Foreign Languages in Workplaces: A Reflection from Human Resource Officers

Abstract

ABSTRACT            The purpose of this study was to investigate the reflection from human resource officers’perspective on foreign languages used in workplaces located in the Eastern region of Thailand. A questionnaire was employed to collect the data from human resource officers from 24 multinational companies in Chon Buri and other provinces in the region. The participants were asked to complete the questionnaire on corporate language development needs, which consisted of foreign languages used in the workplaces, the departments that require foreign languages, and the needs for foreign language development. The findings showed that, apart from English and Japanese, some South East Asian languages were widely used in the workplaces. In addition, Human Resource departments and Sales and Marketing departments were reported using foreign languages at the highest level. Finally, the foreign language development was found to be a crucial tool to communicate both inside and outside the organizations.