Läderach Institute of Foreign language Education

Knowledge of foreign languages can influence variety of industries and domains. Apart from the traditional needs of hotel and travel industry, import-export companies, inter-national conferences requiring interpreters and business documents requiring translation; the demand of language skilled people is constantly increasing in multinational companies and more specifically in the BPO industry. These industries understand that knowledge of foreign languages is not sufficient without a certain amount of intercultural skills.

In fact, the requirements for Language and Culture Programs in an organisation are identified at 5 different levels:

1.  Business travels

Many executives travel for few days to foreign countries for brief business meetings. While a basic understanding of the language may not be possible for them due to time constraints, the “Foreign Language Appreciation Courses” (FLAC), involving basic greetings and vocabulary can be useful to break the ice initially and provide the basis for further communication. Indeed, it is proven that knowing how to say “hello”, “thank you” or any other basics words in the language of targeted business geography is always appreciated and helps improve the quality of professional relations. Culture programs such as “Working Effectively With diverse cultures” series (WEW-…) or “Living and Travelling abroad series” (LT-…) would make the business travellers suitably equipped to handle common situations they would have to face during their stay.

2.  Interaction with business partners or customers from foreign countries

There are other cases where employees have frequent business interactions with people speaking other languages. Organizations should encourage such employees to learn about the language and the culture over time in order to benefit the organization as a whole in the long run. In this perspective, employees can attend one of the classic Language Courses according to their level of proficiency. These programs would lead them to a basic, intermediate or advanced knowledge in the targeted language. If they have already reached a sufficient level, they can pursue the Post-Advanced Training (PAT) which is a focused course directly related to the field of work. The culture programs like Working Effectively With diverse cultures series can be very useful for them for their daily work, in order to develop their intercultural skills and help to better understand the people they have to frequently interact with.

3.  Onsite associates

There are many employees who are assigned on a permanent/long term basis to a client location in a foreign country. Such long term assignments have to be identified well in advance and the means and time to enrol for language courses and culture sessions have to be provided to them as an integral part of the work profile/skill appreciation. Once a person has at least a basic level understanding, it becomes easier to pick up the language in the local environment with further focus and practice. While a full-fledged language course may not be possible due to time constraints, the Beginner Level Courses and the Foreign Language Appreciation Courses (FLAC) can serve as a good beginning. Modules focusing specifically on cultural aspects such as “Living and Travelling abroad” series (LT-…) or “Working Effectively With diverse cultures” series (WEW-…) should be taken to insure a smooth integration in the new culture they will live in.

4. Seeking new projects in foreign countries

Knowledge of a foreign language or the local language of targeted business geography is imperative. Principally due to the language barrier, most of the companies settled down in speaking specific country tend to work exclusively with partners or customers who share the same language. They thus lose opportunities to develop in potentially lucrative markets. Promoting foreign languages and intercultural skills amongst Business Analysts or people working in Pre-sales, Sales and Marketing Departments can result in new contracts or projects with partners of broader geographies. By getting these new opportunities, the company gains a competitive advantage over competition. Depending on the exact requirement and designation of the people in charge for developing new businesses worldwide, various culture and languages programs can be promoted.

5.  All employees

In a broad perspective, programs on culture and foreign languages need to be encouraged and facilitated among all employees, even if it does not have a tangible short term impact on usage. Indeed, there are many other benefits as a result of such learning. It makes a person more open and receptive within the work environment. It improves communication and interpersonal skills. In fact, learning a new language improves memory, analytical skills, problem solving ability and promotes creative thinking. Intercultural skills improve the ability to work in a team, bring tolerance and encourage open minded behaviour amongst associates. These benefits can have a positive influence on their innovative capabilities. Communication and analytical skills are essential in today’s business world irrespective of the language spoken and one means of acquiring such invaluable skill sets is through such culture and language programs.