The Only “L” You Need Is Language
This Fall semester I got the opportunity do an exchange program and take BME classes at a university in the heart of Madrid, Spain. During my time here I have had the chance to delve more into its vibrant culture. The aspect that I feel shapes the culture here the most is the value that people place on making interpersonal connections. Because of this, people are a lot less reserved than in the United States and are more open about their lives. Students at my school seem to have a great work-life balance, and tend to be a lot more productive when they study and give themselves more free time. This trend continues on into their future work lives; for example, if there are less customers out shopping, many businesses close for a few hours as their personal lives have higher importance. The value that people have on sustaining their relationships and the effort that they make to communicate in different ways are definitely ideas that I plan on implementing in my life.
During my first few days of exchanging in Spain, I quickly noticed that many students were fluent in multiple languages. I was surprised when most people offered to speak with me in English or even French instead of their own language. The European students’ effort to talk to us this way left me perplexed; however, I noticed many American-born students would have the expectation of others catering to them in English. It’s easy to get comfortable when people speak your native language, rather than making an effort to connect to them in their own. This trend has remained consistent during my stay here, so I now aspire to explore the language more and examine the benefits of multilinguality. Specifically, when aiming to pursue business in the future, language is highly significant in building connections and maintaining them. Both the nature of the business world and my own personal experiences accentuate this aforementioned significance.
A business is effective only insofar as its rhetoric appeals to the people in its target audience. In regions that encompass a mosaic of dialects, the most effective businesses will utilize language to establish relatability with its customers. Service industries in America increasingly value bilingual workers, while a popular phrase or slang may find itself on an advertisement or billboard. Language has standards in government, remains consistent in terms of international measurements, and is a necessity in any project, negotiation, or presentation. As students interested in the business field it is vital to be aware of the effect language has on the industry. It has been proven in many cases that multilinguality of a country’s workers improve its economy. In fact, Baroness Coussins, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on modern languages (APPG), stated “The UK economy is already losing around £50bn a year in lost contracts because of lack of language skills in the workforce,” in 2013. This is why many countries around the world are pushing to educate their students to know languages.
While I’ve been in Spain, I have realised many differences in the way that business operates here opposed to Asia or the United States. I noticed immediately, for example, that many stores open much later than in America. The residents of Spain generally delay their business beyond the fresh hours of the morning, and you will generally see locals out shopping from hours of 11:00am to 1:00am. Eventually, I discovered that Spain operates in harmony with the rest of the European Union; the further east you progress, the earlier business tends to begin to account for time zone differences. There are also many more small businesses and unique markets all over the city. Cities here adopt a lot less fast-paced culture their American counterparts; the people even take a break period or nap — known as a siesta — in the middle of the day! Knowing and observing the culture of modern Europe, from the focus on relationships to implicit communication proves advantageous for creating healthy business relationships.
Because of the proximity to other European countries, many students here know multiple languages and understand how other cultures interact. I felt that because of that it has been easier for them to assimilate and build connections among each other, proving that language and making a conscious effort to understand a culture can help one accomplish this. As students aiming to pursue fields in which we have to interact with a diverse array of people and students who value business knowledge, knowing multiple languages is one of the first steps to reaching our goals. I challenge you to take the languages you already are familiar with and become proficient in them, maybe even learn a whole new one -you will definitely stand out.
