AMERiCA LEARNiNG MEDiA

The increasing need to teach English goes hand in hand with the evermore global presence of organizations. We are analyzing this issue with the help of expert Remy Carpentier, BD Manager of EF Corporate Language Learning Solutions.

Teaching languages within organizations is, without doubt, an investment that has a direct and significant impact on a company's ability to trade internationally and bring knowledge and opportunities to the local area. It goes without saying that this is an upward trend, which will be examined in more detail during the LearningMex 2014 - Executive Training & e-Learning Forum- organized by iiR Mexico and iiR Spain for March 26. Keynote speaker Remy Carpentier, BD Manager de EF Corporate Language Learning Solutions will also be there.

Given our interest in analyzing this, and in attending his presentation at the LearningMex 2014 event, we interviewed the specialist from EF, a leading company in the teaching of languages for business, governments and the education sector, which has already worked with more than 2,000 private and public organizations around the world (including  40% of the Forbes100 companies), and which was chosen as the official provider of English training for the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi (Russia). There, the company helped some 70,000 members of the Organizing Committee between February 7 and 23, 2014.

When asked why an organization should enable its employees to gain fluency in English, Remy Carpentier stated that every company has different reasons. "However, I will sum it up by saying that they are all looking to be more competitive, which translates into more sales, the availability of new markets, a reduction in certain costs (from external recruitment, committing errors, the cost of losing clients due to dissatisfaction, etc.), better hourly productivity, and a reduction in risks related to poor communication, to name but a few".

"Whether we want to accept it or not, English is the international language of trade today. Around 2 billion people worldwide, or just over 30% of the world's population, have to use it every single day", Carpentier says.

To reinforce his point, the BD Manager of EF Corporate Language Learning Solutions gave us a couple of examples:

• The majority of information available to a subsidiary of an international company is usually in English (policies, strategies, training manuals, operating manuals, all IT language, technical data sheets for products, etc.). There are many stories we could share about companies that have suffered due to having employees whose level of English was too low.
• We now have an economy that is becoming more and more global. Even if a company does not carry out overseas operations, it needs to use English to build relationships with other providers, download information from the internet and have access to market research and international studies.
• Almost 85% of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that Mexico receives as a country comes from countries that are not Spanish speaking (U.K., U.S., Germany, France, Japan). The majority of large businesses in those countries chose English as their official business language a long time ago.
• The English Proficiency Index (EPI), a study that has been carried out since 2008 in Cambridge, U.K., forms part of our research, and shows that a command of the English language is one of the key elements analyzed by a company before deciding to invest in a country, the next element to be analyzed is the cost of production.
• This supports the findings of a study published in the U.S. magazine "The Economist" in 2012, in which 64% of the senior executives surveyed believed that linguistic barriers hinder expansion at an international level. This survey also points out that 75% of those executives believe that the level of English spoken by their employees is below the necessary level.

What are the key factors for developing successful processes when teaching English with the use of technology?

Remy Carpentier: Success consists of three inseparable pillars: At EF CLLS, we define success as follows:

1. Academics: It is important that the content offered to students is based on tried and tested methodology. E-Learning has to be fun, but it is not a game. Technology aside, there is a real aim to learn. At EF, our online school is the result of many years of linguistic research, such as the study we are conducting at our research unit in Cambridge, U.K.

In addition, it is important to use native teachers, who are qualified and capable of working within an online framework, which requires different skills than the traditional, face-to-face methods.

Finally, it is vital that the online school allows its students to interact with the teachers and other students. At EF, we share the belief that people learn from people, and for that reason it is important for us to bring together the technical aspect as well as the human aspect.

With this in mind, our online school offers students the possibility of taking part in conversation classes, in small groups with students from other countries, or in private tutorials, and always with a native teacher. Moreover, students receive individual oral and written feedback from the teacher at the end of each tutorial, enabling them to understand their areas of improvement, which they can then tackle using specific tools.

Finally, we use academic tutors who communicate with their students on a regular basis in order to guide and support them with the help of our technical support team. This support is available 24/7 on a live chat room or via email, and in both English and Spanish.

