To Russia with love!

 

When Sara and Andrew learned that the Foreign Office was to post them to the Ukraine, they were quick to seek the language training they knew would be vital to their roles. Sara was to take up her role in Kiev as First Secretary (Trade and Investment) and partner Andrew was to be a Senior Management Officer. Both had an impressive language history with French and Hungarian already established in their linguistic repertoire, but learning Russian with its cyrillic alphabet would pose new challenges.

The Language Centre proposal of individual training with expert tutors coupled with a range of resources and a programme of independent study was accepted and training began in earnest in November 2004. The addition of their own web based support page including pioneering voiceboard technology was included, affording further support outside the classroom. This enabled our tutors and their clients to record messages and practise their linguistic skills in a secure environment.

Sara tells us:

“The voiceboard has made a huge difference – listening to our recordings showed us what we had actually said, rather than what we hoped we had said!”

Each recording, or posting, can be reviewed by both student and trainee, boosting confidence as progress is audible. Both felt that time spent working independently was enhanced by the technology as the tasks were practical and relevant to the roles they are soon to assume. From a pedagogical perspective the use of a voiceboard increases listening and modelling skills vital to good communication.

However, Sara offers a word of caution:

“the microphone picks up everything so be careful with those muttered curses as you mispronounce a hitherto perfect passage!”