Importance of English in International Business
Importance of English in International Business
While English is not the most widely spoken language in the world when you look at it in terms of the number of native speakers, it is the world's most prominent language. While a larger number of people speak Chinese, that language is largely confined to China
English on the other hand, is spoken around the world. It has been
estimated that out of the roughly 6 billion people that are alive today
about 350 million speak English. When you look at the importance of
English for International Business, you must look at more than just the
number of people who speak it. You must also look at what the language
is used for.
English is the ideal language for many governments around the world, and
it is also prominent in business, education, world news, and
communication. In addition to this, Western pop culture is also carried
to foreign countries in the form of music or movies. If you wish to be
successful in International business, learning English is incredibly
important. In many places such as Asia, Africa, and South America, the
ability to learn English will determine who will increase their living
standards, and who will remain in poverty. There are a number of
powerful tools that have allowed more people to learn English than ever
before. One of these tools is the Internet
The Power of the Internet in Spreading English
Before the Internet, it was hard for you to learn English if you
didn't attend a college or university. These were the only institutions
where the language was widely spoken. If you lived in a community so
poor that it didn't have a college or university, your chances of ever
learning English were remote. While many people still live in these
circumstances today, the Internet has allowed the English language to
spread around the word. Because the Internet was invented in the West,
English was inherently built into it. Because Internet usage has
expanded throughout the world, more people are being exposed to English.
The advent of online universities has now made it possible for more
people to learn English, people who may live in countries where access
to standard education facilities is limited. While it may have been
impossible for these people to learn English in the past, the Internet
has opened up new career opportunities. These people are now able to
learn English, and they can use their English skills to get better
paying jobs at home, or they can use them to find jobs overseas. In any
event, the Internet has played a powerful role in allowing English to
spread across the world, and the number of people learning it is likely
to increase in the future
The Importance of English for Business
Many companies have discovered early in the 21st century that they
can cut their costs of production by sending their jobs overseas. The
proper term for this is outsourcing, or offshoring. Some companies have
also found that they can cut costs by bringing immigrants into the
country on work visas. The employees will work for the company for a
given period of time, and once their visa has expired, they can return
home. For someone living in a country where English is not the native
language, they will need to master this language if they wish to travel
to the United States to find a high paying job.
While many people in English speaking countries complain about the
impact of outsourcing, it presents lucrative opportunities for people
living in foreign countries. Learning how to speak English can allow you
to travel to a Western country, work there for a few months, make more
money than you would make at home, and then bring the money back home to
your family. This is a practice that many people use, and it is factors
such as outsourcing which have allowed them to do it. As you can see,
learning how to speak English opened up a large number of doors, doors
that would normally be closed
Conclusion
In many countries where English is not the native language, you are considered highly educated if you can speak the language properly. You will be presented with a number of career opportunities, and you will have the option of staying home to work, or you could travel abroad. When you learn how to speak English, the opportunities are limitless
How to write a formal letter
With the advent of email, it is becoming less and less common to write letters, but the few letters that you will write will probably be very important ones, such as covering letters for job applications, covering letters for questionnaires or surveys which are part of your research, or letters of complaint to your bank manager.
It is very important, therefore, that your letters have the desired effect on the reader. In order to achieve this, they should be:
in the correct format
short and to the point
relevant
free of any grammatical or spelling mistakes
polite, even if you’re complaining
well presented
This guide will give some general advice on letter writing and includes some sample letters.
If you are replying to a letter it can be a good idea to note how that letter has been formatted and expressed
Format
There are certain conventions that your reader will expect you to follow; if you don’t, you will create a bad impression
Here is a letter in standard format. Refer to the notes afterwards for explanation
42, Greyhound Road
Perry Barr
Birmingham
B42 6HJ
Mr. E. Scrooge
The Manager
Barclay’s Bank Ltd
113 Mammon Street
Andover
HU4 9ET
5April 2003
Dear Mr. Scrooge,
Application for post of trainee manager
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Yours sincerely
Jane Teller
1 Your address, but not your name, usually goes in the top right hand corner. You would not
usually include your telephone number or email address here, but this would be
permissible.
2 The name and address of the person you’re writing to goes below this, on the left. If
you don’t have a specific name, always at least try to put some sort of title. You
should always, however, address the letter to a particular person if at all possible.
3 The position of the date is more flexible. It can go on the left or the right, usually below
the addressee details. The format of the date is also flexible; it could be written
5 April 2003, 5th April 2003, 5/4/03 or 05/04/03. Avoid putting the day and month the
other way round.
4 The salutation at the beginning of the letter depends on whether or not you have the
name of the person.
If you do, write Dear Mr. Ochs, Dear Mrs. Baez, Dear Miss Perhacs, or, if you don’t know
the marital status of a woman, or if she has written this, Dear Ms. Bunyan. It is possible
to write Dear Robert Fripp or Dear Alison Statton, but many people consider this
awkward. If the person has a specific title, use this: Dear Dr. Hammill.
If you don’t know the name of the person, you would traditionally write Dear Sir. This
is clearly somewhat sexist, so many people prefer Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Sir or Madam.
The ending of the letter depends on how you have started: see below.
