Role of English language in agricultural organisations

Introduction

The importance, role, and value of language skills in organisations is undeniable, however this concept is still not fully understood in Malaysia. It is important to examine the perception of employees towards the importance of English language in a multilingual work environment with the purpose of employing strategic approaches that can help employees in agricultural organisations to cope with language matters which are unique to these organisations. Furthermore, The National Graduate Employability Blueprint, 2012–2017, highlighted that over 50% of the graduates are below average in terms of competence in subject knowledge, English competency, communication, writing skills, and work attitude (Ministry of Education, 2016). Meanwhile, as English language plays a dominant role in the present globalized world, the perception of the employees was also a reflection of the bottom-up perspective, which can provide understanding of the role and value of this language regarding employability and career progression.

This study has investigated the Malaysian agriculture sector as it is the third engine of economic growth and therefore an important contributor to the economy of this country. In 2019, this sector contributed 7.3% to the Gross domestic product (GDP) amounting to approximately RM99.5 billion Dardak & Tamby (2020). The government has decided to transform the agriculture sector with the implementation of Agriculture Revolution 4.0 (AR 4.0), which will have economic benefits for Malaysians, and it is also driven by big data and digital technology (Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, 2021). Also, Dardak (2020) foresees that there will be an increase in trade agreements with countries globally and regionally that will lead to increased employability in Malaysia. Indeed, Malaysia’s effort to advance into a modern, technological savvy, and export-led nation is dependent on strengthening its human capital and competency in the English language (Selvaratnam, 2018). Accordingly, the human capita must be empowered, and they must possess the necessary linguistic skills to support the aims of AR 4.0.

In organisations, language is acknowledged as a facilitator or barrier in areas like communication, collaboration and coordination (Bordia & Bordia, 2014). Marschan et al. (1997) showed that organisations need to ensure that not only language is not ignored in the workplace, in fact they should view it as a strategic context. Furthermore, studies have shown that there was a significant effect on the starting salaries of graduates, future potential earnings, changing of residence from rural to urban, and improved labour market performance, for employees with English as their second language (Guo & Sun, 2014. Zhou et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2017). Previous Malaysian studies have focused on the area of English language and employability, nonetheless, what is lacking in this context is a clear understanding of the importance of English language competence within the agricultural workplace and the detrimental effects it can have on career paths of employees. This study examined the perception of both employees and employers towards the role and value of English in the agriculture sector as there is sparse literature in this area.

Methods

Prior to conducting this study ethical approval was obtained from Multimedia University (Ethics Approval Number: EA2502021). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

The Data was collected through both questionnaires and interviews from these organisations. In this study, 15 organisations were randomly selected from the Malaysia Agribusiness Directory. All 15 organisations were either involved in agriculture or were in the agricultural related business. However, after contacting the stakeholders, only 10 agreed to take part in the study (Table 1).

After approval was optioned from the managers the questionnaires were distributed (see underlying data) (Bhar & Rafik-Galea, 2021b). From a total of 400 questionnaires that were distributed through email, 320 were returned, representing an 80% return rate. The questions were prepared to investigate language use, employee perception and attitude towards the English language in their respective organisations. Respondents for the survey varied in terms of level of education, age, hierarchical position, functional background, and language proficiency from excellent to low, as the researchers wanted to incorporate perceptions of a broad range of employees. Frequencies, percentages, and mean scores of the responses were calculated and analysed (see underlying data) (Bhar & Rafik-Galea, 2021c).

For the qualitative phase, the 10 organisations that were involved in the survey were invited to participate in interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the personnel from the human resource department (see underlying data) (Bhar & Rafik-Galea, 2021b). The interview data were transcribed, coded, and later categorized into themes.

Results

English language proficiency skills

The findings indicated that at least 80% of the respondents are proficient in the national language which is Malay (speaking and writing) while approximately half of the respondents are proficient in both speaking and writing in English (48%) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Employees’ perception of their English language skills.

All the respondents indicated that their proficiency in Malay is much higher than their proficiency in English language. In effect, the education system in Malaysia requires the students to be proficient in both languages, therefore many opportunities and exposure are provided in schools for these individuals to learn and improve English and Malay. However, the results of this study indicate that this educational policy has not been successful because English which is the second language in Malaysia has not been mastered as well as Malay. According to Azirah (2020), the language planning and policy decisions in Malaysia have had the effect of demoting English to only a school subject as there is an urgent need to establish a national identity. With these language policy implementations, it is comprehensible that the general English language capability of most Malaysians would be lower than their ability in Malay. In addition, Azirah (2020) notes that the national language policy has established the importance of Malay in schools.

