Enhancing workplace communication: The new role of language assessments in business success

Andrew Khan
two business people sat together in a meeting both looking at a laptop
Reading time: 4 minutes

The integration of AI tools into workplaces around the world is starting to change the way people communicate professionally. that the use of AI to help draft documents and emails is driven not only by convenience and efficiency but also by a desire to be clear and precise in language.

While potentially useful, tools to translate, generate, or ¡®correct¡¯ written text won¡¯t help with the effectiveness of the verbal communication that powers business relationships.

Is your teams communication effective?
Play
Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree ɫèAV can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

The importance of effective communication

Whether it¡¯s customer support calls, sales presentations, health and safety instructions or day-to-day engagement with colleagues, our personal and professional interactions in the workplace rely on our ability to understand and be understood.

Equally, clarity of communication is central to many of the ¡®future skills¡¯ that employers have identified as critical to sustained success ¨C notably .

It can be challenging for people who have English as a first language to feel confident in these skills ¨C and even more difficult for those who may use another language at home but are required to speak English at work.

Challenges faced by second-language English speakers

When designing assessments that measure English proficiency, we need to balance the convenience and duration that enable them to fit into a fast-paced hiring workflow with the coverage that gives businesses confidence in the results. This means focusing on the most essential elements of effective communication.

Introducing the Versant by ɫèAV English Speaking and Listening Test

With the new Versant by ɫèAV English Speaking and Listening Test, we take just seventeen minutes to give a comprehensive picture of communicative English competence. So where do we focus?

Get in touch to learn about our corporate solutions

Effective verbal communication: Balancing listening and speaking skills

As a starting point, the businesses that we heard from in our research were clear that listening is just as important a skill as speaking when it comes to making hiring decisions.

Anyone who has been through sales or customer support training in the past will likely be familiar with the phrase ¡°you have one mouth but two ears,¡± meaning that, in a professional context, our ability to listen, actively and attentively, for detail and nuance, can be twice as valuable as speaking. A test that didn¡¯t place equal weight on comprehension and productive speech when assessing communicative ability would be missing the mark.

Evolving expectations around speech

Our research also pointed to expectations around speech having shifted in recent years. The range of jobs where English is required at the point of hiring has increased in many countries ¨C with professionals from taxi drivers to online tutors often asked to demonstrate communicative competence.

With this in mind, ɫèAV has introduced the Global Scale of English Job Profiles framework to help employers define appropriate English requirements for a variety of different positions.

Customer Support roles and communicative ability

Customer Support roles, historically the main use case for testing English in the workplace, are also evolving. Employers are placing a much greater emphasis on true communicative ability to help resolve complex problems rather than scripted or pre-prepared responses delivered with US-style accents.

Designing effective assessments

Taking this into account, we recognized a need to design a more effective way of testing both the manner of speaking and the content of that speech. Manner-of-speaking scores bring together the measurement of fluency or the fluidity and cohesion of a spoken response, pronunciation and intelligibility.

Pronunciation is different from accent ¨C a test taker can have an Indian accent, a French accent or a Japanese accent and still pronounce English words in a way that first-language speakers will expect to hear them. Intelligibility reflects the reality that we all speak in different ways, with a voice authentic to ourselves, and looks to assess whether that voice can be easily understood by others.

Measuring communication skills

The most relevant measure of communication skills isn¡¯t whether you sound like a fluent speaker but whether you can use your ability with language to convey meaning effectively. Our speech also needs to be relevant and appropriate, with suitable vocabulary and grammatical accuracy.

We¡¯ve found the most successful way to measure speech content is to blend short questions with a limited set of potential responses with more open-ended items. This enables test takers to speak organically and really show what they can do with their language skills.

The value of fair and objective assessments

Whether used as a hiring tool, to diagnose employees' learning and development needs or to benchmark improvement over time, English assessments can be a great asset to businesses ¨C but only if they¡¯re fair, objective and laser-focused on the skills that underpin true communicative competence.

