The Business of Language
A Guide to language and cultural issues
Spring Edition 2007

Language Survey 2006 – Summary Report

The RLN NE would once again like to thank those that took part in our Language Survey. In total 2786 responses were received, of these 2439 (87.5%) have foreign language skills i.e. in addition to or other than English.

The Summary Report is now available to download from the RLN NE website, here.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the final report available in April, please email your contact details to info@rln-northeast.com

  RLN NE Toolkit for internationally trading businesses

The RLN NE has developed a new toolkit designed for internationally trading businesses. The Toolkit is designed to help your business develop skills to gain a competitive edge when trading internationally. It is intended for:

·         New exporters

·         Those entering new and emerging markets

·         Companies already trading in overseas markets

·         Experienced exporters

The toolkit has been developed using the insight and knowledge gained over several years by One NorthEast's Regional Language Network working with hundreds of internationally trading businesses in North East England.

It contains examples of best practice, along with a range of valuable contacts, information sources and useful tips. Case studies from across the region demonstrate how companies have seen improvements in their communication with clients and prospective clients overseas translated into increased sales.

To find out more and download a copy of the toolkit, visit our Employers pages.

Lord Dearing Review on Languages – Final Report

Education Secretary, Alan Johnson, has agreed the recommendations set out in Lord Dearing's final report on languages policy and learning a foreign language is set to become compulsory for 7-14 year olds.

Welcoming Lord Dearing’s final report Alan Johnson said: “We are about to embark on a renaissance in languages in schools and beyond.”

Lord Dearing and DfES National Director for Languages Dr Lid King were asked to carry out a comprehensive review of languages policy.

Agreeing the report’s recommendations, Mr Johnson announced a powerful programme of action. He said the Government would support making languages compulsory for primary schools when the primary National Curriculum is next reviewed, meaning at least seven years language learning for every child in the country.

Download the Report from the RLN News Pages.

  ELAN: Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise.

CILT, along with its research partner, InterAct International, have now completed their research into the Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise. The study has shown that language skills can significantly improve export success for European companies. SMEs which have a languages strategy and invest in staff with language skills are shown to be able to achieve 44% more export sales than those which don’t. Analysis of the survey responses identified some key elements of language management which were associated with strong export performance, and there could be very significant gains to the EU economy if all exporting SMEs employed these techniques.

Visit the CILT website to download a copy of the report.

  Events

Institute of Translation and Interpreting, NE Regional Group Meeting

The next meeting will consist of a talk by Dr Stefania Williams, who translates chemical patents, on "the specialist translator" based on her own experience, followed by a discussion on whether it is better for translators to be specialists or generalists.

Venue: Room 7, Belmont School Community Arts College, Buckinghamshire Road, Belmont, Durham.

Date and time: Tuesday May 8th, 7-9pm. Drinks and biscuits provided. For further details please contact Adrian Korynek on 01642 785939.

  BLIS JOBS

There are currently a number of interesting and high profile vacancies advertised on BLIS Jobs in the North East. Some of the vacancies are showcased below.

Recruitment Now – Russian speaking Business Development Executive – Newcastle Upon Tyne – Salary up to £21k + bonuses OTE £26k.
A bright and enthusiastic Bilingual Business Development Executive is required for a large and successful Engineering and Manufacturing firm. Languages: English with Russian and any additional eastern European languages will be a bonus.

Nigel Wright - Consultants – Senior Consultants – Managers, with Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or French - Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Nigel Wright are seeking candidates with experience of working in the recruitment industry or in a commercial role. In particular they are looking for people capable of formulating and delivering bespoke, high value recruitment solutions for positions to board level.

Viking Outsourcing – CSR Roles with Italian or Spanish - Hartlepool.
As a native or fluent speaker you would play an integral role in our inbound customer services or technical support team. Viking has 30 years of customer experience in delivering all forms of game play. We support games that play on platforms including the PS2, PS3, XBox 360, Windows, and many more. We look for passionate people whose main role will be helping customers through all aspects of game play.

