Language Translation – Translating the Internet, sentence by sentence

Over 100,000 would-be translators are on the waiting list for Duolingo, a platform with a unique approach to crowdsourcing.A few months ago, I wrote a post about how translation is falling back into favor as a language learning method, at least among s…

Multicultural talent needed in a global economy

Of course, companies increasingly need multi-lingual employees. But look for « multicultural » to be the recruitment buzzword of the coming decade.According to recruitment expert Kyung H. Yoon, Founder & CEO of Talent Age Associates, multicultura…

Language Translation – Will translation find a place again in language teaching?

Over the past 50 years or so, translation has been pushed aside as a language-learning method. This could change.For many years, before the time when there was a cassette player in every classroom, translation played a key role in language teaching. B…

Language Translation – Use of language professionals a factor in successful export strategy

For companies that export, it’s important to have foreign language speakers on staff – but they can’t cover all your bases.Results of 2007 research are currently being used to bring home the stunning cost of poor foreign language skills to Britis…

« Soft skills » and foreign language mastery

Successful foreign language use requires not only knowledge, but communicative skills.I don’t know if it’s a European thing, but suddenly I’m hearing the term “soft skills” everywhere. According to Whatis.com, a specializ…

Language Translation – Can apps make your children multilingual?

Recent industry news suggests that apps may be the key to raising multi-lingual offspring. What’s the real story?I was intrigued by an article that came across my news alerts: “Six-Year Old Girl on Track to Learn 4th Language,” published …

Language Translation – Place names have translations too

One might think that geographical names would be universal — but this is far from the case.Languages would be a bit easier to learn if place names were always the same. Of course, different versions are inevitable when alphabets differ. But even amon…

Language Translation – Evaluation of language interpretation skills

In the final post of our three-part series on evaluating language skills, we’ll take a look at assessing language interpretation competence.In the US, one of the most recognized language skill evaluation tools is the ILR, or Interagency Language Roun…