How can we wake up the German bear sleeping in us? – A discussion about foreign languages in the IT sector
When one colleague can’t follow, the whole meeting flips to English: A conversation about practical German at work, and the quiet costs of waiting to be fluent.
Host Péter Civin talks with Katalin Silló, Csilla Kárpáti, and Zoltán Magyar about DTITS’s Willkommen program: workplace-focused German learning, cultural fluency, and how many colleagues aren’t missing knowledge, they’re missing the confidence to use it.
In international teams, language isn’t a nice-to-have. It shapes who speaks up, how fast teams resolve issues, and whether everyday moments – such as a meeting opener, an email, a quick clarification – build trust or create friction.
The default-to-English reflex
A familiar scene: most participants could manage German, but one person can’t, so everyone switches to English. It’s practical, and it’s also a pattern that quietly becomes “the new normal.” Over time, the team loses opportunities to practice, German becomes more intimidating, and certain conversations get pushed further away.
Willkommen is designed to interrupt this loop, not by forcing people into fluency, but by making participation easier and more realistic.
Micro-learning that fits into real days
One pillar of the program is simple: short, focused content you can consume without rearranging your life. Think coffee-break videos and everyday workplace scenarios, the kind that give you one usable phrase, one better turn of expression, one small win.
That matters because consistency beats intensity. If learning is “too big,” it gets postponed. If it’s small, it happens, and small progress compounds.
Why “coaching” beats “class”
The second pillar is German coaching: small groups where the agenda is driven by real work. Not grammar for grammar’s sake, but language for tomorrow’s meeting, next week’s presentation, the email you need to send in the right tone.
In these sessions, the goal is not perfect performance. The goal is progress speaking more, freezing less, getting comfortable with “good enough” German in real-time collaboration.
One word can change the room
Language at work is not only vocabulary — it’s social meaning. The same message can sound neutral, impatient, or even rude depending on the phrasing and cultural expectations. Learning how to ask, interrupt, clarify, or disagree without unintended sharpness is a core workplace skill.
Culture beyond clichés
Willkommen creates space for cultural understanding that goes past stereotypes. Instead of “Germany 101,” colleagues share lived experience: what it’s like to work across the DACH region, how communication norms differ, what surprises people when they relocate, and what helps collaboration feel smoother. The point isn’t trivia. It’s building a shared reference point, so fewer interactions get derailed.
Structure, speed, and direct communication
In fast-paced environments, directness often becomes the default, especially when something breaks and action is needed quickly. The nuance is important: direct communication works best when trust is present and it’s clear the critique targets the issue, not the person. Language learning, in this sense, is also relationship management.
Why this matters for organisations
Workplace language isn’t a side hobby. It’s an operational necessity. It determines who participates, how quickly misunderstandings get resolved, and how confidently teams collaborate across borders.
The episode points to practical levers organisations can use:
- learning formats that fit into real working days,
- small-group coaching anchored in real tasks,
- psychological safety for imperfect speaking,
- cultural knowledge-sharing from colleagues, not just formal training,
- communication norms that reward clarity and structure.
You don’t need everyone to be flawless in German. You need enough people to feel comfortable participating by using the right tone and cultural intuition, so the team doesn’t have to keep switching languages just to keep moving.
Listen to the full episode in Hungarian here: https://www.deutschetelekomitsolutions.hu/podcasts/mi-ebreszti-fel-a-bennunk-alvo-nemet-medvet-beszelgetes-az-idegen-nyelvekrol-az-it-szakmaban/