Recruitment Now - Customer Support Representative with fluent French and Italian – Newcastle upon Tyne.
Large Global Engineering and Manufacturing company whose Head Office is based in Newcastle upon Tyne is looking for bilingual Customer Support Representatives to deal with customers and clients. An excellent company to work for, you will be a member of a very friendly and supportive bilingual support team who between them cover 15 languages.

European Resources – Bilingual Automotive Technicians - Peterlee, County Durham. Salary £21,000 - £25,000 depending on experience.
For our client’s Pan European Technical Assistance Centres based in Peterlee and Ruesselsheim, Germany we are currently looking for Automotive Technicians to support dealerships across Europe. Must speak one of the following languages fluently, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, French, Dutch or Slovenian.

Nigel Wright - Graduate Entry Scheme, Procter & Gamble. Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, (see BLIS for full list) - Newcastle upon Tyne.
Dealing with Procter and Gamble clients and suppliers across Europe and Africa, you will have the opportunity to develop your language skills in a business context. You will ideally have a languages degree and an interest in finance.

For full details of any of the jobs featured above, or to find other opportunities in the North East, visit www.blis.org.uk/ne.

BLIS Professionals - Featured Professional
The Featured professional for the spring edition of our e-newsletter is Ricarda Oxley

RO Translation Services - Ricarda Oxley

Ricarda Oxley is a German born national who settled in the North East in 1988. Her childhood was spent in Latin America and she considers both German and Spanish to be her native tongues. She worked as a technical translator for many years in the metallurgical industry in Venezuela and in Mexico. Ricarda has also worked in this country as a freelance translator and interpreter since 1996 and worked for Stockton Riverside College as the Coordinator for the MFL Department until 2006. She now only undertakes free-lance translation work and occasional interpreting work.

Read the full Profile on the RLN website.

  European Award for Languages 2007 – Deadline for applications 30^th April!

The European Award for Languages, also known as the European Label is a Europe-wide initiative which recognises projects demonstrating an innovative, effective and replicable approach to learning languages.

Award-winning projects provide a potential source of inspiration for others, in different languages, contexts and even different countries, underlining the importance of the criteria that the project be replicable. To date, over 100 UK projects have proved that such criteria can be met and that creative thinking can lead to improved teaching provision and learner achievement.

Read more about the award and how to submit an entry on our Events pages at www.rln-northeast.com/events. The deadline for submitting an application is 30^th April.

  90,000 Europe maps gratis for schools

To celebrate this year's Europe Day on 9 May and the European Day of Languages on 26 September, the European Commission has produced large-scale wall maps of Europe that show the EU member states and candidate countries for membership, as well as providing statistical data. They are multilingual with all names of countries and cities given in their national language(s).

Although these maps are usually sold via sales agents at a cost of 20 euros each, the EU has made available 90,000 copies free of charge for schools and education services, including libraries, universities and adult education colleges.

The maps can be ordered now and will be ready for immediate dispatch in early May. To order your maps or download the pdf, go to: http://www.europe.org.uk/maps/

  First North East online PR agency launched

With the number of Internet users worldwide now tipping the billion mark, it’s vital that North East businesses use online PR to promote their brand and win new customers. The North East Regional Portal (TNERP) is the first to launch an Online PR Agency in the region.

Latest figures show that the UK alone now has some 35.1 million regular internet users, according to online publisher eMarketer. Surfing the web has become the standard way of researching new products and services before making a decision to buy.

With this in mind, the Regional Portal is using its unrivalled experience in marketing and media communications to offer an Online PR Agency for North East firms – the first of its kind in the region.

To find out how your business could benefit visit The North East Regional Portal website, n-e-life.com.

News

We've updated the news section of the website, check out the link below to read some of the latest language news articles from across the web.

Over the language barrier
Bi-lingual classes ‘raise results’
Dearing Review on Languages
Schools to get £50m language help
Seven-year-olds to take languages

www.rln-northeast.com/news



The next issue of the Business of Language will be out in July.

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