VLLC Language Courses
  • Home
    • About VLLC
    • Locations >
      • Victoria
      • South Australia
      • New South Wales
      • Western Australia
      • Australian Capital Territory
      • Queensland
      • Northern Territory
      • Tasmania
    • The VLLC story
    • Language Tutors
    • Join the Team
    • Student Information
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • The Language Box
    • Online Student Access
    • Blog Articles >
      • Work Blog
      • Travel Blog
      • Mind Blog
      • Language Journeys
      • Videos
  • Languages
    • Learn English >
      • General English
      • IELTS Preparation
    • Learn Arabic
    • Learn French
    • Learn German
    • Learn Greek
    • Learn Indonesian
    • Learn Italian
    • Learn Japanese
    • Learn Mandarin Chinese
    • Learn Russian
    • Learn Spanish
    • Learn Thai
  • For Individual
    • Language Certificates >
      • Certificate II in Applied Language
      • Social Proficiency
      • Certificate III in Applied Language
      • Intermediate Proficiency
      • Vocational Proficiency
    • Online Lessons
    • In-country Language Testing Preparation
  • For Business
    • Language Certificates >
      • Certificate II in Applied Language
      • Social Proficiency
      • Certificate III in Applied Language
      • Intermediate Proficiency
      • Vocational Proficiency
    • Business Benefits
    • Online Solutions
    • Professional Development Seminars
    • Language Workshop
    • School Solutions >
      • Primary School Language Program
      • VET in Schools
  • Contact

How being Bilingual can fast-track your career

26/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
So what’s the magic formula to making sure you ace your interview and conveying that you are, in fact, the best person for the job? While there is no one clear answer, we’re betting you that learning a second language will get you there faster. Let’s take a look back at those three important traits that we discussed earlier and how being bilingual (or multilingual!) can help with each and every one of them. Here’s how:
​
1. The ability to work collaboratively on a team — Learning a new language will increase your level of empathy with others. You’ll learn important differences between various communication and learning styles—the key to working effectively with others or managing any team.

2. The ability to communicate clearly and effectively — Of course, communication is key when learning a new language. You’ll learn important differences between languages and cultural nuances that may only exist in another language but not English. Being bilingual will teach you how to think more creatively about multiple ways to get your main idea across to different audiences.

3. The ability to obtain, process, information and to create ideas — Learning a second language will actually enhance information processing in the brain. We’re serious. Studies show that brains in bilingual individuals have more grey matter than those in monolingual individuals. Grey matter is a major part of your Central Nervous System, which plays a key role in information processing. Additionally, we live in an increasingly globalised age, with an influx of language and cultures infiltrating all major cities. “Knowing multiple languages is important in the professional world for the purpose of international business, cultural understanding, and building good will with a diversity of partners and customers.”
​
Fluency in more languages, now more than ever, is considered extremely important by many employers. CNN Money has deemed fluency in a foreign language “the hottest job skill” 3. Also, according to them, 25,000 jobs are expected to open up for interpreters and translators between 2010 and 2020.

Getting fluent in another language of course, in addition to helping fast-track your career, fluency in another language comes with some pretty obvious perks. Just picture yourself working remotely, while sunbathing on the Costa del Sol in Spain, or ordering off the menu in Italian and your accent being on point.
And, you know, adding it to your resume and impressing your future employers at an interview doesn’t hurt either. Knowing more than one language will increase the likelihood of getting hired by sharpening the skills that all employers look for, while also opening up many professional opportunities, whether they’re in the states or abroad.

Sources:
 1. “The 10 Skills Employers Most Want In 2015 Graduates.” Forbes.
2. “41 of Google’s Toughest Interview Questions.” Inc.
3. “The Hottest Job Skill Is…” CNN Money.

0 Comments

Taming the Dragon: business in China

19/2/2019

0 Comments

 
China is booming, it has been for a number of years, and like a small dragon born from an egg, she has now grown, become something remarkable, feared by some and embraced by others. No matter how this dragon is seen, China is a place where business people see some kind of future, some success and continuity or expansion of existing business.
Picture
One thing that is for certain with China, is that it has become a place where gaining an advantage, getting in first, or having a shot at trading with a partner in a particular province in a particular field has become more of a challenge. Being the best at what you do and even having the most money is no assurance of doing business, China and Chinese Business have become wary of business and the dragon has become wise.
For the astute, or progressive businessman, there is a way to not so outwit the wizening dragon that China has become, but work with it and become better acquainted.  This way is through speaking Chinese and thus being able communicate in their own tongue. It is not that the dragon doesn’t trust those who cannot speak its language, but has more to do with respect, trust and a willingness to work that bit harder for what will inevitably be gain. 
Picture
A businessman or company who has staff that have taken the time to learn Chinese means that this company is taking China seriously and the dragon commands respect.  This Chinese Dragon that we call industry has learnt to respect serious intent over money and even over being number one, that is very often the same one who will throw most money at a deal.  The overseas company will be dealing with their Chinese counterparts and while in a growing number of cases these counterparts will speak English and a variety of other languages, speaking in their native tongue will nonetheless instil a level of trust that will go a long way in sweetening the deal or transaction.

