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International Training

Frequently, US based training and development professionals conceive of diversity and intercultural work as diversity among populations within the U.S. For the professional who works outside the U.S. borders, diversity takes on a whole new meaning, personally and professionally. Whenever possible, develop a close contact in the host culture who can help you decide what will work well and alert you to possible pitfalls.

In my first experience with a global corporation, my US based contact set the stage by saying that the attendees would be about half US and the rest a mix of Europeans. She also said that the company had done training on coaching and that all the trainees shared a definition of coaching. The training was to develop coaching skills. Nothing could have been further from the truth. No US participants showed up; no one had a definition for coaching. Using good instincts based on years of experience, I threw out my training design and redesigned on the fly. Luckily I got some things right. Below are some of my learnings from that experience and from seven months international experience over a five-year period.

In working with professionals for whom English is a second language (ESL) and western management principles are a second corporate culture, trainers must re-examine their approach to training. First, trainers must reconsider the amount of information presented with an ESL audience. This is doubly true when working with a translator. Second, we must rethink how that information is presented and finally, consider how the participants' corporate culture will affect the perception of information.

In cultures that accept participation on the part of the trainees, an effective model for training in an ESL situation should be organized with the following elements:

Listening and speaking all day in a second language is tiring for participants. The astute trainer recognizes this effort and empathizes with the participant who may be listening to English then taking notes in their first language. The mental translation work alone takes time. The translation process, coupled with unfamiliar concepts, makes learning more work. Plan to do the following:

• Slow down your speaking rate.
• Use standard English, not slang
• Get difficult language translated and provide translations in writing.
• Simplify word choices in written and spoken material whenever possible.
• Put important concepts in writing. Bullet points and illustrative graphics are helpful.
• Do a jargon check. Have you eliminated "Americanisms" and "Trainingisms?"
  • "Coaching" may be a shared concept here in the US but it is not necessarily shared by other cultures.
• Do an examples check.
  • "Some people try to manage stress by drinking." Alcohol is forbidden in some cultures, so this would be an unacceptable example.
• Allow group discussion time in their first language. This can be the single most important thing to do as participants can clarify with one another.

These suggestions will help you start on the path toward internationalizing your training. Be warned though, every culture is unique and should be researched. Your host country contact can be invaluable in making both you are your training feel at home.