Abstract:

1. JUSTIFICATION
We are at a time when Higher Education should not ignore the importance of a second language neither as a proper subject nor as an educational tool used in teaching. The imminent incorporation into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) justifies even more the need for a second language as a cross skills that enables the mobility of students and at the same time allows access to different resources than those have been traditionally used by the educational Spanish system. There are continuous demands about the current model of language education, based on the understanding that it is not adapted to the changes proposed by the educational system of the Bologna Declaration [2].
The knowledge and use of a second language, and more specifically the English language, become extremely important within the context of university students [1]. The mobility and exchange of the students is one the main objectives of the reform and this means that a second language is a necessary skill, a great opportunity to expand its geographical and educational horizons. This competence is not only necessary for the students, but also for the lecturer as a second party involved in the learning process. They have to work not only in order to get the skill of a second language, English in general, but also to motivate its acquisition by students.

2. OBJECTIVES
The objective of our study is to know the status of the language competence of students and faculties in the Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, of the University of Jaen. We propose to study this case in depth as a first step for understanding and expanding this research to other areas. More specifically:
• To determine the level of English language command in the students of Business Management and also know the importance attributed to it.
• To determine the level of English language command in the lecturers of Business Management. We focus on: a) level of the lecturers in English and b) utility that they attribute for good knowledge of a second language for University teaching.
• To develop proposals for the development of language competence in students and faculty of the Bachelor's Degree in Business Management.

3. METHODOLOGY
We have developed and distributed a questionnaire to students of Business Management in order to know their level of English language and to know the importance they give to their own improvement, if necessary. The questionnaire was distributed during the month of May 2009 to the following subjects: Business Economy; Management Accounting I; Audit and Management Accounting II. A total of 381 questionnaires were obtained, collected in class, from the students enrolled in these subjects.
In the case of lecturers, we also elaborated a questionnaire, a different one. In total, 66 questionnaires were sent by email, which were replied and answered back a total of 26, which determines a response rate of 39%.

References:
[1] European Language Council (2001): “Universities and language policy in Europe. Multilingualism and new learning environments”. Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin.
[2] Tudor, I. (2005): “The challenge of the Bologna Process for Higher Education Language Teaching in Europe”. Available at: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~enlu/downloads/Bologna_ENLU_OK.rtf

Keywords:

Skills, Business Management Studies, European Higher Education Area, Case Study.