Archive for November 2013

Friday 29 November 2013
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Teaching a Second Language: Adjusting the Approach for Different Students



Teaching second languages is an extremely challenging job yet it is highly rewarding.  Apart from all of the preparation that is required to become a second language teacher including educational studies, the art of mastering teaching requires understanding and adjusting your style to differences that exist from classroom to classroom.  It can be a struggle to teach a new language to students because typically a classroom will have multiple students, all of which come with unique linguistic backgrounds, potentially varying ethnic and geographical origins, ages, educational backgrounds and motivations for language learning, as well as different learning styles.  Given all this variability in students, it is absolutely vital that teachers of second languages effectively understand who comprises their class and what the most efficient method of teaching may be.
 
There are four main theoretical orientations to second language learning and teaching in terms of approaches: 1) Cognitive which includes memorization and teaching generalized language information; 2) Communicative which focuses on actual practical use of language and learning to speak in what is often seen as the “natural” way; 3) Interpersonal which is focused or targeted personalized teaching by the teacher to the student given the learner’s background and reasons for studying; and 4) Structural which is about learning the grammar and structure of a language in order to better understand how the language works.

A strong teacher of a second language will take the four approaches above and find an appropriate mix of them in order to effectively teach their class.  For example, for a class full of small children learning Spanish whose first language is English and all have relatively similar backgrounds and reasons for being in the class, the most effective may be communicative teaching.  This is because young children often get bored with complicated memorization and they are not advanced enough in academics for the structural approach, whereas their aptitude for learning due to age is strong and children are known to learn languages well through exposure from interaction alone.  

However, if you are teaching Portuguese to a class of adults looking to one day master Portuguese to English translation or Spanish to a student aspiring to become a professional Spanish to English translator, the methodology for teaching these students should change drastically to include all four abovementioned approaches.  Ultimately, second language teaching can only be effectively accomplished when the teaching approach is adapted to each individual student or group of students to best suit their needs, learning styles and unique backgrounds.
Wednesday 27 November 2013
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What translation companies look for.



Translation skills require an excellent command of the native language and an excellent working knowledge of the source language from which the translator will translate. It is always appropriate to translate into the mother tongue. And why is this? Well, think about how this: how often have you come across written communications that don’t quite make sense – this is most common with instruction manuals – or received an email written in English but with multiple spelling and stylistic mistakes? It’s probably happened quite often.

What if the email is written by a translator seeking employment from a translation company and the translator offers to translate from English into another language? Well, let’s turn the scenario around to start with. If a person translates into English, it is only reasonable to expect native proficiency in English just as if he or she were to offer translation from English to Arabic, for instance, you would expect native Arabic proficiency.

When the proposal is to translate from English, a high level of fluency is expected, near native ideally, but the odd awkward sounding expression is forgivable since 100% native proficiency in 100% of all speakers of a foreign language, whether they use the language or languages professionally or casually, is unrealistic and quite frankly, unattainable for the most part.

A translation company priding itself in providing quality services and consistently high standards will be aware of this and not discriminate unnecessarily. The applicant’s experience, qualification and references will facilitate the company’s decision as to whether or not to give that individual a chance. 

Nonetheless, this will be unlikely to happen where the application contains obvious errors on every, or almost every, line. This may be due to simple typing errors rather than lack of competence or knowledge of the source (English) language. However, where this is the case, it is worse for the professional, competent linguist potentially responsible for the applicant’s recruitment to see this as it manifestly demonstrates a lack of care and pride in one’s service.  

If you double check what you write in your native language, you should as a minimum triple check what you write in your other language or languages. This should happen even if you have years of experience working in or speaking the language that is not your mother tongue. Serious translation companies want to see attention to detail, care and pride in written communications from potential collaborators as much as translation company clients want to see this in the service they receive.

Monday 25 November 2013
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Learning to be a translator



Once you have decided that translation is the field of work you are interested in, there are many things that should be considered in order to become the most effective translator possible.  The following tips are relevant regardless of whether you choose to focus on Russian translation, German translation, Spanish translation or others.  One of the most important areas you should pay particular attention to is building your academic background and personal experience with languages to set you up for success in your career.

First, it is absolutely vital that anyone looking to dive into the field of translation prepare themselves adequately with work experience where possible and a relevant educational background in the chosen languages, translation and the area of linguistics.   The translator will need to speak a minimum of two languages fluently, though knowing two or more foreign languages is ideal.  In addition, a translator’s native language must typically be the sharpest because it is more often than not going to be the destination language that they will translate text or speech into.  Thus, consider refining your skills in your mother tongue in order to become a more effective and precise translator.

