The Finnish ministry of education is encouraging the study of foreign languages as a way of building a “language reserve.” The idea that this will strengthen language abilities. Obviously, any type of international work will benefit from having second-language ability, but skill in your own language matters as well.
How well you use your language impacts your communication every day. When you’re writing reports, describing strategies, or simply composing memos in your own language, you can’t rely on your skill in another one. Nor can you assume your writing is effective just because it’s in your first language. Someone may be an expert in her field, but if her language skill is weak, it’s hard for other people to benefit from that expertise. It’s true that different situations call for different levels of skill, but there’s always a demand for some who can effectively use plain language.
A person who’s good at putting his native language to work contributes to the organization’s language reserve.
This week’s guest writer, Veera Louhivuori, is a Finnish language student who participated in the Language Consulting Course at the University of Tampere.