Language hub appointed

14 January 2005

Businesses in Devon and Cornwall will soon be finding out more about the importance of using foreign languages and cultural understanding to boost international trade thanks to the appointment of a local delivery partner for the Regional Language Network (RLN) South West, which is jointly funded by the Department for Education and Skills and the South West Regional Development Agency.

Professor David Head and Dr Jacquie Hope of the Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth, have been appointed to run the sub-regional language hub. The school’s extensive links with local businesses – along with its foreign language and culture expertise – will be utilised to help businesses in Devon and Cornwall maximise opportunities to trade in other countries by communicating to customers in their native language and by understanding their national culture better.

The RLN South West was set up in the wake of an audit of South West firms by the South West RDA which found that an astonishing 20 per cent of internationally trading companies admitted to having lost business because of a language or cultural barrier. A further 49 per cent of respondents had come up against a language barrier of some form, while 23 per cent said they felt they had met cultural barriers in their work which were an impediment to their success.

Professor David Head said: "We are delighted by our appointment to help deliver the objectives of the Regional Language Network Southwest locally. The Plymouth Business School is well placed to provide the kind of guidance and support required by businesses and other organisations in Devon and Cornwall whose international performance is being impeded by deficiencies in cross-cultural awareness or in foreign language competence. The school is able to draw upon a wide range of company links to identify firms willing to take part in development activities to promote intercultural and language skills and we have already started to receive calls from local service providers wanting to get involved in the initiative.

"We hope that our resources, facilities and expertise of our academic staff and postgraduate research students will be a valuable asset to local businesses wanting to learn more about the business environment in other countries. A number of events are already in the pipeline to make capturing the imagination of local businesses and facilitating the learning of languages and cultural understanding as accessible and enjoyable as possible."

Gwyneth Leonard, Manager of the Regional Language Network South West said: “The appointment of a local delivery partner in Plymouth for Devon and Cornwall is an important milestone for the RLN South West as it will provide businesses with a local contact to discuss face-to-face their individual language and cultural needs. Our local delivery partners have some great ideas about how they will engage local businesses and I hope they will be able to provide a real boost to the international trade carried out by businesses in the South West."

Businesses can contact Professor David Head to discuss their individual language and cultural needs on: 01752 232494 / email: brenda.garraghan@plymouth.ac.uk.

ENDS

For further information, please email; publicrelations@plymouth.ac.uk.

Notes for Editors

8,500 businesses were audited by the South West Regional Development Agency in 2002:
49% of those interviewed recognised that they had met a language barrier
23% recognised there was a cultural barrier
20% admitted they had lost business due to a language and/or cultural barrier
Funding for the Regional Language Network has been provided by the South West Regional Development Agency and the Department for Education and Skills.
The RLN is soon to launch the Business Language Champions initiative as a national pilot in the South West, putting schools and businesses together to increase interest in and demand for language and cultural skills and understanding. Companies or schools interested in participating in Business Language Champions should contact Gwyneth Leonard on the number below.

The contact number for the Regional Language Network is (01392) 264371.

The website can be found at: www.rln-southwest.com.

www.plymouth.ac.uk