Welcome to Babelcom’s Blog

What has she been up to?
Emma is from Hertfordshire, just north of London, England.

She has worked for the BBC World Service Radio for Africa, BBC English and BBC News in production and broadcast, as well as for the UN FAO in Rome and various recording voice over dubbing studios.

Now she teaches and coaches English and Art in English, to children and adults.

Where has she lived?
She lived and worked in London for 10 years. She moved to Rome (Italy) 10 years ago but has been living in Castelldefels near Barcelona for the past five years.

What languages does she speak?
Her spoken languages now include Italian, Spanish and Catalan and she is constantly building on all four.

What is she into?
She loves to digress, can ramble on about just about anything, but loves to chat about art, poetry, environmental issues, economics, international cultural exchange and kids!

Emma is partial to an interesting word and exploring new and useful phrases in her current languages, including her native English.

Oh yes, and she is also a member of the ICV Catalan Green Party.

Where will you find her?

Every Tuesday
Webinar: 16.00-16.30
TalkTime: 17.00-18:00

Every Thursday
Webinar: 16.00-16.30
TalkTime: 17.00-18:00

What costs very little to bring with us wherever we go, but it can have a heavy cost when we forget it? Politeness!

There is a German proverb that says, “politeness is what warmth is to wax”, and the Chinese say, “politeness wins the confidence of princes”. Despite the cultural differences and physical distance, their consensus on the importance of politeness when it comes to interacting with others is a hint at just how important it is to people all around the world.

We need to keep in mind that there is no universal consensus on what constitutes ‘politeness’; it varies from culture to culture. However, common sense should lead us to some basic good manners.

So, how is this related to the quiz, and what is ‘tel-iqette’?

Tel-iquette is etiquette for our tele-interactions: good manners for our interaction with others by telephone or in a teleconference. (Tele = both landline connections as well as VoIP services.)

Why is tel-iquette important?

Because…

• Many people seem to have become oblivious to the obvious. (e.g. Even when we have phones stuck to our ears, others seem to overlook that fact and interrupt our calls.)
• Tele-conversations already need more concentration than face to face ones…background noise can be a huge (and annoying) distraction.
• It is easy to forget our manners when we don’t see the reactions of others (or when they can’t see what we are doing).
• It is easy to get a bad reputation due to a lack of tel-iquette.

So, how polite are you?

Take our Tel-iquette quiz (and be honest with yourself).

Telephone Coaching sessions can be incredibly useful, as long as you use them well.

Of course, you can always use them to have a chat with one of our team, which works on improving your comfort and fluency when speaking. However, if you are also a member of The English Works Club, our TalkTime sessions are really the best place for a chat!

If you always book a TC with the same person, you might want to take a look at our team’s profiles. Each of us comes from somewhere different…we have very different backgrounds, both professionally and culturally, which means that you can learn something different from each of us!

If you are working on something over a few TC sessions with one of our team, speaking to the same person can be a plus. However, speaking to the same person can also give us a false sense of security. The more people you speak to, the easier it will be for your brain and ears to adjust to a new voice the next time you pick up the phone or go to a meeting.

Some of you have mentioned that you weren’t sure what to do in your TC sessions, so we’d like to share a few ideas. TCs are a great way to work on: Continue reading →

What has she been up to?
Mandy was born and raised in Swindon, a town of 150,000 habitants in the South-West of England. She came to Barcelona 7 years ago, and due to the fab weather, she has never left!

She obtained her degree from The London College of Fashion. After completing her degree she worked for many years in the Fashion Industry as a Buyer, hence her love of clothes & shoes!

Mandy joined the Babelcom team in September 2010.

Where has she lived?
Swindon (England) London, and for 12 years in Barcelona (Spain). She currently lives in Gelida (Penedes). Continue reading →

David was born in Portugal, although he hasn’t lived there for a while. He spent over 10 years in the United Kingdom (where he completed his degree and worked for several years in the IT and Professional Services sector), until he decided to move in Barcelona.

