In an increasingly global world, the ability to communicate in multiple languages is becoming an imperative for the successful growth of any business. Lack of language skills can cause misunderstanding and conflict between international teams, suppliers and clients; impacting the bottom line. Developing an organisation-wide language learning strategy is key to breaking down communication barriers and building a truly global and collaborative organisation. Companies of all sizes benefit from strong language and communication skills.

Only in the UK economy is losing around £50bn a year in lost contracts due to lack of language skills in the workforce. Companies know that expanding their operations globally requires a workforce that can communicate effectively in multiple languages. As they work toward this goal, companies are looking for ways to demonstrate that an investment in language learning is an efficient use of resources.

It is not true that all business is now done in English. Even in Europe many companies do not have English speaking staff or their English language skills are not enough to do business in it. You buy in your own language and you sell in your customer’s, the old saying goes. We can update the second half of this: you sell in your customer’s choice of language. If customers insist on speaking their own language, you had better have people who can talk to them.

Language learning is not just about the ease of communication, either: knowing a language also means understanding a culture. Rapid growth of emerging markets in Asia and South America means an increase for many in contact with business partners in areas that are possibly alien to them. Sensitivity and maintaining a good relationship is vital when managing a business deal – understanding differences between your own cultural and an unfamiliar partner’s can make or break a business deal. Insensitivity or misunderstanding can have a huge impact on your reputation. Understanding and appreciating cultural differences is not just ensuring you avoid causing offence however. Attitudes towards business, the way they are run and views on management styles can vary greatly in different cultures.
So what are the main reasons to invest in foreign language training?

- Improved overall performance, including employee productivity, communication and customer service;
- Increased export sales as you and your customers communicate more effectively;
- Stronger cross-border communication and collaboration between teams and offices;
- Reduced conflict and bias internally and externally as mutual understanding grows;
- Employees feel valued and gain a great sense of achievement.

Investing in language skills doesn’t necessarily mean just foreign languages. English is still dominating international markets, however, over 60% of businesses in the UK have a gap in English skills. Training your international staff to speak English can also have a tremendous impact on all areas of your business.


At busuu, we are confident that our methodology helps people learn to speak a new language, but we wanted to prove this through an academic efficacy study. We decided to work with an independent research team in the US, who had previously conducted efficacy studies into a number of other language learning software providers. The results of the study have shown that:

- 84% of participants who used busuu improved their language skills.
- Of those, 42% improved by the equivalent of one full college semester or more.
- 10% moved up by the equivalent of 2 college semesters and 6% by 3 semesters.
- Of those who studied with busuu for 16 hours or more, 100% made a significant improvement to either their written test result, oral test result or both.
- 100% of those who answered the exit survey said that they would continue to use busuu after the study ended.

busuu is an award-winning language learning app with over 70 million users worldwide. We provide high-quality language learning solutions for businesses created by our team of language experts and tailored to your company’s needs. We provide tailored language courses to companies of all size. Find out more http://bit.ly/busuufororganisations