The Significance of linguistic competence for professional career in the context of globalization

This paper analyzes the importance of native (specialty) and foreign language competence in today’s multicultural and multilingual society and discusses the significance of professional language skills for linguistic competence as one of professional career factors in the context of globalization. One of the tasks of higher education institutions (HEIs) is improving students’ linguistic competence. Acquisition of communication skills requires developing students’ thinking, activity, creativity, and resourcefulness. The paper presents how students of several HEIs of Kaunas city view the importance of native (specialty) and foreign language skills for their professional career in the global world. The study showed that in view of the internationalization and globalization of the labor market, multilingual competence is important for professional career and development. According to the respondents, English language skills and the ability to express one’s thoughts in Lithuanian were highly important for professional success, whereas Russian and Polish language skills were least important