How Many Spanish Dialects Are There?

How Many Spanish Dialects Are There?

Over half a billion people speak Spanish. Spanish is also the national language in 20 countries and one dependent territory. With its global reach, it’s no surprise that the language has variations across diverse regions and countries. Understanding the number of dialects is vital for native speakers, educators, linguists, and language learners as it impacts […]

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Language Testing for Interpreters

Language Testing for Interpreters

Language proficiency testing helps individuals start their journey toward becoming certified interpreters. It also helps individuals demonstrate language proficiency to prospective employers and makes it easier for employers to evaluate prospective candidates’ language skills.  Using a reliable and valid language proficiency test helps companies ensure they hire the most qualified candidates. A language proficiency test […]

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What Is the Easiest Language to Learn for English Speakers?

What Is the Easiest Language to Learn for English Speakers?

Becoming proficient in a second language enables you to connect with other cultures and demographics, can boost your cognitive abilities, and is a means to expand your linguistic repertoire. However, some languages can be more complex to learn than others. If you’re an English speaker who wants to become bilingual, you may be interested to […]

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The Linkage Between Productivity and Language Proficiency

Is your organization grappling with a significant discrepancy between the language proficiency skills of your employees and the language needs your company relies on to do business? Offering language support to employees, especially when language proficiency plays a critical role in your company operations, is a vital step that can greatly impact the organization’s productivity. […]

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Enhance Your Organizational Culture with an Effective Language Policy

What are the key elements to consider when developing and establishing guidelines and practices regarding language usage? A language policy outlines a company’s approach to multilingual communication. It can help to ensure consistency across the organization. The specifics of your policy will depend on the nature of the industry and some local context. It must […]

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Beyond Language Tests: How ACTFL Certificates Elevate Your Hiring Process

In today’s globalized business landscape, having employees with strong language skills is a tremendous asset. Determining an individual’s language proficiency can be a challenging task for employers. This is where the ACTFL assessments shine, offering a multitude of advantages that make them the ultimate choice for verifying the language skills of bilingual and multilingual employees […]

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Finding a Reliable Language Service Provider that Best Suits Your Organization

In today’s multilingual and multicultural economy, businesses often require a language service provider (LSP) to bridge their foreign language skills gap. According to the Association of Language Companies (ALC), globalization as well as immigration are contributing to the continued growth of the language services industries. “Effective communication helps any type of organization improve their customer/patient […]

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The Pitfalls of Relying on Interviews to Evaluate Bilingual Candidates’ Language Skills

Bilingual and multilingual employees are an asset for any business as they help companies communicate effectively with people with different backgrounds and cultures. However, it’s important to make sure that the candidates for bilingual roles possess the required language proficiency to be able to perform in the roles. Additionally, relying solely on what someone puts […]

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Using Metrics to Enhance Your Multilingual Business Approach

In today’s business environment, all companies are operating within a multilingual economy where diversity prevails. The continuous demand for foreign language skills across most industries, as revealed in a survey conducted for ACTFL by Ipsos with the support of Language Testing International (LTI) and Pearson, underscores the undeniable advantage of having an effective multilingual business […]

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Preparing Employees for New Endeavors in Domestic and International Markets

One of the most valuable investments companies can make in today’s globalized economy is to improve their employees’ language skills in another language as well as their cultural awareness. There are a plethora of language training and development programs to choose from for businesses who are seeking to improve their workforce communication skills and effectively […]

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