Intensive Course for Preparation of the Cambridge Advanced Exam

OSL The Language Boutique is pleased to announce that it is running an excellent course to prepare students for the Cambridge Advanced Exam in Madrid. It will be run by trained Cambridge examiners who know exactly what is expected in the exam and have a lot of experience and a high success rate in training candidates up for the exam.

www.cambridgemadrid.com

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the demand for the Advanced exam in Madrid. This is in part due to the natural progression up the Cambridge ladder, as more and more people have attained the First Certificate they are looking to try the Advanced. Likewise, it is also because of the improvements in the education system and the way English is now being taught in schools. Yet these improvements are putting a lot of additional strain particularly on teachers, as the changes have often been introduced quickly with teachers being told, with relatively short notice, that they will be teaching their subjects in English and that they will be needing the Advanced level to do so.
The downside of this is that the level of the candidates wanting to sit the exam has gone down, with many people feeling forced to sit the exam with insufficent level and preparation. The exam is difficult. As the name suggests, this is an exam of advanced level English with a demand for an advanced comprehension and flexiblility of the language. To be able to pass the exam well and comfortably, it is usually recommended that the candidate takes two years to study and prepare for the exam, but frequently people are entered after just one year of preparation. Of course some people do not need two years, if you pass the First Certificate with a strong mark then you are not far off scrapping a pass at the Advanced level. But more often than not, candidates pass the First with an average grade and then it is a big jump up to the Advanced.

The course we are providing is for candidates who have studied up to the Advanced level and who ideally have a sufficient level to pass the exam. We will not be teaching advanced grammar, we expect the candidate to already know it. We will be training them on how to pass the exam, fine-tuning their techniques, improving their weaknesses and making sure that they know exactly what is being expected of them to pass the exam.

The Cambridge exams are not simply a question of being able to communicate in English, many people have lived in an English-speaking country and come back to Spain with the idea of getting a qualification to demonstrate that they have a good level of English. This is not enough. In our normal everyday lives we do not usually speak an advanced level of our language. We do not regularly use conditionals, the passive voice, complex grammatical structures, advanced vocabulary and conjunctions when we are chatting to friends about what we did at the weekend or when we are telling the boss about the project you are doing. Naturally these forms enter our speaking randomly, when it is necessary to do so, but not continuously. The Advanced Speaking Exam is fifteen minutes long and in that time you must demonstrate an advanced comprehension and use of the language at all times or else the examiner is not going to know that you can do so. The same with the Writing exam, I have often seen examples of excellent pieces of writing, with very few mistakes. However, there is very little or no advanced use, it would be a very good First Certificate or PET level piece but not Advanced. It takes thought, time, effort and practise to be sure to include stretches of writing using advanced grammar, structures, expressions and vocabulary. Frequently candidates are unaware of what is lacking in their work, as I have mentioned they feel they can communicate well in English and do not realise that more is expected of them in the Advanced Exam.

Our intention is to take these candidates and make them Advanced level candidates. They have the ability in them but they need to learn how to show this in the exam. The course is intensive and we expect a lot from the candidates; hard-work, homework and full attendance, but at the end of the course they will be ready and prepared to show themselves at their best in the exam and pass it.
Our success rate is high. We know what we are talking about and we work together with the candidates to help them to pass the exam. But if the candidate does not put in the effort they will fail, we do not have magic wands.

We also offer an Intensive Course for the Preparation of the Cambridge First Certificate in English exam.
Please check out the webpages:
www.cambridgemadrid.com
www.onestop-language.com

Listening to improve your speaking skills

 Groan!
This is the usual reaction I get from the class when I suggest that we do a listening activity. It is the part they find most difficult and unanimously dislike about learning English. "But they speak so fast", "I don't understand", "It's too difficult", "They use vocabulary I don't know" they protest.

Well, how are you meant to improve if you don't practise. The only way a spoken language can enter the brain is through the ears, so if you don't practise listening, then spoken English will always be too fast and too difficult and if you don't learn to recognize the sounds of spoken English, you will never understand it. It is really that simple. How do people think they are going to participate in a conversation if they only practise what they want to say, communication is also about listening to what others say too.

