IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH IN EMPLOYMENT

IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH IN EMPLOYMENT Abstract— India is one of the few countries which have two official languages- Hindi and English. However, the official business language of the world is English. With India fast becoming a global economy, it comes as no surprise that companies are increasingly focusing on English language skills of candidates. Whether you are vouching for a government job, or a job in the corporate sector, having English language skills is of paramount importance. Companies do not expect candidates to be proficient in English with a rich vocabulary. All they expect from them is to have good sense of the language while speaking and writing. With beautiful dreams and high spirits people enter in to the graduation. They set their own goals, and work towards achieving them. Getting placed in to a reputed organization adds flavour to their journey of life by the time they leave their college.

skills one possesses. Communication skills are very much essential for one’s professional growth. The ability to express fluently in both written as well as oral form of language is very much essential for the career growth.

Index Terms – Employability, Communication Skills, Tool for Employability, English in Job Market, Tip to improve Englsh.

III. EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

As it is stated above, English being the most commonly used language in the corporate world; the knowledge of English is one of the most important employability skills. Knowledge of English is much sought after in the corporate world. Proper English does not mean only the ability to make grammatically correct sentences. It means other related skills for effective communication like presentation skills, convincing and negotiation skills and interpersonal skills using that language.

Communication means the exchange of information, ideas, feelings and thoughts. The type of communication which is used in the corporate world is business communication. It is not mere exchange of ideas. In the world of business the communication system is considered effective, only if there is some positive transaction. If the sender of information is just able to convey the message without any fruitful deal, then the communication is not effective.

I. INTRODUCTION As we know, English is the language which connects people from different regions, cultures and nations. By default, due to the fact that the British ruled most parts of the world a few years ago, they could conveniently sow the seeds of English language and culture in those countries. Though not intended, the British gave a common language to the world. It has helped the world in sharing any kind of information fast and clears without any translation. Though the British left their colonies a long time back, their efforts and reforms in the field of education are yielding results now.

A person is considered employable only when he gets the necessary qualification, experience, interest, learning attitude and expertise in the field where he wants to seek employment. The content knowledge in the area of his choice is the primary requirement. The necessary experience, if not, the interest and the attitude to learn the job assignments are much sought after by the employers. A person has to remain employable throughout one’s career. Unless one is ready to update his knowledge in the field of work according to the ongoing changes and advancements, he lags behind from others and loses his job ultimately.

Globalization has encouraged the domestic companies to think beyond their nations. People don’t mind taking challenging and fruitful overseas assignments these days. As English is spoken in most of the countries, language is no more a barrier for people who intend to settle down in other countries.

Effective communication includes the ability to communicate effectively in any language. Academicians and researchers are divided in their opinion on the question; is English required for successful business communication? Is it not possible to communicate effectively in regional languages and get the work done? Those who are in favor of English for effective communication would say that English is the official language in most of the companies in cities these days.

II. TOOL FOR EMPLOYABILITY India too has contributed a good number of vocabularies to the modern English language and which have become a part of standard dictionaries. As the private sector companies are gaining ground and becoming more competitive due to changed world economy, the employees are always kept on their toes. It is like either you work hard and show your performance or perish for not taking care of your professional growth. The ability to use a language efficiently is very much required to remain employable. What is employability? It is the ability to remain employable as a result of the relevant

So English is much required. But people who vote for regional languages for communication over English would rather say that English is not required as long as one communicates effectively to get the work done. The customers, for most of the products and services are people of a particular

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region where a local language is spoken. So what big deal in speaking in English to woo and impress them? After all, when it is a matter of money, people would rather concentrate on quality and service for the products than the customer care executive’s ability to speak in English.

is no common language to connect the workforce, it becomes difficult for any kind of communication and team work.

The reality is that the companies consider the candidate’s ability or inability to speak fluently in English as one of the major selection criterion. The mere domain knowledge won’t guarantee one a good job. The situation in most of the companies has changed from a scene where all employees are isolated and would concentrate on their individual performances.

