electronics manufacturing sector. I managed high-value customer contracts, handled complaints, and navigated cross-cultural business relationships daily. When the 2008 recession hit, I made the move to ITI's IBAP program and rediscovered my passion for business English training. That manufacturing background became the backbone of my teaching. Students respond to real scenarios because I have lived them. I understand sales dynamics, family business structures, and operational pressures, not just language. Over 16 years at ITI/TAITRA, that approach delivered consistent results: top evaluation scores, repeat contracts with clients like YPE and MIRDC, and over 45 customized course outlines developed for corporate training requests. For YPE, I built complaint management training around 8D investigation processes. I developed ESP workshops and used my own company experience to solve common presentation problems I had seen firsthand. Two outcomes I am particularly proud of: I mentored TAITRA staff who won first prize at an international trade show marketing competition, and I consulted on Taipei's successful bid to host the Rotary International Convention in 2019. I also proposed and built video-based asynchronous learning for employees outside major cities before COVID made it a necessity. I left ITI in December 2025 after 16 years and am now focused on the next stage of my career in corporate training. Training needs continue to evolve. Presentations have shifted toward pitches, data storytelling, and focused formats. AI is now central to how I work: I help students reduce cognitive load, use prompt engineering effectively, and avoid the uncanny valley that comes from pure AI output. I stay current through weekly AI in education journals and bring practical productivity shortcuts directly into sessions. I completed my Trinity CertTESOL in 2023 to sharpen my task-based learning approach for corporate environments. As a permanent resident of Taiwan, I am committed to its success as a global business hub. I help Taiwanese professionals build effective messaging and understand how that messaging lands with Western partners. My standard does not change: every session should give students a skill they can use immediately and build on over time.