Hospitality and guest satisfaction is a people business. Above all, it’s about people serving people, which equates to guest satisfaction. Therefore, if guest search reviews and ratings for your establishment are less than positive, you could see a decline in registrations and a decrease in your bottom line before you can say, “TripAdvisor”. Most hotel […]
Employee Safety for Non-Native English Speakers
The following statements may surprise you. But, believe it or not, studies have shown that unfortunately this is a growing trend in employee safety: Hispanic and Latino workers have the highest workplace fatality rate of any group Hispanic and Latino fatality rates are nearly 50% higher than the overall rate Fatality rates for occupational injury […]
Effective Communication: The “It” Factor for Diverse Teams
One of the biggest challenges in any organization is effective communication. It is a skill that has to be learned by each member of the organization for communication to be effective. A lot goes into whether communication is effective or not, including knowing your audience, using the right medium, understanding and respecting differing communication styles, […]
Lost in Translation: Errors could be costly!
Translation errors could be costly because they don’t simply stop at identifying the target language. Translation and culture are very much connected, especially in business translation. A simple phrase that can appear easy to translate can become difficult because it may contain cultural subtleties. For example, the State Department hired a Russian interpreter when President […]
A Personal Approach: The Case for Individualized Language Training
Everyone who has ever taken a foreign language course throughout their education can attest to the fact that learning a language is a difficult endeavor. Many people spend years in their secondary education taking courses in French, or Spanish, or German…. Only to be able to recite rudimentary greetings in a rigidly formal style. The […]
Think D.C., Act Globally
As businesses seek to expand their footprints and sharpen their competitive edge, the global market becomes a natural arena for expansion. Since Washington, D.C. is the global hub of government contracting, it’s a natural fit for businesses looking for international opportunities. Thus, the marriage of a D.C. location and a global business model is a […]
The Great Sage or a Close Friend: How Culture Affects Teacher and Student Relationships
As English as a Second Language teachers, one of our main challenges in a one-on-one classroom environment is to get the student to open up to us so we can accurately evaluate their needs and make sure their classes are beneficial. Depending on what culture the student grew up in and ascribes to can greatly […]
Grammar: The Ugly Stepsister or a Key Component in Second Language Acquisition?
There are those on both sides: grammar-philes and grammar-phobes. I, myself, am one of the lovers- I was diagramming sentences for fun when I was eight- and I found it very hard to believe when someone first told me that students don’t need explicit grammar teaching. I was horrified at the idea! I prided myself […]
The Unexpected Connection Between Language and Personality
People who are bilingual or multilingual have been a source of fascination for years, with various studies revealing that they are more accepting, tolerant and open-minded than others. The far-reaching impact of multilingualism does not end there, however, with recent research suggesting that the behavior and outlook of bilinguals also changes according to the language […]
Crashing into the Cultural Iceberg
Culture. We all have it. When most people think of culture, they think of the usual suspects: language, art, cinema, etc. But this only scratches the surface and might not say much about how you carry your culture with you in your most basic interactions. It truly is just the tip of the iceberg. The […]