UNDER THE GUISE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION: PROBLEMS WITH

MANDATING ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN A COLOMBIAN

MULTINATIONAL
ABSTRACT
There have been increasing efforts to support internationalization and the spread of English
as a lingua franca in multinational companies in Colombia. The question that is posed is
whether workers are willing to accept this change and keep work efforts up to a high
standard. English is said to be a sensitive subject, causing language barriers and
interpersonal communication problems. The loss of status, culture, communication anxiety
and motivation of the workforce can show that communication competence could be one of
the main reasons behind why language activates asymmetries in language, divides teams
into subgroups and affects group dynamics. To understand the question of English and the
problems companies face in Colombia, we interviewed 261 participants from a Colombian
petrol company, COLINTERNATIONAL. Our findings bring to light the barriers that
companies face with mandating English as a lingua franca and the possible solutions that
we could provide companies in a similar situation.

1. INTRODUCTION
Over recent years English has become a necessary means to communicate globally. It has
seen a rise in its popularity as a cohesive communication tool that connects and creates
opportunities with foreign investors and clients. In Colombia, SMEs (Small Medium Sized
Enterprises) and multinational corporations (MNC) have been at the forefront in the use of
English as a communication tool for international business (Charles & Marschan-Piekkari,
2002).
The Colombian government has focused most of their efforts on continued economic
growth and internationalization. Various public and private institutions have backed this
initiative, with notable high-profile campaigns such as Bilingual Colombia and the
National Policy for Competitiveness and Productivity setting the benchmark for
companies looking to compete locally and internationally (Truscott de Meja & Ordoez,
1

2006). These two campaigns are an example of Colombias ambitious goal of positioning
itself as one of the top countries for foreign investment.
Colombias recent free trade agreement signings with various countries and the agape but
confident peace talks between the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and
Colombian government show potential and interest from foreign investors. As a result, of
Colombias economic growth and internationalization efforts, numerous companies in
Colombia have started to hire bilingual employees to communicate with foreign investors
and clients. Also, they have started to develop the foreign language skills of their staff to
compete in the local and global market.
However, implementing English as a MNC lingua franca has implications for management,
human resources, and employee satisfaction (Mirjaliisa& Charles, 2006). The foreign
language -in this case, English- used becomes a sensitive issue, affecting relations between
native and non-native speakers and often causes language barriers that affect interpersonal
interaction and relationships (Henderson, 2005).
For example, Tsedal Neeley studied the effects of mandating English in various different
companies in Japan (Neeley, 2012). She found that employees learning English share a
common experience of status diminution and believe that they will never be as influential
or articulate as they are in their native language (Neeley, 2012).
As a result, a MNC expanding globally are mitigating and addressing these undesirable
issues by implementing English language learning programs, often run in-house or by
private companies. These programs must be harmonized along with the general and specific
objectives and needs that a company has in terms of communication. Managers have to be
aware of the problems and implications of including English as a lingua franca in a
Colombian company (Valencia, 2013). The loss of status, communication anxiety, time and
motivation of the workforce are important variables that need to be closely administered
and considered in order to devise an effective training plan (Neeley, 2012). Considering
these specific points will allow companies to find creative ways of implementing English
into the workplace as the lingua franca.

