Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

In recessionary times, it’s even more important to keep improving and to consider learning a second language. Now is the time to be upskilling to future proof yourself. The ability to speak a second language puts your business or your job prospects one step ahead of the competition. You are also demonstrating to future employers that you have what it takes to stick to something. Employers realise that people who embark on language learning have some key characteristics that are highly valued in such times: commitment and dedication being some key ones.  Part of what makes knowing a language a great skill to have is simply because it’s not that easy for someone to acquire fluency. If it was, it would quickly lose it’s value and won’t be treasured as much.  Some of you would already have mastering a second language set as a 2010 New Year resolution.

How do you ensure you achieve your 2010 New Year resolution? Your goals have to be SMART. The reasons people give for not learning a language include lack of time, the cost involved and the difficulty of the subject area. The good news is you can craft a SMART plan to overcome the obstacles mentioned, to achieve your goal of speaking a foreign language by the end of 2010.

1) Specific

What does “speaking a foreign language” mean? Should your goal be to know enough French in order to survive in a remote town in France without relying on interpreters?

We have a specific learning outcomes for people who enrol for courses at Euroasia. For example, at the end of the Level 1 French course with Euroasia, you should know enough to “get by” in French: you will be able to cope with the most common everyday situations by asking and answering simple questions, and you will be able to understand people when they speak to you about the situations covered.

2) Measurable

How do you know you’re on track with your goal? You need some objective measure of your progress. This is the main reason why self-help language courses don’t work. This is because learning a language is not like studying history. You need constant feedback from experienced teachers who know how to provide constructive suggestions and correct you when you make mistakes. CDs and software programs can’t do that as well as humans. You need to be regularly “tested” either formally or informally so that you know you’re making progress. Language schools follow lesson plans that introduce progression over time. As long as you keep on top of the coursework, you will keep improving.

3) Attainable

Your goals have to be realistic. Sometimes we get calls from people who need to master a language within a matter of weeks because of an impending transfer offshore, or because they have to meet the future-in-laws who don’t speak any English. Learning a language, like everything else, takes time. There are certainly people out there who promise the world, and will tell you that you do not have to put in the hard yards and yet will emerge fluent within a short timeframe, simply by spending an hour a week listening to CDs or playing some games on your laptop or iphone. This is obviously appealing, in the same way that expensive infomercial weight-loss programmes are. The real secret to learning a language (and weight loss, saving money etc) is having a realistic plan and keeping to it. At Euroasia, we follow a language learning programme that allows people to realistically gain fluency over time.  If we did have magic pills that make clients instantly fluent in Spanish, we would be selling them at a thousand-a-pop and not bother investing so much money in establishing and running a school.

4) Relevant

Why are you wanting to learn a foreign language? If you’re just wanting to learn Italian for fun so that you can order a beer and have a simple chat with hot locals  as you roam around Rome, then your goal should be to complete Level 1 or Level 2 with Euroasia.  A Level 1 course can be completed within 2 weeks, 5 weeks or 10 weeks, depending on how intense you want it to be.  If on the other hand, you wish to conduct business negotiations with your suppliers in China, then a Level 1 course is not sufficient, and realistically it would take a year or two to get a point where you can engage in everyday conversation, comparing your life in New Zealand with other people’s lives overseas; discussing matters of interest, including politics and economics. The more solid your reason for learning a language, the longer the staying power. Visualise your end-goal. When the going gets tough, keep reminding yourself of how it feels to be able to ultimately converse freely with locals. What would also help is if you have career-oriented language goals such as planning to gain a foreign language qualification. If your goal is to pass a formal certification exam like DELE (Spanish), DELF (French) or HSK (Chinese), then you are also more likely to have stronger motivation.

5) Time-bound

What’s your plan in order to achieve your goal? Where do you want to be in 3 months? 6 months? An ineffective resolution is “I will be rich someday”. An effective resolution is “I will save $20K by December 2010″.  You then break this down further into quarterly and monthly targets. In the same way, you would set targets for yourself in learning a language. You may wish to complete the Euroasia Gold Package (4 courses) by the end of 2010.

