Bilinguals Excel in Soft Skills
Employers are increasingly in search of job candidates who possess a variety of soft skills. The challenge, however, is to reliably identify those that possess the critical people or interpersonal skills vital to success in today’s ever-changing workplace. In an effort to unlock the elusive talent code, the substantial body of research that demonstrates a valuable link between soft skills and bilingualism offers a compelling solution. Highlighted below are the 6 soft skills identified as most important in the recent findings of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2024 survey (see pg. 26 Figure 31).
Mental Agility & Adaptability
Bilingual individuals demonstrate enhanced executive function, leading to improved planning, decision-making, and problem-solving skills in daily life. This mental agility helps them adapt more easily to changing environments, shifting priorities, and diverse work challenges, making them more flexible and efficient in handling new tasks and situations.
Ability to Work in a Team
A study by McKinsey & Company found that teams with strong collaboration are up to 25% more productive. Bilinguals, with their heightened adaptability and interpersonal skills, are more attuned to others' needs and perspectives. This awareness is crucial in navigating global challenges and fostering teamwork. Research also shows that multilinguals make more rational, objective decisions, which enhances synergy and cooperation, making them valuable assets in collaborative environments.
Creative Thinking
Learning a new language enhances the four components of divergent thinking—fluency, elaboration, originality, and flexibility—critical for generating creative ideas. Creativity in the workplace fosters collaboration, reduces stress, and boosts motivation and engagement, ultimately improving problem-solving and Innovation.
Communication
Bilingual individuals excel in adjusting their communication styles across cultures, enhancing both verbal and non-verbal communication within diverse teams. Poor communication in the workplace, however, can be costly, with companies losing an average of $62.4 million annually due to inadequate Communication.
Problem Solving & Critical Thinking
Learning a new language strengthens problem-solving and critical thinking skills by engaging executive functions like attention control and working memory. Research from the National Institutes of Health shows that bilinguals have higher gray matter volume in the brain and demonstrate superior inhibitory control and task-switching abilities compared to Monolinguals.
Empathy
Learning a new language fosters empathy, as multilinguals are better at understanding others through "perspective taking," where they consider the speaker's viewpoint. Empathy is crucial in leadership, with studies showing that employees with empathetic leaders feel more engaged, innovative, and able to achieve a work-life balance, while also perceiving their workplace as more inclusive.
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Language Pay Differentials
Language pay differentials exist in a variety of careers, but usually require testing and or credentials. A language pay differential may be called "bilingual pay" or "foreign language proficiency pay" and serves as compensation for a bilingual employee that has been certified as fluent in a language that is useful in their workplace.
For example, some US federal agencies, especially in the homeland security, law enforcement, defense and intelligence fields, offer enhanced foreign language pay to employees. Employees are eligible for foreign language pay if certified as fluent in certain languages and are in positions where foreign language proficiency is considered an important skill. The Defense Department’s “foreign language proficiency pay” program pays up to $500 per pay period for eligible DoD civilian employees performing intelligence duties and up to 5 percent of salary for civilians assigned to non-intelligence duties requiring language proficiency.
Language pay differentials are also common in the medical and business fields and salaries are generally 5-20% higher for bilinguals with language credentials.
Career & Technical Education (CTE) / Vocational Education & Training (VET)
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that include meaningful internships provide multilinguals with career training and opportunities and employers with a bilingual pipeline of potential employees. According to the IPSOS study, Making Languages Our Business, 9 of 10 employers rely on bilingual employees and 56% said their future need for bilinguals will soar.
For CTE programs that focus on career fields in critical need of multilinguals such as Health Science, Human Services, Information Technology (ICT), Customer Services, and Skilled Trades, there are benefits for both the 1.9 million English learners currently enrolled in U.S. 6-12th grade and the employers in need of qualified bilingual employees. Studies show that students enrolled in CTE programs have higher academic achievement, graduation rates, and standardized-test scores.
To maximize the opportunities of these learners, it’s critical that CTE course schedules don’t conflict with language-building opportunities. World Language educators can further support CTE programs by providing students with CTE concepts and the introduction of CTE conversational vocabulary that students immediately view as useful and applicable to their future. Most importantly, CTE programs should offer students an opportunity to document their bilingualism with stackable, digitally-shareable and verifiable certificates such as the Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) / English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Language for Specific Purposes is a teaching method or group of courses that focuses on teaching language needed for a specific purpose or job. Similar to LSP programs, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a way of teaching English for those who need field-specific vocabulary for a particular field or occupation. LSP or ESP courses are often taught to university students or people who may already be employed but need to develop their language skills to excel in their job. Examples of these courses include: English for Aviation, Spanish for Medical Professionals, Japanese for Business, German for Engineering, or Chinese for Business Economics. University students often take an LSP or ESP course to complement a specific career field of study, enhance their employment opportunities, and stand out from other candidates.
Providing individuals with verifiable documentation of their language proficiency level further validates and measures their abilities. LSP and ESP courses are popular and there is a growing trend to provide access to career-specific language courses by both universities and employers. The Global Seal of Biliteracy offers three certificate levels of language fluency as evidenced through rigorous testing allowing the employer to match their language needs to the candidate.
Language Teacher Certification
The Global Seal of Biliteracy is excited to be able to offer this expanded opportunity to current and future educators that provides greater access to teacher certification and additional tools to verify a candidate’s language skills with a vetted secure testing and credentialing procedure. We believe that recognition of a serial-numbered Global Seal of Biliteracy as a proxy or test waiver positively impacts the certification of qualified teachers in the following ways:
Pipeline: Facilitate Teacher Recruitment and Certification
Pathway Options: Provide for Greater Equity, Access and Diversity
Paperwork: Simplify and Streamline with Vetted Language Credentials