Oct 25

Why do Certain European Countries Speak English Better than Others? A Closer Look at the Spanish

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Language Training Courses No Comments »

Spain is a country renowned for its weather, beautiful beaches, friendly people and laid-back attitude. It is also one of the top destinations for Britons going on holiday thanks to its proximity to the UK and lower cost of living. But one of the difficulties for Britons, or in fact any other visitor – be it for holidays or for living and working in Spain – is the apparent difficulty Spaniards seem to have when speaking English.

Meeting Business Meeting 2 nyul i Why do Certain European Countries Speak English Better than Others? A Closer Look at the Spanish

© istockphoto.com/ Nyul

Compared to other Western European countries such as Portugal, the Netherlands, or Germany, Spain seems to lag behind them in terms of English language proficiency. This is particularly interesting as its neighbour, Portugal, with a shared common history, similar culture and language, seems to exhibit greater prowess when it comes to speaking the language of Shakespeare.

The problem lies, of course, not with the Spaniards themselves but with a number of reasons that impact their ability to learn and speak the English language with the ease of, say, the Dutch. To start with, Spanish is a language with only five vowel sounds, and the stress and intonation differ widely from those of English.

This appears to restrict native Spanish speakers’ ability to easily adopt English sounds. Also, Spaniards’ access to English language material is very limited. Spain is one of only a handful of ‘dubbing’ countries in Western Europe, the others being France, Italy and Germany. This means that almost all of their movies and TV shows are dubbed into Spanish as opposed to having subtitles with the original soundtrack. The dubbing industry is so developed in Spain that some dubbing actors have achieved personal fame, being assigned to dub the same Hollywood actors exclusively throughout their careers.

While there is nothing wrong with this tradition, the problem that this represents for Spaniards willing to learn English is significant. They often struggle as they only ever get to hear English if they go out of their way by visiting cinemas showing original version, acquiring pay TV, or taking Business English courses, but these are all very limited environments. On the other hand, the Dutch receive lots of foreign content, even on national TV. Dutch children watch German and American TV programmes and, without realising it, they entertain themselves while simultaneously familiarising themselves with foreign languages from a very early age.

It is well known that the best way to learn or improve a foreign language is by being immersed in the culture of the desired language, being able to practice it and hear it constantly and on a daily basis. The lessons learned in the classroom can thus be put into practice straight away, making learning the language a necessity, vital to interacting successfully with others, as well as relevant to daily situations. Tailored English courses such as Business English courses can help you to develop your language skills, regardless of your level or linguistic background and offer you the relevant tools to use English proficiently.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Oct 11

Benefits of Immersion Language Training

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Language Training Courses, Legal English Training Courses 1 Comment »

Immersion language courses (such as a Business English course in London) are those in which the delegate finds him/herself in a country where the target language is one if not the national language. The benefits of being in a position to experience and use the target language naturally in social and professional situations outside the training room is extremely beneficial to the learning process. As Mike Bostick states in his article ‘What is Immersion?’: ‘Language is acquired most effectively when it is learned in a meaningful social context.

Happy meeting Neustockimages i Benefits of Immersion Language Training

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Fritz and Wagner state that ‘Language is not only a cognitive phenomenon, the product of the individual’s brain; it is also fundamentally a social phenomenon acquired and used interactively in a variety of contexts for myriad practical purposes’. The delegate is focused on specific language and forms in the training room during the day and then has the opportunity to practise his language skills in the evening and at the weekend. Examples of different possible social situations could be an evening in a pub, going to a sports club, the theatre or the cinema. Professional situations might also be organised. A visit to the local law courts could be a feature of a legal English immersion course or an organised guided tour of an accountancy firm might find its place on a financial English training programme. If the delegate stays in a host family, then the opportunities for social interaction obviously increase.

The mental efforts involved in manipulating one’s own linguistic resources in order to interact socially aide the memorization of structures and vocabulary. Being able to use the training room language in real social and professional situations can also give a big boost to the delegate’s level of motivation. In addition, associating the target language with a culture at first hand can also add an extra motivational factor.

If we were to take note of Stephen Krashen’s theories on second language acquisition, the higher the delegate’s level of language before the immersion course, the more beneficial this course would probably be. This is because the American Linguistic, Krashen, believed that language is best acquired when the delegate receives a lot of comprehensible input. ‘Comprehensible input is language input that can be understood by listeners despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it’.

This roughly tuned input needs to be slightly above the delegate’s productive level (i + 1, where i is the delegate’s current level of language). The delegate on an immersion training course is faced with an enormous amount of comprehensible input and should therefore be able to acquire language more easily. Krashen distinguishes between acquired language (the language which is subconsciously acquired and which is readily available for spontaneous conversation) and learned language (what we use to monitor or check the acquired language as we use it). Acquiring and learning both of these sorts of language is more possible on an immersion course where the language of the training room is complimented by social language.

