Why I’m Going Global

As Brits we are notorious for being linguistically challenged. Despite sitting through countless French GCSE classes, it proves a struggle to get much more than a “pain au chocolat” out of most people. Our European cousins seem to have mastered the art of becoming bilingual or even trilingual, a skill that has eluded us for many years.

However, the majority of Brits can recognise the advantage of being able to speak multiple languages, not just to boost a CV but also to enable greater career opportunities. So why do we allow ourselves to lose the languages we learnt at school?

There is the attitude amongst many that “everyone can speak English anyway”, leading to the false belief that there is no value in learning a foreign language as a native English speaker. Though as part of a marketing agency that works in 22 languages and has clients and offices all over the world, I would have to disagree. Having studied several languages myself, and enjoying the many benefits and opportunities that come with that, I would encourage anyone and everyone to take up a new language in their spare time.

Languages enable you to discover and engage with new cultures, open doors to opportunities abroad, and are increasingly important in a time when international trade and relationships are in a delicate condition. Linguistic skills increase employability and help to break down barriers between people who were not able to connect previously. For the UK to continue to maintain a strong and prominent position globally, we need to diversify and become more dynamic in order to develop our outward perspective.

While the easy option would be to continue on in the usual oblivious fashion, imagine the surprise of the waiter in Barcelona when you are finally able to ask for more than “dos cervezas por favor” in grammatically accurate Spanish. Just the tip of the iceberg when you consider also being able to communicate effectively with your colleagues abroad, foreign clients, or overseas suppliers.

It will be a struggle to find a drawback to being multilingual, so come on Britain, let’s go global!

I’m Tamara Mulgirigama and I have recently joined LAW Creative as an Account Executive. I studied French and Mandarin Chinese at the University of Nottingham, and also studied Spanish, Italian, and German at school as I have always had an interest in languages. LAW Creative has a vast global remit, so for global marketing solutions please get in touch at brett.sammels@lawcreative.co.uk