The Business of Language issue 15 - July 2008

European Day of Languages - what will you do to celebrate?

26 September is European Day of Languages - a Council of Europe initiative held annually to celebrate language and cultural diversity.

Now in its eighth year, EDL aims to:

• Alert the public to the importance of language learning
• Increase awareness and appreciation of all languages
• Encourage lifelong language learning

Most events and activities are held on the day itself but some people extend the celebrations over two or three days and others have a whole week of language-related events!

If your school, local community, business or club is planning an event to mark the occasion please let us know so that we can publicise your activities.

Whether you decide on a single activity or series of events, there are a range of resources to help you make the day special.

If you are struggling for ideas, try some of these:

• Hold a languages quiz
• Play an interactive game
• Cook a multicultural feast and learn to pronounce what you are eating!
• Send a greeting card
• Hold a language taster session
• Find out more about celebrity linguists
• Do a language audit within your company to find what unknown language skills your staff have and then decide how you can put them to good use!
• Using CILT's EDL characters design a lesson to explain what they are doing, wearing and thinking in another language or talk about the differences in occupations/lifestyles between cultures
• Visit RLN Podcast and download free podcasts to learn basic phrases

For advice on language matters or to let us know about your EDL events please contact the RLN today.

New community languages website launched

A new website, hosted by CILT, the National Centre for languages, was launched last month to raise the status of community languages.

Our Languages, a groundbreaking initiative funded by the DCSF, aims to provide support for community languages teaching by developing partnerships between complementary and mainstream schools.  In its first phase, which ran until March 2008, nine schools, teaching more than twelve community languages, formed partnerships in Leicester, Birmingham, London and Manchester.

The Our Languages website provides vital information and support for community languages teachers and managers, including video clips showing best practice, case studies, useful links and forthcoming training and events.

If you need to find schools in your area that teach community languages, the Our Languages website offers a free searchable directory, which is constantly updated and to which you can add the details of your own organisation.

The website also gives details of the current Our Languages partnership between Masjid Ali, Bukhari Mosque and Madani High School in Leicester as well as other local community languages case studies.

If you need help with community languages please contact the RLN today as we can provide details of translators, interpreters, language trainers and cultural consultants in your area.  Or, if you want to get to grips with a language, visit the RLN Podcast website where you can download free podcasts to help you learn basic phrases and understand cultural differences.

Bring on the lingo and holiday in style

It's that time of year again, when we dust down our sunhats, squeeze into our bikinis and head for sunnier climes.

So, you've packed your suitcase, checked your passport hasn't expired and slapped on the Factor 30 but is there something you've forgotten?.....

What happens if (and let's hope it doesn't!) that suitcase gets lost at the resort airport, your passport is stolen from your trendy new beach bag or the factor 30 runs out and you can't find your favourite brand in the local shop?

Ok, I know what you're going to say, it doesn't matter because they all speak English don't they?  But this is not always the case and you will get much more out of a holiday if you are able to converse with locals in their own language.

Consider the time you hire a Jeep and head off the beaten track with nothing but a free map and a rather dubious petrol gauge for company.  What do you do when you get completely lost and the only person you see for five hours is a native banana-growing octagenarian who doesn't understand a word you're saying?

Or the time when your three-year old inserts a small shell up the nostril of your two-year old whilst travelling on the local bus and you need to ask the bus driver to drop you at the nearest medical centre?

And what about at the end of the night, when you just can't remember the name of your favourite cocktail and your futile attempts to explain it to a very friendly but very foreign bartender result in you drinking something that turns you green?

Paints a comical picture doesn't it?...but then it doesn't have to be that way.

Many people find travelling a much more rewarding experience when they have some language skills under their belt. holiday language skills don't need to be perfect either - it's just fun to have a go!

If you would like to refresh dormant language skills or learn some basic phrases before you hit the beaches, please contact us and we'll help you find local language trainers, courses and resources to ensure you'll make yourself understood!

Alternatively, check out our range of free downloadable podcasts and cultural briefings by registering on the RLN Podcast website.

Do I understand you?

CILT's Cherry Sewell comments on the contribution of intercultural understanding to peace and community cohesion in an article published recently in the Education Guardian:

Everyone has their own idea of how to approach a job interview.  Not many native Britons would start by reciting their entire list of qualifications but as Cherry says:

"In some countries they are very proud of their qualifications and will start an interview by reeling them off."

Another cultural tank-trap for the interviewer is answering direct questions, "in some cultures people might answer a direct question with a story, which could appear evasive" Sewell says.  As head of skills, business and adult learning at CILT, the National Centre for Languages, she has been tussling with the differences that create misunderstandings.  CILT has had a key role in drawing up the first national occupational standards for those working with people from other countries or cultures.

These intercultural standards were unveiled recently at a London conference on how colleges can promote community cohesion.  Organised by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), the event was prompted by a recent document, produced by the Association of Colleges and the government, on how colleges can help community cohesion and prevent violent extremism.

The standards, which provide suggestions for better communication, fall under the following six headings:

• Working with people from other countries or cultures
• Building working relationships with people from other countries or cultures
• Employing people from other countries or cultures
• Managing a multicultural team
• Managing service delivery to people from different countries or cultures
• Developing new markets with other countries or cultures

"The standards describe how people can work together or just get on effectively" says Sewell, pointing out that their research included getting views from Northern Ireland.  The key, she adds is that "both sides have to learn about each other and adapt."

Read the full article by Peter Kingston in the Education Guardian.