Join our webinar to learn more

Join us for an insightful webinar where we will delve deeper into the role of language assessments in enhancing workplace communication and driving business success. Sign up now to secure your spot and learn how the Versant by ɫèAV English Speaking and Listening Test can benefit your organization.

Sign up for our webinar here

References

More blogs from ɫèAV

  • A person smiling outdoors with headphones in their ears

    Can music help you learn languages?

    By

    Learning a new language can be daunting, requiring time, effort, and consistent practice to master. One learning tool that¡¯s been researched and examined over the years for its effectiveness, is music and sound.
    Music is sometimes overlooked or forgotten about, but it can be a beneficial tool when learning a new language. Today we will explore how music can aid language learning and what benefits it can provide. Here¡¯s how:

    Recollection and memory

    Song is a powerful tool that can help us memorize new words and phrases. When listening to a song, recollecting the lyrics and melody long after it's finished can often happen. This is because our brains retain information better when associated with a melody/rhythm.

    Research has found that exposure to a language's rhythm leaves a lasting impact on a person's ability to segment speech patterns[1]. Listening to songs in a foreign language can help learners memorize new words, patterns and phrases more easily.

    Pronunciation and tone

    Music can improve our pronunciation and tone. When singing along to music, listeners may mimic the singer's pronunciation and cadence when listening to a song. This can help us develop a more natural and authentic accent when speaking the language.

    Additionally, it can broaden our knowledge and comprehension of diverse dialects and accents. Exposure to different accents and pronunciations can make real-world interactions with a foreign language less daunting or confusing.

    Two people may speak the same language but pronounce words very differently due to accents, a great example of this is in the UK and how the English language varies throughout areas.

    In the UK, someone from the north may sound completely different to someone from the south, despite speaking the same language. So if you were trying to learn English with music and listened to English songs from different parts of the country, you'd be exposing yourself to different accents. Making yourself more familiar with the varied pronunciation.

    Cultural understanding

    It can expose us to the culture of the language we are learning. Music can be a deep-rooted part of a culture, and hearing music in a different language can provide insight into that culture's beliefs, practices, and heritage. This can give us a deeper understanding of the language and help us communicate more effectively with fluent speakers.

    Often, songs use informal language and slang words we may not otherwise know or make us aware of a culture's situation or troubles. Academics Mark Gant & Dr. Carmen Fonseca-Mora discuss how although no one type of music works the best, foreign protest songs are a good example.

    They're typically motivational, clear, and repetitive and give an insight into a country's culture without causing problems for the learners. Listeners may even feel inclined to discuss or research that situation ¨C which could be a good learning opportunity.

    Listening skills

    In addition, music can improve our listening skills. When we listen to a song in a foreign language, we¡¯re often compelled to pay close attention to the lyrics, melody, and rhythm. This can help us develop our listening skills and train our ears to distinguish different sounds and accents in the language.

    Being exposed to foreign languages in any output can be beneficial; having the added layers of music adds that little extra challenge for your ears and brain. It¡¯s almost like immersing yourself in the language without the need for traveling.

    An enjoyable way to learn

    Finally, music can make language learning more enjoyable. Learning a new language can be challenging and sometimes even frustrating. However, listening to music in a foreign language can make learning more enjoyable and engaging.

    Singing along with the lyrics can be a fun way to practice the language and boost motivation and confidence. Pairing those with interesting and engaging music videos can also make it more enjoyable. Check out some examples in our post?11 great English language song lyrics.?

    So when you find yourself taking on a new linguistic challenge, give music some 'airtime' ¨C and watch how it helps you expand your vocabulary and improve your language skills.

  • Four business people sat at a desk, one is on a laptop and another is pointing at whats in front of them

    5 ways to politely say no in business English

    By

    Knowing how to say no politely and professionally is important in the business world. Whether you're declining a job offer, rejecting a sales pitch, or turning down a project, saying no can be difficult. Especially if English is not your native language and you're new to learning business English.

    However, using the right phrases can make all the difference in maintaining positive relationships and avoiding misunderstandings. This blog post will explore five phrases to say no in business English politely.