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You’ll also need strong communication skills to navigate situations like making small talk with colleagues or taking a business trip. 



At the same time, however, many general English programs on the market today are too general, covering a wide range of topics that will not be relevant to everyone. If you’ve ever opened an English textbook to the chapter on zoo animals and wondered, “But how will this help me interact with my clients?”, you know what we’re talking about!&nbsp;



Slang’s General English system is designed to bridge this gap by helping you improve your overall English fluency in contexts that are relevant for professionals. Each of our levels centers around useful topics from daily life, with a focus on things that are likely to come up in the workplace. Examples of these topics include things like making small talk or giving a presentation. 



With this thematic focus, it’s easy to take what you’re learning and apply it right away as soon as you’re in that situation! 



After all, Application of language skills in real-world settings is essential to cement what you’re learning. What’s more, you can also study our General English courses in conjunction with any of our specialized English courses, allowing you to progress in these broader communicative skills and technical English at the same time!



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qyJPACPosClHOjw8OrN-kC1HxaHJ2rdFjU415JjdmTph9cB2QY5X4PAN6_yXa1nZBxwG3j-VLo4IhDss0_ScNmXgrqK-2Kqweb6DcS13xquvO1Z595dYkAoR0bxVNk8uWkyhYIDY" alt=""/></figure>



Image: Some of Slang’s General English course levels



Slang’s dynamic curricula are optimized for each user in real time based on individual needs and linguistic data from our lexicon. As a result, users study only what they don’t know or need to reinforce, and can thus reach their learning goals faster. And unlike traditional textbooks, if you’ve already seen something in one course, we’ll never waste your time by teaching it to you again! 



Do you really need to study the word “manager” in the context of Performance Management, and then again in the context of Recruiting, and then again in the context of Business Communications? No, we don’t think so, either! 



With Slang, user knowledge and progress is centralized and synced across all our courses. This means users can transition seamlessly between our general English and professional English offerings at any time, depending on their career needs, without any backtracking.



 Another complaint we’ve heard from our learners about traditional General English curricula, for example in school, is that they get assigned to a level with other students who have very different English skills. This causes them to spend a lot of time reviewing things that they know but other students don’t know from that level. 



Slang solves this problem with dynamic curriculum optimization algorithms. Our technology selects appropriate content for each user based on their prior knowledge of English and their development in the four communicative skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). 



This personalized approach recognizes that learners, even at the same level, differ widely in English background and proficiency and that individual learners often have varying ability levels across the four skills. 



Thus, a diverse group of students may all reach the same level goal, but with different learning pathways uniquely optimized for their needs. Isn’t that what busy professionals need &#8211; an efficient and personalized way to level up their English without wasting time on things they already know?



Slang’s General English Level System



Our General English system focuses on teaching common words and expressions that are necessary for the everyday life of professionals. The activities in which this content appears are designed to build the four language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Within each level, students will study a small cluster of different topics. 



These topics were selected according to the approach described previously to provide a balance of structure and variety within each level. The table below summarizes what learners will master as they move up within our framework. A complete list of topics covered at each level can be found <a href="http://slangapp.com/courses/categories/general-english" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on our website</a>.&nbsp;



The levels are designed to build on each other, so that learners will encounter more advanced content about the same topic in a later level. For example, learners in our very first level, Beginner 1, will learn to identify common food and drinks eaten at different meals. Later on level Elementary 1, they will be able to use this knowledge in a communicative context by making a restaurant reservation. 



They will continue to build on this knowledge in level Elementary 3 by practicing how to order specific dishes and handle problems with their food order with waitstaff. This approach not only enables users to continually build on their communicative skills in progressively more complex situations but also motivates them to continue improving as they see how their knowledge will serve them in real-world contexts!



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/PysyG6OjxZqyNJN1RqP3gjtFzS0dounM8LcWcoqdrJa8JheRWHMuzBcPaMbPSP0WsiThK8MJewTv1QajC4HxWtGVgTltM3ItEl9YLtZd6BK5M39a1Wguke_VV8Qlug8MLXIf2Np0" alt=""/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Pc4DbYqcGFo8-PcfviY9EkO79XhX9TLrIsLokHY1et2VgzFZBVWIBYqgA0ri0KZJY8S3QFSYXjw_SlwmEKsEoES3ZOIhWJNJQuJtZJ8yrjjIVEMNGwT2eOcbhbFhL7Fc4ZwMH_Y7" alt=""/></figure>



Images: Food-related chapters from Beginner 1 (top) and Elementary 3 (bottom)



We are sometimes asked why we don’t offer “Advanced” level courses in our General English system. This is because of our strong belief in personalized learning. Once users have reached the level of conversational fluency (in other words, once they have completed all of the General English levels), we believe they are much better served by taking professional courses that align with their unique career interests. 



This will allow them to continue building their communication skills in the contexts where they most need them for work or school. Of course, because our professional courses adapt to your proficiency, you don’t necessarily need to wait to complete the entire General English system before starting to learn specialized English. 



Unlike in traditional fixed curricula, with Slang, your knowledge is automatically transferred between all your courses, so the choice is yours where you’d like to focus your attention!



Each of Slang’s levels is designed to take approximately 30-50 hours to complete. The exact study time needed depends on a number of factors including student dedication and amount of prior progress in other courses within the Slang platform. Having levels of comparable size makes it easy to implement Slang at organizations with students from a variety of different proficiency levels, as is often the case with ESL schools or universities. 



You can simply assign students to improve their ability by a specified number of levels within a specified time frame, depending on the intensity of the study program. For example, learners might be asked to complete one level per semester. Keep in mind that our academic consultants are experts on goal-setting and benchmarking with Slang’s General English levels, and we would be happy to assist you in designing a personalized program for your institution.



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><tbody><tr><td>Level</td><td>Description</td></tr><tr><td>Beginner 1</td><td>Start paving your way to proficiency! Learn the days of the week, colors, hobbies, and other topics to kick-start your conversations in English.</td></tr><tr><td>Beginner 2</td><td>Take the next step! Describe your house and its furniture, talk about places around town and how to get there, and start planning a trip abroad!</td></tr><tr><td>Elementary 1</td><td>Ready to move up? From boarding a flight to establishing a routine to telling new friends about your family back home, learn the language required to survive in a different country.&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>Elementary 2</td><td>Get comfortable using English in a variety of situations, from banking essentials like using an ATM and opening an account, to preparing for presentations at school or work!</td></tr><tr><td>Elementary 3</td><td>Improve your cultural competence! Acquire the knowledge necessary to avoid misunderstandings in any setting, whether you’re out to eat or making plans with friends.&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>Intermediate 1</td><td>Keep expanding your English proficiency in a variety of settings. Express your opinions about music, movies, and books, and gain the language skills to manage your personal finances.</td></tr><tr><td>Intermediate 2</td><td>Nervous about using English at work? Build your confidence in professional settings as you learn expressions that will help you excel in interviews and on the job!&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>Intermediate 3</td><td>Increase your fluency as you incorporate more idioms into your conversations, whether you’re narrating an anecdote or talking about the weather.</td></tr><tr><td>Advanced Intermediate 1</td><td>Take your English and financial literacy to the next level as you manage your income, make smart investments, and stay up to date on economic news.&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>Advanced Intermediate 2</td><td>You’re making excellent progress on the path to proficiency! Delve deeper into topics related to politics, ethics, work, and academics, and get ready to think and speak critically!</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



Alignment with External Testing Systems



Many of our clients rely on Slang for learner benchmarking. Slang proficiency scores can be used for a variety of diverse purposes, ranging from hiring decisions for roles that require professional English to graduation requirements for university students. 



As an international company, we recognize that there are a variety of different English proficiency systems used for testing, placement, and certification in the countries where our users live. A key goal in the development of our General English level system was to create a system that could be easily and accurately aligned with any such benchmarking system, rather than limiting ourselves to a single third-party framework.



Currently, the most popular alignment system used by our clients is the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The CEFR framework is the standard language certification system used in the European Union as well as many other countries. This system spans six levels: A1 &amp; A2 (beginner), B1 &amp; B2 (intermediate), and C1 &amp; C2 (advanced). It is based on “can-do statements” which define the real-world situations a user should be able to navigate at each level of linguistic proficiency. 



There is no single, static definition of specific wordlists or grammar rules that a learner must memorize for a given level; instead, curriculum developers must select the content which they believe will best support the learner’s development in the four language skills in order to master the can-do statements. We believe that the CEFR system’s emphasis on communicative competencies aligns well with Slang’s personalized approach.&nbsp;



If your organization currently uses the CEFR system for course placement or proficiency measurement purposes, you can easily integrate Slang’s General English courses into your existing framework. The table below shows the approximate CEFR level a user will have achieved after completing each course within Slang’s General English system. These correspondences were based on extensive curriculum research into different implementations of the CEFR framework, with an emphasis on the topics needed by our core audiences of professional learners.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Captura-de-Tela-2021-06-08-às-16.53.14-1.png" alt=""/></figure>



We’re always seeking to develop the best courses on the market, with the content you most want to see. If you’re interested in courses that are a bit more specialized and aligned with your career, check out our full course offering <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories">here</a>.

English

Mastering the English you need for your career is much more than simply memorizing a list of technical words. You will also need to exercise communication skills to interact in certain situations, such as talking with colleagues or going on a business trip. 

General English for professionals: our methodology

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General English for Professionals: Our Methodology

At Slang, we are constantly conducting research on the best practices in language teaching and the e-learning industry to bring you the most efficient and engaging learning experience. This means we need to update our methodology and curriculum accordingly from time to time.&nbsp;



Our goal was to ensure that each of our courses remained a meaningful credential for you as a professional English learner, representing a significant amount of English knowledge of which you can be rightfully proud! However, we also wanted our courses to be succinct enough that they could be completed in a reasonable timeframe by a busy working professional. 



After analyzing our course data in comparison to these industry standards and best practices, we realized that achieving those two goals would require us to adapt our offering to be more modular and focused on specific topics&nbsp;



Now, instead of one giant course covering a large number of topics (for example: Accounting), we will offer a group of related courses covering the main topics in each field in a focused and structured way (for example: Accounting Fundamentals, Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting). Each of these smaller courses will take about 30 to 50 hours to complete, depending on the individual learner. We believe this new course structure will make your learning process faster and more efficient.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/0_JbrqqKQqzyA4p62HcedbQWd2gJov96HhepDp07t3c001MDDl4JpVqkX03IFzExDw4rQWe1CL0Th6zNhPw9ly9zjXFi0ltwF1MvuVqX9zSWkH010CiY4KGg7xwskA3vnx_PLgfu" alt=""/><figcaption>Image: New, more specific Accounting courses</figcaption></figure>



These course changes can be divided up into the following categories: 



 Category 1: Content updates



We continually review our course material to make sure that is both high-quality for learning and up-to-date with changes in the professional field. As new technologies and practices are introduced, we want to make sure that you can learn about them in our app! Or on the flip side, it might be the case that certain tasks which used to be relevant within a certain career field are now more commonly carried out by a different job function. We decided to take the opportunity of the course restructuring to introduce these types of small updates into a number of courses (list below), to make sure you’re learning efficiently with real-world content from your field.



<ul><li>Travel</li><li>Hiring</li><li>Applying for Jobs</li><li>Aerospace Engineering</li><li>Automotive Engineering</li><li>Mechanical Engineering</li><li>Industrial Engineering</li><li>Logistics</li><li>Supply Chain</li><li>Negotiation</li><li>Investment Banking</li><li>Sales</li><li>Medical Tourism</li><li>Computer Science</li><li>Nursing</li><li>Medical</li><li>Manufacturing</li><li>Operations&nbsp;</li><li>English for Students&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h2>Category 2: Name Changes</h2>



In a small number of cases, we felt that the course name wasn’t providing the most accurate reflection of the content contained within the course. We changed the names to something else which we believe is clearer for learners. If you were studying the old course, you can simply continue studying it with the new name.



<ul><li>Politics -&gt; Political Science</li><li>Computer Engineering -&gt; Computer Engineering Fundamentals</li></ul>



<h2>Category 3: Significant Restructuring</h2>



This category contains the courses with the most extensive changes. These courses were primarily targeted for restructuring because they were quite extensive in scope and took a correspondingly long time to complete. In each case, we’ve introduced a new set of more modular courses covering all the same content that was in the original course. The old courses will be retired so that you can no longer study them, but all your progress in Slang will automatically be transferred to the new replacement courses so you don’t have to backtrack or repeat anything you’ve learned. You can read more about our progress system &#8211; <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/index.php/en/2021/06/02/general-english-for-professionals-our-methodology-2/" data-type="post" data-id="736" target="_blank">here.</a>



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><tbody><tr><td>If you had been studying&#8230;</td><td>You’ll now be assigned&#8230;</td></tr><tr><td>Human Resources</td><td>Employment Policies Training and Development Recruiting</td></tr><tr><td>Finance</td><td>Corporate Finance</td></tr><tr><td>Project Management&nbsp;</td><td>Project Initiation and Planning Project Execution and Management</td></tr><tr><td>Engineering Fundamentals</td><td>Engineering Foundations Engineering Math</td></tr><tr><td>Accounting</td><td>Accounting Fundamentals Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting</td></tr><tr><td>Psychology</td><td>Introductory Psychology Applied Psychology Psychological Research</td></tr><tr><td>Data Science</td><td>Data Science Foundations Data Management and Visualization</td></tr><tr><td>Computer Science</td><td>Computer Science Fundamentals Scientific Computing Artificial Intelligence</td></tr><tr><td>Software Engineering</td><td>Software Engineering Fundamentals Software Development</td></tr><tr><td>Business English</td><td>Professional Slang Terms Business Communications</td></tr><tr><td>Management</td><td>Corporate Finance Marketing Performance Management</td></tr><tr><td>Entrepreneurship</td><td>Entrepreneurship Fundamental sSaaS Startup Management</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h2>Category 4&nbsp;</h2>



We’ve also taken the opportunity to introduce a few new courses that complement our existing offering. These new topics help to round out the selection of material for the Human Resources and Engineering/Technology industries.&nbsp;



<ul><li>Employee Inclusion and Wellbeing</li><li>Chemistry</li><li>Business Analytics</li></ul>



<h2>Category 4</h2>



We’ve also introduced a new levelled system for achieving conversational fluency in English alongside your studies of technical and career-specific English. You can read more about this General English system in a separate <a href="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/index.php/en/2021/05/20/general-english-for-professionals-our-methodology/" data-type="post" data-id="582">post</a>.



What this means for you



When you log into the app following the restructuring, you’ll see a few new features that will make it much easier to track the courses you’re studying. For example, we’ve introduced a handy new dropdown to switch between the courses you’ve been assigned by your organization, and a progress page where you can see how much time you’ve spent studying each of those courses.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/doE2BhfUoCqPGWCia0flPWCv5itqPbmj6TKsT_5947YCrQy3H91POQeS5ckrJcxctGren2zcgI8RmwYdrzGp2dQFsKtCNLNT3_-Ydl7LUOqERcqcrrzdth0XER6RbQhnQVHz4_jA" alt=""/></figure>



Image: Switching between assigned courses



&nbsp;Most importantly of all, the course reassignments will take place automatically. For example, in the case of Accounting mentioned earlier, if you had been assigned to study the Accounting course previously, you will see that you’re now assigned to study Accounting Fundamentals, Managerial Accounting, and Financial Accounting. 



You’ll also see that you have made some progress in each of those new courses according to the specific content you had studied previously. You can pick up right where you left off, just in a more structured way. 



