This document summarizes a study on university graduates' workplace language needs as perceived by employers in Finland. The study investigated language needs through interviews with employers and a postal survey of employees. Key findings include: Employers see foreign language skills, especially English, as important for recruitment and communication in professional settings. While Finnish and Swedish are important nationally, graduates often lack proficiency in both. Employers also value good communication skills, cultural knowledge, and the ability to function in multilingual environments over elementary skills in multiple languages. The findings suggest universities should better prepare students for the demanding plurilingual workplaces and focus on cultural competence in addition to language skills.

1. University graduates’ workplace language needs as perceived by employers Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying Hsu Presenter: Wei – Ting Chien Date: April 13, 2010 1

2. Citation Lehtonen, T., & Karjalainen, S. (2008). University graduates’ workplace language needs as perceived by employers. System, 36, 492-503. 2

3. Contents I. Introduction II. Literature Review III. Methodology IV. Discussion & Conclusion V. Reflection 3

5. Background There is an apparent need for English at work, and the knowledge of some other foreign languages is assumed to be a bonus. 5 (Huhta, 1999)

6. Background All university graduates are required to show they are proficient in both official languages of the country and at least one foreign language. (Finland, 2004) 6

7. Background Students’ future careers and language skills needed at workplace should be largely emphasized by language educators at universities. (Lehtonen & Karjalainen, 2008) 7

8. Purpose of the study to investigate the language needs of university graduates at today’s workplace according to the views of their employers 8

9. Literature Review Individuals working in a particular context are expected to have specific skills in a particular language, and that the language often differs from that used in other contexts. (Dlaska, 1999) 9

10. Literature Review There is a insufficient attention of workplace language needs in language teaching at universities. (London communique, 2007) 10

11. Literature Review Graduates’ need for language skills should be paid enough attention by language course designers to bridge the gap between language teaching and the linguistic needs of the workplace. (Horppu & Niskanen, 2004) 11

12. Methods Language Needs at the Workplace Interviews with employers Postal Survey to employees (Horppu, 2005)

13. Methods 13 (Horppu, 2005)

15. 1/3 Finnish-speaking respondents use Swedish regularly

16. English is needed on a regular basis14

17. Methods 15

24. Cultural sensitivity21

25. Conclusion Foreign language skills are important basic components of professional academic skills. University graduates are expected to use foreign languages in advanced level. knowledge of some other languages is advantaged for employees at workplace. Cultural competence is needed at a international communication. 22

26. Reflection Collecting sufficient qualitative data since the interviewees are from different fields. Providing interview protocol Giving valuable suggestions to language teaching courses at university Giving supportive ideas to conducting similar researches in other contexts Not providing the sample questionnaire 23

27. Thanks for your attention! 24