Interview with Brian Cracknell

Brian graduated from Leeds in 1976 with a degree in Russian and History. After achieving a Master’s degree in Linguistics and English Language Teaching, Brian moved to Malaysia, where he set up Language Works in 1995

How did you get to where you are today?

I studied both Russian and History in school, and wanted to pursue them further. I was lucky that my family never forced me to do something more vocational, even though studying a Joint Honours degree in the seventies was quite unusual. Once at university, I studied the history of South East Asia, and felt that I really had to visit some of the places I’d read about.

After graduating in 1976, I undertook a course to become a teacher of English as a foreign language, which guaranteed me a job at the end. I then worked as an English teacher in Spain for two years, before getting a job with the British Council in Baku, Azerbaijan. I then did a master’s in Linguistics and English Language Teaching at the University of Leeds. Whilst studying for my master’s, I met a Malaysian girl (who became my girlfriend), who invited me to stay with her. Once I’d visited Malaysia, I never had the desire to return to the UK permanently.

After working at a university when I first arrived in Malaysia, I set up my own company, called Language Works, in 1995. We train people in languages, teacher training, communication skills, and green project management sustainability development.

How did your degree help you with your job?

During my degree, I undertook a three-month scholarship programme at the University of Leningrad. This gave me a deep appreciation of languages, and cultures, which encouraged me to set up Language Works. In terms of the university experience in general, I learnt how to build my own resilience and confidence, which proved invaluable when starting my own business.

What sort of challenges did you face when you moved abroad?

The language was never really an issue. Although I speak Malay, it’s quite easy to get by with English, especially in Kuala Lumpur. The biggest cultural difference was the idea of ‘power distance’, which refers to the willingness of the ‘led’ to follow the ‘leaders’. In America, for example, no one would think twice about ridiculing Trump. In Malaysia, however, it’s quite unheard of to criticise leaders, which can be challenging from a Western perspective.

What were the best and worst parts of setting up your own business?

Nowadays, the whole idea of a ‘start-up’ is very romantic, and there are so many resources for learning about enterprise and technology. In the nineties, however, I very much had to carve my own path. It was particularly challenging to go from working for another company to establishing my own business, because I thought my clients would follow me, but realised they were only with me because of the company I represented. It’s also tough to be resourceful and make everything stretch, and to keep up-to-date with new taxes and laws.

Having said that, Malaysia in the nineties was a favourable place to set up a company. There were no real barriers other than your own doubts. It was a very worthwhile learning curve, and I’d encourage anyone who’s considering starting a business to do so!

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