We wish you all the best in setting SMART goals for 2010!

Seeing Brazil has now beaten Chicago and Madrid to the hosting rights of Olympics 2016, it’s certainly time to consider learning Portuguese. We’re often asked which are the most popular languages learnt by Kiwis.  Spanish and French are high on the rankings, and even German and Italian would be ahead of Portuguese.

Brazil is often overlooked. This despite Brazil being the fifth largest country in the world by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America,the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world, according to Wikipedia.  Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822. This is why Brazilians speak Portuguese.

Looking ahead, I can imagine the Portuguese language would only be more popular.  In the same way that we saw a steep rise in interest in Mandarin leading up to the Beijing Olympics, I envisage we will see the same interest in Portuguese.

It’s not a hard sell. Anyone who have had personal encounters with Brazilians will know why. Portuguese is a cool and sexy language. I’m surprised we don’t already have people queuing up for Portuguese lessons.

Anyone keen to work in Shanghai next year at the World Expo? NZTE are looking for people at the moment.  These are PAID positions, NOT internships. Key things to note:  You have to speak Mandarin AND English well. Also have to have valid NZ work visa, permanent residency or citizenship. I just received this email so just thought we should share this opportunity with everyone. Those of you who did not heed our advice to learn Mandarin can still do so… we have a few spots available for tomorrow’s intake or the 10-week Mandarin course starting 12 October. This is  a brilliant opportunity and would suit those thinking of an unconventional OE. Spending 6 months in Shanghai during the World Expo would not just be great for your CV, but will also be a good business networking opportunity. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet a big shot who ends up offering you an expat package plus all the travel perks. That would be nice…

The World Expo to be held in Shanghai, China in 2010 will be the biggest in world history. During the six months the expo will be open – 1 May to 31 October 2010 – it is expected to draw 70 million visitors.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is now seeking a number of individuals who are enthusiastic about representing NZ on the world stage.  Positions available include;

Attendants (24 positions available)
The Attendants will be representing New Zealand with credit by making visitors feel welcome, and enhancing their experience through friendly and helpful interaction with them.

Receptionists (2 positions)
Based in the VIP entry to the pavilion, the Receptionist will be our first point of contact for guests and visitors and assist them around the pavilion as required.

Operations Manager
The Operations Manager will be responsible for managing the teams of attendants, and will co-ordinate the delivery of operational and technical support as required in order to maintain high standards of ‘host performance’ in the pavilion.

Relationships Manager
Part of the management team, the Relationships Manager will be responsible for the organisation of official visits including Ministerial and key sponsors to the pavilion.

If you are keen to be part of this landmark event, have a degree of fluency in both Mandarin and English and are available from April to October 2010 then please visit the NZTE Recruitment website for further information and to apply.

For information about New Zealand’s participation at the expo, please visit http://shanghaiexpo2010.nzte.govt.nz

Please note all applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.

Applications close Monday, 12 October 2009 and must be submitted through the NZTE Careers Centre.  Late applications will not be accepted.

The UK will be held back as it seeks to emerge from recession unless it boosts the number of language graduates, campaigners say. From BBC this week:

The National Centre for Languages (Cilt) points to a worrying decline in the take-up of modern languages.

Cilt chief executive Kathryn Board said: “English is one of the great global languages but it will only take us so far. Our engagement with the non-English speaking world will remain superficial and one-sided unless we develop our capacity in other languages.”

Recent research from Cardiff Business School suggests improving languages could add an extra £21bn to the UK economy and that export businesses that use language skills boost their sales by 45%.

That’s not surprising,  simply because foreign-language capable staff make a big difference in terms of engagement with clients. At the moment, many Kiwi firms use amateur translators (friends and family or Google Translate) to process enquiries and then respond to clients. This is tedious and messages can get lost in translation. Worse still, many NZ companies do not even bother translating documents in dealing with foreign language speaking customers.  The expectation is that the buyer will deal with us in English.