Hence, to analyze the complexity of mandating English as a lingua franca and the
relationship it has with English language learning. We must consider cultural, political and
social norms within a MNC that act upon a group or an individuals predisposition to
assimilate or accept the use of English as a second language (Harzing & Feely, 2008).
Employees undertaking this corporate language change may feel frustrated and could show
signs of resistance (2013, Valencia). Employees may see change as a potential barrier
against their career development and the promotional path they have set for themselves
within a MNC (2013, Valencia). Bringing to light further issues on how the politics of
language choice affect work and workers in a MNC (Vaara, Tienari, Piekkari, & Sntti,
2005), the divide of teams into subgroups, headquarter subsidiary relations, the effect of
language fluency as a form of status and power (Neeley, 2013), cultural diversity and better
understanding problems that language creates (Lauring, J., & Klitmller, 2014).
In this article, I examine the role, problems and needs that mandating English brings to a
growing Canadian MNC petrol company (COLINTERNATIONAL, a pseudonym) with
headquarters based out of Colombia. Thus, my aim is to analyse the level of importance
English holds for the employees, why they need it, and what can help them assimilate the
use of English and as a result drop language barriers. We will do this by studying the
communication perceptions and experiences of employees that have increased their
engagement with English and stakeholders internationally.
We have used a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research, which included
interviews with COLINTERNATIONAL directors, eight different focus groups with three
to four members of each of these departments, and a survey (online) that was applied to 261
employees working in various roles, departments and teams at the Head Office (Colombia).
The number of participants that took part in the survey were 17 less than the required
amount for a population size of n=1000, 5% Margin of Error and Confidence level=95%.
The ideal size would have been n=278 but with the mixed method, the data collected from
the qualitative procedure will strengthen this apparent weakness.
The purpose behind employing such methods can be described as a way to expand the
scope or breadth of research to mitigate the weaknesses of either approach on its own.
(Driscoll, Yeboah, Salib, Rupert, 2007). It was believed that in the data collection process,
3

one form of data with the other form could address different types of questions and be
easily compared (Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2007). The questions that were being proposed
involved levels of familiarity or perceptions with using English in the company. Although
the structured response from the survey provided an agreeable amount of data that could be
denoted as standard the qualitative data opened a field of in which to explore and explain
complex or contradictory survey responses (Driscoll, Yeboah, Salib, Rupert, 2007)..
Nevertheless, there are challenges and limitations with the use of qualitative research
methods when data is codified and the depth and flexibility of the responses from
interviews or focus groups is lost. Quantitized data can be fixed, one-dimensional and
time-consuming (Driscoll, Yeboah, Salib, Rupert, 2007).
This methodology enables researchers to discover the diverse levels of language
competence and barriers that affect team dynamics and discovered how to better understand
and find new and creative ways of preventing risks and identifying opportunities of
implementing English as a lingua franca in multinationals.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Language dynamics and communication avoidance in MNCs
Research in communication avoidance and language dynamics (Henderson, 2005) has been
a central theme in understanding and reconstructing international teams to share a common
ubiquitous communication tool. Most MNCs are beginning to mandate a common corporate
language with the aim of creating a bridge for communication that allows members from
different language backgrounds to collaborate and share information (Feely & Harzing,
2003; Lauring & Selmer, 2010). However, language diversity in MNCs is said to break
trust and team building efforts (Feely & Harzing, 2003), considering that not all employees
4

share the same level of fluency (Neeley, 2013), and the growing need to communicate in a
language that one does not feel competent in could cause employees to avoid
communication, create language asymmetries and subgrouping in MNCs (Harzing &
Feely,2008; Giles & Johnson, 1981).
Research on group diversity and subgroup dynamics (Lau & Murnighan, 1998), has
introduced the idea of group faultlines that characterize the alignment

across group

members and increases our understanding of how demographics (age, tenure, gender and
ethnicity) influences conflict and behavioral disintegration in MNCs. We have come to an
understanding that subgrouping occurs more in heterogeneous subgroups than those groups
that are more homogeneous in nationality. Hinds, Neeley and Cramton (2012) go further to
identify that language asymmetries cause powerful subgroup dynamics, acting as a
lightning rod or a conduit for intense emotion that was then reflected in behaviours and
further exacerbated tensions (p. 237). But how can we identify the powerful role of
language asymmetries as faultline dimensions? We have found communication avoidance
literature to have analysed and discovered state, behavioural, and cognitive explanations
towards the reluctance of individuals to communicate with other individuals based
primarily based on language barriers in a second, learned language. These explanations
span from a state perspective (Pearson, Child, DeGreeff, Semlak, & Burnett, 2011) to a
more trait-like characteristic - behavioural, cognitive and affective reason (Bell, 1986).
Where in the former, communication avoidance is characterized or focused on the
perceived rewards for communicating and the perceived consequences of avoiding
communication encounters. Previous findings have shown that language and
communication avoidance decreases relational satisfaction and perceived influence in
organizations (Avtgis, 2000). In addition, communication avoidance has had a negative
relationship on employee career development and peer evaluation. This often interferes
with trust and team building, which make these affected individuals less attractive and
trustworthy as opposed to those who do not avoid communication (Fordham & Gabbin,
1996; McCroskey, 1984).
The above research focuses on the impact communication avoidance and language has on
group relationships and dynamics. Few articles deal with the ramifications of
5

communication competence as opposed to communication avoidance as an apriorism in the

loss of status, culture, communication anxiety and motivation of the workforce. Based on
these observations, it can be shown that communication competence could be one of the
main reasons behind why language activates asymmetries in language, divides teams into
subgroups and affects group dynamics.

