Berlin - Dead live longer. This old adage proves true for German language as a result of the economic crisis. A few years ago learning German as a foreign language was a discontinued model, but today schools and teachers as well as e-learning courses are now faced with a rapidly growing demand. "The sales of our web-based audiovisual German courses are booming" confirms Philip Gienandt, managing director of online language learning platform LinguaTV, the positive trend.

This is primarily driven by the influx of people from the Euro-crisis states. In countries like Spain, Portugal and Italy, youth unemployment is at a record high. Especially well-educated, young people increasingly turn their home's back and looking for their chance to be abroad - and especially in Germany, where many jobs even stay vacant due to a lack of skilled workers. The numbers of schools such as the prestigious Goethe Institute show: in Spain alone 35 percent more people signed-in for German courses in the past year, in Portugal, it was 20 and 14 percent in Italy. "We also feel the growing demand especially from the Southern European countries. Since German teachers are missing and many schools are now overcrowded, our online courses provide a good alternative and ideal supplement for many people willing to learn German online," says Philip Gienandt.

With its language training service LinguaTV.com offers especially for German companies the opportunity to capitalize on the growing interest of European specialists in employment in Germany. "We see that more and more companies are seizing the opportunity to recruit skilled workers from other European countries. The development of their linguistic skills is an important step for a successful, operational integration. With the practical relevant language video courses "German as a Foreign Language" and "Business German" – available as online course and as mobile app – improving your German skills is possible for everybody, anytime and everywhere, virtually during operation, in an efficient and sustainable way, "said the e-learning expert.

For more information about the German courses please visit LinguaTV.

The mobile video language learning application "Travel English" from LinguaTV offers users a wonderful opportunity to improve their English on the go. The app covers various language skills, such as listening comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. With LinguaTV the process of learning a foreign language becomes a lively, effective, and entertaining experience.

Version 2.0 of the mobile video language course "Travel English" from LinguaTV is now available as an app at the iTunes App Store. Top video courses, comprised of fun videos and engaging interactive exercises, have been specially optimized for mobile use. To increase user benefit, the app’s new version was further expanded to include an extensive vocabulary training tool. iPhone users can now watch these authentic conversation situations any time and anywhere they choose, picking up additional important words and phrases with flash card technology that enables individualized and targeted learning.

Learn English with Short Stories
The English course "Travel English" consists of a number of entertaining short stories, which can be bought individually and as a convenient in-app-purchase directly within the mobile application. The prize-winning series "Travel English," already available as a browser-based course on www.linguatv.com, draws the user into the fascinating world of international travel. Its short story focuses on Tom Sanders during his business trip to New York. It’s his first time in “The Big Apple,” so he not only has questions about room amenities and hotel services, but also needs recommendations about attractions and restaurants. The user accompanies  Tom during his check-in at the hotel, and goes along while he dines at a restaurant. These authentic situations quickly and efficiently prepare the user for a similar journey abroad. In this way, learning English becomes fun!

Comprehensive learning opportunities with a focus on usability

Each LinguaTV app includes entertaining videos with authentic conversation situations, a variety of interactive exercises, an interactive vocabulary and pronunciation tool with the most important words, a "Flashcard Box," a management system for storing and targeted repetition of individual words.

What makes the app particularly user-friendly is that all learning content (incl. all videos) are completely contained within it. Learning with the LinguaTV app is extremely convenient. The user can access its mobile content anytime, anywhere without an internet connection (except for downloading). Due to the small amount of data download necessary, the app also works fine with a UMTS connection.

The hands-on content and modular design are ideal for regular practice. Whether traveling or at work, ... with LinguaTV’s mobile language learning application “learning on demand" is a reality.

LinguaTV’s new language learning app is now available at the iTunes Store.

For more information about the LinguaTV mobile language learning apps please read here

In cooperation with the Cornelsen publishing house, LinguaTV offers the best learning content of the Lextra-series for the specific fields of business English communication on www.linguatv.com. To be found: a broad range of video and interactive exercises on the most important topics such as Business English Communications, Meetings, Presentations, Negotiations as well as Socializing & Small Talk.

The content consists of interactive online language courses with an individual learning progress control. With 5-6 entertaining episodes per subject you will find authentic conversations and practical exercises and additional learning materials also available for download at any time of the day. Perfect for those who are often away on business and who want to prepare quickly and efficiently for discussions with international partners and customers.

Organized in an original yet realistic story line, you will be introduced to the business world and its most important situations such as job interviews, phone calls, project meetings, negotiations, preparation and implementation of presentations, as well as small talk. Not only is the suspense of the plot motivating for your regular online training, but you are also able to collect activity points and to follow the learning progress in real-time. Thus, the user can see his personal learning success in writing, reading, listening, as well as his grammar and vocabulary skills.

