Languages & Technology: The New Path to Career Acceleration

The COVID-19 crisis inflicted enormous economic hardships on our workforce. I was furloughed, and many other professionals also suffered furloughs, pay reductions, lost business opportunities, and even layoffs. Yet in the midst of these challenges, it has also created a whole new world of opportunities, enabled by advances in technology and communication. If you are a multilingual professional and have access to basic communication technology, there has never been a better time to shine and thrive.

Multilingual professionals know their skills are highly valued and in high demand. So why are they playing it safe and not exploring the amazing new world of opportunities out there? President Franklin Roosevelt famously said, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Many professionals are fearful that they can’t find a better opportunity as the job market seems bleak. I can tell you through personal experience that the job market is better than it appears if you have the patience, perseverance, and correct strategy to outshine the competition. I found an amazing new job and interviewed for numerous others as my then current employer announced upcoming layoffs.

How did I achieve this success? There is now a flood of permanently “remote” or “virtual” positions which no longer require close proximity to a physical office. Often these positions only require someone to be within the same or within a couple of time zones from a legacy headquarters, if there are any location restrictions. This is good news for both employers and employees. A study from the New American Economy (NAE) found that demand for bilingual workers more than doubled in just five years! This was great for employers and employees who had office locations or homes in major multilingual hotspots such as Miami, New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, but was a major challenge throughout much of the rest of the country as multilingual opportunities became much more limited. Now with basic (and often free) telecommunication technology, Wi-Fi, and a computer, a worker can live anywhere and serve an employer or customer living anywhere! That is a major game-changer as the physical presence barrier has come crashing down. I am now employed by a Boston-based company, even though I don’t live in Boston, and I plan to move back to Florida, which is the same time zone.

Of course, that could also mean that competition for such remote jobs can also become more fierce, which is why multilingual professionals need to fully leverage their language skills. I have tried many ways to do this, and by far, the most effective way was to get certified through Language Testing International (LTI). I specifically got my speaking skills in Spanish evaluated. LTI partners with ACTFL, the leader in teaching and testing in languages. Organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, school districts, colleges, and the government use ACTFL/LTI to certify their employees, students, educators, and government officials.  

The LTI certification did two very important things for me, first it gave me a thorough analysis of my actual language skills, which has encouraged me to refocus on improving my language skills so that I can obtain a Superior or Native-like level of fluency. 

Second, it provided me with a certification that I can publish on LinkedIn, attach to my resume, and even frame on my resume. 

An LTI certification is the most effective and efficient manner to advocate your language skills. It is far more cost-effective than a University degree and it gives you the flexibility to go into any industry. During my job search, I was asked about my language skills and I confidently showed my LTI certification showing my Spanish speaking skills. It really helped me stand out from my competition as I did not have to rely on just a “trust me” approach.

 If you are a multilingual professional, take advantage of this potentially lucrative opportunity to find amazing remote positions or gigs while much of the competition sits on the sidelines. Utilize the basic telecommunication tools that you have to access the new opportunities that no longer require expensive and disruptive moves or traveling long distances. Help yourself stand out with an LTI certification to really thrive. Those professionals who can utilize telecommunications technology and effectively leverage their language skills will reap the rewards and prosper.

Learn more about Luis’ experience with language certification:

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in The Workplace: Language Training

Diversity and inclusion has been rated as a top subject with tremendous impact on organizations five years in a row, according to the annual Top 10 Work Trends Survey conducted by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)1. The demand for a diverse, inclusive workforce from leadership, employees, and other stakeholders continues and is higher than ever in 2020 and beyond. In creating diverse, inclusive workplace cultures, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a professional human resources association, provides a 9-step guide for HR professionals and underscores the importance of implementing training that increases cultural awareness and competency and measuring its results2.

Benefits of Language Training for Employees and Organizations

A diverse, inclusive culture has been built primarily through targeted recruiting and conventional diversity and anti-bias training. However, employees and organizations get significant and lasting benefits from promoting diversity and inclusion through language training. A multicultural workforce and/or multilingual customer base demand a high level of understanding and appreciation of different cultures and effective communication with colleagues and customers with different cultural backgrounds. Cultural stereotypes, prejudice, and miscommunication largely come from a lack of understanding between people of different cultures. Language is the gateway into another culture3. Learning a language is an efficient, immersive way to understand norms and etiquette of a culture, increase awareness of cultural differences, and respect cultures different from one’s own. The increased cultural awareness, respect, and competence open the door for more effective collaboration among employees and stronger relationships with customers. That, in turn, drives business outcomes associated with workplace diversity and inclusion, including improved job performance, increased productivity, higher employee engagement, lower turnover, better customer satisfaction, and increased market reach4.

