Language Skills Needs In Business Environment

In the article, results and findings of a survey aimed at identifying language skills needs of Slovak small, medium-sized and large enterprises operating mainly in agriculture and food processing industry are presented. An online questionnaire was constructed to collect data. 14 out of 50 selected companies responded. Our findings revealed the fact that the Slovak enterprises use mainly English and German when communicating with their headquarters, suppliers and customers. The respondents also require their employees to have the following special language skills: communicating on the telephone, conducting business negotiations and writing business letters in a foreign language. As for language management strategies, the enterprises organize language training courses for their employees within their premises or the employees have to attend language courses outside the premises. The results of the survey conducted in Slovakia and the EU surveys were compared. Based on the results, we suggest stronger cooperation between the SMEs and universities in Slovakia in production of graduates better equipped with the language skills required by the business environment.