Check out&nbsp; the <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new courses</a> and let us know what you think!

With our restructuring of courses, it is now easier to set your goals. Come understand how it is!

With our course restructuring, goal-setting is even easier

With our course restructuring, goal-setting is even easier.

<h2>The challenge</h2>



When we talk about learning English, we often picture a traditional classroom, with a teacher in front of a board and students of various ages sitting with their books open while listening to instructions. At first glance, this may seem like a good way to learn the language, but the reality is that this method of teaching has become outdated. As the course moves further along, the inconveniences associated with sit-down classes can snowball into a more serious problem. Today’s students are busier than ever, often having to work long hours. And finding time to study and attend class can be a major challenge.



This is exactly what happened at Dräger. The company, which is a leader in medical and safety technology and operates in countries such as Germany and the United States, tried on-site classes first. But before long, they were facing issues just like those mentioned above. Many of the employees in attendance were unable to find success in the classroom, largely because the relatively narrow selection of in-person classes did not align with the schedules of every team. As a result, Dräger decided to look for a more efficient and flexible alternative to better suit their needs, a solution that would allow them to study English anytime, anywhere. And that&#8217;s how they met Slang! We were the perfect solution to help them empower their professionals.



<h2>The Solution</h2>



Slang was chosen to take on this challenge primarily because of our innovative technology that makes learning more efficient. Another attraction was the availability of our platform 24/7, which meant that it could even be used by professionals outside the office. But not only that, our unrivaled selection of professional English courses covered all different areas of Dräger’s professional activity, including sales, supply chain, marketing, and administration. With our help, they were able to develop the technical and specialized English they needed.



The success of this implementation was based on the following courses:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="356" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Drager-courses-EN-1024x356.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2531"/></figure>



<h2>Testimonials</h2>



In order to fully appreciate the success of this program, we invite you to read first-hand experiences of people who had the opportunity to take our courses. You can read their comments below:&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“I have always been a person very dedicated to achieving my goals. For me, Slang is a bridge that makes it possible to get trained and become certified in my company. Despite the heavy workload, I have managed to organize myself so that I can achieve my goal, which is to build my confidence so that I can more easily develop my understanding of the English language, in addition to confronting my personal challenges.” Noe Bautista Ortega Key Account Manager “With what I learned in the app, I have improved my effectiveness in communicating with teams from other countries. Now, the requests I make in English are more complete, which reduces the response time due to the fact that I can express myself better in my emails. This is important since, today, many people are not able to communicate all of their ideas due to a poor command of the language.” Joel Agustín Alvarado Public Accounts Manager “The need for [good English skills] arises from the importance of communicating with my commercial area in Germany, easily understanding global communications, and taking part in company trainings developed in English—and I have noticed that Slang’s top performers also happen to be the ones who continually participate in these events. My motivation is to strengthen my English so that I can become fluent in the language, both in my professional and personal life.” Eduardo Hernández Hernández MD Service Manager “In my role as a business development manager, my contact with teams from Germany and the United States occurs in English, for the most part. In addition to negotiations, I also have conversations with foreign clients. Within Slang, I have learned professional English related to my field. Once during a training given by the German team, I was able to fully understand a technical question that they asked me, which I was able to answer thanks to what I had learned weeks before on Slang’s platform.” Jesús Rivera Hernández GDS Business Development Manager</blockquote>



Follow Dräger’s example and partner with Slang so that you can empower your employees with professional English designed for every area of your company. You can reach us <a href="https://slangapp.com/request-demo/businesses?redirect=//learn.slangapp.com/courses/categories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.

How Dräger was successful in empowering their team with professional English

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<h2>Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and its importance in companies</h2>



In today&#8217;s corporate landscape, the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) cannot be overstated. For a company to truly thrive, it’s necessary to nurture a workplace where every employee feels valued, respected, and empowered. Let&#8217;s understand why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is fundamental and how it can transform workplaces for the better.



<h4>1. Enhanced workforce well-being and engagement</h4>



At the heart of DEI lies the well-being of all employees. It&#8217;s about ensuring that each individual, regardless of their background, feels valued, respected, and included in the organization. This inclusivity creates a sense of belonging, psychological safety, and trust amongst employees. When people feel secure and appreciated, they become more engaged, committed, and satisfied in their roles. This, in turn, has a direct positive impact on their productivity and overall well-being.



<h4>2. Fueling innovation and improving reputation</h4>



Beyond the primary well-being aspect, there are other secondary benefits to embracing DEI. According to <a href="https://www.cloverpop.com/hacking-diversity-with-inclusive-decision-making-white-paper">Cloverpop</a>, a Decision Intelligence platform, diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions than individuals 87% of the time.&nbsp;



Furthermore, companies that prioritize DEI often see a positive shift in their reputation, as they are perceived as socially responsible and forward-thinking. In a study conducted by <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/diversity/">Glassdoor</a>, a digital platform that gathers information and reviews from employees or former employees about companies, 76% of job seekers consider a diverse workforce important when evaluating job offers. This positive image can not only attract top talent but also cultivate a customer base that values diversity and inclusivity.



<h4>3. Higher employee satisfaction and productivity</h4>



DEI initiatives extend beyond fostering diversity within the workforce; they also prioritize providing equal opportunities for all employees to succeed. Equity plays a crucial role in DEI by addressing historical and systematic disadvantages. When employees perceive fairness in opportunities and treatment, their levels of satisfaction and productivity soar. They feel motivated to contribute their best, knowing that their hard work will be recognized and rewarded.



<h4>4. Improved financial performance</h4>



Strong DEI practices are predicted to help companies surpass their financial goals and lead to higher revenue. A study by <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters">McKinsey</a>, a global management consulting firm, revealed that companies with diverse executive teams are 36% more likely to have above-average profitability. Similarly, organizations with gender-diverse executive teams have a 25% higher likelihood of outperforming financially.&nbsp;



<h2>How to cultivate a more inclusive workplace culture</h2>



Now that we’ve established the importance of prioritizing DEI initiatives, let’s understand the strategies for achieving it.&nbsp;



<h3>Understanding the key concepts</h3>



To truly succeed in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion, it&#8217;s essential to understand the differences between these three interconnected but different concepts.&nbsp;



<h4>Diversity</h4>



Diversity refers to the actual representation of various backgrounds and identities within an organization, ensuring a broad range of perspectives.&nbsp;



<h4>Equity&nbsp;</h4>



Equity centers on providing equal opportunities to all employees, regardless of their background, to promote fairness and address historical and systematic disadvantages.



<h4>Inclusion</h4>



Inclusion involves creating a work culture where every individual feels valued, respected, and included, enabling them to fully contribute and thrive.



All three must be addressed to create a successful workplace.



<h3>Support and advancement for marginalized groups</h3>



Companies can play a pivotal role in helping employees from marginalized groups advance in their careers. This can be achieved through targeted professional development programs, mentorship opportunities, and networking initiatives.



Offering support and guidance can empower marginalized employees to overcome systemic barriers and gain the necessary skills and confidence to advance in their careers. There are plenty of actionable strategies around this, such as:



<h4>Hiring initiatives focused on candidates from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds</h4>



This proactive approach ensures that diversity is consistently prioritized in the recruitment process.



<h4>Internal initiatives that facilitate a supportive and inclusive environment for marginalized groups</h4>



Some of those initiatives could be: training in the language surrounding DEI, group sessions where colleagues discuss personal experiences of exclusion or discrimination to foster awareness and prevent future incidents, and scenario exercises highlighting the nuances of microaggressions in everyday workplace environments.



<h4>Clear HR guidelines and a complaints procedure for issues connected to DEI</h4>



Establishing transparent HR guidelines and a streamlined complaints procedure enables all teammates to express concerns regarding exclusion or discrimination, with fast and appropriate resolutions and further DEI training provided as needed.



In summary, creating an inclusive environment requires proactive efforts to address DEI-related issues, training, and internal initiatives that support marginalized groups.



<h3>The role of English training in DEI</h3>



As we navigate the need for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in workplaces, we recognize that one of the most transformative methods toward career advancement, particularly for marginalized groups, is proficiency in the English language.



In today&#8217;s global business landscape, English is often the lingua franca, a common language that is used for communication between people who do not share a native language. English nowadays serves as a means of communication among individuals or groups who speak different native languages, enabling them to understand and interact with each other.&nbsp;



Proficiency in English empowers individuals to express themselves confidently, engage in discussions, and collaborate effectively. It opens doors to broader networks, new opportunities, and career growth.



Because we’re talking about professional environments, having targeted English learning, such as what Slang does, becomes not just an educational endeavor but a vital tool for marginalized communities seeking to elevate their careers.&nbsp;



<h2>Slang&#8217;s commitment to DEI</h2>



DEI measures are crucial when creating a harmonious and welcoming workplace. Embracing a multitude of perspectives and fostering collaboration is key to growth and innovation, and that&#8217;s where DEI comes in as a powerful enabler.&nbsp;



At Slang, we believe in not just advocating for DEI in companies but also taking tangible steps to advance it within our own organization.&nbsp;



Internally, we’ve established a dedicated DEI committee and developed a comprehensive DEI strategy that permeates our organization. We&#8217;ve also been collecting data, applied a DEI lens to our courses, and revisited policies to promote best practices and eliminate discrimination.



However, in recent months, our primary focus has extended beyond our internal efforts to creating substantial impact externally, helping companies and employees alike. To honor that, we’ve developed a Diversity &amp; Inclusion English course. This represents Slang’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive world, starting with how we communicate, and responding to a universal need for addressing this subject in the workplace.&nbsp;



<h3>Diversity &amp; Inclusion English Course</h3>



Our course covers a wide range of topics, addressing issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, age, and migration status. Our aim is to remove stigma, promote a nuanced understanding, and make individuals feel recognized, heard, and valued.



DEI initiatives are not just a buzzword but a fundamental aspect of modern workplaces. They contribute to healthier and more engaged employees, improve innovation and reputation, heighten satisfaction and productivity, and enhance financial performance.&nbsp;



Companies that prioritize DEI are instrumental in shaping cultures where diversity, equity, and inclusion are not only acknowledged but celebrated, leading to more inclusive and innovative workplaces.



Start exploring our Diversity &amp; Inclusion English course <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/diversity-inclusion?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog-internal&amp;utm_campaign=organic&amp;utm_content=dei">here</a>.&nbsp;

How to empower your employees with DEI and professional English

At Slang, quality and effectiveness are our top priorities, and we know that the best way to address them is by listening to your opinions and those of your team. Today, we&#8217;re thrilled to introduce the updates that will take the learning experience to the next level, based on your feedback. Discover them here!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="2" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Line_5px-1024x2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4327"/></figure>



Being your ally in your team&#8217;s development and providing the most comprehensive professional English solution is a challenge that begins with understanding their needs, so we can build a coherent and effective learning process. In other words: we want to provide a game-changing experience for your company!



Over the past months, we have taken significant steps to improve our method, and it&#8217;s all thanks to your feedback and that of many students committed to their professional growth. With this in mind, we have implemented three great enhancements to our program that will be effective starting in October. We wanted to share them with you so that we can motivate your team to make the most of them together.



<h3>1. Integrated Platforms for an Efficient Process</h3>



In order to offer a more structured learning path, we have fully aligned the content of our Learn App with the Online Classes. What does this mean? The topics and vocabulary we’ll cover in live classes will be carefully connected to what your team is studying in the app, bringing clarity to the process and making it easier for them to progress.



<h3>2. Centralized Learning Environment</h3>



We understand that enjoying the benefits of Slang in one place is important to you, in order to have a more comfortable and seamless experience for your team. Now, it&#8217;s a reality! Your team will be able to attend their classes directly from the Learn App, without having to switch between platforms.



In this way, we&#8217;re rolling out a more organized process, secure and user-friendly virtual classrooms, and a unified study environment. Finally, learners will have a learning hub for all their activities!



<h3>3. Updated and Relevant Content</h3>



The dynamic nature of education challenges us to constantly review and update our content in order to provide your team with the best learning resources.



For this reason, we&#8217;ve revamped our Slang General English Courses, combining the latest English teaching methodologies with cutting-edge technology. The goal: provide each learner with the tools they need to strengthen their English skills and apply them in real-world contexts.



📍 Important note: Since we&#8217;ve significantly updated our courses, all students will be moved to the new versions of these courses. For that reason, they might see a decrease in their progress, but this is only because we have changed out a lot of the old content to replace it with new content that was more appropriate for the topics and difficulty level.



Your support will be crucial in keeping learners motivated and informed about this new experience that is more strategically tailored to their needs.



Are you as excited about these changes as we are? Then it&#8217;s time to start enjoying them and motivating your team members to continue advancing with Slang!



Remember that these three updates will take effect starting in October 2023. We will send all the corresponding information to your email and will be here to assist you whenever you need.



<h2>What’s coming next?</h2>



This is only the beginning and we have more exciting news in the works for the upcoming months. So get ready for:&nbsp;



<h3>Data and Reports in One Place</h3>



You were waiting for this, weren&#8217;t you? With this integration, you will have access to all the data about each learner’s progress in the LMS, including the Online Classes. There, you&#8217;ll find attendance reports, schedules, course progress, and other valuable information.



We want to make your management increasingly easier and more efficient, so with this improvement, you&#8217;ll be able to make data-driven decisions, optimize your team&#8217;s experience, and identify trends for improvement throughout the implementation of your program.



<h3>Comprehensive Assessment System</h3>



Do you need to confirm the progress and results of each learner in a comprehensive way? This will be possible sooner than later: we&#8217;re updating and improving the class assessment to provide you with a more holistic view of learner advancement, allow you to further customize their learning paths, and ensure learners are enhancing not just their English skills but also the soft skills needed for their role.



For this, we&#8217;ll consider three main aspects: the learners’ attendance, course completion in the Learn App, and oral communicative performance.



The professional development of your team is not just a mission; it&#8217;s our greatest challenge and the reason we keep working to achieve extraordinary results. Thank you for trusting in our solution!



If you have any questions, consult our <a href="https://docs.slangapp.com/collection/441-managers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAQs</a> here, or reach out to us at <a href="mailto:support@slangapp.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support@slangapp.com</a>.



The Slang Team. 💜



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3 Improvements in the Learning Experience You Should Know

3 Improvements to the Learning Experience You Should Know About

At Slang, quality and effectiveness are our top priorities, and we know that the best way to address them is by listening to your opinions and those of your team. That&#8217;s exactly what we&#8217;ve done, and today we&#8217;re thrilled to introduce the updates that will take the learning experience to the next level. Discover them here!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="2" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Line_5px-1024x2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4327"/></figure>



Being the ally in your team&#8217;s development and providing the most comprehensive professional English solution is a challenge that begins with understanding their real needs, so we can build a coherent and effective learning process. In other words: a game-changing experience for your company!



In the past few months, we&#8217;ve taken significant steps to improve our method, and it&#8217;s all thanks to your feedback and that of our many students committed to their professional growth. With this in mind, we&#8217;ve revamped our Slang General English Courses, combining the latest English teaching methodologies with cutting-edge technology. The goal: provide each student with the tools they need to strengthen their English skills and apply them in real-world contexts.



<h2>What&#8217;s this change all about?&nbsp;</h2>



There are four main innovations that will be in effect starting in October. We wanted to share them with you so that we can motivate your team to make the most of them together.



<h3>1. Enhanced Pacing and Logical Sequencing</h3>



We reviewed and optimized the progression of our courses to provide your team with a logical sequence, starting from basic concepts to more advanced topics. This way, they&#8217;ll have a more structured path that allows them to enhance their English skills while gaining confidence throughout the process.



