Mobile, Social and On-Demand Business English Technology Tools for the Enterprise

Mobile, Social and On-Demand Business English Technology Tools for the Enterprise:

Up until last year, I was a graduate student at Syracuse
University. A working, middle-aged native English-speaking U.S. student in a
program dominated by young non-native English speaking Asian students. Needless
to say when the phrase “control freak” came up in a conversation with another
native English speaking student (long story) there were a lot of puzzled looks
especially among the new students. Phrases like “control freak” don’t really
come up in structured language courses they took to learn English. They come up
in “real” life. The Urban Dictionary vs. the Webster’s Dictionary. It’s the
same at work. Acronyms, business jargon, the language of the organization and the
language of business. In situ.

Think about this. Business growth will come from emerging markets.
Many of your employees from those markets will likely be non-native English
speakers. And with that challenge, an Employment
Paradox: Unemployment, Skills Gaps, and Difficulty in Hiring. Go
ahead, click on the link and read it. I’ll wait for you….

Welcome back : )

So what can the corporate learning department do to address
this problem? Do you teach your new employees business English only through
courses? (that seems very time consuming and costly) Do you pay top dollar to
attract those few new workers from emerging markets who do speak English
fluently? (key word: few) Or, do you
teach your current native English-speaking employees new languages? That last
one…Not. Gonna. Happen. Why? Because the language of business is English. And effective
global operations will mean getting everyone working in the same language. Not
just speaking the English language, but applying it effectively in real-life
work.

Now add to the language challenge the need for collaboration,
continuous learning and the mobility of the workforce. Language learning
courses alone just won’t cut it. You need a real-life, real-time solution.

Enter GlobalEnglish.
I had a briefing with them yesterday. They specialize in what they call “enterprise
fluency.”  Recognizing the talent issues
and the productivity issues associated with lack of business English skills,
and seeing a significant need, they released a few new products that get at the
very issue of learning the language of business in the context of work. I’m
quite excited about what I saw.

GlobalEnglish
LinGo Pro is a mobile business English app that makes business English
tools available via smartphone, tablet and browser-based devices. Subscribers
look up the definitions, translations, and practice the pronunciation of
everyday English words. It provides access to industry-specific,
company-specific and topic-specific words while employees are away from
desktops. This has potential well beyond English language support.

GlobalEnglish
Bloom is a collaboration platform focused on global communication: a secure
online workspace with social capabilities to help native and non-native English speakers improve the speed and quality of
their work and complete professional tasks in business English. It will help employees
better comprehend  English-based
information and improve the quality of their English-based work by getting help
from native-English speakers within the company as well as external experts.
Again, potential well beyond English language support.

Finally, GlobalEnglish
Edge is an on-demand software solution for structured learning of business
English with business-specific content coupled with instant, on-the-job support
for work tasks in English—such as writing emails or handling negotiations. The
core Business English curriculum spans 10 levels, from beginner to advanced,
and is taught in the context of relevant business situations with significant
focus on meaningful cultural contexts.
Support for 15 languages enables non-native speakers to grasp the
material more effectively.

GlobalEnglish  is
moving ahead with mobile, social and on-demand tools that address the talent
and learning challenges we face today. Worth a look for any organization.

- Janet