Monthly Email Newsletter
March 2004
IN THIS ISSUE:
I. Message from the Editor
II. Articles:
*** Featured Industry: Online Education 1. Online Degree
Programs
*** Featured Language: Spanish in
Spain 2.
Origin and Development of the Castilian Dialect of Spanish
3. Daily News
Sources in Spain
III. ***
Helpful Web Tools -- An Online
Guide to Spanish Cuisine
IV. In Our
Next Issue
V. Your Feedback
VI. How to Subscribe/ Unsubscribe
I. MESSAGE
FROM THE EDITOR
When we initially decided over a month ago that
we would focus on the Spanish language spoken in the country of
Spain in our March newsletter, we never anticipated that this
peaceful country -- known for its wonderful cuisine, scenic
Mediterranean beaches, bullfights, flamenco dancers, nightclubs that
stay open until dawn, famous artists like Francisco de Goya, and
festivals such as the running of the bulls in Pamplona -- would be
mourning the death of over 200 of its citizens and the injury of
1,800 others by a series of bombs exploded in several commuter
trains in Madrid on March 11. We extend our sincere condolences to
the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy. We are also
relieved that the Spanish authorities have already identified and
arrested several people responsible for the bombings.
Our featured language
section focuses on the Castilian dialect of Spanish, which is the
standard Spanish used in Spain and many countries in Latin America.
Our first article traces the development of Castilian from the ninth
century up to modern times. The next article describes various
online sources that you can use to identify daily newspapers in
Spain, in which you can advertise your web site or products.
Many business owners,
who realize the importance of increasing their business skills but
have such hectic schedules that they can't attend a traditional
brick-and-mortar university, are opting to complete their degrees
online. In fact, 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies have also
opted to enroll their executives in online MBA programs. Today some
of our most prestigious institutions, such as Harvard, Duke, and
Stanford, are adjusting their curricula in order to grab their share
of the online education market. Our feature article this month
focuses on how you can identify online education programs and also
evaluates the benefits and risks associated with online degree
programs.
Our
Helpful Web Tools section describes a web site where can find the
recipes for some of Spain's most popular dishes.
Since this newsletter
is meant to create a virtual community where we share the latest
news and advice, we invite you to submit your suggestions, story
ideas, statistics and web site tips to
mailto:newsletter@globallanguages.com.
-- Inna Kassatkina,
Editor
mailto:editor@globallanguages.comII. ARTICLES
FEATURED INDUSTRY:
Online Degree Programs 1. ONLINE PROGRAMS AND DISTANCE
LEARNINGDid
you know that 85 percent of the Fortune 500 companies use some form
of distance learning? For example, HMO giant Kaiser Permanente
offers postgraduate courses online for nurses. In fact, online
education is now so important that companies such as Microsoft and
IBM have teamed-up with regional colleges and universities to offer
MBAs and other degrees tailored for each enterprise's needs.
Ever since the
emergence of online degrees and distance learning programs in the
late 1990s, each year we have seen them gain in popularity,
credibility, and acceptance by mainstream American businesses,
executives, and search firms. Even as early as 2000, according to a
vault.com survey, 61 percent of employers found online degrees
acceptable. Moreover, to address this explosive demand, first-tier
institutions such as Harvard, Duke, and Stanford are strategically
positioning curricula to gain a share of this lucrative market.
http://www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/dec00ross.htmhttp://www1.worldbank.org/education/tertiary/news_archive/0424e0.htmlhttp://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6500436http://www.computerworld.com/news/2000/story/0,11280,49475,00.htmlhttp://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?story=working-june03So how do you go about
evaluating if distance learning is right for you? And if it is, how
do you select a program and school? Well, a good place to start is
to look at your needs. If you are seeking a graduate degree,
undergraduate degree, extended education, or learning a technical
trade, a quick search on your favorite search engine will give rise
to a myriad of possibilities.
Here, our focus is on online degree programs.
If you are considering pursuing an online degree, you should first
decide whether studying over the Internet is a good fit for you.
According to Shari Caudron, a contributing editor of the Workforce
Management, begin by asking yourself the following:
-- Am I sufficiently
self-directed enough for Internet courses?
-- Am I motivated
enough to work on my own without the structure and accountability
found in a classroom?
-- Do I have the
technology?
-- Are
my writing skills sufficient enough to succeed online?
In addition, you can even take an online quiz
to help decide if online learning fits your style.
http://www.capenauniversity.eduNext you should
consider if the discipline you want to study is well suited for
online classes. Business, IT, health, and education have been the
most successful web-based programs. And while certificate programs
are helpful, online degrees will get you a better job and more
money.
