COMMUNICATING IN ENGLISH – MISSION POSSIBLE

Peter Sanderson-Dykes 12 Novembre 2015

The results of this annual English Proficiency Index (EPI) report for 2015 were released recently. Based on the analysis of the English language skills of more than 900,000 people, it shows that the average English level of the professional people in France has fallen…again!

http://media.ef.com/__/~/media/centralefcom/epi/downloads/full-reports/v5/ef-epi-2015-english.pdf

In 2014, France scored 52.69 and was classed 29th out of the 70 nations concerned. In 2015, France scored 51.84 and has fallen to 37th place. Indeed, the English skills of people in France are the lowest in all member states of the European Union…and even Ukraine figures higher!

The reasons for this situation are both long and complex. On the one hand, France has always had an “unusual” relationship with the English language; the fear of being swamped by English words, overwhelmed by its films and music, not to mention the long-standing mistrust of “Perfidious Albion” which have led to politicians of all colours putting up barriers and imposing quotas to keep the language out.

On the other hand, school teachers have had to manage impossible class sizes of varying levels, and their imposed objective has been “get the pupils to pass exams” rather than to communicate acceptably. Furthermore, professional training tends to focus more on how many people are trained rather than the quality of the results. I have only rarely met training managers who wanted to know the practical results of the programmes they had paid for; most were just interested in how many people came.

Another factor underpins this lack of competence in English. Many people believe that in order to be understood by their professional contacts they need to speak English perfectly…and as a result, they say nothing!

The report also points out that countries such as Poland and Spain have made great progress due to their attempts to improve education and training – their attempts have been successful – as well as the link between better English skills and higher salaries. In short, having better English communication skills would suggest being able to earn more!

So what is the solution? Surprisingly, it’s quite simple!

The entry point is listening:

Just as we learn our mother tongue as babies by listening to our parents and then repeating everything, before we become more sophisticated, the adult learner needs to have regular contact with simple recordings in English; no need to understand everything, just the gist. In short, you need to listen as much as possible.

And that is why the radio station EnglishWaves.fr exists! It provides material that is tailor-made for the French market – the news is about France, not about people and places you don’t know, and will have problems following – while the people you can listen to are all English mother tongue, make an effort to speak clearly and probably more slowly than they would do normally!

Minimum baggage:

Instead of trying to learn the complexities of some English grammar rules, it can, in many circumstances, be quite acceptable to manipulate the simpler structures with more confidence. For your English communication to be acceptable, it needs to be clear, coherent and credible – not perfect (remember CCCP, with the P crossed out!). If your business partner is a non-native speaker, s/he will possibly speak in the same way that you do…while if your correspondent is a native speaker, s/he will probably commend you for your abilities and bemoan their own language skills.

Shakespeare or presentations?

It’s very important to know exactly what you need to achieve and why English will be important for you. The chances are high that you will not need to be able to read Shakespeare or translate Agatha Christie! You will probably need to give presentations, confirm something over the phone…and send an email to avoid any misunderstandings!

Three ingredients

Once you have discovered and clarified your target, you’re almost ready to begin your training… but it’s important to remember that a successful training must be based on three pillars.

a pertinent method (a book, CD-ROM, smart-phone application or whatever) which gives you what you need but not too much information or complex details.
a motivated and motivating trainer or coach, who is able to simply the complex and adapts to your ups and downs
a motivated learner – and this depends on you alone – who is prepared to invest both time and energy rather than waiting for success to arrive by chance.

Just as a tripod needs three legs to be stable, a successful learning programme requires these three ingredients. If one element is missing, the tripod collapses…and the training experience will be the success you want.

In conclusion, it’s important to realise that there is no magic potion to becoming proficient in professional English. It requires time and energy…but a skilled trainer can help you manage these and can help avoid any negative impacts on your work-life balance.

And what about the cost? It should be looked at as a long-term investment rather than a major outlay. The chances are that the better you speak English, the more important your role in the company…the higher your salary, as indicated in the EPI report. In a nutshell, a major investment leading to a greater return.

After all, if you want to light a fire, you can rub two sticks together and hope…or invest in a box of matches!