3. METHOD
In this study, we aim to better understand how language competencies and the context in
which it is used influence communication avoidance and cause language asymmetries in
MNCs. Thus, opting for a mixed methodology where we can analyse implicit (group
behavior) or sensitive subjects (power relations) through interviews, affording us to have a
more flexible approach and bringing forward richer information and data to the study. On
the other hand, the surveys gather a wider demographic and number of participants that can
answer a large number of set questions that can be compared, contrasted and correlated
with the richer data that we collect from the interviews. As a result we have information
that is more reliable and will allow us to answer the questions we have been discussing.
A four-person research team conducted qualitative interviews and focus groups at a
Canadian MNC called COLINTERNATIONAL (a pseudonym), with headquarters based in
Colombia. COLINTERNATIONAL has not yet adopted English as its lingua franca but
there are imminent plans to move the organizations headquarters to Panama in the future,
where its lingua franca will be English. Our team first visited their headquarters in
Colombia to conduct five individual interviews with Department Directors, eight focus
groups which included team members from different departments 36 informants were
involved, and who served as team leaders, engineers, accountants, coordinators,
professionals, operational staff and assistants. 261 informants took a survey coming from
different departments, namely: Finance, IT, Human Resources, Social Responsibility,
Operations and Planning and Treasury. The informants were 25-65 but 50% were between
25-35 years of age and had an average of 5-7 years experience at COLINTERNATIONAL.
Our strategy was to collect data from teams that had different operational objectives and
from team members with different roles within the organization. Thus, focusing on
6

minimizing the nuance and complexity between the participants perceived needs vs. actual
needs for English as the lingua franca in relation to language competencies. However, we
are aware of the weaknesses that conducting research in one site may bring when analyzing
group dynamics and language competence in a heterogeneous work context. We know that
will not have a complete understanding of the issues that we are dealing with but treated as
an isolated (national workforce) case study we can learn and build our knowledge to apply
in further studies. For instance, if we work on global research project with
COLINTERNATIONAL we can complete an image of the issues that their workforce
experience with adopting English as a lingua franca, problems with group dynamics and
language competencies. These studies can be done in multiple sites, providing opportunities
to compare different results that are obtained from different communities on an
international scale (Falzon, 2009).
3.1 Data collection and analysis
First, we conducted four open interviews with the directors of the organization. These short
interviews allowed us to gather the opinions of the leaders that would eventually lead and
come in contact with mandating English as the MNC lingua franca. Table 1 (Annex)
presents the breakdown of the data collected on the opinions of the directors of the
organization with relation to mandating English as the MNC lingua franca. Second, we
structured eight focus groups around a common set of open-ended questions aimed at
learning about informants experiences connected to learning English, how much they use
the language at work and what frustrates or causes major difficulties when using the second
language with colleagues or different stakeholders. We asked informants to provide indepth explanations and encouraged them to talk about their daily tasks, communication
demands and team dynamics. Sample questions included Could you share with us any
frustrations or difficulties that you may have experienced learning English or using it at
work to communicate? and How competent do you feel using English in order to carry
out the daily activities that require the use of this second language?. These questions
allowed us to direct the participants into expressing their feelings, negative or positive in
order to get a feel for the behaviours and emotions connected with mandating a lingua

franca and the effects it had on team members relationships and language asymmetries see
Table 2 (Annex) for response.

