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Languages and Business in the UK

Venue: Edinburgh Napier University
Email: lectures@napier.ac.uk
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Event Date: 24/09/2014 18:00 - 19:00

In her inaugural Professorial lecture, Professor Mary Fischer will explore the use of foreign language in British businesses.

A plethora of reports have suggested that a lack of foreign language skills has a significant impact on the success of British business. However, in spite of many attempts to promote language learning, it has been in long term decline in UK schools and universities.

This talk attempts to suggest one explanation for this paradox. It describes research conducted with a group of Edinburgh business people and their counterparts in China. Using Bourdieu’s notions of linguistic legitimacy and the market, it suggests some reasons for UK business practitioners’ reluctance to speak foreign languages and concludes that while English may currently seem to be enough, monolingualism is a short-sighted and counterproductive strategy.

The lecture is free to attend and will be followed by a networking drinks reception.

Please email to register your attendance.

Posted in: All Languages
University of Strathclyde Education Scotland British Council Scotland The Scottish Government
SCILT - Scotlands National centre for Languages