Professional and Career Topics

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

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William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
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Hi William,

I speak both Japanese and English, and I sometimes wish I had focused on learning more languages when I was in school. English is actually my second language, and while it's been incredibly helpful, I've really come to appreciate how important it is to speak the language of the place you're visiting or working with.

Being able to communicate in someone's native language makes a huge difference when it comes to respecting the culture, building trust, and showing real commitment. Honestly, we wouldn't have been able to grow our business globally without it as a small business.

I also strongly encourage students to study abroad whenever they have the opportunity-it truly broadens perspectives and can be life-changing!

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Saki Handa P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE
Chicago IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2025 02:55 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
------------------------------

Dear William, great question. I speak three languages: Spanish (mother tongue), English, and French. I am still deciding whether to learn German, Portuguese, Italian, or Korean. Most of these decisions depend on the role you are considering for new partners, new information on those languages, or whether you want to feel more comfortable when traveling (as a tourist or for a conference). Particularly, I traveled to Germany a year ago and had some issues trying to understand the transportation information or locate it on the map. There is not a lot of information in the three languages I know. Fortunately, several people speak English, and if you are an outgoing person, it will help....
Regards,
AG

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Andres Guzman D.Eng., MEng, Ing., F.ASCE
Associate Professor
UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE
Barranquilla
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2025 02:55 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
------------------------------

English is my first language, and Spanish is my second language. I started taking Spanish as an elective course in 8th grade and really enjoyed it. I ended up getting a BA in Spanish, and a few years later I completed my Masters degree in Construction Project Management at a University in Mexico where all but one course was taught in Spanish.

I've had a couple opportunities to use my Spanish with clients, but the place I get to use it the most is in student outreach. We have several local schools with a high percentage of students who speak Spanish as their first or primary language. I enjoy being able to share with students at events about the demonstration I've brought or opportunities within the industry in both languages so they have the opportunity to learn in their preferred language. 

Last year I volunteered with a project in a local high school classroom where we led the class through learning about bridges and the teams building their own model bridges for a competition. In our class, every student was a native Spanish speaker, and most were still in the early stages of learning English. I did my best to translate the lessons, answer questions, and encourage the students. I think one often overlooked benefit of speaking your second language to another language learner is demonstrating that it is okay to have to muddle your way through and say things in roundabout ways to avoid words you don't know yet. I was there as an industry professional who also has a degree in Spanish, but I never learned how to say "construction paper" or "hot glue" or "girder bridge" or many other words that came up in the class. It was cool to be able to have an exchange with the students where I was there to teach them, but they also had opportunities to teach me.

One of my favorite moments at a career exploration fair was when a couple of junior high boys tentatively approached my booth and were speaking softly to each other in Spanish about what my drainage demonstration model might represent. I asked them a question in Spanish, and one of the boys was immediately enthusiastic and asked me to hang on. He went to get some of his friends who were hanging back from the booths so that I could explain it to all of them. My Spanish is by no means perfect, but the ability to speak Spanish in that moment gave a handful of students the opportunity to hear about Civil Engineering. 

I've also noticed at several events that when the friend groups are going around, one or two who are more proficient in English are trying to translate everything for their friends. It is nice to be able to take some of that load off of them while they are at my booth since I know that translating can be mentally exhausting.

Civil Engineering is a global career field, and it is nice to have opportunities to speak or hear about civil engineering across cultures by being bilingual. 

------------------------------
Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
Tulsa, OK
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2025 02:55 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
------------------------------

My native language is Malayalam and many word's origin of English. Universal language is English. We understand the language by interpretation. No many technical books in Malayalam but in English. But Malayalam has good literature works . So additional language skills is necessary for study literature which gets understand science and technology well even prediction. 

FPEng: Alex Thomas MASCE FIE 

------------------------------
Alex Thomas R.Eng, C.Eng, M.ASCE
Senior Site Engineer
Geo Structurals Pvt Ltd
ErnakulamAlexThomasR.Eng, C.Eng, M.ASCEIndia
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-22-2025 10:34 AM
From: Heidi Wallace
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

English is my first language, and Spanish is my second language. I started taking Spanish as an elective course in 8th grade and really enjoyed it. I ended up getting a BA in Spanish, and a few years later I completed my Masters degree in Construction Project Management at a University in Mexico where all but one course was taught in Spanish.

I've had a couple opportunities to use my Spanish with clients, but the place I get to use it the most is in student outreach. We have several local schools with a high percentage of students who speak Spanish as their first or primary language. I enjoy being able to share with students at events about the demonstration I've brought or opportunities within the industry in both languages so they have the opportunity to learn in their preferred language. 

Last year I volunteered with a project in a local high school classroom where we led the class through learning about bridges and the teams building their own model bridges for a competition. In our class, every student was a native Spanish speaker, and most were still in the early stages of learning English. I did my best to translate the lessons, answer questions, and encourage the students. I think one often overlooked benefit of speaking your second language to another language learner is demonstrating that it is okay to have to muddle your way through and say things in roundabout ways to avoid words you don't know yet. I was there as an industry professional who also has a degree in Spanish, but I never learned how to say "construction paper" or "hot glue" or "girder bridge" or many other words that came up in the class. It was cool to be able to have an exchange with the students where I was there to teach them, but they also had opportunities to teach me.

