Competing in a global world

[Jinsei]

I have read a number of posts recently about how much more competitive the world has become, and the importance of preparing our kids to thrive and succeed in the global market. I don't doubt the truth of this, but I'm curious to know what people think will help the next generation to compete.

For me, this means focusing on the soft skills such as communication, teamwork and people skills, in addition to the more traditional qualifications etc. Cultural awareness and language skills are also important in my view. And IT literacy is another obvious one.

But I'd like to know what others think. What skills and competencies do you think your kids are going to need in order to succeed in their future careers. And do you do anything to help them acquire/develop these skills? If so, what?

The mandarin thing is interesting. I'll start by saying that I will enrol DS in mandarin classes from September (he'll be two) as there's no real downside to it (and we live in HK so there are tonnes of classes (despite HK being a Cantonese speaking area) and it's taught in schools from 5). BUT, I'm very sceptical that it's going to become a major international business language, and this is acknowledged by the Chinese themselves who prioritise English above almost everything else.

The problem with mandarin is that it's basically really difficult to learn and so not really fit for purpose as an international business language. It's tonal (so every word means 4+ different things depending on tone and context). It's not phonetic, so you just have to learn what every symbol means. One of the reasons there is so much rote learning in Chinese schools is the sheer amount of time it takes to achieve basic literacy. In order to get literacy levels where they are now (c. 80%), Chinese children are first taught the roman alphabet (phonetic) and then use pingin (Chinese written in roman characters, phonetically), so "Dso San" for Good morning. If schools in the Uk are serious about teaching mandarin to a useful level, they need to commit a lot of time to it.

If you want to physically work in China (assuming that's an option- I think they'll be very tight on visas for anything but highly skilled/ experienced workers), then yes, the language is important, but I think anyone dealing with China remotely will be speaking in English. If anything, the Chinese eagerness to adopt English has reaffirmed its position as the international business language.

Anyway, all that said, I do still think learning languages is important, if only because it gives you a more international outlook, but I think we have to be realistic about how far GCSE mandarin will get you (if GCSE french is anything to go by).

However, the biggest advantage for our children is that they will be native speakers of the main international business language. Perhaps what schools should prioritise is grammar so that English children don't grow up writing "I could of" and get corrected by their Chinese boss.

I think the best way to the the best at anything is to have a real interest and passion in what you do to pay for your desired standard of living. To me that's the route to happiness.
So varied exposure to and pursuing of interests. Add to that creativity, flexibility and confidence in your abilities and I think you can have successful and happy children and future adults.
Although happiness and success mean very different things to different people I would hate for my kids to be unhappily trapped in their success.
Having said all that, I do fear what living on this planet will be like for the vast majority of it's people in the next 5-50 years.

richman your post very much accords with my way of thinking.

It's not that I'm bringing my DC up to work in China, or Brazil or wherever, it's more that I am bringing them up to understand that in the future they will be competing for places at university and then in the job market with their peers from China, Brazil etc.

One of the main advantages of being from the UK ought to be that one is able to communicate properly in the international language without even trying. Sadly, this is not the case for too many Brits.

Agree with RichManPoorMan about Mandarin- and my Chinese SIL would agree as well. You wouldn't actually be able to do much even with a Mandarin A-level.

Still think language skills are useful- not least for their mind-broadening potential- but it would be better to concentrate on Spanish and French; there are still a lot of people in the world who speak those.

If languages more closely related to ours were taught efficiently, comparisons with other Germanic-speaking countries seem to suggest that there is no reason we couldn't have a GCSE which left anybody who passed it capable of keeping up a basic conversation with a Frenchman or Spaniard.

My language shares far less vocabulary with French than English does, but after 6 years at school, with French as my second MFL (so similar to GCSE), I was quite capable of reading a novel or following a news broadcast.

And yes, teaching good English should be a priority. I see too many undergraduates who haven't got a clue about the rules of the apostrophe.

To make the mandarin thing even more complicated, apparently if you speak mandarin (say, in a business meeting) to a Chinese person who doesn't speak English, they may view this as embarrassing/ a loss of face, and making a Chinese person lose face is the worst thing you can do to them.

That will probably become less common over time, but still, it's one of those examples where what we think is polite (making an effort to speak to someone in their own language) can be construed differently by someone from another culture.

I think we need to see the bigger picture with Mandarin. My children are learning and I am inspired by those who have become nearly fluent in a relatively short period of time. Of course it's much harder to do in the UK. My English friends routinely dismiss it as 'too difficult' for their children yet they've lived as a family in China or Singapore for 6 or 7 years.

I think that if a Chinese person thinks a English person has made a concerted effort to learn their language, integrate and become internationally minded they are usually impressed. Yes, face exists but hard work, honour and intellectual rigour will be respected in China. A child with a rudimentary knowledge of Mandarin may have the edge over another.

Cory's points are interesting. Many seem to think our children don't know the three Rs as well as they should but when Gove comes along and tries to get the ball rolling (admittedly far from perfectly) everyone thinks he's completely misguided?

