A Pandemic-Fueled Language Training Challenge
It’s early 2021. We’re still reeling from the pandemic. All over the world, business plans that were started in 2019 and stopped in 2020 are being re-started in 2021, already a year behind schedule. At Global LT, most of our clients are slow to return to the pre-pandemic normal, but there’s one exception: one of the world’s biggest Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms—and one of our biggest clients—is getting ready to transition a major Japanese corporation’s accounting operation to the Philippines.
The company was preparing to transition the accounting operations of a major Japanese corporation to the Philippines. This was a culmination of a massive, multi-year effort and all the pieces were in place, except one: to ensure a seamless transfer, the Filipino accountants needed to acquire a high level of proficiency in Japanese within a mere nine months.
The task was formidable. The U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Institute categorizes Japanese as a "super hard language," estimating that it takes approximately 20 months of intensive training to reach a professional level. Our client's ambitious timeline, however, demanded a much shorter timeframe: nine months. The stakes were high, and the company faced a pressing need for a rapid and effective corporate language learning solution.
The Solution: A Tailored Language Training Program
To meet this ambitious goal, Global LT developed a comprehensive language training program. The program involved a rigorous curriculum, experienced instructors, and a structured learning approach that combined classroom instruction, self-study, and ongoing assessment.
Key Strategies for Success
Expert Instruction: We hired a university researcher to write the curriculum, and we searched the thousands of teachers in Global LT’s network to find those who had the motivation and availability to embark on such an ambitious project.
Immersive Learning Experience: Together, they designed a high-level language learning program that would require learners to complete 3 hours of classroom instruction each day and an additional hour of homework or Rosetta Stone every day – on top of their full-time jobs.
Continuous Assessment and Feedback: The employees were required to keep journals to keep track of weekly goals and reflect on their weekly achievements. Every week, they discussed their journal entries and their progress with their teacher to make sure they stayed on track.
Personalized Learning: It was our responsibility to make sure the learners had everything they needed—from adequate internet and security-compliant software to microphones and cameras so that they could be fully present in the remote environment. Sometimes this required some very creative problem-solving - at one point we hired a private courier on a moped to deliver textbooks to one of the employees in a remote mountainous village.
Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Results
The enterprise language training program began with 100 employees, divided into 10 groups of 10 learners each. Nine months later, in spite of the hardship of 13-hour days of work plus Japanese language study, 95% of the learners successfully completed the language training program.
The Impact on Business and Employee Development
The secret to our success lay in the combination of elaborate preparation and real-time agility when we had to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. We recruited teachers located all over the world to cover instructional needs any time of the day or night. These teachers took on many roles, from making lesson plans and giving extra help, to personal coaches and cheerleaders for their learners. The language program also included cultural competency components, to help the learners adapt to working with Japanese colleagues, and the teachers were always available to help the learners through a difficult situation or a sensitive interaction.
Because of the intensity of the program, it was essential that we included quality checks and assessments throughout, which both assured progress and identified any needs for remediation.
Employee Feedback
The employees’ feedback was extremely positive. The program design, resources, and materials all received ratings of fours and fives on a five-point scale, and the learners had special praise for their teachers:
“I liked how well-detailed she explained the course overview and objectives. It excites me on what we will learn in this program.”
“Our Sensei is very good at explaining the topic to make sure we understand. She's very good at providing examples and explanations. She always asks for feedback and asks if we have questions or if there is something not clear to us. Then she'll discuss further for us and make it simple for us to better understand.”
“Business Japanese is quite tricky, but thanks to my instructor, we get to remember the terms with the help of the Quizlet she makes.”
“Today we started the level 4 topic. It’s quite new and fast-paced, but it’s manageable thanks to my Sensei.”
Conclusion
At Global LT, our success is always rooted in the human connection between our teachers and learners. That’s the driving force behind the learner’s progress, and it’s why we prioritize recruiting, hiring, and training only the very best teachers. When the teachers are as devoted as ours are, and the learners are just as motivated by the promise of good jobs and career advancement, we deliver remarkable results, like accountants who learned to speak Japanese in nine months.
Equally important, we delivered the results that the BPO and their client needed. Having promised their client a 2021 launch, we delivered accountants with the requisite Japanese language skills. If we hadn’t, the project would have missed its deadline.
Communication is essential to the success of any international outsourcing. When you’re outsourcing any business function across international borders, be sure to include language and culture training as part of your plan. And when you’re ready, Global LT’s team of expert instructors are waiting to assist.
This blog post was written by Jack Marmorstein, Chief Learning Officer.