As the ability to speak and write in English is considered very important by the recruiters at the time of recruitment, let us discuss the expectations of corporate world in this regard. Companies want people who can basically read and understand written words in the form of instructions, reports, letters, memos, notices and other any form of official documents.

‘Team work for better success’ is the mantra followed by most companies. So there is no space for individual glory. Employees are expected to be interactive and communicative with others in the team and outside.

The ability to express formal communication in oral as well as in written form is equally considered important by the prospective employers. As one moves higher in the vertical direction in the organizational hierarchy, it becomes naturally necessary for an employee to be good presenter, negotiator, and convener of meetings. The mastery over English will help a person to conduct his duties efficiently. One of the important deficiencies found by the employers and recruiters in candidates for different jobs is the lack of oral as well as written communication skills.

V. CORPORATE EXPECTATIONS

As we have multi-cultural and multi-linguistic work force in the companies, English is the language which connects people by default. It is the language used for official communication; whether it is meeting within or outside, presentations, training, conferences, letters, documents, reports etc. The purpose being people are expected to read, write, speak and understand English.

Many candidates don’t know how to answer to the point at the time of the interview and can’t phrase a simple formal letter or report. It becomes a handicap for the candidates who have good domain knowledge.

IV. COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH Communication takes place in two ways; verbal and non-verbal. Verbal communication takes place with the usage of words. Non-verbal communication means expression of ideas through gestures, eye contact, postures and body movements. It is not confined to any language. Verbal communication constitutes oral and written form of communication. Oral communication skills include the ability to speak effectively, listen actively and respond efficiently according to the situation. It helps in oral presentation, video conferencing, telephonic conversation, meeting, interviews etc. Written communication skills means the ability to write effectively and it also includes the ability to read and understand the language used for communication. If a person is labeled as good communicator in English, he is supposed to be master in oral as well as written form of English.

Interviewers will be in dilemma when they encounter such candidates who have technical expertise, but poor communicational skills in English. Left with no other choice they may take the candidate, but will make sure that they are groomed and trained properly. Employers would be happy to interview and recruit who have both communication skills in English and job skills. It lessens their burden of giving too much orientation training at the time of induction or on the job training. VI. ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR A FRESHER TO GET A JOB With beautiful dreams and high spirits people enter in to the graduation. They set their own goals, and work towards achieving them. Getting placed in to a reputed organization adds flavor to their journey of life by the time they leave their college.

There are a good number of people in rural as well as urban parts of India who are literate in regional language medium, but they are highly successful. The point to be made is that in the changed scenario of globalisation, liberalisation and free movement of people, more and more multinational companies are coming to India naturally English has gained importance as one of the basic requirement to be employable in the corporate sectors. If the companies don’t build workforce who are fluent in English, then they remain confined to one particular regional level. They may lose contact with the rest of the world. If there

The ultimate goal should not only be just attaining a good post with a good salary in a reputed company but also creating perfection in the life. This prerequisite not only helps you to get a good job but also improves your standard of living. Handling interviews is very simple provided u know the tricks and tips to crack it. To learn those things, initially a person

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should posses certain prerequisites. Having good English communication is one such.

know English really well, you can always expect to climb the ladder of success at your workplace because you have the potential to deal with clients and communicate effectively with coworkers which ensures smooth tasking.

In the real world, the only medium of communication is English, since it is universal. I stress up on the fact that how well u can communicate and impress HR/any person with your speech matters in most of the successful carriers.

According to other research, 80% of the Internet web content is published in the English and within this figure, a major portion of web content is published by businesses. So it is very important to know English to understand business information, terminologies and data over the Internet and communicate it further with your coworkers.

Forget about background(medium of study) you have come from, you are here to learn subject with English as a medium. Take the opportunity u have and utilize it properly. Start learning English and implement it in your real life. No matter even if you are grammatically in correct, if u can express and pass the message u want to deliver , your work is almost done. Everything can be improvised, polished with your efforts. If you have a very good grip on English, try to polish it even more and help others who can’t speak.