If you think
online learning is right for you, apply Caudron's Seven Tools for
evaluating online degrees include:
1) Is the university
or college accredited? Regional accreditation is important because
it means the school has been evaluated by the U.S. Dept. of
Education, the program has integrity, and courses can be transferred
to other campuses.
2) What is the school's reputation? Because it is too early to
determine much about a specific online degree program's reputation,
investigate the reputation of the school.
3) What outcomes can
the school demonstrate? Is outcome based on grades, passing
professional exams (e.g. bar exam, CPA), or job placement?
4) What online
interaction is supported and fostered by the school? Interaction
between students and with faculty is crucial for the success of any
online course.
5)
What are the faculty members' credentials? Look at the relevance of
their degrees and experience with adult learners and online
teaching.
6) Are
courses kept current? See if course content, technology, and other
resources are available/updated adequately.
7) How does the school
support experiential learning? Because adults most often learn best
by doing, ensure the program requires application of knowledge
acquired.
http://www.workforce.com/picosearch/search.phpAlso, you should be
aware of the potential for online educational fraud. For example,
Nila Nielsen, an Omaha elementary school principal, obtained her
Ph.D. online from Columbia State University, when distance learning
was in its infancy. After devoting months of original research and
investing thousands of dollars in her graduate education, she
learned that Columbia State University was a sham -- operating with
phony accreditation and a Metairie, Louisiana, mail drop address
serving as the school's campus. The Louisiana attorney general's
office shut down Columbia State University and has investigated over
a dozen other online schools suspected of fraud.
http://static.highbeam.com/u/usnewsampworldreport/september281998/onecardididntaskforsheepskinfleecers/index.htmlFraud is not the only
concern. You must also fully understand the educational program. For
example, Laura Collins from Santa Barbara, California, obtained her
law degree online from Concord Law School. Since Concord has not
been able to achieve ABA accreditation, graduates are only able to
take the bar and practice in California. Although lack of ABA
accreditation is not unique to online law schools, it demonstrates
the importance for you to fully understand the school's
accreditation.
http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?DOCID=1P1:85722499&num=3A good guideline to
remember is: if it sounds too good to be true.it probably is. Here
are a few red flags you might see advertised or in a school's
literature or website:
-- no studying
required
-- no
exams
-- no
classes
-- no
waiting for your degree
-- low or discount
fees
-- credits for
your life's experiences
-- no physical campus
or established location
-- no established
record
-- filed
complaints with pertinent regulatory bodies
-- offshore
location
Since
accreditation is an important factor, you can visit the Council for
Higher Education to begin checking on an institution's
accreditation.
http://www.chea.org/Let's not forget to
talk about cost. Online degrees can range in cost from a few
thousand dollars to six figure numbers. For example, Duke University
offers an online MBA with annual tuition in excess of $100,000. As
you can see, financing your education is an important consideration.
Warning: be aware that students enrolled at unlicensed or
unaccredited institutions are not generally eligible to receive
Federal funding such as student loans or employer reimbursement.
For several
centralized lists of online degree programs at over 1000 colleges
and universities, visit:
http://www.classesusa.com/featuredschools/fos/index.cfm?CFID=11546818&CFTOKEN=88053592http://www.elearners.com/http://www.directoryofschools.com/http://www.schoolguideusa.com/Remember, there are
over 6,000 college courses offered online, with an estimated 84% of
four-year colleges offering online learning. In fact, several
universities were essentially "born" online. During the 2002/2003
academic year some 700,000 students signed up for after hours online
programs. There just may be one out there right for you, too.
http://www.international.edu/http://www.capella.edu/If you are interested
in obtaining a business degree or an MBA online, some of the most
popular and accredited universities in Southern California are the
University of Phoenix and National University.
http://online.nu.edu/http://onl.uophx.edu/****FEATURED LANGUAGE:
SPANISH IN SPAIN 2. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CASTILIAN
DIELECT OF SPANISH Today's standard modern Castilian dialect of
Spain evolved from Latin sometime during the ninth century in the
Iberian Peninsula near the town of Burgos, in Old Castile (now
north-central Spain). And gradually, as the Moors were forced out of
Spain, Castilian spread southward. By the eleventh century, a rustic
and archaic form of Castilian was spoken in Madrid and Toledo. The
Castilian dialect that was refined by the upper class in Toledo
became the official language of Spain in the fifteenth century.
