Today’s world is more global than ever. The successful development of any company more or less depends on the ability of its employees to communicate in several foreign languages. Miscommunication between international teams, suppliers and customers can lead to major misunderstandings or negatively affect a company’s reputation and financial performance.
Establishing the right recruitment and language learning strategy within an organisation – preferably with a thorough language assessment – is the key to overcoming communication barriers and creating a truly global business based on effective communication and collaboration.
NOT ONLY IN ENGLISH
The first important point is that the global market is not only dominated by English. Given the huge expansion of eastern markets such as China, India and Thailand, it is worth starting to invest in other, what we would nowadays call “exotic” languages. In ten years’ time, they may be as good as English in terms of business value.
Unfortunately, many European companies do not take this into account. Many employees are still not fluent enough in English to speak Far Eastern languages. Of course, there is always the option of using interpreting services, but in the long run this solution can be very expensive and complicated. The truth is that it is much easier to build a successful relationship with a foreign client or supplier by communicating in the same language. Employees who can conduct business conversations in the customer’s mother tongue create a sense of trust and loyalty.
LANGUAGE SKILLS AND STAFF PRODUCTIVITY
It’s also worth realising that knowledge of foreign languages improves productivity and efficiency. Research by psychologists at the University of Chicago shows that people who speak a foreign language make more logical decisions.
As reported by the British Psychological Society (2012), it is not fully understood why this is the case, i.e. why people start to think more rationally when they use the language they have learned. This is thought to be due to a psychological and emotional detachment from the problem at hand; a foreign language often forces us to make decisions systematically rather than automatically.
On the other hand, a Pennsylvania State University study (2011) shows that people who speak more than one language are better at multitasking. Switching between languages is a form of mental exercise that gives the speaker mental ‘juggling’ skills, researchers say. Such switching of thinking modes significantly increases cognitive abilities. It has also long been known that multilingualism also improves memory and can help prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
There is a common (and perhaps off-putting) belief about Americans and English people that they do not want to learn foreign languages, which eventually becomes a serious obstacle in the business world. By not investing in language learning, we are limiting our performance and development opportunities.
It should also be remembered that learning a foreign language is not just about facilitating communication; it is also about being sensitive to cultural differences. The rapid expansion of emerging markets in Asia and South America means for many people an increase in the number of contacts with business partners in areas that are probably culturally alien to us.
Understanding and appreciating cultural differences helps us avoid marketing mistakes. One example of ignoring cultural differences can be seen in Procter & Gamble’s advertising campaign. The company released an ad showing a woman bathing, with her husband entering the bath and beginning to massage her. In the United States, the ad was generally well-received, but for the Japanese, it crossed certain boundaries. The portrayal of marriage in this ad, according to the Japanese, violated the sense of decency and subtlety, and demonstrated values contrary to Japanese culture. It’s probably needless to say that Procter & Gamble’s campaign incurred financial losses in Japan. Similar marketing mistakes can be easily avoided—one just needs to understand the cultural differences of the country.
CONSCIENTIOUS EVALUATION OF LANGUAGE SKILLS AND DETERMINATION OF LANGUAGE LEVEL
Since we already know that it is highly beneficial for a company to have a multilingual team, the next step is to decide how to properly prepare and implement learning systems. The best approach is to start with a thorough evaluation of the language skills of the team or job candidates.
Candidates and employees may not always be able to objectively assess their foreign language proficiency level: people, for various reasons—such as stress, lack of knowledge, ambition, or modesty—may overestimate or underestimate their language skills.
One of the most convenient methods is the so-called language level assessment, which involves evaluating language competencies based on vocabulary knowledge, grammatical structures, reading, writing, and speaking.
LANGUAGE LEVEL ASSESSMENT – HOW DOES IT WORK?
The main goal of language level assessment is to identify and define the needs of the company and its components, as well as to evaluate the language potential of teams. The analysis conducted provides an excellent foundation for creating appropriate training systems for employees. However, for the language level assessment to be meaningful, its quality is crucial. It is important to verify who is responsible for preparing and overseeing the entire process.
The “Focus” language level assessment is conducted by a language school with a team of qualified, experienced, and native-speaking instructors. Additionally, time is a crucial factor, which is why the “Focus” language level assessment is carried out through a direct online connection. The individual whose language skills are being tested is evaluated according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) classification (A1-C1), along with a detailed comment from the language level assessor. Depending on the type of evaluation, the result is provided within 24-48 hours of completing the test. The language level assessment is available in more than 30 different languages, including English, German, and many others. The test also evaluates five key language skills (for example, you can test speaking only or reading and writing only).
