Language competence is decisively important in international business and could increase efficacy, efficiency, sales and profits. Language is an underresearched area in business studies though language constitutes management and the managers building structures, processes, cultures and personalities being the most vital working tool to get things done and make them understandable. Since 1970 Swedish companies lose market shares globally and in Europe. In an era requiring better foreign language skills there is a declining trend among young Swedish business people and students in other languages than English. The aim of this study is to investigate and analyse the role of language in intercultural business communication between Swedish expatriates and locals in Serbia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria and indirectly also Russia and Poland. To understand the business culture in these countries the author has learned the local language in these seven countries taking 3687 private language lessons. This improves the researcher’s understanding of the culture and its people giving directness and depth in communication, independence and receptivity. This ethnographically inspired hermeneutic study holds semi-structured interviews with expatriates. Better language skills among expatriates – particularly in the local language - could make them more self-dependent and win contracts and it strengthens closeness to customers, relationship and trust, strategic view and ability and also operational effectiveness and efficiency enabling their companies to gain market shares. Using Weber’s ideal types the cultural significance structures emerge featuring the cultures in these countries showing that expatriates have to strengthen the ability of the locals in the areas of trust, responsibility and initiative, independent thinking, holistic view, win-win thinking and reduce fear while the expatriates’ own abilities in these areas are strengthened if they speak the local language. Language strategies permitting the expatriate to be more communicatively and linguistically self-dependent are having a common company language, using multilingualism or having the expatriate speak or learn to speak the local language where the advantages, disadvantages and characteristics of these and other aspects of the role of language are given in ideal types.

Music is integral to our lives, whether by listening to it, singing, or playing an instrument. In addition to this, music has effect on brain development and language learning. The aim of this thesis is close evaluation of relation between the development of musical and foreign language skills in case of primary age students. Through conducting an examination of the ability to gain foreign language skills using different ways of teaching musical education. 5th grade students who participated were divided into 3 groups. They differed in intensity and approach to music education. The first group had one singing lesson per week. The other two groups had as part of their lessons singing and also playing instruments such as flute and Orff instruments, and had movement education as part of their lessons. These two groups differed in intensity - 1 and 3 lessons per week. To note most of the students that had higher intensity of music education focused to music also in their after school activities. The three groups had the same amount of English lessons in all grades. Students were tested via Cambridge test "Movers" in listening, reading and writing. Analysis of data emerged generally better results in English test in case of students experiencing extended musical education. KEYWORDS teaching music,...