The language of learning

I recently spent a month in Jakarta for overseas training. I was training Garuda Indonesian Air Crew for a third party contract and had never trained abroad before so was excited but a little nervous at the same time.

Looking back and reflecting on the experience, I’ve found it very rewarding and completely different to training Air Crew in the UK. I quickly learned that I had to adapt not only the way I spoke but also what I said and how I said it. In the UK I also usually train with a co trainer but over there I was on my own so the group dynamic was totally different as well.

Simple things like saying “sorry” meaning I didn't hear you they did not understand in that context, I had to say “please repeat”. I don't speak Bahasa and their understanding of English was not always 100% at times. I had to think carefully all the time with the words I used to make sure they understood and that knowledge transfer had taken place.

I started to use imagery much more than I would normally and would draw pictures on the whiteboard as well as utilise the better English speaker to translate in Bahasa what I meant. Once I became confident the class understood me and my Scottish accent I was able to introduce more humour to the class as well as music and team tasks during skill stations which really helped!

Overall a fantastic experience and an opportunity that I won’t forget! 

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve had to approach the way you speak in a different way to get the point across?

Have you ever had to train a group where English is not their first language?

What approaches did you use and why? 

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  • When communicating in a foreign country or with a group where English is not their first language, it's crucial to adapt your communication style. This often involves speaking more slowly and clearly, using simpler vocabulary, and avoiding idiomatic expressions or slang that might not be understood io games

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  • David this is great, thanks for sharing. I have to say I'm slightly jealous of a) you travelling to Jarkata and b) being  surrounding by all those women lol ;-)

    I was involved in some off-shoring projects in Noida in India a couple of years ago but sadly never got to travel there, I was more a project manager and co-ordinating things from the UK. I worked with many of the Noida based trainers though and whilst most spoke excellent English there were still cultural differences to take in to consideration that impacted how we approached things and delivered the inductions.

    Some feedback that we got very early on was that we had to be very descriptive and clear on what we expected our learners to do which felt a little parent child but with so much to cover it worked out well this way. We also had to provide very detailed notes as these were referred to throughout the training and whilst on-the-job in the early days. The best bit was the cultural training and including things like EastEnders and Coronation Street in training as this 'reflected' English culture.....mmm not sure about that but I suppose it helps understand some elements of English life.

    The element that stands out for me is your use of images, they say a picture says a 1000 words and I think this is an excellent example of how you used images to help get the message across and support understanding. I like how you also used your resources and an interpreter to help you, for me this is demonstrating flexibility and resourcefulness in delivering what you need to in the time permitted.

    Are you back there or anywhere else in the world soon?

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