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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How Social Media Affects Your Chances at Getting Hired

There’s so much to consider when hiring a potential candidate at any company. Reviewing resumes and checking references have always been the norm but when and where does social media come into play?

There are some fine lines that both HR professionals and candidates alike need to be mindful of when it comes to social media posts and the conclusions that can be drawn from them. An example would be making a hiring decision upon discovering personal information such as a pregnancy or if the candidate is getting married and likely requiring time off in the not-too-distant future.  Making hiring decisions based on this information would be legally problematic under these circumstances and others similar.
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What “YOU” Need to Say In a Job Interview

Job seekers place too much focus on answering the hard interview questions that they forget something very important: They need to ask questions, too.  Asking the right questions at an interview is important for many reasons. But here’s 2 important ones!

First, the questions you ask confirm your qualifications as a candidate for the role you’re interviewing for.

Second, you are interviewing the employer just as much as they are interviewing you. This is your chance to find out if this is an organization where you want to work.
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Oral Proficiency Levels in the Workplace

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) developed a scale to demonstrate the main language functions that a learner can perform with full control at each of the major levels. The chart shows the connection of the levels of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines with the rating system used by the federal government, agencies, and armed services. Important messages reinforced by this chart includes:

1. Two years of studying a language is NOT sufficient (no jobs have the Novice level as the minimum entry requirement).

2. The professions or positions that correspond to each proficiency level are based on analysis of the minimal language requirements for each job, determined by experts from companies and agencies who use ACTFL proficiency tests. Factors include how controlled or unpredictable are the situations one encounters in that job and also how repetitive, creative, or abstract is the language needed. Educators can help learners by designing learning activities that are less teacher-controlled and that encourage less predictable responses.

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Brain Processes Sign Language Similar to Spoken Language

American Sign Language, or even simple gestures are processed by deaf people in the part of the brain that is used for spoken language, according to a recent international research study headed up by a neuroscientist from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Aaron Newman, Associate Professor with the university’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and collaborators Ted Supalla and Elissa Newport from Georgetown University, student Nina Fernandez, and Daphne Bavelier from the Universities of Geneva and Rochester, were able to show those who are congenitally deaf process signs and gestures in the left hemisphere of the brain. Those test subjects who were not deaf and not users of sign language processed the information in the portion of the brain used to process human movement. “It is a basic science study, with no immediate implications for people in the area of health,” Newman said in an interview.

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10 Tips to Ace Your Job Interview

The start of the New Year is always prime time for employers to look for and hire new talent.

So how can you be best prepared?

View the list below for some helpful tips:

    1. Do your research. Visit the website of the company you’re interviewing with and understand their history, management, and overall business. Be sure to research any of their recent announcements so you’re up to speed.
    2. Your attire. Always dress business professional, unless specifically told otherwise. Be clean, well-groomed and scent-free.
    3. Your questions. Consider who it is you’ll be speaking to and prepare questions in advance on a single sheet of paper. Your questions should reflect your interest in and research of the employer and its markets and competitors.

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