Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: Education

  • Which aspects do you think make a person unique?

    Which aspects do you think make a person unique?

    Learning Languages as an Adult

    Each person is unique, especially in how they learn languages as an adult.

    Kids start from scratch, like a blank document. Adults already have plenty of files stored in their brain. By the time you’re learning a new language as an adult, you might have been exposed to it in random ways—through family, movies, music, or just hearing it while growing up. So it’s not like you’re a true beginner. You already know something, even if it’s in disorganized pieces. Here’s my experience, using learning Chinese as a second language. 

    First example: you might mix up the grammar of your first and second languages, and speak a Chinese sentence with English grammar. Oops. You sound like a weirdo. But you know how to swear perfectly because you hear the words in movies and spoken by friends who are fluent. 

    Second example: you’re a polyglot. You’ve learned a bunch of languages at the beginner level. So you walk into a store in Montreal and all you can think of is how to say, “How much is this?” in Japanese. Or you’re in Tokyo, and you can only remember how to say a sentence in French. Or, more frustratingly still, you’re in Tokyo, and you can read the kanji, and you need help because you’re lost. But you can only remember the Chinese pronunciation (not the Japanese) of the kanji on the street signs, making you both literate but unable to communicate.

    Pronunciation is another funny thing if you’re trying to learn a language that you’ve heard for years but don’t speak it often. You’re not native, but you’re also not a beginner. For example, in English, you go from “I want to learn it” to “I wanna learn it” when you’re speaking more fluently. But as a non-native speaker who’s been exposed to Chinese for years, I will say the Chinese equivalent to “I wanna learn it so bad.” I’ll say a sentence that they don’t teach you in classes – something you learn from native speakers – but my pronunciation is a tad off… not quite native, and not a beginner either. 😂

    So what makes people unique isn’t just what they learn—it’s all the random, imperfect stuff they bring with them while learning.

    Daily writing prompt
    Which aspects do you think makes a person unique?
    View all responses

  • What is the last thing you learned?

    What is the last thing you learned?

    I can’t remember the last thing I learned. I learn a lot of trivial things because I’m always learning.

    Learning is more than taking a course or reading a book. Sometimes it’s as simple as paying attention. When you go out, take note of things because you never know when you need them. Like when you shop, you notice what the store stocks, even if it isn’t something you buy. Later, when you have an in-town visitor, you can easily tell them where to find that specialty tea, or recommend a restaurant or store without hesitation. That tiny observation suddenly becomes useful knowledge.

    I’ve also realized how much I learn from everyday scrolling. YouTube or Instagram can be surprisingly educational, even if you’re doom scrolling. Maybe you come across interesting facts about space, history, or even the origin of a slang expression in English. 

    The same thing happens when watching a movie. When the movie ends, satisfy your curiosity and look up random things. How accurate was the movie? Was that character really that mean? Should you watch Part 2?  Do those animals really exist? You can spend hours going down a rabbit hole in your research. 

    Even weird, random facts count. Learning how to store your food properly in your fridge or pantry might save money and reduce waste. That’s practical intelligence.

    Learn a little at a time, then in the long run, you learn a lot. Knowledge compounds. Stay curious. Pay attention. Small lessons today become surprising wisdom tomorrow.

    Daily writing prompt
    What is the last thing you learned?
    View all responses

  • 4 Types of Companies for Remote Work

    4 Types of Companies for Remote Work

    Updated from 2023

    Remote work has been around for as long as we’ve had the technology, but 2020 made work from home (WFH) a household word. Now, many startup companies offer remote work as a way to cut operating costs. Without a physical office, expenses are reduced. Remote work also offers many other advantages to certain types of companies. Let’s take a closer look at four types of companies that offer remote work.

    1 Technology Companies

    Technology companies (tech) are great for remote work because they tend to have the latest technology. Tech companies include software development companies, IT companies, companies that sell electronics, artificial intelligence or computers, and website development companies. These companies have the ability for their employees to communicate through virtual meetings and communications applications such as Slack. 

    During the pandemic, tech workers were more easily able to transition to performing work tasks from home, since the majority (if not all) of their tasks were completed using technology. 

    2 Customer Service Companies

    Customer service companies that offer services via online platforms, such as chatbots, are suitable for remote work. Customer service workers must be familiar with technology and have internet access to perform their tasks. Many businesses that hire customer service workers have customers from multiple time zones. To provide 24/7 service to these customers, they hire employees from different time zones to cover a wide range of work shifts. Similar to tech companies, customer service employees can communicate with supervisors or coworkers with communications software.

    3 Education Companies

    Education companies and companies that provide online education are perfect for remote work. These companies provide e-learning platforms for companies and educators. The course content is designed electronically, and IT programming is also handled online. Educators who use these platforms to design courses or offer tutoring work remotely to provide the content. The education is available at any time to anyone anywhere in the world with internet access. This form of education is especially handy for people who work during the day and take courses to upskill at night.

    4 Creative Agencies

    Creative agencies offer remote work for those interested in graphic design, advertising, marketing, and content creation. Work is completed through online collaboration and communication tools. Some agencies hire employees from the same city, while others hire freelancers from other cities in the same country or around the world.

    Key Takeaways

    Work from home has become possible because of the collaborative platforms and communication applications that we now have available to us. Many startups start as remote work companies, saving on the costs of having a physical office. In particular, companies that work with technology, customer service, and education, as well as creative agencies are well suited for remote work.

