In today's world, there are plenty of contexts in which you will be asked to communicate in a foreign language. On holidays, for a job interview, on the street, in tourist places, etc.
In Belgium, it is very common to hear different languages since there are three official ones. This may also be due to the country's geographical situation and its European political role. To strengthen this point, a study stated in 2020, that nearly half of all kids in Brussels grow up in multilingual homes and that 46% hear two languages at home, while 3% hear more than two. After French, Dutch and English are the most-used languages in Brussels’ multilingual families.
"Do you speak English?" may sound like a random question.
However, it is not insignificant to ask this question. From a cultural aspect, speaking foreign languages is a form of adaptation to cultures and mentalities which may differ from yours.
Speaking other languages unconsciously changes your attitude. Now speaking about business, a second language is the key to your success and development. It is stated that 54% of websites have their content written in English, and 24% of internet research would be in English. In other words, speaking English already gives you access to a larger scale of information.
A language is the reflection of a culture, a country's historical background, a social mindset. It is vital to understand foreign cultures and different modi operandi. It helps to adapt sales and marketing strategies, to effectively interact with clients, understand their culture and market, and it will help you and your business succeed. With employees coming from more than 20 different countries and operating in 3 countries, Intys itself is a multicultural ecosystem.
Having employees from different countries strengthens the necessity of having multilingual staff. Therefore, it is one of the reasons why it is asked for every Intysser to be fluent at least in French and/or Dutch and in English. In addition to the real added value of being multilingual, it also translates the capacity of adaptation, open-mindedness, tolerance, which is very important in the culture of Intys. And you, are you multilingual?