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
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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 app Workplace English to build those crucial soft skills alongside language learning.

Mondly by app Workplace English

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  • A couple sat on a sofa one with a laptop the other with a book; they are both laughing

    How English conversation works

    By Richard Cleeve

    English language teachers everywhere spend time and energy helping students practice their conversation skills. Some may ask whether conversation in English can actually be taught. And – if it can – what the rules might be.

    To explore these questions, we spoke to world-renowned . He is an Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Bangor and has written more than 120 books on the subject.

    What makes a good conversation?

    “It’s very important that we put this everyday use of language under the microscope,” he says. He highlights three critical facets of conservation that we should bring into focus:

    • Fluency
    • Intelligibility
    • Appropriateness

    But all in all, he says that people should walk away from a conversation feeling like they’ve had a good chat.

    “For the most part, people want that kind of mutual respect, mutual opportunity, and have some sort of shared topic about which they feel comfortable – and these are the basics I think.”

    The rules of conversation

    There are plenty of ways you can teach learners to engage in a successful conversation – including how to speak informally, use intonation, and provide feedback. So let’s take a look at some of the key areas to focus on:

    1) Appropriateness

    Fluency and intelligibility are commonly covered in English language classes. But appropriateness can be more complicated to teach. When preparing to teach conversational appropriateness, we can look at it through two different lenses: subject matter and style:

    2) Subject matter

    “What subject matter is appropriate to use to get a conversation off the ground? There are cultural differences here,” he says. The weather is often a good icebreaker, since everyone is affected by it. The key is to find a common topic that all participants can understand and engage with.

    3) Style

    Teachers can also teach students about conversational style, focusing on how to make conversations more relaxed in English.

    There are “several areas of vocabulary and grammar – and pronunciation too, intonation for example – as well as body language, in which the informality of a conversation is expressed through quite traditional means,” says David. One example he offers is teaching students how to use contracted verb forms.

    4) Simultaneous feedback

    This is what makes a conversation tick. When we talk with someone, we let them know we’re listening by giving them feedback. We say things like “really” or “huh” and use body language like facial expressions and gestures.

    Of course, these feedback noises and expressions can be taught. But they won’t necessarily be new to students. English learners do the same when speaking their own language, anyway.

    Keep in mind though, that when it comes to speaking online on video conferencing platforms, it’s not easy to give this type of simultaneous feedback. People’s microphones might be on mute or there might be a delay, which makes reacting in conversations awkward. So, says David, this means online conversations become much more like monologues.

    5) Uptalk and accents

    Uptalk is when a person declares something in a sentence, but raises their intonation at the end. For English learners, it might sound like someone is asking a question.

    Here’s an example:

    • “I live in Holyhead” said in a flat tone – this is a statement.
    • “I live in Holyhead” said using uptalk – you are stating you live here, but recognize that someone else might not know where it is.

    Now, should teachers teach uptalk? David says yes. For one, it’s fashionable to speak this way – and it can be confusing for English learners if they don’t understand why it’s being used in a conversation.

    “The other thing is that we are dealing here with a genuine change in the language. One of the biggest problems for all language teachers is to keep up to date with language changes. And language change can be very fast and is at the moment,” he says.

    When it comes to accents, David is a fan. “It’s like being in a garden of flowers. Enjoy all the linguistic flowers,” he says, “That’s the beauty of language, its diversity”.