Blog - How to Improve Competence

Focus on… Learning Mandarin for Business

05 January 2021

Every month this year, we will be turning our focus towards one of the core languages we love to teach – looking at the language’s potential for business, considering a few facts and figures to put its global prospects in context, plus sharing some tips to help you get started. This month we take a look at Mandarin Chinese, the official language of the People’s Republic of China, which is spoken by over a billion people in China and around the world.

10 Facts About Japanese Language and Culture You Didn’t Know

08 December 2020

Japan is a land of natural wonders, exceptional animation and uniquely delicious food. It is also the world’s third-largest economy, after the United States and China – and the UK’s recent Japanese trade deal could change the shape of our longer-term business relationship with this major economy. In this article, we share a few interesting facts and figures about Japanese language and culture.

10 Facts About Italian Language and Culture You Didn’t Know

01 December 2020

Italy evokes images of culture, style and elegance – and it may also invite thoughts of delicious food and drink, such as pizza, pasta and gelato. In this article, we look at some curious facts about the Italian language and Italian culture, including the significance of fashion, the cultural impact of opera, and the diversity of regional dialects across Italy.

Do Language-learning Apps Work – or Do You Need a Tutor?

03 November 2020

We have seen time and time again how quickly and effectively people can learn a language when working one-to-one with a language tutor or in small and sociable conversational groups. Both scenarios can be achieved in person or virtually, using technology to facilitate teaching rather than do the teaching.

However, app-based language learning saw a surge in interest during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, so might apps offer an effective alternative way to learn a language? In this article, we consider the limitations of language-learning apps.

Language Acquisition: How Many Words Do You Need?

15 September 2020

Learning a second language is quite a different challenge to learning your native language. When you are gradually developing your native language skills, you are also learning a myriad of other things – but learning a second language as an adult is a completely different experience because you are translating what you already know into a new way of communicating and understanding.

In this article, we consider just how far you need to take this process by asking the question: How many words do you need to learn to ‘get by’ in a language?

Boost Your Vocabulary to Fast-track Your Language Learning

14 July 2020

Getting to grips with a host of unknown words is a part of the language-learning journey, but there are plenty of ways to improve your vocabulary without too much stress and struggle. This article introduces some effective vocabulary-building techniques that you can use to fast-track your language learning experience.