Category: Language travel

Communicate with confidence when studying abroad

“New technology is making overseas learning experiences even easier”

Based on a recent survey conducted by Palaver, frustration (50%) and embarrassment (49%) are the top two emotions experienced when trying to speak local languages abroad.

As a result, we often rely on others to speak English instead. However, this restricts our conversations and ability to connect with others – particularly when studying abroad – as we depend on building new relationships to prevent loneliness.

December 19, 2022
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Edtech, Higher education, Language travel, Study abroad

Mediation skills in the English language classroom

“If teachers are teaching real-life communication skills in the classroom, they’re probably already covering mediation skills”

We all have to take information, understand it, and then explain it to others. Although it may be second nature to many, it takes a unique set of skills to pull this off successfully.

Perhaps you’re at university and your lecturer has asked you to look at an English research paper and summarise it to your study group in your home language. Or maybe you’re at work and you have taken a detailed safety brief that you have to relay back to colleagues. Other common examples that require these skills include explaining a timetable to a new class or just passing on the latest gossip!

“English-language tests – the first step of the overseas education journey – remain out of reach for many”

In education, we use the word “access” a lot. But not everyone understands it in the same way. My own definition is simple – anybody who would like to get an education can get one. That’s what access means.

Without access to education, the world is missing out on a lot. By lowering barriers, we might find the next Einstein in Cambodia, but without access those minds might be missed.

We should also be able to provide the brightest minds the education they need to thrive.

October 17, 2022
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Edtech, Language travel, Study abroad, Testing

Post Covid-19 revival of the study travel industry in the UK

“Hybrid working helped cushion the study travel sector from the disruption caused by the pandemic”

Travel restrictions swept across the UK in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which disabled the movement of international students and the operational ability of the study travel industry.

Countries across the globe closed their borders and transitioned to a traffic light system that ranked countries according to their Covid risk level. The UK immigration system was also pushed into limbo which sparked fears that the international student population in the UK would drastically reduce, writes Keith Tully is a partner at Real Business Rescue.

But yet, the study travel industry showing resilience in the face of Covid-19.

“Some of the new initiatives that have emerged during the pandemic may be here to stay”

According to recent reports, children in England are three months behind in their studies after lockdown measures, and while schools have worked hard to help their pupils keep up to date with their studying, many parents will view the summer holidays as a good time to help their children catch up.

For many international students, the summer months are traditionally an opportunity to come to the UK for an academic or cultural education experience. Pat Moores of UK Education Guide explains what schools are planning.

“Not everyone has a rigid nine-to-five schedule anymore”

Language schools around the world, normally heavily or even fully reliant on inbound students from all four corners of the globe, have had their income cut at the source, writes Max Hobbs, LTL Mandarin School’s marketing director. Last year proved to be a sink or swim moment for those institutes.

Whilst many schools have sadly had to shut up shop, there have been a few success stories.

We aren’t talking about the ones who were already teaching online pre-2020, we are talking about the ones who have had to completely re-invent themselves like never before.

January 25, 2021
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China, Crisis management, Edtech, Language travel

How to encourage language learning outside the classroom during Covid-19

“With our interconnected world, there is no reason we can’t learn—and teach—a language right here in our living rooms”

Learning a language can be rewarding in all kinds of ways, writes Language Trainers’ Kelly Wang. Whether your students are doing it to give their resumes a boost, or they want to have some vocabulary for when they are travelling, a second language is a great thing to have.

While classes may continue online despite the pandemic, opportunities for practising languages outside the classroom are more limited, with many local language exchange events cancelled and travel restricted.

But with our interconnected world, there is no reason we can’t learn—and teach—a language right here in our living rooms, without students feeling like they are missing out on anything. Here are some ways to help your students learn a language online.

“A well-developed online learning platform is essential for Chinese language schools to maintain their profits during Covid-19”

The coronavirus pandemic has had a disastrous impact on the Chinese economy and Chinese people’s daily lives, writes Ivan Suchkov of That’s Mandarin. Here he discusses how Mandarin-language schools based in China are shifting online for classes.

A large number of enterprises and factories had to suspend production to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Fortunately, the situation has got a lot better now in China, and all the production lines (except for some industries like the educational sector) have fully resumed work.

However, thousands of private Chinese companies are now still on the verge of bankruptcy, as their businesses have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Schools that fail to emphasise teaching foreign languages do their students a grave disservice”

Around the world, various countries espouse different attitudes toward language and learning, notes Alyssa Abel of education blog, Syllabusy. She points out that European nations, for example, begin teaching foreign languages in primary school or before while conversely, many American schools do not offer these classes as electives until high school, and several have even eliminated foreign languages as a graduation requirement.

Schools that fail to emphasise teaching foreign languages do their students a grave disservice. Researchers have found a strong relationship between language and learning and its positive impact on academic performance. How can educators motivate their students to expand their linguistic ability beyond their native tongue?

How Does Language Affect Learning?

Research indicates that foreign language instruction bolsters academic performance in many ways — including an upward trajectory in test scores.

In one study, researchers selected random third-grade students to receive Spanish lessons three times per week for one semester. The teacher instructed class entirely in the foreign tongue. The students who received this instruction scored significantly higher in math and language on the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) than those who did not. Given the emphasis on these measures when it comes to funding, the practice offers a valuable means to improve overall scholarship.

“Identifying the gaps in language proficiency for each individual is only the beginning”

Kate Bell is co-author of the EF English Proficiency Index. In this blog, Bell examines how subtleties in employee proficiency affect the types and depth of language training that employers must provide.

From the outside, foreign language proficiency looks simple—either you speak a language or you don’t—but anyone who grew up receiving calls from grandparents abroad or who has worked for a few years in a foreign country knows that most people’s linguistic terrain is more of a swamp than a soccer field.

This is because our language skills develop over the course of decades as a result of inclination, exposure, education, and practice.

January 3, 2020
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ELT, Language travel, Skills, Teaching, Testing