We conducted interviews primarily in Spanish, but when it was evident that a Colombian
informant was anxious about being interviewed in English, we offered to interview him or
her in Spanish. With the exception of two informants, all agreed to be interviewed in
English. Each interview averaged about 30 minutes, and most were conducted in
conference rooms, private offices. Interviews were tape-recorded, translated, and
transcribed.
Furthermore, we published an online survey on COLINTERNATIONALS official intranet,
targeting 700 employees with approximately achieving a 65% response rate across the
Colombian Headquarters. 261 employees participated in the surveys, answering questions
on perceived competencies in English, interaction with other cultures (global relations),
tasks carried out in English and perceived development of competencies. Questions were
fixed to achieve consistency in answers and findings, surveying a broad range of
participants from 15 departments, between 25 -65 years of age and with different
professional backgrounds. As an effect the information was consistent and related to the
focus groups which allowed us to compare and contrast the findings, creating more insight
into the questions and nuances that were present from the start of the study.
4. RESULTS
Following the mixed-method approach of integrating qualitative with quantitative research
across the MNC, we found the link between language dynamics and communication
avoidance. With four factors contributing to this problem, including: power difference, low
distribution and high management of language learning resources, limited language
learning alternatives and restrictive learning.
These factors can further help explain how asymmetries in the lingua franca have caused
fractured relationships, subgroup dynamics (loss of status and power) and a specific need to
develop their competence in English.
8

4.1 Power difference

Our findings show several references to power difference with a great majority of
participants manifesting their fear of speaking in English and mentioning fluency as one of
the key contributing factors to this communication avoidance. For example, a team member
from the finance office expresses the difficulty he has communicating with colleagues
abroad:
Yes, I speak English with my colleagues on a regular basis, but the language - an
oral interaction is quite complicated to me in some cases. For example in Canada,
the way of speaking is clear but in other countries such as India it is not. I prefer
writing emails rather than speak with the team in India.
Now a participant from the Social Responsibility department states that she prefers to speak
English with a native English speaker or a colleague in Colombia, highlighting
communication avoidance based on language competency:
For me it is easier to speak in English with a Colombian person, because Im
familiarized with the accent. I feel also comfortable speaking in English with Indian
people because I think they dont have a good level of English either, but I feel
uncomfortable if I speak with a native. Im afraid that she or he wont understand
me.
Immediately we find that an English native speaker from the Canadian office holds a higher
status than that of an Indian colleague or fellow Colombian based on the perception that
English is their second language. Finally, looking at the hierarchical relationship between
the leaders and team members we find the following perceptions that make a strong
reference to power difference:
In general all leaders within the company have a very good level of English, the
people in their teams dont. They have a basic or an intermediate level.
9

This brings to light a possible divide in teams, subgrouping and can have a negative effect
on employee career development and peer evaluation. Furthermore, power difference can
be seen even more potent in graph 1, which makes reference to the feelings employees
have with regards to communicating with a non-Spanish speaking colleague or stakeholder.
The graph shows that almost 40% of participants feel uncomfortable when communicating
compared to 5% of participants feeling comfortable. This shows that communication
avoidance and language dynamics could have a strong connection as to why employees feel
difficulty in establishing strong relations with English speaking stakeholders or colleagues
abroad.
Graph 1 How do you feel when you interact with foreigners that do not speak
Spanish?

4.2 Low distribution and high management of language learning resources

COLINTERNATIONAL use an online language training tool that is given to specific
departments, teams, and members within the team. Not all members of the organization are
10

given a license to work on this online platform. This contradicts the Planning Directors
opinion on the need to have wide-spread assimilation of English within the organization.
For instance, members of the Operations Department state that the organization considers
this department does not need English but members of this team feel that it is essential for
them to carry out meetings with colleagues from Canada or Europe. On the other hand, they
state that only two members of the team have the full English competencies, leaving the
rest of the group behind. Further to this we find the participants perceptions of their English
development in graph 2 showing a divide in their perceptions towards their development
and training in English.
Graph 2 Do you feel your development in English is adequate enough to carry out
tasks that COLINTERNATIONAL requires?

