The Language of Business

The main reason why I chose my program (IIP Berlin), was because of the location. I have been studying German since middle school, recently completed the minor here at Pitt and this internship location was the perfect opportunity for me to put my German to practical use. During my time in Berlin, I used my German to order food, ask for directions, or check out at the grocery store. The place where I found it a challenge was at work. While my internship was in English, the documents I worked with were all in German. While Pitt does have German business courses, I did not have the opportunity to take those courses before I came here, and at my internship, most of the business terminology used were words I had not yet encountered. Even when I sat in on meetings, it was hard to follow what was happening because if I missed one word, the meaning of the sentence could be lost. I really wanted to understand what was happening in these meetings as they were with partners my host company planned on signing contracts with. When I realized there were words I did not understand, I took the time one day to write down words I did not know. Some words were company and field-specific while others were more general business terms. My supervisors also took the time to explain what certain terminology meant. The next time I sat in on a meeting, I took that opportunity to write down words there. Over the next few days, I took some time to study and learn these words so that I could better follow along as well as perform my overall work quicker. I was able to then talk with my supervisor about these meetings and was able to contribute more to future projects and tasks. I think that people who have language skills but may not be able to fully navigate the professional world can relate to my experience. My advice would be to put the effort in and learn the vocabulary. Your language skills can only get better so in the end, it does no harm. An even better idea would be to learn some words beforehand. Maybe there is a course offering in your language of interest that will teach you the necessary vocabulary or perhaps there is a professor in your specific language department that could assist with this.