Companies in Thailand generally want their employees to speak more English.
So, they arrange a course, select the trainees, and tell the trainer what they want to improve. Then, after 15 or 30 hours of training, they expect that those employees will start speaking English regularly and with more confidence.
But that’s not really how things work.
If the employees who participated in English training return to a workplace where nobody expects them to use English, there is a limit to what the training can achieve.
In other words, employee English development is not only an individual endeavor. It is also a systemic, companywide project.
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Training Cannot Do All the Work
A good trainer can teach useful vocabulary, improve pronunciation, correct mistakes, and give employees realistic speaking practice in class.
They can simulate meetings, presentations, customer conversations, and other situations that employees (the trainees) face in their jobs. This helps them prepare and builds confidence.
But the trainer cannot ensure that the training carries over to the employees’ working environment.
If an employee speaks English for 90 minutes in class and then avoids it for the rest of the week, progress in English communication ability will be slow.
Employees may be “learning English,” but the company is not giving them many chances to put it to good use. HR and Training Departments have a major role here.
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Employees Need to Know Why They Are Taking the Training
Before any English training starts, employees should understand why the company believes better English could help them in their jobs.
Simply stating “you need to improve your English” is too vague.
The company (again, HR, Training, L&D) should identify the situations where each employee needs English to perform more effectively.
Those situations give the training a clear purpose. They also help employees understand that the company is investing in their professional development, not testing them or pointing out a weakness.
Once employees understand how and why they will benefit from better English, they have much greater motivation to participate. And HR should be working closely with managers to ensure the training connects to the workplace.
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Managers Play an Important Role
Manager involvement makes a difference.
A manager does not need to teach English. However, they can ask employees what they are learning, encourage them to try new language in their roles, and give them space to experiment with it.
Even a quick comment such as, “I heard your English class is going well – what are you working on?” shows that the training matters to the company.
The opposite is also true. If management treats the course as an HR activity that has nothing to do with daily work, employees may treat it the same way.
Without encouragement and support, the class becomes something employees attend to get a certificate rather than something they take seriously.
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Employees Have the Main Responsibility
Yes, the company must be involved and HR and managers must coordinate, but the employees’ effort is most important.
They need to attend, participate, review what they learn, and take some chances with the language. They cannot wait until their English is perfect before using it – because that day may never come.
Companies should provide relevant training, reasonable time, management support, and situations where English can be used. Employees should respond by making the effort to use those opportunities.
That is the deal.
After-work classes can be a good starting point for employee English development. But if a company wants broader and longer-term development, it needs to think beyond just classes to more consistent, ongoing learning opportunities.
It needs to create working conditions that help employees turn communication training into better workplace communication.
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Visit our Contact Us page to inquire about English communication skills training for professionals in Thailand. Or, schedule a discovery call with our Founder, Don Gorr.
