Study on the Importance of Business Spanish

Ana Suárez Vázquez and Ignacio A. Rodríguez-del-Bosque (2008). “The Importance of Business Spanish for Multinational Companies Which Operate in Hispanic Markets: An Exploratory Study.” The Business Journal of Hispanic Research 2.3, 26-34.

The authors of this study asked training managers from multinational companies that operated in Hispanic markets about their need to have employees trained in business Spanish. The articles makes several points:
  • These businesses feel that business Spanish is important.
  • However, few companies actually invest in training their employees in business Spanish.
  • These companies need employees trained in business Spanish in two areas: external communications with the market and internal communications within the company.

What is the message for my Spanish & Entrepreneurship students?

  • It's important that you invest in learning business Spanish now, while you're at the university (and in my class!). This will be valued by employers of this specific kind of company; it is not something that they will train you later.
  • Most people concentrate on using Spanish for external clients, marketing, etc. However, don't forget that internal communications are important, too. And internal communication often happens through wikis and other Web 2.0 tools that you use for this class.
  • Work on your Spanish! When you write your reflections, check your grammar and look up words. When you're in the community, really listen to how native speakers say things.
  • ¡A trabajar! :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vocabulary for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Image
I'm very happy that so many students responded to our community partner's need for help. Our students' language skills will help Central High School's Latino parents better communicate with the teachers during the parent-teacher conferences next week. Central's secretary will contact the students directly to schedule times with them. Here is some vocabulary help for students. Materias. School subjects are "materias" NOT "sujetos." You should remember subjects from your intro Spanish courses, but here are some reminders: historia, matemáticas, inglés, física, química, biología, educación física, etc. General vocabulary. Notas = grades; aprobar = to pass; suspender = to fail; conducta, comportamiento = behavior. Topics. Ms. Citraro offers the following advice: "The topics and vocabulary that would come up are about the subjects at school. For example: no ha entregado las tareas tiene que tomar el examen otra vez habla mucho en clase falta muc...
Read more

How to Correctly File Hispanic Names

Image
I know that community-based learning students don't like it when they are asked to file during their time in the community. However, their learning goals are to improve their Spanish and knowledge of Latino cultures. Filing information on clients with Hispanic names helps them with both. And imagine the impact of mis-filing for the organizations where our students work and and their clients. That's why I was unhappy to learn that many SPAN 232 students did not do well on their exam section asking them to put some Hispanic names in alphabetical order. I can imagine that some students feel that putting names into alphabetical order isn't important. It is! It is especially important in the organizations where they work because they are dealing with clients who may not have "accommodated" to the American system of using only one last name. And it is especially important for clients whose papers are so important for their legal status, medical information and oth...
Read more

Interview with Jessica Horn of ACCIÓN Chicago

Image
By Carolyn Kloecker , Span 232 student This past week I completed an assignment for my Business Communications class (SPCM 211) which was to interview someone in a field that I am interested in working for in the future. I asked her many questions about the organization, and lots of information can be found on their website www.accionchicago.org . This organization is a Community Partner with Spanish & Illinois, and has an extensive connection with the Spanish-speaking community in the Chicagoland area. Here are a few of the questions and answers from Jessica: Is ACCIÓN a fairly new organization? How did it begin? ACCIÓN Chicago started in 1994, but the parent organization, ACCIÓN was started in 1961. It is the largest micro-lending organization, and it began in Venezuela, and took root in the U.S. in 1991. How do loan officers communicate with clients? Mostly by phone, as people call in to the office to get a loan for their small business. The website is also a main form o...
Read more