Is Language Translation of Services a New Banking Trend?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is ordering GE Capital Retail Bank (GE Capital), known as Synchrony Bank, to “cough up” $225 million to consumers who were victims of illegal and discriminatory credit card practices. GE Capital must refund $56 million to approximately 638,000 customers who were subject to these deceptive marketing practices.

In light of these developments many banks and financial institutions are taking steps to protect themselves against increasing regulations initiated by the CFPB for not providing services and disclosures in the target language of their customers. One way would be to translate such items in the specific, native language of its customers. This could likely become a trend and a best practices standard for the banking and financial markets. Outside of the risk of potential fines for unintentionally misleading customers, taking this action will better ensure a more positive customer experience for consumers who speak any language.

Click here to read the full article on CFPB’s fine to GE Capital Water Slide Sea Tema.

Using Language To Land The Job

As the economy continues to slowly improve and unemployment levels drop, more and more jobseekers are finding the task of getting hired less daunting. Unemployment rates in the United States decreased to 5.40 percent in April of 2015 from 5.50 percent a month earlier. This trend signals a slow yet steadily growing confidence in the economy and a positive future outlook from many companies. Now that doesn’t mean a new job will fall into your lap. You’ll still need to get noticed and recruiters, like Michael Ziegelbaum, of Infinity Consulting Solutions in Manhattan says, “Employers are always looking for that extra something in a candidate, even if it’s not required for the role”. That “extra something” could be anything from being proficient in graphic design to even speaking a second language. “These are all things most candidates will leave off a resume, especially if the role doesn’t specifically call for it and that’s a big mistake”, according to Ziegelbaum.
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A Second Language Can Be Your Hidden Asset

Outside of looking for a job, you’ll find that many current jobseekers won’t have the same educational backgrounds, industry experience or job descriptions. However, approximately two-thirds of them do have one thing in common.

Over 31% of jobseekers speak two languages, according to a poll of over 12,000 visitors to the Korn/Ferry International website. An additional 20% speak three languages, 9% speak four languages and 4% speak more than four. Whether companies are conducting business overseas or trying to obtain a larger market share locally, employers are increasingly seeking out bilingual employees, or people with the ability to speak and communicate in more than one language. In fact, a recent CareerBuilder.com keyword search turned up more than 6,000 job postings seeking bilingual applicants.
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Connecting With The Hispanic Market Through Language & Culture

Corporate America has awakened to the monumental importance of the Hispanic consumer and their growing purchasing power, which by end of this year is estimated to reach between $1-$1.5 trillion dollars. Companies are realizing this is a market that can’t be ignored and that if they don’t act now the chance to capture it may be lost. Those who’ve succeeded, went well beyond simply translating English copy into their native language on their website and marketing collateral. These companies expanded their strategy from merely targeting the Hispanic consumer to exploring the cultural characteristics and values that would drive them to trust their brand.
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The Importance of a Writing Proficiency Assessment

Are your employees or potential candidates in need of a writing proficiency assessment? Many candidates come to corporations offering language skills in multiple languages. How do you know, however, if those skills will match the needs of your company? Competing in a global market place – or even just domestically – requires that your employees have the best language skills possible and those skills may even vary from position to position within your company. You may need call center employees with excellent verbal and listening skills. You may also require technical writers that have a strong grasp of English or even other languages for translation abilities. Of the many language skills that employers feel they need to test for employee proficiency, writing is often considered one of the most important and also the hardest to assess. Even proficient language speakers may not be as proficient in the written word as they are verbally and so the writing proficiency assessment can be vitally important.
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Speaking Proficiency Tests

Countless organizations benefit greatly from having multilingual employees. However, there is only one tried and true method of ensuring that your employees have the language skills you need to stand out – Language Testing International’s speaking proficiency tests. As the only company to be licensed by the world-renowned American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), only we at LTI possess the combination of decades of experience and cutting-edge technology to provide the most accurate and reliable speaking proficiency tests you can find.
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Spanish Proficiency Tests Can Help you Correctly Place your Employees

Are you looking to certify that your employees speak a much needed language? Spanish proficiency tests with Language Testing International can help. Being multilingual is a valuable skill for modern employees, particularly as the prevalence of other native languages within our own borders increases and particularly as the need to compete in a global market rises. One of the most commonly needed second languages is Spanish, but while many employees will note an ability to speak Spanish on their resumes, you must be certain that your employees can use the language appropriately and competently to ensure your business image. Spanish proficiency tests with Language Testing International are a way to screen your employees or potential candidates for their language abilities both in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
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Spanish Proficiency Exams

Whatever type of Spanish proficiency exam you may be looking for, rest assured that Language Testing International will have the perfect one to meet your needs. While the reasons for seeking Spanish-language certification may be many, we at LTI are the only company licensed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). As such, only we are able to offer the most accurate and reliable Spanish proficiency exams on the market.
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Spanish Language Tests that Measure Ability Rather than Surface Knowledge

Multilingual employees are a great asset to any company or institution today. Spanish language tests to verify proficiency in Spanish are one way that you can ensure that your employees are suitably proficient for professional use of Spanish in your group or company. Particularly with the rise of Spanish-speaking citizens in the United States, and with consistent interaction in a global market, organizations and corporations are under more pressure than ever to ensure that not only are their employees multi-lingual, but that they are proficiently multi-lingual. Employees may be tempted, in this competitive market, to note that they are proficient in a language because of conversational or basic language knowledge. However, professional competency is a far cry from knowing several words or phrases in a language and it is vital that companies be able to place their candidates and employees accurately. Spanish language tests, and other language tests, from Language Testing International can help both you and your employees assess language skills for the best placements and job practices.
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Spanish Language Proficiency Exam

One of the best ways to test the acquisition of a second language is LTI’s Spanish language proficiency exam. As the exclusive test provider for ACTFL, known as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language, you can trust Language Testing International’s variety of tests to measure the competency and skill of your Spanish skills. Tests are measured on two metrics; validity and reliability – this means that if a test is entirely accurate, it is considered a valid test. A reliable test is one where the measurement results actually measure the skill in question – and moreover, do so correctly across multiple tests and test takers.
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