Current newsRead down the page for all the latest language and culture news stories in London. For previous stories, you can visit our news archive - or for news delivered direct to your desktop, sign up to our newsletter and news releases. World class customer service for 2012 and beyond22 December 2008 A consortium of Sector Skills Councils, led by People 1st and commissioned by the London Development Agency and London Learning and Skills Council, has published a report which makes recommendations for raising customer service standards across the visitor economy in advance of the London 2012 Games. It illustrates how intercultural skills can become a part of customer service training and identifies clearly the importance of language and cultural skills, highlighting RLN London's Welcoming the World programme. Visit our 2012 Games area to find out more about languages, culture and the Games.
Charles De Gaulle Bursary Scheme19 December 2008 The Charles de Gaulle Bursary Scheme is managed by the British Council and provides funding of up to £1000 for individual students, aged 17 to 19, to undertake a four-week study project in France. The project can relate to any aspect of the French language or culture. Applicants can choose a subject matter that is not necessarily academic but that is of interest to them. The closing date for the receipt of applications is 31 January 2009. BA and Dormers Wells High School scoop national award12 December 2008
The award was presented by Kathryn Board OBE, Chief Executive of CILT, the National Centre for Languages to Grace Dawson and Margaret Aylott from Dormers Wells High School, and to Kath Curry from BA. RLN London's Business Language Champions organiser Pinky Sidhu accompanies them on the photo. New Standards promote intercultural skills at work12 December 2008 The first ever National Occupational Standards for Intercultural Working - aimed at businesses working with people from different countries and cultures - have been launched by CILT, the National Centre for Languages. The new Standards provide a quality benchmark for building mutual respect, improving communication and workforce relations, and reducing racism. They can be used to inform policy and procedures, provide good practice guide for human resources professionals, and identify training needs to promote social and community cohesion. Language learning trends in secondary schools12 December 2008 The results of the 2008 Language Trends survey on languages at Key Stage 4 show that the decline in participation in language learning has been halted, although there is as yet little sign of any overall increase in numbers. Diversification of languages taught is another striking feature of this year's results, with Spanish, Italian and Mandarin continuing to rise in popularity. The survey of 2,000 secondary schools in England, coordinated by CILT, the National Centre for Languages, showed that languages are now optional in 78% of maintained schools, compared to 77% in 2007, suggesting a levelling out in the decline seen in previous years. Do you want to take the language challenge?17 November 2008 For one week, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people to generate new ideas and to seek better ways of doing things. Dozens of countries are coming together for the first time to host Global Entrepreneurship Week, starting on 17 November. RLN London is making its mark by offering two challenges to young entrepreneurs in London and around the world. Firstly, in what ways can language skills and services help us to 'welcome the world' to London? And secondly, how can we encourage more young people to learn languages? You can read about how RLN London is helping businesses to welcome international visitors through our 'Welcoming the World' programme. Community languages at work12 November 2008 With more than 300 languages spoken in London alone, the potential is there for people who are fluent in one or more of these languages as well as English to make a significant contribution to our economy and society. Kate Hilpern explores this in an article for the Independent, interviewing a range of people who have found their community language skills useful at work. How speaking languages can boost your career12 November 2008 In the multilingual, globalised workplace, knowledge of another language can provide a wealth of opportunities - and boost your salary by as much as 20 per cent. In an article for The Independent, Dominic Luddy tells you what you need to know about your career options with languages. For careers advice from RLN London, visit our careers and learning area. Diploma in Languages - final consultation12 November 2008 The Diploma in Languages is an exciting new qualification for students aged 14 to 19, due to be launched in schools from 2011. Four consultation events are taking place in February, with one held in London on 9 February 2009. These events follow on from previous consultation events and give a final opportunity for those in business, schools, higher education, further education and others to feed back on the proposed learning in the Diploma. You can find out more about the Diploma in Languages at www.diploma-in-languages.co.uk. Register
for invites to the events (click on 'Register your interest'
in the left hand column) European number one for languages23 October 2008 The latest European Cities Monitor 2008 has ranked London as the top European city in which to locate a business for the 19th consecutive year. It is ranked as the number one city in half of the 12 major areas, including languages spoken. The European Cities Monitor is the annual location survey of Europe's leading companies. It is based on interviews with senior managers and board directors in charge of location of 500 top European companies. 52% of adults say languages are important for a career23 October 2008 A poll for language software specialists Rosetta Stone has found that more than half of the 1000 respondents (52%) said languages were important to a career. A third of those polled who speak languages (34%) said that their skills have given them opportunities to travel and work abroad. And more than two thirds (69%) said they were jealous of people who were able to speak another language fluently. New presentation to promote language careers23 October 2008 CILT, the National Centre for Languages has launched a new PowerPoint presentation as part of its successful Languages Work campaign. 