<h3>2. Customized Content for Learners</h3>



We rewrote and redesigned the content to better tailor it to each proficiency level, paying special attention to Beginner learners. The aim is to provide them with more comprehensive support and address any challenges they might encounter along the way.



<h3>3. Exercises Focused on the Business World</h3>



We&#8217;ve reviewed our content and supplemented it with topics related to the business world. This ensures that from the Beginner level onward, learners will be able to improve their English skills while also preparing for real workplace interactions.



<h3>4. Expanded and Relevant Vocabulary</h3>



We&#8217;ve chosen new key terms to minimize repetition in activities and give your team a broader and more useful vocabulary for English communication.



📍 Important note: Since we&#8217;ve significantly updated our courses, all students will be moved to the new versions. For that reason, they might see a decrease in their progress, but this is only because we&#8217;ve changed out a lot of the old content to replace it with new content that was more appropriate for the topics and difficulty level.



We&#8217;re ready to embark on this renewed learning experience that will take your team to the next level!



<h2>When will this happen?</h2>



Remember that this integration will be in effect starting in October 2023. 



The professional development of your team is not just a mission; it&#8217;s our greatest challenge and the reason we keep working to achieve extraordinary results. Thank you for trusting in our solution!



If you have any questions, please contact us at <a href="mailto:support@slangapp.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support@slangapp.com</a>, or check out our <a href="https://docs.slangapp.com/category/444-new-online-classes-integration-in-the-learn-app" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAQs</a>.



The Slang Team. 💜



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="488" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/waves-1-1024x488.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4473"/></figure>

4 Improvements in the Learning Experience You Should Know

4 Improvements in the Learning Experience You Should Know About

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In the dynamic world of education, constant evolution is key to providing an exceptional learning experience. Here at Slang, we&#8217;ve been carefully listening to our clients&#8217; valuable feedback, and we&#8217;re thrilled to announce some remarkable changes that are set to enhance your English-learning journey.



Our commitment to innovation has led us to create a brand-new Slang General English syllabus. Redesigned from the ground up, this syllabus combines the latest in English teaching methodologies with technology, providing you with a smoother and more supportive learning journey. We&#8217;re dedicated to empowering you with the skills and confidence needed to excel in English.



The latest edition of our Slang General English courses is ready for you!



<h3>1. Enhanced Pacing and Logical Sequencing:</h3>



We&#8217;ve fine-tuned the course progression to provide a logical sequence from fundamental concepts to advanced topics. This deliberate pacing empowers you to build your English skills progressively, fostering confidence with each step you take.



<h3>2. Tailored Content for Learners:</h3>



We&#8217;ve rewritten and redesigned our content to be more level-appropriate. Special attention has been given to beginner-level learners, offering comprehensive support to help you overcome any obstacles on your learning journey.



<h3>3. Integration of Business Topics:</h3>



Our content has been thoughtfully reimagined to incorporate business-related themes wherever feasible. This integration ensures that from the Beginner level on, you&#8217;re not only enhancing your language skills but also developing essential soft skills and preparing for real-world professional interactions.



<h3>4. Diverse and Relevant Vocabulary:</h3>



To prevent monotony and cater to your language enrichment, we&#8217;ve meticulously selected key terms that are distinct, minimizing repetition across terms and activities. This thoughtful approach enhances your vocabulary and ensures a well-rounded linguistic foundation.



📍 Important note: All learners will be moved to the latest version of the courses. Don&#8217;t worry if you notice a shift in your course progression—the new version has better-tuned difficulty and a redesigned syllabus for a smoother and more intuitive learning experience.



Your valuable feedback and commitment to learning have been instrumental in shaping these enhancements. We invite you to embark on this enriched learning journey with us. Log in to your Learn app today and enjoy the new courses.



If you have any questions, consult our <a href="https://docs.slangapp.com/collection/1-learners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAQs here</a>, or reach out to us at <a href="mailto:support@slangapp.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support@slangapp.com</a>. 



Don&#8217;t worry, our team will be here to help you out through it all!&nbsp; We&#8217;re excited to witness your continued growth and success.



The Slang Team. 💜

Elevate Your Learning with the New SGE Courses Enhancements!

Elevate Your Learning with the New SGE Course Enhancements!

In the dynamic world of education, constant evolution is key to providing an exceptional learning experience. At Slang, we&#8217;ve been carefully listening to our clients&#8217; valuable feedback about Online Classes1, and we&#8217;re thrilled to announce some remarkable changes that are set to enhance your journey of learning English.



Starting this October, we&#8217;re introducing a host of updates that will revolutionize the way you learn:



<h3>1. Total integration between the Online Classes and Learn App content</h3>



Learning is most effective when it&#8217;s consistent. We&#8217;re excited to share that we&#8217;ve seamlessly integrated our Online Classes with the Learn App. This means that you can now access your classes directly from the app. The result? A more comprehensive learning experience that will enrich your English learning journey!



*If you are part of our Private or VIP classes, we will contact you soon to initiate this transition.



<h3>2. Revamped Learning Resources for Optimal Progress</h3>



Our commitment to innovation has led us to create a brand-new Slang General English syllabus. Redesigned from the ground up, this syllabus combines the latest in English teaching methodologies with technology, providing you with a smoother and more supportive learning journey. We&#8217;re dedicated to empowering you with the skills and confidence needed to excel in English. 📍 Important note: All learners will be moved to the latest version of the courses, so don&#8217;t get confused if you see that your progress has changed—the new version has better-tuned difficulty and a redesigned syllabus for a smoother and more intuitive learning experience.



<h3>3. Improved assessment process</h3>



Our revamped class assessment process ensures that we evaluate your skills comprehensively. Your attendance, successful course completion in the Learn App, and oral communication performance will form the basis of your progress assessment. This well-rounded approach guarantees that your growth is accurately measured and nurtured.



<h3>4.&nbsp;Extended Learning Opportunities</h3>



We believe that deep learning requires time and immersion. To facilitate this, we&#8217;ve expanded each level of our Slang Online Classes to include 16 classes instead of the previous 8. This extension provides you with more time to explore the complexities of vocabulary, master grammatical nuances, and gain the confidence needed for fluent communication.



Get ready to elevate your learning with us. This new chapter promises engaging, effective, and rewarding strides toward English fluency.



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If you have any questions, consult <a href="https://docs.slangapp.com/collection/1-learners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">our FAQs here</a>, or reach out to us at <a href="mailto:support@slangapp.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support@slangapp.com</a>.



Your priority is learning, and ours is to support you with an ever more comprehensive solution.



The Slang Team. 💜







1 Online Classes: Slang Online, Private, and VIP &#8211; except Public.

Online Classes: Exciting Updates That Will Improve Your Journey 

An essential practice in selecting good candidates for vacancies where English (or another language) is required is to ask the right questions during a job interview. Therefore, it is essential for <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories/human-resources">HR professionals</a> and <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/leadership">company leaders</a> to stay up-to-date on the best practices for this phase of selection.



Some questions are quite frequent during the selection process. However, it is relevant to ask some that are not so common during the interview, as they help to identify, in a subtle way, the strengths of each person and how they can contribute to the company.



In addition, it is important to avoid some cliché questions that are very personal and may even sound prejudiced. For this reason, it is not appropriate to ask if the person has children, is married, who they will leave the child with during the work day, etc.



Therefore, if you have to conduct job interviews in English, we recommend that you prepare some questions that can help you select the right talent. To make this task easier for you, we have made a list of seven questions you can ask during a job interview in English. Read them below!



<h2>1. Who are you and what are you passionate about?</h2>



Asking &#8220;Who are you and what are you passionate about?&#8221; is a common practice in a job interview in English and other languages.



To make the candidate feel more comfortable in the interview, you can start by asking them to introduce themselves without mentioning anything related to their professional experience. This way, you will get to know the person better.



Although it may seem like a simple question, it helps to evaluate the person&#8217;s profile. In this way, you can obtain additional information about what is written on their resume or curriculum vitae. And if you want even more specific answers, you can modify the question:



<ul><li>Is there something about yourself that people would be surprised to know?</li></ul>



<ul><li>What sets you apart from other applicants?</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dPuGpftKJ9GASZjB2t5ZzPRMc2LGm7lgraVWhSvHsvVchYe3Y-tN9MeiyinK6IglbSOVDRuLelvbOG-lrzfZ-k1J6EwpZMOdCjWvTUbS__9eHpWDeL3MepV6hBPeLbIAwPEiN5aC68ZCPXwCS4zCc5A" alt="The image shows two women facing each other, in a meeting room with a wooden table. On the left side of the image there is a woman with her back turned, she is white, has light wavy brown hair. In front of her, there is a white woman with blonde hair, wearing round black glasses. She is looking at the first woman and is taking notes in a notebook"/><figcaption>Knowing the personal likes and dislikes of the person applying for the position allows you to identify if they fit the profile of the company and co-workers.</figcaption></figure>



2. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be? 



An excellent way to find out what a candidate has learned in previous jobs from a mistake or a difficult moment is to ask &#8220;If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?&#8221;



With this question, you can get answers that demonstrate the candidate&#8217;s commitment and their ability to learn from experiences, and realize how those skills can be a differentiating factor for your company.



Asking this question can also help you to identify some of the candidate&#8217;s weaknesses that may go against the company&#8217;s mission, vision, and values. For example, if the person does not demonstrate that they recognize mistakes or think of solutions to fix them, it may be a red flag.&nbsp;



This way, it is possible to select people who meet the necessary requirements to fill the vacancy and whose principles are aligned with those of the company.



<h2>3. Tell me about a situation when&#8230; What was the challenge?&nbsp;</h2>



Asking about experiences in previous jobs is a way to identify how the person deals with day-to-day situations and problems.



Therefore, it is worth asking this question during the job interview:



<ul><li>Tell me about a situation when you had a problem with a coworker. What was the biggest challenge?</li></ul>



Through this type of question, you will be able to go deeper into questions that seem relevant and that are related to the most necessary requirements for the vacancy.



For example, if excellent teamwork skills are required, it is helpful to ask the candidate to talk more about it:



<ul><li>What did you do to make the situation better between you and that colleague?</li></ul>



<ul><li>Did the difficulty to work with that colleague affect your results?</li></ul>



If the candidate has an excellent resume and performs their duties very well, but demonstrates during the interview that they aren’t great at teamwork, it is important to analyze whether or not this will generate coordination problems in the future.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jPBiRRAA3rkrsegPGbOuNEDLL_AUOiCRmytmv2yDODOK2VI5JwZBzmYGrAoCWlAxfgIyyYBZeicNSgdzfd8Bk-UoolBE2-rSFqtB0CNBdFOZfCS6qS9JDG96Xry7PXkGR56basjy42HK1YFgX7QcHpA" alt="The image shows two black men in a meeting room. They are facing each other and separated by a gray table. On the left side of the picture, there is a young man who has curly hair and shaved sides. Opposite him, there is a black man who appears to be a little older. He is wearing a suit and glasses, and is taking notes on a sheet of paper resting on a clipboard held in his left hand."/><figcaption>Asking about past work experience is a good way to identify strengths such as teamwork, leadership ability and adaptability.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>



<h2>4. What are two of the most fulfilling accomplishments in your career?&nbsp;</h2>



In a job interview in English, questions related to the career of the person applying for the position should definitely be included.



And to learn more about their greatest professional accomplishments, you can ask them to tell you what they have achieved throughout their career:



<ul><li>What are two of the most fulfilling accomplishments in your career? Can you explain each one to me?</li></ul>



This question is also great for analyzing characteristics such as responsibility, professional commitment, teamwork, ability to innovate, etc. Therefore, including it in the list of questions will help you select good professionals.



<h2>5. What kind of oversight and interaction would your ideal boss provide?</h2>



Knowing the type of leadership each candidate is looking for, even before hiring, helps to avoid problems between leaders and those being led in the company.



To do this, you can ask what kind of leadership and interaction they expect from an ideal boss:



<ul><li>&nbsp;What kind of oversight and interaction would your ideal boss provide?</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/hgGvnAND1c-tCQ6u4_monhPTzHAS5g2-1D7dCzCcbrMunZ83Xha-QR76t1dBXgniyxfJ7N8QcTp5CtK2Z_gIyASDp5kvQbMwWGXYfCcJgdiXDCciAbXXcC52SMTHp_yZLWc69mDqfziPgeov1wdB774" alt="The image shows a group of people in a workroom with desks and computers. In the front, a white woman with shoulder-length straight brown hair can be seen sitting in front of a monitor. To her left, a white man is standing. He is pointing at the computer screen and appears to be helping the woman with some work task."/><figcaption>Workers who describe their ideal boss as a person who has to be there for them all the time may demonstrate a lack of autonomy.</figcaption></figure>



Their answers help to identify whether they prefer more rigid leadership– that is, someone who constantly monitors and directs the work performed– or if they prefer to have more autonomy in their daily work and only consult the essential points with their supervisor.



By asking this question, you will be able to align the candidate&#8217;s expectations with the reality of your company. In this way, it will be easier to select only those who possess characteristics similar to those already adopted by the company&#8217;s leaders.&nbsp;



<h2>6. What did you learn while working remotely?</h2>



When it comes to hiring professionals who work remotely or have had to adapt this mode of work during the <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/covid-19">pandemic</a>, you can ask a question to find out what the candidate learned from that experience.



You can carry out the conversation like this:



<ul><li>Interviewer: Did you have to work remotely?</li><li>Interviewee: Yes, I was working from home for over a year.</li><li>Interviewer: What did you learn while working remotely? Tell me about the experience, share your difficulties and also something good you took from it.&nbsp;</li></ul>



By doing so, it will be possible to observe which skills the candidate developed during their remote work time and how these can be put into practice within your company. This is another way to identify if the person will contribute positively to the company.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z4uMqj_caewUzdEMWeaS8ZYF6qKHdCdPVO1aizlbt77rxiyjH66bQ1VDsO4UqghBpVcNlDKCzZbnVe9vivZ_g7uX4x9VY7qzfyS2bAsNvjfz8IZistgNEtaGKhtnB2Zt7Aj_6SlIAjIm_-8SKv4wDnM" alt="The image shows a white woman with shoulder-length, straight, light brown hair sitting in front of a silver laptop computer. A video call with three other women can be seen on the screen."/><figcaption>In online interviews, it is relevant to ask about their experience of remote work.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>7. Do you have any questions for me?&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



Before ending the job interview, ask the applicant if there is anything about the job or the company that they would like to know. Your pitch might go something like this:



<ul><li>Before finishing this interview, do you have any questions for me? You can ask about the company, the job position, the recruiting process, or anything else you would like to know.</li></ul>



Thus, the person who is applying for the vacancy can take advantage of the space to resolve any doubts they may have about the selection process, what the next steps will be and if there are any comments regarding their performance in the interview.



This question can also help you identify if the candidate has researched the company and if they are really enthusiastic about being part of the team. In this way, you will also be able to evaluate aspects such as commitment and proactivity, and select the best candidate for the vacancy.



Do you like this type of content and need tips for conducting job interviews in English for future employees? <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/interviewing">Learn more about our Interviewing English course and practice without leaving home!</a>

Need to do a job interview in English, but don't know what questions to ask? Here are seven that can help you!

Seven questions to ask in a job interview in English

The <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/covid-19?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog-internal&amp;utm_campaign=organic&amp;utm_content=upskilling">pandemic</a> transformed reality for everyone, including many companies which had to adapt and will continue to reinvent themselves to keep up with the changes in the market. However, companies that have not yet adapted to our new world are lagging behind and may be missing out on great opportunities.