Much has been said of New Zealand’s increasing trade engagement with China, especially since the signing of the FTA last year. But the reality is much of our trade with China involves NZ importing Chinese-made goods.  In terms of our exports to China, I wonder how much we really sell once we strip out the contribution of Fonterra (dairy products), Fletcher and Carter Holt (wood products). Partly our dismal performance in terms of exports offshore is due to our inability to service foreign-language speaking customers.

The reason English is so dominant globally as the language of trade  is partly because traders have always learnt the language of the paying customers.  Our arrogant attitude in assuming everyone speaks English has been tolerated when NZ firms are the customers (which is most of the time looking at our current account deficit). If on the other hand, we are selling to overseas customers, the onus is on us to speak the language of the customer. Failure to do so could result in us losing the deal to those who can. The scary (or exciting?) thing for New Zealand is that we are becoming far less dependent on our traditional English-speaking markets and more dependent on other foreign-language speaking markets.

The English are getting very worried because of the dramatic decline in the number of students taking up foreign languages at school. In 1997, 71% of England’s GCSE pupils (roughly NCEA Level 1 or School Certificate in NZ) took a foreign language, last year the rate was down to 44%. The equivalent rate in NZ is about 14% (8400 taking international languages out of approx 60K Year 11 students).

Cilt’s director of communications Teresa Tinsley said: “We are going to be held back as a nation as we seek to emerge from the economic downturn or recession.

“Companies are looking to recruit people with language skills and if they can’t find them amongst our home-grown graduates they will obviously bring in people from other countries to fill these gaps.

“We really need to buck up our ideas or we are going to be stuck in a mono-lingual world when everybody else is taking global opportunities.”

If the English believe they will be “held back” as a nation because “only” 44% of their kids learn a foreign language at high school, what about NZ where only 14% of our Form 5 kids do? There is simply no way we can be a serious player in world trade when we cannot even communicate at the most basic level with our customers. We are not even at first base.

Euroasia Spring Update – 1 Sept 2009

Firstly, thank you all who came out in support of the launch of International Languages Week at Euroasia. Photos are available on our Euroasia Facebook page.

Latin American party- 26 Sept

The 2nd Fiesta de la Chilenidad en Auckland is coming up, in conjunction with the Chilean National Day celebrations. We would like to invite you along to this amazing celebration organised by an established Chilean community group. If you want to see how Latin Americans party, you have to be there. Of course, those who went last year already know what it’s all about.

The details:
Date: Saturday, 26 September 2009
Time: 6.30pm (show starts at 7.30pm)
Venue: Te Atatu South Community Centre, 247 Edmonton Road, Te Atatu South.
Cost: $30

This event is open to all (not just those learning Spanish) so feel free to ask your friends along as well. Renowned Latin American dance group Renacer will be performing.

Euroasia is proud to support the Chilean National Day celebrations. All ticket holders will go into the prize draw to win a free course at Euroasia valued at $359.

As there are limited tickets available we would encourage those interested to purchase tickets from your teacher if you’re currently enrolled in a class with us. Tickets are sold on a cash basis. Sorry folks the organisers don’t take Visa. You can also email our Spanish teacher Jose-Luis at jose.valdivia@euroasia.co.nz if you’re keen. He will send you payment details.

Last year they sold out weeks prior and unfortunately the organisers had to turn away quite a few people on the waiting list. So get in quick!

Aotearoa Jasmine singing project – this Saturday

If you’re around this Saturday we would encourage you to head to Auckland Museum at 11am to join other New Zealanders from all walks of life to sing China’s best-loved folk song “Jasmine Flower” or Mo Li Hua. This session will be recorded for television.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to sing this song. It’s well worth going along just to see what it’s all about. This NZ China Friendship Society initiative will celebrate the friendship between NZ and China. It is also a special gift for the 60th birthday of the People’s Republic of China. As we are the first country in the world to see the sunrise, its broadcast on television in New Zealand and in China will enable New Zealand to become the first country to wish China “Happy Birthday”. More information at http://aotearoajasmine.org.nz/

Let us know if you have any questions/feedback.  Great that spring is here. Let us know if you want to talk about upcoming courses. Or check out the Euroasia timetable.