Strangely, Spanish schools teach primarily using written grammar exercises rather than spoken or listening exercises. Reading or writing in the form of filling in the blanks or conjugating verbs is the principle way of learning a language. Reading and writing skills are distinctly different from listening and speaking skills, they can help to increase and memorize vocabulary but they are of no help whatsoever for helping speaking skills, which are sorely neglected and so students suffer immensely as after long years of study they find themselves unable to communicate and unable to understand what is being said to them. They can read it but not use and communicate with it. Fortunately, schools nowadays are changing, but still not enough emphasis is put on listening skills as an aid to speaking.

English, unlike Spanish, is not a phonetic language and although there are phonetic sounds, they are rarely taught and moreover, there are so many exceptions that the only way to really become familiar with English pronunciation is by speaking and listening to the language. To familiarize yourself with how the words sound when spoken not simply to recognize them on paper, which in some cases have nothing to do with the construction of letters used. Take the 'ight' combination of letters, which are pronunced to a Spaniard as 'ait' whereas English-speakers would have used 'ite' as a synonymous way of pronouncing those letters, ('might' and 'mite' are pronounced in the same way). However, it is not so simple as we have now come across the phenomenon of the 'silent E'; or the horrible 'ugh' combination which can be pronounced a whole host of ways, such as 'though', 'thought', 'rough', 'bough' and so on. Difficult eh! How would you know how to pronouce those without listening to them first.

There are those people who naturally have a good ear and who can easily pick up languages. Lucky them! But more often than not, those with the best ability to speak and understand English are those who have gone out and practised; as by using it they have learned it. It doesn't have to be in a native-speaking country but of course this does make it easier. Of course, not everyone has the chance to spend time in the UK, for example, to practise but there are other ways to improve your listening and speaking skills.

A good way is by watching TV shows and films in the original version, in English. Most people who do this tend to do it in the wrong way. After a long day in the office or at school or University, they sit down exhausted in front of the TV with the intention of 'studying English' or 'practising listening' while watching TV. After about ten minutes of squinting at the TV straining to understand what is being said, they switch back to Spanish feeling like a complete failure with terrible English as they have not been able to understand the dialogue. They vow to try again tomorrow, but the reality is that English has become something to be endured. Learning English, especially improving listening skills does not have to be a form of punishment. There are umpteen reasons why you could not understand; you were tired, maybe the English was particularly difficult or the accent was an especially difficult one or simply one that you were not familiar with. Many native speakers struggle when listening to an unfamiliar accent and there are a LOT of English accents. In the UK alone, not only are there regional accents with each town often having its own accent but each class also has its own one too (I know it's not fashionable anymore to talk about the class system, but these differing types of accents still exist). In the village where I grew up there were four: the upper-class, middle-class, working-class and farmers' country accents and you could tell a lot about the type of person by how they spoke.

Instead, the best idea is to get into the habit of putting the TV on in English but with Spanish subtitles, for example. That way you can enjoy the programme in a relaxed way whilst reading the subtitles. The important thing to remember is that the ear does two functions: it hears and it listens. Even when the ear is not focused on something - it is not listening - it still hears; so the brain is still working and processing the information.  You are giving the brain a chance to familiarize itself with the language without the stress of making a big effort, you are using a natural process. After a while you will be surprised when suddenly your brain tunes into the English and you can understand things seemingly effortlessly, maybe not a lot at first but it will continue increasing until you find you are relying less and less on the subtitles and more on your own listening skills. It is important to accept that this is a process and it takes time, so patience is necessary but once acquired, these listening skills are not lost so easily especially if the habit of watching TV in the original version is kept up.
But why wouldn't it be kept up? You are not spending a lot of effort.
You cannot teach listening skills, it is a natural ability that you are exercising not something that is acquired.

Another idea is to put on the radio through the internet. Try http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/ * while you are working, cleaning or relaxing at home. Again, don't listen. Have it on as background noise and focus on whatever else you are doing. Again, you will be surprised at how often you will start tuning in and understanding the language. Primarily, try not to give yourself stress or worry about how long it is taking you to understand. It will happen, everyone has their own time. Of course, it doesn't harm to have those occasions when you do want to practise listening and use the radio or TV as an opportunity to focus on improving your listening skills, just don't do it to the extent that you give up watching/listening to the TV in English.

One thing a lot of people who have good pronunciation and listening skills have in common is a love of music, especially British or American pop songs. Enjoying music is a pleasurable way to practise listening and to learn a great variety of new vocabulary and expressions in a natural context, the music and rhythm are also a great help for pronunciation and intonation.

