Professional benefits of a second language

Most global operations use English to communicate. 

As you rise up your career ladder, it might be wise to learn another language or two.

Multilingual skill are prized by high-level executives in global companies. CEOs who are native speakers of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew or Japanese are running U.S. companies today. They also speak English, of course. But your being able to communicate in their mother tongues is a definite career plus.

And when a manager decides whether to promote one of two people with identical technical skills, the better communicator is more likely to get the nod.

In a global corporate environment, speaking the language of both your competition and your colleagues will translate into significant business and career advantages. It's never too late.  

As a busy business professional, it's not always easy to find time to start learning another language. However, using the TELL ME MORE® method has helped me increase my Spanish proficiency in a tremendous way. The TELL ME MORE® communicative approach has enabled me to engage in business conversations with my Spanish speaking clients but also to understand their culture thanks to the authentic material embedded in the solution. Moreover, TELL ME MORE®  partnership with the Associated Press and Euronews exposes the learner to a variety of topics from the target language countries, updated weekly.

With the addition of Chinese online in 2012,  TELL ME MORE® is definitely must-have for any global minded professional.

For more information, visit www.tellmemore.com

Africa's dark age

During the period of euphoria and celebration following President Obama election,  many people of black African descent felt a renewed sense of pride. However, when I look at subsaharian Africa today, I find it very difficult to boast about anything.

The most obvious area where Africa continue to lag is in the field of science and technology. There can be no doubt. The black African man has been virtually absent where innovations in science and technology are concerned. Indeed, if it were not for the scientific and technological innovations of others, we would all die of starvation.

However, it is not only the scientific and technological innovations of others that millions of African lives depend on. Whenever one thinks of famine or economic failure, the first place that comes to mind is black Africa. Somalia and other parts of East Africa are now in the midst of a terrible famine. Millions have died in wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and other states. Zimbabwe and Cameroon are prime examples of how nations should never be governed.

Many African people were better off as subjects of a European empire than they are as citizens of their own countries. There is not a single strong black nation today. South Africa was built by white apartheid; we blacks only provided the labour, so it doesn’t count.

While others former third world nations in Asia or Latin America have taken control of their destiny and are moving forward, many Africans on the other hand, continue to live in the past. An outdated need for reparations for colonization or slavery continues to sustain a victim mentality and a desire to draw pity. Many still believe that the rest of the world owes them something.

When French president Nicolas Sarkozy came to power in 2007, he made a pledge to modernize France often opaque relations with their former black African colonies. After a visit to Dakar, he came under fierce criticism, from many African intellectuals for a speech he made.

"The tragedy of Africa is that the African has not fully entered into history ... They have never really launched themselves into the future...The African peasant only knew the eternal renewal of time, marked by the endless repetition of the same gestures and the same words," he said. "In this realm of fancy ... there is neither room for human endeavour nor the idea of progress."

Sarkozy spoke the truth. But that is a truth that a majority of Africans would not acknowledge. To my African fellows I say "the truth shalls set you free".

Great peoples think great things. Many Africans, on the other hand, continue to think small. That is why some  may believe that they are great when they produce record-breaking athletes, renowned musicians and other entertainers. Many Africans continue to see the building of strong and influential nations and great accomplishments in the sciences as feats others must do.

In other words, as long as some of us continue to think like children, until we some of us are prepared to grow up Africa will never emerge from its dark age.

Why business owners in emerging countries should consider establishing a presence in the US

There is no question, that there are good reasons to get your business physically established in the United States – but what are the major points? A motivation to establish an operation of that dimension is typically derived from a variety of factors. Unless you are operating in a pure non-profit organization, the major motivation for every business should be to generate, grow and maintain revenues and profits. Everything else is more or less directly derived from those objectives. When it comes to establishing an US operation, some reason to get started in this market could be any of the Top 7 factors below.

1 - Visibility in the US market: Many companies may have had past success by simply exporting some of their products to the United States. However, clients in the United States are typically very America-centric. That does not mean that they are refusing to work with foreigners, but it is expected that companies doing business in the United States have an on-site location with an American address. Often a non-US address is equivalent with being non-existent.

2 - Addressing the biggest domestic market in the world:There are no doubts that the United States is offering huge market potentials. Hundreds or even thousands of companies are selling products into the same markets your products could fit in. Would you want to leave that field for your competition?

3 - Improving your international reputation: Business is global and all writings on the wall are saying that business is getting more global every single day. When competing in the international market place it is highly beneficial to be able to outline an international strategy. Think about typical customers: they may have locations – or even their headquarters – in the United States. It could be some serious hurdle in projects if you are not having any local representation in the United States.

4 - Balancing profits and risks: How will your home country or continent will develop over the next decade(s)? What are the long-term perspectives of your country in comparison to the United States? Nobody can predict future developments exactly, but some basic thoughts with unbiased information about both countries should give some ideas in which directions each country may develop.

5 - Improving economics of scale: An additional business unit in the United States can improve the way given resources are utilized. The new operation can for example deliver important first-hand data about new trends in the United States. A large portion of marketing materials and presentations can be used from one another. The overall leveraging of resources is typically greater with a business operation in a different country. Setting up an operation in another country is never equivalent with hiring some extra persons or create a new business unit in the respective home country. Its impacts are far greater and the potential benefits too.

6 - Be closer to the "market makers": America is often considered as a market-maker in some key industries. A lot of leading developments are having their origin in America and influence the markets vastly. Even with the Internet where information and developments could spread worldwide within a couple of seconds; being at the source is always an advantage.