Measuring Effectiveness of Language Training

Once you offer language learning to your employees as one of your diversity and inclusion initiatives, how would you ensure that your organization gets some or all of the desired business outcomes stated previously? The only way to demonstrate that an investment in language learning is a productive use of resources is through measurement5. Like any other organizational learning and development interventions, what gets measured gets managed. In learning and development initiatives, most measurement efforts consist of “smile sheets,” surveying training satisfaction and perceptions of content relevance to their roles at conclusions of training6. However, the conventional Kirkpatrick’s Level 1 reaction metrics have been demonstrated to have no or weak relationships with learning transfer7, which refers to the application of the skills and knowledge learnt from a training class on the job. While learning transfer is critical to achieving business outcomes set for a training intervention, skill or knowledge acquisition is a prerequisite for learning transfer.

One efficient method for demonstrating language skills of employees who participate in your company-provided language learning is use of language proficiency testing. Differing from an achievement test, which measures knowledge of specific information and tends to be limited in scope to a specific curriculum, a proficiency test assesses one’s ability to use language to accomplish real-world tasks across a wide range of topics and settings. Proficiency tests of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) compare a person’s unrehearsed ability against a set of language descriptors. These guidelines categorize proficiency along a continuum from the very top of the scale (full professional proficiency) to the very bottom (little or no functional ability). As the exclusive licensee of ACTFL, Language Testing International (LTI) helps you measure proficiency of participants of your company-provided language learning in speaking, writing, reading, listening, or all of them in a reliable, valid, and cost-effective manner. LTI offers certifications for more than 120 languages, and proficiency testing is available around the globe, no matter where you are. Language proficiency testing ensures that your employees and organizations are reaping great benefits from language learning. Language certification is also a premium employee benefit, besides offering language learning as part of your workforce development efforts. Once acquisition of language skills is evident, you can start measuring the application of language skills on the job and further assess business outcomes associated with diversity and inclusion, such as employee retention, employee productivity, team effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and/or market expansion.

Conclusion

Diversity and inclusion has continued to get traction in the workplace. Providing language training to your employees shows that you embrace diversity and strive for creating an inclusive organizational culture. Investing in your employees’ proficiency in other languages increases their cultural awareness and competence and in turn, leads to various business outcomes associated with diversity and inclusion. Of special note is that these business benefits are above and beyond those associated with improved communication through language learning and business gains for multinational organizations whose business relies on multiple languages.

 

1 SIOP Top 10 Work Trends. https://www.siop.org/Business-Resources/Top-10-Workplace-Trends?utm_source=SIOP&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=FOWpage&utm_content=FOWpage

2 How to Develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/how-t-develop-a-diversity-and-inclusion-initiative.aspx

3 7 Benefits of Learning Another Language. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/7-benefits-of-learning-another-language/

4 5 Ways Language Training Improves Employee Performance. https://www.td.org/insights/5-ways-language-training-improves-employee-performance

5 Best In Class: Is Your Company Multilingual Enough? https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesinsights/2017/04/07/best-in-class-is-your-company-multilingual-enough/?sh=4d3c619b63bf

6 Ho, M. (2016). Evaluating learning: Getting to Measurements that matter. Alexandria, VA: Association for Talent Development. https://www.td.org/research-reports/evaluating-learning

7 Alliger, G.M., Tannenbaum, S.I., Bennett Jr., W., Traver, H., & Shotland, A. (1997). A meta-analysis of the relations among training criteria. Personnel Psychology, 50, 341-358. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1997.tb00911.x

Work Anywhere, Anytime, and in Any Language

Work Anywhere, Anytime, and in Any Language
The global pandemic has accelerated the shift in how we work, where we work and with whom we work. With the US and countries all over the globe shutting down, we are scrambling to find ways to still get the job done, we have all pivoted in order to address the immediate needs of our clients, employees and communities. Given the circumstances, organizational leaders are realizing the benefits of an unconventional work setting, where work can be performed at home, with flexible schedules and distributed and diverse talent. The other big discovery is now we can hire staff to work anytime, anywhere as long as they are qualified to get the job done.
However, before you venture into restructuring your talent pool, consider these three (3) factors:

Work Anywhere
While there is an ongoing debate regarding whether the temporary remote-working situation will become permanent, the verdict is still TBD. Bottom line is that there is no one-size-fit-all approach that satisfies every organization’s needs. Therefore, an organizational assessment of the skills, competencies, roles, and responsibilities needed to not only sustain the current situation, but also to prepare for future growth, is recommended. Start by evaluating:

1. the total acquisition cost of on-site vs. remote work
2. the communication and collaboration opportunities, as well as challenges, within your current organizational structure
3. the feasibility of making the shift without jeopardizing productivity, and in effect enhancing it
For many of the hardest hit sectors during this pandemic (i.e. small businesses, travel, hospitality, retail, education, restaurants and the list goes on.), the recruitment or retention of talent that is local to serve customers is still critical. However, are there current tasks, expertise and responsibilities that can be accessed and managed remotely?

