Learning English as a Second Language: The Most Frequently Asked Questions

Learning English as a Second Language: The Most Frequently Asked Questions

We get a lot of questions from companies that are considering English language classes for their employees. We know that choosing whether to offer training and selecting a firm to provide it are big decisions. To make the whole process easier for you, we collected and answered some of the most frequently asked questions about English language training.

Who should study English as a Second Language?

Since English is the global lingua franca of business, just about anyone would benefit from developing their ability to do business in English. But English language training is especially important for the following groups of employees:

  • Those who are relocating to an English-speaking country.
  • Those who collaborate regularly with English speakers, whether in person or remotely.
  • Global leaders in your company.

Do employees who studied English in school still need English training on the job?

While these employees are benefiting from the English skills they already have, company-provided training can bolster their job performance even more. English classes during their school days probably did not give them the specific vocabulary they need for their jobs. It’s also unlikely that they built enough fluency to feel fully at ease working with native English speakers, who will speak more rapidly than your employees are used to and have an accent they likely have never heard. You can even customize the training you offer so that your employees learn the specific idioms and slang used by the English speakers they work with.

What results can we expect from English classes, and when will we see them?

After English training, employees often become more confident about sharing their ideas, which increases their value to your company. They also become better collaborators. Language training enhances team cohesion and reduces misunderstanding. If you are offering language training for expat employees, you increase the odds that their relocation will be happy and successful.

While building fluency is a process that happens over time, improvements start happening sooner than you might imagine. Our students show measurable improvement with two hours per week of one-on-one training, and managers report noticeable language skills improvement within just 10 hours of training.

Can’t we just use software to help our employees learn English?

While we support any effort to offer corporate language training, we also have to caution you that there’s simply no comparison between learning English from software and learning it from a real, live instructor. Working with an instructor mirrors the way we acquired our first language: imitating and interacting with native speakers. Language students who learn from an instructor are also more accountable, supported and emotionally invested, not to mention, they can ask questions relevant to their job and get customized lessons that make every minute count towards improving communication at work.

What are the most important things to consider when choosing an English language training provider?

First, ask questions about the company’s instructors. The best instructors are native English speakers who have experience with teaching adult professionals. It’s also a plus if they are TEFL certified (but not a deal-breaker if they aren’t). Years of experience teaching is more important than a certificate!

Next, learn what the trainer’s classes are like. You want your employees to get a lot of speaking experience any time they meet with their instructor. Around 70 percent of class time should be devoted to speaking – not lectures, but rather the student should be speaking 70%. This speaking practice should include role-playing conversations they’re likely to have in English at work and outside the office. Speaking practice should not be vocabulary drills.

How can we help employees who are studying English learn faster?

Your support can make a big difference! If your English learners are expat employees, start a buddy system that pairs every student with a colleague who’s a native English speaker. Work buddies can help give your English learners additional conversation practice. They can also become guides to the local culture by doing everything from explaining regional idioms to giving advice on schools, shopping and other services. Grabbing lunch once a week will make a HUGE difference.

We hope this guide addressed your questions about corporate English language training. Wondering about something we didn’t cover? Get in touch with us: getfluent@fluencycorp.com or (800) 401-3159. We also offer a free consultation to talk more about your company’s specific needs.

The Business Value of Corporate Language Training

The Business Value of Corporate Language Training

Corporate language training isn’t just a “nice to have” perk for your employees. It’s a necessity as your workforce becomes more global. And language training isn’t just for executives and managers. Businesses like the Walt Disney Co. are investing in language training even for hourly workers.nnAre you trying to make the case to your bosses that your company should start providing language training or step up your offerings? We’re here to help you out. We rounded up some of the most powerful research and statistics showing the value of business language training and how it can benefit your company.

What Business Trends Point to the Need for Language Training?

The English-speaking world’s share of the global economy is shrinking.nnAs businesses expand globally, they must provide sales and services in the languages their customers around the world speak.nnThe demand for bilingual workers more than doubled in the U.S. from 2010 to 2015. The intense competition for bilingual workers gives companies an added incentive to create their own language training programs.nnBy 2060, the U.S. will have the second-largest population of Spanish speakers after Mexico. This signals that companies doing business in the U.S. need more workers skilled in Spanish.nnAmerican businesses lose over $2 billion a year to language or cultural misunderstandings, according to the U.S. Committee on Economic Development. That’s not surprising when we consider that only 18 percent of Americans speak more than one language (compared with 56 percent of Europeans).

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What Are the Benefits of Corporate Language Training?

