Ideas that will encourage your employees to speak a new language at work

The more natural speaking a language feels, the easier it is to learn. ‘Natural’ is often as simple as creating language learning opportunities in everyday moments. Workplaces lend themselves so well to this and it only requires a small effort to design a workplace that is a natural language learning accelerator.

We’ve put together about 18 easy-to-action ideas to implement in your workplace. Even just adopting a few of them will go a long way to create a culture where language learning is a practice consistently repeated until mastery is achieved. Let us know which ones you put in place!

(And don’t forget to download our Barlingua at Work poster, designed to help people feel comfortable with regularly used phrases in an office.)

1. Establish a commitment to language classes

For any language class program to go well in a company, a culture of commitment needs to be established. We all know what happens when something feels optional – we don’t persevere when the going gets tough. And learning a new language will be difficult at times.

A culture in which language classes are something that everyone shows up to and helps to forge bonds between the people learning together. You’ll find that when this happens, the commitment to attend becomes much stronger.

Ideas to help create a culture of commitment to language classes

• • Create a level of expectation that all employees attend, especially those in leadership positions.
  • Do language classes in-person. This can also be online for remote workers. People tend to work better when their peers are involved, rather than an app or online program that relies on self-motivation only. Involving other people creates interest and organic accountability.
  • Make sure the language classes are enjoyable! When it feels like a chore to go to a language class, employees will feel reluctant to do so. Working with a company that creates a welcoming atmosphere fosters a sense of community that employees will want to show up to.
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2. Make language visible in the workplace

Immersing a student in a language is one of the most effective ways for them to learn – and feels much more comfortable learning. Students often recognize moments that language starts to flow more freely and this is generally when they are seeing it and using it everywhere.

Create a workplace that ‘feels like home’ for language speaking. The key is to look for areas where using a new language feels organic – these are often very everyday situations.

Ideas to make language visible in the workplace

• Use posters around your workplace. Often, language posters can be too basic, covering greetings that your employees probably already know. We created the Barlingua at Work poster to go beyond this. It’s packed full of phrases that employees will actually want to use in the workplace.
• Ensure that all signage around the workplace includes the new language.

3. Set up foreign communication exchanges

We want to make using a new language as normal as possible so that it starts to flow naturally. One of the best ways to do this is creating an environment in which employees chat to each other. The desire for us to be able to communicate with one another is an innate human trait. Combining this with a low-pressure situation, such as a casual chat, is a great way to create a natural incentive.

Ideas to set up foreign communication exchanges

• • Start a Slack channel that is dedicated to the language people are learning. Depending on your workplace communication protocols, this can be a great opportunity to let your employees have some fun with their language learning. Encouraging sharing, for example when someone finds a great resource or a funny meme.
  • Set up a foreign language exchange between your employees. This could be a set time every week where employees sit down with someone trying to learn their language. They take turns speaking in the language they want to learn and the other person helps them with corrections and encouragement.
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4. Make employee language recognition part of your work culture

Languages are challenging for most people to learn. Because of this, whenever any of our students see themselves improve, they feel a true sense of accomplishment.

It also helps others feel encouraged to work at their language. This happens because of observational learning, where we recognize behaviour that will reward us and mimic it.

Employee language recognition ideas

When an achievement occurs, whether that’s moving up a level or holding an entire meeting with their new language skills, try out one of these recognition ideas:

• Do a Slack shoutout that the whole company can see.
• Set aside a budget for employee incentives or gifts.
• Give certificates acknowledging their achievements.
• Have a set of cards that employees are encouraged to write a note on when they notice an improvement in their coworker.
• Recognize their achievement in a meeting – a one-on-one with a manager or a team WIP.

5. Establish routines where a new language is regularly used

Consistency and frequency help students become proficient in any language. Particularly, consistency and frequency on the same type of language speaking. Often, it’s better for students to go over something again and again, rather than learning something new. Solidifying how their new language works in certain scenarios helps them understand sentence structure, grammar, as well as vocabulary.

Ideas to establish a routine using a new language

• Start every meeting in the language your employees are learning. Even if it’s just an intro, a check-in or setting the agenda, it all helps.
• Create an expectation that every time an employee starts to talk about their project, it is in their new language.
• Create bilingual internal communications.
• Create language check-ins within teams where managers check in with their employees about how the new language is going, using the new language as much as possible.

6. Create an atmosphere in which mistakes are welcome

Workplaces can often be environments in which employees feel they can’t make mistakes. Delivering quality error-free work doesn’t translate to language learning. Practicing a new language is going to be full of errors. It feels obvious but employees generally need reminding that this is ok.

There can also be a feeling of ‘I’m slowing everyone down.’ Instilling an atmosphere of encouragement, particularly in leaders and managers, helps to make sure that everyone knows that language learners are welcome to take their time and make mistakes here.

Ideas to create a non-judgemental atmosphere

• Establish a set of beliefs or principles around learning a language in the office. This could look something like, ‘Every mistake means you are one step closer to speaking correctly.’
• Create feedback guidelines as part of these principles. For example, it’s great for language learners to receive immediate feedback on their mistake and verbally repeat the correct way to say something. Creating guidelines where everyone knows that this will happen when a mistake is made removes the social awkwardness of correcting someone and normalizes mistake-making.

The workplace is a great place to try and learn a new language. While it might be challenging, the benefits of learning one in an environment where you spend most of your time can outweigh the difficulties involved.

We’ve outlined some suggestions for how to establish an atmosphere that supports employees who want to start or continue their journey with foreign languages at work. If these sound like they would help increase productivity and efficiency within your company, get in touch. Our team will work closely with you on developing strategies tailored specifically for your company’s needs.

Creating a workplace where people from different cultures speak freely with each other every day doesn’t need to be difficult. Get in touch via the form below and we can support you with this!

Poster example