본 연구는 기업내 외국어 사용여부 및 활용이 실제로 임금과 이직의도에 어떠한 영향을 미치는 지를 현재 기업의 상황에 기초하여 분석함으로써 외국어에 대한 투자의 ‘수익(return)’을 간접적으로 추정해 보고자 하였다. 분석결과 임금의 경우, 기업에서 외국어 사용여부와 업무상 외국어 활용정도가 임금에 대해 모두 정(+)적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 이직의도의 경우, 기업에서의 외국어 사용여부는 이직의도에 대해 정(+)적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 하지만 업무에서 외국어 활용정도는 유의미한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 연구결과는 선행연구들처럼 외국어에 대한 취업준비과정이 임금에 유의미한 영향을 주는 것뿐만 아니라 기업내 외국어 사용여부 및 활용정도에 있어서도 임금에 유의미한 영향을 미치고 있다는 것을 보여주는 결과이다. 또한 보다 많은 외부노동시장에 대한 기회제공으로 이직의도를 높여 근로자 개인에게 노동시장에서 보다 많은 선택권을 확보할 수 있는 만큼 외국어 역량의 중요성이 재차 확인됐다고 볼 수 있다. 따라서 개별 청년구직자 입장에서는 외국어 역량을 강화시키는 것이 필요하며 특히, 현업에서 외국어 활용정도가 높은 경우, 더욱 이 점에 유의해야 한다는 사실을 시사해주고 있다. 그리고 기업측면에서는 기업에서의 외국어 사용여부가 근로자 개인에게 노동시장에서 보다 많은 선택권을 확보 할 수 있게 해 줌으로써 이직의도를 높여줄 수 있으므로 외국어를 사용하는 인력들을 유지·확보하기 위해 보다 세심한 관리가 요구된다.
This study is to indirectly assume return on investment in foreign language learning by analyzing whether foreign language is used or not, and the amount of its usage in job environment. Positive influence was found between wage and whether foreign language is used or not and also between wage and whether it is widely used or not in job environment.
Regarding separation intention, using foreign language or not was positively influential. However, whether foreign language is widely used or not in job environment didn't show significant influence.
Previous studies analyzed this subject with foreign language skill in seeking a job such as whether to take the TOEIC test, the test score, English speaking capability, how much they prepare English tests in university, language training abroad.
However, this study has been conducted to see how whether foreign language is used and how much to be used in companies have an effect on wage. Also in order to check how foreign language usage affects external labor market, how much they have an impact on separation intention has been analyzed.
Like other previous studies, this research result shows that not only language learning as a part of job preparation significantly influences wage, but whether or not foreign language is used also influences wage.
Furthermore, it raises separation intention promoted by extended job opportunity from labor market resulting in enhanced individual right of choice. It can be said that the importance of foreign language is reaffirmed.
Therefore, it is necessary for individual job seekers to enforce foreign language capability. It also implies that especially when foreign language is widely used in job environment, individual employees should consider more about enhancing foreign language capability.
And companies needs to care about workers speaking foreign languages to retain and employ them because whether foreign language is used for work gives the workers more chances to change their jobs.
Although this study has positive meaning to use variables different from previous studies and go further by examining the separation intention, it has some drawbacks originating in its data attributes as followings.
First, this study assumes that a company using foreign language always has workers speaking foreign language well, and used it as an independent variable. However, there are some workers not speaking foreign language well but working for the company where they have to speak foreign language.
The reason why this study can't cover this issue is that the questionnaire doesn't have a question to analyze the foreign language capability like asking TOEIC test score. Second, This study has analyzed only the separation intention not how many people to change a job. That's because of one of flaws from the questionnaire as well.
Besides, even though this study tries to control variables like whether to work for one company, no change in work place and business field, position, task, whether to be promoted directly related to wage and separation intention and even the extent of their influence, it has limited variables for checking how much subjects speak foreign language in company, which is collected by self-report. That's why there is high error probability regarding those variables.
And in order to measure wage premium, this study cares about variables for example, human capital, profession, personal attribute. However, there is a possibility that whether foreign language is used and how much to be used can be overestimated because of ability variable missed in normal regression analysis.
Lastly, concerning whether foreign language is used and how much to be used having an effect on labor market, this study is unable to see if it has a short-term or long-term effect due to limited data. So, if following researchers make up for this issue, it's expected that the effect can be analyzed precisely.