THE USE OF ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN GLOBAL WORKPLACE SETTINGS

A close colleague recently shared with me an article authored by eminent global business and foreign language researcher, Orlando R. Kelm of the University of Texas at Austin. His article is entitled . . .

THE USE OF ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA: WHERE DOES FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION FIT?

The article is of keen interest to me and my colleagues who have spent a career preparing future global business practitioners using foreign languages and cultures as our major tools. In Orlando's case, he has taught Spanish and Portuguese to "hundreds of students, professionals, and clients" while French and Italian have been my languages of focus. Foreign language proficiency for professional purposes is our mission.

But, are foreign languages still needed among American global business practitioners especially in U.S. multinational firms worldwide?

Is what we are doing as foreign language educators still relevant?

In his introduction, Kelm describes two stereotypes currently ingrained in the minds of global business practitioners:

"First, there are those who assume that all conversations abroad are only conducted in the local foreign language of choice. At times these people are so enamored with the foreign language and culture, that they are incapable of considering that anything but the local language is used for everything.

The second group, equally na?ve, believes that English is used everywhere, by everyone, and the whole world somehow has native-like fluency in English. The dilemma of the foreign language educator is to know the “sweet spot” between these extremes, so that real- life interactions are enhanced by communication in the local language or in English as needed."

Kelm cites several contexts that he has seen in person which I quote two here.

"In Lima, Peru, a Korean company has a branch office with about twenty employees, eight of them are Korean and the rest are Peruvian. English is the official language of communication, and both the Peruvians and the Koreans all speak English to one another. All written communication that goes back to the home office in Korea is also prepared in English. None of the eight Korean employees, some who have been assigned to Peru for a couple of years, speaks significant amounts of Spanish.

In Beijing, a multinational engineering firm with home offices in Germany uses English as the official language for all oral and written communications. Even when there are local meetings, the Chinese engineers use English when talking to one another. The motivation to improve English and the need to use it with colleagues worldwide causes them to “practice” even among their local partners." 

Both of Orlando's contexts take me back to a trip to northern France during the summer 2013 where I had the opportunity to visit three midsize French automotive parts plants with 15 San Diego State University College of Business Administration students and faculty. The trip was hosted by SDSU's MaryAnn Lyman-Hager, Director of the Language Acquisition Resource Center.

During the course of our plant visits, we expected a firm representative--all English speaking, they claimed-- to provide a tour of each plant in English. (Our College of Business students only spoke English.) None of the firm representatives could. As a result, they gave their presentations in French while I translated in English for the students and faculty. This is surprising given that all three firms interact regularly with English-speaking customers in North America and the UK.

My major takeaway from the plant visits: the nonnative English speakers possess sufficient SOCIAL ENGLISH SKILLS. They can use English effectively in email communication and over the phone, for example, or even participate effectively socially at business lunches or receptions. However, I doubt that any firm representative at the three French companies would be able to troubleshoot complex problem areas, handle customer complaints or negotiate contracts in English.

In discussing these issues with the French plants managers, I could have talked myself into a job where I would have become their "English" guy when needed while they continued to operate in French. I didn't push it. I love teaching!

My main message to global business and foreign language colleagues is . . .

MOST NONNATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS may speak English within a workplace setting, but their skills may short-circuit as complex business tasks present themselves. That's what happened in my plant visits. My knowledge of French language and culture overcame their limitations in workplace English.

In other words, our globally ready students are needed both in France and the U.S.!

As I get ready to teach and conduct research at an African university for a year, I will have the opportunity to study language use within larger multinational workplaces like GE or Cargill or Nestle. When and how will English serve as the lingua franca and when will African employees slip back into their first languages such as French or Arabic or Swahili?