So, there is a lot that can be done, try to make language learning as pleasurable and relaxing as possible. Listening to a language being spoken does not have to be torture or a highly stressful affair. It is a question of habit forming and most people, once they start watching films in the original version cannot go back. Why do Portuguese people have such good English? One of the reasons is that there is no dubbing done in Portugal, everything is shown in the original version and people get used, at a very young age, to hearing or listening to another language, so it becomes second nature to them. My nephew was over visiting me in Madrid a few weeks ago and I put on some cartoons in English for him with the TV set for the original version, however after a while some French cartoons were shown followed by some Spanish ones, he did not notice at all that the language had changed.
That is the reality; young children notice the images, noises, gestures and intonations rather than listen to the words spoken. They start focussing more on the words as their vocabulary improves so it is not hard for them to watch cartoons in English.
It's true that it is hard at first to get used to reading subtitles, if you have been always used to dubbing, but only for the first ten minutes or so, we quickly adapt so there is no excuse.

* Some BBC Radio recommendations:
Radio 4: in general, specifically 'The Today Programme', 'Woman's Hour', 'A Point of View', 'Any Questions?', 'Book of the Week', 'The Bottom Line'.
Radio 4 extra: for theatre, plays, reenactments, books and dramas.

Interview Techniques

Nowadays with the increase of people in Higher Education getting University degrees and training qualifications, the job interview is even more vitally important as the means to distinguish yourself from everyone else.

It is your opportunity to sell yourself.

Who else is going to do it if you are not prepared to do it?

Therefore, it is essential to get over the mind-block many people have in these situations: you are not being arrogant when you say what you are good at and why they should give you the job. Yet, so many people cannot do it. It's not simply that, many people are not even aware of the need or have considered that it is necessary to do so.

It is vital to think about it - what am I good at? why should they give me the job? why am I the best person for the job?
It is vital to plan for the interview, to prepare what you want to say and practise how to say it.
The biggest mistake in an interview is lack of preparation, which results in a lack of clear, concise thought, so answers become long-winded and meandering, with often the inability to answer the actual question or else the answer becomes lost in the middle of the waffle. This means that you have missed the opportunity to sell yourself.

An interview is essentially an exercise in communication; you are communicating with your potential future employer about why they should hire you.

It is unlikely that you will be the only person they are interviewing and the interview will most certainly have a time-frame, which means that you need to communicate your ideas briefly and succinctly, transmitting your sales-pitch at every opportunity. You need to be very clear about what you want them to know about you and what you want or need to transmit, so you can be flexible about getting this information into an answer from a range of possible questions. The Internet is full of web-pages of interview questions, but you cannot predict which ones are going to be asked. However, there is an underlying trend in a lot of the questions which by looking at them and thinking about your answers you can see. It is essential, also, to be very clear about the brief for the job and to read carefully any correspondance you receive in relation with the interview and the company website, as clues to what type of person and what kind of skills they are looking for will often appear. Therefore, opening the possibility of matching your skills with what is demanded.
You need to practise, practise, practise!

As I mentioned before, there is often a time-frame for the interview so you cannot give long-winded answers. The classic question 'Tell me about yourself' is one of those which causes the most problems. Some people see this as an opportunity to give a long life history. Do they really think the interviewer is interested? No. What the interviewer wants to know are things that are beneficial for the job on offer; academic and work history - but not everything, only that which can be related to the job, and maybe some extra information that can demonstrate concepts such as responsibility, commitment, dedication, initiative and so on, as long as the job requires these qualities. All must be expressed briefly, so again I say, preparation and practise are necessary to weed out unimportant pieces of information, waffling and long-windedness. It will make sure that you actually answer the question that you have been asked. People are nervous in interviews, it is natural, but preparation and a clear idea about what you want to say will help calm the nerves and help maintain the focus on what you are saying and how you are saying it.
Although you might fully answer the question, abet in a convoluted way, the interviewer might not see it that way. The information is clear to you as you are the one who has lived it, but it is often confusing to a person listening and they will be lost in the deluge of relevant and irrelevant information. Clear, succinct answers are necessary to steer the interviewer in the direction you want to take him or her. This takes practise.