Next, decide what it is you would like to translate and try to narrow it down somewhat specifically because this will affect your preparation.  For example, if you want to be a Spanish to English translator and work in legal translation, you will need to focus on your abilities in Spanish and English as well as on your knowledge of law and legal terminology in both languages.

Lastly, get out there and work or volunteer!  You will need experience to both give you credibility and practice before you jump into your career.  One great option for doing this is going abroad because there are numerous opportunities around the world in translation that are also incredible for immersion experiences.  Set yourself up for success with a strong academic background first and then gain work experience in order to become a well-rounded, well-educated and reliable translator.
Location: Europe
Wednesday 20 November 2013
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A lighthearted take on multilingualism

Other than numerous work opportunities available to the multilingual and qualified, there is also a more light-hearted side to having a flair for language. Take holidays and travel, for instance. The experiences encountered are generally richer and more varied than those of fellow travellers or holiday-makers who don't speak the local language. If food is high on your list of priorities when travelling, then you'll be delighted with the culinary benefits that await you especially if you try to avoid the standard tourist food to be found. Being able to ascertain exactly what something is, what it's served with, request a slight variation or an explanation as to ingredients facilitates and enhances the dining out experience. It's also useful if you have special dietary requirements and avoids any nasty surprises or worse. Therefore, if you're not naturally gifted in the language department but are keen to communicate in the local vernacular, learning or simply noting some culinary terms will be extremely handy.

The cultural benefits are also plentiful and local knowledge far outweighs the information frequently encountered in guide books. A conversation with a friendly local curious to know where you are from will often lead to tales of local events and personalities, many times coupled with a desire to gossip and offer words of advice to foreign visitors. True-to-life insights can only be gained from those who are not being paid to glamorize and resort to excessive adjectives.

The knowledge gained from reading local literature, informative signage with no English language translation and other information as well as from verbal communication enhances the experience of foreign travel and allows a deeper understanding of history, culture and traditions on top of simply discovering local habits.

In terms of travel, being multilingual means getting more for your money. The multilingual traveller gains the enjoyment of communicating in his or her acquired language, making acquaintances and the ability to see things from a different perspective not only to that previously held but to that held by other mono-lingual travellers.

Nonetheless, as with everything in life, there is a rarely an advantage without a disadvantage for once it becomes known that you are the one that can hold a conversation in the local language, you expose yourself to the risk of being targeted by the local hanger-on or street vendors. Therefore, knowing when to be open about your ability to communicate should also be high on the list of skills to acquire when contemplating putting your language skills into practice.  
 
 
Location: Europe
Monday 11 November 2013
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Knowing your Chinese

Have you ever watched a film and heard someone who's supposed to be British speaking in a British accent unlike any you've ever heard before? Like the character playing the Yorkshire miner who sounds more Welsh-come-Irish or the London Air Force officer who sounds more South African-come-French? And that's the lighthearted end of the scale.

So many of us have bought a product, read the instructions only to scratch our heads and exclaim how it could be in Chinese for all the sense it makes. Well, that's often because the instruction manual has been translated from Chinese by an inexperienced individual, probably working for peanuts, or, far worse than that, translated using an automated translation tool.

Well, I've never been to China but I can only imagine poor Chinese people in the same position as myself now and again, wondering what nonsense they're reading when trying to work out how to set up the electronic gizmo they just bought for their home. Far worse it must be for the Chinese person watching a film or TV show with someone allegedly from Guandong speaking in their native Mandarin. (Picked up on that?)


These casual examples highlight the importance of hiring a serious translation professional whatever your line of work and whatever you produce. An English to Chinese translation must be carried out by a native speaker of the relevant Chinese dialect, that is Mandarin or Cantonese, only the latter being spoken in Guangdong.

Don't take the chance of looking amateurish by hiring the cheapest possible provider. Take a look at the English to Chinese translation page of our website for a brief overview of what to consider when you require Chinese language work.
Thursday 7 November 2013
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Translation from English to Arabic

Well, we've had a busy week updating our website to accommodate a little background on some of the languages we offer and the first update concerns translation from English to Arabic.

Take a look at the content and feel free to have your say. All comments are welcome!

