How can you use your language skills to make your work more valuable?

1 Understand the culture

Language is not just a tool for conveying information, but also a reflection of the culture and values of the people who speak it. To use your language skills effectively, you need to understand the context, nuances, and expectations of your interlocutors. For example, how do they express politeness, respect, disagreement, or humor? How do they structure their arguments, proposals, or feedback? How do they handle conflicts, negotiations, or collaborations? By learning the cultural aspects of the language, you can avoid misunderstandings, build rapport, and adapt your style to suit different situations.

2 Expand your vocabulary

One of the benefits of working abroad is that you can learn new words and phrases that are relevant to your field, industry, or role. By expanding your vocabulary, you can express yourself more clearly, accurately, and persuasively. You can also understand more of what others are saying, especially when they use jargon, slang, or idioms. To improve your vocabulary, you can read, listen, watch, or follow content that is related to your work, such as articles, podcasts, videos, or social media posts. You can also ask questions, take notes, or use apps to help you remember and practice the new words.

3 Seek feedback

Another way to use your language skills to make your work more valuable is to seek feedback from others who are more proficient or native speakers of the language. Feedback can help you identify and correct your mistakes, improve your pronunciation, grammar, or syntax, and enhance your fluency, confidence, or eloquence. You can ask for feedback from your colleagues, managers, clients, or mentors, either formally or informally. You can also join online or offline communities, groups, or courses that offer feedback, coaching, or mentoring for language learners.

4 Share your knowledge

You can also use your language skills to make your work more valuable by sharing your knowledge with others who are interested or need to learn the language. By sharing your knowledge, you can demonstrate your expertise, credibility, or leadership, and also help others improve their skills, performance, or outcomes. You can share your knowledge in various ways, such as creating or delivering content, training, or workshops, mentoring or coaching others, participating or leading discussions, or writing or translating documents.

5 Embrace diversity

Finally, you can use your language skills to make your work more valuable by embracing diversity and appreciating the different perspectives, experiences, or insights that come from speaking different languages. By embracing diversity, you can foster a more inclusive, collaborative, or innovative culture in your workplace, and also expand your network, opportunities, or horizons. You can embrace diversity by being curious, open-minded, respectful, or empathetic towards others who speak different languages, and also by celebrating, promoting, or supporting the diversity of languages in your work environment.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?