Training in Foreign Languages and Cultures

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Unfortunately, many British and Americans tend not to be fluent in any language other than their own. When compared to other nationalities, such as the Scandinavians and the Dutch, we are truly put to shame. English is spoken widely, and few other countries speak Swedish or Dutch, which makes it easier for them and harder for us. However, this is not a good excuse for refusing to learn even a few words of someone else's language.

Whatever our level of linguistic expertise, most of us still have a problem when faced with a class of foreign students. Of course, the problem is minimized if all your students speak excellent English. In this case, you should be able to train the course like you do for English students.

It is often assumed that the course should be presented in the students' own language and that all the materials should be translated if their command of English is less than perfect. Luckily, there are several levels of translation that can be applied, and this can be critical when time or cost is at a premium. Table 1 shows the relationship between the translation level and the English standard.

Table 1 Relationship between language ability and the level of translation

When the language ability is very high, all the presentations, materials, and exercises can be in English.

Where the command of the language is not perfect, but still very good, the presentation and materials can be in English, but participants should be allowed to complete the exercises in their own language. It is still possible to use English trainers. If a translator is unavailable, they will have to rely on their knowledge of the course, body language and tone of voice to understand what is happening. This is not as difficult as it might seem because a trainer with intimate knowledge of the exercises will soon be aware of any problems or difficulties. It is then just a matter of intervening and asking what is happening.

The next level is to have the course presented in the students' own language but still have the written materials in English. Videos would have to be over-dubbed. When producing videos to be used in other countries, ensure the master has two soundtracks. The first track should have the music and sound effects, and the second should have all the language-sensitive material. This makes dubbing in a foreign language very much easier.

As language ability decreases, more and more materials will need to be translated. However, not all written materials will need to be translated unless the language ability is very low. Articles and explanations of concepts would need to be translated, but simple instructions may not have to be.

Some companies use a restricted vocabulary to write the service manuals for their engineers so that the time and cost of translation can be avoided. The author is asked to use only a vocabulary of about a thousand of the most commonly used words. The words in this vocabulary are carefully chosen and defined to have only one meaning. If the user is taught the same vocabulary, the service manual can be understood by somebody with minimal knowledge of the language.

The use of restricted vocabulary also makes computer-assisted translation easier. Computer translation has come a long way since the time when a computer translation of 'The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak' into the Russian equivalent of 'The vodka is good, but the meat is bad'. However, the best use of computer-assisted translation is still as a translator's tool, where the original and the computer's translation are shown side by side on the screen. The translator is then able to make adjustments for grammar, idiom and style.

Culture is a thin but very important veneer that you must be careful not to scratch. People from different cultures are basically the same and respond in the same way. However, make sure that you understand their basic customs and show an interest and willingness to learn the differences between your cultures.

The meaning of Chinese words changes with the pitch of the voice. A word spoken at a low pitch has a completely different meaning to the same word spoken at a higher pitch. I was aware of this, but I was still caught out when I was teaching a class of Singaporeans.

I was asking Tng a question, but I didn't seem to be getting his attention. To make matters worse, the whole class burst out laughing. When I asked what the problem was, they told me that I had been saying 'Tng' with a high instead of a low pitch — I had been telling him to go home!

One of the most surprising things I have experienced is that there is often less difference between people of different nationalities who share the same profession than between people of the same nationality who work in different professions. The cultural differences between companies, civilians and service people and between sales, marketing and manufacturing are fascinating and can easily catch out the unwary.