COLLINS AND BIGHOSPITALITY.CO.UK LAUNCH A SEARCH TO FIND
THE MOST MULTILINGUAL WORKPLACE IN BRITAIN
Celebrating English as a language of communication in the workplace
Do you speak English at work with your colleagues, even though you’re a native speaker of a different language?
Do you work in a multilingual team with a mix of language backgrounds?
If yes is your answer, this competition is for you!
To mark the launch of our three new English for Work self-study packs we have teamed up with BigHospitality.co.uk (leading online resource for those working in, and interested in, the hospitality industry) to search for the workplace in Britain where the highest number of people with different native languages work and communicate in English with each other on a daily basis. Through this, we’d like to celebrate the successful acquisition of English Language skills by employees of British companies.
The competition is in line with our commitment to facilitate English language learning worldwide. Collins ELT materials offer a new, different and fresh approach to English Language Teaching, with authentic self-study materials giving students the functional English needed to succeed (for life in the UK, for business, for work, and for specific language areas). The competition winners will receive a trophy, medals, and a Carluccio’s hamper as reward for their achievement.
Alongside the aim to find successful learners of English in the UK, we have spoken to two of Britain’s best-loved and most successful chefs – Jean-Christophe Novelli and Antonio Carluccio – about how they learned English in Britain and the value of language learning.
Jean-Christophe Novelli & Antonio Carluccio On Learning English
When Jean-Christophe Novelli first came to England, 29 years ago from Paris, it was on the advice of his mentor Elie de Rothschild – for whom he was personal chef – and with the aim of fulfilling his own personal ambition to learn English. He arrived with no English skills whatsoever, and first went to work in a French speaking restaurant because he was ill-equipped to communicate in English. However, Novelli argues “that was a mistake, even though it was a fantastic establishment with many accolades, I was not learning English and this was against my own goals and principles." Novelli then chose to go to a new, less well-known restaurant where he was the only foreign person, forcing him to speak and learn English; this is how he learned, purely through experience. This was the beginning of his lifelong dream.
Novelli has strong beliefs when it comes to using English in the "workplace: It" is very important for all my staff to speak in English, and only English, and I do not allow employees to communicate in their native languages, as it can be rude, excluding others. I insist on everyone speaking in English for clear communication.”
If he started his life all over again, Novelli says “the only thing I would change would be that I’d learn basic English grammar from an early age, as I believe it is so important; it expands your horizons, and leads to successes in life.” He adds, “not only from living in Great Britain but also from my own worldwide experience, I can state that speaking English is the most convenient, the quickest, and the most accurate way to communicate. That’s why I strongly believe that English is the best worldwide business currency. Also having learnt English, I find it helps me to learn other languages a lot easier.” Novelli’s keen interest in language learning extends now to German, which he is learning with his family.
Antonio Carluccio spoke no English when he came to work in England in 1975 (although he had studied languages in Vienna). He had to learn English in order to work successfully as a wine merchant. He said “without English language skills I would not have been able to trade, it was a practical necessity.” He learned English through a combination of attending a school, and through the experience of interacting with English people. All of Carluccio’s 18 books have subsequently been written in English.
Carluccio says “I like English very much; there are many various ways of expressing oneself. I encourage my staff to learn English, through TV, radio – all media – so that they get used to the accent and pronunciation.” He asserts that “the benefits of learning English are that you have a better understanding of others and you are better equipped to communicate with others. It expands what you are able to do when working in Britain.”
The Nomination Process: The Most Multilingual Workplace In Britain
All submissions should be made via www.collinselt.com/mostmultilingualworkplace, and are to include the following:
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Name of Company, and location/branch (e.g. Lowis Engineering, Russell Square, London)
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Number of non-native English speakers, who are competent in English
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Names of each speaker’s mother tongue
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Contact details (phone number, email address)
All information regarding nominees will be kept in compliance with HarperCollins’ privacy policy.
Final date for submissions: 1st October 2012
Companies entering should be based in Britain
Winner to be announced November 2012
For full terms and conditions, please visit www.collinselt.com/mostmultilingualworkplaceterms
For more information, or to request review copies of
Collins Workplace English, Collins Workplace English 2 and Collins Hotel & Hospitality English
and for media information on the search for Britain’s Most Multilingual Workplace,
please contact Georgina Hill at Deliberate PR
georgina@deliberate-pr.com / 0207 243 2746 / 0789 187 0816