The Business of Language issue 32 - March 2010
Welcome to the 32nd edition of The Business of Language - the free bi-monthly ezine from the Regional Language Network West Midlands. In this issue we explore the new resources added to our website to help improve your experience of international trade, catch up on news and events from around the region and ask regional International Trade Director at UK Trade & Investment, Doug Mahoney, about the impact of languages on his career.
RLN Interview Series kicks off!
We ask Doug Mahoney, regional International Trade Director at UK Trade & Investment, how languages have benefited his career and what tips he would give to businesses embarking upon international trade.
What languages do you speak?
Spanish.
How have these skills helped you in your current role?
To be honest they have helped me throughout my UKTI career, when dealing with overseas markets. My language skills were particularly advantageous when I got a posting in Spain and they have enabled me to work in other Spanish-speaking countries.
Is there anything you have done that would not have been possible if you didn't have language skills?
Yes, being posted to the Embassy in Madrid. This was a commercial role and I would not have been able to do my job correctly and interact with the businesses I came into contact with if I couldn't speak and understand Spanish.
Do you have any amusing language-related anecdotes?
One situation springs to mind. I took a somewhat unconventional language learning path, moving on from studying Spanish at A Level to working as a barman in Spain and then being posted to the Embassy. I was very involved in local life, including playing on the local football team so I suppose you could say my Spanish was 'colloquial'.
At an Embassy event I was told by a member of the Foreign Office that my language was colloquial and that I shouldn't come back!
Thankfully, that attitude to language learning has changed and we now encourage businesses to have a go and not to be afraid of making mistakes. Immersion is a popular way of learning a language and there's no better way to interact with the locals than if you have learned from them in the first place.
Do you have any words of wisdom for businesses embarking upon international trade?
1) Think of language as part of culture - understanding the little nuances of different cultures is as important as learning the language itself.
2) Just try - even attempting to speak a few basic phrases to someone in their own language will be appreciated.
And finally, Doug, is there anything about languages that you wish someone had told you?
Yes, that it is fun! You can make mistakes and people will laugh with you not at you. Languages open doors, so just have a go and it will be worth the investment.
Watch this space for the next issue of the Business of Language when we bring you another interview with a local language celebrity!
Top tips and case studies to improve your experience of international trade To improve your experience of international trade and help you to access the language and cultural support available, we have recently added some new resources to our website. Whether you need advice on localising your website, translating your company brochures or just want to learn from businesses in the region who are successfully implementing language skills, we have resources to help your business.
Top Tips Visit our resources page to download the following useful resources: Top tips for working with translators Top tips for localising your website To access our full range of business resources please visit our website
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Case studies Visit our case studies pages to find out how the professionals at Roedl & Partner's Birmingham-based office make use of language and cultural skills on a daily basis. The multi-disciplinary professional service firm offers audit, accounting, tax, legal and business consulting services. They work primarily with the UK-based subsidiaries of German companies so it is essential they have staff who can communicate fluently in both English and German. To find out more you can read the full case study on our website |
And now we need your help...
Does your business trade internationally?
Have your commissioned language training or localised your website as part of your export strategy?
Do you employ multilingual staff to help you communicate with overseas contacts?
Then you might be just what we are looking for!
As part of the RLN website revamp we hope to feature more new case studies to demonstrate how West Midlands businesses have implemented language and cultural skills to improve their performance in overseas markets or assist communications with non-English speaking contacts, employees and suppliers.
If you are interested in featuring as a case study on our website please contact Frances Pallett on 0121 329 3297 or email frances.pallett@rln-westmidlands.com
COMING in the NEXT ISSUE - find out why Staffordshire-based plastic injection moulders, UB Plastics Ltd, have commissioned Italian training to retain existing customers and expand their client base overseas.
Gateway to Global Growth: Export Communications Event
Gateway to Global Growth is a series of UKTI events aimed at giving strategic advice to companies involved in international trade and showing the help
available to assist with growing their export activities.
The series concludes with the 'Export Communications' event on 25 March.
This event will advise local businesses on how to win more international orders, communicate more effectively with export clients and build sustainable international business.
This event will provide the opportunity to:
- Hear from an expert speaker
- Learn from a case study of successful international trade
- Find out more about the support available
- Enjoy a buffet breakfast
Event details are as follows:
Date: 25 March 2010
Time: 07.30 - 10.45am
Venue: National Metalforming Centre, West Bromwich
For more information or to book your place please contact Glenis Poletti at the Midlands World Trade Forum, on 0121 607 1759 or visit the MWTF website.
Business Language Champions round-up
Our Business Language Champions have been busy over the past few weeks, inspiring our region's young people to keep up their language skills and boost their future employability.
Overseas marketing in a flash
Business Language Champion Matthew Finch, from PMD Magnetics, braved a snowy January day to set students at Queen Elizabeth School and Sports College the formidable task of marketing a USB flashdrive currently sold by his company.
The Atherstone-based Year 8 students came up with some fantastic posters to sell the Jetflash in France, Germany and Spain, leaving Matthew delighted with their work:
"Students produced excellent work, showing real awareness of how language skills support business." He said.