Communication is very necessary to acquire knowledge, circulate information and persuade people to what you think. It helps in developing goodwill and sustaining harmonious relationships with others at work. Real communication is when we listen to what we hear with understanding. It should be the same process with listeners when you speak in English at your workplace.

VII. ENGLISH IN WORKING ENVIRONMENT

VIII. ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE JOB MARKET

Effective communication in English is one of the most sought after skills in an employee at all work places. Interpersonal communication at workplaces includes public and small group communication through which we can communicate our needs and requirements in different situations.

In today’s job market, English has become an essential language for communication. Today English is most commonly used language. So it is very essential to be fluent in English. For that first we need to learn the language and then we need to gain fluency in the language. If you do not know English, then you would be in need of a translator to do the job.

It does not matter if you are laborer, salesperson, manager or something else. If you are a sales person, then most probably you will have to speak to customers efficiently or if you are a manager, you are expected to communicate in English in the most effective way. Besides speaking English properly among various business levels in an organization, one also needs selfpromotion. You can face enough difficulty in networking if you cannot communicate in English proficiently.

In order to be fluent in English, we need to strengthen our basic foundation. Firstly, one needs to be fluent with the basic words. One needs to be fluent in reading and then writing. Once you are fluent with words, you can form simple sentences. You just think of a sentence in your mother language, and try to write the same sentence in English. Initially there will be mistakes but do not worry about it.

If you communicate well in English, your peers at work will be happy to converse with you about work related matters and other things. There are around 1 billion learners of the English language. This figure of people trying to learn English proves the growing need to comprehend and communicate in English. English has become the global language for communicating in all streams such as politics, finance, education, entertainment culture and international relations in almost every country of the world.

The second stage is to have a strong foundation in English grammar, which is very simple as compared to the other languages. Once you are strong with the basics of grammar you will find it easier to form sentences. Initially keep your language simple, with practice you can get deep into the language. In India, the official language of the business world is English. If we are not fluent in English, even if we may have brilliant ideas that would be appreciated, we simply cannot express those ideas. This in turn will prevent us from taking any kind of initiatives at work and therefore, will prevent our growth in the organization.

Proficient English speaking skills can give you liberating confidence and the ability to express yourself in English at work. It gives added benefits and more opportunities to expand your career prospects. A study indicates a solid growth in the number of companies throughout the world that require employees with excellent English speaking skills.

There are jobs where English may not be an essential means of communication. But, if you wish to achieve success in your career and if you wish to be a part of a "brand name", you need to develop fluency in English Language.

According to the Global Envision, English is widely recognized as the official language in more than 70 countries and also taught at educational institutes at all levels. If you

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When you go for a job interview, the most important criteria is your communication in English. If you have all the skills required for the applied job, but, you lack fluency in English, you may lose your chances of being recruited.

stock. "The staff should understand the buyer's needs and should be familiar with the content of the books," she says. "We get a huge number of applications and many of them are rejected because candidates are unable to speak in English. Certain job profiles like that of sales executives, store managers and public relations executives require candidates to talk confidently to customers in English. It is a must-have skill."

The basic point is not to get upset with the fact that one lacks fluency in English. The challenge is to overcome your weakness and work on developing fluency over English language. This will make you more confident while communicating with people.

Who would know this better than Aditya, a smalltime computer repair rookie operating out of the crowded Nehru Place market in New Delhi. Desperately looking for a regular salaried job for months now, Aditya, who originally belongs to a small town in Bihar, shifted to the capital in the summer of 2006. He was hit by a reality check in no time. He didn't know English. "I am ready to enroll into a language school and learn English so that I can secure a better job," he says. "You are finished if you can't speak English."

Not only in a workplace, even in social gatherings, people admire those who speak fluent English. We would definitely write more on how to improve English communication, but the sole effort and determination has to come from within you. Unless you are determined to learn the language, you will not be able to gain fluency in it. Therefore, to start with, ollow the suggestions provided in the previous articles to improve English communication. Keep practicing because practice is the only way by which you can gain fluency in the language.

