German at work in Ticino: why it matters and how to train your staff

German is the most widely spoken national language in Switzerland. For many Ticino companies this has a very concrete meaning: clients, suppliers, partners and colleagues at other sites write and phone in German. People working in Ticino come across it often, but have not always had the chance to learn it in a way that suits their work.

Where German really matters

The most frequent situations are almost always the same:

• dealing with German-speaking clients and partners (sales, purchasing, support)
• coordinating with colleagues or sites in the rest of Switzerland
• answering phone calls and emails in German, at reception or at the counter
• taking part in meetings where several languages are mixed, or running them

In all these situations understanding is not enough: you also have to make yourself understood, in the right tone and in a short time.

Standard German and Swiss German dialect

Something that surprises beginners: in German-speaking Switzerland everyday speech is often in dialect, while writing uses standard German. For people learning German for work, the sensible starting point is standard German: it is the language of emails, documents, presentations and formal communication. Understanding the dialect takes getting used to listening, and it builds up over time on top of a solid base of standard German.

Where it breaks down

Even people who studied German at school often freeze at three moments: writing a formal email (structure, courtesy phrases, register), answering the phone without time to prepare the sentence, speaking up in a meeting. On top of that comes the choice between the polite "Sie" and "du", which depends on the person and the workplace and is best learned through concrete examples.

How to set up a course for your team

A few choices make the difference:

• start from the real situations of the role: people who deal with clients, people who answer the phone and people who attend meetings do not have the same needs
• check everyone's level before forming groups, so that no hours are wasted on content people already know
• small groups, where everyone really speaks and gets corrected
• short, regular lessons during working hours, so that what is learned is used straight away

How BLC works

BLC offers German courses for teams and individual employees, from level A1 to C2, at your company, in Coldrerio or online. It starts with a level test on the CEFR scale to form homogeneous groups. The programme develops the four skills (comprehension and expression, written and spoken) and adapts to the professional context of the group: sales, human resources, meetings, telephone and email. Courses run in groups of 3 to 6 people or one-to-one, with schedules agreed with your HR department. BLC is certified to UNI ISO 21001:2019 and has been active in Ticino since 2007.

Discover the German courses for companies and all the language courses for companies. If English is also a working language for your team, read English for work: emails, phone calls and meetings without hesitation.

Three questions to get started

Who does your team speak and write German with every day? In which situation do they struggle most: in writing, on the phone or in meetings? And how many people have the same need? The answers show where to begin.

To design a programme for your team, contact us.