Although we don’t know exactly what the future of some industries will be, this period of transformation made it clear that many positions no longer have the same relevance as before. However, while some occupations disappeared, others emerged.



This can be explained by the rapid technological advancements of the last few years, which were key to containing the economic damage that emerged early in the pandemic. Considering these changes, it is inevitable that some companies will have to offer new training to professionals to keep up with the labor market.



To help you foster the development your employees need and make your company stand out in the market, we will let you know everything you need to know about upskilling and reskilling, two training techniques that can be implemented by your HR team– keep reading!



<h2>What is the difference between upskilling and reskilling?</h2>



Upskilling and reskilling are very similar terms. Both refer to the training that teams need to stay up-to-date with changes in the labor market. However, these two words still have different meanings.



To avoid confusing the two and to choose the most appropriate strategy for your company, remember that what differentiates them is the purpose of the training. While upskilling is used for employees to further specialize within their position, reskilling prepares them to take on new jobs in the company, thus creating more versatile professionals.



In order to resolve any doubts regarding these two terms, we will explain each of them in more depth below.



<h3>What is upskilling?</h3>



Upskilling is a learning technique that develops or reinforces competencies that the employee already possesses in their current position. In other words, it helps them to improve skills and knowledge specific to their area of expertise. By encouraging this type of continuous training within your company, your employees will be able to perform their tasks more effectively and prepare themselves for any new challenges that their job position may bring.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ysQX1mPdk_rK6w3EwEj-R8mmkSx71rw0a7ZPO4V4mCh6SIfbyiF5ELHT5kDJ5P0X1gCpGtlZyYE1H1O-fDnNl9izS_MO9YjiZ2RDQxfsW9IbILj85H4bfAkTxI-pEyzLjsC-premEWwcmE5a-do4-Do" alt="A black woman with curly, dark brown hair stands in front of a white desk. She is working on a silver laptop."/><figcaption>Professionals need to keep up to date in their positions in order to do a good job, which is the essential function of upskilling.</figcaption></figure>



<h3>What is reskilling?</h3>



Reskilling promotes the development of new competencies by the employee. In this way, they will learn how to complete the necessary tasks in order to assume a new position in the company. For example, if a person works in <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/marketing?utm_source=blog_linkinterno&amp;utm_campaign=upskilling-reskilling">marketing</a> operations and wants to switch to a management position, they cannot be promoted without first developing the required skills for the new position.



<h2>Why is it so important to train my employees?</h2>



It is very common for the labor market to go through changes over the years. However, employees are not often prepared to work in these new conditions. Despite this, the solution is not to fire them, but to <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/capacitacion-empresarial-que-es-y-cuales-son-sus-beneficios">provide corporate training</a>.&nbsp;



For example, professionals will regularly need to improve certain skills in order to be able to complete their work in the most satisfactory way. Their professional development will help customers feel more satisfied with the provided service, but this is not the only positive impact of corporate training.



Additionally, an employee’s experience at the company is extremely important for business success. Satisfied employees <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/motivacion-en-el-trabajo">feel more motivated</a> and show greater dedication to their work. As a result, they are less likely to seek employment opportunities in other organizations.



Have you ever wondered why so many people dream of working at Google, Netflix, Nubank and other companies in the technology sector? The answer lies in the value proposition of these companies, as they always prioritize their team’s experience and do not focus solely on business goals.



This does not mean that these companies do not have objectives, but that their culture is much more autonomous. For this reason, nowadays, it is not enough to just have good Human Capital Management (HCM), but it’s also necessary to establish Human Experience Management (HXM) to improve the well-being of your employees.



The generation that is currently entering the job market prefers work environments that <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/reconocimiento-laboral">value their teams and foster their happiness</a>, rather than <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/estres-en-el-trabajo">stressful work environments</a> where employees continually perform their duties under pressure. For this reason, holding corporate training sessions will increase employee satisfaction and humanize your company to your employees.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/UxricUGqhpqLiKbNlfO4Uhb-1GVYlvYAEKkCN424Es2A1QynV8zpbHAhIAORlHUcfrMlJ2eLBMPU2ciylgkViOE5a9eYDU2gt2C7_nWLM6adj-e4PiKv4W1tLx839xiMgHfUOiwQNoAIseueET6dL_4" alt="A group of people are seated around a wooden table. From left to right, there is a hispanic man, a black woman, and a black man. There is also a white woman sitting with her back to the photo."/><figcaption>The upskilling and reskilling techniques help to increase the level of employee satisfaction within the company.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>Three benefits of upskilling and reskilling for businesses</h2>



Besides helping your company through the changes from the pandemic, upskilling and reskilling techniques are excellent methods to implement in the medium to long term. After all, the idea of both techniques is to keep your team up-to-date.



Since industries and technology will continue to evolve for the foreseeable future, it will always be important to develop the skills of your employees. This will be true regardless of your company’s performance or the strength of the economy.



If you are still unsure about investing in upskilling and reskilling at your company, don&#8217;t worry. Here are three benefits that these techniques can bring to your company in the long term:



<h3>1. Bridging the digital divide among employees</h3>



One of the main reasons to start implementing these professional development methods in your company is to increase your team’s digital literacy. This is especially important for older employees, who are not as familiar with newer technology. If these professionals do not start learning about this tech as soon as possible, it will be much more difficult for them to use newer tools as technology develops.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="724" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AdobeStock_358018401-2-1024x724.jpeg" alt="Close up portrait businessman sitting in office looking at laptop computer" class="wp-image-4297"/><figcaption>Offering professional English courses to employees is a good way to enhance the company&#8217;s popularity and embrace Upskilling and Reskilling techniques.</figcaption></figure>



<h3>2. Increased talent retention</h3>



Talent retention is another advantage of upskilling and reskilling techniques. Employees do not stay with a company only for the competitive salary, but also for all the additional benefits beyond the meal bonus, transportation allowance and health plan.



Offering partnerships with gyms, fitness studios, recreational clubs, and psychologists, as well as having a pet-friendly office or <a href="https://slangapp.com/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog-internal&amp;utm_campaign=organic&amp;utm_content=upskilling">promoting training courses</a> for professional development are all good initiatives to <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/retencion-de-talento-diminuye-el-turnover">avoid a high turnover rate at your company</a>.



<h3>3. Increased talent attraction</h3>



Thinking about talent attraction is also fundamental for your company to stand out in the labor market. After all, there will always be a turnover of employees, which is why it is essential to always bring new people to the team.



In order <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/reclutamiento-y-seleccion-como-contrarar-a-los-candidatos-adecuados">to hire the most qualified people for your open positions</a>, it is important to take into account your company&#8217;s image in the industry. One way to improve your organization’s reputation is to promote a positive image among the people who are already part of the staff.



To achieve this, it is necessary to invest in <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/que-es-el-employer-branding-y-como-beneficia-a-la-empresa">employer branding techniques</a>. Fostering employee training is a great way to improve the company&#8217;s reputation. With this goal in mind, you can use upskilling and reskilling.



Offering language courses will help you in that task and you can count on Slang for that! With our platform, you will be able to train your team with the professional English used in your industry. <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog-internal&amp;utm_campaign=organic&amp;utm_content=upskilling">We have more than 200 industry-focused online courses</a> for you and your team to specialize in. All of them are based on machine learning and are customized to the previous knowledge of each employee.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="739" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/MacBook-option2-2-2-1024x739.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4293"/><figcaption>Offering professional English courses to employees is a good way to improve the company&#8217;s popularity and embrace Upskilling and Reskilling techniques.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>How can you implement an upskilling and reskilling plan in your company?</h2>



Before providing this type of training, it is important to draw up a career plan for all positions. Do this for all areas and positions in the company, from operations to management positions.



Take into account the reality of each employee and always pay attention to their professional aspirations, skills, and aptitudes. Also, remember to keep in mind the needs of your company. In this way, you will be able to align the team&#8217;s expectations with the company&#8217;s reality and avoid dissatisfaction in the future.



Did you enjoy this content? <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/la-importancia-del-ingles-para-evitar-el-analfabetismo-profesional">Learn more about the importance of English language learning to avoid professional illiteracy!</a>

Upskilling and Reskilling are techniques that help companies to stay relevant in the market. Learn more on our blog!

Upskilling and Reskilling: train and motivate your team

Companies big and small are always looking for ways to improve the quality of life in their workplace. They know that companies that focus on the well-being of their employees grow and improve every day.



Many organizations strive to offer employee benefits that go beyond the standard bonuses and vacation time. In this way, they’re also working on their <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/que-es-el-employer-branding-y-como-beneficia-a-la-empresa">employer branding</a>, which helps improve their reputation &#8211; both among their employees and within the general job market.



Inspired by big names like <a href="https://about.google/">Google</a>, <a href="https://about.facebook.com/ltam/">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://about.netflix.com/es">Netflix</a>, companies also invest in unique corporate benefits that help further engage employees, retain talent, and <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/reclutamiento-y-seleccion-como-contrarar-a-los-candidatos-adecuados">attract new talent for open positions</a>.&nbsp;



If you want to offer new and attractive benefits to your employees but are still unsure of your options, don’t worry! In this article, we will explain everything that you need to know. Let’s continue!



<h2>Why are corporate benefits becoming more and more attractive?</h2>



The relationship between recognition and performance is a vicious cycle. According to Bob Nelson, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/1501-Reward-Employees-Nelson-Ph-D/dp/0761168788">1501 Ways to Reward Employees</a>, managers often place greater value on employees who prove to be consistently improving their performance.



Moreover, according to him, different types of <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/reconocimiento-laboral">professional recognition</a> can motivate employees to be more dedicated to their work. With this in consideration, corporate benefits can help increase productivity and improve work quality.&nbsp;



Offering attractive benefits demonstrates to employees that the company is taking care of them. As a result, professionals tend to stay in their positions for longer, which <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/retencion-de-talento-diminuye-el-turnover">mitigates turnover</a>.



To get great long-term results, it’s not enough to offer attractive benefits. It’s also necessary to provide salaries that are competitive within the market, career plans, and quality of life improvements.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/7SDV-4dNs9x2TTLyVpII6bTNvbjtTGV6cWkjfjezVYW8zlqRcJYH-YP1EOMqQDnS0uFC4oIetUfGcmHWiVDjbJCa418Epumhk-di8e1QnUgBJYD7Ayebwz6l5gr4-VGhDKttY6lJU0gz8MtdFXC83yQ" alt="A group of four gathers around a white table, where there is a silver laptop. From left to right are a black woman with curly hair, a white man with light brown hair, a black woman with short blond hair, and a white man with white hair. They are happy and seem to be celebrating something." width="840" height="559"/><figcaption>Employees who are content with their corporate benefits are more dedicated to their work and deliver higher-quality results.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>How do you choose the best benefits for your company?</h2>



Before making any decisions, it’s important to understand what corporate benefits make sense for your company and which will produce the best results. What works for another company’s employees won’t necessarily work for yours.



Consider the values of your company and, above all, the needs of your employees, since they are the ones who will be enjoying the benefits. According to <a href="https://www.metlife.com/content/dam/metlifecom/us/ebts/pdf/MetLife-Employee-Benefit-Trends-Study-2020.pdf">a study conducted by MetLife</a>, it’s most effective to commit to actions that will help your employees achieve their personal and professional goals.



Thus, you should choose benefits that provide professional development and personal assistance to your employees. In order to ensure efficacy, your company can also carry out an internal survey to find out what your employees are most interested in.



<h2>How do you integrate these new benefits into your company culture?</h2>



The Metlife survey emphasizes that 49% of employees understand the advantage of their benefits and say that, thanks to them, their job performance has improved. However, 15% responded that they did not understand their benefits.



As a result, after choosing which benefits to add to your company’s package, it’s important to clearly communicate those changes to everyone. This initiative is necessary for employees to understand how to access these benefits– and so that everyone knows how useful the benefits are.



To ensure even better results, it’s important to create a manual of benefits. If your company has a <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/la-cultura-y-cima-organizacional">company culture</a> manual, it’s also possible to include this information there.



Remember to explain how to take advantage of the benefits and what the rules and regulations are. To facilitate comprehension, try to be very specific, list examples, and use images.&nbsp;



As you present the new benefits, get teams together, demonstrate how to use them, and show them where to find more information should they need it. After implementing these new changes, remind employees periodically via <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/como-escribir-email-en-ingles">email</a> or during <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/cinco-consejos-que-te-ayudaran-en-una-reunion-en-ingles">meetings</a> that new benefits are now available.&nbsp;



It’s also important to encourage managers to use benefits. In this way, they can motivate the other employees on their team to do the same, which helps spread the word about the value of utilizing corporate benefits.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qqJWdUecJI5qcZ6wYeFz1EZEvETbmCSFL2wk2YQqstIzBgAVP9A5Leo6RtbM-a--m_dqQYFdegGzSfe3rlszfKVyFBEvPxcnPbIK_BRrUuvzvZ7EP3kAHOJz8PpLD-qd7_5NosA-7etpiOI7Mz8D6WU" alt="A white man is looking at a silver laptop. On the screen, you can see a video call with various faces."/><figcaption>To avoid doubts, announce new benefits during company meetings.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>8 different employee benefits</h2>



Have you realized the importance of offering benefits to your employees and now you want to make changes at your company? To help you choose which benefits to implement with your employees, here we outline eight examples of unique benefits that you could offer:



<h3>1. Therapy bonus</h3>



Investing in employees’ mental health has become more and more common. With a fast-paced routine, many employees can become overwhelmed and stressed. Without addressing these issues, they may experience burnout.



To avoid burnout among your company’s employees, you may want to create a mental health bonus, in which employees are given a fixed amount to spend on therapy sessions. You could also partner with a professional or group of psychologists to set up a discount for your employees.&nbsp;



<h3>2. “14th-month salary”</h3>



In Brazil, the 14th-month salary is an excellent way to recognize the work of your employees and invest in their development. As opposed to a <a href="https://www.papayaglobal.com/blog/what-is-a-13th-month-salary/">13th-month salary</a>, this isn’t distributed through a cash bonus, but in the form of additional training.



The employee can look for courses or workshops with the value of a month’s work that contribute to their professional development. You can also set a fixed amount for everyone, but it’s important to make this very clear in the benefits manual.



If you choose to allow employees to decide how they will use this benefit, it’s essential to explain the administrative process to them. For example, if the employee can select a course or workshop, they might have to submit an application to HR and explain how their chosen course will contribute to their professional growth.&nbsp;



<h3>3. Help for new parents</h3>



Companies like Google offer parental leave for new parents and may also provide bonuses that help them buy necessary items like diapers, baby food, and wipes.&nbsp;



The goal is to support the employee in their new stage of life. In addition to feeling encouraged by the additional assistance, this benefit may also motivate the new mom or dad to return to work after the baby is born.



<h3>4. Yoga and meditation classes</h3>



Many companies are already getting behind yoga and meditation in the professional environment to benefit the well-being of their employees. This is even the case with big brands like Nike, Twitter, and Instagram.



The benefits of these activities are diverse. Employees’ productivity improves, the level of stress in the workplace diminishes, and companies often observe an improvement in their employees’ quality of life.