Languages for life
Also dodging the 'snow days' was Helene Adlard, from Wragge & Co's Birmingham office, who visited Kings Norton Girls' School to speak to 150 Year 9 girls about her own experience of learning and working with languages.
The aim of the session was to promote languages as a life-long skill and not simply something to sit an exam in at school and Helene was impressed with the way students' grasped this concept, she said:
"I thought they participated very well and asked some really good questions at the end."
Return of the Champion
Experienced Business Language Champion, Alison Cowan, from Tamworth-based Bristan Group Ltd, the UK's largest bathroom supplier, returned to Fairfax School in Sutton Coldfield to speak to students about the social, commercial and financial advantages languages bring. The school was grateful for the continued involvement in the BLC programme, as Alison Duffield commented:
"Thank you again for helping us and co-ordinating Alison's visit. The pupils found her engaging and I think that she certainly gave them something to think about when they make their options choices in a few weeks time."
Flying high
A few miles down the road in Aston, students were encouraged to use languages to reach for the skies, when they took part in a workshop in conjunction with Birmingham International Airport.
Airport Manager, Mandy Haque, with help from BLC Project Manager, Frances Pallett and languages teacher, Nicky Carpenter, ran a workshop with twenty Year 9 students to get them really thinking about the application of languages and the importance of such skills within the airport and the tourism industry.
After working in teams on a range of language tasks and quizzes, students created posters to promote Birmingham to French visitors coming into the airport. Everyone worked studiously to complete the task and the winning team won a trip to the airport to see the new control centre when it opens in a few weeks time.
Mandy was really pleased with students's enthusiasm, she said:
"I was impressed by the students' ability and flair for not only the French language but for promoting their city."
Bienvenue à Rugby
Also using their French skills to attract overseas visitors were Year 9 students from Rugby High School, Bilton School and Avon Valley School, who met at Rugby High recently to take part in a Business Language Champions workshop. Students listened to two local BLCs, Gisele Pellegrini of Positive G and Steven Janes from Wright Hassall LLP, speak about their experience of using languages at work, before putting their language skills into practise to promote Rugby as a desirable destination for French athletes taking part in the 2012 Olympic Games. The schools hope that the winning poster, chosen by Gisele and Steven, will be displayed in the art gallery in Rugby as well as featuring on the Rugby website and being presented to the Tourism group at Rugby Council.
Yvette Grogan, assistant headteacher at Rugby High School was delighted with students' work, she said:
"All the students worked diligently and enthusiastically together to produce some eye-catching and informative posters about Rugby. Many thanks to the RLN for organising the event and to Gisele and Steven who promoted the importance of languages in careers very successfully."
For more information on the Business Language Champions programme and how you can get involved please visit our website.
Business Language Champions Blog goes live!
A national blog to showcase the work of Business Language Champions from across the UK is now up and running and waiting for your input! You can visit the blog and leave comments to share your experiences of being or working with a Business Language Champion, or simply browse the posts to find out more about the programme and how it is enabling businesses and schools to work together to raise the profile of languages.
Whether you are a teacher, business representative, student or you are simply interested in languages, this blog is a way of bringing everyone together to create a BLC community where ideas, knowledge and experience can be shared to benefit everyone involved in languages employer engagement.
If you've got something to say about BLC we'd love to hear from you! Simply click here to visit the BLC blog and register for a MyZone account to leave your comments.
And if you've got an article you'd like included in the blog please send it to frances.pallett@rln-westmidlands.com and we'll do our best to include it!
You can also follow the Business Language Champions Blog on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace.
Employer engagement funding opportunity
The LinkedUp scheme, in collaboration with CILT the National Centre for Languages, is looking for schools, colleges and businesses who would like to work together to benefit language learners, develop new approaches to language teaching and create employer links.
Each project receives £3,000, which can pay for teachers' time, travel expenses, pupil resources and employer time.
The next deadline for applications is 23 April 2010, so if you would like to find out more please contact Kathy Wickstead on 01858 575864 or visit the Links into Languages website.
Help to shape the future workforce
There has never been a better time to work with young people to equip them with the skills and experience they will need as our future workforce. Recent research suggests that almost a million 16 to 25 year olds are unemployed, perhaps they have made the wrong career choices or been unable to fully develop their workplace skills, whatever the reason it is up to the current workforce to inspire, inform and educate the next generation.
Warwickshire Education Business Partnership work with business partners to support schools and provide students with the opportunity to experience aspects of the world of work through business simulations, workshops and practice interviews. To bring this world of work into the classroom they need your help - your skills and experience could be used to devise enterprising challenges, educate young people in interview skills and create a 'business' environment where students can see the reasons behind and beyond the learning.
Volunteering to support the EBP in their partnership work can help your business fulfil its corporate social responsibility programme, enable staff to learn new transferrable skills and create networking opportunities. You can give as little or a much as you want - from half an hour to whole day - and arrangments can be made around your schedule.
To find out more about getting involved please contact Angie Maffey on 01926 738976 or angiemaffey@warwickshire.gov.uk