Don't forget to sell yourself! People become incredibly modest when faced with interviews and feel uncomfortable about showing themselves in the best light. "Oh, I'm not that kind of person" they say. If you were Head Boy at school, Captain of the basketball team, won a design competition, were congratulated or recognised for a work project, won an award or have any other good qualities or experiences, tell them. If you do not, nobody else will. These are all distinguishing points to help you stand out from the competition. By practising your answers and by being clear about what you want to say, you enable yourself to relax and give yourself the chance to be more natural, yourself in fact, in the interview. Your personality is what will also distinguish you from the rest.

So, to recap:
Preparation: know what you want to say, what the company is wanting, practise answering questions clearly communicating briefly all you need to transmit. Relate your skills, experience and strengths to the job, sell yourself honestly - don't lie!
Practise: get someone to listen and answer critically with constructive feedback about what you have said. Is it clear and concise? Does it match what was asked and what is expected of me? Does it sound convincing? Did I sell myself well? What is the general impression that I transmit? Do I sound like someone you would want to employ? Have I done the best possible job?

At OSL The Language Boutique we have had a lot of success guiding people through interview preparations, making people aware of how they transmit themselves and communicate their ideas, enabling them to demonstrate the best of themselves. We believe that everyone has the answers to how best do the interview within them, but that they do not always know how to best go about demonstrating it or sometimes cannot see the best direction to go. Our aim is to give people the confidence they need to find the way and show themselves at their best.

Check out the webpage: www.entrevistasmadrid.com

The Power of Language

Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of "social technology" that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_pagel_how_language_transformed_humanity.html

Celebrating Diversity

Patricia Ryan talks about the problems of language domination, primarily of English. She expresses very eloquently what I feel, so I'll leave it to her to express these ideas.
 
http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_not_just_english.html

What is the most important thing you need when learning another language?

The Language Boutique asked people the above question to find out what language learners think. The ultimate aim is, of course to improve our services.

* Motivation came out top with 31% of the vote followed by
* A reason with 25%, but as it was pointed out:

"I think motivation and a reason are the same thing really. A reason may be a job or it may be your personal pride, both will get the job done. But we all know that the best reason (or motivation) is throwing yourself into that other country where you have no choice.... the difference between being able to go grocery shopping or not, have friends or not, get by on a daily basis or not is a damn good motivation.."

* A good ear came next with 14,5%, which is something that I personally would love to have.
* Time received 10,4%
* A good teacher with 8,3% surprised me as I had expected it to be higher up the list but I suppose it could be because there is very little a teacher can do without the motivation or a reason to study, but then again a good teacher should be able to motivate and give students a good reason to make the effort.
* lastly with just over 6% came the importance of attention to pronunciation.

What do the blog readers think?
Do you agree with the results or do you have other ideas?

Studying English in the UK

The Language Boutique is an agent for some excellent language schools in the UK,  they have been thoroughly researched by us and chosen for their expertise, location, atmosphere and quality of teaching. 
   
 I spent years being asked to recommend a place in the UK to go and study English and I have also spent an equal amount of time listening to people's stories of their experiences studying; some were very good but I also heard a lot of bad stories, so I decided to make a survey from all this experience and students that I have about what they want and need from a language school. What problems they have had and things that they would like to see improved. It was quite an extensive list; so off I went to the UK to check out various schools in various areas to find out what was on offer and how they were run. The schools that I am an agent for are the ones that I feel I can personally vouch for. Put it simply, they ticked all the boxes and in some of the cases far exceeded my expectations.

I decided on the city of Portsmouth and the surrounding area for many reasons. The first was the most practical of all. The convenience of getting there. By car, it is an hour and a half from London. There is a direct train from Gatwick which takes an hour. It's an hour by bus from Heathrow and you can even go directly by ferry from France and Spain. It's in a beautiful area, surrounded by lush rolling hills and little villages, there are beaches, a lively city with good bars, restaurants and nightlife. It's close to London, as I have said, Brighton, Southampton, Chichester, Winchester, the New Forest and Salisbury so there is a lot of tourism you can do in the area.

Importantly for language learning, there are not many schools which mean there are not as many students as in other places which means that Homestay accomodation can be controlled. Homestay accomodation was the main area of complaint in the UK, of course it's very difficult to please everyone as each person has a different idea and expectation and some are more realistic than others. A problem which I was told about by language schools is that many potential students do not clearly state their expectations of what type of homestay they are hoping for, which means that it can be difficult placing the right person with the right type of family.

