With 70 employees and a worldwide network of linguists, Global LT offers training in more than 60 languages.

Hortense Neely Albertini, a Cuban émigré, founded Langua Tutor in 1979 as a home-based business, teaching Spanish to Ford workers moving to its plant in Chihuahua, Mexico. She changed the company's name to Global LT in 2004, and its clients now include several automakers, suppliers and large global corporations from Alcoa to Vodafone.

Suzanne Smulsky, vice president of marketing and communications, said the company's success was because of customizing its language learning for its students, whose proficiencies in their target tongue are graded on a detailed scale at the start of their courses.

"Understanding what they want to derive from a language lesson is important," Smulsky said. "Do they want to know how to participate more effectively in business meetings in their new country, or be able to interact with merchants and trade in a new country?"

Global LT also requires its students to spend enough time to meet their goals. Smulsky said while some language teachers say it's possible to become proficient with 50 hours of training, Global LT contends it takes a minimum of 100 hours, with up to 200 hours needed for more complex goals.

While Global LT offers training in languages ranging from French and Mandarin Chinese to Urdu and Pashto, its most-popular courses are in English. Smulsky said the company has long specialized in helping foreign workers learn English as a second language, and the company trains spouses and children of corporate workers as well.

"In most cases, many of them know how to speak some English, but they want to perfect it," she said.

With about $10 million a year in revenues, Global LT had a record-setting 2008. Smulsky said the company suffered a drop in business in 2009, but was recovering this year. Global LT recently added workers in London and is considering expanding in Hong Kong.