Before an employer posts a job advert, requesting a native speaker for a multilingual role, they must ask them themselves whether a native speaker really is necessary? By automatically assuming that a native speaker is required an employer may actually be causing more harm than good, not only for linguists applying for roles, but for themselves. More often than not roles do not require a native speaker and still demand one. These roles could include roles in IT support, Credit Control, Customer Service, Sales as well as many others. Employers may believe that they are playing it safe by hiring native speakers, however employers must sum up the whole package before they decide that a native speaker is absolutely necessary.
An employer may be oblivious to the fact that by requesting a native speaker they could potentially be losing out on fantastic talent, damaging their company’s reputation, reducing the chance of building a multicultural team and discouraging others from studying foreign languages altogether at a time when linguists are more vital than ever.
I’m going to quickly hit the nail on the head by answering my question which is an astounding No. I want to explain why my answer is No and explain how hiring non-native speakers as well as native speakers can be extremely beneficial to a company. The benefits are endless when it comes to hiring non-native speakers when filling multilingual positions and here are my main ones…
A novelty to speak to a non-native speaker…
I have found that clients actually love the fact that I am not a native speaker, some love to talk to me about the UK and some are touched by the fact I have made an effort to learn their language and take a genuine interest in their culture. For many clients I have been the first ever British person they have spoken to. They are also shocked that despite being British I have made an effort to learn their language which goes a long way and they really do respect you for that. You will find that customers abroad also take an interest in British culture too which helps break down the barrier between customer and client and helps turn them into friends…
Has a positive effect on colleagues who don’t speak a foreign language…
Several of my colleagues who didn’t speak a foreign language in previous workplaces heard me speaking in different languages and were very impressed. Some didn’t deem it possible for a British person to speak foreign languages. Some took an overwhelming interest, repeated things I said and some actually started learning a language themselves! It sends off a positive can-do attitude and more people tell themselves that if another British person can speak languages then so can I! This can be very beneficial in a workplace when employees voluntarily choose to learn a language. It can benefit the company as languages may be required in another role or in my case one colleague attempted to write and even speak to the Italian customers while I was on holiday.
Benefit from a multicultural workplace…
Every employer should strive to build a multicultural workplace when and where possible as the benefits are endless. If companies hire solely native speakers, they are attracting talent from specific countries. If companies continue to demand native speakers for the German language for example, they will only result in employing German and Swiss people. However, you will often find that many people in the world speak German as their second language such as French living in Alsace, Northern Italians, Polish as these countries border onto Germany and not forgetting people of other nationalities who speak German. Multicultural workplaces are generally happy ones and many benefits can come with them…
Maintain a large multilingual talent pool…
If employers want to attract the best talent, they need to maintain a large talent pool. By requesting native speakers this will not be possible as their potential talent pool will be greatly reduced. The last thing employers want to do is reduce their potential candidates as a result of requesting native speakers, especially when a role does not require a native speaker. With fewer students taking up languages and following Brexit and Coronavirus employers need to accept that native speakers will be even harder to find. With more EU citizens leaving the UK and fewer coming into the UK it means that non-native speakers are more vital than ever when it comes to filling multilingual positions.
Native and non-native speakers bounce off one another…
I have always worked extremely well alongside native speakers. My ex-colleagues from Retail Assist and Littlefish who were native speakers are still very good friends with me and we still keep in touch. They loved the fact that I was a non-native speaker and was able to support Spanish speaking clients. I also helped them with their English and they taught me new things in Spanish. We never judged one another, helped one another and it was a win-win situation for all of us. Clients were genuinely happy to be able to feel comfortable speaking to someone in their own native language, whether that meant speaking to a native or non-native speaker.
Passion shines through and the client can benefit from it…
You’ll find that non-native speakers are extremely enthusiastic about the foreign language they have learnt and spent years perfecting and this passion rubs off when speaking to the clients. Some linguists really want to put their language skills to use, have lived abroad and can easily understand clients, not only linguistically, but understand their customs and can accommodate to their needs easily thanks to a strong cultural understanding despite not being a native speaker.
Maintain a good reputation of your company…
I always found that those who hired solely native speakers were actually those who had never learnt a foreign language themselves and were like a fish out of water. They were new to the international scene as their company had recently expanded abroad, were closed minded and had absolutely no idea of what learning a language entailed. It was also clear to see that they had never lived abroad or benefited from any international experiences themselves.
Sometimes you will discover that employers in the UK assume that you have to be a native speaker to be able to speak a language fluently, some just cannot get their head around the fact that you can actually be a non-native speaker and be capable of speaking languages. If the taken the wrong way they can come across as ignorant, narrow minded, discriminatory and shallow which can destroy a company’s reputation. Language learning itself is all about learning about other people and cultures, being open and accepting and working well with others whatever their nationality. Requesting native speakers for roles where a native speaker is not required goes completely against what language learning is all about.
It’s just a matter of vocabulary learning…
You will often find that non-native speakers can already speak different foreign languages fluently. It’s just a matter of vocabulary learning. My sister was turned down for not being a native speaker of French. The recruiter told her ‘you were unsuccessful as you won’t know the vocabulary related to tattooing in French’… however, would every native speaker of French know these terms? The answer is No, just like in IT and Credit Control I had to learn words in English first and then in the foreign languages. Not knowing specific terms before starting a role is normal, every employee goes through a steep learning curve and these new terms become habitual as time passes by.
Conclusion
After seven and a half years in the working world I can honestly say that not being a native speaker has affected me in the slightest and hasn’t prevented me from doing my role in any shape or form whether that was in tourism, finance or IT. Employers who continue to request native speakers are really shooting themselves in the foot. They are reducing their potential candidate talent pool, preventing a multicultural working environment from flourishing, building a discriminatory reputation and last but not least are sending a message to linguists, especially those in the UK that if companies only hire native speakers then there’s no point me bothering learning a foreign language. It sends out negative connotations regarding language learning at a time when the UK needs linguists most.
Before companies rule out non-natives altogether, they need to think carefully about their choice and give everybody a chance. Companies always have the option to test the language skills of potential candidates and therefore must never make assumptions and rule non-native speakers out completely as we can really bring a lot to the table…