Multilingual Executives - About us - Executive recruitment solutions specialising exclusively in the provision of Senior Executives, Managers and Directors with international language and cross-cultural communication skills

Grant Thornton survey The Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey 2004 has revealed that UK Business Leaders still lag behind their international counterparts in terms of foreign languages.

Language surveys & information sources A compilation of surveys and sources of information on the importance of language skills

What makes a good Multilingual Executive? If you choose wisely, a good Multilingual Executive can be an invaluable business asset.

Languages as a business asset Many UK companies are complacent about the need to include languages as a key skillset in the job specification for international positions, however this is often a critical factor for success.

UK companies suffer due to lack of languages UK Companies suffer in business because they fail to overcome language and cultural barriers (CILT press release).

Language Anecdotes
You may think lack of languages is not important… but it’s no laughing matter!

You only need English?
Swiss guy visiting London pulls up at a bus stop where two locals are waiting. "Entschuldigung, koennen Sie Deutsch sprechen?" he asks. The two Brits just stare at him.
"Excusez-moi, parlez vous Francais?" he tries. The two continue to stare. "Parlare Italiano?" No response. "Hablan ustedes Espanol?". Still nothing.
The Swiss guy drives off, extremely disgusted. The first Brit turns to the second and says, "You know, maybe we should learn a foreign language." "Why?" says the other. "That guy knew four languages, and it didn't do him any good."

Help!
Two translators on a ship are talking. "Can you swim?" asks one. "No" says the other, "but I can shout for help in nine languages."

Quote
The polymath and critic George Steiner once observed that while you could see with one eye, two eyes gave you perspective. It's the same with language. What the monolingual blithely ignore is that a second language is essential to pick up the particularities in their own cultures as well as that of others.

Where the one-eyed are king, it's not surprising how often we fail to see what's under our own noses.