Learning a language through your employer is an excellent opportunity to develop a new skill and help reinforce your communication skills overall. Additionally, England is famous for using unusual terminology and slang that can be difficult for non-native speakers to understand straight away. These terms are frequently used around an office environment and in meetings (even video calls), so having a strong comprehension of the language will be a powerful tool, especially for those looking at career development and advancement in the UK. Being bilingual has shown to have an increase in pay of 5-20% compared to those who don’t speak a second language and it also increases your chances of being hired and promoted as well.
There are obvious advantages for an employer to train or pay for the training of their non-English speaking employees to learn the language and studies show that there are more hidden benefits to having bilingual and multilingual members of staff. The obvious being stronger communication both internally within the team and externally with any clients and suppliers the employees may speak to. But some benefits that employers and maybe the employees themselves haven’t considered are; having more confidence speaking to clients and other professionals on an international landscape, being able to reach a more diverse audience for a customer base, bilingual people typically have stronger listening and communicating skills, and there is even evidence of bilingual employees being better at multi-tasking and having good mental health. So if you’re looking to talk to your employer about taking an English language course, these may be some useful points to research and present to them.
If you’re curious about improving your English language skill for the workplace, take a look at some of the advantages you’ll have by brushing up on those language skills:
As well as the personal benefits of learning another language; it’s good for the mental health and brain, it increases the number of countries you can easily communicate in, and a generally impressive skill to have all together. Learning English for the workplace is not only a great opportunity in itself but will lead to further great opportunities for your career. Whether your employer is offering a scheme to learn through the company or it’s something you tackle outside of office hours, the investment you make in learning English will pay off in a number of ways.
In addition to personal career development, there is more you can bring to the table with having a command of the English language under your belt. In an increasingly global working environment, English is becoming known as the “international common language” with almost 70 countries speaking it as a first language and over 25 with it listed as a second language. Being confident in this arena will set you apart and build trust with both your internal teams and your clients that you may talk to from different countries, creating strong business relationships with them. There are a number of benefits to learning corporate English, both for personal improvement and professional development. In today’s global environment, it will really set you apart and strengthen your skillset and relationships in and out of the workplace.