Bi-lingual

[susan silva]

Do you feel it is important to speak a second language.  Do   you think a second language is a plus when looking for a job.  Finally, if you do speak a second language, how often (if at all) have you used it at work?

[Cathy S]

I have a little French and a little German from school days - certainly couldn't be described as fluent but enough to understand conversational levels. 

I have used each of them a couple of times in work situations - short translations mainly ... I did once have to phone an institution in France to speak with our client  - he spoke English but I wasn't sure about the office I was calling so I practised a short introduction in French and hey presto got put straight through ... I remember feeling both proud and professional not to have resorted to pidgeon English to get through.

The only way I need to be bi-lingual in my current job is to understand Dundonian (not my native tongue!)...

Cathy

[gee4]

I completed a bi-lingual secretarial course at college after my A Levels.  My main languages were French and Spanish, however at school I also studied German and Italian.

Being able to speak another language has come in useful in both my working and personal life.

I think it's not only useful but practical.  After all, we expect others to speak English when in our country so why shouldn't we be able to converse while in their's?

There's nothing more satisfying than being able to converse with others in their native language while on holiday, or translate some information which I had to do recently in work.

My company is French-owned so very often we receive info via email which is not always translated into English.  We received an update to the travel policy regarding visas, which I translated for my boss and those in my department who travel on business.

I have to say, a lot of employees in my company speak more than one language and these days it is important from a business perspective.

[Jackie G]

I think it's extremely important to be able to speak in another language, if only a small amount, to show respect to another person.

I speak French and Italian to a business language level, and did conversational German for fun a few years ago.  I also understand a lot of Spanish and can tell you where to go in Gaelic!  (by that, I don't mean directions!)

[msmarieh]

I took six years of spanish in school (long long ago). I think it is always beneficial to learn another language, especially if you learn more about that culture as well. It is certainly never a detriment.

[Katie G]

Like Marie, I took Spanish in high school and college - combined about three years.  I wouldn't call myself fluent by any stretch of the imagination, but perhaps just enough to  get through introductions and find someone who can translate!  We have some spanish-speaking television channels and sometimes I'll watch one of the telenovellas (sp?) and try to follow the story.  It's a lot more natural and realistic than doing translations out of a textbook. 

[JnyT]

I speak very little French and German but have decided to learn, at least conversationally.  My company works with many European countries and our Managers are French, German, Polish and Dutch.  I feel uncomfortable and embarassed that they all speak English and I am not able to converse with them or customers so I think it is a definite advantage and in this day and age something that we should do more of.

[traudi]

I'm very glad that besides my mother-tongue (German) i can follow a conversation in English. Besides that I have a basic knowledge of Swedish and know how to say "can you speak German or English, please" in Czech.
I work for a german company in Germany , but sometimes we really need English, and my collegues normally put through all English speaking callers to my phone.

[peaches2160]

I think being bi-lingual depends on your environment and who you deal with on a daily basis.  although I speak English and know some German, I have picked up a few terms in Japanese.  I would like to learn Japanese more since I do have alot of interaction with our Japanese executives.  However, I have found they all speak English as a second language.  Reading the language and understanding terms when they are having conversations in the hallway would be helpful. 

[duque]

I think I'm the lucky one here ... as you know I'm British but brought up in Mallorca since I was 3 so I am totally fluent in both languages .. best way to learn 

Also I've learned a bit of German and are also fluent in catalan, that is needed more and more every day here.