Around the World in 100 Words - Five Language Apps for the Business Traveler

If you're a business traveler and a frequent flyer to international destinations, you understand that English can take you many places, but it can't always get the job done. Learning a few phrases in the languages of your foreign business associates can make your experience in their country more pleasant and score you extra credit points.

Too busy to read a foreign-language phrase book or attend a language class before your next trip? Language-learning apps are your solution. Compact and mobile par excellence, these highly engaging applications can accompany you in your travels and help you bolster your language skills at your leisure.

Let's take a look at five free mobile apps that you can combine to acquire foreign language skills on the road and on the fly:

1. Byki

Quick, essential phrases in Danish, Dutch, French, German, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Taglog are at your fingertips with this app. Rather than delving into extensive vocabulary, Byki is strong in teaching everyday greetings across several languages, with the multiple-destination traveler in mind. In three easy steps, you can master everyday cordialities that will take you across Europe and Asia.

The first step involves reviewing the flash cards, which come with images and native speaker audio. In the second step, you see the target language and come up with the English translation. When you've got the gist of the vocabulary, the third step is to translate from English into the foreign language.

Byki has also compiled a database of vocabulary around key themes such as beverages. Want to know how to order a beer in every country you visit? This is the app for you.

2. Busuu

Where Byki offers breadth, Busuu provides depth. Available in Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, French and German, Busuu has a similar interface to Rosetta Stone in terms of exercises and format. Native speaker sound, illustrations, colorful flashcards, dialogues and audiovisual quizzes make for an engaging and active learning experience. Students are rewarded with Busuu berries at the end of each level.

Another great feature is that Busuu allows you to review your mistakes. You can acquire vocabulary pertaining to a variety of themes, including work, sports, days of the week, body parts, telling time, dates and seasons, family members, numbers, colors, meals, directions, pets, geography, clothes, fruits, vegetables and more.

3. Vocabology

This vocabulary-boosting app is designed for the daily language apprentice. It allows you to get a word-of-the-day in Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French and English from a variety of sources. Because repetition is often the secret to retention, Vocabology uses the word of the day in multiple contexts, including an addictive quiz.

4. Flashcards Deluxe

One of the best ways to commit all of this vocabulary to memory is to review it throughout the day. This app allows you to create your own deck of flashcards with words you come across in your studies and to import decks from the shared library. You can personalize the backgrounds of the cards, add photos and sounds from your smartphone or from the app's website, modify font size and colors, set up a slideshow and flag cards for more intensive review.

As you go through your cards, you signal your responses as either correct, incorrect or "strong correct" (meaning no need for further review). The program then schedules the cards in spaced repetition as a function of these responses so that you don't under-study certain words and over-study the ones you have mastered. Using the Leitner card order option, you can also focus solely on the cards you've gotten wrong recently. Spend ten minutes with this app every morning when you wake up and/or at night when you go to bed for optimum retention.

5. Radio/Newspaper apps

As your familiarity with the language increases, you can begin to immerse yourself in the culture of your travel destination by listening to the national radio stations and reading local press articles. If you are traveling to Spain, for example, download the RNE app, Radio Nacional de Espana to listen to any of the six national radio stations, andEl Paisto enrich your vocabulary while reading up on trending topics, current affairs and popular culture. Unlike mobile sites, these radio-streaming and content apps are perfectly adapted to your particular smartphone platform and therefore supply an optimized interface. You don't have to sort through several web pages to get where you want - in one click, you can stream the radio station of your choice, as effortlessly as if you were flipping channels on the highway in Spain. And in one click, you can read news articles in a format carefully tailored to your smartphone screen.

The rapidity of speech may be intimidating at first but if you undertake this exercise regularly, you'll soon be amazed to find yourself deciphering fragments of conversations and recognizing the vocabulary words you have acquired.

There are hundreds of other interesting language apps out there but with these five alone, you can build a comprehensive and personalized program for foreign language acquisition. So how much time do you need to devote to this in order to see any tangible results?

