Globalisation is a fact of life, with goods and services flowing around the world. Through technology, businesses are breaking down barriers to international trade. But there is one barrier that companies working internationally have yet to overcome – the language barrier.

Training employees to communicate in more than one language has become a priority goal for many businesses working internationally. Corporate language training has been growing rapidly.

But, naturally, people cannot become fluent in a foreign language overnight. It takes a lot of time and effort. To get the most out of a corporate language training program, experts offer some advice.

First, companies should set specific goals for employees in learning a foreign language, says Duane March, a language trainer. If becoming  fluent in a foreign language is necessary for an employee to perform his or her job or to get a promotion, the person needs to know what is required to attain that fluency, how long he or she has to become fluent and how much time the person needs to devote to training. The progress in the language training should be a part of the person’s performance review.

Second, the language training needs to be tailored to the employee’s particular job and the field he or she is in, says Julia Bonheim. The language courses should, for example, include business phrases that are normally used, examples of emails and telephone calls, and other business documents that are commonly used by the employee.

If the employee is learning the language through an independent learning course, the person still needs to have some contact with a native speaker for a number of reasons – feedback, motivation, and gauging progress.

Also, if employee fluency in a foreign language is an important goal for the company, the business needs to show that it values such accomplishment with action, not merely words. The company should set aside time during the day for the employee to work on language training.

Finally, the employee should use the language while working. For example, he or she might be able to use it during certain business meetings or emailing certain customers. Speaking the language will help the person increase fluency and build confidence.

If you are looking for top-notch professionals in the New York City area, contact Winston Resources. We can provide you with employees in a wide variety of areas. Give us a call today.