2019-20502 English in the Workplace / 22 August 2019

ENG 30 – THV Deocampo, Irish Joy G.

Role of Using English in the Workplace

As we know, English is the language which connects people from different regions,
cultures and nations. Globalization is already emerging and it has encouraged different
companies to think beyond their nations. As English is spoken in most of the countries, language
is no more a barrier for professionals nowadays (Jyothi, 2012).

As a college student, I am still clueless of the things to expect if I would work as a

professional soon. I haven’t experienced to be an intern yet since it’s still my first year here at
the University of the Philippines. The undergraduate program that I am taking right now is
Bachelor of Science in Community Nutrition. It is a four year degree program that seeks to
develop and produce credible and responsible health care professionals who will have the clear-
cut understanding on the nutritional problems of the community people and will provide a
solution for it, while providing an adequate training in both hospital dietetics and public health
nutrition. Graduates of this program are qualified to take up the Nutrition and Dietitian Licensure
Exam to become professional Nutrition-Dietician (Finduniversity.ph, 2010). This field has many
job opportunities when you graduate because you could commonly practice in clinical nutrition,
public health, and food service fields.

In our first requirement for Eng 30 course, we need to interview someone in our field. I
didn’t find it hard to find an interviewee since I already know someone who is a registered
nutritionist-dietitician (RND). Her name is Timy Santos and she graduated on 2016 from the
Polytechnic University of the Phillipines. She is currently working at Abbott Laboratories in
Mckinley, Taguig City.

According to her, there are wide ranges of communication practices, and they aren’t
limited to one but at least a combination of two. These involve talking and listening to their
clients or patients, and reading and writing the data they had obtained. Combinations of these
practices are necessary to deliver the message to the audience.
 I also asked her about the role of using English in her workplace. She said that since she
works at a multinational company, English is an important language that they use when they
have to deal with their clients. During their meetings, this is one of the commonly used language.
It implies professionalism as they use it. Using the English language serves as the “bridge” in
communicating to their bosses and clients.

After the interview I’ve conducted, I’ve realized that using English is highly important
and relevant to the workplace specifically in the nutrition and dietetics field. For a professional,
it is really important to practice English so that we can be globally competent and also, we can
be internationally inclined and flexible to different kinds of environment. The ability to
communicate in English is a huge asset to many companies and organizations. According to,
Kelly Knight, it allows you to communicate effectively with international clients, helping them
to trust you and your company that results in strong and long lasting business relationships. She
also stated that being able to communicate and negotiate successfully with clients who speak
English makes your skill-set more attractive to companies who conduct business internationally.

The answers of the interview also made me realize that English is not just used for verbal
communication, but also it would help to write nutritional data or reports, compose emails and
use English in such social contexts. Thus, speaking the English language fluently allows a certain
person to more easily communicate in the international world. According to Jyothi,
communication skills are very much essential for one’s professional growth.

References:

BS in Community Nutrition. Finduniversity.ph, 2010.

https://www.finduniversity.ph/universities/university-of-the-philippines-
diliman/courses/nutrition/.
Jyothi. Importance of English in employment. The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 15 May 2012.
https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/content/249714/importance-english-
employment.html.

Knight, Kelly. Benefits of using English in the workplace. Oxford, United Kingdom: Instill
Education Ltd, 3 December 2015. https://www.regent.org.uk/blog/post/6016/benefits-of-
using-english-in-the-workplace.