Megan Difrancescantonio, data and reporting analyst at Agnico Eagle Mines Limited in Toronto, needed to learn French. She had received a promotion at work requiring her to work closely with her company’s Quebec operation, as well as other locations. She soon found that learning French with Berlitz at the Berlitz learning centre wasn’t the chore she thought it was going to be. In fact, it was enjoyable.
Canada is officially a bilingual country, with English and French the official languages. In reality, however, Canada is becoming less and less bilingual and more and more multilingual, increasing the need to learn new languages.
The best way to learn a second language is through a proven structured program such as the ones offered by Berlitz. There are many things, however, you can also do to build on what you learn in class.
Shannon Carlin works for the Parks Canada Agency in Calgary. She is taking one-on-one French classes at the Berlitz Learning Centre in Calgary, primarily to further her career but there have been other benefits.
Few employers would disagree about the need for effective cross-cultural training programs in today’s fast-moving, multi-national business environment, preparing employees for foreign assignments and creating a more effective, happier workplace at home.
It has long been known, and well publicized, that learning a second language can stimulate the minds of older adults. Language learning can help keep you mentally sharp, improve cognitive skills and even reduce the chances of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Mrs. Catalina Veneziano, Learning & Development Manager of Western Canada for Compass Canada, a national food service and supply company, learned French at Berlitz to help her succeed at work. She found, however, the benefits of Berlitz language learning go well beyond that.
A lot has been written about preparing for a foreign assignment and the need to understand and appreciate other cultures, but there’s not as much information about the issues you may encounter managing a multi-cultural team, or how to handle them.
More than eight in 10 Canadian adults say it’s a good thing that Canada is bilingual, according to a national government survey.
Much has been written and said about how it’s so much easier for children to learn a new language than for older adults. But how old is too old?
There are more ways to convey a message than just words. Sometimes, nonverbal clues are even more important, and differ dramatically from culture to culture.
Languages are more than just collections of letters and symbols. There are surprising and interesting facts about how they developed and how they are used.
There are about 7,000 languages in the world. And while some have common roots, others are dramatically different.
According to a wide variety of research, here are five important reasons for learning a second language, and encouraging children to do so:
Making presentations can make even the most seasoned executive nervous. Presenting to people of different cultures can positively make their knees shake.