7 - More positive environment to do business in: America is the land of the entrepreneurs. Success in business is highly appreciated and socially awarded whereas the same success in other countries is often getting punished by higher taxes and endless debates about "social fairness". There is far less government control and restrictions in the United States as in other countries. Of course there are a large number of regulations, bureaucracy and serious tendencies to market regulations. Labor Unions for example are having important influences in various states. Still, business and personal taxation are low; redistribution of income is not hurting as bad as in other countries and paying into (as well as benefiting from) socialized systems is far more a question of choice than in any other county.

Fitting the Pieces Together

I don’t believe my view of how I learn has changed much, however I have deeper understanding of the different theories and can see that my learning style can change based on what it is that I am learning. Originally my view of my learning style gravitated toward the Constructivism Theory. According to Etmer & Newby (1993), “Constructivism is a theory that equates learning with creating meaning from experience” (p. 62). I still believe this to be true, however a deeper understanding of Social constructivism, supported my understanding of why this is true for me. Social constructivist scholars emphasize that individuals make meaning through interactions they have with each other and with the environment they live in (Kim, 2001). It is true that I can learn from reading something or listening to a lecture, but I still construct that learning using my previous experiences to support further understanding.

As I continued to study the various learning theories and learning styles, I became more convinced that I learn best using Constructivism, although I may incorporate aspects of other learning styles depending on what I am learning.

Technology plays an integral role in my learning. It is actually hard to imagine a world without the various technologies we have available to us today, and yet my earlier learning occurred in just that type of world. Distinct from my past schooling, I have not stepped in to a library in over ten years. Just about any piece of information that I am interested in acquiring can now be found using the internet from my home. Every day I use a computer to enhance my learning. I can keep up on new ideas in my field of interest through blogs, websites, search engines, etc. I can find out what is happening in the lives of some of my friends through social networking sites and email. I can read about what is happening in the world through news websites. If I discover information that I want to keep a record of, I can tag it to find later. Technology has opened up a world of information all available at my finger tips, making the learning possibilities not only endless, but easier to acquire

References:

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–71.

Kim, B. (2001). Social constructivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Social_Constructivism

Reflection

I used to learn best through printed material and then I would memorize concepts.  I wasnt the easiest thing to do especially considering that as I moved up in grades or classes, the volume of material also grew. I remember the sleepless nights I had going through hundreds of pages, memorizing some of the content, for some I made connection with past experience while for others I developed a pictoral framework to aid retention.  With the introduction of technology, my learning has been revolutionized. Instead of sitting as an empty vessel waiting to be filled or having headaches going through pages of books, my learning has taken on the format of exploring.  My network has changed learning from ‘old’ boring ways of ‘beating up’ my brain to acquire and retain information to one that is fun, fun, and more fun.  As my learning network expands so has my horizon.  I am no longer a passive learner but an active learner.  I am more engaged in meaningful research, online communication, learning about and using unfamiliar software packages. I am now better able to critically analyze situations and come to more constructive decision making.

Some of the digital learning tools that facilitate my learning include: word processing, databases, spreadsheets, graphics programs, and desktop publishing, web 2.0, reference database, educational blogs, RSS feed, social network, e-portfolio, and multimedia content sharing.  The tools provide rich and flexible ways to represent what I want to learn.  Other ways in which these digital tools facilitate my learning:

• Support productive thinking
• Consists of designs and the environments that require my participation
• Learner controlled so I can access learning material at any time convenient to me and learn at my own pace.
• Help me to build more meaningful personal interpretations and representation of the real world
• Collaborate with others

I find questions to be powerful in the learning process. I gain new knowledge by asking persons who are credible in the field.  For example, if I have a medical question then I seek answer from a medical doctor. It I have a math question, I do not go asking the language teacher, I find the math specialist.  From the answer given, I become very critical so as to make sense of the important points before actually storing the details.  Internally generated questions aid my retention.  Questions point to ‘holes’ in my knowledge and memory structures and are critical for indexing the information that I attain when I develop an answer for that question.

Connectivism refers to the capacity to form connections between sources of information, and thereby create useful information patterns, is required to learn in our knowledge economy. The theory of connectivism is disputed by many people.  With an indepth study of its underlying principles, I am of the view that connectivism supports my personal learning network. Based on the things that I have already learnt, technology further enhances the learning process.  In addition, internal as well as external knowledge is used to concretize new ideas in the mind.  When I carefully think of connectivism in this context, I can safely say I have used personal experiences combined with technology to enhance understanding of new ideas.

Connectivism

Evaluating and Identifying Online Resources

I found two intersting articles in the Walden Library database. The first one is  When the Brain Breaks Down by Richard Monatersky and James M. Lang's A Brain and a Book.
These two article have in common the fact that they talk about the relation between the brain and the learning process. Monatersky is showing how some neuropatics disorders affect the brain processing information capabilities, even in previously gifted students. Although learning disorders occur in very young children, they are usually not recognized until the child reaches school age. Evaluation and testing by a trained professional can help identify a learning disorder. The next step is special education, which involves helping your child in the areas where he or she needs the most help. Learning disorders do not go away, but strategies to work around them can make them less of a problem. On the other hand, Lang while ackonwledging that technology integration in the classromm is appropriate for this modern times and can enhance the way teachers help learners, we should not take overlook traditional methods and cognitive theorries as they relate to learning processes.