I am often asked how long it takes to learn a language, especially English. The answer ranges from ‘all your life’ to ‘just a few moments’. To learn a whole language is a lifetime’s work but how long does it take to learn to say, ‘good morning’? You probably know how to say, ‘good morning’ in various languages. How long did that take to learn? It isn’t easy to say how long we take to learn something. Sometimes we forget what we have learned. Sometimes we need something to help us to remember, like a ‘cheat sheet’. If we repeatedly perform the same processes at work, we can set up systems to help us. For example, if one of your jobs is to take enquiries from potential customers and to provide estimates of costs as part of a sales process, you might find a standard form useful to help guide you through the process. You can then quickly learn phrases such as;
‘Can I take some details, please?’
‘Your surname?’
‘How do you spell that?’
This can be adapted to almost any business, such as arranging international transportation of goods, real estate sales, tourism, financial services, etc. You just need to decide what details you need to ask for, then construct the right phrases in English and create your standardised ‘enquiry form’ which can be used by anyone in the team.
In this way, anyone can quickly learn English they need to perform these standard tasks in a professional way, in English, improving service and customer relations at the same time.