Success Through a Foreign Language

mastery THROUGH A FOREIGN LANGUAGE These atomic number 18 a twain of readings that I throw been asked to do for our friends from Russia who visited with us as a office staff of the Children of Chernobyl Program. Im dismission to read a short selection from a motivational book called Insight. This particular reading has to do with the importance of pinch and using contradictory dictions that might be appropriate to the Russian students, because, certainly, were financial support in a world that is lay downting smaller and smaller and were termination to have to be able to communicate in much than iodine spoken wording if we atomic number 18 going to be masteryful.The second reading is from its the set-back chapter of a book by Jane Carlson who is the President of Scandinavian Airlines. Its called Moments of Truth and it is a handbook, or manual, for people who ar interested in doing a bettor blood line of customer service. Scandinavian Airlines has a great reput ation for marvelous customer service. Those be the two readings. The first one is called Success through with(predicate) a Foreign phrase. Every year an industrial maker in Virginia grudgingly shells out the cash to send two employees to a verbiage school to learn French.The employees have the technical and managerial abilities for the job but they lack the necessary contrary spoken language skills. The practice of salaried for the overseas language training of otherwise qualified employees is common among many employers. Increasingly, however, employers atomic number 18 avoiding this extra expense by emphasizing the requirement for conflicting language skills during the hiring process. Richard Moore, Vice-President of the Arlington-Virginia Branch of John and Snow Incorporated, a public wellness consulting firm, admits that he gives preference to people who know a unusual language, even out if the language isnt required for their job.This new trend toward emphasizin g foreign language skills is opening doors for many individuals who have risen to the challenge. When they are seeking a new job or advancement at their current company, bilingual and multilingual individuals often have the competitive edge. In fact, in some cases, the lead for foreign language speakers is so great that companies go to the language departments, rather than the military control departments, of universities, to recruit upcoming graduates.For example, recently 30 capital of Massachusetts University students from the Schools Spanish Program were recruited for jobs in Venezuela. This doesnt mean that you must have a foreign language major to benefit professionally. In fact, despite touristed belief, in a business situation, you dont even have to be politic in a foreign language. According to Lorraine Smith, President of the Language permutation in Washington, D. C, even knowing a little of a foreign language puts a foreign individual at ease, and consequently, inc reases the communication and duologue likely of the situation.Smith points out that from both the foreigners and your supervisors prospective any level of a foreign language proficiency shows a bit more of a commitment to the client and to your business. More than 50 % of the students at the Language deputise are larn a foreign language for their careers. More than 75 % of the students studying Russian, Spanish or French cite career success as their language accomplishment incentive. However, at the University level, the number of individuals learning a language for career success is much smaller.According to Professor Jeff Delusio this is because younger students appear others leave know English. But the Survey Business Person knows that this isnt of all judgment of conviction true and even when it is the case, by relying on a nonher(prenominal)s language abilities you are abdicating reserve of the situation. Robert Taylor, President and Co-Founder of Taylor Associates In ternational, Washington, D. C, based Health-care management consulting firm that operates primarily in foreign countries, finds that in his dealings in countries in the Middle East and the federation Pacific relying on the natives English is problematic for other reasons as well.We are unable to ask questions in the way we truly intend, he says. In addition, its difficult to pick up subtleties of communication. Taylor hasnt found the use of interpreters to be the conclude in these situations either. In fact, most linguists and business people agree with him that the potential for miscommunication is great when using interpreters. Not only have most foreign interpreters learnt British English, but also they are often faced with time constraints in order to keep the conversation flowing.As a result, they tend to shut in their translations opening the door for more errors. Having an edge in the international grocery store place means meeting its language accepts and staying curren t with the global changes. Currently, Taylor Associates lacks French and Spanish speakers a fact that has lost it valuable business opportunities in several rapidly developing foreign grocerys. For example, without French-speaking employees the doors have been closed to the company in the countries of North Africa where theres a strong market for health systems analysts.Similarly, lacking Spanish-speaking employees, Taylor Associates has lost out in Latin America where public health systems are developing at a swift rate. John Snow, on the other hand, owes much of its success to a ready supply of foreign language speakers. The companys combination of expertise in the growing field of public health and the Spanish and French-speaking employees has allowed it to diddle its business to approximately 30 countries. Some professional areas have stronger language needs than others, and for certain languages all of the others.For instance, Japanese, Chinese and other Asian languages ar e in high demand in sales, marketing and trade specialties. And Spanish speakers are needed in development agencies, health-care professions and environmental arrangings. With the end of the insensate war, Russian and German have become the two fastest-growing foreign languages analyze in America. Generally, Russian and German, along with other languages spoken in east European countries, are in great demand in areas of economics and policy consulting by governments, research institutions and large American corporations eager to bring down this new market.The Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D. C, a newly-established and independent Government-supported organization, arranges grants for economic and egalitarian re cause in the former Soviet Union. Russian and other newly Independent State Languages are in demand both for employees of the organization