'Languages and careers: 10 questions you always wanted to ask' collects the latest facts and figures and highlights the best places to go for more information. The slide show is ideal for teachers or anyone else promoting or providing guidance on careers with languages. Diploma in Languages - consultation3 October 2008 A new Diploma in Languages will be available to learners aged 14-19 from 2011, bringing the total of 14-19 Diploma qualifications to seventeen. It is a broad qualification which aims to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to prepare learners for further study, work and life. The Diploma development process for the Diploma in Languages is being led by the Sector Skills Council GoSkills, working in partnership with CILT, the National Centre for Languages and the Centre for Education and Industry (CEI). Your views are needed during the consultation stages, and an initial consultation questionnaire is now online. The closing date is Friday 17 October. HSBC survey reports language and cultural barriers3 October 2008 A report titled 'Business without Boundaries' by HSBC Commercial Banking, which surveyed over 5,300 UK businesses, has revealed that 46 per cent believe they will need to trade internationally to make that a reality. Not that they expect it all to be plain sailing - 8 out of 10 businesses trading abroad agree that it is the differences in culture and etiquette in foreign countries that makes international trade more challenging. The language barrier is also a problem for almost two thirds of businesses. Award-winning Japanese project18th Septenber 2008 The School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) has won a European Award for Languages with its 'Jinrikisha' project - which uses audio recordings and podcasts to encourage adults to learn Japanese. The project, which also received the Routledge Adult Education prize, has effectively created a community of learners who rarely get the opportunity to meet. The European Awards for Languages are supported by the European Commission and co-ordinated by CILT, the National Centre for Languages in the UK. Try life in another language16 September 2008 The Government has launched a high profile campaign encouraging teenagers to 'try life in another language' - and improve GCSE languages take-up which has fallen in recent years. The latest push includes sponsorship of a T4 show and a series of cutting edge TV adverts. The DCSF-sponsored TV show, 'Je suis un rockstar', follows three chosen candidates as they join a successful Indie band - The Wombats - on tour through Europe . Each of the young people will use their language skills to make sure everything runs smoothly in one European city on the tour itinerary. Positive signs for language take-up in schools2 September 2008 A Level languages results published for England , Wales and Northern Ireland show more stable take-up and success rates than in recent years. Students taking languages this year were amongst the highest achievers of all entrants, with greater proportions of pupils gaining A grades than in most other subjects. GCSE languages are still in decline, although the downward trend is less steep than last year. Latest report makes recommendations on a languages strategy for 201219 August 2008 How can language services enhance London and the rest of the UK's image for international visitors and provide a cultural, educational, economic and social legacy for London 2012? These are some of the questions addressed by the research report, 'Languages and International Events' funded by Routes into Languages. The report makes a number of recommendations for the Games, demonstrating the need for early planning to create a successful language strategy and world-class language provision. Consultation on Qualification Strategy for Languages, Intercultural Skills, Translation and Interpreting24 July 2008 CILT, the National Centre for Languages has recently published a qualifications strategy to create a system for qualifications and training provision that is highly relevant for both its sub-sectors and cross-sector applications in each and every UK nation. It has been developed to address the issues that were highlighted by employers in the labour market research project carried out since November 2007. The consultation on the Strategy is open until Tuesday 29 July 2008. New inspiration for businesses to champion language learning across London9 July 2008
Queen's Award for Enterprise24 June 2008 The application process for the Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2009 has started. The Queen's Award for Enterprise is recognised and respected as a mark of quality and success by businesses in the UK and overseas. To help you see whether you might like to enter your business for the award, UK Trade & Investment in partnership with the London Development Agency is holding a free evening seminar and networking event in conjunction with The Queen's Awards Office on Wednesday 16 July at The Inner Temple.
The event will offer an opportunity to hear from past winners about the application process and the commercial benefits of holding the Award. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions about the Awards Scheme from members of The Queen's Awards Office. Whether you can attend the event or not, the closing date for applications is 31 October 2008. Enjoy a Capital Stay in London11 June 2008 Hotels and B&Bs in London can now benefit from a new online package which gives practical advice on improving quality of service, making the most of the 2012 Games and tapping into new markets. The London Development Agency's (LDA) Capital Stay 'e-book' is part of its commitment to improving the quality of accommodation in the capital. Available at www.lda.gov.uk/getgraded, Capital Stay is a one stop online package of advice, worksheets and video clips to help accommodation businesses in the capital stay a step ahead. It offers advice and useful tips including examples of language use on websites and in direct customer contact. You might like to learn more about our own Welcoming the World programme, which aims to help Londoners in frontline roles give great customer service to visitors. Business Opportunities Plan for 2012 Games11 June 2008 A major piece of work over the past year for Podium, the Further and Higher Education unit for the 2012 Games, has been to produce a 'Business Opportunities Plan', the formulation of which involved large numbers of people from both education sectors and a number of key stakeholders. Podium would like your view on the plan, to assess how it can be developed into fundable projects which support the Games. Magic numbers11 June 2008 8 signifies abundance of wealth. 9 means forever. If you're considering doing business in China, it pays to consider the cultural significance of different numbers - for example when choosing a launch date or a brand name. An article posted by Jason Yu, a Los Angeles-based research analyst with six years' experience in the localisation industry, investigates the connotations for a variety of numbers in China . 'Doing Business Abroad' - survey by Kwintessential11 June 2008 Kwintessential's latest online survey asks the question: "If you have worked abroad before, do you think cultural training would have helped?" The cultural training business is trying to get a better understanding of people's views on the importance of cultural awareness training. Do people see and feel cultural differences when working abroad? |
Funded courses in LondonFind the latest free or subsidised vocational courses across the Capital |
British Airways and Dormers Wells High School in West London
were delighted to pick up the national Business Language Champions
Partnership of the Year 2008 award at a gala dinner hosted
by the National Education Business Partnership Network in London,
having faced stiff competition from across the country. The
airline and the school are partners in RLN London's Business
Language Champions programme, which is inspiring students across
the Capital to continue with their language learning. BA has
worked with 33 schools across the country this year alone,
delivering its Language Flag award. 
Regional Language Network London has launched a 