The people at Online College have written an interesting article on 101 tools that can help you learn a new language. At Euroasia we believe that these tools are best supplemented by classroom time with a teacher. Nevertheless these are good resources for language learners.

Translation

With these tools, you’ll find translation and dictionaries.

1. Xanadu: Get a free all-in-one translation wizard on your PC with Xanadu.
2. Google Language Tools: Search across languages, translate text, and more using Google’s tools.
3. Freelang: Check out Freelang for free dictionaries, human translation, fonts, and more.
4. Rikai: On this page, you can enter the URL you want to go to and see translations as you move your mouse over the text.
5. Free Online Dictionaries: Make use of these dictionaries to learn more about different languages.
6. DictSearch: Access 265 online dictionaries using this one simple interface.
7. Yahoo! Babel Fish: Yahoo!’s Babel Fish will translate text or a web page for you.

FREE Introductory Courses

1. French I: Follow this course for an introduction to the French language and culture.
2. American Sign Language: Here you’ll find lesson plans, information on deaf culture, and vocabulary.
3. Learn to Speak Dutch: You’ll get access to language lessons, vocabulary, and more here.
4. German I: Acquire an understanding of German through active communication.
5. BBC Greek: The BBC’s Greek resource offers a quick fix for learning the language.
6. Beginning Japanese I: Use this course’s interactive study materials to learn beginner Japanese.
7. Introduction to Portuguese: Use this course to get started learning the Portuguese language.
8. Learn to Speak Korean: These video courses offer a convenient way to learn Korean.
9. Intermediate Japanese: Improve your fluency and learn Kanji characters in this course.
10. BBC Portuguese: BBC’s Portuguese course offers an introduction to the language in 10 short parts.
11. Farsi: Follow this beginner’s course to get an introduction to vocabulary, sentences, and basic phrases in Farsi.
12. Advanced Japanese I: With the help of this course, you’ll become an expert in Japanese.
13. Learn to Speak Russian: You can improve your Russian vocabulary and grammar using these courses.
14. Kenyan Sign Language: You can learn about Kenyan Sign Language using this illustrated course.
15. BBC Chinese: Get a taste for the Chinese language with BBC’s slideshows, quizzes, and more.
16. Introduction to European and Latin American Fiction: Learn about the language and culture of Europe and Latin America through this literature course.
17. Spanish I: Watch this course’s videos to learn authentic Spanish and all about its cultural diversity.
18. First Year Chinese: You’ll get an understanding of the basic Chinese speaking and writing principles from this course.
19. BBC Italian: Improve your Italian skills using these resources from the BBC.
20. Oral Communication in Spanish: Get an understanding of Hispanic culture with the help of this course.
21. Learn to Speak Portuguese: Use these audio lessons to learn Brazilian Portuguese.
22. Communicating Across Cultures: With the help of this course, you’ll learn how to converse with people outside of your culture.
23. BBC German: Learn grammar, vocabulary, and more in this German Quick Fix.
24. Spanish Conversation and Composition: Improve your speaking and writing in Spanish with the help of this course.
25. Learning German: Find four courses in the German language here.
26. Learn to Speak Japanese: Take these Japanese lessons, and you’ll improve your vocabulary and pronunciation.
27. Chinese I (Regular): MIT offers a full series of Chinese language learning.
28. Spanish for Bilingual Students: Students who are bilingual in Spanish and English can improve their Spanish skills with this course.
29. Learning the basics of French: This beginning course offers a look at verb tenses, grammatical structures, and simple vocabulary.
30. BBC French: You can find resources for French learners from beginners to intermediates here.
31. English grammar in context: Learn about speech and writing in English using this course.
32. The Linguistic Study of Bilingualism: This course will help you better understand bilingualism.
33. Chinese I (Streamlined): This collection of Chinese courses is designed for students who grew up in a Chinese speaking environment.
34. BBC Spanish: Get access to Spanish TV, radio, and other resources here.

Language Learning Communities

Through these communities, you’ll be able to meet other people learning a new language and find partners to practice with.