It’s ideal to hire a professional instructor to go to the office once or twice a week to give open classes to your employees. That way, everyone can practice together and release their tension from a day’s work.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/HVl_OwJX7n09NZw9GMRQ4m-5fkCj4xcprX8P1T1fQjFMTGxxKa0flcORGzZDxe9hxKdh6FDPiwIjXENAmBpGNZ7jJ2fLSVZKnSyioKFCRtSB5XQQMYI3gq1NXr_nc4qHaBV-OxY9l5GtNfaXsd4Kz1Q" alt="A group of five people are seated in the lotus position, with their legs crossed and their hands on their knees. They all have their eyes closed and are meditating."/><figcaption>Practicing group meditation midday helps employees alleviate their stress and increases productivity in the workplace.</figcaption></figure>



<h3>5. Financial education&nbsp;</h3>



According to data from <a href="https://expansion.mx/opinion/2020/07/21/antes-de-la-pandemia-el-estres-financiero-ya-estaba-en-su-limite">the magazine Expansión</a>, employees who are stressed by their economic situation tend to miss work more frequently. In addition, their productivity can be negatively affected.&nbsp;



Given this fact, offering support for their financial education will help professionals better manage their salaries. This initiative might also improve their quality of life, which will benefit their productivity in the long run.



This benefit can be offered through a partnership with a financial advisor, available to all those interested. It’s also possible to schedule a talk or workshop to provide advice on this important topic.



<h3>6. Mentoring</h3>



Having a mentor assigned to each employee by the company itself shows that you care for their individual growth and well-being. In this way, each employee feels recognized and happier with their employer.



Corporate mentoring brings advantages such as a positive impact on the employee’s personal life, a focus on the organization’s results, greater talent retention, lower training costs, and easier onboarding for new talent.



<h3>7. Home office assistance&nbsp;</h3>



Many companies moved to remote work during the pandemic, and several preferred to continue with this model or have adopted a hybrid approach in its place. Therefore, it may be interesting to offer a benefit to employees that corresponds with this new working environment.



Home office assistance is a simple action that helps with the basic costs of adapting to working from home. For this, you can determine a bonus that helps with electricity bills, internet, and even office accessories such as laptop stands and office chairs to make their remote experience more comfortable.



<h3>8. Language courses</h3>



Offering language courses, especially in English, <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/la-importancia-del-ingles-para-evitar-el-analfabetismo-profesional">helps to combat professional illiteracy in the workplace</a>. If your employee doesn’t understand the vocabulary that is necessary for their daily work, it will be difficult for them to develop professionally and, consequently, the results of the company may be affected.&nbsp;



To this end, providing professional English courses is a beneficial practice for your organization’s employees. At Slang, we recognize the importance of this language for all professionals and that’s why we’ve created <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories?utm_source=blog_link_interno&amp;utm_campaign=beneficios_corporativos">more than 100 courses focusing on different positions and industries</a>.&nbsp;



With Slang, employees can learn terms in English that they use daily in their profession. All courses are <a href="https://slangapp.com/?utm_source=blog_link_interno&amp;utm_campaign=beneficios_corporativos">available online on our platform</a>, which is based on <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/machine-learning">machine learning</a> and will make it easier for your employees to learn.



In addition, your company can choose to only assign the topics that most relate to your employees’ everyday lives. All of our modules are “<a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/es/que-es-la-gamificacion-empresa">gamified</a>”, and your HR department can have access to the progress of every employee. In this way, it will be easy to evaluate how frequently your employees are using this benefit.



Do you want to offer our professional English courses to your employees? Click <a href="https://slangapp.com/request-demo?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=organic&amp;utm_content=prof-dev">here</a>.

Corporate benefits are essential for professionals. See eight of them that can be offered in your company!

Eight corporate benefits that you can offer to your employees

<h2>The challenge</h2>



We are used to thinking that we have to be in a classroom with a teacher and grammar books to learn English. However, this type of material is made up of general content that is rarely adapted to the student&#8217;s interests, skills or career path. In the long run, this becomes a challenge for educational institutions when preparing their students for the job market.



Faced with this scenario, the Corporación Universitaria Unitec, an educational community with over 44 years of academic experience in Colombia, realized the need to complement their general English program. Their goal was to find a tool that would allow their students to practice the language in and out of the classroom, with content aligned to their professional profiles.



Unitec&#8217;s aim was to improve the professional and technical profile of its students and to increase the number of graduates with an advanced level of English. This objective is aligned with the institution’s mission, as it seeks to provide human-centered, comprehensive education to its students, so that they become competent, enterprising, creative professionals and technologists, with critical thinking skills, leadership capabilities, and high social responsibility.



<h2>The solution</h2>



Their search for the best English teaching complement started in 2019. It was in the same year that Unitec decided to collaborate with Slang to incorporate the use of our app in their English academic program, beginning in the first semester of 2020.



The decision to work with Slang was motivated by the platform&#8217;s ability to integrate with the technological and undergraduate academic programs of the institution&#8217;s four schools: Economics and Administrative Sciences, Arts and Communication Sciences, Engineering, and Legal and Human Sciences. This alliance works due to the wide range of courses offered by Slang, ranging from general English to different professional areas.



In addition, Slang had the capacity to offer courses to a larger population due to the fact that it adapts to both face-to-face and virtual modalities. As a result, more students were able to access the program without difficulties.&nbsp;



Moreover, the support of the Learner Experience and Customer Success teams was key to the successful integration of Slang as a complement to the English academic program at Unitec.



<h3>Building a program aligned with the institution&#8217;s goals</h3>



The Learner Experience team has worked closely with the university to align its goals with the platform&#8217;s general and professional English course offerings. In order to do so, Slang has contributed to the design of study goals and monthly assessments of the students&#8217; progress.



<h3>Support strategies for the success of the program</h3>



Slang&#8217;s Customer Success team contributed to the program&#8217;s successful development through the training of administrators and teachers, periodic metrics monitoring, management of support cases, as well as the recommendation and implementation of best practices to fulfill the objectives.



The successful implementation of Slang at Unitec was achieved thanks to the variety of courses that respond to the needs of its students, such as:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="321" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/UNITEC-courses-EN-1024x321.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4185"/></figure>



<h2>The results&nbsp;</h2>



The alliance with Slang has allowed Unitec to meet its goal of improving the English proficiency of its students. Today, the university continues to use Slang&#8217;s platform and, after 2 years of continuous work, we have achieved these results:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="843" height="577" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/unitec-data-en.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4186"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“The platform is very instructive for teaching another language, and my progress has been reflected in these two years that I have been using Slang.”&nbsp;Diego GordilloEnglish V student</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“The course catalog offered is quite broad and covers different approaches to teaching English as a foreign language, hence, as educators, we can make use of these resources to motivate our students and show them the importance of this language as a tool to have a competent profile in today&#8217;s job market.”Jessica ManceraCoordinadora de Idiomas &#8211; Unitec</blockquote>



With Slang, your students will have a variety of English language courses that cover both general and professional subjects, which will boost their careers and give them a more competitive profile in the job market. Contact us <a href="https://slangapp.com/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=success-cases&amp;utm_content=unitec">here</a>.

How Unitec equips their students for the job market

<h2>The challenge&nbsp;</h2>



Typically, English training in an academic institution focuses on general English. However, in order to strengthen their professional profiles and improve their job prospects, students must incorporate professional English into their academic work.



Most institutions face this challenge, as it is difficult to find tools that respond to the need to offer specialized content that is aligned with a breadth of academic and technical programs.&nbsp;



This was the problem faced by the National Training Service (SENA), a public institution attached to the Colombian Ministry of Labor, which offers training to millions who benefit from technical and complementary courses. These programs are focused on the economic, technological, and social development of the country, and their objective is to boost the productivity of companies and industries to enhance competitiveness within global markets.



This institution needed to supplement their apprentices’ English program with a tool that would augment the teaching of professional English in training courses offered. Areas of knowledge which benefit highly from industry-specific language span business administration, economics, logistics, marketing, sales, human resources, engineering, health sciences, tourism, agriculture, mining, construction, culinary arts, and many others.



<h2>The solution</h2>



In 2019, SENA began the search for a tool that could solve their problem. They soon decided to pursue a pilot study with Slang involving 500 apprentices from different programs distributed in 25 training centers across 15 departments of the country. After seeing the successful results of this trial, they made the decision to work with Slang in 2020.&nbsp;



In 2021, SENA expanded the implementation of the Slang Bilingualism Program by including it alongside their English training program for an even larger group of students. This involved participation of 16,000 apprentices coming from 115 programs in 68 training centers spread across 20 departments of the country.



The decision to work with Slang’s platform was also motivated by its capacity to adapt to the needs of the apprentices, in addition to the support provided by Slang’s specialized teams and extensive catalog of technical English courses, which align with SENA’s comprehensive academic offerings.



During implementation, the collaborators placed special importance on designing individualized Learning Paths, monitoring student progress, and providing guidance to the program.



<h3>Specialized Learning Paths</h3>



The Learning Paths design process was carried out by Slang&#8217;s academic team and the Bilingualism Program of SENA&#8217;s Office of Vocational Training in a collaborative effort to respond to the trainees‘ needs. This was essential for the orientation and development of the participants within the program.&nbsp;



<h3>Monitoring the progress of the apprentices</h3>



Access to the Learning Management System (LMS) and progress reports were key to guaranteeing compliance with the objectives, given that SENA&#8217;s Bilingualism Program, together with the institution&#8217;s professionals and instructors, could closely monitor the progress of their trainees and make informed decisions in real time.&nbsp;



<h3>Supporting the program</h3>



Facilitation was integral to the project&#8217;s success. The program featured internal transparency owing to accessible channels for monitoring/evaluation, exchange of ideas, and clarification. These key functions were carried out by Slang’s Customer Success, Learner Experience, and Technical Support teams.&nbsp;



The most studied courses during the year-long collaboration between Slang and SENA were:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="321" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sena-courses-–-EN-1024x321.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4157"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“It is a very well-rounded app that helps improve your English, both professionally and in day-to-day situations. Slang has a practical and dynamic methodology that has helped me progress in learning the language, especially in listening and speaking skills.”&nbsp;Danny Daniela Pino,Student of Technology in Integrated Quality Control, Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Slang has greatly impacted my professional career, and thanks to all I have learned, I can now access much more information in my field. Besides that, the platform has been a great tool to acquire confidence in speaking English, as you can learn in an easy and very dynamic way.”&nbsp;Nelcy Milena Bolaños Pantoja Student of Industrial Automation Technology</blockquote>



<h2>The results</h2>



Thanks to the partnership with Slang, SENA’s apprentices were able to acquire specialized English skills tailored to each of the programs they were studying, consequently strengthening their professional profiles and contributing to the economic development of the country.&nbsp;



These are the main results of the program implemented at SENA:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="845" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sena-stats-–-EN-1024x845.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4158"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;Slang has engendered a deeper approach to the language and has motivated apprentices to learn more about their vocational interests by being a purpose-built English application.&#8221;Laura Marcela Rincón Ortiz, Bilingualism Program Administrator, Office of Vocational Training</blockquote>



With Slang, your students will have access to an array of career-boosting professional courses, giving them a competitive edge in the job market. Contact us <a href="https://slangapp.com/government?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=success-cases&amp;utm_content=sena">here</a>.

How SENA managed to impact the professional training of 16,000 apprentices

<h2>The challenge</h2>



One of the main challenges for companies and their teams during the COVID-19 pandemic was to adapt to a remote work modality. For months, strategies were constantly changing to meet the needs of their employees and the market’s new trends. For this reason, many companies had to enhance their training plans —and, in many cases, create them—, so as to prepare their employees for customers’ new needs.&nbsp;



This was the case for Constructora Bolívar, a Colombian company from the real estate sector that has fulfilled the dreams of investment, development and house ownership for more than 198.000 families nationwide. They decided to explore new markets during the pandemic and, keeping in mind that English is the world’s language for business, they focused primarily on strengthening their employees’ communication skills in this language. To meet this goal, they created the B.R.O. (Born to Rise to the Top) program, which would develop and implement a transversal training strategy for the whole company.&nbsp; Firstly, the Human Resources team was looking for a program that would adapt to the company’s different areas and, above all, one that everyone could make use of, regardless of their role or responsibilities. Additionally, they needed a fully-remote method that would conform to their new work modality. This way, Constructora Bolívar found Slang and chose its solution for the B.R.O. program.



<h2>The solution</h2>



Constructora Bolívar considered Slang the best option because its English learning program goes beyond traditional methods by focusing on specific objectives and aligning to the company’s interests and the learning paths required for every role. Thus, the learning experience is not only customized, but much more efficient. This fit in with the B.R.O. program perfectly because the platform’s flexibility makes it possible to cover the different areas of the company and satisfy the specific needs of every employee.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“In this context, we seek to learn English so that we can use it in a working environment. With Slang, I learn vocabulary and sentences that I use frequently in my role. It’s very useful.”<cite>Alba Yaneth Bolaños, Finance professional</cite></blockquote>



Here’s where Slang steps in. With the biggest course catalog for professional English in more than 20 different industries, we created specific goals that were in sync with the B.R.O. program’s objectives to successfully achieve the professional development of their collaborators.



<h3>Full access</h3>



The B.R.O. program was created for the employees to learn English according to their interests, and that is why all Slang courses were made available for them. Each user was able to choose freely any course that would fit in with their needs. However, to ensure the learning paths were effective, when the program was first implemented, Diagnostic tests were taken by the users to determine which specific abilities they needed to develop.&nbsp;



<h3>Customized support</h3>



For Slang, it’s important to closely follow up each of the students during the program’s implementation. For this reason, we performed periodical evaluations on how B.R.O. was fulfilling its objectives. This way, decisions were made about how we would communicate with users to lead them to accomplishing their goals.



<h3>Alliances with educational institutions</h3>



Constructora Bolívar has an alliance with Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana (ÚNICA), and they decided to complement their Slang experience with individual sessions with English teachers from this institution. This was due to the fact that, thanks to the pandemic, instructors started to look for new opportunities since few students were enrolling in their classes.



<h2>Results</h2>



The users from Constructora Bolívar started to study during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in spite of all the challenges they faced, their results were satisfactory. To date, they have stayed with Slang for more than a year and have completely surpassed the expectations for the B.R.O. program.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="702" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Constructora-Bolivar_EN-1-1024x702.png" alt="The image shows the results obtained by Constructora Bolívar’s users with Slang. The section on top reads: “265 key terms learned” in the “New key terms per day” section, “105 hours per week” in the “Average study hours” and “+400 courses” in the “Courses completed”. In the section beneath, separated by a horizontal line, there is a bullet point in the shape of a rocket with an orange circle that informs about the user’s progress; there is another bullet point in the shape of a heart with a red square that shows the percentage of users that would recommend Slang. " class="wp-image-4142"/></figure>



The results speak for themselves: the students have used the platform constantly and in an effective way to follow the path towards English proficiency. Nevertheless, these weren’t the only results of the program.



<h3>Satisfaction survey</h3>



Constructora Bolívar conducted a survey to measure satisfaction in all Slang users of the company. Strikingly, more than 85% of the employees assured that Slang positively impacts the way they study the English language.&nbsp;



<h3>Award winners</h3>



Within a short time of its implementation, the B.R.O. program was nominated as one of the best programs for the company’s human talent. They went up against the whole Grupo Bolívar conglomerate (Davivienda, Seguros Bolívar, and others), and B.R.O made it to the top 10 of 2020’s best projects!



Follow Constructora Bolívar’s example and join forces with Slang to train your collaborators with the professional English their roles require. Reach out to us <a href="https://slangapp.com/business?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=success-cases&amp;utm_term=constructora-bolivar">here</a>!

