Helping Employees Learn a Foreign Language
Posted January 6th, 2014
With advances in technology, now more than ever we have a truly global economy. Many more companies are doing business internationally. Technology has helped break down a lot of barriers regarding communication and transportation. But there is still one thing that companies doing business internationally need to address, and that is language.
In many foreign companies, English is spoken along with the native tongue. But for companies working internationally, having workers who speak the language of foreign client companies can make a big difference in getting and keeping business.
For this reason, teaching employees to speak a foreign language is becoming a big deal for many companies who do business internationally. The question is, how can this be done most efficiently? After all, learning a foreign language is not the easiest skill to master. It takes a good deal of time and effort.
The first thing to do, as with any project, is to set specific, achievable goals. If an employee needs to know a foreign language in order to do her job, she should know what is necessary to know in order to become fluent in the language, how much time she has to achieve fluency, and how much time she will need to train. The progress toward this goal should be one of the elements included in her performance review.
The training should also focus on the particular area that the employee is working in. She should learn the foreign words and terms that apply to her job. The employee should also have the opportunity to use the language at work in some way, either through talking with clients, or sending email, as examples.
There are various ways of learning a language – independently by using the technology of the Internet and recordings, through more structured courses, or even one-on-one tutoring. Whatever way is used, the employee needs to have frequent contact with someone fluent in the language so that the worker’s progress can be evaluated, along with receiving feedback.
The company also needs to match its words with action. If the company believes it is important for an employee to learn a foreign language, the company needs to show this, not merely give lip service to it. It can do this, for example, by allowing the employee to set aside a certain time during the day to practice the language.
Do you need foreign-language proficient workers for your Bay Area company’s temporary, temp-to-hire or direct-hire opportunities? Then contact Bayside Solutions. If you are looking for a California staffing agency, contact us today.