1. Livemocha: Connect with language partners around the world for social language learning.
2. My Language Exchange: Make friends and learn a new language on My Language Exchange.
3. Skype Community: On this board, you can connect with others that want to learn your language, and share theirs.
4. LingoPass: In this language learning bartering system, you’ll teach and learn new languages.
5. Palabea: Palabea is a social networking site for communicating in foreign languages.
6. UniLang: You can learn languages with these free language resources, as well as learn, discuss, and practice languages in this community.
7. italki: Use this add-on for Skype to find other users to learn languages with.

Podcasts

Follow these podcasts, and you’ll find regular entries that will have you speaking a new language in no time.

1. English as a Second Language Podcast: Check out this podcast for more than 100 ESL lessons.
2. Chinese Learn Online: Chinese Learn Online offers an introduction to Mandarin Chinese.
3. French for Beginners: Get started with these lessons for French beginners.
4. Learn Japanese Symbols: With this podcast, you’ll learn how to use Japanese symbols.
5. Arabic Language Lessons: Through this service of the US Peace Corps, you’ll find lessons that teach you the Arabic language.
6. Bulgarian Survival Phrases: With the help of this podcast, you’ll learn enough Bulgarian to get around.
7. Latinum: Latinum offers language learning in podcast form from London.
8. English for Spanish Speakers: Check out this podcast to learn English from Spanish.
9. Le Journal en francais facile: Hear nightly news slowed down for comprehension.
10. Maori: You can learn the language of New Zealand’s indigenous people with this video podcast site.
11. Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyk: With Serge Melnyk, you’ll get weekly lessons in Mandarin.
12. Esperanto: Use these lessons to become familiar with Esperanto.
13. Ta Falado: You’ll find Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation for Spanish speakers in this podcast.
14. Hebrew Vocab Pronunciations: Find out how to pronounce words in Hebrew using this podcast.
15. GermanPod 101: Find materials for German learners from beginners to advanced in this podcast.
16. Learn Romanian: This podcast offers survival phrases for Romania.
17. ArabicPod: Here you’ll get access to mp3 podcasts as well as transcripts of learning Arabic.
18. I Speak Hindi: With this podcast, you’ll learn essential words and phrases for Indian travel.
19. A Taste of Russian: Find real, every day life chats to learn with this podcast.
20. Dar to Danish: Learn dirty Danish words and other daring parts of the Danish language with this podcast.
21. Special Finnish: This podcast slows down the language to make understanding easier.
22. Learn Hindi from Bollywood Movies: You’ll have fun learning Hindi with this podcast.
23. Russian Literature: This literature podcast can help you improve your comprehension and vocabulary with Russian classics.
24. German Grammar: These German grammar podcasts are designed for American students.
25. One Minute Catalan: Get quick learning for Catalan using this resource.
26. Let’s Speak Italian: Break Italian down into manageable 5 minute podcasts here.
27. Cody’s Cuentos: Learn Spanish by listening to these classic fairy tales and legends.
28. Survival Phrases Arabic: With this podcast, you’ll learn the essentials of getting around in Arabic.
29. Laura Speaks Dutch: Prepare for travel to Holland with the help of Laura’s podcast.
30. Insta Spanish Lessons: Students of all levels will enjoy this Spanish grammar podcast.
31. Easy French Poetry Podcast: This podcast uses poetry as a topic for French language learning discussion.
32. Japancast: You’ll learn from anime and everyday conversation using this podcast.
33. LoMasTv: LoMasTv offers language immersion for Spanish.
34. Yabla French: With Yabla French, you’ll get captioned videos, integrated dictionaries, and more.

Learning Tools

Here, you’ll find tools made just for language learning.

1. Mango: Use Mango’s online language learning system, and you’ll build your conversation skills in any language.
2. Babbel: Learn a language with the help of flash cards on Babbel.
3. Lingro: On this useful site, you’ll find study tools, online translation, games, vocabulary lists, and much more.
4. Tibetan Language Tools: Here you’ll find resources for the basic alphabet, vowels, and more in Tibetan.
5. Busuu: Get writing and speaking practice with the help of Busuu.
6. Byki: You can download language learning software, follow lessons online, and more, even on your iPhone.