Remember that we are not talking about fluency here (though multilingualism is a fantastic goal), but rather elementary communication in the context of international business. One school of thought makes the argument that you can get by in a foreign country with a lexicon of 100 words. With 100 words at your disposal, you are able to comprehend some of what is said around you, express your essential needs and ask basic questions. A pocketbook vocabulary of 100 words will allow you to order wine for your table at a company lunch, ask when your clothes will be dry-cleaned, inquire as to the best cup of coffee near your hotel and get directions to a local pharmacy.

And if you're armed with 100 words, you're less likely to be taken advantage of by that taxi driver who mistakes you for a novice and opts for the extra-long route to the hotel. Your ability to communicate in the local language, albeit on a rudimentary level, will place you in a different category of tourists or business travelers, one that is treated with more respect. You will also derive more satisfaction from mundane tasks like checking out of your hotel, since everyday interactions such as these become opportunities to practice your newfound vocabulary in context.

So next time you're on the road-lugging around your suitcase, smoothing the wrinkles out of your suit, and struggling to get some shuteye - explore these apps for hours of distraction (even relaxation!) and acquire new language skills in the process. We're sure that doing so will broaden your horizons and deepen your appreciation of the cultures with which you do business.

Acclaro is a global translation and localization firm that helps the world's leading brands succeed across cultures. Acclaro offers a full range of services for creating and maintaining multilingual marketing campaigns, websites, documents, software and much more. From Asia to Europe and the Americas, Acclaro gives clients a local voice in global markets.

View the original article here

English Around the World: Separated by a Common Language

Traveling to nations where English is spoken supposedly relieves the pressure of having to learn another language. I have become aware, however, of communication difficulties among English speakers in different cultures and am sharing a few tips I have learned in my travels. If you do travel, you might incur the same issues. However, even in you live in an English speaking country, it is very probable that you will encounter others who have learned English as an additional language.

Although English is so widespread, communication problems do exist between English speakers of different nations. Often what one intends to communicate is lost in the language itself. Why do these problems exist? What can you do about it?

Be aware of the possibility of misunderstanding. Watch the person you are speaking with closely for body language that communicates he did not fully understand what you had to say. When that happens, rephrase your comment.

Do not use idioms. Although a dictionary exists which tries to explain idioms used in American, British and Australian English, avoid idioms altogether.

Stay away from jokes. It is a rare joke that is understood by all cultures. Humor can be effectively used without telling a joke.

Never insult your listener. Resist the temptation to say something like, "I just used simple English." If you had really used simple English, you probably would not have been misunderstood. So, a good rule is to simplify, simplify, simplify.

Take special care if you are teaching or speaking to a group. Often your attendees are a mixture of native English speakers as well as those who have learned English as an additional language. If you have been sensitive in preparing your speech, everyone should be able to benefit from what you have to say. You don't want anyone to spend time trying to figure out what you meant by a certain comment at the beginning of your speech, thus ensuring that the rest of the speech was a loss.

Keep cultural references to a minimum. It can be offensive to others when all of your examples are from your own culture. Personal examples can be effective, however, such as "As a father, I have found that my children watch my every move. This makes me think twice about the kind of leader I am at home and in the business world." Your example can then be very specific.

Even personal examples, however, have their limitations. For instance, if you are speaking to a group in a poor, depressed country, making references about the difficulties of finding what you want while you are shopping not only does not make sense to your audience, it points out the differences between your cultures. They may not have the ability to buy basic things, much less shop around for "just the right thing."

Enjoy the experience. People of different cultures can learn much from each other. Being able to speak the same language is a huge plus, but consideration and humility should always be present in the conversations. If you are truly interested in communicating, your listener will know it and you will be encouraged to return.

Stephanie and her husband, Richard, serve the Lord through Xtend Ministries International. To find out more about Stephanie and her ministry, please visit http://www.onefocusministries.com/.

View the original article here