READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on
Reading Passage 3 on the following pages.

Language Strategy in Multinational Company

A. The importance of language management in multinational companies has never been

greater than today. Multinationals are becoming ever more conscious of the importance of
global coordination as a source of competitive advantage and language remains the
ultimate barrier to aspirations of international harmonization. Before attempting to
consider language management strategies, companies will have to evaluate the magnitude
of the language barrier confronting them and in doing so they will need to examine it in
three dimensions: the Language Diversity, the Language Penetration and the Language
Sophistication. Companies next need to turn their attention to how they should best manage
language. There is a range of options from which MNCs can formulate their language
strategy.

B. Lingua Franca: The simplest answer, though realistic only for English speaking

companies, is to rely on one’s native tongue. As recently as 1991 a survey of British

exporting companies found that over a third used English exclusively in dealing with

foreign customers. This attitude that “one language fits all” has also been carried through

into the Internet age. A survey of the web sites of top American companies confirmed that

over half made no provision for foreign language access, and another found that less than

10% of leading companies were able to respond adequately to emails other than in the

company’s language. Widespread though it is, however, reliance on a single language is a

strategy that is fatally flawed. It makes no allowance for the growing trend in Linguistic
Nationalism whereby buyers in Asia, South America and the Middle East, in particular, are

asserting their right to “work in the language of the customer”. It also fails to recognize the

increasing vitality of languages such as Spanish, Arabic and Chinese that over time are

likely to challenge the dominance of English as a lingua franca. In the IT arena, it ignores

the rapid globalization of the Internet where the number of English-language e-commerce

transactions, emails and web sites, is rapidly diminishing as a percentage of the total.

Finally, the total reliance on a single language puts the English speaker at risk in

negotiations. Contracts, rules and legislation are invariably written in the local language,

and a company unable to operate in that language is vulnerable.

C. Functional Multilingualism: Another improvised approach to Language is to rely on

what has been termed “Functional Multilingualism”. Essentially what this means is to

muddle through, relying on a mix of languages, pidgins and gestures to communicate by

whatever means the parties have at their disposal. In a social context, such a shared effort

to make one another understand might be considered an aid to the bonding process with

the frustration of communication being regularly punctuated by moments of absurdity and

humor. However, as the basis for business negotiations, it appears very hit-and-nuts. And

yet Hagen’s recent study suggests that 16% of an international business transaction; is

conducted in a “cocktail of languages.” Functional Multilingualism shares the same defects

as reliance on a lingua franca and increases the probability of cognitive divergence between

the parties engaged in the communication.

D. External Language Resources: A more rational and obvious response to the language

barrier is to employ external resources such as translators and interpreters, and certainly

there are many excellent companies specialized in these fields. However, such a response
is by no means an end to the language barrier. For a start these services can be very

expensive with a top Simultaneous Interpreter, commanding daily rates as high as a partner

in an international consulting company. Secondly, any good translator or interpreter will

insist that to be fully effective they must understand the context of the subject matter. This

is not always possible. In some cases, it is prohibited by the complexity or specialization

of the topic. Sometimes by lack of preparation time but most often the obstacle is the

reluctance of the parties to explain the wider context to an ‘outsider’. Another problem is

that unless there has been considerable pre-explaining between the interpreter and his

clients it is likely that there will be ambiguity and cultural overtones in the source messages

the interpreter has to work with. They will, of course, endeavor to provide a hi-fidelity

translation but in this circumstance, the interpreter has to use initiative and guesswork. This

clearly injects a potential source of misunderstanding into the proceedings. Finally, while

a good interpreter will attempt to convey not only the meaning but also the spirit of any

communication, there can be no doubt that there is a loss of rhetorical power when

communications go through a third party. So in situations requiring negotiation,

persuasion, humor etc. the use of an interpreter is a poor substitute for direct

communication.

E. Training: The immediate and understandable reaction to any skills-shortage in

business is to consider personnel development and certainly the language training industry

is well developed. Offering programs at almost every level and in numerous languages.

However, without doubt, the value of language training no company should be deluded

into believing this to be assured of success. Training in most companies is geared to the

economic cycle. When times are good, money is invested in training. When belts get

tightened training is one of the first “luxuries” to be pared down. In a study conducted
across four European countries, nearly twice as many companies said they needed

language training in coming years as had conducted training in past years. This disparity

between “good intentions” and “actual delivery”, underlines the problems of relying upon

training for language skills. Unless the company is totally committed to sustaining the

strategy even though bad times, it will fail.

F. One notable and committed leader in the field of language training has been the

Volkswagen Group. They have developed a language strategy over many years and in

many respects can be regarded as a model of how to manage language professionally.

However, the Volkswagen approach underlines that language training has to be considered

a strategic rather than a tactical solution. In their system to progress from “basics” to

“communications competence” in a language requires the completion of 6 languages

stages each one demanding approximately 90 hours of a refresher course, supported by

many more hours of self-study, spread over a 6-9 months period. The completion of each

stage is marked by a post-stage achievement test, which is a pre-requisite for continued

training. So even this professionally managed program expects a minimum of three years

of fairly intensive study to produce an accountant. Engineer, buyer or salesperson capable

of working effectively in a foreign language. Clearly, companies intending to pursue this

route need to do so with realistic expectations and with the intention of sustaining the

program over many years. Except in terms of “brush-up” courses for people who were

previously fluent in a foreign language, training cannot be considered a quick fix.

Questions 28 - 33
Complete the summary below.
Choose the correct letter from the list of words, A-L, for your answer.
Write your answers in boxes 28-33 on your answer sheet.
List of words

A gestures G managers
B clients H body language
C transaction I long-term
D understanding and assumption J effective
E accurate K rivals
F documents L costly

MNCs often encounter a language barrier in their daily, strategy, then they seek several

approaches to solve such problems. First, native language gives them a realistic base in a

different language speaking country, but the problem turned up when they deal with

oversea (28).................. For example, operation on the translation of some key

(29)…………………. It is inevitable to generate differences by rules from different

countries. Another way is to rely on a combination of spoken language and (30)

..........................., yet a report written that over one-tenth business (31) ............................

Processed in a party language setting. Third way: hire translators. However, firstly it is

(32) ............................., besides if they are not well-prepared, they have to resort to his/her

own (33) .............................. work .

Questions 34 - 40
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the
passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 34-40 on your answer sheet.

34 What understandable reactions does Training pay attention to according to the author?

35 In what term does the writer describe training during the economic depression?

36 What contribution does the Volkswagen Group set up for multinational companies?

37 What does Volkswagen Group consider language training as in their company?

38 How many stages are needed from a basic course to advanced in training?

39 How long does a refresher course (single-stage) need normally?

40 At least how long is needed for a specific professional to acquire a foreign language?