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How long does it take to learn a language?
By Dr. Katharine B. Nielson –Another question I get asked all the time is how long it takes to learn a language. And my answer–which no one likes–is “it depends.” But there are no easy
Teaching the right thing
By Dr. Katharine B. Nielson –As anyone who’s ever tried to learn a language can attest, it’s not easy. I don’t know how many times I’ve had people tell me that they are “bad” at
Translation doesn’t teach language
Last week, I wrote about what makes learning a language hard and pointed out that using data on word difficulty from the language learning application Duolingo is not particularly credible. Duolingo relies on gamification and
Is “bench” one of the hardest words to learn in English? No, it isn’t.
By Dr. Katharine B. NielsonIt is hard to accurately write about scientific research for the mass market, and journalists regularly make mistakes. I don’t think, however, that explains what happened last month at Business Insider.
Is writing the Achilles heel of English language learners?
Even for the most advanced English learners, there’s one skill area that often goes neglected in both classroom and online settings: writing. Improving one’s writing skills is incredibly difficult and requires consistent practice—especially in a
By the numbers: Meeting global demand for a growing maritime industry
Global demand for maritime workers has grown by 45% since 2005. And with increasing demand, HR professionals are facing greater hiring challenges, especially when onboard communication is of critical importance. Forty percent of all ship
Research review: Online versus face-to-face learning outcomes
In a comprehensive investigation of online and traditional face-to-face learning outcomes, the U.S. Department of Education released one of the first major reports to take a close look at the effectiveness of each approach. The
How to launch an English training program in the workplace: Part 2
In this two-part blog series, we’re sharing our best practices to design and launch an effective English training program for your team. Now that you’ve established what your organization needs and how you’ll measure the
How to launch an English training program in the workplace: Part 1
Preparing to launch an English training program for your team can be daunting, especially if you need to implement it at scale for a large organization. With so many logistics to consider—and most likely, ambitious
Workforce development: “The need for innovation is staggering”
“The need for innovation is staggering, the need for impact is staggering.” —Eva Hasset, Executive Director of the International Institute of Buffalo Last month, Voxy CEO Paul Gollash spoke on a panel at the Welcoming
10 hospitality workforce trends you can’t afford to ignore
Did you know that even though 97% of global hospitality employees report that English skills are required or important for their jobs, only 7% say their current English level is sufficient to do their jobs?
Investing in top customer service talent can save your company big bucks
As improved technology and automated support channels provide consumers with more ways to handle common questions and technical problems on their own, customer service representatives and IT support staffs have seen the number of simple
