{"id":50488,"date":"2023-10-18T17:53:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T15:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/?p=50488"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:53:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T15:53:23","slug":"english-for-business-7-ways-learning-english-can-help-improve-your-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/english-for-business-7-ways-learning-english-can-help-improve-your-career\/","title":{"rendered":"English for Business: 7 Ways Learning English Can Help Improve Your Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you\u2019re interested in getting a promotion at work, earning a higher salary or <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>landing<\/strong><\/span><\/em> your dream job, then working on your Business English is a <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>must<\/strong><\/span><\/em>!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">English is vital in the business world. Millions of professionals across the world use English every day as a lingua franca to communicate with colleagues, clients and other business professionals. Having a common language helps to keep businesses efficient and connected. Therefore, you need to ensure that your business communication skills are at a high level so that everything runs smoothly for your clients, colleagues and of course, for you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">So, with that being said, let\u2019s look at seven ways how English can help improve your career!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>1. Better communication skills<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Clear and effective communication is the <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>backbone<\/strong><\/span><\/em> of all successful business interactions. You need to be able to clearly articulate your ideas and opinions, as well as give instructions to ensure that there are no misunderstandings or problems later down the road.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Also, having a higher level of English means that language barriers are less likely to happen, making you a much more efficient and desirable candidate to potential employers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>2. Networking and collaboration<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Networking is a key component in the business world. If you want to be successful, then it\u2019s important that you attend international events, conferences, seminars and workshops to meet other like-minded professionals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">By improving your English proficiency, you\u2019ll open doors to more global networking opportunities. As your confidence increases, you may even want to try giving a speech at an event, helping to boost you in your career even further.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you\u2019re based in Barcelona, here are some excellent websites to keep you updated with the latest networking events:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/es-ES\/barcelona-entrepreneurs-and-startups\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Barcelona Entrepreneurs and Startups Meetup<\/a><\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barcinno.com\/events\/2023-08\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Barcelona Tech, Startups and Innovation calendar of events<\/a><\/li> <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/itnig.net\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Itnit is a coworking space which holds events for business professionals<\/a><\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/read.letterhead.email\/techstars-barcelona\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Techstars has a \u2018Startup Digest\u2019 with regular updates on events and news in Barcelona<\/a><\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/marsbased.com\/startups\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Join the Startups BCN community on Slack to network with other professionals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>3. More (and better) career opportunities<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Did you know that bilinguals typically receive salaries that are <a href=\"https:\/\/financialpost.com\/personal-finance\/business-essentials\/bilingual-employees-can-earn-more-money-per-hour-than-those-who-speak-one-language\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">5% to 20% higher<\/a> than those who only speak one language? Besides being paid more, employees who speak English are more likely to be considered for international assignments, bringing you more exciting work opportunities and experiences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you\u2019re interested in which job sectors require English, here\u2019s a useful list:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Retail<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Hospitality<\/li> <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Banking and finance<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Sales<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Technology<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Consulting and management<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Research and <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>academia<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you currently work in one of these sectors (or if you\u2019re considering working in them), then be prepared for many job offers to require a good level of English.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>4. Access to more resources and knowledge<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Besides being the language of business, English is also the language of the internet with around 60% of the content online being in English.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">By having a good level of English, you\u2019ll be able to access vast amounts of information and resources online, as well as keep up to date with the latest news and trends published in your native language as well as in English.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>5. Effective business correspondence<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">A large percentage of the communication you do at work is via email, so having excellent writing skills is crucial to ensure you save time by avoiding misunderstandings and endless <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u2018backing and forthing\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/em> with your colleagues and clients. You may also need to write reports, proposals, presentations, meeting <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>minutes<\/strong><\/span><\/em> and other official documents. So, to make your job easier for you and those you work with, you need to ensure you have a high level of English proficiency at work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Not only do your emails need to be clear and concise (learn <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/how-to-write-the-perfect-business-email\/\">how to write the perfect business email here<\/a>), but also meet the right level of formality and professionalism. This way, you and your company will be taken seriously but you won\u2019t unintentionally offend any clients or colleagues by being too informal.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>6. Cross-cultural sensitivity<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you work as part of a multinational team or you need to communicate with clients from different countries and cultures, then it\u2019s important to understand the significance of cultural <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>awareness<\/strong><\/span><\/em> in business interactions. For example, in some cultures, people communicate more directly, while in others, they may appreciate a more indirect approach.