Many of my students get their German learning sponsored by their companies. If you think about it it’s actually more an investment than a spending for the company. It’s a win-win-win.
You win because your German improves. The company wins because now your knowledge and skills can expand to other clients, products, and services. The new clients you can contact now win because your expertise is now available to them through the language.
If you’re not sure if your company is open for such an investment, the best thing for you to do is simply ask them in a genuine way.
Be active and ask them instead of waiting for them to come to you.
Here’s a simple script you might want to use to ask your boss or the HR department.
Hi Peter,
I was thinking about improving my German language skills in order to be more valuable on the long run for my colleagues, my clients, and the company.
I’m committed to take this seriously to obtain tangible results as soon as possible.
I’ve already checked some possibilities to find the best option to arrange my busy working schedule with a learning program.
I tested yet some professional online tutors that would fit really good into this requirements.
Before moving on I just wanted to know if the company would be open to investing in this.
On my end, I would agree of course my progress to be measured and held accountable according to official language standards like the CEFR.
I’m now starting almost from zero with German but would like to get to an advanced C1 level in less than 2 years. My first milestone is to get to an official B1 level in 1 year.
Is this something you would consider?
Worst case, you’ll get a no. Best case, the company pays you to learn German.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this topic, just let me know.