B.R.O.: a successful bilingual online program for Constructora Bolívar

<h2>The challenge</h2>



Distributing time between work, family, social commitments, and self-care can be a challenge for any learning process. However, commitment, motivation, and timely support are great allies to overcome these barriers and achieve objectives.



This is the case of Alimentos Cárnicos, a Grupo Nutresa company dedicated to the production and marketing of meat, with a direct presence in four countries. They were looking for a solution that would allow their workforce to learn the English their roles demanded, but with a model that was adaptable to their routines and responsibilities



<h2>The solution</h2>



When reviewing different alternatives, they chose Slang because of our flexible and customized programs that could be adjusted to each person’s needs. Today, they have been using our platform for two years based on an English scholarship model that has impacted more than 300 employees and family members.



The internal support of the Human Resources department, in addition to follow-ups by our Customer Success team and the dedication of several collaborators, has made this implementation a complete success. A great example of this is Alirio Santos, a logistics assistant at Alimentos Cárnicos, who started his process with Slang on February 9, 2021 and, thanks to his discipline, became one of the first users to complete all of the General and Professional English courses.&nbsp;



<h3>Step one: setting goals</h3>



Alirio started with a beginner level of English: he obtained a 17% on our General English test. Based on this result, the next step was to establish the goals that would allow him to move forward. The Human Resources department and our Customer Success team defined a study schedule for him based on his availability.



In his first two months, Alirio did not exceed ten hours of study, which is normal, as familiarizing yourself with the platform and understanding the time commitment can take a few weeks. However, he states that &#8220;as time went by, I started to discover and become interested in each of the different topics that the platform offered me and, to be honest, I found the activities, topics, and variety of courses offered to be extremely interesting and entertaining”.



Until that moment, he had not recognized the importance of English in his role, but, over the course of his learning path, he became aware of the possibilities that this language offers for his professional development. So his determination became unstoppable and his desire to continue improving made him more and more focused on his learning process.



<h3>Following up: the key to successful learning</h3>



Once the adaptation stage was over, we updated Alirio&#8217;s goals to take his English to another level: a more professional and advanced one. To work toward this objective, he set a goal of spending at least fifteen minutes a day studying on the platform.



&#8220;I decided to stop watching TV and other unproductive activities in favor of practicing intensively,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As a result, I started to see important progress in pronunciation and writing.&#8221; The results were surprising: in his third month, he studied for more than 29 hours, and he reached a peak of 50 hours in August.



<h3>Course catalog and follow-up tests</h3>



The first course Alirio completed was Logistics, followed by Manufacturing and Occupational Health and Safety, all directly related to his professional position. Later, he began to explore other courses and he always finished the courses that he started, with the aim of correctly learning all the necessary terms before moving on to the next one.



With the follow-up tests that we conduct every six months, he continued to demonstrate incredible progress: from the 17% obtained in the initial diagnosis, Alirio improved to 64% in his first progress evaluation and reached the Elementary level after a year of studying with Slang.



Undoubtedly, his learning process has been an example to many others, because today he sees how each achieved goal impacts his work and personal life. &#8220;I can see that I have had important achievements [&#8230;] Studying was intense every day, but, above all, it was really enriching and, thanks to that, I was able to finish all the courses on the platform,&#8221; he concludes.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Alimentos-Carnicos-–-EN-2-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4092"/></figure>



&#8211;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;[&#8230;] although I had several work, academic, and personal commitments and activities, I found the experience of being able to acquire more knowledge of this language fascinating, since what I had was a very basic level.&#8221;<cite>Alirio Santos, Logistics Assistant at Alimentos Cárnicos</cite></blockquote>



<h2>The results</h2>



After showing a bit of Alirio&#8217;s learning process, It&#8217;s time to present his final results:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="708" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Alimentos-Carnicos-–-EN-1-1024x708.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4093"/></figure>







<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“I will be eternally grateful to Slang for the contribution they have made to my academic development. Thank you very much for all the support and for the excellent learning platform”.<cite>Alirio Santos, Logistics Assistant at Alimentos Cárnicos</cite></blockquote>



Alirio and hundreds of other users who currently rely on Slang to strengthen their professional development are our greatest inspiration to continue improving our platform and expanding our catalog of courses. Together, we can take your team to the next level with the professional English that each role needs. Let&#8217;s make it possible! Find out how <a href="https://slangapp.com/business?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=success-cases&amp;utm_term=alimentos-carnicos">here</a>.

Alirio Santos knows that learning English usually means opportunities. That is why he saw the opportunity presented by the account that Alimentos Cárnicos opened with Slang and obtained a scholarship to study on our platform. Get to know his story.

Alimentos Cárnicos: the value of empowering a team

<h2>The challenge</h2>



With technological advancements and the increasingly frantic pace of daily life, finding time for traditional English classes—in a classroom at a fixed time and duration—can be a difficult task. Fortunately, online study alternatives exist to better suit your busy schedule.



Taking English classes online has many advantages. Timing is flexible, the student has access to the learning materials at all times, processes are more personalized, and courses are faster and cheaper. However, there are some downsides, such as a lack of interaction and face-to-face supervision, at-home distractions, and technological issues.&nbsp;



In order to take advantage of both types of learning, Grupo Educativo Siglo XXI, a private Mexican educational institute that offers high school programs, decided to keep its in-person English classes and complement them with Slang&#8217;s online courses to try to reduce dropout rates among their students.



<h2>The solution</h2>



Two main draws of partnering with Slang were the affordable prices and the platform’s ability to make dynamic difficulty adjustments to suit each user. In addition, the high quality of our professional content and the wide variety of topics we cover match the range of specializations offered by the university.&nbsp;



The choice to implement a blended teaching strategy allowed students to continue to have the advantages of face-to-face classes with English teachers, while also studying technical content in an engaging and personalized way.&nbsp;



The program started with a group of 500 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of majors. After just two months, the program was yielding such positive results that another 250 students from the Psychology and Nutrition departments were also enrolled.&nbsp;



By the end of 2019, over 700 students were studying with Slang. Achieving a learner base of this size facilitated the success of Grupo Educativo Siglo XXI&#8217;s program through community interaction and improved student retention.



In 2020, the university expanded the program again. This new cohort of 250 includes students enrolled in either the postgraduate course at Unipre or the medical course offered in partnership with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM &#8211; the National Autonomous University of Mexico). An important factor in the success of the program was the hands-on training that Slang provided on the benefits and best practices of a blended learning environment.&nbsp;



Further contributing to the program’s success was Slang’s Learning Management System (LMS), a tool that allows teachers to easily track study time, learning activities submitted, and overall student progress on the platform. Insights like these can be used to assess student progress, as well as to customize each student&#8217;s learning experience. Our academic advisors worked closely with teachers to adapt classroom methodologies and efficiently integrate Slang content into lesson plans. For example, some teachers used a flipped classroom model in which students could share and practice what they learned on the platform to make in-person classes more interactive.&nbsp;



Grupo Educativo Siglo XXI has successfully transitioned to a completely hybrid English teaching model. This success story demonstrates how feasible it is to implement genuinely personalized English training across departments and specializations in a short amount of time, provided the right guidance and tools.&nbsp;



The success of this implementation was based on the results of students studying the following courses:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="356" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Siglo-XXI-courses-EN-1024x356.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2821"/></figure>



<h2>The results</h2>



At the end of the program, these were the results obtained by Siglo XXI’s students:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="258" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Data-EN-1024x258.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2822"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“The Slang platform has a wide variety of topics available. That enhances processes and allows students to explore many aspects of the English language, not only allowing for deeper learning in class but also during individual study.&#8221; Andrés Carbajal Bourgeois Language Coordinator</blockquote>



Like Grupo Educativo Siglo XXI, you can count on Slang&#8217;s help to equip your students with the English they need for their professional future. <a href="https://slangapp.com/request-demo/businesses?redirect=%2F%2Flearn.slangapp.com%2Fcourses%2Fcategories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Start the conversation with us here</a>.

How Grupo Educativo Siglo XXI improved student retention through blended learning

<h2>The challenge</h2>



The time when English proficiency was just a plus is long gone. Nowadays, it’s a must for nearly every field. According to the recruiting firm Randstad, fluently speaking English improves your chances of landing a good job by 44%. Currently, more and more companies are becoming globalized as they expand their headquarters and gain international clients. That’s why having good working knowledge of English is a prerequisite for new hires.



Not speaking English with fluency was an issue faced by the students at the Technological Institute of Tláhuac (ITT), a federal higher education institution in Mexico. The students needed English proficiency to enter the labor market with ease, but they found themselves without it.&nbsp;



In 2017, ITT decided to intervene. The success of their students and alumni would reflect directly on the institution and its prestige as an academic entity, so they knew they had to do something about this issue. After careful consideration, they decided to include English certification as a requirement for graduation.



However, the problem persisted and even became worse after this new policy went into effect. Despite completing the coursework for their degree, a high number of students couldn’t graduate because they didn’t meet the English proficiency requirements.



To solve this problem once and for all, ITT needed a solution that would meet a few different conditions. Since students had no time for additional in-person classes, they needed a flexible alternative that would allow them to study English anywhere at any time. In addition, some students were having trouble understanding documents and texts in field-specific English that they needed to read for some of their core courses. Thus, it was important to find a solution that would not only contribute to the development of professionals proficient in general English, but also offer students an additional advantage in the job market by training them in professional and specialized English.



That’s when ITT learned about Slang!



<h2>The solution</h2>



Slang was the perfect solution to this challenge for many reasons. Among them were the use of cutting-edge technology to make the learning process more efficient and the robust offering of professional English courses aligned with the institution’s programs. These features would enable students to develop the technical and specialized English needed to get jobs and internships.



The first cohort of students started working with Slang in August of 2017. Since then, ITT has continued with new implementation cycles, each lasting six months, with new cohorts of students nearing graduation.



Currently, students start the program with a placement test that shows their initial English level—aligned with the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)—in order to monitor their progress towards the language requirement for graduation. In addition, students receive useful recommendations for which professional English courses to pursue, based on their specific areas of study and needs.&nbsp;



But Slang doesn’t just train ITT students. A group of teachers also uses our platform as part of a training program that aims to strengthen the general and professional English skills of the institute’s faculty and staff. This is fundamental to maintaining ITT’s academic competitiveness in a world where global knowledge is encoded mainly in professional English.



For students and teachers alike, platform administrators can check users’ progress in real time through the Learning Management System (LMS). This facilitates the process of mentoring and accompanying users, especially students, as they work towards the goal of improving their English.



The successful implementation of the program was possible thanks to the following courses:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="356" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ITT-courses-1024x356.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2753"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;The app has been especially useful since it is always available. The tests allow us to know the level of students with regard to the Common European Framework, and the Learning Management System (LMS) has helped closely monitor the dedication of students. We are pleased with the way Slang has developed its service in the same direction as our needs.&#8221; Professor Jorge Olayo Deputy Director of Planning and Institutional Relations, ITT</blockquote>



<h2>The results</h2>



The most important result that Slang helped ITT achieve was an increase in its graduation rate, as the percentage of students who couldn&#8217;t graduate due to a lack of English proficiency was a major area of concern.



Undoubtedly, Slang has helped develop and improve a considerable number of ITT students’ professional English. Now students can thrive, both in the academic environment—due to their ability to better understand specialized content within their fields—and in the labor market, as their improved skills have made them more competitive as job candidates.



The benefits don’t stop there. One of the advantages of Slang that students have repeatedly highlighted is that, by studying through the mobile app, they can organize their study time in a way that fits their schedule and learn from anywhere, making the most of the platform and its portability.



Check out the numbers we’ve hit.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="298" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ITT-EN-1024x298.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2754"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;With Slang, I strengthened and broadened my knowledge of English. The platform has numerous courses that adapt to your professional needs, which allows you to develop in other areas of study and to put into practice the knowledge learned. I think the tool is perfect for learning professional English.&#8221; Francisco Javier Del Prado Engineering student, ITT</blockquote>



Follow ITT’s example and guarantee your students competitive positions within the job market. We are the perfect tool to learn the English you need for your career—<a href="https://slangapp.com/request-demo/businesses?redirect=//learn.slangapp.com/courses/categories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">get to know Slang today!</a>

How ITT prepared its students for the job market

<h2>The challenge</h2>



English is the language of business, which means that a multinational in which a majority of employees don’t speak the language can be a problem. Building relationships with clients around the world, working with teams in other countries, having a solid brand… all of these factors can be affected by the lack of English language, which is the common denominator when one thinks about communication between people who don’t share the same native language.



This was the case at <a href="https://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/Home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boston Scientific</a>. The company, a world leader in medical technology for over 40 years, had a large majority (60%) of personnel with a fairly basic level of English (Pre-A1 or A1, on the Common European Framework of Reference scale). With these numbers in mind, they knew that English training needed to be a priority within the company.



In order to ensure that they improved English proficiency across the organization, the company needed a training platform that would scale to match the needs of a large and diverse employee population — from the lowest levels to to the highest — with the particular objective of providing opportunities for professional English development to people who normally don’t have access to them.



Beyond that, with the pandemic reaching a peak, Boston Scientific’s team realized that, in order to accomplish the learning and development goals they’d set for the organization, they needed to adapt their training strategies for digital channels, and they concluded that Slang was the ideal tool.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“It’s been an excellent experience. It’s helped me grow my vocabulary and express myself better.”&nbsp; Miriam Rodríguez&nbsp; Production Trainer</blockquote>



<h2>The solution</h2>



With the objective of ensuring that workers from diverse areas and levels would be able to learn English, the development plan needed to be adapted to cover the job function of every employee using the service in the best way possible.



This is where Slang came in. We brought an integrated, 100% digital professional development solution focused on English for workers, based on a strategy that offered the opportunity to boost the necessary skills for the industry and for the specific roles and job titles that the company had through our offering&nbsp;— the world’s largest — of professional English courses.



The success of the implementation rested on the following key characteristics and decisions:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="547" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/LP-EN-1024x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2394"/></figure>



<h3>Development plans tied to learning</h3>



By meeting their learning goals in terms of points earned and time studied, employees were granted promotion opportunities and access to new training.



<h3>Practice sessions with the Learner Experience team</h3>



We put together learning spaces and paired people up to practice together, with the goal of putting the content they’d studied into use within a professional environment.



<h3>User follow-up</h3>



Beyond motivation campaigns, we also did regular follow-up on study frequency and usage patterns, focusing especially on those who weren’t very consistent.



<h3>Culture of responsibility</h3>



The promotion of a culture committed to the benefits of learning contributed enormously to employees’ continued use of the platform, even during a pandemic and the accompanying high workload.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;Slang’s been very useful. My English knowledge has gone up now that I’ve been using the app consistently for a while.&#8221;&nbsp; Karol Gonzalez&nbsp; Production Lead</blockquote>



<h2>The results</h2>



During the peak of the pandemic in LATAM (March to September 2020), average use of Slang was affected by various factors: remote work, internet connectivity, and family responsibilities, among others, but despite all these challenges, employees at Boston Scientific showed usage levels well above average and distinguished themselves by being ahead of the curve.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="452" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Graphics-EN-1024x452.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2395"/></figure>



At the end of the program, these were the results:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="237" src="https://blogslg-devrocky.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Data-EN-1024x237.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2396"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;It really helps in building a foundation for learning the language. Slang’s become a good tool, quick and practical, for studying English.&#8221;&nbsp; Luis Zuñiga &amp; Alejandra Marín Language Specialist &#8211; Learning &amp; Development, HR</blockquote>



The numbers speak for themselves. With the help of our hyper-customized methodology, getting your employees to a higher level of English proficiency will be a piece of cake.



