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For busy professionals, sometimes the biggest hurdle to practicing a foreign language is finding the time to leave the office for a class. The Language Academy of the Carolinas can make it easy by bringing our courses directly to you! Our on location Business Programs offer the same high quality, proven language curriculum that earned us a “Best of the Best” award from Charlotte magazine.
We can also customize our lessons to the exact needs of your company and personnel. The Language Academy of the Carolina’s emphasis is on recreating an immersion style learning environment so our clients get as much practice as possible speaking and hearing their target language beginning on Day 1.
We spoke to Todd Currier, National Credit Manager at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC about his experiences studying Spanish through our program. Here’s what he had to say:
Continental AG is one of the largest manufacturing suppliers to the Automotive industry in the world. Continental Tire the Americas, LLC is the US manufacturing subsidiary headquartered in Fort Mill, SC. Continental provides a full complement of passenger and light truck tires to consumers through our wholesale and retail customers as well as commercial vehicle and specialty tires to fleets and industrial consumers.
I am currently responsible for the commercial credit and accounts receivable for the Americas region. In my 17 years at Continental I have served in various financial roles.
I was given the opportunity to study the complete Spanish curriculum offered by LAOC with the support of my company. Having direct exposure to numerous bilingual colleagues, I could only see benefits by taking on serious language study.
I completed the formal curriculum in 3 years but continue to utilize LAOC resources from time to time to practice.
Being a global company and with a large presence in Latin America, I have opportunity to use my new language skills every day. While I would not consider myself “fluent,” my proficiency has increased to the point where I can participate and utilize the language in meetings and conference calls conducted in Spanish.
Clearly, the opportunities to meet and relate to people with limited English skills is an advantage not only professionally but personally.
There was a specific business process issue in our Ecuador office that was presented to me in English. The person translating the scenario, while fluent in English, did not necessarily clearly understand the process. The person trying to relate the issue eventually explained it in Spanish and I was able to understand completely including the nuances that the translator was missing. It was an affirming event with regards to learning Spanish.
LAOC is a great place to seriously learn a language.