50.00%

47.51%

45.00%
39.85%

40.00%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%

Porcentaje

20.00%
15.00%

12.64%

10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
n/a

NO

SI

4.3 Limited language learning alternatives

Referring back to the online language-learning tool, we found that there were weaknesses
with having a single option to language learning. Employees felt that they needed to
improve their speaking and listening skills. Graph 3 shows that near to 60% of participants
11

feel uncomfortable understanding English and Graph 4 shows 50% feel uncomfortable
speaking in English. When connected to the online language-learning tool, we find
numerous suggestions that are brought forward. For instance, a member of the Finance
Department states:
I think the tool is good but it depends on the people that use it. Not everybody likes
this type of training; some of them prefer the classroom training. I took the online
course and I like it, but you need to spend a lot of time to study and sometimes you
are very busy. The weakness of this type of training is the conversational part. You
have only a very little time for listening.
In addition, employees feel that they need to understand other cultures, have a mentor
system that can follow-up their progress in English language learning, conversation clubs
with teachers from different countries and backgrounds to enrich their understanding and
knowledge diversity. In general, participants were asking for more incentives to motivate
staff to learn English and engage with colleagues locally and internationally more often.
Graph 3 How do you feel when you hear English at work?

12

Graph 4 How do you feel when you speak in English at work?

13

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A veces me siento bien y otras veces me siento frustrado al hablar, solo puedo hablar de algunos temas.

4.4 Restrictive learning

The general comments given in the eight focus groups were that learning English on its
own is not enough to understand the language and there must be training on cultural aspects
of the language. As well as understanding the culture, the training should also be adapted to
Colombian culture; some employees have been taking an online EF training course and
were unsatisfied with its lack of relevance to Colombian society.
In addition, they proposed mentors (employees with a higher level in English) to help and
support them in their learning process. They should also be given training upon taking this
role as monitor. They feel self-conscious when they attempt to speak in English due to
criticism from fellow colleagues. Colombian culture tends to have a disadvantage in that
they judge and criticize constantly. They felt that a more informal approach to teaching,
such as conversation clubs or lunches can have a better effect in their learning process.

14

With the activities they proposed a flexible model of topics that can be equally dynamic and
motivational for the employees. The flexibility of the schedule should also hold equal
importance as they have meetings and busy periods along the year and specific times of the
month.
They protested against COLINTERNATIONAL, stating that the company does not respect
the training sessions as it is not a top priority and takes a back seat when it comes to task
they must complete.

5. DISCUSSION
Our goal in this study was to better understand the effect that employing English as a lingua
franca has on the work-base community and the barriers that these teams faced with the
increasing use of English as the company grows globally. We linked these effects with the
influence they had on language competence and language dynamics. As a result we found
that factors such as power difference and language training contributed to language
asymmetries in second language learning. We succeeded in describing how language was
an emotionally potent issue for both English- and non-English-speaking team members at
COLINTERNATIONAL, and how language asymmetries contributed to problems that
persisted in some teams. With the increasing international relationships and sharing of
work, it is important to understand theoretical and empirical perspectives that show the
impact of a lingua franca and bring it forward as an issue that needs to be noticed and
developed in international business and organizations.
Our findings suggest that language asymmetries are linked to communication avoidance
and language proficiency/competence and can often create a divide in groups (Hinds,
Neeley & Cramton, 2013). Our data finds that language asymmetries are caused by lack of
understanding or a perceived absence of an adequate training program in English.
Language is more salient than occupational culture (Hinds, Neeley & Cramton, 2013), and
it is language together with the national culture and organizational culture that plays a
central role in the cohesion of relationships. In the focus groups, participants made several
suggestions that involved implementing culture into their English language training
programs, as many of these employees interact with people from a diverse number of
15

cultures and countries. For instance, participants complained about the directness of
American emails and communication avoidance that arises when talking to a native English
speaker over the phone based on language proficiency (Bell, 1986; Frederick & van
Mechelen, 2012; Jung & McCroskey, 2004).
In addition, recent literature on language dynamics and power difference concerned with
social identity (Lauring, 2008; Vaara, Tienari, Piekkari, & Santti, 2005) and status loss
(Harzing et al.,2011; Neeley, 2013; SanAntonio, 1987) has found that individuals have little
power over their interpersonal environment and communication avoidance (Lauring, J., &
Klitmller, A. C, 2014). This can be linked to our results that show more communication
avoidance when speaking to native speakers as opposed to fellow nationals or colleagues
that are non-native English speakers.
While language competence or proficiency level is a consequence of language asymmetry
we can link this problem with the associated training that is linked to educating employees
in the MNCs chosen lingua franca. With restrictive learning causing further problems for
those employees, teams or groups that perceive that they need the resources to learn the
company lingua franca but are denied access. Allen (2013) suggests that without a
community in which to practice the language, the learning process will fail. This brings us
closer to understanding that an online English learning program alone is not sufficient as
they create set goals and objectives that are not tailored to the work goals and objects of
employees at COLINTERNATIONAL. Thus, creating a community in which English
(lingua franca) is appropriated by employees with the help of their superiors and colleagues
with higher language proficiency (Allen, 2013). As an effect, this would cause a positive
impact on the teams shared object and reduce communication avoidance and power
difference.
Based on the research findings we looked at both language competence and the real
language needs of each team, role and area, paying attention to the level and skills that the
workers need to communicate with their stakeholders or colleagues in English. We found
that we could elucidate each of the workers real needs and by placing them under a certain
profile that outlines their specific needs.