After seeing these results, what are you waiting for? Partner with <a href="https://slangapp.com/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog-internal&amp;utm_campaign=organic&amp;utm_content=success-stories">Slang</a> today

How Boston Scientific improved employees’ English by partnering with Slang

With the globalized world we currently live in, English knowledge is a must. Even if you plan on only getting jobs inside of your own country, being good at a second language can help you land the position. Bilingualism boosts your résumé, makes you better at decision-making, and helps you with your memory in the long run.&nbsp;



But, even if it sounds really nice on paper, learning a language is not easy at all. It demands time, perseverance and determination.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/XJqUUqNL6PuUP89pb3g7imwZrRKZkcm5jhk5D2HSQN0JDZW55L5bGyu-eTZvDWniNJMI0VuQFdnVIPqvDlIUg-0iZCa2vCOcJezeyloFBocRCv0Odpy4xzySDOJN1EOkCDKDCc06=s0" alt=""/><figcaption>With the way our courses were created, Slang helps you stay focused and motivated to learn English.</figcaption></figure>



That’s why, at Slang, we’re constantly seeking ways to improve our content and methodology to make it easier for you to learn English. Our users’ expectations, needs, learning styles, and goals have inspired us to create an adaptive learning flow based on the latest in machine-learning technology! That way, your experience with English learning can be as effortless as possible.



 People learn best in different ways, at different paces, and with different input. That’s why Slang is the only software on the market that creates a truly optimized learning flow for each individual. As a result, we offer the most efficient path to English fluency for each learner out there.&nbsp;



Any learning process requires a clear structure to achieve successful results.&nbsp; That’s why our English courses include a solid set of scaffolded activities. You’ll go through organized learning stages that will allow you to understand when and how to use English, as you build on your skills over time.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/idezUWNFHCeVfL-uUxgeQEXiW9En5vdK9pXAl5_WlWWyZEydZIxy2DGxP9eEYpAbYGsYBnpGWdstmVi2Xu_3R_v92XFHo980WXdjaNZk9dpnxtSPHOJypI9kJ1k4bzonqO3xQutH=s0" alt=""/><figcaption>Slang can help your English communication skills.</figcaption></figure>



We currently have more than 120 professional courses in our app, and each has been carefully designed to teach the grammar, vocabulary, and communicative skills needed in that specific career.&nbsp;



But, not only do we offer Professional English courses, we also have Slang’s General English courses (SGE). And we’ve recently updated the curriculum! Whether you need to master technical language for your job, or you need to take your general English to the next level, our app is ready to provide you with precisely what you need.



We’re so excited to share these new improvements with you.&nbsp; Come with us to understand it better.



<h2>How do the SGE courses work?&nbsp;</h2>



Slang’s General English levels are designed to build on each other, so that you will learn to carry out more and more advanced communication goals and tasks relating to that same topic in later levels. For example:&nbsp;



<ul><li>If you’re studying the very first level, Beginner 1, you will learn to identify common food and drinks eaten at different meals.</li><li>Later in the Elementary 1 level, you will be able to use your knowledge in a real-world context by making a restaurant reservation. This is an example of a communicative task that builds on the vocabulary you’ve already learned!</li><li>Then, in Elementary 3, you will learn how to deal with more complex siutations in a restaurant context. For example, you’ll practice ordering specific dishes and handling problems with your food order with the waitstaff.</li></ul>



You see? You’re continually building on what you already know! Everything you’ve learned will continue to be practiced as you move forward through our levels. This system of scaffolded repetition helps to move things into your long-term memory so you can remember it when you need it!&nbsp;



To explain it more thoroughly, our SGE methodology takes users through a structured process. First, learners will access information that they might be exposed to on a daily basis when dealing with the topic or job function they are studying. Then, they will demonstrate their understanding in context and use that content to communicate in real-world situations. We believe learners need to develop multiple linguistic skills in combination (including reading, writing, listening, speaking, and grammar), instead of studying only one aspect of language in isolation.



These are the courses we currently offer in Slang’s General English system:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ZNw7QvR6uaL1CNrpP0Fhb-HGI_r7owlscX11PHVH46_urqskFixKkoJLO7UBmKo1wyI8x_y5_2L1rQ24c-unZDDkZCz3SW-ZbSHbUGDkG6V4mxj6Va8N4wPQACCh7rZlfAgfo2Nu=s0" alt=""/></figure>



We know that a lot of organizations would like to align their English teaching with the international CEFR framework, so we offer the following table of correspondences to make it easy for you to convert:



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Slang General English Level</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Approximate CEFR Level</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Beginner 1 Beginner 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">A1</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Elementary 1 Elementary 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">A2</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Elementary 3 Intermediate 1</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">B1</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Intermediate 3 Advanced Intermediate 1 Advanced Intermediate 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">B2</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



Now that the Slang General English system is available, we are slowly phasing out our older General English courses. We want to make sure all our learners are studying with the most effective materials we offer.



Now that you’ve learned about the benefits of learning with SGE, <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories/general-english" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">why don’t you check out our courses</a>? We hope they help you to take your English communication skills to the next level. And as always, we’d love to hear what you think!&nbsp;

What’s new about our General English courses?

Many clients ask us about how Slang’s professional and General English courses align with The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). In developing our proprietary methodology, we’ve consulted the research behind the CEFR system and expanded further upon it. We have decided to draw on some concepts that we believe are valuable for measuring communication, and have adapted them for our audience of adult professional learners. The end goal of all this research is helping your organization improve their English in the fastest, most straightforward manner possible!&nbsp;



<h2>Strengths and limitations of the CEFR system:</h2>



CEFR is the standard language certification system used in the European Union, and has been adopted by many other countries. The CEFR system spans six levels: A1 &amp; A2 (beginner), B1 &amp; B2 (intermediate), and C1 &amp; C2 (advanced). It is based on “can-do statements” which define the real-world situations a user should be able to navigate at each level of linguistic proficiency. At the time it was created, there were many different proficiency systems in use for different foreign languages in different countries. This created problems of standardization. By design, CEFR provides a single flexible framework that can be applied to measure and compare proficiency in any foreign language. On the flip side, it is not designed to specify detailed testing standards for any given language.



This is both the core strength and the core weakness of CEFR. On the one hand, the CEFR framework emphasizes communicative competencies instead of memorizing specific grammar rules or vocabulary items, which aligns well with Slang’s personalized approach to English-learning. On the other hand, because the CEFR system is not specific to English, each curriculum or test designer (including Slang) needs to interpret the can-do statements for themselves. Pedagogical decisions must be made about which specific material to teach in order to help the learner achieve the communicative goals spelled out in CEFR. This sometimes can cause frustration for learners and teachers when they realize that not all “CEFR-based” curricula teach exactly the same topics or content in the same sequence.



Another challenge of implementing the CEFR system in practice is that there are only six officially defined levels. On the positive side, this makes it simpler for curriculum designers and teachers to understand and apply the language proficiency levels. However, especially at the higher levels, it can take even a very dedicated learner a long time to reach the next proficiency level. Imagine this situation: you&#8217;ve studied English for a whole year and then you&#8217;re told “Well, you’re still B2!”. How frustrating!



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/QkWQm6jCT-ANXHAak85qrRBnO751V9MTlYWsSey2RFoKNTc3zwEqz_HzJuiINh-oeFFr72YXBQlGYkWjOSLSYtxJQIHW9pzn_onluCsrXofLxX6TD_XBGyfICD8NyXyLN-5lMb-o=s0" alt=""/></figure>



We don&#8217;t want that for our students! In order to stay motivated, we believe the learners we work with need a more granular way to measure their progress within a single CEFR level.



<h2>How Slang builds on CEFR:</h2>



Like CEFR, Slang is fundamentally based on a communicative approach. Within each of our General English courses, the learner will study the vocabulary and structures they need to navigate specific situations of daily life (for example: introducing yourself). Similarly, our professional courses are likewise organized around communicating about specific topics. The only difference is that the communicative “can-dos” the user is mastering are related to scenarios encountered in their profession (for example: running a meeting).



In fact, the CEFR framework actually accounts for the fact that learners might need different language skills for different professions. ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe), who have published some suggestions for adapting the CEFR guidelines for English, recommend a number of can-do statements that relate to the learner’s field of work or study. For example, one measure of reading proficiency at the B2 level states: “CAN understand most factual product literature within own work area.” Obviously, reaching this goal requires the learner to be familiar with the terminology used in his or her specific work area, which is not the same for every person.



Unfortunately, most other curricula on the market cannot help learners reach this type of personalized English communication goal. This is because the majority of textbooks, language schools, and online solutions that advertise themselves as being aligned with CEFR expect everyone to study one-size-fits-all General English, or perhaps at best some generic “Business English” courses. Slang’s personalized approach, which also incorporates professional English according to the specific needs of one’s field, is the one method that can truly achieve the goals of CEFR. At least for adult learners, professional and specialized English is a necessary part of reaching communicative fluency!



Slang’s General English system also addresses the challenge of motivation caused by the extensive duration of each CEFR level. The beginner to advanced intermediate proficiency range is represented by only 4 CEFR levels, but 10 courses in Slang’s system. Our learners feel a concrete sense of progress much faster as they complete each course. Furthermore, Slang’s system doesn’t merely assign someone to their overall level. We give a much more granular assessment of English ability on a points system. This means that we can measure where a learner falls within each level and how much progress that person has made so far, even if they haven’t completed a full course yet.



<h2>We make level conversions easy for you!</h2>



If your organization currently uses the CEFR system for course placement or proficiency measurement purposes, you can easily integrate Slang’s General English courses into your existing framework. The following table shows the approximate CEFR level a user will have achieved after completing each course within Slang’s General English system.



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Slang General English Level</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Approximate CEFR Level</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Beginner 1 Beginner 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">A1</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Elementary 1 Elementary 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">A2</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Elementary 3 Intermediate 1 Intermediate 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">B1</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Intermediate 3 Advanced Intermediate 1 Advanced Intermediate 2</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">B2</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">We recommend that advanced users take our professional courses.</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">C1+</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



Our catalogue of over 120 different courses includes not only General English but also a huge range of technical and specialized English courses. No matter what profession or industry you’re in, Slang offers exactly the English your employees need on a daily basis for their careers. <a href="https://slangapp.com/courses/categories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Check our website and get to know all of our courses</a>!

How does Slang’s General English system relate to CEFR? 

At Slang, we believe that mastering the English needed for your career is much more than simply memorizing a list of technical vocabulary. Learners also need strong communication skills to navigate situations like making small talk with colleagues or taking a business trip. Unfortunately, many general English programs on the market today are too general, covering a wide range of topics that will not be relevant to everyone.



Slang’s General English system bridges this gap by helping users improve their overall English fluency in contexts that are relevant for professionals. We are often asked why we don’t offer advanced General English courses. We strongly believe that users who can communicate fluently in English should have the opportunity to learn in context from materials relevant to their profession. For this reason, we strongly recommend that advanced users choose from our wide range of specialized English courses. With over 120 topics, we have something for everyone’s career needs!



At Slang, we believe that learners at lower levels of English ability can also begin benefitting from professional content. However, we’ve found that many elementary and intermediate users feel hesitant about jumping straight into a technical course. Therefore, taking General English alongside professional topics allows these users to feel more confident and to progress in these broader communicative skills and professional English at the same time! As you can see, with Slang, it’s easy to create a custom study pathway that meets each learner right where they are currently at and helps them build on their existing skills.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xrw32hMyWPQiRZqkU7hcH-4SMM7UOgCJh18fKkJEGiRgrJBNNgnOsbsn9g05dP2QEL92QDUme8o04TFXDEO3BwLxLSaII35s6ipdfYO0L3R2me9wE4NQWKGZzaqTYbnqb7dcxng=s0" alt=""/></figure>



<h2>Slang’s General English course levels</h2>



More specifically, Slang offers a series of General English courses that cover the proficiency range from beginner to advanced intermediate. Each of these courses focuses on a few specific situations encountered in daily life, such as ordering at a restaurant or booking a hotel. Learners will master the vocabulary and structures needed to communicate in increasingly complex and sophisticated ways in these scenarios.



Our General English system comprises the following 10 levels:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PFEvb7poOxuWkEDMIM8qNUOcQyYQ_3sWNMGpazNWL62z0bMFeSmhtpmDfNHZuP-tkwBX3-oS3P-KiUO9nKai1uwAYjmm-hCCETUaIAKlhvod5JrPg_SloRt_NYpFSD0jRaFw8fTD=s0" alt=""/></figure>



<h2>Integrating Slang’s General English test with the General English courses</h2>



Slang’s General English test covers the same proficiency levels as our course system. Many organizations choose to use the General English test for initial placement when they first begin their organizational bilingual program, or when they add new learners to the program. This allows them to determine the starting English level of each participant. Furthermore, the initial score tells each learner which General English course is most appropriate for them to start with. Once a learner completes one course, they can simply continue to the next course in the sequence.&nbsp;



Some organizations ask program participants to retake the test at fixed intervals, for example after six months of studying. This will tell you how much each person has progressed during the implementation period. Alternatively, learners can retake the General English test after completing each course in the General English system to verify that they have in fact mastered all the material.



For more information about the benefits of regular English assessment for your employees, <a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/blog/en/what-are-the-benefits-of-measuring-your-employees-english-levels-with-slangs-general-english-test" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">you can check out our other article</a>.

 How does Slang’s integrated General English system work?

Language is an extremely complex phenomenon. It takes much more than just memorizing vocabulary or grammar structures to be able to understand the unspoken intention behind a persuasive speech, or to respond politely to a frustrated client. In other words, we believe that proficiency in a language is best measured by the learner’s ability to communicate with others. Slang’s General English test tries to capture at least some of this linguistic complexity by measuring a learner’s ability to use language skills in communicative contexts.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/E7o9doS4t81W6CkIsfg6mAqDall6JIiZJb_UKDiGOQMyQMQs4o5wgUDQbaIoMHDPW13jgsbYLSc20OHqVaVvef9EY_PJ1QK6VCzARY2C7ecQ79rbXTkWLQtS8HMVjgprpvx4vXXW=s0" alt=""/></figure>



Our General English test is designed for adult professional English learners with an overall proficiency level between beginner and advanced intermediate. (If you are interested in measuring technical English ability within a specific field, Slang also offers professional English tests for this purpose.) In order to provide a comprehensive picture of each learner’s language skills, the General English test covers four different sections: reading, grammar, listening, and speaking.



Given that the test measures multiple skills, it is important to mention that it is not realistic to expect someone to perform equally well in all four skills. It is completely normal for learners to have certain strengths and weaknesses in English, due to their previous English study or to their own innate abilities. This is why an adaptive curriculum is vital for the most efficient learning methodology. If there are two learners who are placed into the same overall course, but one is better at speaking and the other is better at reading, Slang can detect their relative abilities based on their performance and customize their study lessons accordingly. So, organizations can encourage their learners not to worry too much about being defined by their test results. The General English test is not about passing or failing, it is about customizing your study plan for the greatest learning success!



