Access your free copy
of the full article!!!
"*" indicates required fields
Multi-Cultural Leadership
Communication and Leading Successfully in an increasingly Global business world
The Language of Leadership
We often look back through our own library of articles, and refresh the content to re-post regularly, because so many of the topics covered are still relevant to Leadership in 2025 even if they were originally written a decade or more ago. One that stood out recently was originally written and published in September 2013; an article which spoke about a drop in people learning more than one language, beyond the little taught in schools before GCSE.
This was being flagged as a ‘crisis in education’ twelve years ago – with experts stating that such a big drop in language learning would have a negative impact on wider society, in a range of ways.
It’s been more than a decade since that ‘crisis’ and the predictions about what it could mean were first being debated – so I thought it would be interesting to look at how accurate those predictions were, and whether there’s been any change in how many people do study languages (and why that’s so vital for business, and for society!)
The original article referenced articles from the Guardian and Telegraph (the Guardian articles are still live: Language teaching crisis as 40% of university departments face closure and Lack of language skills is diminishing Britain’s voice in the world – the Telegraph’s article, titled “The decline in UK language learning is a rational market correction” is no longer available)
All three discussed the notable decline in how many students want to study languages beyond what we all have to learn in school – and checking those statistics in recent years shows that numbers have continued to drop, despite the concerns all those years ago.
Here are some important references from this year;
“New report shows a catastrophic decline in formal language learning” from HEPI (Higher Education Policy Institute)
“The Languages Crisis: Arresting decline” – Megan Bowler, for DuoLingo and HEPI
“Crisis or variation in languages education provision in England?” – National Consortium for Languages Education, UCL Institute of Education
All of these show that, since Government changed the compulsory study of foreign languages to end after Key Stage 3 (age 14) in 2004, the proportion taking the GCSE plummeted to just 43% by 2010. There was a small increase at that point, but only 2.97% of A-Levels taken in 2024 were for any foreign language. Some more of these statistics from that report show:
- Language teacher recruitment consistently falls well below government targets – in 2024, just 43% of the target was reached
- Declines in the uptake of degree programmes in languages have continued across all modern language groups each year since 2020 (when a previous HEPI report on the issue was published)
- Since 2014, 17 post-1992 universities have lost their modern languages degrees, bringing the total closures to 28 and leaving modern languages in just 10 universities across the UK
But why does this matter?
In a world that is increasingly global, with the internet and smart phones making communication across borders instant and easy – and technology giving us access to translation apps and AI that can translate in real time, even with the spoken word – does anyone need to speak more than one language?
Comments below some of the articles discussing this show that those who don’t think it matters really don’t think it matters – but if you zoom out to the bigger picture – globally, socially, in our communities and in the work we all do – is language not the core of how everything functions? Language – and understanding what people are saying, how they say it, the subtext and cultural influence on what they do (and don’t!) say – shapes everything we are and do. Understanding each other is vital – and with so few people studying languages, are we being left behind?
To be clear; I’m only speaking about the UK – across mainland Europe, and the wider world, it’s very common for people to speak more than one language. Any Brit who has visited another European country knows that even if we do try to use the bits of language we remember from school, people tend to realise where we are from and switch into English – and even if they aren’t fluent to a degree level, they can hold conversations perfectly well.
If you look at immigrants and migrants – those entering our shores compared to the large ex-pat communities in Spain, for example – the expectation is that those coming to the UK should learn English, while those who have left the UK for warmer climes often never learn to speak more than the absolute basics of the language in their new home, relying on English-speaking locals to make the effort.
The problem here (and apparently only here) is that our ignorance in foreign language also creates barriers in cultural and social literacy. Those barriers inevitably shape our business interactions, and the potential of any business wanting to trade internationally, and those Leaders and Managers who need to work with people overseas in their role, whether that’s to lead overseas teams or to complete business deals of any kind. Relying on everyone else to speak English – though we know it’s one of the most commonly spoken languages in the business world – creates walls between us and everyone else. Not only in what is being said, but in the everything else that comes with being more multi-cultural.
As John Westnage said in the Telegraph’s article from 2013;
“It is true that English is an international business language, but knowing your client or supplier’s language will help open the initial door and open cultural understanding.”