Besides Castilian,
there are many other dialects of Spanish spoken in Spain. In
secluded rural parts of Spain, regional dialects are spoken in
Aragon, Navarre, Leon, Asturias, and Santander. And still preserved
today among descendents of Jews (expelled from Spain in 1492) is an
ancient form of Castilian known as Ladino or Judesmo.
Spanish is a Romance
language spoken by over 350 million people, making it the third or
fourth most spoken language worldwide. In the Americas English
speakers call the language Spanish. This is what we are most
accustomed to hearing. However, referring to the entire language as
"Spanish" can often spark a debate.
Many Spaniards, when speaking Spanish, don't
refer to their language as simply "Spanish", they call it "Español".
But when Spaniards speak a foreign language, they generally refer to
Spanish as Castellano (Castilian). In schools of Spain, the language
tends to be called Castellano rather than Español in order to
differentiate it from other native languages spoken in Spain
(Catalan, Basque, and Galician).
In some Latin American countries, many people
prefer the term "Castilian" because "Español" is recognized more as
an ethnicity. Castilian to a Latin American Spanish speaker is
simply a different dialect, very much like British English is to an
American.
The most
common dialect spoken in the U.S. and Central and South America
(except Brazil) can be referred to as standard Latin American
Spanish. Pronunciation of Castilian and Latin American Spanish
differs for each letter and with strong emphasis on "r", "ci", and
"ce."
One popular
legend, that of the Lisping King, suggests that King Ferdinand spoke
with a lisp and that his loyal subjects copied him, giving rise to
the so-called lisp sound in Castilian. However, this legend is
likely more tale than fact. More plausible, it seems that various
regional dialects simply evolved just as English dialects have
evolved in England, Canada, Australia, and the United States. The
"ceceo" is not a lisp sound at all, but simply a difference in
pronunciation of the "z" and "c" when followed by "e" or "i".
Finally, Castilian and
other Spanish dialects have been heavily influenced by other
language such as Latin, Greek, and English. And although the
Arabic-speaking Moors were ousted from Spain long ago, Spanish still
contains about 4,000 words with Arabic roots. To learn more about
this colorful language, visit:
http://www.acr-translations.com/spanish_language.htmhttp://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/i.e.mackenzie/castile.htmhttp://www.orbilat.com/Mapshttp://www.spanish.about.com/cs/historyofspanish/a/arabicwords.htm3. DAILY NEWS SOURCES IN SPAIN
Spain
is somewhat of an
enigma when it comes to the circulation of the daily press. On the
one hand, there are only 100 daily newspapers sold per thousand
inhabitants, but on the other hand, 25 percent of the citizens read
the daily papers. One explanation for this discrepancy is the
cultural practice of Spaniards sharing reading materials. Another is
that Spanish newspapers have generally
been boring and overpriced, forcing Spaniards to rely upon radio as
a more reliable and entertaining source of information.
As you can see, if you
are interested in publicizing your products or web site via a
newspaper campaign in Spain, measuring the full effect and reach of
your public relations efforts can be very tricky, so it is best to
consult a local media relations expert in Spain for guidance.
If you want to get
more familiar with dailies online in Spain, Kidon Media link is a
good place to start. Kidon's web site has links to 48 national
papers and over 220 regional papers that cover a wide range of
stories such as international news, local news, business, politics,
cultural events, and sports. Other websites with links to
Spanish media are Sispain.org and Spainview.com.
http://www.sispain.org/english/media/press.html
http://www.spainview.com/media.html
http://www.kidon.com/media-link/spain.shtml
III. HELPFUL WEB
TOOLS
**** An Online Guide to
Spanish Cuisine
The
delicious food of Spain is famous around the world, especially
Paella, a very popular main dish made with rice, chicken, various
types of seafood, garlic, onions, green peppers and a very expensive
spice called saffron that gives the rice a yellow hue and a
wonderful flavor. Other popular party dishes in Spain are the
Tortilla de Patatas (made with eggs, potatoes and onions), Gazpacho
(a cold soup made with tomatoes and cucumber), Horchata de Almendra
(a delicious drink made with almonds and lemons), and Pan de Horno
(freshly baked Spanish bread). If you want to learn how to
cook these great dishes and many more, visit the following web
site:
http://www.xmission.com/~dderhak/recipes.html
IV. IN OUR
NEXT ISSUE
*** FEATURED
INDUSTRY: Global
Recruiting
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LANGUAGE: German
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