However despite this, it still seems that there is a lot of dissatisfaction and I feel that this is probably deserving. Somer of the most popular places to study languages are so inundated with students at certain times of the year, particularly in summer, that they do not have enough families to house all the students, so end up having to rely on people who are only interested in making money and are not interested in giving the student a good experience while they are staying with them in the UK. This is very unfortunate. The reason why Portsmouth is good is the proportionally low number of students in comparison with the population of the area which is very high, language schools can pick and choose who provides accomodation to the students and there are a lot of very strict conditions which the homestays must abide by, meaning that only families which really want to help give the student a complete experience are welcomed.
 Another reason is the very high standards of the schools on offer there.  

We highly recommend the following schools:

LSI is undoubtable one of the best business training languages in the country. LSI are experts in the field of English Language and Professional Communication Training and one of  the top UK Business Language school with over 25 years of experience in the business field, which is accredited by the British Council, IALC and Business English UK. They provide short, intensive courses preparing for a specific area of professional communication, such as: 
Meetings, Negotiations & Presentations
English for Report Writing & Commercial Correspondence
English for Senior Banking & Insurance Personnel
English Language & Computer Applications
English for Professionals in Industrial Psychology. 

They have a variety of programmes available with excellent, professional and qualified teachers, all with business backgrounds. A professional English and Golf programme is also available which is an increasingly popular way to approach a balance between language learning and enjoying your time. As one student Exuperio Diez, Head of Department of Neurology, La Paz Hospital in Madrid says "Excellent. The approach is very practical and the trainers are thorough professionals who adapt the training perfectly to the student"  

The homestay for LSI is purely executive class.

Chichester is a small city just outside Portsmouth, it's just ten minutes away by train on the Gatwick line and is a beautiful, small and historic city founded by the Romans, with many places of interest to visit: Fishbourne Palace, Goodwood, an 11th Century Cathedral, a music and theatre festival surrounded by beautiful countryside, close to the sea and the cities of Portsmouth and Brighton. There are many good restaurants, a lively night life, beaches and marine and sports activities. It is a great place to study and the college has many varied facilities for the student to enjoy.

There are 2 main courses: The year long General English course and the Summer Programme.

There are up to 1000 foreign students at the school throughout the year and they have a huge range of fantastic facilities and the college organises activities to help the students get to know each other. 
The General English course is 15 hours per week delivered in the morning. You will learn English through a balance of activities aimed at improving your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Throughout your programme there will be a strong emphasis on English for Communication. There are options to study extra courses.The programme has been designed to ensure that every student follows a course of study suitable for their level of competence in English. The courses are available to EU citizens of 16 and up and the English Summer School Course is available throughout July and August. Homestay is also provided with careful attention to the suitability of the families but there is also accomodation provided by the college.

If you are interested or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact us via the webpage.

What is the Language Boutique?

The idea of the Language Boutique came about suddenly, actually in a flash of inspiration about what I really wanted to do with my business. I had been turning the idea over and over in my mind for quite a while without coming upon any idea that encapsulated what I wanted to project with my business.

I have to say that I personally like the idea very much.

Simply, as in a clothing boutique; when you would enter and get personal attention and assistance from the shop owner, who would advise you about what items are in season, what items would suit you the best or suit the occasion that you are shopping for, be it a wedding, a date or a business event, and so would be able to pick out something perfect for you and possibly also various items to complement it. I am offering the same detail of service to my clients, but in relation to their language needs; language learning, communication and all aspects related to language, such as, translations, corrections, proof-reading, copy-writing as well as other ways to use and improve your language through business courses aimed at helping clients deal with English in a real-life situation which increases their job marketability.

In the modern age of social networking, so a friend told me, the only way forward in business was by writing a blog. A blog is a good way to get things moving and get my ideas out there.

I set my own company up, basically, because I've been teaching for over 18 years now and I've spoken to a lot of people about ideas for improving language services and I thought I would create something along the lines of what people want and need. It's not as easy as it sounds, people want a lot and it's hard to streamline a service that is simple enough to market without over-complicating itself by offering too much information.
My first attempt at a webpage was precisely that, an amalgamation of everything I could think of to offer and the result was a confusion of too much information. Since then, I've cut it all down and stream-lined it and focused on the more important ideas. It will get stream-lined again, I expect, as some services that I'm offering will be more popular than others and I hope people will give me suggestions or new ideas that I can develop. With luck, things will take off and who knows what direction it will go.

