Jan 04

Tips for Learning a Foreign Language – Outside the Training Room

English Language Training, Language Training Courses 1 Comment »

Anyone learning a foreign language should set aside some time for self-study, engagement with the language, immersion, discovery or whatever else you like to call it. What takes place in the formal language learning setting during the allocated times is not enough if you want to make real progress on your language skills. Anyone learning a language and taking a language course needs to allocate time outside the training room to practise and develop the skills learned in the formal setting.

Scripts catscandotcom i Tips for Learning a Foreign Language Outside the Training Room

© istockphoto.com/catscandotcom

Practice makes perfect

Although you may not be assigned ‘homework’ between every training session, it’s important that you find the time to review previous lessons and any learning from them. It is only by reviewing your previous sessions in a critical way that you will be able to increase your comprehension and memorisation of new vocabulary and expressions you are learning. In order to memorise vocabulary items so that they can be used spontaneously, research suggests that you have to repeat each item at least 10 times. During training, your trainer will probably use activities that disguise repetition so that the process is not dull, so reviewing the activities you did in the session will help you to further engrain the new vocabulary and expressions into your language repertoire.

A web of language tools at the ready

Exposing yourself to the language you are learning as often as possible is one good way of getting used to its sounds. The internet has a wealth of reading material for all languages, so spend some time searching for the level and content of materials that best suit you. Reading articles and reports can also help you to expand your vocabulary and get used to the way the different structures of the language work.

Language learning can be fun

In addition to podcasts and articles, the internet also offers a wide range of fun activities and games which can help you to develop your language skills while playing something enjoyable. For those learners who have a higher level, there are foreign language radio stations, podcasts and videos. Try not to aim too high as you listen to these programmes as this can quickly demotivate you. Be sure you can understand a large percentage of what you hear so that you can develop your listening skills.

There’s nothing like the real thing

One of the best ways you can improve your language skills is by spending some time in a country where that language is spoken. Experiencing the real use of the language can be a very motivating experience and allows you to experience the language in ‘real’ situations outside the artificial environment of the training room. Having the opportunity to experience the culture of the country where the target language is spoken can give you added reasons for pursuing your training. A love of a language is usually closely associated with the love of a country where that language is spoken. The best way to experience a country and to practise its language at the same time is to stay in a family. This experience is open to all ages and can offer a combination of lessons and social experiences.

Among other benefits, immersion in a target language country can greatly improve your comprehension skills. Understanding the spoken language is vital as it holds the key to being able to participate in meetings, discussions or conversations. If you don’t have the opportunity to go to a target language country, then there are usually foreign language clubs you can join or online language chat forums.

No matter where and how you spend time developing your language skills outside the training room, the key to your success is not to be shy and stay determined. Get involved in as much as you can and don’t be afraid to ‘have a go’. The more you practise what you have learned in your language courses, the more you will develop your skills – leading you to greater confidence and competence in the language you have selected. Don’t let your language learning stop when you leave the training room!

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

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Jul 29

The Importance of Language Skills in Hospitals

English Language Training, Language Training Courses No Comments »

A recent article in The London Evening Standard revealed the impressive figures of London’s hospital spending on interpreters.  Some hospitals, like The London NHS Trust, spend up to £2.2 million on translators and interpreters per year.  In all, the total sum of spending in London hospitals reaches £15 billion.

If the amount of money invested in interpreters is so important, it is because hospitals must deal with people from different nationalities that do not understand or speak English very well.  Indeed, the UK’s capital city gathers a notable number of communities speaking a mixture of 140 different languages.

Hospital Nurse Jacob Wackerhausen i2 The Importance of Language Skills in Hospitals

© istockphoto.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

Immigrants may know how to speak English but vocabulary related to the medical field is very specific and lends itself to more miscommunication.  The difference between hospitals and other public institutions is that peoples’ lives are at stake, so misunderstandings can be particularly risky.

