The Power of English: More Than Learning a Language

Ask someone why they want to improve their English and the first answer is often quite straightforward. They need it for work, perhaps, or they've been thinking about studying abroad. Spend a little longer talking to them, however, and a more interesting story often emerges.

Someone may have recently been promoted and discovered that running a meeting or making small talk with a group of industry peers is rather different from talking to their team. Another might have an opportunity to work overseas but feel uncertain about making the move for fear of ‘feeling like an outsider’. There are also those who have spent years developing professional expertise, only to find that expressing that expertise in English is more difficult than they expected when the crucial moment comes. Sometimes the frustration is simply having something worthwhile to say and not quite being able to say it.

Anyone who has learned a second language or worked with adult English learners will recognise these situations. They remind us that the decision to invest in learning is often connected to something beyond the language itself, usually something the person wants to achieve or experience.

The reasons are often personal

We naturally associate English language development with careers and qualifications. These are important motivations, particularly for people working in international environments, but they don't explain everyone's interest in learning.

I've encountered learners whose ambitions were as much about feeling comfortable in everyday situations as progressing professionally. Being able to join a conversation without rehearsing every sentence beforehand made an enormous difference to how they experienced life overseas.

There is also the pleasure of learning itself, which is easily overlooked when we concentrate too heavily on practical outcomes. In The Power of Language, cognitive scientist Viorica Marian explores how knowing and using more than one language can influence the way we think and experience the world.

Learning another language gives us opportunities to exercise our minds in unfamiliar ways, and for many people that challenge is part of the attraction, particularly when it comes with the pleasure of communicating with people they might never otherwise have known.

The person behind the language

One of the things that makes teaching adults interesting is discovering how much rich and diverse experience they bring into the learning process. I have worked with professionals who have spent more than twenty years developing sound judgement and learning to handle difficult situations. Others have grown up in cultures where the conventions of conversation were quite different from those encountered in an international workplace.

Some professionals I have helped had long-established ways of thinking and expressing themselves eloquently, yet when speaking English, they struggled to communicate with the same ease they enjoyed in their first language. Another, a senior civil servant, who was naturally humorous, became unusually serious. I also recall a thoughtful and articulate manager who found herself relying on simple expressions because the words she wanted were just out of reach.

Their personalities hadn't changed, and neither had their intelligence. Their English simply wasn't allowing the listener to appreciate the person behind it.

Bonny Norton's work on language learning and identity seems particularly relevant here. She explores how learning a language is connected to the opportunities people seek and the ways they see themselves in relation to others, encouraging us to consider the personal dimensions of successful language development alongside linguistic progress.

Finding your own voice

The way we communicate is shaped by the culture we've grown up in and the experiences we've accumulated along the way. Even our sense of humour and the way we approach a difficult conversation reflect something of who we are, and learning another language shouldn't mean leaving those qualities behind.

Of course, English has its own conventions, and the expectations of professional communication can vary between cultures. What sounds appropriately direct in one setting might seem abrupt in another. Understanding these differences is an important part of becoming an effective communicator, although adapting to a different language needn't involve adopting a different personality.

With appropriate guidance and practice, learners can develop the English needed to express their ideas more faithfully. This may involve finding better ways to convey humour or learning how to express disagreement without losing the strength of the original argument. Sometimes it is a matter of developing enough fluency to respond naturally rather than concentrating so hard on the language that the conversation moves on without them.

These are practical language skills whose value extends beyond accuracy or proficiency. They allow people to communicate with greater confidence while retaining the individual voice shaped by their own experiences and cultural background.

When the time feels right

Many people spend years thinking that they ought to improve their English. The decision to act often comes when something changes.

An interview approaches or a new role brings greater responsibility. Perhaps a difficult meeting leaves someone frustrated that they couldn't contribute as effectively as they wanted. At other times, the motivation is more positive. An enjoyable trip or a new friendship might create an appetite for learning that wasn't there before.

Whatever prompts the decision, adults are making a considerable investment when they commit to studying. Beyond the financial cost, there is the challenge of finding time alongside work and family responsibilities, which makes it reasonable to expect that the learning will reflect what brought them to that decision.

Two people may have similar levels of English but entirely different requirements. One might need to develop the language of negotiation while the other wants to feel more comfortable contributing to informal conversations with international colleagues. They will share some learning needs, certainly, but a programme that ignores their individual circumstances risks spending valuable time on things that make little difference to either of them.

Making English work for you

Experience has taught me that any language course should begin with understanding the individual, their existing abilities and what they hope to achieve. This involves looking at how they currently use English, where they encounter difficulties and what would make the most meaningful difference to them.

At Finepoint, we use that understanding to design programmes around individual requirements, with independent learning supported by teaching and feedback where it is most useful. Sometimes the work involves strengthening fundamental language skills, while in other cases someone may already have a high level of English but need to develop greater fluency or confidence in particular professional situations.

Language, in this case English, can be a remarkable tool for opening opportunities and connecting people, although its real value will be different for everyone. For one person, it may help them take the next step in their career. For another, it might mean feeling more at home in a new country or finally finding the words to express an idea as they intended.

Perhaps the most useful starting point is simply asking what someone wants their English to make possible.