As the summer came to a close, another generation of school leavers and graduates took their first steps into the world of work. As recent Tes Scotland analysis showed, however, fewer than ever before left with language qualifications.
There is a challenge, in a globalised world facing the climate crisis, to find opportunities for sustainable growth, while, despite Brexit, international trade remains crucial for Scottish businesses. But does the nation have the necessary skills?
There are promising signs: Scottish pupils performed highly on Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development measures of global competence, which assess learners’ ability to examine local, global and intercultural issues, engage in appropriate interactions across different cultures, and act for collective wellbeing and sustainable development.
These are foundations on which we can build, and having English as a first language is an asset for global business - but is it enough?
The limits of business English
Success in international business relies on communicating across cultures and languages. Business English is often used, but it is artificial and emptied of cultural and idiomatic language - a variant of “Globish” to bridge gaps between English-speaking countries.
Yet, all communicative behaviour is culturally marked: seemingly straightforward aspects such as the use of “yes” and “no” or “please” and “thank you” are significantly different across cultures. A level of intercultural awareness and competence is crucial in business; if people are unaware of cultural norms around communication, it can cost deals or partnerships.
Monoglots are at a disadvantage when negotiating cross-culturally or decoding communication in the margins. Business English is too limited and may even be a barrier to trust and rapport-building across business cultures and practices.
Even if all parties share a language, differing nuances and norms in business communication remain. Business English also fosters language workplace inequalities linked to linguistic racism and language shaming.
Calls for foreign languages to be made compulsory
With English the primary language of 4 per cent of the global population, business English may allow a level of exchange. However, as a 2022 study made clear, English “is not the sole driver in certain sectors, and other languages matter equally”. Many multinational companies have a presence in French-, Spanish- or Arabic-speaking regions; Mandarin and Japanese are also of paramount importance in global business.
In 2020, the market research firm CSA found that 76 per cent of consumers wanted to buy products in their own language, while a 2021 House of Lords report on workforce skills found a sizeable “language deficit” that damages UK business: the economic costs of “language ignorance” were estimated at up to £48 billion in 2006, or 3.5 per cent of national income.
Research also shows that people make different decisions when speaking a second language. Nicknamed the “foreign-language effect”, researchers were astounded to find that encountering a situation through a second language enhances an individual’s rational decision-making.
Studies found, for example, that investors made better risk assessments, were less swayed by the phrasing of information and less likely to continue investing time and money in a failing initiative (so-called “sunk costs”). The foreign-language effect extends even to the approach to moral reasoning, with participants responding differently to ethical dilemmas when using a second language.
Decline of languages Highers poses ‘serious threat’ to skills base
Language skills put us on an equal footing in global business, but the steady decline in Higher entries for national language exams - down 29 per cent since 2017 - poses a serious threat to our skills base.
This is why, in 2015, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce called for foreign languages to be made compulsory throughout education; there are also increasing calls for universities to make a language qualification part of entrance requirements. The implications for international trade are obvious.
This is a win-win situation, with important benefits for the young language learners who develop intercultural competence too. At Heriot-Watt University, for example, 97 per cent of languages and intercultural communication students are in graduate-level jobs or postgraduate qualifications within a few months of graduation.
And, while artificial intelligence promises to revolutionise how we traverse linguistic barriers, expertise in languages remains at heart a very human form of learning that AI will struggle to replicate.
Dr Fiona Barclay is a senior lecturer at the University of Stirling division of literature and languages. Dr Katerina Strani is an associate professor of languages and intercultural studies at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Professor Joanna Drugan is head of languages and intercultural studies at Heriot-Watt University
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