Textbooks

Use these online textbooks in your foreign language studies.

1. German: Make use of this Wikibook to learn German, or take the bite-sized German course.
2. Belorusian: Learn the Belarusian alphabet and beyond in this textbook.
3. Afrikaans: Check out this Wikibook to find pronunciation, lessons, and much more for Afrikaans.
4. Scottish Gaelic: Find pronunciation, sentence structure, and grammar from this book.
5. Polish: With the help of this Wikibook, you’ll be able to learn the basics of the Polish language.
6. Irish: Learn the old language of Irish Gaelic using this Wikibook.
7. Arabic: This Arabic workbook shares the Romanization system, alphabet, definite articles, and beyond.
8. Portugese: Choose between European and Brazilian Portuguese on this Wikibook.
9. Yiddish: This book covers Yiddish for Yeshiva Bachurium as well as conversational Yiddish.
10. French: Check out this excellent French Wikibook for French language learning.
11. Russian: This Wikibook presents Russian for English speakers.
12. Albanian: Learn about the unified version of Albanian here.
13. Textkit: You’ll find books, readers, and more for Greek and Latin learning on Textkit.

Cactus Kate, a well known (and some say controversial) blogger, posted a blog entry today entitled How About Some of that $400 million For This?

Hot on the news that Maori language is deemed PC enough to support to the tune of $400 million, I was alerted to International Languages Week from Sunday 16th August to Saturday 22nd August. Here is the blurb from organisers who contacted me.

Yes, that would be me.

International Languages Week 2009 will take place from Sunday 16 August to Saturday 22 August 2009. The week is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to celebrate cultural and language diversity and to encourage the learning of international languages in New Zealand. Language teachers from around the country will be organising school-based activities and celebrations from the Far North to the Deep South.

This is a great initiative that Euroasia is very supportive of (for obvious reasons).  The problem is teachers around the country are working hard at this but get no recognition because the international languages sector do not have government-funded multi-million dollar budgets to publicise the benefits of learning foreign languages.

Learning Maori does not make New Zealand internationally competitive. Unless you plan on being a Maori trougher, it does not make you any more money.

Learning international languages allows New Zealanders to travel and make pot loads of money.

So I am all for it and perhaps now is the time to re-distribute the $400 mill wasted on Maori into activities such as this one.

Cactus Kate has a very strong position on learning international languages vs Maori. There is clearly a problem when the Chairman of the Maori Language Commission says the $400m spent annually on Maori language is inefficient. Personally I would be happy to see Maori language promoted together with – not at the expense of- international languages. At a time when New Zealand is becoming more culturally diverse and needing to engage more with the world, we are seeing fewer high schools compared to 5 years ago offering the key languages spoken by our major trading partners and local communities. This is a sad indictment of the situation we’re in.

As a start, wouldn’t it be awesome if all New Zealanders decided to use a greeting in a different language each day over the course of next week:

Monday 17 August – Ni hao!
Tuesday 18 August – Bonjour!
Wednesday 19 August – Guten Tag!
Thursday 20 August – Konnichiwa!
Friday 21 August – Buenos días!

More info:

• The official International Languages Week website.
• The Google Discussion group on ILW
• The Facebook  ILW group

New Zealand Herald headline today “Imaginary friends boost language skills”

In a study in the latest issue of the journal Child Development, Otago University associate professor Elaine Reese, and former student Gabriel Trionfi, of Clark University in the United States, investigated the language skills of 48 boys and girls aged 5-1/2, of whom 23 had imaginary friends.

They found that the 13 girls and 10 boys who had engaged in imaginary companion play had more advanced narrative skills than children who had not.

“Because children’s storytelling skills are a strong predictor of their later reading skill, these differences may even have positive spinoffs for children’s academic performance,” Prof Reese said.

OK, so having imaginary friends is one way of developing your language skills. If you’re all grown up and not that keen with having imaginary friends, then come along to one of Euroasia’s language classes where you can practice speaking with some real people, and make some real friends in the process.