I am going to maintain my position which is the provision of a service that is tailor-made to the client. I will be flexible and go where the demand is to provide what is needed and wanted.

Cambridge Exams

The exam season is almost upon us again.
Well, in reality Cambridge exams take place all year round but the main ones are in May and June. If you are hoping to take one of the exams this summer you really should be making sure that you have a good study programme organized.

The exams available are:
PETS (Preliminary English Test):
A lower intermediate level exam which tests the language skills needed to survive in social and work situations in an English-speaking environment: PET is equivalent to B1 by the Common European Framework CEF)
FCE (First Certificate in English):
An exam at intermediate level, requiring competence in all the language skills. It is widely recognized by business and educational organizations throughout the world. FCE is equivalent with B2 level by the CEF.
CAE (Certificate in Advanced English):
Which indicates an advanced level of competence in English, is suitable for those who require English for professional or study purposes. It is also designed to encourage the development of the skills required to progress towards CPE. CAE is equivalent with C1 level by the CEF.
CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English):
The highest level of the main Cambridge ESOL examinations suite. It is an advanced exam focusing on the English language skills required for entry into British Universities and to meet business or academic standards overseas. CPE is equivalent with C2 level by the CEF.

The most important thing to remember about Cambridge exams is that knowing how to do the exams and what is expected of you is as important as your English ability. Simply having a English level isn't sufficient to pass, you need to be able to demonstrate the grammar forms, vocabulary and expressions demanded at your particular level as well as have an ability to manage and control your discourse both written and spoken. In the grammar paper there is a series of sections which test the flexibility and depth of your grammar knowledge, vocabulary, expressions and the general ability to use English; without training these sections are very difficult to pass.

The best way to pass the Cambridge exams is to enroll on a Cambridge exam preparation course which will teach the best way to tackle each paper. If you have taken one of the Cambridge examinations before, and feel confident that you are familiar with the way in which Cambridge exams work, it could be enough to work from one of the many excellent exam preparation books that are available, as these are usually filled with excellent tips. Additionally, however, the best option would be to find a good experienced teacher especially to help with the writing and speaking parts.

The Language Boutique specializes in helping students pass these exams, we have a good few years experience guiding people through the pitfalls and helping them to brush and tighten up their language. We demand a lot from our students; dedication and hard-work is needed especially for those wanting to do intensive sessions before the exams.

Attitudes to languages

On Saturday it was St.Patrick's Day and I was celebrating with my Irish friends in a bar watching the 6 Nations rugby Tournament. Naturally the bar was packed with English speakers from England, Scotland, Wales and of course Ireland along with French, Italian and for some reason Portuguese people. I say 'for some reason' as Portugal are not in the 6 Nations, so they had turned up to just to enjoy the International atmosphere with some excellent sport thrown in. Spanish people were noticeably absent; admittedly, Spain is not a rugby playing nation, but then neither is Portugal.

This got me thinking about the necessary attitude to language learning that is needed if you want to acquire and use another language - the desire to be international and enjoy sharing your time with people from other nations.  A few Spanish people did turn up later, to celebrate St.Patrick's Day rather than watch the rugby, but they came more with the attitude that they wanted to practise English which didn't really mix well with the atmosphere. It really was not the time or the place to do that, it was not a Language Exchange event where the idea is to practise your language with other people who want to practise too. It was a time to enjoy being with other people regardless of their native language and to enjoy something in common, a sporting event and the National day of Ireland. This is exactly what the Portuguese were doing. The Portuguese were there joining in with what the afternoon was about, and I was impressed by their level of English and by the way they were on the same wavelength as everyone else.

