Foreign talk goes beyond French and German

With executives working in many countries, management institutes are now teaching Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish and Russian too.

German and French are passe. B-schools are now planning to teach foreign languages by including Mandarin, Japanese (Nihongo), Spanish and Russian.

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta, for instance, teaches French and German and will include Japanese from the next academic year. The syllabus at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) is also under revision and Japanese will from a part of it from next year. The Xavier's Institute of Management (XIM), Bhubaneshwar, which introduced classes in French last year, received a favourable response from the students and will now introduce German and Japanese too. The institute plans to choose a Japanese teacher from the large Japanese Buddhist population available in Bhubaneshwar.

The idea of introducing foreign language learning at b-schools is a viable proposition. Language classes get a good number of enrollments from 30-50 students opting for each language in every batch and the certificate issued is authorised by the b-schools.

Moreover, while at a cultural centre where a student would shell out anywhere between Rs 5000-8000 for a four-to-six-month language course, he spends between Rs 2000-3000 for a year's course at a b-school. However, in most cases, the faculty is arranged through the embassy or cultural centres like Indo-French or Indo-German cultural centres.

Insitutes like XIM-B, share half the cost of learning with the students and S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), has subsidised the same. SPJIMR has decided to teach Mandarin and Russian from next academic year. Says Prof Sunil Rai, SPJIMR, "There are more opportunities coming up in South Asian markets and China is emerging a global power. Asian economy is booming and there will be more exchange programmes and international recruitment happening as we move ahead."

Foreign languages also help students understand a particular country and work culture. For the school, it helps in global placements. Says L D Mago, senior administrative officer, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), "MNCs which participate in campus placement prefer students who have knowledge of one or more international languages. Earlier knowing Arabic and German was preferred but today knowing French, Spanish and Mandarin adds value to one's resume."

At the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, foreign language learning helps students participate in academic exchange programme MDI has with institutes world over. Last year 54 students went to France and London from MDI. It also helps the Indian students interact better with the foreign students at MDI. The institute will include teaching of Spanish and Mandarin in its syllabus in the next six months.

The IIMs, however, barring IIM Calcutta, leave the option of foreign language learning to their students. The students arrange for a faculty and conduct weekly or bi-weekly classes on their own.