16

Solution A
After analyzing the results by department and position, we found that
COLINTERNATIONAL requires three specific profiles, we have named Profile A, Profile
B and Profile C. Below you will find the description of each profile:
Profile A: English is needed to carry out various tasks that coordinators or group leaders
work on, as support. They need four communicative competencies at an operative level.
Profile B: English is needed specialized and descriptive related to their group or
department. The main competence being reading technical documents and being able to
present and explain information related to their job with foreign colleagues.
Profile C: An advanced English level is essential. They need to manage public relations
and negotiation skills in a wide business context.
Scheme
The scheme is related to the previously mentioned profiles.
Divided into three sections:
1) Skills related to (speaking, listening, reading, writing);
2) Interaction with other cultures;
3) Attitude towards learning and using a foreign language.
The first point is related to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages,
the skills highlighted share the real needs of each profile.
The second point seeks to highlight the importance of the cultural element to help develop
linguistic competencies.
Finally the third point seeks to point out the need for each employee participating in this
process to assimilate the change and mandating English as a lingua franca at
COLINTERNATIONAL.

17

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Table 1 Summary of COLINTERNATIONAL opinions on mandating English.
Name
Area
Main Activity
Gabriel Alvarez
Geociencias
Tiene a su cargo 11
Exploracin
empleados, su principal
Nuevos
negocio es realizar ssmica
Negocios
en lugares que posiblemente
pueden tener algn tipo de
hidrocarburo, de sus 11
empleados 8 estn
estudiando ingls con Berlitz.
Gabriel ha liderado en su
rea proyectos de desarrollo
de los empleados de
Geociencias, entre estos
proyecto estn los lunch and
learn, comunidades de
conocimiento, job ladder, y
taxonoma de competencias
tcnicas.

Position
Gerente Senior de
Geociencias/
Geophysics
Manager

Summary
En cuanto a necesidades consi
proficientemente en especial e
profesional. El nivel de ingls d
B1 a B2. El nivel de comprensi
produccin escrita. El manejo d
escritos al interactuar con otro
lenguaje en trminos de uso co
El factor motivacional funciona
y es uno de los que viene estud

Ysidro Araujo

Perforacin
Produccin
Operaciones
Proyectos

Cuenta con ms de 30 aos

de experiencia en la industria
petrolera especialmente en
Venezuela, tiene 8 personas
a su cargo.

GERENTE III
(YACIMIENTOS)/
V.P. Reservoir
Engineering &
Asset
Management

En su equipo hay un gran vaco

desde lo tcnico hasta lo come
negociaciones y los trminos d
interaccin en la organizacin
debilidades en el manejo del id
cuales se convierten en variab
consultora.
Como expectativas frente a su
dos idiomas, comenzando con
el contexto especfico, un man
barreras lingsticas y una perm

Armando Daz Lemus

Apoyo

GERENTE II (CONTRALOR
CORPORATIVO)/Corporate
Controller

Gerente
encargado de la
contralora de la
empresa, se

Su rea reporta e interacta co

su nivel de ingls es mixto, va
el nivel de ingls en Brasil es m
con 65 empresas asociadas. La

20

Csar Augusto Daz Cruz

Apoyo

GERENTE DE PLANEACION/
Planning Manager

Table 2 Focus group comparative chart.