Just recently the platform has experienced many enlargements regarding its content and its functionality featuring study groups and learning progress reports. Meanwhile more than 20 courses in five foreign languages, English (as a foreign language), French, Spanish, Italian and German are available for companies, organizations and private customers. The core of the language training represents instructional professionally produced videos. Equipped with a convenient Media Player, realistic dialogues, transcripts and extensive interactive exercises, the user can enlarge his targeted and practical language skills. Free demo lessons can be tested by interested visitors at www.linguatv.com where you can get an insight into the many functions of the didactically valuable and technologically innovative platform.

With LinguaTV.com you can dive in the fascinating world of Business English and expand quickly and easily your language skills: www.linguatv.com.

Fluent communication skills in English are a prerequisite for a successful career in the Hotel and Tourism sector. International guests expect employees in the Hotel & Tourism profession to be able to speak English fluently and effortlessly. LinguaTV now offers for the first time a multimedia language course in English to learn the most important communication skills required between a Hotel or Tourism professional and guests.

The LinguaTV Course "English for Hotel and Tourism" has been specifically designed for those who work in the Hotel & Tourism profession. The pivotal features are the specifically produced videos with authentic communication situations with native English speakers. The viewer learns through realistic dialogues and profession-relevant vocabulary and correct pronunciation. Participants can choose between everyday scenes and interactive exercises and many other learning-games. Individual learning-analysis reports show a detailed progress as well as giving individual recommendations on how to advance.

Anywhere and Anytime: Efficient and Practical English-learning

At the core of the Online Language Course is the practical know-how, which can be used by Hotel & Tourism employees immediately in the work place. The modular design allows users for the first time a fast, efficient and simple way of learning a foreign language and communication skills. LinguaTV places special value on providing an entertaining experience whilst learning. Another special feature is the user-friendliness of the learning tool. You only need a Multimedia PC or laptop and an Internet connection to access the browser-based learning tool. No software downloading required. This means that LinguaTV is available to you wherever you are, whenever you need it – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! LinguaTV is available at your fingertips whenever you are ready to learn!

Language experts and hotel professionals have collaborated to create a unique and customised learning experience

The top quality of "English for Hotel and Tourism", among other things, the result of collaborations with renowned partners, proven experts in the industry and a well-known international luxury hotel chain. "Thanks to the support of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, we are very proud to present this new English course, a truly innovative and practical video training, which makes a valuable contribution to modern education in the hospitality industry," said Sandra Gasber, Managing Director of LinguaTV. Christian Siejock, training manager of the InterContinental Hotel, said, "LinguaTV effectively conveys the important English language skills employees require to interact with guests professionally."

Follow this link for a free demo lesson of our English course for employees in hotels and tourism.

LinguaTV has been awarded Outstanding Achievement in Website Development by the Interactive Media Awards™ for its work on its language learning platform LinguaTV.com. The honor recognizes that the project met and surpassed the high standards of excellence that comprise the web’s most professional work. The site was honored specifically for excellence in the category “Training/Vocational Education”.

The judging consisted of various criteria, including design, usability, innovation in technical features, standards compliance and content. In order to win this award level, the site had to meet strict guidelines in each area — an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each year.

Philip Gienandt, CEO of LinguaTV, said, "It's a great honour to have our work recognized by the Interactive Media Awards. We feel strongly that our projects are world-class examples of how the Internet and Online-Video can be used to improve vocational training efficiency and better reach educational goals. This accolade is further proof of this fact."

More information about the Interactive Media Awards at www.ima.com.

For the first time, the tried and tested Lextra video language courses created by the German editorial Cornelsen are exclusively available on the language learning platform www.linguatv.com for language learners all over the world. The courses range from classical Business English topics to entertaining detective stories for the languages Spanish, French, Italian and English.
Sandra Gasber, Managing Director at LinguaTV, is delighted by the latest additions: “We were pleased by Cornelsen’s contents from the very first. They perfectly complete our already established language courses.” “Cornelsen is one of Germany’s leading editorials for educational media. We have realized the trend to use videos for language teaching at an early stage,” adds Helga Holtkamp, Editor-in-Chief for Modern Foreign Languages at Cornelsen. “I am therefore particularly happy that we are now able to present our video language courses online at LinguaTV to an international audience.”
LinguaTV customers have access to a broad range of videos and interactive exercises on the most important Business English subjects such as Communications, Meetings, Presentations, Negotiations, and Socializing & Small Talk. Thanks to the entertaining video training, learners can make use of authentic conversation situations and practical exercises, as well as additional learning material to download, wherever and whenever they want. Or they pursue a mysterious word robbery with the detectives Anita Andress and Derek Dexter in twelve episodes. While hunting criminals like “El Gato Fantasma” in Madrid, “Le chat Masqué” in Paris, “Il Gatto Fantasma” in Rome and “Phantom Cat” in London, users learn the basics of the foreign language as they go along.
Apart from the plot’s suspense, it is the possibility to collect points of activity and to pursue one’s personal learning progress that is encouraging for the regular online training with the LinguaTV platform. Furthermore, social network community functions—such as learning groups—complete the products. Additional functions such as subtitles, an online dictionary, and considerable accompanying material with transcripts and exercises facilitate the individual learning of languages with a measurement of results.
Freely available demo lessons can be tested on www.linguatv.com.

