THE ROLE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN RECRUITMENT IN THE ARMENIAN JOB MARKET

The present research is an attempt to provide insights into the role of foreign language proficiency in recruitment within the Armenian labor market. It aims to address the disparity in the existing body of research and provide actionable insights into the essential role of foreign languages across various industries and enterprises. The paper initially highlights the historical and socio-cultural factors that strongly affected the plurilingual tendencies in the country, and further elucidates how the capacity for minority languages alongside the mother tongue has become an asset for maintaining socio-cultural identity. This research aims to offer reevaluated perspectives within the existing discourse by analyzing studies from national and international databases, comparing and contrasting their findings and conducting local surveys alongside an empirical review of job announcements. The research findings prove the crucial role of foreign language proficiency in the Armenian labor market, with most employers and employees regarding it a high-priced advantage in the job-seeking and hiring process. This outcome should encourage more active language learning and teaching practices. The final implications reflect our stance on the importance of integrating Academic Foreign Language and Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes instruction with Foreign Language as a Medium of Instruction. This method would efficiently synchronize language education curricula with learners' academic and career requirements.