New issue of the Scripta Manent Journal

We are happy to announce that the new issue (6/1-2) of the Scripta Manent journal is out. Enjoy the reading!

You are invited to submit a paper on the topic of the next volume (7/1): Vocabulary in Languages for Specific Purposes. Submission deadline is 30th April, 2012. Please note that Scripta Manent also welcomes manuscripts covering topics other than those advertised. For more information click here.

 

The Fourth International Language Conference on the ‘Importance of Learning Professional Foreign Languages for Communication between Cultures’

The International Language Conference on the ‘Importance of Learning Professional Foreign Languages for Communication between Cultures’ is an annual event taking place in September, whose aim is to present and exchange professional knowledge and experience from the field of teaching languages for specific purposes. The conference is aimed at academics, LSP teachers, teaching assistants and researchers in higher education institutions and secondary schools as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

The Fourth International Language Conference was held on Thursday 22^rd and Friday 23^th September 2011 at the Faculty of Logistics at the University of Maribor, Slovenia. The conference was streamed live online and video recorded, giving the opportunity to all the candidates who could not join us live to join the event online. The programme consisted of an opening address, two invited lectures, 42 presentations and 5 workshops.  In the opening address the dean of the faculty, Prof. Dr. Martin Lipičnik, stressed the importance of mastering professional foreign languages, which has become one of the crucial competences for most professions and presents an important competitive advantage for professionals from all walks of life. The importance of foreign languages for successful communication and exchange of information in the diplomatic and business world was further discussed by Ms. Mascarenhas, the Ambassador of the Republic Cape Verde, and Mr. Zvone Dragan, the first Slovene ambassador to China. The opening presentations were given by Prof. Dr. Peter Zimmermann, who gave a presentation on the problem of plagiarism in the modern society, and prof. Bob Johnson, who gave a presentation on the quality in education.

The conference participants, who came from all parts of the world, including Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the Republic of Latvia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom, presented and exchanged their views on issues such as the role of languages for specific purposes in the 21^st century, the Bologna Process in an LSP course, modern approaches to LSP teaching with the emphasis on competences, intercultural dimension of teaching and learning in an LSP course, and many others.

The conference presentations and discussions that followed provided us with plenty of innovative and useful ideas, which we could take with us to our lecture rooms and classrooms.

The social programme included a medieval reception at the Old Castle Celje. After having a short guided tour of Celje, we arrived at the captivating Old Castle, where we were greeted by the countess, Her Highness Barbara of Celje, her knights and ladies-in-waiting, who performed a medieval programme ‘Become a knight of Celje.’

For more information about the conference please visit the conference website.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate at our Fifth International Language Conference, which will take place in September 2012 (more information will be available at the conference website).

 

Polona Vičič, lecturer in English at the Faculty of Logistics

International Conference: Importance of Learning Professional Foreign Languages for Communication between Cultures

The International Language Conference on the ‘Importance of Learning Professional Foreign Languages for Communication between Cultures’ is an annual event taking place in September, whose aim is to present and exchange professional knowledge and experience from the field of teaching languages for specific purposes. The conference is aimed at academics, LSP teachers, teaching assistants and researchers in higher education institutions and secondary schools as well as undergraduate and graduate students and it has already established itself as a traditional event bringing together domestic and foreign professionals in the field of LSP teaching and learning.
This year’s conference will take place on the 22 and 23 September 2011 at the Faculty of Logistics, Celje, Slovenia. The conference will address the following topics:
-    the role of languages for specific purposes in the 21st century,
-    the Bologna process in an LSP course,
-    modern approaches to LSP teaching with the emphasis on competences,
-    intercultural dimension of teaching and learning in an LSP course,
-    modern methods/approaches used in teaching LSP,
-    developing language skills in an LSP course,
-    assessment and grading in an LSP course,
-    preparation of glossaries of professional terminology for LSP teaching,
-    preparation of materials for LSP teaching,
-    the impact of ICT on teaching/learning LSP,
-    multilingualism and LSP.

You are invited to participate in the conference as a speaker or as a listener.
For more information on the conference please write to Polona Vičič or Sara Orthaber (int.conference@fl.uni-mb.si).

Earth Hour 2011

On Saturday 26 March 2011 you can join the global sustainability movement Earth Hour and help making a positive change.

 

Technical word of the week

If you or your students are interested in technical English, you can subscribe to the Technical Word of the Week newsletter published for free by Paul East.

The weekly keyword is translated not only from English to German but also into French, Spanish and Italian. There will always be an audio file as a pronunciation aid and, depending on the word that has been selected. There will also be video clips, exercises and puzzles for students based on the keywords.

If you would like to subscribe to the Technical Word of the Week newsletter, send a mail to paul@thepyramidgroup.biz with “Subscribe – Tech Word of the Week” in the subject line.

Contact: Paul East, Geschäftsführer Pyramid Group
IATET Präsident (Int. Association of Tech. English Trainers)
www.thepyramidgroup.biz |  www.iatet.com