Investing In A Language Tutor
If you only speak one language, you are limiting yourself, especially as a business person. In high finance, you have to be well-rounded, with strengths in many areas. Business managers and entrepreneurs benefit from knowing at least a second language, if not several of them.
Why Are Languages Helpful?
Decades ago the world seemed smaller. Many small businesses only dealt with customers in their locality or country, where everyone spoke the same language or could converse in a single tongue sufficiently to complete a transaction: the language of finance. Today, most industries trade globally. Companies interact with other firms and associates from all over the world, particularly if their business deals with a foreign commodity such as coffee, exotic food, or overseas fabrics. To finance a project, they often consult with international contacts or potential investors.
In this case, it is likely companies will come up against people for whom the first and most comfortable language is Spanish, Mandarin, or French, etc. In all likelihood, major businesses employ individuals who speak English as well as their mother tongue, but being able to speak fluently in another person’s language is still advantageous.
The Finance of Fair Trade, Organic
Many firms are growing out of an important premise: that people will pay more for goods grown or produced by small businesses which finance fair trade tactics and use organic materials. In other words, many large firms buy from a number of small farms or cottage industries. These are not large corporations employing multi-lingual staff but community concerns employing the locals and paying fair wages. Most of these people have never left their town or village, let alone attended university. The money they earn goes back into the village and the business to support workers and their families directly.
Hiring a Translator
Imagine what it would be like to finance the provision of a translator for every trip to a South American country supplying coffee beans to your company or bananas for export. That would be expensive and also inconvenient. Every conversation takes longer and is tense with a translator, requiring tremendous patience from all parties. Parts of the conversation would be easy to miss by the translator going in either direction. Also, something is lost in translation. It is difficult to be casual and friendly, share a joke, or even respond to a greeting. How can you even be sure the translator gets what you are saying and imparts this information faithfully?
Finance a Good Reputation
Move on from convenience to a forward-thinking attitude. Not only is it easier for a firm to establish connections, but there is a conception that North Americans arrogantly refuse to learn another language because everyone else should know English. This perception discolors a relationship from the start, even if this is a misconception where numerous North Americans are concerned. Besides, Spanish is almost as widely spoken in the United States as English, not to mention many other foreign languages represented by immigrant cultures.
When a business person hires a language tutor and takes time to learn another language, he shows respect for the people he does business with. Even though he has to finance classes for himself or a group of employees, the expense is worthwhile ultimately. Business associates are keener to deal with individuals who take the time to be respectful of their culture and language.
Finance New Possibilities
It is also easier to open markets which have not yet been explored if you finance language lessons before making foreign trips. Learn the language being spoken at a destination, at least enough to be more than polite, and new doors will open in small villages where no one speaks English.
Author Bio
Fred Johnson is a writer in the field of education and language. This article aims to explain the importance of learning a second language, as well as to offer Spanish Listening Resources for Teachers and Students.
