Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2020 - 44

GLOBAL
OUTLOOK

ADAPTIVE LEARNING FOR
THE GLOBAL ENTERPRISE
BY KATIE NIELSON, PH.D.

Adaptive learning platforms have
grown in popularity in recent years, both
in the classroom and in the workplace.
Training Industry research found that
32% of learning leaders are using
adaptive learning to a moderate extent
and 22% are using it to a large extent.
And in the higher education context,
a 2017 survey by the Association of
Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) found
that 92% of CAOs agreed that adaptive
learning technology could improve
learning outcomes.
This emerging technology has the
potential to upskill employees in an area
that has vexed employers for decades:
language learning. To be effective, both
in-person and virtual language learning
programs must adjust for individual
learner proficiency, provide lessons in a
sequence that is responsive to learners'
performance and needs, and facilitate
language development in a context
that is relevant and interesting to the
learner. There are numerous modalities
involved in mastering a language and,
by improving learners' reading, listening,
speaking, grammar and vocabular skills,
adaptive learning can address each and
every one of them.
The need to operate in a common
language is critical in our increasingly
globalized world of work. In a survey
of global corporate executives by the

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Economist Intelligence Unit, two-thirds
of respondents said that "differences in
language and culture make it difficult to
gain a foothold in unfamiliar markets,"
and almost 90% said that profits, revenue
and market share improve if "crossborder communication" improved.

THE NEED TO
OPERATE IN A COMMON
LANGUAGE IS CRITICAL
IN OUR INCREASINGLY
GLOBALIZED WORLD
OF WORK.

A growing number of employers have
found that adaptive technology can
effectively scale immersive language
learning.
Rather
than
focusing
on isolated vocabulary lists and
conjugations, personalized language
learning tools offer contextualized
examples of authentic language,
unlocking the potential of employees
who may have strong technical skills,
but lack the language skills needed to
thrive in a global organization.
Now, let's evaluate how some
organizations
have
implemented
adaptive,
personalized
language
learning training:
CHOBANI

However, three-quarters of Americans
do not speak a second language. Why
have companies - even the ones that
have adopted other upskilling and
training programs - largely avoided
offering language learning to their
employees? Part of the reason is that
language learning seems so intractable.
We have grown accustomed to
outmoded pedagogical models rooted
in translation and conjugation that,
according to learning scientists, bear
little resemblance to how we actually
learn languages.

Chobani, a major yogurt manufacturer,
knew that limited English proficiency
would lower the productivity and
performance of its immigrant and
refugee employees. But it also knew
that many employees could not commit
to a traditional community college
or English as a second language
(ESL) course due to family obligations,
irregular schedules, long work hours
and additional responsibilities.
So, in partnership with Workforce
Development Institute, Chobani took
a new approach with 15 of its refugee
employees in upstate New York. For

https://www.trainingindustry.com/wiki/learning-technologies/adaptive-learning/ https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/strategy-alignment-and-planning/personalized-language-learning-for-a-global-workforce/ https://www.acao.org/assets/caosurveysummary.pdf https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/learning-technologies/theres-an-app-for-that-machine-learning-based-apps-for-english-language-training/ https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/learning-technologies/theres-an-app-for-that-machine-learning-based-apps-for-english-language-training/ https://wdiny.org/OurNewsAndViews/Chobani-s--Voxy--Pilot-Holds-Promise-for-ESL-Learners http://www.icrj.eu/13/article7.html https://wdiny.org/OurNewsAndViews/Chobani-s--Voxy--Pilot-Holds-Promise-for-ESL-Learners https://eiuperspectives.economist.com/sites/default/files/Competing%20across%20borders.pdf

Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2020

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