The use of foreign languages by company employees provides a number of benefits to the company. The main ones are quick problem solving, direct communication between individuals at all levels of the organization, or the establishment of interesting business contacts. How to develop the language skills of company employees?
Not knowing languages is harmful
The latest ELAN survey results published by the European Commission have shown that a significant proportion of European businesses are suffering from the lack of linguistic and intercultural competences of their employees 1 . Employees either do not speak a particular canada telegram phone numbers language at all or are embarrassed to use it. As a result, they do not respond to inquiries or offers, are reluctant to answer international calls, make translation errors (written and oral), miss out on profitable international deals, and are unable to establish individual, long-term relationships with customers and do not inspire trust.
What languages are worth investing in?
Companies must improve the linguistic and cultural skills of their employees to compete successfully in foreign business markets. The decision on which languages a particular company should invest in depends on the markets in which it operates.
The prevailing opinion is that knowledge of English is sufficient for organizing international activities. Of course, English is the language of business, which is used by the entire modern world. However, in many companies, this language is treated more as one of the basic skills, rather than as a foreign language. What does this mean? First, many companies still need to improve the English language skills of their employees so that they can use this language freely. Second, the need to gain a competitive advantage and learn languages other than English will become increasingly felt.