It is crucial therefore to pay attention to language in fostering a trustful and comprehensible relationship between medical staff and both patients and family members.  The choice of words used is highly important in order to avoid confusion and to calm and ease families’ minds.

As a result, interpreters are essential in providing real assistance to patients and families.  By speaking the patients’ native language, they can help to create a trustful and calmer atmosphere in the normally stressful situation of hospitalisation.  This is even more important when it comes to announcing bad news as the choice of words is essential in order to relay information without misunderstanding and offer the most effective support to the patient and/or family members.

Hospital administration is also an important factor as patients and families must fill in forms not only regarding social security but also regarding previous illnesses, allergies and medical issues.  Terms must be very specific and technical so immigrants and foreigners might have some difficulties understanding it all and may therefore struggle to complete the forms correctly or completely which can lead to confusion and even medical mistakes.

Developing a strong set of language skills through language training courses can help medical and hospital employees provide better care and support for international patients and improved management of families.  By speaking to their patients in their native language doctors can create a trust that will help them to more effectively deal with their health questions and problems.

Medical staff should not only have access to interpreters but also be able to speak some of the main languages that go through the hospitals in order to reassure the patient and handle the situation in a better way.  From a practical perspective, it can save time and money and also help to decrease the number of interpreters that hospitals pay for. Language training courses can help to make a difference in hospitals and save more lives.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jul 06

Bilingualism – Bilingual Students Achieve Better Exam Results than Monolinguals

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A recent report published by CILT (The National Centre for Languages) has confirmed that bilingual pupils achieve better exam results than monolinguals. The report, “Positively Plurilingual” showed that Portuguese children at secondary schools in London, who continued to study their native language, were five times more likely to achieve five top A* to C grade passes at GCSE than those that did not. The study also found that 11-year-olds in Hackney (a borough of London), who spoke more than one language at home, outperformed those pupils who only spoke English.

Definition Language kdow i Bilingualism – Bilingual Students Achieve Better Exam Results than Monolinguals

© istockphoto.com/Kdow

The report, with an introduction by CILT’s patron, Sir Trevor McDonald, highlights that too many schools are missing out on the opportunity to ensure that bilingual students continue to develop their language skills (other than English). McDonald continues “Rather than thinking in terms of an “English-only” culture, we should be promoting “English-plus”. The advantages of bilingualism are clear from the findings of the CILT research. In addition, the report cites research carried out in Canada, by York University, which showed that bilingual people were better at multitasking than those who only spoke one language. The research indicated that bilinguals regularly exercise the part of their brain known as the pre-frontal cortex which reinforces attention span.

But how many children are bilingual in the UK? The CILT report estimated that more than 850,000 children – more than one in eight – spoke a language other than English at home. The report concludes that the linguistic map of the UK is changing with the number of languages in use growing and spreading across the UK.

To read the report in full, please click here to download.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Mar 29

Managing the English Football Team with 100 words – is it Possible for Fabio Capello to Get His Message Across?

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In a recent article published in the Daily Telegraph, Fabio Capello the much maligned Italian coach of the English football team, claimed that he only needed to use 100 words (in English) to get his message across to the England players. Capello, who was criticised during the World Cup in South Africa for his inability to communicate effectively in English, will certainly raise eyebrows with his latest assertion.

Football Adam Kazmierski i Managing the English Football Team with 100 words – is it Possible for Fabio Capello to Get His Message Across?

© istockphoto.com/ Adam Kazmierski

What, one wonders, are these 100 words? These linguistic nuggets which will allow Signor Capello to build a cohesive, motivated and winning English football team? Something that escaped previous native-English speaking England managers.