David holds a BA (Hons) in Business Information Systems and Modern Languages, and the maximum qualification in PRINCE2 (Project Management), holds a PMP and has expertise in ITILv3.

His professional experience includes a broad range of technical, consulting and project management assignments with leading companies, where he was dedicated to bringing IT innovation to various areas of our lives and efficiency to business. He has worked for many of the key players in industries such as healthcare, pharmacovigilance, travel, supply-chain, logistics, customs, and government, as well as for associations such as IATA.

David is also a very active person and a lover of sport and new experiences.

David joined the Babelcom team in September 2009.

Where has he lived?
Portugal, United Kingdom and Spain. He has also travelled for business and pleasure to most of Europe and Asia. Continue reading →

NB: First of all, if you are wondering what a ‘guilt trip’ is (and haven’t looked it up in a dictionary yet), HyperDictionary defines it as, “Remorse cause by feeling responsible for some offence”. Secondly, this message is meant for anyone who hasn’t been using their Telephone Coaching sessions or the activities in The English Works Club as they should be…

They say that, “good things come to those that wait”. Patience is definitely a virtue, but when it comes to dealing with learning needs in our professional lives, waiting won’t necessarily bring good things.

Be honest with yourself, have you wanted to come and spend some time with Babelcom’s team, but have been too busy? If you hadn’t come to see us lately we were pretty sure it is nothing personal, and that you were probably just busy. Continue reading →

What has she been up to?
Karla was born and raised in The Great White North (aka Canada). She came to Barcelona 14 years ago to do an International MBA at IESE….and never left.

She started her career in the dynamic world of specialty insurance (specifically in Construction and Miscellaneous Bonding), but after 6 years she decided she needed a new challenge and made her way to Spain. After studying at IESE, she spent the next 6 years as the Owner/Director of an I.T. company offering offsite backup and data recovery solutions here in Spain.

Apart from being a ‘Super Mom’ to 3 kids, one of her greatest passions and contributions to this world has been her involvement with the not-for-profit sector. She had an active role in an organisation promoting the rights of children to education (particularly girls) and providing micro-credits to women in Central Africa. She was also a rep for this organisation to the U.N.’s Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC). (She makes us proud!!)

Thanks to a number of strange coincidences, she decided to join Babelcom in September 2009.

Where has she lived?
Toronto (Canada) & Barcelona (Spain) Continue reading →

What has he been up to?
Nick spent his childhood years in Durham in the North-East of England before moving to Sheffield to study a BA in Art, Design and Film.

He lived in Prague for a year before moving to Barcelona in 1996, working as an in-company professional trainer until 2004. During this time he spent 5 years working with the founder of Babelcom, Leah Stoch, on the development and coordination of the company’s pioneering distance learning services.

From 2005 to 2009 Nick worked as Marketing Director at a multinational solar energy system manufacturer and distributor.

In 2008, while still working in solar energy, Nick went back to school and back to one of his lifelong passions – filmmaking. He now balances his time between filmmaking and Babelcom.

Where has he lived?
Durham & Sheffield (U.K.), Prague (Czech Republic), Barcelona (Spain) Continue reading →

Last April an unknown Scottish woman by the name of Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation when she performed on the Britain’s Got Talent show. The less-than-glamorous 48-year-old defied expectations when she performed a stunning rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Miserables. Fifty million YouTube hits later, and she became a worldwide celebrity. Joining the ranks of Tom Cruise, Naomi Campbell and Michael Jackson, she was even invited to the Oprah Winfrey show – with one caveat. Despite being a fellow English speaker, American television bosses decided to run her interview with subtitles because they feared many of their viewers would not understand her heavy Scottish accent. Continue reading →

We are all looking forward to our summer breaks. It’s a great moment to relax, disconnect from work, and spend more time with the family and friends – not to mention hit the beaches and the cultural circuit. But this summer break, when you are stepping away from your daily routines, why not take some time to reflect on them and think of some little changes that could make a positive impact on how you work and organise your time? Summer breaks don’t just have to be time away from the office. They can also be an opportunity to come back to the office fresh with new ideas and improvements to our routines. Continue reading →