Aug 10

Key Tips for Improving your English Language Skills

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Financial English Training Courses, Insurance English Training Courses, Language Training Courses, Legal English Training Courses 1 Comment »

Learning a new language can be extremely difficult, especially at first. However if you look around you will find many tools you can use in your daily life to help you improve your skills. Many people find that once they have learnt the basics of a language, the hardest thing is remembering what they have learnt and taking it a step further. Here are a few tips for taking your English language to the next level.

Immerse Yourself
One of the most important things to do is to practise not only your listening, reading and writing skills but also your speaking skills. The best thing to do is to immerse yourself in an English-speaking country and sign up for a Business English course. Being immersed in the country where the language is spoken will improve your comprehension and pronunciation and thus help you to have real exchanges with your neighbours, friends and colleagues. Seeing the language in the newspapers or on English TV everyday will also significantly help you improve your skills. Having to speak English in shops or if you are lost in the street or the tube can also be really helpful, while also challenging, as it forces you to speak and try the new words, grammar or expressions you have learnt.

Watch English Films
If you do not have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the country where the language is spoken, you can find a plethora of American and English series or films that you can watch in the original English version. If you do not have any English films, you can rent them easily either in stores or online through many easy-to-use services. When you do find English films, it is best to watch them in their original version with English subtitles. This will help you associate the spelling of words to the pronunciation as you hear it. If you own a modern television, you can also change the settings so English subtitles appear on your screen as you watch programmes in English or even your own language..

Newspapermuharrem öner i Key Tips for Improving your English Language Skills

© istockphoto.com/ muharrem öner

Read English Magazines or Books
Reading English magazines and books is a great way to further develop your English skills. In large cities you can often find bookshops which carry English books, while in airports and train stations there are usually a few magazines in English that you might find of interest. If you are just starting out, don’t be afraid to buy books which you might consider quite basic in your own language as they will be easier to follow and cause you less frustration. As you read, it can be really helpful to look up any words you don’t understand in a dictionary. As you go, you can record any words you didn’t know in a small notebook where you can read them every day until you know them by heart.

Listen to English Music
Listening to music is also a very good way to improve your comprehension in a new language. As you listen you can try to write down the lyrics and correct your work by comparing your lyrics against those you can find on the internet. This will help you improve your listening skills, vocabulary and spelling.

These are just some of the things you can do to improve your language skills on your own. However if you want to rapidly improve your language level, the most effective way is to enrol on a language training coursewhere the trainer can help to correct your mistakes and pronunciation as you go. Communicaid’s language training courses are ideal for anyone looking to take their language skills to the next level

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Aug 02

What is Insurance English?

English Language Training, Insurance English Training Courses No Comments »

Insurance services need to be provided on an international scale for businesses worldwide and this means that a lot of professionals in this field require a good working knowledge of English. These insurance companies play an important part in the functioning of the world economy. American insurance companies are important sources of business credit. Monoline credit insurance companies (created in the United States in the 1970s) generally use major international reinsurers to reinsure a part of their business credit.

On a smaller scale, the free movement of people within the European Union means that there are ever-increasing numbers of expatriates in all European countries. Not all of these people speak the language of the country they have moved to and so insurance companies need to be able to communicate with them in order to sort out areas such as house and car insurance. These companies need to be ready to deal with any possible claims that arise.

The international nature of the insurance industry has led to the establishment of bodies to supervise and inform companies. An example of such a body is the IAIS (the International Association of Insurance Supervisors). The IAIS was established in 1994 and represents insurance regulators and supervisors of some 190 jurisdictions. “The IAIS works closely with other financial sector standard setting bodies and international organisations to promote financial stability. It holds an Annual Conference where supervisors, industry representatives and other professionals discuss developments in the insurance sector and topics affecting insurance regulation.”

Insurance English includes terms that are specific to the world of insurance. Examples of some of these common terms are: actuary, premium, blanket insurance and concealment. There is also specific language in the following topics: insurance contracts, insurance accounting, the international financial reporting standard for insurance contracts and the regulatory framework of insurance.

Man carying foldersTommL i What is Insurance English?

© istockphoto.com/ TommL

Insurance contracts provide an example of where Insurance English is seen to be distinct from everyday business English. It is considered to be very difficult for lay people to write, interpret or enforce what is laid out in one of these contracts due to the verbiage used.

Writers like Kenneth S Wollner make strong appeals for policy drafters to use as much plain language as possible. Despite this kind of appeal, insurance contracts still tend to be written in a dense form which obliges a professional working in the insurance field to master insurance English.

Knowledge of how to make contracts less ambiguous and clearer for all is obviously something that professionals working in insurance should strive for especially when English is not their first language.

An Insurance English course encompasses the skills which go hand-in-hand with the language. It is important for a professional working in insurance to know how to draft, interpret and negotiate well. Fundamental language structures are therefore imperative. For example, the conditional forms are needed when negotiating – ‘if this should happen, you would receive this amount of money…’.  It is also necessary to be able to refer clearly to contractual clauses – ‘it says in clause 3 that…’ ‘According to clause 7 the employer must…’.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jul 16

‘No English, No Job’

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training 6 Comments »

According to an article in the Economic Times, several Japanese retailers told their employees to start speaking English, or find another job. Japanese organisations like Uniqlo are trying hard to become less Japanese and more global by making English the company’s official language. Many employees working for large international Japanese companies now have to pass the TOEIC with at least 700 out of 990.

Expanding abroad to boost sales or to become a global company seems to be an increasing trend. Nowadays, business English has become the international business language and Japanese managers recognise that excellent business English language skills will make them stand out.

Japan Chris Pritchard i1 ‘No English, No Job’

© istockphoto.com/ Chris Pritchard

In certain Asian countries like South Korea and Japan, people learn English in high school but the focus tends to be around reading and writing rather than listening or speaking so the latter can be quite weak when applied in business. Japanese organisations are aware of the way most Japanese are programmed to learn English from a young age and therefore tend to limit the opportunities they have for English language training because they are not confident that it will make a difference.

English language training can make a difference provided it is organised and delivered effectively. Nevertheless, it’s important employees looking for jobs in Japanese companies and many other companies around the world have excellent business English skills. This will increase their chances of finding a good job allowing them to work abroad and communicate on an international level.

National business, national Stock Exchanges or national economies are now being replaced with international business, international Stock Exchanges and international economies where English is the lingua franca. Being able to read, write and speak in business English is paramount to success in both the Japanese and global marketplace.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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