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Also, politeness and respect can differ greatly between cultures, such as the use of honorific titles (for example, &#8216;sama&#8217; in Japanese to address people of higher status than you) or levels of formality (such as the formal &#8216;usted&#8217; and informal \u2018tu\u2019 in Spanish). English does not have these aspects, but you will need to be aware of them and express yourself correctly to avoid accidentally crossing any cultural boundaries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">There is an interesting book called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casadellibro.com\/libro-culture-map-decoding-how-people-think-lead-and-get-things-done-across-cultures\/9781610392761\/6013052\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u2018The Culture Map\u2019<\/a> by Erin Meyer which talks about culture in the business world. You should definitely <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>give it<\/strong><\/span><\/em> a read if this topic really interests you!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>7. Personal growth and confidence<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Learning English will undoubtedly give you a boost in your professional life, but let\u2019s not forget the effects that it\u2019ll have on your personal life too!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Having a high level of English means you can communicate with people while travelling. You can go to meetups and make friends with people who are from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. You can read articles and watch interesting videos online. You can help a lost tourist on the street. You can impress your friends at a party. The benefits to learning English (or any language) are endless. However, more importantly, learning English will push you out of your comfort zone and make you a much more confident, patient and empathetic human being.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>Quick summary<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Let\u2019s quickly <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>recap<\/strong><\/span><\/em> how English can help improve your career:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>You will be able to communicate more effectively with your colleagues and clients.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>You will be able to attend more workshops, events and conferences as well as network with people from around the world.<\/li> <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>You will receive a higher salary and better job offers.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>You will be able to access 60% of the information on the internet and read research, news and academic articles.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Your colleagues and clients will appreciate your clarity when you write and see you as a more competent and efficient worker.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>You\u2019ll be able to communicate with people from other cultures and use English to reduce any potential misunderstandings or cultural mishaps.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-ok'><\/i>Your confidence will <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>skyrocket<\/strong><\/span><\/em> and you\u2019ll be able to use English while travelling, meeting new people and in your everyday life.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you\u2019re now feeling more motivated to improve your Business English, then why not take a look at our courses. We offer <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/english-courses\/business-english\/\">specific courses in Business English<\/a> to help give you and your career a boost!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>More ways to improve your business English<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you enjoyed reading this, then why not check out these blog posts:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/10-business-idioms-for-the-workplace\/\">10 business idioms for the workplace<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/9-tips-for-communicating-with-locals-in-english-speaking-countries\/\">9 tips for communicating with locals in English-speaking countries<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/european-languages-day-where-does-english-come-from\/\">Where does English come from?<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"devider element_size_>\"><div style=\"margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px; \" class=\"divider3\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Glossary for Language Learners<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Land (a job) (v):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> to get a job.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Must (n):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> a necessity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Backbone (n):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the most important part of something.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Academia (n):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the community that is concerned with research and academics, especially universities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Back and forth (id):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> to move in one direction and then back in the other direction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>(Meeting) minutes (n):<\/strong><\/em><\/span>  notes taken during a meeting to keep a record of what people say.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Awareness (n):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the knowledge that something exists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Give (something) a (verb) (ph):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> to try something.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Recap (v):<\/strong><\/em><\/span>  to repeat the main points of something; to summarise.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Skyrocket (v):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> to make progress extremely quickly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"devider element_size_>\"><div style=\"margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px; \" class=\"divider1\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Key<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">v = verb<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">n = noun<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">id = idiom<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">ph = phrase<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re interested in getting a promotion at work, earning a higher salary or landing your dream job, then working on your Business English is a must! English is vital in the business world. Millions of professionals across the world use English every day as a lingua franca to communicate with colleagues, clients and other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":50489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[]},"categories":[268],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50488"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50492,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50488\/revisions\/50492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50488"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=50488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}