by Liz Rothaus Bertrand
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:
Could you please tell me a little bit about your company and the type of services you provide to consumers?
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.
What’s your specific role at Continental Tire?
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.
What inspired you to start studying Spanish with The Language Academy of the Carolinas?
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.
How long have you studied with the LAOC?
I completed the formal curriculum in 3 years but continue to utilize LAOC resources from time to time to practice.
Do you use Spanish in the workplace? How?
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.
Are there any quantifiable changes in your business since you started learning Spanish?
Clearly, the opportunities to meet and relate to people with limited English skills is an advantage not only professionally but personally.
Do you have an anecdote about how learning Spanish has helped you professionally?
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.
Is there anything that I didn’t ask that you’d like to share?
LAOC is a great place to seriously learn a language.
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