ACTFL Signs Memorandum of Cooperation with University of Guadalajara

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO — Earlier this month, The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) announced a strategic international partnership to expand and enhance foreign language collaboration at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. ACTFL and the Centro Universitario de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades (CUCSH) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation initiating a new educational alliance to support academic research, new language assessments, and professional development workshops for language instructors at the University.

Leading the delegation (and pictured on left) was ACTFL Director of Professional Programs, Elvira Swender, along with the CEO of Language Testing International (LTI), Helen Hamlyn. Representatives from the University included CUCSH Dean, Héctor Raúl Solis Gadea and Dora Meléndez Vizcarra, Chair of the Department of Languages.

Click here to read the entire article on the ACTFL website.

World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages

The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages define the central role of world languages in the learning career of every student. The five goal areas of the Standards establish an inextricable link between communication and culture, which is applied in making connections and comparisons and in using this competence to be part of local and global communities.

The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages create a roadmap to guide learners to develop competence to communicate effectively and interact with cultural competence to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.
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Superior Social Skills Tied To Bilinguals

It’s well-known that being bilingual has  obvious advantages. Some of which are that it allows you to take advantage of new experiences new conversations.  But in recent years, psychology researchers have demonstrated some less obvious advantages of bilingualism, too. For instance, bilingual children may enjoy certain cognitive benefits, such as improved executive function — which is critical for problem solving and other mentally demanding activities.

Now, two new studies demonstrate that multilingual exposure improves not only children’s cognitive skills but also their social abilities.

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ACTFL Receives ACE Recommendations for Two New Tests!

LTI is happy to report that ACTFL has once again received credit recommendations by The American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE) for the following: OPI, OPIC, WPT and for the first time, both the Reading and Listening Proficiency Tests (RPT and LPT).

“ACTFL is extremely pleased with the renewal of college credit recommendations for ACTFL speaking and writing assessments (OPI, OPIc, and WPT) and the initial recommendations for ACTFL reading and listening tests (RPT and LPT),”  said Elvira Swender, Director of ACTFL Professional Programs. “The implications of ACE College Credit Recommendation for ACTFL tests cannot be overestimated.  These recommendations allow even non-traditional language learners to demonstrate their language proficiency according to the national and internationally recognized ACTFL scale, and to be recommended for college credit based on that credential.”
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LTI Announces New Chinese Partner

Earlier this month, Chinese Testing International (CTI) became LTI’s exclusive distributor for the delivery of ACTFL Assessments in the People’s Republic of China. This agreement brings forth significant opportunities for all parties, in all markets, including commercial, government and educational fields.

The agreement also adds to the expanding distributor list that is a main focus of LTI in 2016 and beyond. The agreement was reached through combined efforts on many fronts. They included negotiations made by LTI’s Managing Director of Business Development, Gabriel Cruz and CEO, Helen Hamlyn, who last week signed the agreement in a ceremony at CTI headquarters in China.

This is a very exciting time for LTI and this announcement continues our positive, forward progress.

CREDU, Parent Company of LTI, Re-brands as Multicampus

Credu, our parent company, has undergone a re-branding that will change its official corporate name to Multicampus Co., Ltd. effective March 11, 2016. Credu however, will remain as a brand name in the online education division of Multicampus.

The name change and re-brand comes over a period of time that saw the acquisitions and partnering of Foreign Language Proficiency Testing Leader, LTI & ACTFL, Multimedia Knowledge and Information Services company, SERICEO and the #1 off-line education service provider, Samsung SDS Multicampus.

With these various levels of services and product experience, it was decided to move forward and unite these brands under one, unique identity. Multicampus means Multiple/Multifarious HR services that are to be provided in the multiple locations around the globe. Language Testing International is the center of the global business division of Multicampus.

This is a very exciting time for LTI as this announcement will further expand our reach in various markets and continue positive momentum through 2016 and beyond.

The Language Trend in Future Global Markets

Research by the Modern Language Association indicates that the number of American students who learned a language other than English decreased by about 100,000 between 2009 and 2013. So what does this mean exactly? For starters, it means the demand for multilingual employees is rising.

This trend has made the need for language testing across many markets all the more prevalent and in some cases required. For instance, PayPal, the leader in online payments, uses Language Testing International (LTI) to test the language skills of its prospective employees who are required to speak various languages.
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IIE Releases Open Doors 2015 Data

The number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities had the highest rate of growth in 35 years—10%, to a record high of 974,926 students in the 2014–15 academic year, according to the 2015 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released last month. Enrollments in intensive English programs grew even faster—13.3% (from 43,456 students to 49,233).

The report also found the number of U.S. students studying abroad increased by 5% in 2013–14, the highest rate of growth since before the 2008 economic downturn, in addition to which the number of American students taking part in service learning abroad (noncredit work, internships, and volunteering abroad) rose 47%, from just over 15,000 to more than 22,000.
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Employer Demand for Multilinguals Is Rising

Today’s job market is desperate for graduates who speak multiple languages.

“Languages are always good for us,” says Julia McDonald, head of talent acquisition for EMEA at Infosys. English is the company’s common language, “but our clients often want people that can speak their local language,” Julia says.

Mark Davies, employer relations manager at London’s Imperial College Business School, says there is growing demand for multilingual European language speakers at companies including BP, GE, Johnson & Johnson, and GSK, which have operations in emerging markets.
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The English Dialect: An Adverse Effect On Global Business Success

Languages evolve, that’s nothing new. However, the English language has its own subset of terminology that native English speakers have adopted and put into use practically on every level – when speaking casually and in business settings. It’s becoming increasingly more difficult for people abroad to understand the “real” English. A Spanish student in Denmark remarked to another researcher: “Now it’s more difficult for me to understand the real English.”

This “real English” – which dizzyingly encompasses the whole range of dialects from Liverpool in England, to Wellington in New Zealand, via Johannesburg in South Africa, and Memphis in the US – is only the start of the problem of understanding what is trying to be communicated.
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