For the 15th time the Comenius EduMedia Award is handed to outstanding educational multimedia products. On the 25th of June 2010 the online video platform www.LinguaTV.com was awarded the coveted Comenius EduMedia Seal as an “Outstanding Educational Multimedia Product” in the category of “Native and Foreign Language Education” by the renowned Association of Pedagogy and Information (Gesellschaft für Pädagogik und Information (GPI) e.V.). The Comenius EduMedia Award certifies exceptional educational and multimedia quality. This award is presented annually by an independent international jury of media experts from ten European countries to outstanding European educational multimedia brands. Representatives from all major software and education businesses gathered together for the fifteenth time in Berlin and this year selected LinguaTV as one of the most academically valuable, content-rich and well-designed educational multimedia products. The Comenius Award is the oldest German and European educational multimedia prize for outstanding academic multimedia products. All eligible products have to meet high academic requirements and are subject to extensive scrutiny. It is for this reason that the team at LinguaTV is extremely excited about this achievement. On behalf of LinguaTV, managing directors Sandra Gasber and Philip Gienandt accepted the award from the chairman of GPI, Prof. Dr. Gerhard E. Ortner, and Managing Director of the GPI, Dr Bernd Mikuszeit. Competing alongside LinguaTV were 140 applicants, including Auralog, Cornelsen, Digital Publishing and Klett Langenscheidt, with a total of 170 entries for the coveted European multimedia award. The video training from LinguaTV, which is already being used actively in current teaching and learning programs at various institutions, has, with this title, already acquired its fourth award in the company’s short three-year history. Since the end of April the content and features of the online platform have been enhanced. On offer are a total of sixteen courses in five foreign languages: English including Business English, French, Spanish and Italian as well as German are all now available for businesses, academic organisations and individual clients. The heart of the language course lies in the professionally produced video tutorials. Equipped with a user-friendly media player, realistic dialogues, transcripts and comprehensive interactive exercises, students are able to expand their language skills through the most practical means. Features such as a social network community, for example, add to the practical learning experience. A free trial is available for visitors at www.LinguaTV.com to offer an insight into the various functions of this academically and technologically innovative online platform.

To find out more about the Comenius-EduMedia Award visit www.gpi-online.de.

As of today, the LinguaTV team is delighted to be able to present its new online language learning platform with new videos and a new and chic design.

Based on the many excellent suggestions from our users and from experienced experts, we have not only developed visually, but also technologically, and are now able to offer you numerous additional functions and features.

For example, there is now a personal learning progress control and a recommendation system which helps the learner to target and develop those skills which are specific to his individual needs. The video player also demonstrates, alongside the old, well-known functions, such as subtitles and transcripts which can be shown or hidden from view, innovative new features: for example, the repeat button lets the user play back single sentences or complete text sections as often as he likes, until he has understood every word and perfected his pronunciation.

In addition, the platform has been expanded to include a download area, where the learner has access to various types of file (PDF, MP3, etc.). These act as a useful complement to the video lessons. As of today, we will be providing the transcripts and additional learning materials for your courses.  Furthermore, LinguaTV’s video language training is also going to be expanded with a new group functionality. Here it will be possible for the learner to get together with other LinguaTV users to do things like discuss the platform’s learning content or compare points tallies. This makes learning together even more fun and motivating.

Alongside the platform’s new features, LinguaTV now also has a broader range of video language courses. Beginners with only a little prior knowledge can use entertaining learning crime thrillers to help them get started in the English, French, Italian and Spanish languages. For advanced English learners, there are special courses in Business English which deal with a variety of themes such as holding presentations, conducting meetings and negotiations, communicating, engaging in small talk, and so on.

We recommend all our visitors, old and new, to register here and discover all the advantages the new language learning platform has to offer.

For further questions about our new “outfit“ and the new features, we are happy to take your calls or answer your e-mails at any time.