Empowering employee success: establishing a learning culture

Samantha Ball
Business people in a group smiiling with their hands up in air

In the fast-paced world of business, there is one undeniable fact that holds true: employees are the key to success. Their commitment and expertise propel organizations towards their objectives, which is why investing in a learning culture is essential. The advantages are numerous and include improved staff retention, increased productivity and the goal of higher employee engagement.

How learning cultures can help your business thrive
Play
Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree ÃÛÌÒapp can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

Contact us for more information

Developing a culture of learning in an organization requires a thorough understanding of its skill gaps and the range of skills that employees want to improve, including both hard and soft skills. A recent of 4,000 employees in the UK, US, India and Brazil found that employees expect equal emphasis on both interpersonal (soft) and technical (hard) skills.

Organizations are investing more in fostering interpersonal skills. Leaders and HR professionals are realizing the importance of soft skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, collaboration and adaptability. These skills not only contribute to effective management but also help in problem-solving and project management. This shift is crucial, particularly in addressing the decline of social skills within the workforce due to the pandemic.

Why is a learning culture important, particularly language learning?

Language skills stand out as pivotal in developing interpersonal business skills. English language learning, in particular, serves as a catalyst for improved communication, bolstering employee confidence, engagement and networking, as well as personal and professional growth. Learning a new language can improve cognitive function, enhancing multitasking skills and creativity, making for a more skilled workforce.

Elevating English proficiency across an organization opens the door to international markets, yielding substantial bottom-line benefits. Clearer communication leads to smoother operations, minimized errors and enhanced productivity. One of our identifies some of these skills, such as communication, as a highly prized workforce skill, so it's easy to see the importance of learning in a workplace setting.

So, how can you or your organization help to address and encourage a learning culture?

Communication is key

It's about keeping the dialogue open. Celebrating successes and reflecting on progress during year-end performance management and appraisals while understanding employees' learning ambitions for the year ahead fosters collective buy-in and a sense of belonging. The outcomes of these discussions form the basis of a robust learning and development roadmap for future years.

Lead by example

Active leadership involvement is essential in promoting language learning within an organization. By participating in language classes or demonstrating the value of language skills through their interactions, leaders and managers can set an example for their employees. Their involvement can encourage others to follow suit, thereby emphasizing the organization's commitment to learning and development.

Measurable goals

Establishing measurable learning milestones not only bolsters the learning culture but also fuels employee motivation and continuous development, aiding leadership in producing management reports that showcase organizational progress.

Offer Incentives

Create incentives for employees to learn languages by offering rewards, recognition or certifications upon reaching proficiency milestones. Tie language learning to career advancement opportunities or salary increases to incentivize continuous growth.

Make it fun and accessible

For a thriving learning culture, make workplace learning accessible, enjoyable and interactive. Leveraging emerging technologies like AI and reshapes learning experiences, necessitating user-friendly tech-based learning methods over outdated training methodologies. If learning is easy to access, staff are much more likely to participate; no one likes operating an awkward, long-winded or old-fashioned system. It can take the fun and motivation out of learning.

Cultivating a culture of learning necessitates a proactive approach starting from the top. Offering a blend of hard and soft skills, including language learning, is pivotal for a successful learning culture, elevated employee engagement and fostering sustainable business growth.

Remember, the journey towards a thriving culture of learning is not just an investment in your employees; it's an investment in the future success of your business.

You may also be interested in our blog post 'Improving employee engagement: The crucial role of language learning in business'

Check out Mondly by ÃÛÌÒapp Workplace English to build those crucial soft skills alongside language learning.Ìý

Mondly by ÃÛÌÒapp Workplace English

Ìý

More blogs from ÃÛÌÒapp

  • A parent and their child laying on the floor drawing together on a large peice of paper

    Raising bilingual kids: Sharing your family language at home

    By
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    A shared language is central to many families, and this can carry extra meaning when your children are growing up in a country that speaks a different language. It's not just about words; it's about culture, identity and connection. If you'd like to teach your kids the language that holds a special place in your heart, here are some tips to get you started.