Well we have racked our brains to come up with some useful words to add to this important lexicon. Here’s a starter for ten:

“If God had wanted us to play football in the sky, He’d have put grass up there” (courtesy of the great Brian Clough)
“Easy on the Krystal tonight, boys – big game tomorrow”,
“You get £100,000 a week – try at least get it on target”
“Keep it on the deck!”
“Game of two halves lads – all to play for”
“Who’s parked their Hummer in my parking space?”
“The Captain today is…”

Joking aside, some pundits have argued that hiring a non-native English speaking manager is bound to create communication problems – both with the players and the media. But there are plenty of success stories of foreign players and managers plying their trade in England and reaching an excellent level of proficiency in the language – who doesn’t remember the great Dane – Jan Moby who played for Liverpool in the 80s and his Scouse (Liverpool) accent?

The English Premier League is dominated by foreign nationals with 60% of players coming from overseas and 50% of the top 6 teams managed by French or Italians. They would not survive if they did not do a good job and the same is true for Signor Capello.

By stating that he only needed 100 words to get his message across, Capello was stating the obvious: we actually use very few words in everyday conversation – approximately 2,000. In a focused environment such as football where there is a set vocabulary Capello can undoubtedly get his message across – sure he won’t deliver an awe inspiring speech as Henry V (via Shakespeare) did prior to the battle of Agincourt:

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

But a simple – “come on lads”, “I believe in you”, “do this, don’t do that”, etc. should be more than sufficient for seasoned professionals who, after all, are paid to do this day in day out for the best teams in the country?

There is another game tonight – albeit a friendly against Ghana. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…”

Buona fortuna Signor Capello!

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Oct 11

Benefits of Intensive Language Training

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The best way to learn a foreign language is to build on what is already known, i.e. ‘going from the known to the unknown’. This ‘known language’ is more readily built upon in back-to-back intensive language training courses. The short amount of time between a morning session and an afternoon one or between an afternoon session and one on the following morning does not give the delegate time to forget what he/she has seen. Consequently, the trainer has the opportunity to build on the ‘known’ with more immediacy.

Definition Language kdow i1 Benefits of Intensive Language Training

© istockphoto.com/ Kdow

On a classic one-session-a-week course, the delegate rarely finds that he/she is starting to ‘think’ in the target language. This is because outside the weekly one and a half-hour or two-hour training slot, the delegate is using his/her first language. It is only during an intensive period in which target language use outweighs first language use that the delegate starts to process the second language in a natural way (i.e. without translating).

In her research paper, Shona Whyte makes the following statement about second language acquisition ‘there is a general agreement that acquisition… implies a change in individual learners’ internal linguistic systems, which in turn occur through understanding and interacting in the target language, with some form of focus on linguistic features’.

This understanding and interaction is only going to occur after the delegate has started to feel comfortable in the target language and is willing to use this language in discussions, tasks and problem-solving. This moment arrives sooner on an intensive course than a course composed of weekly sessions. This comfort in the target language and willingness to interact is partly a result of the rapport that is built between the delegate and his/her trainer; a rapport that is quickly established on an intensive course. Some organisations, however, prefer to vary trainers during the week; this also has the advantage of exposing the delegate to different personalities, ways of training, experiences and accents.

The organisation of intensive language training coursesenables the delegates to focus better on the task in hand. The fact that an intensive course is easier to reserve in the delegate’s professional agenda means that the number of distractions should be reduced significantly during the training period. Interruptions prevent the brain from focusing on the linguistic tasks and intersperse the target language with the delegate’s first language. This increase in L1 interference reduces the efficiency of the learning process.

The number of hours on an intensive training programme provides the trainer with the opportunity to vary the content, the tasks and the methodology of the course. Variety is the key to keeping the delegate’s interest and levels of motivation high. The volume of the content should be such that the delegate feels as though he/she is really making progress. This feeling of achievement further increases motivation and interest for future training.

Delegates usually follow language training courses because they require some professional knowledge and skills, the acquisition of which cannot always wait. Intensive training courses provide the delegate with the opportunity to learn a significant amount in a short period of time and consequently to be in a position of competence straight away.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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