In addition to the increased linguistic opportunities available to a delegate on an immersion course, one important practical advantage should not be neglected. Immersion nearly always takes place in a country that is foreign to the delegate. He/she is therefore definitely ‘out of the office’. Consequently, the chances of first language interference and professional interruptions, which both hinder the learning process, decrease significantly. The delegate is also away from his/her family, which also implies that he/she can pay full attention to practising and learning the target language.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jul 16

‘No English, No Job’

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training 6 Comments »

According to an article in the Economic Times, several Japanese retailers told their employees to start speaking English, or find another job. Japanese organisations like Uniqlo are trying hard to become less Japanese and more global by making English the company’s official language. Many employees working for large international Japanese companies now have to pass the TOEIC with at least 700 out of 990.

Expanding abroad to boost sales or to become a global company seems to be an increasing trend. Nowadays, business English has become the international business language and Japanese managers recognise that excellent business English language skills will make them stand out.

Japan Chris Pritchard i1 ‘No English, No Job’

© istockphoto.com/ Chris Pritchard

In certain Asian countries like South Korea and Japan, people learn English in high school but the focus tends to be around reading and writing rather than listening or speaking so the latter can be quite weak when applied in business. Japanese organisations are aware of the way most Japanese are programmed to learn English from a young age and therefore tend to limit the opportunities they have for English language training because they are not confident that it will make a difference.

English language training can make a difference provided it is organised and delivered effectively. Nevertheless, it’s important employees looking for jobs in Japanese companies and many other companies around the world have excellent business English skills. This will increase their chances of finding a good job allowing them to work abroad and communicate on an international level.

National business, national Stock Exchanges or national economies are now being replaced with international business, international Stock Exchanges and international economies where English is the lingua franca. Being able to read, write and speak in business English is paramount to success in both the Japanese and global marketplace.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 16

Business English as International Language of Business

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training 1 Comment »

What are the reasons why so many professional people are currently attending Business English courses? The answer to this question is simple. English is the language for doing International Business. As a consequence, companies need those employees who are in relation with foreign clients or suppliers to have the skills in English which enable them to do their work efficiently. Even if an employee has good knowledge of the English language, he/she still needs to acquire the language to their professional area (logistics, human resources, etc.) and therefore need to attend a Business English course.

In this post we will look at why English is in this position, what the implications of this are for the English language and Business English training courses and what future developments we can expect to witness.

Businessman Pali Rao i Business English as International Language of Business

© istockphoto.com/ Pali Rao

British colonialism spread the English language around the globe as it was administratively imposed on the non-English speakers in these colonies. English started to become increasingly influential on the world-scene at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Versailles Treaty of 1919 was drawn up not only in French (the diplomatic language of the time) but also in English. The US’s powerful political, military and economic position in the second half of the Twentieth Century meant that English became the main language of communication in such organisations as NATO and the IMF. The following facts from the British Council website reveal the current widespread use of English: English is spoken as a first language by around 375 million and as a second language by around 375 million speakers. Around 750 million people are believed to speak English as a foreign language.

Due to the fact that Business English is so important, companies require increasing numbers of their employees to have knowledge of this language. This knowledge is no longer the preserve of people in positions of responsibility; technicians who have to phone for support in another country and receptionists who receive foreign delegations also need to be able to do certain parts of their jobs in English. Companies therefore allocate a proportion of their training budgets to business English courses. This more diverse demand has led to the development of training courses which specialise in exactly what the delegate needs to know in order to be able to function correctly at work.

As Business is done in English between people who are not necessarily native speakers of the language, a simplified version of English is now emerging. This version is sometimes called ‘standard’ or ‘international’ English. This new type of English for Business purposes is trimmed of all the non-essential grammatical structures and has a reduced common vocabulary. Phrasal verbs such as ‘go on ‘ and ‘set up’ are not as important as ‘continue ‘ and ‘create’, for example, and knowledge of the difference between the present perfect and the past simple is no longer a priority in the training room.

The primordial objective of the business person using international business English is to communicate efficiently and effectively. Native speakers with their fast delivery, colloquial expressions and unclear pronunciation are feared in the business place as they have become the most difficult people to understand. The result of this is that native speakers may have to start learning how to speak a more communication-friendly form of their own language – i.e. international English

According to a recent BBC article, US economic, military and political dominance is likely to decline over the next two decades. This change shows that the situation that made English into the international Business language is going to change in the future. Will this mean that another language will replace English as the new language of international business communication? It is improbable as Chinese, for example, is such a difficult language to learn and does not have the same world-wide spread as English. Another emerging economy, India, already uses English substantially in everyday life. It is also true to say that International English is easier to learn than other forms of English such as British English or American English. The result is that this standardised international version of English will become more and more prevalent in international business and training courses will have to reflect this reality.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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