When can we stop? How do I know if my language is sufficiently effective? Is it when I start speaking fluently? Or when I start thinking in English? Or maybe when my English starts being praised by others?
According to a LinkedIn Survey, 92% of professionals and employers surveyed consider soft skills as important or more important than hard skills. You probably know that hard (or technical) skills are those which can be taught, and soft skills relate to how you work. So, we can say that knowledge of a language is a “hard” skill, and the ability to use it is a “soft” one.
It's well known that having the same knowledge as someone else doesn’t mean your chances of succeeding are the same. How you use your knowledge, how you communicate, how you deal with other people – all of this is contributes to your success or failure. Customers may just prefer a professional who does not have difficulties expressing their thoughts and does so clearly and effectively. Often a talented specialist in their own field is not able to convey their idea, convince and lead in a foreign language, and might lose out to those who can do this, but aren’t as professional.
However, if your intercultural communication skills are supported by your own “soft” skills that are not affected by insufficient command of the language, but on the contrary, your level contributes to achieving the result you need, then you can say “I know enough”!