|
RAOUL
questionnaire
Motivations
Report
25th
January 2006
The
use of languages (for work)
Aim
of the survey
·
to find out why people want to learn other languages and in particular
whether they consider other languages to be important for their
work and career.
Sample
profile
|
Group
|
Total
number
|
Male
|
Female
|
Age
19-29
|
30
- 39
|
40
- 49
|
50
- 59
|
60
- 69
|
Over
69
|
|
(1)
RAOUL
partners
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
(2)
Teachers
and others
|
4
|
|
4
|
|
2
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
(3)
Language
learners
|
10
|
4
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
|
|
|
(4)
Non-learners*
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
21
|
6
|
15
|
3
|
11
|
5
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
*
have
not done any language learning for at least 3 years
For
learners only
|
How
many?
|
Language
learners
|
Non-language
learners
|
|
Living
in a rural area
|
8
|
2
|
|
Living
in a disadvantaged area
|
|
|
|
Migrants
|
|
|
|
Travellers
|
|
|
|
Ethnic
minority learners
|
|
|
|
Economically
disadvantaged learners
|
|
|
|
Socially
disadvantaged learners
|
|
|
|
Disabled
people
|
|
|
|
Senior
citizens
|
|
|
|
Women
|
6
|
4
|
Section
A: Reasons for language learning
1.
Which of the following reasons for language learning would you
consider most relevant, relevant or least relevant to yourself (groups
3 and 4) or the people you work with (groups 1 and 2).
Please tick the appropriate box for each reason.
|
Why
learn other languages?
|
most
relevant / relevant
|
|
Groups
|
Project
partners, teachers, volunteers, employees
|
Learners
(including non-learners)
|
|
Total
number
|
5
|
16
|
|
a)
work purposes
|
95%
|
95%
|
|
b)
to acquire new skills
|
87%
|
87%
|
|
c)
better job
|
95%
|
95%
|
|
d)
holiday
|
60%
|
55%
|
|
e)
communicate with family and friends
|
0%
|
0%
|
|
f)
communicate with the community and tourists
|
70%
|
85%
|
|
g)
help the children with homework
|
40%
|
60%
|
|
h)
enjoy travel more
|
70%
|
80%
|
|
i)
learn about other cultures
|
70%
|
65%
|
|
j)
fun
|
30%
|
30%
|
|
k)
free time activity
|
20%
|
20%
|
|
l)
to socialise
|
50%
|
70%
|
|
m)
to live and work abroad
|
50%
|
50%
|
|
n)
challenge
|
0%
|
0%
|
|
o)
to help economy
|
20%
|
25%
|
|
p)
better European citizen
|
40%
|
20%
|
|
|
Summary
A:
·
The highest motivation for language learning which is English
here is related to work
purposes, and for having work possibilities.
·
There is also a high motivation for acquiring new skills.
·
Less relevant for learning English is for free activities
2.
Please can you use the box below to give us more
information and examples of any of the answers you have given
above:
Groups
1 and 2: why the people you work with learn languages.
“As
far as I’m aware, the only reason that people are learning a
language is for personal reasons such as holidays. The reason
I’ve completed question 1 to reflect that the reasons are for
work, is because that is what is most relevant within the
partnership, but it’s not what people actually do in practice.”
“I
think in a multi cultural city like Leicester it is very
important to have an understanding of languages (community). It
aids community cohesion – better understanding and
demonstrates individuals have made an effort to communicate.”
“The
students I work with learn languages because they have to (national
curriculum/compulsory in some schools), they want to (enjoy it
and are good at it – GCSE/A-level), because they think it
helps them get a better job when they start in the world of
work. Teachers I work with occasionally learn an extra language
because they need it for their job.”
“Learners
achievement in being successful in acquiring a level of
proficiency in a language is something that makes them feel good
about themselves and enhances self-esteem.”
Group
3:
why you learn languages.
“Because
I enjoy the process of learning languages – both in a group
setting and self-directed study. I find the shift of focus to
another culture very exciting and stimulating. I love travelling
and enjoy the sense that I can understand a little of what’s
going on and show respect for the ‘otherness’ of a
non-English speaking culture by speaking, however basically, in
its language.”
“Although
I do not need languages for my job at the moment, I may be
interested in working abroad in the future and am therefore keen
to acquire foreign language skills.