Businesses with multilingual teams enjoy improved reputations, and their employees are more engaged. Language training programs also help attract top talent. Employee Language Proficiency Helps Global Businesses Compete, Says New Study.nnHaving a language strategy is a competitive advantage for global organizations. And part of any language strategy is having language training programs in place. Companies that provide language training enhance their ability to hire the best talent, because they’re not selecting or rejecting candidates based solely on their language skills. What’s Your Language Strategy?nnIn one study discussed in 3 Ways Language Training Benefits Your Business, more than two-thirds of employees surveyed felt more confident in their work and in collaborating with others after completing language training. Language training also enhances productivity and efficiency.nnBeing bilingual or multilingual changes your employees’ brains in some pretty fascinating ways as described in this Quartz article that make them better team members. Research indicates that speaking more than one language improves intelligence, attention and other skills that can make your employees more creative and innovative.nnBeing able to work in a second language may also help employees be more analytical, make better decisions and keep cool during negotiations. This “foreign language effect” is described in more detail in an article on BBC.nnIf your company needs a proven partner for language training programs, Fluency Corp has a strong track record with clients including Hitachi, Google, Kayak and Samsung. For a free consultation, contact us at getfluent@fluencycorp.com or (800) 401-3159.

How to Help Expats Master U.S. Culture

How to Help Expats Master U.S. Culture

nnYour company is bringing employees from abroad to the U.S. And you’re the HR leader who’s coordinating the relocations. You have a lot on your mind. You’re helping employees with travel plans, English language training, finding a place to live and getting their kids in school.nnWe’ve got one more thing to add to your list: Teaching your international employees about U.S. culture. And we want to help you accomplish this without adding more work to your day.nn

What’s Different in U.S. Culture?

It’s easy to forget that the culture you’ve probably been immersed in your whole life isn’t universal. Our U.S. culture is the way we do things here. It’s not the way that people do things everywhere. Here are just a few examples of cultural differences between the U.S. and other countries:

  • Employees coming to the U.S. from Spain might be baffled as to why we eat dinner so early.
  • South Korean expats will notice lots of differences in gift-giving etiquette, both in business and personal contexts.
  • Expats from Germany (and other countries) might get sticker shock at the cost of medical care in the U.S.
  • Employees from Japan will likely encounter different tipping practices than what they’re used to back home.

The Benefits of Culture Education

Why is it worth your to time to educate expat employees about U.S. culture? First, it simply helps them do their job better and collaborate more smoothly with their U.S. colleagues.nnBut, just as importantly, culture knowledge helps your expat employees and their families feel at home more quickly in their new country. When they’re comfortable with shopping, socializing and other facets of daily life here, it’s less likely that “expat depression” will send them packing to go back home. And that saves your company the significant cost of a failed international relocation. Brookfield Global Mobility surveyed companies with hundreds of relocations per year, and the results are in: 54% of relocations fail, and why they fail is 71% due to failure to culturally assimilate and adjust. WHOA!nn

Language and Culture Resources for Expats

You’re not on your own when it comes to helping your expat employees understand U.S. culture. These resources can make your job easier:

  • CultureWizard. Your international employees can draw from a vast trove of CultureWizard’s interactive resources to learn about other cultures. Or you can opt for instructor-led courses, either in person or online. To sample CultureWizard’s offerings, download the company’s free guide to working in the U.S.
  • Apto. Apto’s videos demonstrate real-life scenarios in U.S. life, such as going to the doctor, going to a co-worker’s housewarming party or signing up for car insurance. Relocating employees can start getting a feel for U.S. life — and English as it’s really used here — before they even arrive. After they relocate, they can rewatch videos to prepare for a meeting in English, get ready to talk on the phone in English and even go to the car mechanic. Not to mention you can choose the accent you want to hear depending on the region of the US you’re living in: Southern versus New Yorker, for example.
  • Fluency Corp. That’s us! We believe that language and cultural fluency go hand in hand. Our English lessons, focusing on relevant conversations and real-life situations, are essential to have with a live instructor at the office. We also motivate language learners by cultivating their interest in English books, movies and other aspects of U.S. culture. Our English instructors are more than language trainers. They also serve as your employees’ guide to U.S. culture. They can talk them through situations they have questions about — like where to mail a package or how to find a tutor for their kids — and share information about their community.

Need more advice for helping your relocating employees succeed in a new culture? Give us a call for a free consultation.nn

Help Your Relocating Employees & Their Families Succeed

Relocation

When your company decides to relocate an employee, a lot is at stake. You risk lost productivity and lost money (relocation costs typically range from $72,000 to $1 million) if the move doesn’t succeed. And there’s a very real chance that it won’t. Brookfield Global Mobility reports that relocations have a 54% failure rate, and Right Management reports that 40% of relocations have failed. Either percentage you look at, that number is mighty high.

