Tag: business

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BRAVE Blog

“It’s just a tool” – Choosing & maintaining your language toolbox

You don’t have to be totally devoted to foreign language learning to see its value. And you don’t need to be always convinced by appeals to life-changing, horizon-expanding power of learning a new language. Today’s blog post is for those who appreciate language for one thing only: getting things done. Because – like so many things – it’s worth doing well.

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Language Learning as Investment: Five Starting Points

Stock options. Gold. Real Estate. These are the things people usually associate with investing. In reality, you can invest in almost anything (there’s apparently a fortune to be made in cigar and wine investments!). Today, I’ll look at learning a foreign language from an investor’s perspective – and give you five questions worth asking if you’re planning to start a new language course (or re-examine your involvement in the current one).

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BRAVE Blog

1000 True Fans: Why You Need Tribes to Learn Languages

The inspiration for this post was a brilliant thing that happened to me – right here on the bravelearning project! I’m sharing this with you, along with a few ideas and tips for making the most of an invaluable learning resource: other people (especially friendly people).

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Learning Languages at International Conferences

I’m pretty sure that the last five days have been the busiest I’ve had so far in 2012. I spent the entire week in Glasgow, attending the IATEFL Conference – one of the most important conferences for teachers of English.

It was exciting, busy, and fun – I’ve learned and benefited a lot, but only now do I realise how tired I am. This, for me, is one of the best contexts for learning things: out of your comfort zone, surrounded by new and exciting developments. It’s not quite as scary as ski-jumping, but it’s up there!

Here’s the best part: you can use international conferences to learn a foreign language. Sure, its main goal is to network, present and exchange ideas within your business. But with a bit of preparation, this can become a learning experience like no other. How to make it happen? Follow along!

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BRAVE Blog

Polyglot Wannabe? Start a Business to Learn Languages

When you’re setting out to do something ambitious, the first instinct is usually to get rid of distractions, and focus only on the daunting task at hand. This is how works of art are conceived, heart transplants performed, and (in my household at least) breakfasts cooked.

But sometimes, the right thing to do seems to be the opposite. Learning languages may be one of these things. As a language learner and a former business owner, I’m going to try to sell you a weird idea today.

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