EU market is a ticking bomb and about to collapse, our children will likely suffer. A headmaster of a famous school recently told me, only slightly tongue in cheek, that learning French is a waste of time for our children. He says that we continue to teach it only because we've French teachers who would otherwise be unemployed. We need to face up to the future.

I don't think learning French is a waste of time. Learning any language to a standard that allows you to understand and examine a different culture is a fantastically useful intellectual exercise - once you have got to grips with one culture, your consciousness is raised immeasurably and forever. French is relatively easy to learn and the country is next door.

That's how I see it Bonsoir.
It doesn't matter if my DC never live or work in France or Spain. Just the act of learning those languages, and spending time in those countries has been beneficial to them.

Somehting else I've valued has been DD's French and Spanish teachers are French and Spanish respectively. I really think this has had an added dimension.

Non-native speaker teachers are mostly a waste of space IMO. At DD's school the English and Spanish teachers are all native speakers right through; the DSSs have had mostly non-native speakers of English (not for Spanish, strangely and fortunately) but we have always paid for a native-speaker tutor, they have done lots of camps etc and of course I am around to corrupt fill their heads with English thoughts

richman made an interesting point about visas.

Chinese nationalistic pride plus paranoia against all things foreign means that opportunities for foreign workers will be limited.

So forget it if you are imagining your DCs leading the charge of future expat workers. The license to print money experiences of the expats that flooded the oil rich gulf states isn't going to get repeated in China.

Richman is right about visas and indeed protectionism - but I think many more people will find themselves having to go to China frequently for business purposes. I have colleagues who have to go there on a monthly basis. So far I have avoided having to go too often but unless I do something drastic I won't be able to avoid it forever.

I strongly agree with those who say that learning languages matters enormously. British people often take a purely transactional approach to foreign languages: as long as the other side speaks English, we'll be able to do our deal. However, this ignores the importance of building relationships with colleagues and potential partners, the effort needed to build up trust. I know I always feel more confident and at ease if I'm not entirely reliant on an interpreter, even if I know enough of a language to notice when an interpreter gets it wrong (some interpreters are amazing, some are awful).

There is also the point that making an effort marks you out. This matters in that we need to understand that we're also "competing" with Germans, French, Portuguese, South Africans, etc. etc. If you have the ability to communicate in the local language, to some extent you're "easier" to deal with than those who haven't. And it's harder to pull the wool over your eyes. This goes for all sectors, whether it's business, NGO or government.

Oh and it's really unfair to write off all non-native speaker teachers. Undoubtedly, native speaker exposure is brilliant. But the best teachers at my school were in the mod langs dept - technically very good, but also passionate about the language and culture.

That's just it making an effort does mark you out.

Metal, why would you want to avoid traveling to China. It's a fascinating place.

I believe the most important quality that we can develop in our children is resilence and the ablity to be flexible. We have no idea what the world will be like in the 30 years.

I also believe that thinking about others and what you can do for your fellow man is important as well. Learning a language gives you an appreciation of different culture and way of thinking.

"A headmaster of a famous school recently told me, only slightly tongue in cheek, that learning French is a waste of time for our children."

Well, it seems he's a bit of a dick to be a headmaster of any school, let alone a famous one.

Back in the 1980s we were all encouraged to take German at school instead of Latin because it was all about business/Yuppies/The City/business. A decade ago kids were being ferried to Japanese classes. Now it's all Mandarin this and Mandarin that. Learning languages brings its own reward. Not everything has to be a means to an end. Especially when that end changes every few years.

To return to the OP, I did read an article recently which suggested that large corporations were tiring of these international "uber" young people. On paper they were exceptional, but were arrogant and lacked practical ability. I seem to remember it said they lacked "wit".

@Hamish Because I've been there several times and its vileness is only exceeded by Kiev. IMO, obviously. Some people love it I know. I think it's indescribably awful. My colleagues manage to anaesthetise themselves against the sheer horror by drinking LOTS of whisky but I don't drink. :( Shanghai is marginally better than Beijing but neither is good.

gramercy whilst those types of articles are comforting and probably what people want to hear...the evidence doesn't seem to be bearing it out as having any basis in fact.

I think Shanghai is wonderful, why vile?

@Hamish I'm a vegan, and I don't drink. And I'm never there as a tourist, always working, in a very male dominated profession.

gramercy - I think it is quite easy for British nationals to be irritated by young people from other countries who speak English as well as they do plus five or six other languages and have a couple of quantitative degrees and an MBA and are very good at ski-ing, tennis, sailing, play a few instruments and used to model in the holidays before getting their first job at McKinsey. And to want to do them down a bit

Megabored mentioned lack of arrogance: agree wholeheartedly!

Speaking of arrogance, writing off French as a 'waste of time' sounds superbly arrogant

Can you imagine asking one of these paragons of accomplishment to do a bit of photocopying?

I find it breathtaking arrogant to assume that ones DC won't need lots of skills to compete. That some how the sheer incidence of being middle class and British will be more than sufficient.

I file views like that in the same bin as 'a bright child will do well anywhere.'

Why would you ask someone with multiple high-level skills to do a very low skilled task? Unless you wanted to pull your weight with them...