Other Tongue

With the world going flat, learning a foreign language will give you an edge over others, Prachi Rege decodes the scope.

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela These meaningful words of the legendary anti-apartheid South African revolutionary stand true today. Ask Abhishek Chaturvedi, who is heading to Lima, Peru, a Spanish speaking country, to work with Naine Minerals & Resources Pvt., Ltd., a mine owning and minerals trading conglomerate. Chaturvedi had learnt Spanish to help him shine in a pile of resumes. "It was my Spanish skills that made it easy to get this job," explains the young professional from Mumbai, who is as proficient in Spanish now as he is in his mother tongue. A decade ago, learning a foreign language was at best hobby. Today it is all about acing over others in business or in the job market. With Indian companies like Bajaj, Mahindra and Mahindra, Larsen and Tourbo, and Tata spreading their wings across continents, the need for multilingual employees has increased manifold. Foreign languages like Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Mandarin are increasingly gaining popularity. Keeping this in mind, most language institutes offer training to employees of various companies. Many also offer students placement opportunities. "We send CVs of our students to companies who might be interested in hiring employees with proficiency in Mandarin," says Nazia Vasi, Founder and CEO Inchin Closer, Mandarin training institute. Inchin Closer was launched in 2011 to create a cultural connect between India and China. In just two years, it has increased the number of Mandarin training sessions from two to five classes a week. "We have had a 500 per cent rise in the number of students signing up for training," points out Vasi. There is another reason for this. China is the second largest market for diamonds in the world. Indian diamond industry professionals, who wish to enhance business potential in China, are rushing to study mandarin. Kashish Shah, a sales executive with a Mumbai-based diamond firm, and his three colleagues have signed up for Mandarin. "Knowledge of the local language gives you security from being cheated in deals," explains Shah, who practices his newly acquired Mandarin skills with his business associates in Hong Kong over phone."When two Chinese business men are talking in Mandarin, the Indian at the table should not feel left out," adds Vasi. "If you want to sell your product worldwide then lack of language skills should not be a hurdle," explains Dinesh Govindani, trainer, Academia De Espanol, who trains employees of companies like Cipla, Wockhardt, Citibank and many more. Spanish is considered to be the second language of the world. Even in international curriculum, students learn it as their second language after English. Most European and American Universities offer Spanish and Mandarin as a second language. An Indian student who has fluency in a foreign language sands a better chance of getting admission to foreign universities. "Foreign language skills give a student an edge over others," says Vasi. Learning Mandarin will also benefit those who want to continue working in India, she adds. With Chinese tourists comprising 2.57 per cent of the 8 per cent East Asian tourists visiting India every year, the tourism industry will also need people who are proficient in the language. Also, as Hindi films find market in Spanish speaking countries, there is better scope for Spanish proficient people to get jobs in the subtitling and dubbing areas. ****** Language tricks: 1) Have a solid reason to learn it 2) Understand it through its music and movies 3) Read up on a country’s culture to know it better 4) Speak, read and write it constantly for fluency 5) Get connected with the community speaking the language of your choice residing in your city 6) Imitate a person speaking the language to get the pronunciation right 7) You can`t learn all words but absorb as much as possible 8) Mandarin and Japanese have difficult scripts practise them by listening and writing regularly ****** Get trained: 1) Goethe Institute, Max Mulleur Bhavan - German 2) Academia De Espanol - Spanish 3) Institute of Indian & Foreign Languages - Spanish and Mandarin 4) Inchin Closer, Mumbai - Mandarin 5) The School of Chinese Language 6) Alliance Francaise - French