Up until last year, I was a graduate student at Syracuse University. A working, middle-aged native English-speaking U.S. student in a program dominated by young non-native English speaking Asian students. Needless to say when the phrase “control freak” came up in a conversation with another native English speaking student (long story) there were a lot of puzzled looks especially among the new students. Phrases like “control freak” don’t really come up in structured language courses they took to learn English. They come up in “real” life. The Urban Dictionary vs. the Webster’s Dictionary. It’s the same at work. Acronyms, business jargon, the language of the organization and the language of business. In situ.

Think about this. Business growth will come from emerging markets. Many of your employees from those markets will likely be non-native English speakers. And with that challenge, an Employment Paradox: Unemployment, Skills Gaps, and Difficulty in Hiring. Go ahead, click on the link and read it. I’ll wait for you….

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So what can the corporate learning department do to address this problem? Do you teach your new employees business English only through courses? (that seems very time consuming and costly) Do you pay top dollar to attract those few new workers from emerging markets who do speak English fluently? (key word: few) Or, do you teach your current native English-speaking employees new languages? That last one…Not. Gonna. Happen. Why? Because the language of business is English. And effective global operations will mean getting everyone working in the same language. Not just speaking the English language, but applying it effectively in real-life work.

Now add to the language challenge the need for collaboration, continuous learning and the mobility of the workforce. Language learning courses alone just won’t cut it. You need a real-life, real-time solution.

Enter GlobalEnglish. I had a briefing with them yesterday. They specialize in what they call “enterprise fluency.”  Recognizing the talent issues and the productivity issues associated with lack of business English skills, and seeing a significant need, they released a few new products that get at the very issue of learning the language of business in the context of work. I’m quite excited about what I saw.

GlobalEnglish LinGo Pro is a mobile business English app that makes business English tools available via smartphone, tablet and browser-based devices. Subscribers look up the definitions, translations, and practice the pronunciation of everyday English words. It provides access to industry-specific, company-specific and topic-specific words while employees are away from desktops. This has potential well beyond English language support.

GlobalEnglish Bloom is a collaboration platform focused on global communication: a secure online workspace with social capabilities to help native and non-native English speakers improve the speed and quality of their work and complete professional tasks in business English. It will help employees better comprehend  English-based information and improve the quality of their English-based work by getting help from native-English speakers within the company as well as external experts. Again, potential well beyond English language support.

Finally, GlobalEnglish Edge is an on-demand software solution for structured learning of business English with business-specific content coupled with instant, on-the-job support for work tasks in English—such as writing emails or handling negotiations. The core Business English curriculum spans 10 levels, from beginner to advanced, and is taught in the context of relevant business situations with significant focus on meaningful cultural contexts.  Support for 15 languages enables non-native speakers to grasp the material more effectively.

GlobalEnglish  is moving ahead with mobile, social and on-demand tools that address the talent and learning challenges we face today. Worth a look for any organization.

- Janet