English doesn't just get you a job. Growth prospects multiply with this increasingly important tool. Chambers of Commerce note that the difference in salary between equally qualified (nonprofessional /technical) candidates could be as high as 400 per cent depending on their proficiency in English.

IX. ENGLISH DECIDES EMPLOYABILITY QUOTIENT From being the privileged language of the white-collared elite, English, as the preferred mode of communication, has now trickled down to being a vital factor in deciding your employability quotient...

Kevin McLaven, first secretary (educational services) at the British Council Division, says people from all walks of life come to their language center to hone their spoken and written English skills. "Applicants take a placement test which consists of a written exam and a 15-minute interview. They also discuss their needs with a teacher and decide which course is best suited for them. We then place them in a class with other learners who have the same skill level. This optimizes their learning ability and allows students to build confidence," he says.

When Lord Macaulay, through his famous 'Minute on Education', imposed English on Indians way back in 1835, he had little clue how deeply entrenched its roots would become in a country that prided itself on Sanskrit, the language of the gods. The Queen's language has come a long way in India. Today, in this nation of a billion plus people - with a literate population of 66 per cent as of 2007 - knowledge of English guarantees a job across sectors. Be it a chauffeur, a hairdresser, a bell boy or a waiter, salutations and courtesies in English are considered so essential that often a minimum skill in the language is non-negotiable with recruiters.

Employers too are doing their bit to ensure their staff can converse in English. Vipul Gupta, executive director at The Metropolitan Hotel in New Delhi, says, "The management conducts regular English classes for employees whose communications skills are weak. English is the most used language in the Indian hospitality sector. Therefore, applicants with a sound knowledge of the language stand a better chance of being selected."

A majority of F&B (food and beverage) outlets, a sector that employ large numbers of young people, insist that employees speak to customers in fluent and correct English. Manpreet Gulri, development agent for Subway, a popular fast food chain, says, "If an employee speaks good English he/she can communicate far better with our customers. We are an international brand, and our customers come from crosssections of society. Communicating in English becomes necessary."

Career counselor Usha Albuquerque explains the importance of being able to communicate in English in both personal and professional spheres. "English," she says, "is the language of the work-force. Anyone who wants to express himself/herself at a national or international level has to be wellversed in the language. Practically every job that requires written and verbal skills will demand knowledge of English. Moreover, in a culturally diverse subcontinent like ours, where every state and region has its own regional language, communicating in a powerful common language like English becomes imperative."

Karishma Dhawan, human resource manager, Oxford Bookstore says that it is important for the staff to be wellversed in English because that's the language of the books they

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X. COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY A.

XI. TIPS AND TRICKS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH COMMUNICATION

Communicating Effectively: The Employee

Please remember one thing, let it be how bad you are at English communication, it doesn’t matter, take a leap, start working on it, nothing is impossible ,the thing is that you need to give your efforts and time .everything can be achieved if you are committed sincerely to it.

1. Never

Personalize Criticism whether you’re giving or receiving criticism, it should be based upon observed actions and results, not intent. It is impossible to know the motivations behind any activity, only the physical actions and outcome of the activity. As a consequence, criticism should be given and accepted unemotionally, considered for its validity and pertinence, and implemented when action is justified. In other words, don’t be too sensitive or defensive when you receive feedback. Consider the information received as intended to get a different result, not a personal attack.

Here are some possible tips to improve your English communication. 1.

2. Understand the Situation. In this case, the precipitat-

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ing cause for the criticism was the physical condition and appearance of the store. At other times, constructive criticism is part of a regular employee performance review, designed to give both parties feedback. Use both opportunities to build your relationship and get information. Use a review as an opportunity to receive and give intelligence that might otherwise be missed.

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3. Be Understanding whenever you receive what you consider to be an unjustified personal attack or criticism, recognize the source and their circumstances before jumping to a conclusion. Unfortunately, people have bad days, and they often respond by assailing others for little or no reason. When heads are cooler and pressures are less, contact the assailant to learn more about the problem and how you can be part of the solution. You may discover that the stimulus for the assault was an overreaction on the sender’s part or had nothing to do with you or your work.

4. 5. 6. 7.