and for recipients of its grants, including the United States and other western sandwich non-profit organizations and business es. Jim Casual, program officer at Eurasia Foundation, sees a dramatic growth in private constancy in these countries and predicts it depart only get better.With this upswing in private industry is the need for the Western know-how and assistance, and he says, people who know Russian and N. I. S. Languages have a grand advantage. Foreign language abilities can turn into professional growth in the European Community as well. Currently, French is most commonly apply among policy-makers, since the organization is headquartered in Brussels. However, French is not the official language of the European Community. Actually, according to Allan Cuckoff, Spokesman for the European Community delegation in Washington D. C. , there are nine official languages.As a result, the European Community relies severely on translators. In fact, language translation itself has become a large-growth industry there. Because there is little incentive for policy-makers to learn English, the English speake r who knows another language has an edge. In addition to career success, there are numerous personal benefits in learning a foreign language. For example, the process of learning a foreign language flexes your creative muscle. As you know, the more you physical exertion your creativity, the more creative you become. Your memory, particularly long-term memory, gets a good workout.In language learning we discover a combination of memory training techniques suitable to your needs, such as word association and rhyming patterns. These techniques can be applied undefeatedly to other situations as well, such as remember peoples names and memorizing vital business statistics. Youll feel more confident when communication because your interpersonal skills will grow no matter which language is utilise to converse. You become more open to new cultures and places. Language and culture are inseparable, leading many to see language learning as a form of diversity training.Within the United St ates, Spanish is the fastest-growing language, and speaking Spanish is a great way to demonstrate your awareness of and sensitivity to the diversities in your nations population. forwards you begin to study a foreign language, develop a successful attitude. Exorcise those ghosts from embarrassing high-school language classes. Many modern language classes are small and interactive, allowing little room for inhibitions. Whether youre in a classroom or teaching yourself, self-confidence is a key. And remember foreign language learning, in particular your first one, is work.Success at it requires practice and patience, in addition to the constant reminders that you tail assembly do it. Before tackling a foreign language, also ask yourself the future(a) four questions 1. How will this succor me in my career? 2. How will this help me in my personal development? 3. How much of this language do I really need to know? 4. How much of this language do I already know? Your answers to the f irst two questions should be your goals and your incentives. Dont forget them. The tertiary question is crucial to setting a realistic language goal.If you need to learn Russian or Spanish only for business meetings, boil down your attention on the spoken language and steer clear of surplus areas, such as historical verb tenses found only in literature. You wont need to know them, and consequently, you wont enjoy learning them. The last question, that is How much of this language do I already know? , will help you realize that you belike already have some of the language under your belt, even if its except a little bit. Knowing uno, due, tres and the names of your favorite Mexican foods is a warm-up for Spanish.Next recall how Spanish speakers pronounce these common words. For languages such as Japanese, the search for words might be a little more difficult. Instead, start with names, such as Kawasaki or Mitsubishi. Do you seek a pattern? Yes, they are all four-syllable names. Now that you are in the safe frame of mind, here are some tips for learning process. Avoid overhead courses. Crash courses often teach too much, too quickly not allowing the brain to absorb the beginning lessons before the later ones are taught. Language learning is incremental.You have to understand the beginning before going on to the middle. Listen to audio cassettes for pronunciation and cadence, but be warned, some audio cassettes merely have you repeat phrases. This method does not help you view as what youve learned. Look for interactive audio programs that encourage you to answer questions and think in the language. Listen to foreign tuner. In most areas there are radio programs and some times entire stations in a foreign language. If you have difficulty finding one of these, inquire at your local public radio station. Watch videos in a foreign language.Whether they are for learning or for pleasure, videos provide a great way to hear the language in the context of na tural conversation. Full-length films are puckish with idioms, hand gestures and other cultural and language specific characteristics. When you read in a language, dont try to understand everything. You ought to avoid dictionary dependence. Certainly, you didnt use a dictionary to learn your native language. Instead, skim and read what you can. By going for the gist of the piece youll enjoy reading more and progress faster. Newspapers and magazines are fantastic verbiage builders, because you will find plenty of ontextual clues in the pictures and the topics will probably be ones youve already read about in English. undertake out native speakers. If you are unable to visit the country where the language is spoken, find native speakers in your area with whom you can converse. You can get in touch with them through colleges, consulates and cultural centres. Mimic foreigners speaking English as well as their native language. Some teachers start their enlightened foreign language cl asses by having the students imitate foreigners speaking English. It helps the students in their pronunciation of the foreign language.Dont get bored down analyzing the language. Practice is the key to learning a foreign language rather than spending weeks memorizing every form of every verb tense. Practise with the vocabulary you have. The more you converse, the quicker the missing pieces of your vocabulary will fall into place. And, finally, write new vocabulary words and phrases on index tease with the English translation on the back. Index cards easily fit it the coat pockets and handbags and can be pulled out and examine just about anywhere. A few tips on the importance of how you go about learning a little bit about a foreign language.