March 2008 | Issue 4

Welcome | Service Finder | In the news | The business of language | Language professionals | Teaching languages | Subscribing

Welcome
Welcome to the fourth edition of the RLN London Newsletter. It’s here to keep you up-to-date with languages and cultural skills in London. This edition highlights the launch of our Service Finder – a great new way for a business or an individual to find the language and cultural services they need, and for providers of services to market themselves.

If you have any feedback at all - ideas for future stories, information you'd like to see in there or indeed on our website - please let us know.

Jane Collis, Director - Regional Language Network London.

Service Finder

RLN London is delighted to announce the launch of its new Service Finder - a free, on-line facility to search for language and cultural services across London.

Businesses can use it to find translators, interpreters, language training services, web localisation experts, cultural consultants and media services or even multilingual recruitment agencies. For individuals, there’s the chance to find providers of language courses and agencies offering jobs. Plus for those offering language and cultural services - not only is this a great way of marketing your service, but you can also find providers of training targeted at you and your business.

Register your service now or search for the language and cultural service you need - with RLN London’s Service Finder.

In the news

British bosses see need for cultural awareness
The majority of British bosses (97 percent) taking part in a recent survey by executive communications consultancy, The Aziz Corporation, think that they should make an effort to learn about business etiquette in other countries when travelling abroad. Over two thirds (68 percent) are embarrassed by their lack of knowledge of other cultures. Find out more.

China in London 2008
The ‘China in London’ season is underway now - and continues right into April - with celebrations and events at many different cultural institutions, galleries, museums and visitor attractions. The season started on 6 February with the annual lighting up of Chinese lanterns at Oxford Circus. Find out more.

Laughing in a foreign language
‘Laughing in a foreign language’ at the Southbank Centre investigates the whole spectrum of humour, from jokes, gags and slapstick to irony, wit and satire. The exhibition – open until 13 April – brings together over 70 videos, photographs and interactive installations by more than 30 artists from all around the world. Find out more.

Every Language Matters
Ofsted marked International Mother Language Day (21 February) with the release of a new report, Every Language Matters. Focusing especially on the teaching of Community Languages, it recommended that languages such as Arabic, Bengali and Mandarin should be given higher status in England's schools. Find out more.

Museum celebrates the English language
The English language is the means by which two billion people communicate as a first or second language. Now its story is to be told in the world's first museum dedicated to a language. The English Project is due to open in Winchester in 2012, as part of the Games cultural programme. Find out more.

The business of language

Working with UAE, Qatar or Bahrain?
UKTI's London International Trade Team is offering a one-day intercultural awareness seminar - helping you to develop your cross-cultural awareness skills and work more productively with clients from the Gulf States. Find out more.

'Costing Babel'
This economic analysis of language skills by the Welsh Institute for Research in Economics and Development skills suggests that Britain under-invests in languages - and that rebalancing our trade with non-English speaking countries could add £21 billion per year to UK GDP. Find out more.

Language professionals

ITI London Regional Grouping (LRG) events
A 19 March evening event is offering freelance translators an insight into working with translation companies - describing some of the dos and don'ts. Aspiring interpreters may be interested in a conference on 29 March which gives a complete overview of interpreting work across sectors.

Technology courses for translators
Imperial College is offering one day courses in April, covering terminology management, web page design and a range of other topics. Find out more.

Teaching languages

Careers factsheets show that Languages Work
CILT, the National Centre for Languages has created new ‘Languages Work’ careers factsheets to complement the upcoming 14-19 Diplomas in the Built Environment and Engineering. They are part of a wider range of factsheets now also covering careers in translation and interpreting. Find out more.

Blended language learning project
The Autonomous Language Learning (ALL) project is building blended language learning courses in four European languages (Turkish, Romanian, Bulgarian and Lithuanian). Project co-ordinators are looking for assistance in completing a survey on the teaching and learning of European languages. Find out more.

Multiverse Conference
This national conference in Westminster on 9 May celebrates Multiverse, an Initial Teacher Education Professional Resource Network, and its aims of raising the achievement of pupils from diverse backgrounds. Find out more.

Subscribing
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© 2008 Regional Language Network London | www.rln-london.com | info@rln-london.com