Q- Dear Ammar, What is the best way to improve my business English? I have my own business but I feel I am at a disadvantage with clients because my English is not as good as that of others. During conversations, many people seem to switch between Arabic and English and I sometimes get lost. I also feel bad because I cannot do the same and use English terms. I have long and good experience, but I feel my lack of English skills is making me lose to others. I am qualified, but cannot speak English well enough.
Regards,
IJ
A- Dear IJ, This is a common problem for many people in business. I am not an expert on linguistics, but would be happy to share what little I know with you, based on my personal experience and the input I have gotten from some experts and scholars on the subject.
There are two types of difficulties people face with languages. One is not having the language skills and the other is being too timid to use it.
If you are the earlier type, there are different skills of English: reading, writing, comprehending, and conversing. Many people understand what they read, but cannot keep up with conversation and it seems from your letter that you are looking for conversational English, not written English. You are also interested in business common terms rather than literature type.
There are many courses that can help you improve your English. If I were you, I would check references and make sure the courses provide what I am looking for before joining any. Remember to look for conversational English courses, and preferably for business people. Remember that classroom training is only one option. Now, you can take training courses online, or buy courses on audio tapes and CD’s. The Internet is a good place to look for these options.
While the right course will help, it is not enough. You have to take other measures that will be painstakingly hard at the beginning, but will get easier over time. The idea is to get acquainted and more exposed to English at every opportunity you get. You have to plan this carefully and intently and not leave it to circumstance.
Start with business magazines in English and the business section of the daily English newspaper. Make sure you have a good dictionary at hand and do not assume reading will be as easy as reading the Arabic newspaper. You should look up the meaning of every word that seems unclear. If you can have an Internet connection, check the pronunciation of words on www.m-w.com, which is the Merriam Webster dictionary.
You have to put a couple of hours daily in this exercise. If there are English business magazines that are more related to your area of expertise, then get them, or if not available locally, subscribe to them. You should also find a practical, not academic, business book that is new and relative to your field. You can pick a best seller on amazon.com and buy it. Also, try to watch English programs on TV without looking at the translation. It will not be fun at the beginning and you will miss most of what is being said. Over time, it gets better.
Another thing that might help but might be tougher than the above exercises, is to find a native English speaking friend to talk to daily. Some centres offer conversation courses where you have to converse with native speakers or others who are looking to improve their English language.
One way to meet English speaking friends is through online in chat rooms. Remember that you can chat literally now with the new chat technology out there and not have to just type what you want to say. In the beginning, you will not get everything you want to say right, but over time you will get better.
While all of the above will help, I can tell you from my experience that the best way to learn a second language such as English is to go to a country where people speak that language and during your visit, take a course in English as a second language. This technique is the fastest, but probably the most expensive as it requires travelling and establishing residence abroad for a while. If you plan to do this, be careful not to waste the experience by spending all your time with Arabic speaking friends. That will reduce your benefit and how fast you learn.
As your language improves, remember to keep practising. A language gets lost without continuous practice. As you learn more English, put what you learn to use at work, with friends, at home, online and any other way you can to keep your language skills sharp. Most who try to learn a new language fail because they underestimate the amount of time and effort they need to invest in learning and practising it. However, those who do stay the path reap the rewards.
How do people know whether and when they are really fluent and comfortable with a language? There are two unofficial accounts that I have heard. One opinion says that once you can speak a language directly, without having to translate in your mind what you want to say from Arabic, for example, into English, that is a good sign of being comfortable using a language. Others say that until you actually dream in the new language you are learning, you are still not strong enough in that language. I hope you will be able to achieve both.
Good luck,
Ammar W.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007