4. Learn From Your Mistakes. Whatever the stage of your career, you can and should continue to learn. Over your working life, you’ll work for and with superiors of varying capabilities and talents. Some you will remember because of their great leadership, while others you’ll remember because they were such poor managers. Even the latter can teach you something.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

In this case, my friend learned how he felt when unjustly accused of poor performance. Hopefully, he will remember his feelings before he makes the same mistakes with the people who report to him currently or in the future. Sometimes, the bad examples are more effective than the good.

13. 14. 15.

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Make a resolution to learn at least one word a day, try to go through various sources ,pick up a word which is new to you and find out its meaning and usage. Try to memorize it and implement it when you talk to your friends or any others. Note down the word you learn in a book, try to go through the book at least once a day for 5 to 10minutes. Establish English communication with peers. Start communicating with your friends in English, strictly stop communication in any other regional languages which you are comfortable with. Never hesitate to talk whatever English you know. Try to build up confidence to speak. Just talk in English in spite of many negative comments from your friends. Another alternative is to make a friend who is a learner like you, communication can be established among both. Always think positively and accept each and every correction made by your colleagues, teachers and well-wishers, try to rectify your mistakes and correct yourself. Never allow your inferiority complex to dominate you. Don’t be afraid to make mistake, learning comes only from mistakes. Go through English grammar at least for 10-15 min a day, if you think that you are not up to the mark at it. Make a good novel your friend. Read it daily when u go to bed, observe the usage and imitate it. Prefer a book which contains more dialogues. Make habit of using dictionary. Watch English movies/news/TV shows. You can even select a movie of your regional language or any other language with English sub titles, follow those subtitles. Listen English music. Make a habit of writing dairy every day before u go to bed in English. Think in English and speak English. I suggest you to think the stuff you want to speak in English. Restrict your online /mobile chats only to English. Go through talks of famous personalities, if possible learn them. Make use of resources available to improve your English usage. Record what you speak and listen to it, you will get to know where your mistake is. Whatever you read (newspaper, book, blog etc), read it out with confidence. It helps you to analyses your

problems and weak points in speaking. once you find something difficult, try to find the solution and implement it in your speech.

[2] Barry R. Chiswick, Paul W. Miller, “Occupational

Language Requirements and the Value of English”, March 2007. [3] Baby Pushpa Sinha, “Role of the English Language/Literature in Quality Education and Teacher Development”, ISSN 0976-8165. [4] Sowmya Ramaswami, Iyad Sarraf, Jon Haydon, “English Language Quantitative Indicators”, May 2012. [5] Sarjit Kaur and Candice Marie Clarke, “Analysing the english language needs of human Resource staff in multinational companies”, English for Specific Purposes Issue 3 (24), Volume 8, 2009. [6] Wuthiya Saraithong, “The Determinants of New Coming Workers’ English Proficiency”, The IISES International Interdisciplinary Conference – April 2012. [7] Anne Henderson, Andrew Triln, Noel Watts, “English Language Proficiency and Recruitment and Employment of Professional Immigrants in New Zealand. [8] http://www.campus2life.com/prerequisites/91-theimportance-of-english-language-for-a-fresher-to-get-ajob#axzz2MtmqDanl [9] http://www.deccanherald.com/content/249714/importance -english-employment.html [10] http://blog.maximizeenglish.com/2011/08/30/importanceof-speaking-english-in-work-environment/

XII. CONCLUSION With English language skills, there are immense opportunities for self-employment as well. In fact, most work-from-home jobs require decent levels of spoken and written English. Some hot self-employment options for those good in English include English trainer, content writing, blogger etc. You can make a sizeable amount of money with each of these self-employment options. The importance of English language in the job market cannot be undermined. For those of you who find it tough to come to grips with the language, reading a lot will help matters. Start out with simple books or topics that interest you. Over time, you will be able to comprehend the language much better, improving your skills in the process. REFERENCES [1] Nasreen Hussain, Azra Ahmed and Mohammad Zafar,

“The English and Empowerment in the Developing World”, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.

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