Learning a language with Duolingo

At South Quay Plaza (SQP), we value the diversity of our workforce and inclusivity is important to us, therefore a number of Berkeley Managers have embarked on a mission to learn the basics of a language which is common on site using Duolingo. Even simple phrases such as ‘hello’, ‘good morning’ and ‘how are you’ have made a positive impact on our workforce. General feedback has been that operatives feel more valued and appreciated.

Duolingo is a language app available on Android and iOS which can be downloaded for free. Every day a language lesson is completed, it is recorded as a ‘streak’.

Due to the positive feedback we have received, we have extended this to our workforce, urging them to join us, sign up and commit to learning a language common on site. In order to motivate them to do so, everyone who completes a seven-day streak is entitled to a free breakfast/lunch voucher. So far we have 43 Duolingo learners on site and looking forward to hitting the 50 mark.

Language learning on site is common, however in most cases, operatives are asked to learn English. We are turning this 180 degrees and showing our workforce that we also willing to learn their languages in order to make SQP a more inclusive place to work.