  • A group of students stood around a teacher on a laptop

    The ethical challenges of AI in education

    By Billie Jago
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    AI is revolutionising every industry, and language learning is no exception. AI tools can provide students with unprecedented access to things like real-time feedback, instant translation and AI-generated texts, to name but a few.

    AI can be highly beneficial to language education by enhancing our students’ process of learning, rather than simply being used by students to ‘demonstrate’ a product of learning. However, this is easier said than done, and given that AI is an innovative tool in the classroom, it is crucial that educators help students to maintain authenticity in their work and prevent AI-assisted ‘cheating’. With this in mind, striking a balance between AI integration and academic integrity is critical.

    How AI impacts language learning

    Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini have made it easier than ever for students to refine and develop their writing. However, these tools also raise concerns about whether submitted texts are student-produced, and if so, to what extent. If students rely on text generation tools instead of their own skills, our understanding of our students’ abilities may not reflect their true proficiency.

    Another issue is that if students continue to use AI for a skill they are capable of doing on their own, they’re likely to eventually lose that skill or become significantly worse at it.

    These points create a significant ethical dilemma:

    • How does AI support learning, or does it (have the potential to) replace the learning process?
    • How can educators differentiate between genuine student ability and AI-assisted responses?

    AI-integration strategies

    There are many ways in which educators can integrate AI responsibly, while encouraging our learners to do so too.

    1.ÌýRedesign tasks to make them more ‘AI-resistant’

    No task can be completely ‘AI-resistant’, but there are ways in which teachers can adapt coursebook tasks or take inspiration from activities in order to make them less susceptible to being completed using AI.

    For example:

    • Adapt writing tasks to be hyperlocal or context-specific. Generative AI is less likely to be able to generate texts that are context-bound. Focus on local issues and developments, as well as school or classroom-related topics. A great example is having students write a report on current facilities in their classroom and suggestions for improving the learning environment.
    • Focus on the process of writing rather than the final product. Have students use mind maps to make plans for their writing, have them highlight notes from this that they use in their text and then reflect on the steps they took once they’ve written their piece.
    • Use multimodal learning. Begin a writing task with a class survey, debate or discussion, then have students write up their findings into a report, essay, article or other task type.
    • Design tasks with skill-building at the core. Have students use their critical thinking skills to analyse what AI produces, creatively adapt its output and problem solve by fact-checking AI-generated text.

    2.ÌýUse AI so that students understand you know how to use it

    Depending on the policies in your institution, if you can use AI in the classroom with your students, they will see that you know about different AI tools and their output. A useful idea is to generate a text as a class, and have students critically analyse the AI-generated text. What do they think was done well? What could be improved? What would they have done differently?

    You can also discuss the ethical implications of AI in education (and other industries) with your students, to understand their view on it and better see in what situations they might see AI as a help or a hindrance.

    3.ÌýUse the GSE Learning Objectives to build confidence in language abilities

    Sometimes, students might turn to AI if they don’t know where to start with a task or lack confidence in their language abilities. With this in mind, it’s important to help your students understand where their language abilities are and what they’re working towards, with tangible evidence of learning. This is where the GSE Learning Objectives can help.

    The Global Scale of English (GSE) provides detailed, skill-specific objectives at every proficiency level, from 10 to 90. These can be used to break down complex skills into achievable steps, allowing students to see exactly what they need to do to improve their language abilities at a granular level.

    • Start by sharing the GSE Learning Objectives with students at the start of class to ensure they know what the expectations and language goals are for the lesson. At the end of the lesson, you can then have students reflect on their learning and find evidence of their achievement through their in-class work and what they’ve produced or demonstrated.
    • Set short-term GSE Learning Objectives for the four key skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing. That way, students will know what they’re working towards and have a clear idea of their language progression.
  • A teacher stood by a long wooden desk where her students are sat smiling at her

    What’s it like to teach English in France?

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Kirsty Murray taught English for a year at a collège (the French equivalent of a secondary school) in Villers-Cotterêts: a town in the north of France known for being the birthplace of Alexandre Dumas. She taught mixed-ability groups of 11- to 16-year-olds, with classes ranging in size from 10 to 35 students. Here, she shares the five lessons she learned from the experience.