I
also enjoy learning as a hobby and having another language will
enable me to get more out of travel and I feel more confident
abroad. In addition, being able to speak even a little bit of
the language of the country you are travelling in shows to
people of that country that you are open to other cultures.”
“Love
language. Have a particular interest in the country where the
language is spoken.”
“I
enjoy the challenge. It’s good to speak other languages.”
“Help
my children and help me understand.”
“To
survive / profit from a stay abroad, to advance at work”
“To
use it when I go on my foreign holidays.”
Group
4:
why you might want to learn languages (or not).
“I
enjoy going on holiday abroad and it might make it better if I
knew another language.”
“Acquiring
new skills – keeping ‘brain box’ alive”
“to
impress people”
Section
B: The language learning experience
(for learners only)
1.
What do you / would you take into account when thinking
about learning a language.
10
people from groups 3 and 4 responded
to this section.
Other
important
criteria mentioned were:
·
the quality of teaching (planning, delivery, methodology)
·
how long it takes to learn
·
how well it fits in with the working hours
Summary
B:
·
All non-learners and 50% of existing learners say that cost
is either very important or important when thinking about learning
a language.
·
All non-learners and most existing learners say that the
distance of travel is either very important or important.
·
Most non-learners and most existing learners consider the
flexibility of study as very important or important.
·
All non-learners and 50% of learners say that the course
content needs to be specific.
·
The evening course and study in a small group seem to be
the preferred learning experiences for over 50% of the cohort (see
next page).
2.
What kind of learning experience does or would work best for
you? Please tick the appropriate box(es).
10
people from groups 3 and 4
responded to this section.
Preferred
Learning Experience
Options
not chosen by anybody:
·
learning together with members of your family
·
e-learning
Section
C: Why learn other languages for work?
1.
What languages do you think it might be most useful to be able
to speak in the workplace? Put a tick in the box that best describes
what you think.
16
people
responded to this section.
The
community languages mentioned were: Arabic, Czech, Farsi, Gujarati,
Hindi, Kurdish, Somali, Turkish and Urdu
Can
you tell us about the ticks that you have put in the “very useful”
column? Why would these languages be very useful?
“In this country, English is obviously the most useful to be
able to speak in the workplace. I think that all other languages are
relevant especially with the expansion of the EU and developing
Chinese economy and are useful depending upon an individual
company’s and industry’s needs.”
“English
is the first language of workplace in the UK.”
“All
meetings are conducted in English.”
“Difficult
to obtain a good job in the UK without fluency in English”
French
and German (in addition to English)
“I
know these people and can speak to them more.”
“because
everybody speaks them”
Community
Languages
“To
communicate with the people of the City of Leicester more easily.”
“Established
community languages are relevant for key partners who provide
services to the public and also for Interpreting Services. These
are: Gujarati, Punjabi, Somali, Turkish and BSL.
For
New Arrivals which includes refugees and asylum seekers, then
currently the languages used and requested are Kurdish (3 dialects),
Somali, Pushto, Tigrinya, Farsi, Arabic and Mongolian, but this
changes according to the influx of new communities. The entry of
more Eastern European countries to the EU will continue to influence.
An
audit of Languages for Business in Leicestershire identified French,
Italian, Spanish, German, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese and Cantonese
as key.”
2.
In which jobs or professions do you think it would be really
important, important or not so important to be able to speak another
language? Insert the name of the job and tick the “very important;
important and not so important jobs”
Identified
by groups 1 and 2
|
Very
important
|
Why?
|
|
Receptionist
Switchboard
Interpreter
Front
line workers (NHS and Social Care , job centre etc.)
Tourism
|
Because
the ability to communicate effectively ensures good access to
services for the customer / patient/ client.
|
|
Police
Force
Community
Worker
Sales
Rep (trading with Europe or internationally)
|
better
understanding between various communities
|
|
Doctor
|
In
a medical emergency he / she could communicate with someone who
speaks a foreign language.
|
|
Language
teacher
Travel
and Tourism
Accommodation
Languages
consultant / adviser
|
To
communicate with those you work with / for.
|
|
Medical
worker
Law
workers
|
To
offset problems when information is misunderstood.
|
Identified
by group 3
|
Very
important
|
Why?
|
|
Agencies
that work with immigration
|
You
may come into contact with people who are vulnerable and do not
speak the language of the country they are in and you need to
communicate with them in order to provide help and establish
their circumstances.
|
|
Politician
Spy
Diplomat
Airline
pilot
|
Some
jobs will require the use of an ‘international language’
e.g. airline pilot Some jobs demand ‘people skills’
including language skills, e.g. diplomat.
|
|
ESOL
teacher / language teacher
|
self-explanatory
|
|
Driver
with overseas deliveries
|
Language
knowledge / competence allows independence and improves
communication.
|
|
Television
|
No
response
|
|
Journalist,
Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, Interpreter
|
In
order to serve the needs of the local community.
