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To BRIC or not to BRIC?
Professional development via language learning
How important is it to learn the languages of the world's fastest growing economies?
When Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs coined the phrase “BRIC,” it is doubtful that he realized how quickly the term would catch on. Now, “BRIC” is symbolic of more than just the four countries it comprises (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) – it represents the whole idea of globalization and the “rise of the rest.”
But how does this affect young professionals and students? Does this shift in global economic weight and political might mean anything for our future careers?
Of course. If one simply peeks at the United Kingdom’s largest course finder, HotCourses.com, it’s easy to see that the go-getters of the world are lining up for Mandarin, Hindi, Russian, and Portuguese lessons.
Take Daniel Slade, a recent London School of Economics graduate, who is currently undergoing a Mandarin course in anticipation for a position in China beginning after the New Year.
When asked, why he was interested in learning Mandarin he said it “is for practical and social reasons.”
“As BRIC economies grow, I think the importance and the appeal of learning their languages will also increase. People in the business world will have a massive advantage if they can communicate with their business partners from [BRIC countries] in their native language.”
Slade is attending evening classes at King’s College – and the classes are booked solid for the current term.
The same goes for other language courses in the UK and America. Diplomatic needs have also increased the popularity of Urdu, Pashto, Arabic, and Farsi, among others.
The interesting dynamic of this shift towards a more globalized world is that while English is rising in importance and pervasiveness, the need to be able to communicate in other languages is rising as well.
As English penetrates more parts of the world it’s almost like a fishhook for the native language of the respective region. Meaning one’s importance is linked to the other. As Slade says, “you should always be seen as making the effort.”
We shall see if fluency in Mandarin becomes as important to CEOs as an MBA, but until that day maybe we should all hedge our bets and crack open a book.
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HEC Paris MBA will be in London on the 25th of April 2012.
To register for our event follow this link :
http://hecmbainlondon.eventbrite.com/
from Michael Scott
To register for our event follow this link :
http://hecmbainlondon.eventbrite.com/
from Michael Scott
Learning Hindi will probably not be very useful because most people in India can manage a bit of English, or at least broken English! Mandarin and Russian will perhaps be more beneficial!
Rashmi Krishna Kumar
un security council should remove the UK and france - they have no place there.
USA, China, Germany, Brazil/India/South Africa
Nathan Portman
Samuel Hargadine
Is anyone you know taking Mandarin, or an equally important world language? What languages do you think deserve to be added to the UN's official working list (currently it's English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian)? Furthermore, which country would you be most interested in becoming an "expert" in? ie. Which country would you like to work in/with/for?
Personally, India has always fascinated me and likewise I think Hindi should be added to the UN's list and they should already be apart of the security council. Japan is another one that doesn't get the clout it deserves. Thoughts?