One of my favorite moments at a career exploration fair was when a couple of junior high boys tentatively approached my booth and were speaking softly to each other in Spanish about what my drainage demonstration model might represent. I asked them a question in Spanish, and one of the boys was immediately enthusiastic and asked me to hang on. He went to get some of his friends who were hanging back from the booths so that I could explain it to all of them. My Spanish is by no means perfect, but the ability to speak Spanish in that moment gave a handful of students the opportunity to hear about Civil Engineering. 

I've also noticed at several events that when the friend groups are going around, one or two who are more proficient in English are trying to translate everything for their friends. It is nice to be able to take some of that load off of them while they are at my booth since I know that translating can be mentally exhausting.

Civil Engineering is a global career field, and it is nice to have opportunities to speak or hear about civil engineering across cultures by being bilingual. 

------------------------------
Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
Tulsa, OK

Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2025 02:55 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
------------------------------

@William McAnally, excellent question, thank you for starting this discussion.

Spanish is my first language, I am fluent in English, and I have basic working proficiency in French and Italian. Being bilingual (and increasingly multilingual) has been a defining strength throughout my career in civil engineering and construction management.

From a project delivery and stakeholder management perspective, language capability directly supports clearer scope alignment, risk mitigation, and trust-building. In construction and infrastructure projects, particularly those involving international teams, diverse craft labor, vendors, or clients, miscommunication is often a root cause of schedule delays, rework, and safety incidents. The ability to communicate expectations, constraints, and intent in someone's native language significantly reduces those risks.

From a PMI lens, bilingual communication strengthens multiple knowledge areas:

• Stakeholder Engagement: Establishing rapport and credibility faster, particularly with field teams and international partners.

• Communications Management: Translating not just words, but intent, especially when discussing schedule impacts, constructability, or change management.

• Risk Management: Identifying early warning signs that may not surface in formal meetings but emerge in informal, native-language conversations.

• Team Leadership: Creating psychological safety and inclusion, which improves collaboration and performance.

I have consistently found that speaking Spanish on projects accelerates alignment with subcontractors, inspectors, and field leadership. It often transforms conversations from transactional to collaborative. Even partial proficiency in additional languages (French and Italian, in my case) has been valuable when working with international consultants or during travel, sometimes simply demonstrating respect and cultural awareness opens doors that technical expertise alone cannot.

I also strongly believe that language skills reinforce systems thinking. Engineering is not just about calculations and codes; it is about people, processes, and interfaces. Language is a critical interface.

For younger professionals and students, I would encourage viewing language learning not as an "extra," but as a force multiplier, particularly in a global profession like civil engineering. Even basic proficiency can have outsized impact.

Thank you again for raising this topic. It is encouraging to see how many paths within our profession are strengthened by effective communication across cultures.

Best regards,

MV

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Miguel Villar Ing., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer Project Manager
Alpharetta GA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2025 02:55 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
------------------------------

This topic is along the lines of an older discussion, "Foreign Languages and engineering" from 2019.

After reading both threads, I replied:

My career included 10 years based in Germany, working directly with German engineers and constructors. My command of German was indispensable in dealing with my counterparts and in developing personal relationships that maintained mutual respect and co

operation. This included working in both ASTM and DIN standards and negotiating conflicts in these standards and practices, as well as learning the how and why of the differences in our standards. This resulted in a deeper understanding of these practices, which occasionally had to be explained to monolingual coworkers who's knowledge was limited to US practices.

While working in Newly Independent Countries of the former Soviet Union, German was often a shared second language with the local engineers and locals that greatly facilitated construction and life in general during a difficult time. It felt rewarding to recognize "international" words used in multiple countries (i.e., beton for concrete) and facilitated communication.

The language also allowed for discussions with the hand workers – skilled technicians who could explain their practices, limitations, and basis for executing a task in a specific fashion.

A depth in the language also leads to appreciation of cultural communication differences, in open frankness of expression (without insult) as well as delicacy in terminology where needed. In discussing the equivalency of P.E. in the different countries, and daily practice the extreme complexities of requirements between education and experience and testing led me to the simple (personal) standard: If the engineer can stamp the plans with the authority and responsibility to build it, it is equivalent. Thus P.E., Dipl Ing, Ing., and Prof. Ing. Are equivalent, at least until the specific certification boards become involved.

Yes, speaking a second language tremendously impacted my career and effectiveness. I encourage people to pass on second or ancestral languages, and to learn a second or third language to enrich their lives.

Ronald Matviyak, P.E. (Ret.), M. ASCE

Anchorage, Alaska

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Ronald Matviyak P.E., M.ASCE
OWNER
Mat Viak Engineering
Anchorage AK
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2025 02:55 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: Additional Language Skills?

• Do you speak languages other than English? How have you found that useful in your career? Engaging stakeholders? Communicating with international colleagues? Traveling?

  If not, have you encountered barriers when not being able to communicate to others in their native language?

  Mitch Winkler and Bill Mc

------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
------------------------------