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For the test to function effectively, it is essential that users be presented with content of an appropriate difficulty for their level. We ask users to provide a very general self-assessment of their English abilities before beginning the test in order to make the test more adaptive. The content and activities shown to the user will vary depending on the level of difficulty. However, all the activities of the test are designed to measure the user’s ability to apply the specific skill being tested in real-world communicative situations. Here are some examples of the more specific linguistic skills measured by the various activities in Slang’s General English test.&nbsp;



<h2>Reading section:</h2>



<ul><li>Test-takers are asked to match a written word with a corresponding photo. This activity (shown to beginners) measures their ability to recall English terms by associating them with the concept rather than falling back on mental translation.</li><li>Test-takers are asked about the implied meaning of a sentence. This assesses their ability to understand not only the literal meaning of words, but also the speaker’s intention.</li><li>Test-takers are asked to choose the correct words that fit in a paragraph. The test has users drawn on context clues in order to identify the appropriateness of a specific word in a given context.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/TZgMNAxytVcMTEY7CAwUQLYTCoBLVjb8Jv94BUpixGxaCYb1-KOlSAnBh-W_vYhvhY-Gs_ZSRPAHb7qzVBZE-f2IBwAPNcE166GpRtbfqf0z2C64DfnmWJqPwo0UFZ8ogHVRlu1H=s0" alt=""/></figure>



<h2>Grammar section:</h2>



<ul><li>Test-takers are asked to choose the phrase which best completes a sentence fragment. This activity requires the learner to integrate both structural knowledge and vocabulary knowledge in order to pick the option which both sounds correct and creates a logical situation.</li><li>Test-takers are asked to choose the grammatical form of a word which fits best within a sentence. This activity reflects the fact that grammatical forms are not arbitrary rules to memorize but actually impact the meaning of the sentence &#8211; often changing the grammar produces an illogical sentence!&nbsp;</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9zV5qSRszzMYTyUIkaNs9l6v97IhRyicI77KRHkynSN-7HeZrRefcedhxIX58754kvDnC-RN_StlCQ7PEO7sQ9aC7sYKTE4_AXiowUgE4GnBVrEusTKy3ewH7GU-vLE-IEegK7Jk=s0" alt=""/></figure>



<h2>Listening section:</h2>



<ul><li>Test-takers are asked to write down a sentence that they heard. This dictation skill is highly relevant for many work contexts, such as taking client orders over the phone or taking notes in a meeting!</li><li>Test-takers are asked comprehension questions about a conversation. This assesses their ability to listen for meaning and focus on key points and takeaways.</li><li>Test-takers are asked to answer questions about implicit information in a conversation or monologue. Making inferences is a high-order thinking skill needed in every professional career!&nbsp;</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/UckcBTvecqBUXNjbRjTvDZTGen4VCsqgF9x51MnMKN7yhjgxYYZnMBAAwqBMtb2wM_j9IzG51CGs3Lc1g4fXdFz_kwjYF7AoCfvsn4AjkqAMWxifmGGOeXp3-XDkDlYfqPI0pf7f=s0" alt=""/></figure>



<h2>Speaking section:</h2>



<ul><li>Test-takers’ ability to pronounce the sounds of English correctly is assessed. Slang is one of the only tools on the market that can offer phoneme-level pronunciation assessment and coaching to help your employees with accent reduction!</li><li>Test-takers are asked to respond appropriately to a comment or question, measuring their ability to understand the context and implication of a given situation and engage in conversation.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pUpQlt_7xDgHjHD8SFM6NVsdhGWEKhx644pJ-JWMlueTNIsEDUwnHPSj8odVd2wDwiBuBO57Nr2Ukxgx5OTiOfB3Kqd8mt7AhWhMNyhx6VoRHY0M-dvwAbHgPbn9RZvVFi6dPPow=s0" alt=""/></figure>



As you can see, it’s not the case that a person is either good at English, or they aren’t. Learning a new language involves a wide range of complex and at times subtle skills to enable you to communicate in all the scenarios you’ll encounter at work. Fortunately, with Slang’s General English test, you’ll get better insight into each of your employees’ strengths and weaknesses in order to help them progress rapidly towards becoming bilingual professionals.



Also, not only do we offer your organization Slang’s General English test, but we have professional and General English courses as well. So, if your employee didn’t do an amazing job on the test, maybe it’s time to go beyond basic with&nbsp; our professional English courses. Slang has over 120 of those, allowing us to&nbsp; create a personalized career path that helps your employees learn the language in the best way for their profession.&nbsp;



Learn <a href="https://slangapp.com/pricing/businesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more about it here</a>. Join Slang today!

What does Slang’s General English test measure?

Did you know&nbsp; that organizations that test their employees’ English ability tend to show better employee engagement in their bilingual programs? Slang’s dedicated team of customer success consultants have discovered this best practice in the process of coaching a number of organizations in implementing bilingual programs. In fact, we’ve found that periodic assessment of employees’ English proficiency, if done properly, can help to motivate your employees to study hard and continue improving their level.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/179tln2lQzPSSultb_1XI6mUCnslqagat4HdBs_OiqE1A12PMuyBmVxUPUOaiknpP9iVSIHDGTu0rPRvVdQx4AM56_fBmkLBAamV3Adt5zCuE7A8nxUfbxjVHOsZ2otaLbONyb6t=s0" alt=""/><figcaption>At Slang, your employees&nbsp;learn English that is specific to their profession.</figcaption></figure></div>



Along with that, our customer success team also recommends a number of other best practices that can help make your program a success! Here are a few:



<h2>Combatting test-taking anxiety</h2>



First of all, it’s important to recognize that many people suffer from what is called “foreign language anxiety” — a belief that they are simply bad language learners and cannot learn English. This results in significant stress for the learner and actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that prevents them from learning effectively. Especially if you are implementing an English program for the first time, employees may feel worried about getting poor results. Employers can reassure their employees that taking the General English test is not about passing or failing, it is about customizing each person’s study plan for the greatest learning success! At the end of the day, you want your employees to view learning English as a valuable benefit provided by your organization and as a positive experience that benefits them in their careers, isn’t that right? After all, positive attitudes towards language learning have a huge impact on learning outcomes!



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QV2c5T0Fz0ZUmuFpUOYqpdRWNJi5BFkaG3RjDMrXJth6qQ0yR-wK6y-vELf9vE5BLfvBKqwyCR1LATWcMAiAWyuhQ2Zdl-YCbTuR7piCplIoOmLSZ_PzCKl1f2I3t__ms85Y7Gd7=s0" alt=""/></figure>



<h2>Implementation recommendations</h2>



So, how can you implement Slang’s General English test in a way that reduces anxiety and improves the learning experience? Thankfully you don’t have to be an English-teaching expert to do this! In this article, we’ll cover some common implementations that typically work for our clients, but your dedicated customer success consultant is also here to advise you on a plan that is customized for your organization&#8217;s needs.



We typically recommend that organizations take the Slang General English test at the beginning of their implementation, or whenever new employees join the program. Learners can retake the test later on to measure how much they’ve progressed. It often works well to administer the test at 6-month intervals, as this allows enough time for the learner to have made significant progress and feel a sense of accomplishment and motivation when they see how much their score has gone up.



<h2>Specific benefits of periodic testing</h2>



Here are some of the specific benefits to employers of utilizing Slang’s General English test to measure their employee’s overall proficiency level:



<h3>1. Motivation</h3>



Employees feel excited when they see the improvement in their score, and this can motivate them to continue with the program and take additional courses. Additionally, knowing that they will have a post-test after a certain amount of time encourages learners to stick with their study plan and meet their goals.



<h3>2. Placement</h3>



It can be very frustrating to take a class that is too difficult for you, or one that covers a lot of material you already know. The results of Slang’s General English test can be converted into placement recommendations to identify the best course for each person to start with, to make sure they are challenged appropriately and don’t waste any time.



<h3>3. Organizational progress tracking</h3>



Many organizations have team or departmental goals relating to bilingualism and English proficiency. Managers can use our Learning Management System (LMS) to easily assign tests and stay on top of their employee’s progress towards these goals. This data can also be used to promote a culture of language-learning within the organization. For example, you might consider encouraging employees to collaborate with each other in forming good study habits by offering prizes to the team with the most study hours logged in a quarter.&nbsp;



<h3>4. Return on investment</h3>



The team in charge of bilingualism initiatives at your company can easily track KPIs relating to English proficiency. Test results can be used to measure employee’s learning outcomes and assess the success of the program. Your customer success consultant will also periodically review these results with you to discuss any improvements to the program that you might like to make in order to better engage specific groups of employees.



<h3>5. Human resources planning</h3>



Human resources teams can assess the overall English abilities of the organization against strategic needs on a department-by-department basis. For example, depending on the results, you might consider asking employees of a specific department to set aside English study time during the workday, or even investing in hiring more bilingual personnel within a certain functional area. Planning effective retention, hiring, and training and development programs starts with getting good data!



We created Slang’s General English test to improve your organization’s bilingualism initiatives and to help your employees be the best they can be. If you implement testing effectively by following the tips we’ve gathered, we know your English learning&nbsp; program will be a success!&nbsp;



If you want more information on the Slang’s General English test you can contact our support team by email: support@slangapp.com.

What are the benefits of measuring your employees’ English levels with Slang’s General English test?

Understanding this new structure will enable you to track your learning progress within the app in much greater detail.&nbsp;



Each course is divided up into a number of chapters. Every chapter focuses on a specific topic, which is reflected in the chapter name. In this way, you know exactly what subject matter you’re focusing on and how the vocabulary you’re learning relates to the sub-areas of your field.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/5nRkobypU_54IRxDYaRWlfGIcHm7566_M9RKDUnKPL-EG6daW69DZImRqU70GZkwz4LPJGLfIwesyslXEpqG-xyR44LIBM-ciqVEmGJVYxm1jUuhzLxpY5NFfAVPjEkqZi2v5EBT" alt=""/><figcaption>Image: A selection of chapters from the Marketing course</figcaption></figure>



Smaller topics might consist of just one chapter, while complex topics will be broken down into multiple chapters so that they are more manageable. For example, you might see chapters called something like “Annual Reviews, Part 1” and “Annual Reviews, Part 2” within the Performance Management course. In such cases, you know that both chapters deal with the same topic. Once you’ve finished all the chapters, you’ve finished your course!



Within a chapter, you will see multiple lessons, typically up to 10 (with the exact number depending on the complexity of the topic). A lesson is a short series of study activities that users can complete in about 5 minutes. The specific activities you’ll see within a lesson are personalized according to your knowledge of English and your performance during the lesson. Keep working through all the lessons in order to complete the chapter. This system allows you to make steady progress by completing a few short lessons a day, whenever you have time.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/kurrke4iTJ4265pSVJYr-vqsGjK2RZuTJezR_T4Laejd8SUwM3wkaykQF0BkwCNQTzZAXxlCN6tK0lgZgrGNg-O4K1MId0nFrv5Jj4xPMVPmzkpyfW80tXOiBfUtfiXhiwBNkRZz" alt=""/><figcaption>Image: The topic “Analyzing Data in Excel” within the Data Management and Visualization course is large enough to have multiple parts. This user has completed 2 out of 10 lessons in part 1.</figcaption></figure>



Within each course, you can have several chapters in progress at the same time. Once you finish all the lessons in one of your active chapters, you’ll unlock a new chapter to work on. This system will help you progress through the topics in a logical and structured way to promote more effective learning, instead of just skipping around through the entire course. At the same time, it allows you some flexibility to select the topic you want to study within your set of currently active chapters: you can complete a lesson in one chapter, and then switch to another chapter and do a few lessons there, then switch back, and so on.



Why did we implement this change?



Slang’s previous progress system was based on levels within each course. We received feedback from learners and managers that this system was not very intuitive for progress tracking. Some of the specific concerns included:



<ul><li>The levels were quite large and took a long time to complete, so people lacked a feeling of motivation and progress.&nbsp;</li><li>Earlier levels were easier and shorter than later levels, so people had a hard time estimating how long each level would take.</li><li>The percentage of learner progress was based on the total knowledge in the course, but there was not a transparent way to quantify this knowledge.</li><li>Learners wanted more visibility into their progress so they could set goals and make sure they were on track with their studying.</li></ul>



We’ve taken all this feedback into consideration with the design of our new lessons and chapters system.



Measuring learners’ progress according to the lessons they’ve completed is a much more intuitive, accurate, and motivating way to set learning goals. You can see exactly how many lessons you’ve already studied out of the total number of lessons in the course, and which chapters those lessons were part of. The lessons and chapters are also a great way to set short-term or medium-term goals for yourself. For example, you might decide to complete 5 lessons a day, or aim to do 3 chapters per week. With this system, it will be much easier to estimate how much study time you need to complete a chapter or even a full course and make a personal study plan accordingly.



How to track your progress in the app



Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to create study goals without a good tool to track your progress! And that’s why we’ve added new progress tracking pages to the Slang platform. There are several different places where you can see how much you’ve studied: your progress within each course, your progress within each lesson, and your overall English progress in the app.



Within each course, we’ve added an overview page showing all the chapters contained in that course. You can easily see the sequence of chapters, including the ones you’ve already completed, the ones you’re actively studying, and the ones you have left to finish. In this example from the Industrial Engineering course, you can see by the green checkmark that this learner has already finished two chapters: Production Facilities, Part 1 and Demand Planning, Part 1. There are three additional chapters currently in progress, and the learner could choose to do another lesson in any of those three. And finally, there are some chapters which the user hasn’t started yet down at the bottom, represented by the lock symbol to the right.



To the right of the chapters list, you can see the progress calculation for this specific course. The number of lessons completed divided by the number of total lessons gives the progress percentage.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/s_wElzSUS12dcmFNOEzVXwVYPVmVUdhpV03UjbCcUyRJMt77BBlDGDDvneqpOUR7sDBWp4rzwyasI4sDre1yoIfVdN884kpQdHSa4Ac7AjRLsjdTIAmsIrR-6C-otrEVleP2kygY" alt="" width="310" height="365"/><figcaption>Image: Progress calculation for the Industrial Engineering example above.</figcaption></figure>



As you’re working through a lesson, you will see a progress bar at the top, located above your study activities. Sometimes, when you’re just starting a lesson, you’ll see that you already have some progress (marked in dark green).&nbsp;



This is because Slang tracks your overall knowledge of English across the entire platform. Obviously, there are many general English concepts that every speaker of the language needs to know. Even between professional fields, there are many terms that are used in multiple related professions. Unlike traditional textbooks and curricula, we don’t want to waste your time by making you study the term “financial statement” once in a course about Accounting, and then again in a course about Finance, and then again… We track what you already know to save you time!



Of course, you’ll still need to study whatever material in the lesson you don’t already know. The progress bar will continue to fill up as you get activities correct. This progress that you’ve earned by active studying within the lesson will be marked in light green. Fill the entire bar to complete the lesson!



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/wIH7_ZZ1gm8pbvi1ZLa9fqmtKOYsUf_Uiiq4vsalESLfGYLyyblgoWyDfnw7AqLrdq2Eo77Ln37bYXMqJZyl9JEElFzjJ4z6ll4lR_DFKFB1zHXpyc5Q4rPeJGAmPo4tmaqqI_ek" alt=""/><figcaption>Image: progress bar for a partially completed lesson with some transferred knowledge.</figcaption></figure>



Finally, you can go to the Progress page via the menu at the top of your screen in order to see your overall progress in Slang. This page offers a lot of useful tools for measuring your overall progress. For example, you can see how much you’ve studied per week or per month. You can also see how long you’ve spent studying specific courses. If your organization sets specific learning goals, such as studying for a certain number of hours or completing certain courses, you’ll be able to use this page to make sure you are meeting those requirements.



We are always looking for new ways to enhance your experience with our app and help you learn more efficiently. You’ll always find these sorts of updates on our blog — keep yourself up to date on the latest features by reading O<a href="https://blog.slangapp.com/categoria/en/our-product" data-type="page" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ur Product Section</a>!