The level of English language competence among employees in foreign trading companies in Serbia

Abstract

Due to the globalization and high demand of international market, business correspondence is being performed mainly in English, making the English language lingua franca in international trade. This paper shows in what degree the English language is, as the language for specific purposes, important in the international trading companies; it studies the connection between the professional position of an employee in a company, the usage and understanding of the language. Together with examples from the research conducted, this paper provides some answers to the questions - what professional positions are most likely to change in terms of the English language usage, that is, on which professional positions is the language known best?