Most business is now global.  And business is much more competitive these days.  One way to differentiate your company and its brand is to communicate really well with customers, employees, alliance partners and the local communities in which you operate, especially where these people are from different cultures, speaking different languages.

Speaking another language and understanding other cultures can make your life more fun and create competitive advantage for your company.  Imagine if you could attract more customers?  Retain more customers?  What if your employees felt more valued?  What if they were more effective?  Learning languages and equipping your employees to work effectively with people from other cultures can visibly improve your financial bottom line.  Both at home and abroad.

Don't be fooled by the old excuse 'but everyone speaks English!' at work.  Indeed, English is the language of international business, science, technology and popular culture.  But things are changing.  Predictions show that there will be a number of world languages as soon as 2005.  English will be one of these, of course, but so will Spanish and Chinese.  According to Network Solutions, the world's largest Internet domain-name seller, 'the bottom line is that 90 percent of the world doesn't speak English as the local language'.

That says it all really.  There is an obligation to equip our citizens and our companies to compete in the global marketplace.  We believe that the ability to speak another language and to understand other cultures is a core skill of the global worker in the 21st century.  And our Languages at Work 2001 global survey showed that over 80% of you believe that languages are useful at work. So take some time to become business fluent and get ahead of the pack at work.

We know you're short of time so we've selected five of the best and most innovative ways to get business fluent and really put that language advantage to work.  Just start to build language learning into your daily routine by doing half an hour a day - and you'll be on your way to getting the language advantage.

If you're motivated enough and have a basic grounding in French, German, Italian or Spanish, this could be the route for you. There is a selection of self-study business language courses available on the market at the moment, but admittedly there is not a great choice. Just to warn you, most of them are quite academic in nature. Sadly, there are no innovative audio or CD-ROM versions! Michel Thomas, where are you when we need you ...

This said, we have selected the best of the bunch for you. The options vary from the Berlitz Business Phrase Book to help you brush up before a business trip or an international meeting to a comprehensive course such as French for Business which is a traditional and comprehensive textbook and cassette approach. You will probably need intermediate level skill in the language of your choice to make the most of the majority of these courses. But you should find words and phrases that you can put into immediate use at work - either in a meeting or try them out in your emails!

Find out more:
French for Business
German for Business
Italian for Business
Spanish for Business

If you can speak the language really well, but need help with the technical and specialist terms of business, law, IT, media or even medicine, then you may need a business dictionary. There is quite a selection of business language dictionaries emerging again now, with many new editions and new releases due in the next six months which incorporate the new vocabulary associated with the internet and telecommunications. And this is a great way to learn for those of you who love to read a dictionary (or am I the only one?). Again, we've selected the best and most available business dictionaries for you (some can be quite hard to get hold of!).

Find out more:
French for Business
German for Business
Italian for Business
Spanish for Business

03 Learn with your computer

So many of us work with our computers every single day - so let's get them to help us to become business fluent. You can get an email with a useful business phrase to your desktop every day to keep you in touch with your language, expanding your knowledge bit by bit. Alternatively, you could spend half-an-hour a day with a business language course on-line, such as the new BBC Languages for Work series which is also accompanied by a set of TV programmes in the UK. And it's all free (glad to see that they're putting our TV licence fee to good use - and everyone outside the UK benefits too!). And finally you could take a business language lesson in a virtual classroom with a real live teacher and other classmates with NetLearn Languages.  This is great for those of us who are always on the go and can't commit to regular face-to-face lessons - take the lesson whenever you want from wherever you want.

Find out more:
French for Business
German for Business
Italian for Business
Spanish for Business

 

04 Go on a business language course abroad

If you've got the time and the money, or you can convince your employer to pay for it, then take a week or two off work and go on an intensive business language course.  It's a sure way to make fast progress and some courses will include visits to local firms so that you can try out your new found skills first hand and pick up some of the business culture. There are usually a choice of modules covering things such as marketing, finance, IT and so on - and you get the chance to build your core language skills too. And of course, you'll be able to enjoy the local food, culture and hopefully the sunshine too!

Find out more:
French for Business
German for Business
Italian for Business
Spanish for Business

 

05 Become culturally aware

Even if you carry out your business in English, or know a little bit of another language, you can still improve communication with colleagues and customers in other countries by understanding a bit more about how they do business.  And you'll build better relationships, both on a business and personal level. Pick up a CULTURE SHOCK! Guide or one of the Teach Yourself Language, Life and Culture books and you'll be on the way to using your language, whether it be English or French, German, Italian or Spanish to better advantage.

Find out more:
French for Business
German for Business
Italian for Business
Spanish for Business

 

more information

This is just a snapshot of some of the ways in which you can become business fluent and communicate more effectively with people of different cultures, speaking different languages. 

For more information about how to get the competitive advantage through the language advantage, take a look at our Languages at Work section or contact us>>

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