Area
No.
Actividades realizadas en
Personas
ingls
Planeacin

Responsabilidad
Social

100

generan el crecimiento de la m
Encuentra limitaciones de cont
las que estn la falta del mane
En Canad trabajan 50 profesio
Colombia carece por falta de m
En consecuencia, considera qu
excelente manejo de Ingls de
de la organizacin y un especia
El manejo de la escritura de do
traducen a espaol o portugu
parte oral, la encuentra dbil.
La negociacin y el liderazgo h

Gerente
encargado de
planeacin, la
visin que l
puede dar de la
empresa es
valiosa.

COLINTERNATIONAL cuenta ap
2300 hacen parte de la base o
Su equipo necesita el ingls po
necesidad latente, la organizac
profesional que pueda hacer a
competitivas. El grupo est con
entre B1 a C2.
Espera que el modelo plantead
organizacin. Su rea requiere
potenciacin de las habilidades
escritura y la lectura en ingls
Por otra parte, considera que la
que pueda impactar a todos lo
las necesidades especficas de
responder a las necesidades re

Dificultades percibidas por los

miembros del grupo

Aspectos positiv

Teleconferencias

Solo 1 de 4 personas domina

perfectamente el idioma (el jefe
del rea).

Existe comodidad
para realizar descr

Cursos y capacitaciones
relacionadas con el rea

No poseen suficiente vocabulario,

lo que causa inseguridad al
hablar.

Se evidencia un ni
en la expresin ora
participantes del fo
group.

Revisin de traducciones de
textos
Lectura de textos de ndole
tcnica relacionados con el rea
Lectura de textos

No existe comodidad suficiente

para la argumentacin.

Congresos

21

encarga de aadir
financieramente a
las nuevas
empresas, la
visin que puede
dar de la empresa
es muy grande

Disparidad en los niveles de

dominio de ingls. Consideran
que el 70% del rea tiene un nivel
suficiente; sin embargo hay un
sentimiento generalizado de falta
de proficiencia, especialmente en
la expresin oral. Los compaeros
que manejan el ingls acceden a
oportunidades interesantes
(eventos, proyectos especiales).
No encuentran fcil el uso de la
Licencia EF por temas de tiempo
y compatibilidad tcnica con
algunos equipos.

Intercambios cultu
partir de los chats
personas de otros
ofrece la Licencia E

Gerente del rea 1

bilinge. Motiva y
oportunidades par
equipo aprenda.

Operaciones

Informacin
no
disponible

Eventos

La licencia tiene muy bajo

componente gramatical y es
deficiente para el desarrollo de la
expresin oral.

Proyectos especiales

Temor a ser juzgado afecta la

expresin oral.

Reuniones del sector en ingls.

Informacin tcnica del rea,

jurisprudencias de otros pases,
lectura de fallos judiciales.

Interaccin oral con personas de

otros pases.
Revisin de contratos.

Finanzas

22

Presentaciones

Dificultades a la hora de
relacionarse con extranjeros
debido a diferencias culturales.
Se han retirado Licencias EF por
falta de uso.
Solo 2 personas tienen Licencia
EF; los dems no han recibido la
capacitacin.

La compaa no considera que

esta rea requiera el idioma, pero
ellos consideran que el ingls s
es importante porque
COLTINTERNATIONAL est
realizando reuniones con todas
las empresas del sector de
hidrocarburos y hay muchas
personas angloparlantes con
quienes deben interactuar.
Las personas no tienen tiempo
para estudiar con las licencias por
carga de trabajo.
Dificultades a la hora de
relacionarse con extranjeros
debido a diferencias culturales.
Temor y vergenza frente a la
parte conversaciona. El pnico a
hablar en ingls se debe en
general a la desaprobacin de los
pares colombianos. La cultura
colombiana es muy comparativa,
crtica y juzga de manera
permanente.
La licencia no se puede usar en
horario laboral y por carga de
trabajo se termina accediendo a
altas horas de la noche cuando el
estado de nimo no es ptimo
para el proceso de aprendizaje.
Solo 2 personas tienen el nivel
requerido en relacin con las
necesidades del rea. Se

Varios colaborador
conformes con la L
y la usan durante p
activas o a primera
la maana. No es m
emplear la Licencia
horario laboral.
Se percibe el apren
ingls como un mo
para el desarrollo p
profesional.