2. Technology: E-Learning is becoming more and more well-known. However, it is still something that causes a certain amount of fear and reluctance to change, both from organizations and the students themselves. It is therefore very important to offer a platform of quality, which is attractive to students and motivates them to study. Part of this strategy means having content, which is both up-to-date and which combines the interests of the students. The content that the online school aims to teach has to be applicable to the everyday life of our students.

Nowadays, and more so for very busy employees in a hectic city such as Mexico City, students need to be able to study whenever they want and wherever they want. That is why Efekta 13 is available 24/7, 365 days a year through any computer, laptop or tablet. We also offer an iPhone app. Finally, our students have the possibility of studying offline thanks to our tablet app.

3. Services: You can have the best content and the best technology available, however, if there is no means of implementing the program, then it is likely that it will not satisfy the initial objectives of the company.

It is therefore important to raise awareness and teach the different stakeholders (senior management, area managers and human resources) about the impact English has on their organization. In addition, we help our clients to structure the program, providing them with advice on selecting members from their organization, setting clear and measurable objectives, determining a corporate language policy and communicating internally in a relevant way.

On the other hand, it is important for us to be close to the students in order to ensure a pleasant and quality learning experience from EF. That is why we teach them to use the online school and organize competitions with attractive incentives etc..

Can you tell us about the methodology you use together with highly qualified teachers, innovative technology and the complete service package when adding value to your clients' business?

Our methodology is based on both the organization, as well as the students, because both play a key role in the success of the program:

• For the organization, we have designed a method, which we call Learning LogisticsTM.
• For the students, we have developed another method, which we call the Learning MethodTM.

What kind of technology do you use?

We offer the most advanced technology online, that is to say: cloud-based technology, which allows users to access the online school 24/7, 365 days a year from anywhere where there is an internet connection.

The school is available from any computer or laptop. It is also available from a tablet. Finally, we also offer a smartphone app. Every day we address the topic of mobility.

For the purpose of understanding and oral expression, our online school offers a voice recognition system. It is the most advanced of its kind in the world, and allows the student to improve pronunciation. The school also has more than 500 high-quality videos and live conversation classes, in both small groups or in private with native tutors. All of this takes place in virtual classrooms, which are also available 24/7.

Finally, our clients have private access to an online corporate and administrative report center, which they can use to monitor the time spent and performance of their employees.

What are the main worries your clients have with regard to training their employees?

For companies that are still working with the more traditional, face-to-face methods:

• Low classroom assistance and a high level of delays.
• Content that is not very up-to-date and adaptable to the needs of their organization and students.
• Teacher rotation
• In some cases, teachers that lack training or adequate preparation.
• Difficulty in implementing the program on a large scale and in different places.
• Difficulty in relying on a situation, which allows for content and evaluation and teaching methodology to be standardized, offering them greater visibility.
• However, above all, little visibility with regard to the results the program is yielding and the cost-benefits to the organization.

For companies that are open to the online approach:

• How to ensure that the students will use the online school, and overcoming the fear of using this technology.
• Does it really work? How serious is the content and teaching methodology of the online school?
• Is there real interaction with real people that can look after our employees?
• Do we need to install several things onto our computers? I am not sure whether our infrastructure will support an online school.

Do you think that e-Learning adds greater value to knowledge acquisition by incorporating the unique skills of a virtual environment?

The virtual environment is not in itself a guarantee of better content or better knowledge acquisition. The 3 pillars that I mentioned earlier are inseparable: Academics / Technology / Services. It is only with these three elements that we are able to ensure the success of the program and a real added value for the organizations and students.

Some, more formal, studies have already been conducted that demonstrate the quality of e-Learning. When implemented correctly, it is more efficient than the traditional techniques of learning in classrooms (U.S. Ministry of Education, 2013).

For EF Corporate - Language Learning Solutions, how important is participation in the LearningMex event?

a - Brand positioning

b - Approaching companies that have potential interest in implementing the corporate online program for English training.

c - Raising awareness within companies and within the country about the importance and the impact that can be obtained by increasing the command of English in Mexico.

d - Raising awareness within companies about the benefits of eLearning.