Doing business in Chinese and even bilingually reduces the chance of things being lost in translation as this can prove costly. Having an understanding of, and a willingness to learn the language, will ultimately sustain the business transaction and while in the past, the quick buck for a quick win, was seen as good business the wiser and older dragon now understands the error of this.

Picture
But it goes further than the board room table and business in China. As is evident in the rest of the world, China does have a social and family element to it. Speaking Chinese opens up social, recreational and those more interpersonal elements of doing business in China. Speaking Chinese makes a person who was once merely a business associate who seemed to care only about his own profits a person of trust who can be introduced to families and be invited to social gatherings. Long term relationships can be formed that provide a solid foundation for doing better business going forward and this all starts with language and a willingness to learn.

China may have become a feared and even fearless dragon, but by speaking the same language as the dragon, means in many ways it can be tamed, and mutual success over an extended period of time can be assured.

0 Comments

China - Tea, Tech and opportunities

12/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
China is the country with the highest population in the world and in the last decade or two it has become one of the leading players in the global economy. In this day and age the country that was hidden for so long behind a bamboo curtain, that to outsiders was home only to tea and rice, is a deciding player on world trade, world currency and even whether or not the world goes to war with North Korea.

The once assumed gentle country where paddy fields of rice grew, ploughed by oxen and the finest tea in all the world grew has now become a giant that has woken from its slumber.  “For all the tea in China” people used to say but in 2016 it is not just tea that China produces, although China produces 35% of the world’s tea and the country itself consumes tea equal in weight to 26 Titanics (2010 figures) in weight,  but the country is the heart of everything hi-tech and many things low tech.


In a country as vast as China and with such a large population labour costs are low and the level of skill and expertise is relatively high. Today pretty much anything hi-tech has some component or other that is made in China and quite likely to have been fully produced and assembled in China. From the mobile phone or tablet in your hand to the laptop or pc to the smart TV’s you are reading this post on 90% or more of the items will have some link to China.   China has come a long way from producing tea yet has still managed to remain the top producer of the refreshing drink and become one of the leading drivers and producers of technology.

But it is not all roses, the people of china and the economy of China, the great yellow giant is starting to show signs of trouble. Demand for coal, iron ore, gold, platinum and other commodities has seen a decline in recent months. Manufacturing output is down.  China has some trouble on the horizon and trouble for many spells opportunity. Those people who speak Mandarin, the most widely spoken form of Chinese, or Chinese generally now have the greatest opportunity to capitalise on the downward trend that can create these opportunities.  Speaking a language creates much needed confidence.  It can demonstrate that you take the other person seriously, shows respect and can put the other personal at ease if you can converse in their native language.   All this can help to build good connections and ongoing relationships.


Yes, many Chinese speak English as does much of the world but speaking Chinese in challenging times gives the speaker of the language an advantage. Small nuances that may be lost in translation are regained, plans can be described in greater clarity and overall understanding is improved.  Having a language is a business tool that leverages on human, even animal, nature where like prefers to communicate with like.

No matter how challenging the future may be for China right now the person who speaks the language is the one who can capitalise on the current situation and open up opportunity. The simple fact that a language is spoken may mean a deal maybe quickly struck and you and your new partner, customer or friend can relax and enjoy a good cup of Chinese tea.
0 Comments

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    May 2017
    June 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    About

    These blogs are about learning a foreign language and utilising that skill to forward your professional path.  

    Categories

    All


About VLLC


The VLLC Story
Language Tutors
Locations
Join the team
Student Information
Online Client
FAQs
Testimonials

Learning Options

Languages


Arabic
English
French
German
Greek
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Mandarin Chinese
Russian
Spanish
Thai

Courses


Certificate in Social Proficiency

Certificate II in Applied Language


Certificate III in Applied Language

Certificate in Intermediate Proficiency
​

Certificate in Vocational  Proficiency

Blog


Work Blog
Travel Blog
Mind Blog
Case Studies

Contact Us


Contact Us Form
Newsletter Sign up
Language School
Language School Melbourne Adelaide
Copyright © 2015 - 2021  |   VLLC - Vocational Language Learning Centre   | ADL 08 8267 1177   |   MLB 03 9602 1605