Language use in the workplace: The role of English language

The importance of spoken and written English and Malay in agricultural organisations has been demonstrated in Figure 2. In written communication, English is perceived as the most important language where the mean score (M=4.1) is higher than writing in Malay. Malay is the most important language in listening and spoken communication (M=3.7). The dominant role of English in written communication is consistent in workplaces where English is not the native language of its employees (Lønsmann, 2011; Evans, 2010; Hill & van Zyl, 2002).

Figure 2. Importance of English and Malay in agricultural organisations.

All 10 employers in this study emphasised the importance of English competence for employability and career advancement. One employer said:

“We have branches outside Malaysia, so it is necessary for our staff to be able to converse in good English. Our management also expects the employees to be proficient in English as all our internal communication like emails and reports are in English.”

Discussion

The results of this study have shown that English is the dominant language in the agricultural industry and having a good command of this language is vital as it is widely used in this sector, alongside Malay. With reference to the role of language, the ability to communicate well in English is extremely crucial when it comes to career progression and employability. Conversely, employees with limited language competence may not be able to achieve their desired career progression or even gain employment in the agricultural industry. As such it was important to analyse how competence in English can influence careers or help to gain employment.

Piekkari et al. (2015) introduced a fascinating model (Figure 3) which highlighting the influence of language in career paths. The model helps to explain how language has an impact on both employability and career advancement. The language “glass ceiling effect” serves as an invisible barrier preventing employees who lack the necessary English language skills from advancing in their careers. Research conducted on Japanese- owned subsidiaries located in several countries in the world (Wright et al., 2001), foreign owned subsidiaries located in Japan (Peltokorpi & Vaara, 2012) and China (Li et al., 2020) support the existence of a language “glass ceiling” in the workplace domain. For example, according to a study conducted by Li et al. (2020) Chinese employees’ willingness to accept international assignments was positively related to their English language proficiency.

Figure 3. Language barriers: language ceiling and walls.

Source: Adapted from Piekkari et al. (2015).

Similarly, a “language wall” may prevent employees from a horizontal career move. Conversely, the language wall prevents an individual from being hired by employers because they lack the necessary language skills to be able to function efficiently in the organisation. A study on the employability of new graduates has shown how a “language wall” may arise. It showed that 64% of employers expressed that the command of English language in Malaysian graduates was poor which could prevent them from securing a job position (Fernandez-Chung & Leong, 2018).

Thus, this indicates that if potential employees have a poor command of the language, they may not be hired, and this can affect their employability and their future earning potentials.

Employees may also encounter the “language wall” when planning horizontal career movement. For example, if an employee from the factory floor needs to move to the communications department, the individual may face problems due to language deficiency as the communication department may place a greater importance on English proficiency. Piekkari et al. (2015) cautions that sometimes employees could initiate downward career moves by transferring to another functional unit with no linguistic demands, however, this move would induce a downgrade shift in their career.

Therefore, employees in the agricultural industry should be encouraged to learn and improve their English language skills as language fluency plays an important role in shaping and driving the employees’ career paths and employability.

Conclusion

From the standpoint of both the employees and employers, a more comprehensive perspective on the role of English Language competence and its impact on employability and career progression has been acquired. This is an area of further investigation which can help to bring better understanding to the effects that language can have on the employment process in Malaysia.

The findings of this study suggest that it is essential for universities to ensure that their students develop English proficiency and good communication skills. For students to improve their command of the language, it is important that English is made the medium of instruction in all universities in Malaysia. This will help to create an English-speaking environment, emulating the various workplaces in Malaysia, where English is the dominant language. It is hoped that university graduates will be better prepared for the workplace in future as without the necessary language skills they may be in a disadvantageous position.

Additionally, organisations need to be aware of the importance of providing language training to their employees as this will open developmental opportunities for career progression within the organisations. Accordingly, organisations need to ensure language considerations are included in human resource activities.

Data and software availability

Author contributions

Sareen Kaur Bhar

Roles: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing

Shameem Rafik-Galea

Roles: Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing