Communiocate in English
A student wrote to me: “Why do software developers need foreign language such as English or Japanese if we only work for local company? Language training add more time in school, instead of 4 years, it expands to 5 years and make more money to the school. Is it fair to students and their families?"
My answer: It is important for software developers to have English competency regardless whether you are working for local company or foreign company. Today, many software development projects are global development with team members live and work in different locations. Like it or not, you may have to meet with customers, discuss with team members who language is not your native language, so it is important for you to know the official business language which is English. Of course, there are other languages such as Japanese, Chinese or Spanish but according to current report, over 90% of global companies require English as the main languages.
You probably read the book “The world is flat” by Thomas Friedman. The term “Flat world” is defined as the reduction of obstacle or friction in the flow of information, capital, products, services and resources among countries. Of these, information has the least friction as it can flow instantaneously around the world with English as the main language. Without English, information flows may be restricted and globalization may not be expanding as fast as what we see today. This increasing flatness with less obstacles is often tied to the rise of developing nations. According to Goldman Sachs, a Wall Street investment firm, the market value of developing nations will surge more than fivefold to $80 trillion in the next decade, overtaking developed nations. That means the future of all businesses will be flourishing in developing nations. However, this opportunity can only be achieved in countries where people can do business using English language. With globalization, working across national boundaries is essential in business today, no country can stay in isolation so the urgent need is to have skilled developers who can speak English. Today, there is a large gap between the need for developer skilled in English and the actual skill levels of most developers. In Asia, except India and the Philippines, only 9% of developers have English skills sufficient to do their jobs. It may explain why India captured 52% of IT outsourcing market when China only has 12%.
Today, companies around the world are trying to recruit younger developers to replace million older developers who will be retiring over the next few years. Because only few university graduates from developing countries could communicate in English, they miss the chance to advance in their careers. That is why I think English should be required in all university trainings. I understand your concern about the possibility of an extra year learning English but please think of the long term career, not short term benefit. The extra time to learn a foreign language such as English is a good investment because today many software products are built by global teams with members live in different countries. It is essential that software developers to have English proficiency. Most governmentsunderstand this issue and require their schools to teach English skills.According to Chinese government's report, within the next 15 years more Chinese people will speak English than the number of native English speakers worldwide.
Effective communication in English is critical to everybody, not just software developers. As the world is changing with more businesses are being conducted across national boundaries, English skill can save time accomplishing tasks and is more effective in getting overall job done. The Harvard Business Review noted: "Organizations that invest more in communication skills significantly outperform their competition in earnings, high profit, and market capitalization." In an environment where business is increasingly global and work teams, customers, and suppliers are dispersed around the world, there is no more important investment than the skill that enables people to communicate and collaborate. I hope that you realize that beside technical skills, you are also investing in develop your communication skill that allow you to be more flexible and have better career choice than others.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