Why is it, then, that the Spanish people who came had more trouble assimilating to the atmosphere? Maybe it's because they are in their own country and the rest of us are abroad and for that reason we automatically think more internationally. It's possibly the case. However, and it's very well-known as many Spanish people have told me, that even when abroad Spanish people tend to stick together and do not mix with people from other nations. I went with a Spanish friend, who speaks excellent English, has travelled and lived abroad, but who sat observing in the corner and commenting on how much the international community mixed together; without realizing that you don't have to be foreign to mix. It is this insular tendency which is problematic for Spanish people in acquiring and using foreign languages. Possibly. It is also because Spanish is such a strong International language that it hinders the desire or the necessity to want to acquire and master another language. Maybe. This is definitely the problem for English speakers.

For me, the Portuguese, in stark contrast to the Spanish, were able to mix perfectly well with all people that afternoon. Why are they so comfortable with speaking English? I think one of the major reasons has to do with that fact that Portuguese TV is not dubbed. Films and TV shows from abroad are shown in the native language with sub-titles meaning that Portuguese people from a very young age are used to hearing other languages, primarily English spoken. From a very young age they are assimilating the language, recognizing it, hearing it, picking it up and learning it. English is not a strange language for them, it is and always has been something every normal for them, so they have the facility and comfort to use it naturally in all situations. Being accustomed to hearing and using another language opens up the mind automatically to the world beyond your native borders, it opens up different cultures and ways of thinking to you that you feel comfortable with; they may be different, you may not like them or agree with them, but you are aware of their existence and this makes it easier to feel comfortable being in an international atmosphere.

Spanish people, on the other hand, have been brought up in an entirely Spanish environment where English is clearly a foreign language to be learned at school or at a Language Academy; it is something different and separate from their normality. It is true that this is changing now in Spain. English teaching in school has been improving a lot and it is possible to put the TV on in the original language, something that was impossible not very long ago. But it is still something that you must choose to do, you actually change the language to be either in English (or whatever language the film is in) or in Spanish, it's not done automatically and for this reason a lot of people do not do it or do it when they need to study. As I have mentioned before in my blog, this tends to create stress and people feel they must understand and so when they don't they lose heart and feel that they will never understand English. Bring used to listening to other languages from birth makes it something normal, thereby avoiding this stress. As for the Portuguese and their obviously different approach to dealing with foreign people on Saturday.

This has a great effect on Spain and especially now that we have an economic crisis with so many people unemployed. I was told, again on Saturday, by someone who works in the Human Resources department of a big company, that they prefer to employ a native English speaker who speaks Spanish; or a foreign person, like a Portuguese who speaks excellent English, than a Spanish person with poor English. I think this is very telling.

Effective Communication

Why is this important?

A long time ago I had a Japanese boyfriend and many people used to ask me if communication was a problem. I didn't speak Japanese when we first met, so all communication was done in English. What people meant when they asked me this was not so much the problem of language as such, but whether the cultural barriers caused a problem for communication between us. They did, and the language difference was not always easy.
However, the thing I learned most from this experience was that all this can be overcome when you have two people who really want to communicate and understand each other. We really listened to each other and actually deeply thought about what the other had said and what they wanted to say, which is not always the same thing with any language combination.

I realized that I had taken a lot for granted, language-wise, in previous relationships. I'm talking about same language and culture relationships. A lot of assumption happens; we presume to know what the other person is saying and we do not listen so carefully when they speak. We will sit and watch TV or think about something else entirely when people talk to us and just guess at their meaning, such as, 'I would react like this in a certain situation so they must mean that they have reacted in the same way' without really listening to know that in fact the person has reacted in a subtle, yet different way.
So, with my Japanese boyfriend, I appreciated the listening and understanding, being listened to and being understood experience. Therefore, I was never bothered by what other people saw as a problem. This type of open, sincere and non-judgmental communication that we had was a very valuable and welcome lesson. Of course, this is a lesson that can be extended to all relationships in life, not just romantic ones. The pitfalls, problems and necessities are the same.

Communication is, basically, the process of sharing information, thoughts and ideas between people through speaking, writing or body-language. To communicate effectively, the 'content' that has to be transmitted to others is required to be received and understood in the same way as it was intended to be. The important goals of, for example, creating a common perception, changing behaviour or acquiring information, all really need to be done effectively to avoid misunderstanding and possible conflict. Of course, this is greatly aided if there is desire on the part of both parties to communicate well and effectively. I am sure that everyone reading this has been in the situation of talking to an unreceptive party, in which there was a need to communicate an idea, thought or concept and it was like talking to a brick wall; emotional barriers were up or simply the idea was too much for the other person to comprehend and it just didn't go in or the other person didn't want to let the idea in. It is an incredibly frustrating experience but there are many methods and tricks for dealing with situations like these to open up the possibility of effective communication which I will talk about in later blogs.

