Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

Recent government research published in the UK showed that two thirds of teenagers intend to work abroad in Europe or Asia when they leave school even though most of them speak no foreign language.

This from Times Online:

More than half (58 per cent) of 11-18 year olds say they have no foreign language skills whatsoever, yet 66 per cent are planning to work for up to two years in Italy, Spain, France or China.

The research is further evidence that most young people assume they can get by in a foreign country by speaking English, and comes just weeks after official GCSE data showed the number of children taking formal exams in foreign languages has fallen yet again.

I think the figures would be similar in New Zealand. Practically every New Zealand kid wants to do the overseas experience (OE).  My colleague Peter wrote an excellent article in May 08 about why learning a little bit of language is better than nothing.

Even Air New Zealand is now giving preference to people who can speak other languages. This from their flight attendant recruitment website:

Languages
Special attention is given to the cultural and language needs especially relating to the Airline’s key markets such as Asia, Japan and Europe. A second language is preferred and priority will be given to applicants who are fluent in Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, German, French and the languages of the South Pacific.

I bet you didn’t know that…

Understandably, the foremost issue in the mind of most managers today is how to deal with the global recession. The focus, at least in the short term, is how to survive the downturn. This should be the time to be thinking about how to capitalise on the next upturn. Recessions do not last forever, and we’ll no doubt get out of this rut. Which leads me to the point of this article. One significant management challenge in the coming decades is how we manage global talent flow.

Research by consultancy KPMG has argued that managers will need to be prepared for a completely new, international management environment over the coming decades as the flow of skilled and unskilled labour between the developing and developed economies increases.

This convergence, or a net flow of skilled and unskilled workers migrating between the developed and developing worlds, will mean companies will need completely to rethink how they manage their workforces, argued the author of the KPMG report.

Organisations are pretty unprepared for this. Global migration is a recent phoenomenon, driven by cheaper airfares, and Gen Xers who surf the net every day researching new destinations and sharing travel and OE stories. It seems to me that people will continue travelling despite environmental concerns. The only difference is that we seem to feel a bit more guilty about it. Somehow I don’t think we’ll see a drop in air travel figures anytime soon.

The successful organisations of the future will be highly innovative, truly understanding how to harness diversity and capture talent from around the world. The offices of the future will have people speaking different languages dealing with clients and suppliers from around the world. The essential skill to have in that environment is the ability to understand and work with people from other cultures.

Data has just come out of the UK showing a drop in the number of people taking foreign languages at GCSE level (roughly NCEA Level 1). In analysing why this is the case, a major newspaper interviewed various academics and bureaucrats.

Greg Watson, the chief executive of the Oxford and Cambridge and Royal Society of Art exam board, blamed the fall on “signals from the outside world”. He said: “Young people are particularly sensitive to the force that qualifications have. I think you hear loudly and clearly from the jobs market it would be good to have maths and good to have some science. I don’t think they hear a very loud signal from employers that a language is required … It is pretty hard to see any reflection of that in job adverts.”

Throughout the article, the reporter did not bother interviewing anyone from industry, and the headline read: “Business blamed for slump in foreign language entries”

It’s highly unfair to blame businesses for the current predicament. The reality is learning a language is hard work, and given a choice, students would far prefer easier subjects. This doesn’t mean that businesses do not value language, and far more importantly, cross-cultural skills.

I scanned through the letters to the editor subsequent to the publication of the article, and found a response by Susan Anderson, Director of Education and Skills, Confederation of British Industry, London:

“Languages are growing in importance to UK firms, as they operate in an increasingly global marketplace. Three out of four employers value their staff having conversational ability in another language. Firms don’t necessarily want employees to be able to negotiate the finer points of contracts in a foreign language, but they do value the ability to strike up a rapport with a potential customer that might help a contract being drawn up in the first place”

“Young people should therefore be confident that language skills are wanted by employers”

Why didn’t the media bother asking businesses for their opinion?

I was on Radio NZ’s Morning Report this morning! Great publicity for our language school…

Sadly I missed it, but luckily a friend emailed me about it.

You can check out the story here.

Check out the audio feed here:

Surge in language students follows NZ – China trade deal

It is now compulsory for all MBA students at Cranfield School of Management to have a working knowledge of a second language. A friend of mine at the prestigious China Europe International Business School tells me that his colleagues in the MBA program are not just taking Chinese language classes at school but hiring private tutors to give them the extra boost.

On the other hand, in New Zealand, it’s not compulsory even for International Business majors to know a second language. In fact, I wonder how many people who teach International Business can in fact speak more than one language.

Most business practitioners are probably in agreement that knowing the language of the locals helps significantly with doing business on the ground. Granted, most people in the business world these days do speak some English, and if they don’t, they would have an interpreter present. However, not knowing the language is a bit like walking with one leg; a real struggle. Some concepts are difficult to translate. Any native English speaker who talks to a non-native English speaker for more than 10 minutes would begin to see that it’s hard work to find simpler ways of conveying a message.

I recently returned home from a brief trip to Shanghai. Even though I speak some Mandarin, I did feel pretty handicapped. Of course, some street signs and Metro signs carry English translations.

On the other hand, once you go off the beaten track, everything is in Chinese.

As all locals understand Chinese, one can assume that if restaurants carry English language menus, they are targeting tourists, and would also charge accordingly.

Everyone knows that understanding some basic foreign language helps when travelling, but what does it have to do with business success?

Plenty.

In addition to the ability to communicate with your partners in their language, you also demonstrate that you are willing to go the extra mile for your customers and partners.

Knowing the language gives you unique insights about culture. This in turn helps you to better understand your business partner.

For example, in the Chinese language, there are different titles for different members of the extended family. Your father’s older brother has a different title to your father’s younger brother. The term for your mother’s brother is different again. In the English language, they are all known as “uncles”.

This highlights the importance of the extended family and hierarchy in Chinese culture.

Ultimately, as businesspeople we understand the importance of being “on the same page” as our customers, suppliers and colleagues. The best way to make that happen is to have all parties understand one another’s language.