Language – communication – isn’t only the words being said, or the message being conveyed – and with so few people in the UK learning foreign languages, we also see a significant drop in foreign travel (for business or pleasure) and for those who do, they tend to stick to other English-speaking groups (like those Spain-based ‘ex-pat’ communities) and miss out on experiencing how other cultures and communities really live and interact. Without language, you can’t help but be boxed in to limited experiences, not confident to explore and interact with people naturally, and what communication there is either relies on them speaking English, mime, or using a translation app which can only convey the basic message, with none of the nuance or cultural understanding. Every culture and social group has their own references, tone, attitudes, subtext and expectations – and without understanding one another’s language, those cultural references are also lost – and when the words we say are only a fraction of what’s communicated when we speak face to face with others (think body language, culture, facial expressions, shared history or politics) understanding those cultural references are absolutely vital…
Language is just part of who we are - and every good Leader needs to communicate effectively with their people...
...but without access to language, how much of what you need to say (or hear) is being missed?
Why does it matter?
The lack of access to (or interest in) learning other languages also brings with it a kind of entitlement – the “they should speak English” mindset – that also implies that we don’t think learning their language is worth the effort but do think that other people should put that effort in for our sake. It may not be said quite as bluntly as that, but that is the underlying attitude that seems to be increasingly prevalent – and which is contributing to the growing division we are seeing in our communities and politics.
This isn’t the place to delve into politics in detail, but we can explore how important it is to understand and communicate well with other cultures and communities in business – and how vital shared language is for training and development in the workplace, because that’s what we do.
You might already know us, and have experienced one of our Programmes – but we don’t work solely in the UK; we have clients across the world, on every continent, and run all of our Leadership Development and Coaching Programmes in a wide range of languages. We have Associates and Consultants who are fluent in multiple languages, and native speakers who work with us overseas, and always ensure that the materials are available in the language learners are most comfortable in. Those translations aren’t ever done by AI or computer programmes, because the nuance of the whole can be lost when you take humans out of the work. Instead we have a team of highly qualified and experienced translators who not only know how to translate the content, but how to do it in a way that maintains the tone, understanding the culture and bigger picture of who the content is for, not only what’s in it. This can only be achieved because studying languages and understanding other cultures and communities matters – and recruiting those people in the UK is increasingly difficult, because so few professionals are fluent in more than just English.
The work that we do – Training, Coaching, Development – brings the experience and expertise of a lot of different people together, and all of the content and materials we use are tailored to the specific needs of each client. When that includes translation into another language we know that making a direct translation and running the programme exactly the way we do for UK clients may not work; different cultures communicate differently – so what might be received well here may cause offence, or simply not ‘translate’ to the learners.
These differences in how people communicate are just as important as the words themselves; without learning other languages, we can only ever get those references through a wall – adding a step removed between ‘us’ and ‘them’, which adds further to that ‘us and them’ mentality.
Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions theory, in the most simple of terms, describes six key cultural differences beyond language, and is a good starting point as a framework to understand how national values shape our societies, and how they influence behaviour and communication, particularly in international business.
Culture – and the subconscious understanding we rely on – is also far more varied than nationality; think of how different accents and communities are around the UK; as an example, compare people you’ve met from, say, Glasgow, Liverpool, the Lake District, Dorset or central London. All are British, all speak English – but the accent’s vary hugely, and the colloquial and informal language each uses with their local friends and family will differ enormously from each other’s. Something as simple as asking what term they use for a bread roll could bring confusion and conflict! If there can be that broad and different a perspective within the UK, how much is there across other countries, and how much of that are we missing because we can’t speak any other language?
In a globalised world, and especially when we seem to be seeing more division, less acceptance, and that ‘us and them’ mentality seems to be growing, it’s never been more important for business Leaders and Managers to understand the benefits of multi-cultural teams. A focus on diversity, inclusion, understanding and equal opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, and with a wider range of experience or expertise that the Leaders and Managers themselves don’t have, brings a wealth of benefits to your organisation. Not only for the actual business – the bottom line, the sales and profits – but, more importantly, for the culture and day-to-day working environment your people are in. Making it a place that is open, accepting, where your peers at work are keen and interested in learning about the differences and the shared experiences each person brings, and where each person feels as valuable and supported as possible, means that they feel safe and confident in their work.
We say it a lot – but I’m going to say it again; happy people perform better.
And happiness is harder when you don’t understand someone.
Learning another language may seem like a small thing – and many people in the UK are still quite dismissive, and disinterested, in doing so – increasingly so, as those AI translators are more widely available – but when you understand that language brings real understanding and connection, the impact on the UK as a society, as an international business presence, where we can match our global competitors for that trade, is deeply concerning.