The landscape of today’s marketplace is highly focused on the quality of relationships. There are clear connections between employee satisfaction and customer experience, but there are other connections between employees and customers—such as language. How can language, and a commitment to language, redefine employee-customer relations? As Alex Shashkevich, of Stanford News, writes, “people speak roughly […]
Continue readingBusiness Benefits of Multilingualism
In our increasingly globalized world, there is a growing need for a multilingual workforce. The demand for multilingual employees more than doubled between 2010 and 2015. The workforce has continued to evolve since then, particularly because of the COVID-19 pandemic — as of 2021, there has been a 30% increase in bilingual remote jobs. Multilingual employees bring undeniable value to the workplace, […]
Continue readingSpanish Speakers Bring Superpowers to Businesses
The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse, and the Hispanic population is a big contributor to the country’s changing demographics. According to the U.S. Census’ latest data, there has been a 23% increase in the Spanish-speaking population since 2010, totaling approximately 62.1 million Hispanics as of 2020. This growth is projected to reach 99.89 million […]
Continue readingGetting Back to Business with Language and Cultural Proficiency
One million vaccinations a day was certainly a lofty proposition as we began the year grappling with how to effectively rid ourselves of COVID-19 and get back to business. As a business owner, diversity specialist, and community advocate, I wondered how this would be accomplished because I know there are still so many gaps in […]
Continue readingThe ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test Administered by LTI
As discussed in previous blogs, being able to speak English is not the only skill that employees who work in a global corporate environment need to have; being able to communicate by writing is also essential to remain competitive and gain success. A measure such as the ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT), administered exclusively through […]
Continue readingACTFL’s Oral Proficiency Interview Delivered Exclusively by LTI
Given how important spoken English is in a corporate environment for employees to be successful, it is essential to talk about standardized measures that are currently being used to measure these skills. The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, or just “ACTFL OPI®” is a holistic criterion-referenced assessment, because it measures a test candidate’s functional speaking proficiency […]
Continue readingWhy Language Training is Critical to a Business
The world is becoming more and more interconnected every day, and new technologies and digital platforms capable of bringing brands to any customer with access to the internet are the driving force behind this unstoppable phenomenon. Additionally, to help facilitate access to these new international markets, businesses are striving to increase cross-border trade, international investment, and […]
Continue readingDeveloping Talent: Language Proficiency Testing As Learning Impact Evidence
Building workforce capability is critical in achieving an organization’s strategic and operational objectives. Learning and development (L&D) is one of the primary talent management strategies for workforce capability building. L&D interventions could range from new hire orientation to technical skill training, compliance training, language training, or soft skill training to leadership development. The corporate L&D […]
Continue readingThe Importance of Spoken English in Today’s Global Work Environment
Writing in a language versus being able to speak or converse in a language are two different things. The skill of writing in a particular language can be obtained via classroom instruction, assignments, books, and dictionaries. On the other hand, communicating effectively in spoken English can be challenging, especially when it comes to the pronunciation […]
Continue readingImportance of English Language Assessments in a Global Work Environment
With a growing global workforce, English language proficiency has become one of the most sought-after skills. Additionally, given the reliance of multinational companies on an increasingly migrant workforce, with people moving to countries seeking not just new jobs but also career advancement opportunities, the need for fluency in the English language and to be able […]
Continue reading