Now consider that the No. 1 reason employees are reluctant to relocate is family resistance. A 2015 survey found that 60% of all relocating employees experienced some family pushback to the move.

This statistic doesn’t surprise me. As a language trainer, I’ve taught hundreds of people who have relocated to the U.S. for their jobs. Most of them work in engineering, tech, finance or management. Back when they were studying these subjects in school, most of them never pictured relocating abroad. So they didn’t study language or culture. But then they come to a turning point.

Most People Do Not Anticipate Relocating to Another Country for Their Job

“There’s an opportunity to work in our U.S. office,” their companies tell them. “We think this would be a good step in your career.”

Of course, they want to seize this opportunity. But with that decision comes big challenges — not just for the employee, but also for their spouse, their kids and even extended family members.

If you’re involved in relocations, it’s important to pay careful attention to the challenges employees’ families face, because they can make or break the success of a move.

It’s Hard to Leave Your Comfort Zone When You Relocate

I recently assessed the needs of a wife who decided to relocate with her husband to the U.S. He works for a Japan-based Fortune 100 company, and they were relocated to Texas for a minimum of two years. She said she wanted to take advantage of this time. When a large number of employees are relocated, they often form the same networks and social groups they had in their home country. In other words, they’re still living in Japan — but doing it in Dallas. There’s nothing wrong with this, as it’s human nature to flock to your comfort zone or to want to be with people like yourself. I did the same thing when I lived in Spain (and learned very little Spanish during this time, might I add).

But I wouldn’t recommend this route. The company sent those employees to the U.S. to learn, collaborate, grow and bring back new ideas and stronger relationships. If the transferred employees don’t integrate, then isn’t the point of relocating them a moot one?

They need support to do this, though. It’s incredibly difficult to dive into a new culture speaking a language that you’re not used to using on a daily basis – and exhausting! The first months I lived in Mexico, working so hard to understand what was being said to me and form coherent sentences in return left my brain fried at the end of each day. A native French-speaking friend of mine recently started working for an American company in Chicago. She had been working in Dallas for five years at a French company, where she mostly spoke French, even though she was living in the US. After the first week of work in Chicago, she called me, exhausted, and exclaimed: “I’ve never had to work in English before now! And I’ve been in the U.S. for five years!”

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A Fluency Coach Can Help With More Than Just Language

A fluency coach or private English tutor can be a huge help in getting the employee and his or her family settled in. This person can come to the home or office for two hours a week – assisting with questions about schools, community, how to get involved, grocery stores and vacation spots, all while increasing the family’s confidence and skill in the new language.

That’s important, because confidence and practice are the most common things that hold someone back from speaking their second language. They may have had great formal training, but now they simply need time to practice the language and get comfortable. This affects every aspect of their workday: how much they speak in meetings, how much they understand in meetings, how they collaborate, how long it takes them to respond to an email.

We even had one gentleman from Spain who wanted to take advantage of all the space in Texas ask us where to buy a horse for his son! Now this gentleman was really adapting to the local culture! And, of course, we hooked him up. One of our local language teachers knew exactly whom to call and how to introduce our client to local ranchers and horse owners. It’s these personal touches that can make or break a relocation. Happy family = happy employee!

Another interesting example of what helps a relocation succeed: I learned from Cartus that in Brazil you can’t get a driver’s license without being fluent in Portuguese. But it wasn’t possible to get their relocating employees fluent (300-plus hours of one-on-one lessons!) before moving them to Brazil. So they had to spend $10,000 per month to hire drivers for each employee. For the employees, their drivers came to play the role that language instructors often fill: a valuable source for assimilation, knowledge and support. Employees practiced the language with their drivers and got important insider information about the city and specific neighborhoods. The drivers’ support made the the decision to relocate more manageable and successful, albeit at a huge cost.

Think of a language coach this way: A guide to not only the language, but the community and the culture. And it won’t cost you $10,000 a month, either. Most language coaches cost $5,000 to $10,000 per year. That’s a small investment to keep your much larger investment from being wasted.

Dawn Mugavero, from Toyota Global Mobility, summed it all up well at a recent Texas Relocation Network event: “Now that we’ve moved to Texas, the real work begins. It’s not just getting everyone to the new location, but also ensuring their satisfaction in the years to come.”

How are you supporting the happiness and confidence of your relocating employees? Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about language training and cultural support from Fluency Corp. Who knows? We might be helping you buy a horse someday, too (in the local language, of course!).