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I’m Ekaterina, a Russian and English graduate and I’ve recently joined the Internal Communications recruitment and executive search team at Sankofa Talent. Your first question might be ‘so, do you use your languages in your job?’. The quick and easy answer is ‘no, not yet’ because I work predominantly with Spanish-based clients and candidates – but I often come across great individuals with a range of language skills and this always stands out to me.
Being able to work in such a supportive environment at Sankofa Talent is allowing me to shape and grow my own career and do things that are so important to me – like writing this post, about why I think foreign language skills are all-too-often overlooked in the Spanish job market. As a languages graduate, questions like ‘so, will you be a teacher or a translator?’ sound all too familiar… and much to my delight and the frustration of some, I can now turn round and say ‘neither’!
‘Everyone speaks English!’ – we’ve all heard it before, right? Yes, it’s true that around 1.5 billion people speak English either natively or as a second language (according to a 2022 Statistica report). And, whilst maths was never my strong point… I believe that still leaves 6.3 billion people. 6.3 billion brains, minds, cultures, backgrounds where communication is potentially problematic without our trusty (yet somewhat rusty) friend, Google Translate. By not expanding our linguistic horizons, we are quite frankly constructing our own fences in the world of business.
The reality is that the Spain often fails in understanding the true value of linguists – and with my final year dissertation research focusing around modern foreign languages education in the Spain compared to UK or Russia, I’m aware the statistics for tomorrow’s workforce are bleak and already many European universities are having to consider closing their languages departments.
According to a survey from the language learning app WeSmartly, only 1/3 of Spanish adults are able to speak more than one language. And yes, of course English remains the ‘lingua franca’ of the business world, which means that if you dont speak it, you are limiting yourself in local and international job vacancies.
Of course it’s all a bit easier if we ‘just speak in English’ BUT it frankly isn’t true that ‘everyone speaks English’ and speaking from my experiences, I know that the relationships built when you can switch languages are stronger and more meaningful. A language is more than a transactional way of communicating. A language is just the face behind a whole new population of people with their own culture, their own values, their own history and politics.
We live in an incredibly well-connected world, so the more languages you have in your business the greater opportunities you will find. Additionally, having studied foreign languages, I cannot stress enough the importance of the skills you learn in the process. Learning a language is far more than just grammar and words. It requires serious dedication, excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to understand a whole new culture on a different level. A multi-linguist might not necessarily use their language skills in the workplace, but they will undoubtedly add a new dimension to your workforce – improving diversity and creating opportunity.
Perhaps a little cliché but a favourite quote of mine truly sums it up: “if you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, it goes to his heart”. In a world where we can ‘ping’ emails every two seconds and we can use computers to translate languages, let’s not forget the meaning behind genuine human connection and the importance of communication in all languages.
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.
We have partnered with WeSmartly, a startup that has over 6,000 private tutors, online courses and soft-skills trainers. If you are looking for a language Tutor, register in WeSmartly and get the knowledge needed for your next career jump.