5 It is common now to put the subject of the letter directly below the salutation. This
would be in bold or underlined. The purpose is to give the reader an idea of what the
letter is about before reading it, and to be able to pass it on to a more appropriate
person if necessary.
If you are replying to a letter which had a reference (or ref.) on it, you should repeat this
on your letter, probably on the same line as the date, but on the other side of the page.
Write Your ref.: xxxx/xx
6 The content of your letter should be as short as possible, divided into short, clear
paragraphs.
7 It is common to end your letter with a phrase such as I look forward to hearing from
you. It’s OK to do this, but it’s a bit meaningless.
8 To end the letter, you would normally write Yours sincerely if you have started the
letter with the name of the person, or Yours faithfully if you have started with
something like Dear Sir.
9 Sign you name directly below this and then print it below the signature.
Be concise and relevant
The person you are writing to may be deluged with letters and if yours is 3 sides of dense text, then there is every possibility it will end up in the bin. Letters should take seconds rather than minutes to read.
As a result, get straight to the point and stick to it, don’t include any unnecessary or supplementary information, don’t use any flowery language or long words just for the sake of it, and don’t repeat too much information which may already be included in a CV, for example
Check your grammar and spelling very carefully
- use the spellchecker if you’re using a computer
- check the spelling yourself, as the spellchecker won’t recognize incorrect use,
for example, of dose and does. Use a good dictionary.
- check your grammar carefully. If it’s been pointed out to you that you make
mistakes, look especially for these kinds of errors. Get someone else to check it
for you if necessary.
- check your sentences and punctuation. Are the sentences complete? Does the
punctuation help to make what you’re saying clearer?
- Don’t rush the letter; many mistakes occur because of this. Allow plenty of time for checking, and if necessary, for rewriting. The letter may well help to decide your future
Use the right tone of language
It’s important to use the right type of language, the right ‘register’. Most letters you write will need to be formal, but not overly so. In fact, you should use similar language to that which you use in your academic writing. This means you should:-
avoid everyday, colloquial language; slang or jargon
avoid contractions (I’m; it’// etc)
avoid emotive, subjective language (terrible, rubbish etc)
avoid vague words such as nice, good, get etc
You should always be polite and respectful, even if complaining. One way of doing this in English, which is common in formal letter writing, is to use ‘modal verbs’ such as would, could and should. Instead of simply writing Please send me, you could express this more formally as I would be grateful if you could send me ... Don’t overdo it though, and make your language too formal or maybe old fashioned; don’t look through a thesaurus and put in lots of unnecessarily long words.
Having said this, British people tend to be fairly informal, even in business and academic circles, so it is normal to start using first names at an early stage
Make sure the letter is well presented
First impressions are important, so use good quality paper, centre the letter on the page, don’t leave coffee stains on it, make sure you’ve spelt the person’s name correctly and don’t forget to sign it
Sample letter 1: Covering letter
12, Kenmore Road
Littletown
LT12 9BH
1st December 2001
Mr G. Sands
Fitness First
Lake Road
Littletown
LT1 5MX
Dear Mr Sands
Re: Fitness Instructor FF/32
I am writing to apply for the job of Fitness Instructor, as advertised
in Thursday's Courant. This is an ideal job for me given my enthusiasm
for sport, my related experience and qualifications.
Sport and fitness training have always been important to me, which is
why I chose to take a BTEC Diploma in Sports Science. I obtained distinctions
in the Sports Anatomy & Physiology and Sports Injuries modules last
year and am confident that I will get similar marks in Exercise Physiology,
Mechanics of Sport and Sports Supervision & Management this year.
I am a confident user of Microsoft Office 2000 and have worked extensively
with Fitness Publisher, a program for analysing fitness.
As you can see from my CV, I've taken the opportunity to gain extra
qualifications that were on offer at college, which has helped me get
part-time work as a pool attendant. I'm called on to provide cover during
busy times so am used to working irregular hours at short notice. I've
also run a lunchtime aerobics class at college since the start of this
year.
I finish college in six weeks and am keen to find a job rather than
carry on with further full-time study. I could start any part time work
or training sooner as many of my classes are finishing and most of my
assignments are done. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Louise Longford
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/work/applications/example.shtml
Sample letter 2: Business letter
Whitcomb Polytechnic
20-30 Newcastle Road
Whitcombe
Tyne and Wear
WT5 4AH
11 October 1997
The General Manager
Fukuoka Motors (UK) Ltd
PO Box 137
York Road
Loughton
Durham
LT3 5HD
I understand from my colleague, Professor William Jones, who visited your Loughton plant last month, that you sometimes allow groups of students to tour the factory and see for themselves how Japanese production techniques operate in a European environment. Professor Jones himself was most impressed by his own visit, and recommended that I write to you.
Would it be possible for a group of 20 Business Studies students - male and female, aged between 18 and 22 - from Whitcomb Polytechnic to visit you before the end of this term, which is on the 21 December? I realise that you must receive many requests for such visits, and that the time available may already be booked up. If it is not, and you are able to see us, I should be most grateful if you could suggest a date and let me know of any normal conditions you lay down for visits of this kind.
I look forward to hearing from you
Yours faithfully
B Farrant (Dr)
Senior Lecturer