To
be better aware of different language needs.
|
Identified
by group 4
|
Very
important
|
Why?
|
|
Doctor,
Teacher, Sales
|
No
response
|
|
Holiday
rep. / Travel agent
|
To
be able to do your job better
|
Can
you think of any jobs where being able to speak another language is
not necessary at all? Why isn’t it necessary?
“The
majority of jobs in the UK – English is generally accepted as the
medium of communication.”
“I
currently work in UK based Financial Services and do not need
languages for my job. However I sometimes speak to people working in
companies based ‘offshore’ e.g. Luxembourg and find that
everyone speaks English’ and do not expect you to be able to
communicate in anything other than English.”
“Any
domestic work – no reading and talking.”
“Some
jobs don’t need to use other languages – but if people can it’s
better for their overall general knowledge and understanding of the
world and other peoples.”
Summary
C1-2:
·
English is considered to be the most useful language for
work purposes in the UK.
·
However, staff and learners have identified a wide range of
jobs and professions where languages other than English would be
very important. (Non-learners do not elaborate on this point so
much.)
·
The need to communicate better with other communities in
the UK is mentioned as the most important reason why a range of
other languages is very important.
3.
How do you think other languages might be used in workplaces
near you?
Expected use
of other languages in the workplace
Total
in this cohort: 11
Total
in this cohort: 6
Where
you have ticked “yes” can you tell us which workplaces use other
languages?
·
All public services, municipal admin, libraries, advice centres
·
Educational and academic institutions
·
Those businesses owned by ethnic minorities
·
Medical providers
·
Legal services
·
Interpreting
·
Various manufacturing companies with export ambitions
·
Tourist office
·
Childcare facilities
4.
Do you think that the ability to speak a language other than
your mother tongue could mean the following?
Can
you give reasons for any of the answers you have given above?
|
Yes.
|
No.
|
|
“Speaking
more than one language demonstrates you are intellectually
capable.”
|
“Unless
you are ‘trading’ in Europe or internationally I’m sorry
but I don’t think it’s necessary if English is your first
language.”
|
|
“I
work in the area of language learning / teaching, where the
ability to speak more than one language is highly valued. I
would like to live and work in France or Praque, where fluent
French and Czech would help my job prospects.”
|
“My
language ability has often helped others without resulting in
any advancement for myself.”
|
|
“All
of the above could be relevant if looking for a job in this
country where languages are required e.g. translation or if
looking for a job in a foreign country.”
|
|
Can
you tell us one thing that would make you learn a language to use at
work? Why would this make you learn?
“Inability
to communicate with a student – this is embarrassing and I
would consider taking up Gujarati to help me.”
“To
aid community cohesion, need for better understanding.”
“Involvement
in project were English is not the first language.”
“If
the partnership were communicating with a similar partnership in
another country that would be useful (but we are not). I feel
it’s polite, shows courtesy and a willingness to be flexible.”
learners
“A
good language teacher. Bad teachers put me off.”
“If
the employers asked me to and paid.”
“If
I was paid more to have another language for work.”
“Paid
time to learn it as part of a group and in a 1:1 situation with a
native speaker.”
non-learners
no
response
Summary
C3-4:
·
The majority of people in all cohorts think that other
languages are used in a range of situations in workplaces nearby
and that the ability to speak another language would be useful for
work in one way or another. Most tend to suggest that it can give
people a job and an advantage over other candidates.
·
When asked what would make them learn another language for
work, staff often talk about non-material values such as
politeness and community cohesion. Learners on the other hand
consider better pay or paid time for learning to be very
motivating. The non-learners have not responded to this question
which is unfortunate as it would have been very useful for this
project and for the creation of a motivational tool.
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