Want to be a language teacher, language app developer, translator, or anything else that involves using languages in your job?
Take a look at the five essential skills you will need to be successful in a language career, and some tips on how you can develop them!
Good active listening skills will help you win friends and become successful in any career. Active listening is about showing you care, empathising with the person you’re listening to, and building productive relationships with people.
If you’re working in languages, here’s how being a good listener can help you:
If you’re teaching languages, you need to listen for cues that your students will communicate to tell you about what motivates them, what makes them tick, and what frustrates them. You also need to show your appreciation of what your student is saying when practising speaking skills with them – otherwise they might feel discouraged or worry that they’re not doing well enough.
If you’re an interpreter, you need to be able to listen for less obvious cues such as tone, the speaker’s mood, or implied messages that are not always communicated directly. All of these will influence how you decide to translate any given sentence. Being a good listener will help you do it accurately.
If you’re a language blogger or making your own language products, you need to listen to your audience, and identify the concerns and questions they have. This will help you create blog posts and products that solve language learners’ problems and bring success to your business.