La Licencia EF ha s
utilizada por la noc
pm). Es mal visto u
en horario laboral.

Esta rea no se ad
licencias, se siente
cmodos con el ap

Comits

Minutas

Trabajo del da a da

Auditoras internacionales

Compras

50

Interaccin con pares de otros

pases (en persona, por telfono e
email)
Leer y redactar contratos
Interaccin con personas de
China.

Llamadas telefnicas.

Comunicacin oral y escrita con

proveedores.

AIT

Informacin
no
disponible

Redaccin constante de correos

en ingls.

Conversaciones telefnicas con

Canad.
Lineamientos en ingls.

Tesorera

Informacin
no
disponible

Comunicacin con bancos

interacionales.

Elaboracin de garantas y
contratos.

Comunicacin (oral y por escrito)

23

entrevist a esas dos personas en

ingls y se evidenci que si bien
consiguen comunicar sus ideas
oralmente, su nivel en expresin
oral es A2.
Deficiencias en ingls tcnico y
terminologa especfica.

presencial.

Han aprendido a tr
personas de otras
en la prctica.

No hay cierre ni continuidad de

ciclos de aprendizaje (cambio de
una empresa a otra). Esto causa
desmotivacin.
Los conocimientos generales en
el idioma son muy bsicos y
genera temor y vergenza
equivocarse.
Horarios de trabajo difciles.

Licencias EF: consideran que no

tienen suficiente disciplina, no
tienen la costumbre de
autorregularse para que la
Licencia les rinda.

Muchos han dejado de usar la

Licencia EF si bien algunos la
encuentran til.
Usan poco el ingls, solo 10
personas lo emplean realmente.
Las compras se realizan casi
siempre a nivel nacional.
EF Online: manifiestan que a
veces no alcanzan a darles la
retroalimentacin de la expresin
oral.
Sienten temor para hablar en los
chats orales de la Licencia EF,
sobre todo en los niveles iniciales.
En la expresin oral de los
entrevistados se evidencia un
nivel A1 A2
Capacidad de comunicacin en
cuanto a temas tcnicos pero no
en cuanto a temas cotidianos.

Problemas culutrales percibidos

dentro del intercambio de correos
electrnicos (ej. amabilidad
excesiva del colombiano puede
tornarse fastidiosa para un
norteamericano)
La expresin oral es la habilidad

Licencias EF: Las e

muy buenas, gusta
flexibilidad. La util
noche. En horas la
lo pueden hacer po
percibe como una
de ocio.
La necesidad del id
va a ir incrementa
el crecimiento del
La necesidad del id
va a ir incrementa
el crecimiento del

La gerente, la Sra.
lidera el English F
Todos los viernes r
tareas en ingls, in
supervisin.
Hicieron un curso s
correos electrnico
ingls. Les pareci

Actualmente estn

Talento Humano

con clientes y proveedores de

USA y Brasil en ingls.

que ms retos presenta.

English Fridays

Licencia EF: El cambio que se hizo

en la plataforma ha influido en el
desempeo de varios. No les
gust y dejaron de emplear la
licencia.
No existe una interaccin
frecuente con el ingls pero a
futuro, para desarrollarse
profesionalmente, ser necesario
hablar ingls.
Se expresa que la escritura es la
habilidad que ms problemas
causa. Sin embargo la expresin
oral es un problema evidente en
la entrevista realizada en ingls.
El nivel de ingls en la expresin
oral de los entrevistados es A1A2.
Percepcin de falta de
compromiso en el uso de las
licencias lo cual ha conllevado
desercin. Falta de claridad en la
forma en la que se evala.

Lectura espordica de textos en

ingls.

Se requiere sobre todo en las

labores propias de los gerentes y
especialistas.

24

un curso sobre
presentaciones efe
para aprender a pr
ingls. Encuentran
talleres son muy
Se evidencia un ni
en expresin oral d
entrevistados.

Licencia EF: La pla

ha vuelto ms ami
el cambio que se r
la plataforma.

Percepcin del plan

entrenamiento com
herramienta de cre
tanto al interior de
empresa como en