    If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!

  • The Benefits of Reading Aloud to Kids

    The Benefits of Reading Aloud to Kids

    Reading aloud to kids has many benefits. It builds empathy, creates a love of reading, improves language and listening skills, facilitates important conversations, empowers the imagination, and is fun.

    I remember a day long ago when the teacher read a book aloud to the entire class. The story came alive when the teacher became the voices of all the characters, and hearing the reactions of classmates made the story interactive.

    As a kid, I certainly learned a lot of new words and how to pronounce them when an adult read a book aloud to me. This method of learning language was especially important for books in Chinese because, unlike English, you can’t rely on phonics to sound out the words. Learning pronunciation was almost like a guessing game.

    Most recently, I’ve seen programs that encourage children to read a book to a therapy dog. Many of the benefits of adults reading to children are transferrable to children reading aloud to pets.

    When you were young, did you enjoy listening to a story? As an adult, do you read aloud to kids?

  • Why Learn Another Language?

    Why Learn Another Language?

    With today’s global economy and advances in technology, companies hire and work with people worldwide, so it is increasingly important to be aware of cultural differences. Learning a language for networking and business purposes has many advantages, even if you only know a few words.

    The English language is convenient for communicating with people around the world. It is one of the most spoken languages worldwide. According to the World Economic Forum, “Of the approximately 1.5 billion people who speak English, less than 400 million use it as a first language….That means over 1 billion speak it as a secondary language.”

    Imagine traveling to another country where English isn’t the primary language, and you can’t understand anyone or read anything around you? How relieved would you feel if someone asked, “Need some help” in English? Even a few simple words in a common language can create a connection and start a conversation. 

    Creating a connection is the first step to networking or building a relationship, whether for friendship or business. Here are three powerful reasons for learning a language and connecting with people.

    1 Languages Create a Cultural Connection

    Food is a great connector. An event that involves sampling foods from other countries and cultures is one way to get people to experience cultures. Learning the names of foods is a sensory experience: learn a new vocabulary word and taste the food it corresponds to.

    It opens discussions about similarities and differences in food, culture, and language. It can be humbling when you struggle with the pronunciation of a new word; fascinating when you realize the meaning of a new word.

    It’s amazing what conversations you can begin by learning a handful of new words and key phrases in another language. (We’re talking about the good words here, not the bad words. People like to learn the bad words, but it’s a different result when you swear at people.)

    It’s a great feeling to say, “Nice to meet you” or “Have a safe trip home” in another person’s native language. Another benefit to learning new words is gaining a better understanding of a person’s values from their culture.

    2 Languages Broaden Your Way of Thinking

    A Google search will reveal many articles that say a person’s personality can change depending on their language. Personality traits are determined by culture, and culture and language are deeply connected. So it seems learning a language helps you to absorb the culture.

    Even if you don’t become fluent in multiple languages, learning another language helps you understand other cultures and how people think, and potentially avoid misunderstandings.

    For example, in some Asian languages, people are addressed by their titles as a form of respect. Family members are named by their relationship to the speaker. A paternal aunt is called a different word for “aunt” than a maternal aunt.  

    Knowing the degree of formality that people use to greet each other gives you insights into how people may want to be addressed. For example, in Brazil, young children call their teacher tia or tio (aunt/uncle) + first name. In France, students say Monsieur (Mr) or Madame (Mrs) + last name. In China, students call their teacher only Lǎoshī (teacher). Similarly, students in Latvia call their teacher Skolotāj (schoolteacher).

    People may struggle when speaking English because in their first language, there are more ways to say something. For example, English has three choices for articles (a, an, the) but other languages have more. In French, nouns can be masculine singular or plural, or feminine singular or plural, increasing your choices.

    In Japanese, you have even more choices when talking about the number of objects. The way you say “one of” or “two of” something (people, cats, beer, apples, houses) depends on the type of noun. (Learning numbers takes several lessons.)

    Languages may have concepts that don’t exist in another language. For example, the need to talk about snow with precision has created several words in some cultures: There are 52 words for snow and ice in Inuktituk while the BBC news reports Scotland has 421 words for snow! 

    Learning someone’s name or your name is a fun way to start a conversation and connect with people in another language. Learning how to address someone in another language also tells you a lot about levels of formality and respect.

    New words and expressions are like a window into another culture from a marketing and sales perspective. It’s a way to approach people in other markets.

    On another level, learning to say a few words is a warm way to start a conversation and make new friends.

    3 Languages Increase Your Opportunities

    Being a polyglot or being bilingual has many advantages. If your company has offices in other countries, you could be asked to help with translation.

    Translation could occur in many forms, such as interpreting between languages during meetings or checking over written communications in another language. 

    You could be offered opportunities that aren’t usually part of your job description; for example, you could be a connector. If your company needs people who are fluent in a language you know, they may ask you to connect them to people from that language community. 

    Your willingness to step in and help out with translation could open doors to other opportunities or, at the very least, add an important role or achievement to your resume. 

    The best part of learning new languages for work is making connections with people who visit from other parts of the world.

    Key Takeaways

    Learning another language – or even a handful of words in another language – is a way to start a conversation and connect with people. Language is so closely tied with culture that you can discover a lot about a culture’s values.

    How many expressions can you say in another language? What language would you like to learn next?

    If you liked this post, subscribe so you don’t miss the next one!