With increased online accessibility to workers, even those with minimal technical aptitude can navigate mainstream collaborative software platforms. The opportunity to acquire talent that can work anywhere at any time has become a reality. Companies can now consider recruiting for talent outside the constraints of geography and can focus on workers that can support and align with business objectives, while they strategically plan for the post-pandemic workplace environment.

Work Anytime
Employees are realizing and valuing the flexibility of working anytime from anywhere. According to the Harvard Business Review, employees that transitioned from working in the office to remote work cited freed-up time “equivalent of 28 to nearly 50 workdays per year per employee” as a result of eliminating their commuting time.

Further, hiring talent across time zones offers organizations a certain level of flexibility and continuity of work that makes for longer workdays, boosting productivity. For example, a marketing firm that is located on the East Coast (i.e. New York) can work on a client’s social media campaign for a full eight (8) hours on Monday. Then, they transition the project to their team members on the West Coast (i.e. California) that will submit deliverables to the client by 11:00pm EST that night, making the deadline to the client in Spain by 8:00am Tuesday morning. So, the flexibility of having team members working remotely, and in different time zones, creates opportunities to expand your bandwidth, cover loftier scopes of work and comfortably meet deadlines.

Work Across Multiple Languages
Organizations that are venturing out into the global marketplace in search for new clients and talent must be prepared to engage in multiple languages. While there are thousands of languages spoken worldwide, the most widely spoken languages include Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, and French. With this multiplicity of languages, how does an organization assess for language proficiency?

One major miscommunication with a customer or an employee can represent a loss in revenue, or worse yet, a costly lawsuit. So testing and certifying the level of language proficiency of bilingual team members or new talent that you hire is a best practice, and a sound investment, to ensure the highest quality experience for your clients and to safeguard the credibility for your company.

Language Testing International (LTI) offers remotely monitored testing solutions in over 120 languages that can be conveniently done from anywhere, at any time in the day (or night) and from any device, allowing your organization to create a business model and workplace environment where employees can work from anywhere, anytime, and using any languages they truly command. LTI’s accredited ACTFL language assessments are widely recognized and accepted by major corporations, academic institutions, and government agencies, each test is designed to properly determine the specific proficiency level of an individual and ultimately to provide a valid and reliable language credential.

Contact LTI today to learn more about language certification.

Growing Up Bilingual as a Heritage Language Speaker

Who is considered a heritage speaker? Heritage speakers are those who have been exposed to their heritage language (i.e., their first language) at home. They are introduced to a second language beginning at a very young age through contact with people outside their home or when they start going to school. Having grown up speaking two languages from an early age, heritage speakers are a great example of the important role that age and timing play in acquiring language proficiency.

How long does it take to learn a language and become proficient?

What is the ideal age to learn a new language?

Is there a time frame or an age at which you reach a ceiling for learning a language?

According to a new study, it may take up to 30 years to fully master a language—even for heritage speakers. Where, when, and how you learn a language are big factors in how proficient you will ultimately become.

In one of the largest linguistics studies ever undertaken, researchers set out to find out approximately when the “critical period” for achieving the highest level of grammatical fluency ends. The study, which was a joint effort between researchers at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston College, states that we retain the ability to learn language nuances well into our teens; however, we’re constantly improving our language for most of our lives.

If you begin learning a language before 10 years old and continue practicing your language skills, you have a very good chance of achieving a high level of language proficiency in that language. Your chances decrease significantly when you begin learning a new language after the age of 18.

The other important factor to consider is whether the language was acquired formally through a course of study at school, through informal conversations with family members exclusively at home, or through language immersion, which provides the best possible opportunity to become highly proficient. Heritage speakers have great accents; however, having an accent is not a great indicator for language proficiency, and it does not provide insight into the range of one’s language ability.

The length of time an individual has spoken a language makes a difference; in fact, the study shows a slight improvement (about one percentage point) in the grammar scores of people who have been speaking English for 30 years as compared to those who have been speaking the language for 20 years. These findings were consistent in both native and non-native speaking groups.

Although learning a language at home provides an opportunity to become bilingual, without a valid and reliable test, it becomes difficult to ascertain the level of language ability of heritage speakers.

Companies, academic institutions, and government agencies rely on Language Testing International (LTI) for their language testing needs. Each assessment is designed to properly determine the specific proficiency level of an individual, and ultimately to provide a valid and defensible language credential.

LTI works closely with your human resources department to identify the appropriate level of language proficiency required for the position you are looking to fill. Once your needs have been identified, we will help you qualify the right candidates with the language skills needed to be successful.

Call Language Testing International today for a free consultation on how companies are saving time and  money and hiring qualified bilingual talent.