var quotes=new Array() //change the quotes if desired. Add/ delete additional quotes as desired. quotes[0]='We wouldn\'t export half of what we do if we didn\'t speak foreign languages. Restricting yourself to English significantly limits your potential. All investments in language skills will pay you back handsomely.

Steve Swinden, Ex-Chairman MWTF' quotes[1]='Embarking on international trade without foreign language skills is a bit like travelling on an illegible passport; you might get there eventually but the chances are no one will take you seriously and you\'ll come back disappointed.

Steve Swinden, Ex-Chairman MWTF' quotes[2]='In a globalised world characterised by international links and intercultural connections, linguistic skills and international experience are crucial for employment and career.

Thomas Matussek, Former German Ambassador, London' quotes[3]='There is a danger that we could soon start to see more fatalities and serious injuries at work as language barriers mean safety messages are going over workers heads.

Frances O\'Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary' quotes[4]='It is a dangerous assumption believing that English is the only language needed for communication in a multilingual world. If we are complacent about tackling language issues I believe we will do serious damage to our competitiveness and to our future prosperity.

Isabella Moore, former Director CILT' quotes[5]='Few today would deny that understanding your customers\' needs is essential for trading success. In non-English speaking markets the effective way for identifying customers\' needs is through a direct knowledge of their languages.

Prof. Nigel Reeves, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Aston' quotes[6]='Languages have played an important part in my own working life and ensured I got work in various EU countries, specifically the UK, France and Germany.

Helene Renard-Coadic, UKTI' quotes[7]='Understanding your customers, everyone knows, is a basic principle for successful sales. Understanding your overseas customers\' language creates trust and deeper insight into their expectations.

Prof. Nigel Reeves, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Aston' quotes[8]='Many companies are already undertaking a range of linguistic measures which they find effective, but awareness of the idea and processes of an integrated international communication strategy could clearly be improved.

S. Hagen, Language and Culture in British Business' quotes[9]='If something is not done to improve modern language skills amongst British schoolchildren they will be denied the future opportunities that their European counterparts will have.

Liz Lynne, West Midlands Liberal Democrat Euro-MP' quotes[10]='Learning foreign languages is a vital part of learning how to respect other cultures, even more so in a world where English seems predominant and is \'accepted\' for communication purposes.

Sylvia Ruxton, GapLink Coordinator, BRIDGES' quotes[11]='Able young people have the potential to become genuinely fluent in languages and thereby raise the quality of their future work in politics, management, academia and other careers that are becoming increasingly international.

Gail Devereux, West Midlands Coordinator for MFL' quotes[12]='Language skills are crucial for the development of the West Midlands in all of its aspects, particularly for businesses involved in exports and for agencies like our own which encourage inward investment from overseas into the region.

John Edwards, Chief Executive AWM' quotes[13]='Many of our international competitors have greater language and intercultural skills and we need to respond to this challenge.

John Edwards, Chief Executive AWM' quotes[14]='International communications and travel are part of all of our everyday lives. The basics of more than one language are vital for personal fulfilment, social integration, careers and business competitiveness for the UK.

Lid King, National Director for Languages' quotes[15]='I am delighted that Advantage West Midlands and their key partners are taking ownership of languages and cultural issues and are helping to embed it at the regional and local level where languages make a difference to everybody\'s life.

Lid King, National Director for Languages' quotes[16]='Research shows that linguistic competence and investment in language training is not high in the West Midlands and appears to be in decline. Increasing the demand for, and supply of, appropriate language skills should be a focus for early attention.

West Midlands FRESA, August 2004' quotes[17]='Identifying how best to develop and use your foreign language skills and target those to your strategic advantage saves wasted effort and enhances successful international customer relations.

Nigel Reeves, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Aston' quotes[18]='An international website is essential for companies wanting to break into new markets abroad. The potential exporter will be evaluated against tough criteria, not least his willingness to communicate in languages other than English.

Norman Greaves, Former ECR Consultant' quotes[19]='The West Midlands has a greater diversity of cultures and languages than anywhere outside London. This diversity is a great strength and it is the task of all partners to utilise it for the benefit of the region as a whole.

West Midlands Regional Economic Strategy, 2004' quotes[20]='Net surfers are three times as likely to carry out a transaction, if the site communicates its contents in their own language and culture.

Forrester Research' quotes[21]='Identifying how best to develop and use your foreign language skills and target those to your strategic advantage saves wasted effort and enhances successful international customer relations.

Nigel Reeves, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Aston' quotes[22]='Learning a second language is the key to a tolerant society: it allows us to step outside our cultural bubble, to view the world from the perspective of another country and its people, and to see ourselves as others see us.

Professor John Klapper, University of Birmingham' quotes[23]='We have realised that when we can communicate in the language of the customer, a quotation invariably turns into an order, and more often than not, with further items added as well.

Peter Youlton, Business Development Dir., ACS Ltd' quotes[24]='Being able to deliver a number of our core training programmes in Arabic, by Arabic speaking instructors, has enabled us to deliver another unrivalled service to our clients.

Tim Crockett, Executive Director, AKE Ltd' quotes[25]='English alone can get you through on a leisure trip, but communication is a completely different proposition in a business environment.

Annette Mayerbacher, BMW Group' quotes[26]='I continue to be astounded that a lot of UK companies feel it acceptable to communicate in English with an assumption that everyone else will accommodate their inadequacy.

Carol Leach, General Manager, Synchro Systems Ltd' quotes[27]='At all key meetings with overseas clients we attempt to ensure that a partner or associate is present who understands the culture and language.

Suzanne Lloyd, Senior Partner, Wragge & Co' quotes[28]='The value of being able to speak to your customers in their own language should not be underestimated. Such skills can often make the difference between winning and losing an order.

Glenis Poletti, Executive Director, MWTF' // DO NOT ADD ANY MORE QUOTES AFTER THIS POINT var whichquote=Math.floor(Math.random()*(quotes.length)) document.write(quotes[whichquote])