Language Training for Business: How to Get Started

You’ve heard about the myriad of benefits that corporate language learning can provide your business. You also know that learning a foreign language can give your business a competitive edge and help you emerge from the current global financial crisis unscathed.

But it feels like there are a million different language training companies out there who are all fighting for your attention. They all promise that they will help your employees finally master a foreign language with ease.

So which provider should you choose? How do you know which will provide you with the best return on your investment and actually make a difference for the future of your organization?

Here’s our advice on how to identify and select the right corporate language training scheme for your business.

1. Consider your language learning needs

Before you choose which corporate language training provider or app to learn with, you should make a detailed assessment of your business’ needs.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

• What language or languages do you want your team to learn? Do you want to target a particular market or are you looking for an all-round improvement in language skills? Not all providers will offer the languages you’re looking for. At MondlyWORKS we have 41 languages to choose from.
• Are your employees new language learners or have they already learned languages in the past? Some corporate language providers only offer courses to beginners or intermediate learners. However, Mondly offers options for all language levels.
• Are you looking for sector-specific language training? When learning a language for business, general language courses often aren’t enough. If possible, choose a language course that offers tailor-made language lessons that can give you the edge. At MondlyWORKS, we offer special content for the medical, hospitality and retail industries.
• What are your employees’ mother tongues? Many corporate language training programs are offered from a specific mother tongue such as English or French. This means that if the individual wants to succeed, they must first be proficient in that language. How would this affect your team? Would it be better to choose a corporate language learning program that can be used from 33 mother tongues?

2. What style of learning are you looking for?

Language courses for businesses can be delivered in a variety of ways: face to face group courses, evening courses at a local college, hiring a professional teacher, offering traditional books or using software and apps to learn. Which of these would work best for your team?

Many businesses choose to send their employees to traditional style language classes at a local college or hire a professional teacher to attend the business premises on a regular basis. This can work well for many students, especially if they feel more comfortable in a classroom-based learning environment.

But for the majority, this isn’t the more effective use of their financial and time investments.

Face-to-face group language lessons can feel like yet another item on the ‘to do’ list for employees who already have a packed schedule, numerous personal obligations or a family waiting for them at home to attend class. The COVID restrictions mean that attending these classes can be a logistical nightmare. Most of these classes aren’t tailored to the individual so the more talented language students can be held back and those who are struggling are less likely to succeed.

For best results, consider signing up for a flexible language learning provider like Mondly who leverages the latest in educational technology  (speech recognition, VR, AR and gamification) to help your employees learn whenever they have a few moments to spare.

3. Look for credentials and experience

You’d never go ahead and hire a new member of staff without assessing their education, experience and checking up on their references, would you? The same applies when looking for your corporate language trainer.

Start by making a list of potential corporate language training providers then head to their websites. Look for key information such as how long they’ve been in business, check out their reviews or testimonials, find out if they have any notable clients and see if they have received any awards over recent years.

Mondly is an award-winning educational app that currently has over 70 million users and has received numerous awards such as ‘Best New App’ and ‘App of the Year’ from the likes of Apple and Facebook. Our clients include The Australian Department of Defense, Delta Airlines and the University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt.

With this information, you can start narrowing down your choices.

4. Consider your budget

When you invest in corporate language learning, you need to know that your team will see great results from their efforts. That’s why you should also consider your budget when you’re searching for the best corporate language training.

By taking into consideration the number of employees you have and the overall cost, you will find the option that best suits your needs. However, make sure you’re not simply choosing the cheapest option – it may cost less in the short term but it is likely to be ineffective and therefore end up costing you more.

At MondlyWORKS, we’ve structured our prices to give you the best of both worlds. Both highly affordable and effective – it’s the savvy choice for language learning in 2021 and beyond.

Get MondlyWORKS today

Now you’ve considered all the factors carefully, it’s time to take action. Work through the information you’ve gathered and make your decision based on your needs, requirements, language level, flexibility, cost, use of technology and effectiveness. 

If you decide that MondlyWORKS is the right language training provider for you, contact business@mondly.com to find out more.