ERIC Number: ED138049
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1975-Apr
Pages: 7
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Foreign Language Skills and Jobs.
Eddy, Peter A.
Students of foreign languages insist on seeing the evidence that foreign language skills have something to do with getting jobs in the "real world." Evidence is being ammassed which does show this to be true. Several studies have revealed that American firms are looking for qualified personnel who possess language skills. A survey was initiated at the University of South Carolina in order to ascertain the state's needs for people with foreign language competencies and to compare these needs with the foreign language competency of the graduates of the state's educational establishment. The Modern Language Association did a nationwide survey of business and industry which resulted in a valuable document supplying comprehensive evidence of the need for foreign languages as an auxiliary skill in American business, industry, and commerce. Researchers at the University of Texas published a report based upon returns from a questionnaire sent to over one thousand corporations doing a significant amount of international business. A British study carried out at the University of York gives information on the situation in England. These studies tell us that FL skills can be important, even crucial in some cases, in successful job hunting. But subject area expertise is more important to the employer than foreign language knowledge. Educators in foreign languages need a good public relations campaign to document the demand for foreign language skills and knowledge of foreign cultures and to demonstrate their ability to supply the kind of language and cultural competence which is being called for. (CFM)
Descriptors: Business, Career Awareness, Career Choice, Career Education, Career Opportunities, Career Planning, Careers, Employment, Employment Opportunities, Employment Qualifications, Higher Education, Industry, Job Skills, Language Skills, Needs Assessment, Occupational Surveys, Public Service Occupations, Questionnaires, Second Language Learning, Secondary Education, Tourism
Not available separately; see FL 007 842
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Pacific Northwest Conference on Foreign Languages, Portland, OR.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages (26th, Simon Fraser University, April 17-19, 1975)