Today, I want to focus on situations in which both parties are open to communication and the only need is to do it effectively.

There are various parts to the communication process which need to be considered; the components, the context, body language, interference and active listening. I will talk about them one at a time.
It is a good idea to consider the components of communication, which is, what is involved in the process of communicating. Someone explained these to me by way of a loop analogy; The act of communication begins with an internal processing about the information or feelings that you want to share with someone: this is the 'encoding'. After this, the message is sent to the other person through either spoken or written words. Then, at the other side of the communication is the receiving and interpreting of what has been sent: this is the 'decoding'. The recipient can and should confirm receipt of the message to the sender by some form of feedback or summary, thereby closing the communication loop. It is important always to remember that communication is always two-sided - the speaker and the listener both of whom have an important part to play.

The importance of considering the context, in which the communication will occur, is that it greatly improves the effectiveness of communication. By considering who your listener is enables the speaker to choose appropriate vocabulary to suit the situation and recipient. To give an exaggerated example to illustrate my point, it would be silly to go into kindergarten to teach a group of toddlers using the same vocabulary and mannerisms that you would use with University students. However, there are situations where more sublety is needed, for example, it is necessary to think about regional or cultural differences, sex, language, intellectual level, experience and so on of the recipients and formulate your language accordingly. I mentioned in a previous blog about doing business presentations abroad and illustrated the problems of not adjusting the language to a foreign audience where English was a second language.

Body Language is, especially in the English-speaking world, very under-rated. However, this non-verbal form of communication which includes posture, position of hands and arms, eye contact and facial expression is even more important than the spoken word. Our minds, subconsciously, put more importance on the interpretation of this than a lot of us realize. Look at these statistics to prove it :- Communication is 7% Words, 38% Tonality; which is how you say these words, for instance emphasis but 55% Body Language; which is what your body is expressing whilst you are saying these words. Simply, body language that is in tune with the verbal content improves understanding. Conversely, inconsistent body language confuses the listener about the real intent of the message. It could, in fact, be transmitting an entirely different and contradictory message. For example, a boss to a subordinate, "I really want to hear your opinion on this." said with arms folded tightly across the chest, or whilst texting a message on his mobile or whilst looking out the window. The body language is entirely incongruous to the spoken message and so the message received would probably be more influenced by the body language than by the words used. To communicate effectively, the content of the message and the body language need to be giving the same message.

Emotions play an important role in communication as emotions interfere with the effectiveness of our communication. Anger, for example, negatively affects both sides' ability to send and receive effective messages. Strong emotions act as walls or filters and facilitate the misinterpretation of what was intended. Therefore it is essential to consider possible emotions and barriers; both language and conceptual before embarking on communication.

Effective communication is a reciprocal process that includes the listener. This is very often forgotten in many cultures. In the Western world the emphasis of communication is usually on the speaker to make himself understood, and so it is necessary to elicit questions from the listeners to check if they have, in fact, understood. In Japan, however, the listener has responsibility to understand the speaker, but there is no culture of question-asking as this would infer that the speaker was not doing a good job. Neither way encourages the idea of active-listening. Successful listening requires eye contact, objective-processing and feedback to the speaker. Active-listening involves asking questions to clarify points, restating what you have heard to assure that the intent of the message sent has been correctly received. This is particularly important when the communication involves emotional content.

We can only really begin to communicate effectively when we consider all these different elements. It would be wonderful if we always used effective communication in all circumstances, but unfortunately a lot of people in a lot of situations just don't have the time to sit down and consider all of these factors before they speak. Having said that, once you start to consider these points, it becomes easier to get into the habit.  It will not happen all at once, but little by little it is possible to notice a change in tone of the conversations. Mainly, people consider effective communication in a business-setting to start with. Especially with issues such as how can I get my message across in the best way, how can I get the best from my subordinates, how can I negotiate with the team visiting from abroad with whom I need to renew the important contract.
In general, how can I make the most of myself and get the best from every situation, not just for myself but for all members of the conversation. It is the realization that communication is a mutually beneficial experience and once this realization occurs the effectiveness of communication improves immensely.