Translations2u is the public name for Language Matters Worldwide Ltd, a UK based company with clients from the Americas, Europe and the Middle and Far East.
Tuesday 5 November 2013
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Second Language Acquisition



Language is something that influences us from the time we are born.  We grow up listening to our family, friends and complete strangers speaking in various tongues and become familiar with new sounds, accents and vocabularies as a result of this exposure.  Typically, we start off with one true first language which will serve as our dominant language, although there are definitely exceptions such as when people relocate or study in a different language than what is spoken in their home.

However, this is not where most individuals’ linguistic journeys end.  With the increased exposure to different languages due to globalization, immigration and emigration, interest and educational requirements, many people are learning additional languages to their first.  Sometimes, second language acquisition happens without even being intentional.  Such unplanned learning can happen easily; we watch TV shows, listen to friends or strangers on the street speak in other languages or read an advertisement in another language and without even trying, we learn bits and pieces of new languages.   While such learning does not necessarily result in near native fluency, it is second language learning and it is relevant in the story behind each person’s linguistic background.

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is a process that occurs when a person explores beyond their first language (L1) and begins to learn a second language (L2).  (It is important to note that SLA is also used to refer to the linguistic study of the process of acquiring a second language.)  Learning a second language is an enriching experience.  It knocks down language barriers and allows people to communicate with those of different backgrounds, opens up whole new worlds of culture and music and can be extremely convenient when travelling or meeting new friends.  Speaking a second language means a person possesses the powerful ability to express themselves and have others express themselves in an entirely different language.

Yet, the process is not simple and the experience of learning a new language varies from person to person.  Our ability to learn new languages including their accents, structures and vocabularies stems from a combination of our linguistic backgrounds and our sociocultural or non-linguistic backgrounds.  First, our linguistic background dictates the simplicity with which we may acquire new language skills through factors such as past exposure to foreign languages or the L2, closeness of our L1 to our L2 (i.e. two Latin languages), etc.    In addition, there are non-linguistic or sociocultural factors that may affect our ability to learn an L2 including our age, aptitude, motivation, perception or perceived prestige of the L2, self-confidence, geographical location, etc. 

All human beings have complex linguistic backgrounds, regardless of the number of languages they speak fluently or conversationally in.  Our personal history, linguistic history and present situation all come together to strongly dictate how smoothly our individual processes of second language acquisition will go.  For this very reason, there are extremely different success rates across different individuals and the process of SLA varies significantly in every unique situation.  Acquiring a second language is not easy.  It requires a driving force such as necessity, motivation or skill as well as an appropriate linguistic and non-linguistic background, depending on the level of fluency one aims to achieve.  Honestly, Second Language Acquisition can be an extremely daunting process.   Does it involve significant amounts of time, commitment and personal challenges?  The answer is yes, but the end result is so incredibly worth it. 
Saturday 2 November 2013
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What is 5th November to the average Brit?

Is 5th November, otherwise known as Guy Fawkes Night, a religious statement and/or a celebration of terrorism? This author would describe its significance to the many British and those of British descent in other parts of the world as akin to Christmas celebrations in a certain sense. This is so as a great number of individuals see Christmas as a purely commercial holiday rather than any form of religious celebration and that is the link with Guy Fawkes Night which is seen as an excuse to get out of the family home and do something different and fun in the community.

So, why would participating in such an event as setting off fireworks and setting alight a bonfire be a religious statement and/or a celebration of terrorism? Briefly, events of the night between 4th and 5th November 1605 saw the failed attempt by a group of discontented Catholics, including one Guy Fawkes, to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London whilst the King was present with the aim of overthrowing the Protestant monarchy and ensuring the end of discrimination against the Catholic population of Britain.

Among those concerned to consider contemporary practices of burning a “guy”, an effigy of Guy Fawkes, on a bonfire are those who mistakenly suggest that Fawkes was sentenced to death by burning. In fact, bonfires were lit on 5th November 1605 by supporters of the monarch in celebration of the news that he was still alive. It was not until some time later that “guys” or stuffed home made dummies were thrown onto the bonfire to be burnt.

It was much later again that fireworks began to be set off in addition to the traditional bonfire and although some see this practice as closely connected with the anticipated explosions to be caused in Parliament, this belief is incorrect. The days leading up to 5th November often see children make their guys and push them around in wheelbarrows, calling at houses asking for “a penny for the guy”. If their requests are successful, the children will often buy fireworks or quite simply sweets with the collected money.

So, all in all, 5th November, Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night, is generally a British tradition celebrated in a light-hearted manner and certainly not an expression of government opposition or religious hatred.

Do you have similar traditions in your country? If so, what are they? What do you think of this British early winter event?