EDITOR’s NOTE: This article is written for business owners and HR leaders in Thailand who are interested in upskilling their employees and have questions about how long it will take for their employees to improve at speaking English in Bangkok.
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KEY INFORMATION:
- ECSC Thailand provides a variety of innovative and effective English training options.
- Professionals in Thailand need more than just an English course or two.
- Learning English is considered “active learning,” and requires repeated practice.
- Creating an “environment of English” in the workplace is recommended.
- This article makes mention of our Corporate English training in Thailand. Pricing information can be found here.
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“Does it really take 10,000 hours to master a skill?”
“Will my employees be able to speak fluently after your training?”
“How long will it take my employees to speak English confidently?”
HR Managers and Training Managers commonly ask these questions to English training providers in Bangkok. And that’s understandable, because they want to calculate the ROI to justify the training expense to their company.
There are a number of important factors that impact how long it takes for professional employees to improve at speaking English in Bangkok.
This article will look at those factors, some of which are company related some are employee/learner related.
Background Information About Learning Languages
Learning any language takes time and effort. To help illustrate this, by the time someone is five years old, they have already been exposed to around 20,000 hours of their native language.
One study in Australia reported that immigrants (not students, just regular people) with 50 hours of engagement in English per week took a minimum of three years to reach fluency – or about 7,000 hours of practice.
So, it wouldn’t be reasonable for companies to expect fluency from their employees/learners after one or two English courses for 30-40 hours each.
In reality, moving from conversational English to fluent English usually takes up to a few years, depending on factors such as one’s English starting level, previous English-learning experience, intensity of English study, learning style, and dedication.
Ongoing learning and practice, repetition, and application are ways to achieve proficiency in English, which requires approximately 1200 hours of guided learning for most people to reach fluency (source: Cambridge.org).
One important thing to note is how we define the word “fluency.” In other words, fluency for doing what?
Typically, less time is needed to improve at speaking English in Bangkok for regular conversation than for academic or business purposes. It is important for companies and employees to consider this to manage their expectations about their English language development from the average Corporate English training course.
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Company Factors That Impact Learning English
Despite the significant dedication required to learn English – and thus get significant results from the Corporate English training program at your workplace – there are some important things that HR Managers and Training Managers should consider regarding their employees’/learners’ potential for improving.
First, adjusting the way we think about Corporate English training is crucial.
Some companies seem to view this kind of employee upskilling – which is considered “active learning” – in the same way as other types of training.
But many other types of training in corporate environments are “passive learning,” where it is relatively easy to simply observe information and remember how to use it – such as from a one-day payroll seminar or four-hour customer service training class.
Language isn’t like that. Companies should be aware that purchasing an English course or two likely will not result in drastic improvements.
It’s important for companies to understand that to improve at speaking English in Bangkok takes a long time, and requires ongoing, active learning and daily practice by employees.
Another important factor to consider for your employee’s English progress is about the set up of the corporate training course itself.
For example, arranging the course at the end of a workday after trainees’ work shifts might reduce the effectiveness of the English points taught in the lessons because the trainees will often be tired and lack focus.
Additionally, mixed-level classes can also reduce the effectiveness with which Thai employees learn English at work. Mixed-level classes with lots of employees in one training group can save your company money in the short term, but it risks slowing learners’ progress. Therefore, arranging training times during the workday and arranging groups according to employees’ current English levels usually facilitates learning.
The last important factor that companies should consider to facilitate their employees’ English development is creating an English environment at the workplace.
In other words, if the company provides opportunities for employees to see, hear, and use English at work, they will very likely improve their English faster. For example, the company could set up an “English corner” in the break room, have an “English break” once a week for employees to speak only in English, or have events after work for everyone to practice their English. These things can allow your employees to get more familiar with hearing and using English in the workplace and help them improve their English faster.
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Employee/Learner Factors That Impact Learning English
There are also important learner factors that HR Managers and Training Managers need to be aware of in order to facilitate their employees’ English learning.
First, consider whether the Corporate English course itself covers the same English skills that your employees need to learn to do their job more effectively. For example, if your employees usually email customers in English, then they should take an Email writing course not a Business English conversation course.
Next, think about how Corporate English courses’ content and lessons match your employees’ English-speaking goals. It is important that a course covers business topics and skills relevant to your company, and the lessons should provide activities that allow your employees to practice English related to their day-to-day jobs. This will keep them motivated, which will help them improve their English skills faster.
Lastly, consider whether the corporate training matches the learning style of your employees’ personalities.
For example, if your trainees are mostly extroverted salespeople, but the training is lecture style or passive learning, then their English improvements might be slow.
Or if your employees are mostly introverted programmers, and your training and instructor are very active, then their English improvements might also be slow.
Therefore, considering course content relevant to your business, and the trainees’ jobs and personalities, can help facilitate employees to improve their English skills for work at a faster rate.
Summary
To sum up, learning English usually takes a long time and lot of effort to become fluent, and there is no exact amount of time that can be given. There are so many factors involved.
So, managing expectations for results of Corporate English training for your employees is very important. However, considering ways your company can help facilitate your employees’ English learning process, as well as factors that affect the speed at which they learn English for their work tasks, can be very helpful to facilitate and speed up the English learning process for your employees.
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