You may have been told, on several occasions, that being able to speak English can improve your job prospects. Indeed, your teachers, your parents, and even your friends, may have repeated the advice that improving your English language skills, if you are a non-native English speaker, can help secure you a better job, and a better future.
Anecdotal evidence would suggest this is true, of course. English is the international business language after all, and most global industries conduct their work and research in English, primarily publish in that language, and of course communicate in person in the English tongue.
It is probably a simple fact of life that being able to speak English improves your chances of getting a job, simply because it opens up international markets and improves your prospects of getting a job with a major global company.
According to the Cambridge English, English at Work: global analysis of language skills in the workplace report from September 2016, “English is immensely important wherever you are in the world. In countries where English is not a native or official language, over two thirds of employers say that English is important for their business.”
But the evidence is not just anecdotal, it actually all comes down to cold, hard numbers.
What the research says
Unsurprisingly, a lot of research has been conducted on how language affects economic prosperity. According to the Harvard Business Review, no less, “research shows a direct correlation between the English skills of a population and the economic performance of the country.”
That’s on a national level. But what about individual job and economic prospects when it comes to being able to speak and communicate in English? Again, according to the Harvard Business Review, “on an individual level, recruiters and HR managers around the world report that job seekers with exceptional English compared to their country’s level earned 30-50% percent higher salaries.”
30-50% is a significantly higher amount.
What can I do to improve my written English language skills?
When it comes to actually speaking English, the opportunity to practice is extremely important, and obviously this is not an opportunity open to all.
However, what you can do, immediately, is start to build your vocabulary and the proficiency of your written English. This will have an impact of the impression you can give to potential employers with the quality of your CV and the readability of your correspondence. And, of course, it’s a good base from which to build your verbal English skills.
Using a writing assistant, such as the AI-powered tool developed by Linguix, will immediately help begin to see an improvement in your ability to write in English.
Get the help you need in proofreading and editing your texts with the grammar checking tool, developed by language experts. But more than that, the Linguix tool also eradicates structural and vocabulary-based errors, and helps you write in a way that suits your audience and the message that you wish to communicate. The free Chrome extension allows you to avail of corrections wherever you may be writing on the web.
The look-up tool provided by Linguix, also available as part of the Chrome extension (and also available on Mozilla and Microsoft Edge), allows you to highlight any word you read online, and give you an instant definition, as well as a list of synonyms. In this way, it’s not just about producing correct English text, it’s also about improving your own English language skills.
With clear economic benefits to aim for, here is a tool that can immediately set you out on the path to a brighter future.
