Four tips to accelerate your English language learning process

In today's world, most people think everything done faster is better - fast food, fast communication, fast transportation, fast learning is how we live. However, everything is not meant to be done fast like the process of language learning, but realistically, you probably want an accelerated language learning process.

Each year many Americans decide it’s time for a change of pace and pick up and move their lives to one of the world's largest countries – Brazil. Moving to a foreign country is forever life-changing, introducing a new cultural experience and lifestyle. The culture shock experience is almost inevitable, but how can you make your ease into your new home’s culture easier?

Cinthya Trueba and CCLS Houston’s journey from classes at an apartment kitchen table to offices overlooking the city

To celebrate CCLS Houston's 14th anniversary, we sat down with CEO & President Cinthya Trueba to hear about CCLS Houston's history and the plans for the company's future. Cinthya's two-fisted, spirited approach to business ensured CCLS Houston's success from the beginning and will infuse into the company's growth in the next decade.

Don’t use outdated, inefficient methods

Grammar-translation methods and tedious memorization of words and rules have been standard practice for centuries all over the world.

Do accents make a difference when it comes to employers deciding whom to pick?

Accent reduction has many benefits, including:

• Better communication in the workplace between individuals such as employers, staff, clients, and so on.
• Elimination of mistakes made from misunderstandings between two parties
• Enhanced confidence when portraying yourself to others.
• More efficient use of time due to the fluidity of your conversation when less repetition is being made.
• More effective presentations in meetings.

A senior drilling engineer is ready to give a presentation to a large group of fellow employees, and a few higher-ups. The engineer is from another country, and although he has a heavy accent, he’s quite fluent in English. Today, he’s decided to begin his presentation with a friendly greeting that he’s heard from some Americans.

On Tuesday, February 26th, 2019, CCLS Houston, in conjunction with the University of Houston’s Alpha Epsilon Delta, provided a Crash Course in Medical Spanish to more than 20 students! The course was presented by Rafael Lozano, Philologist and CCLS Certified instructor, and Cinthya Trueba, President and CEO. We were thrilled to be given the opportunity to share the CCLS methodology with the bright students of U of H. We look forward to continuing this course at the University of Houston in the future!"

Now that the U.S., Mexico and Canada have signed the new USMCA, designed to replace NAFTA, traders in North America can breathe a sigh of collective relief. Canada and Mexico are the United States’ second and third largest trading partners, respectively, and the uncertainty that pervaded that relationship since the election of President Trump has created heartburn for many. Although the agreement must be formally ratified by Congress before it can take effect, the expectation is that some form of NAFTA 2.0 will soon become law.

CCLS Houston has designed a new program to help medical professionals improve their communication with patients from Spanish-speaking communities. Prior Spanish-language education is not required for this program. Medical Spanish is an academic program focused on teaching the medical vocabulary, linguistics and cultural awareness necessary for caregivers to provide more effective and compassionate care to their patients.

In the Nightingale pledge, nurses promise to dedicate themselves “to devoted service for human welfare.” This creed is followed by workers throughout the medical field, but it can be a difficult standard to meet when there is a communication gap between the caregiver and the patient. This challenge combined with a rapidly growing Spanish-speaking population, has created the need for language training for medical professionals. As Dr. Benjamin Brown writes in his article “Interpreting Medicine: Lessons from a Spanish-Language Clinic”, “caring for patients is an act of interpretation… Caring for patients of limited English proficiency – a population that needs a very literal form or interpretation -- underscores this lesson.”

You are in Houston. Everywhere you go people speak English. You may feel isolated. Learning English is a good way to get connected and become more comfortable in your new home. English is a tricky language and sometimes you may feel like it’s just too difficult but we are here to help you take it one step at a time. Many of you studied English before you arrived, but how much did you speak it? It is good to be able to read but if you do not feel comfortable talking, you will never feel confident going out to do things on your own.

With the recent news that Brazil leads the world in planned and announced drilling projects, the Oil & Gas industry’s eyes are turned increasingly towards that nation. Additionally, Oil & Gas companies are eyeing Brazil for their wind and solar power potential. Brazil already has the highest level of wind energy in the region and its sunny climate makes it ideal for solar power production as well. With all this attention comes an increased focus on the need for Brazilian Portuguese-speakers. As of 2016, an estimated 5% of the population of Brazil spoke a second language, and only approximately 3% speak English fluently. As the sole Portuguese-speaking country in South America, Brazil has always been a bit of a language island but the low levels of English speaking have broader socioeconomic roots. Brazil’s illiteracy rate is 18% and education is far from universal. Secondary education has only been compulsory since 2016, meaning there has not even been a generation of the population who were required to attend high school.

By 2024 it is estimated that the Hispanics/Latinos will make up 32.5% of the total U.S. workforce. The hospitality industry is at the forefront of that trend. In fact, according to the Department of Labor, Hispanics/Latinos already account for more than 22% of the employees in the hospitality industry. It is safe to assume that many of those people are native Spanish speakers. But is the hospitality industry equipped to serve the needs of these workers? What can hoteliers and restauranteurs do to bridge the language gap?

Esta expresión es empleada para afirmar que ciertas características de un individuo lo acompañarán siempre, independientemente del tiempo, lugar o circunstancias en que se encuentre. Cabe destacar que la expresión no refiere a características físicas, sino a cuestiones de personalidad y comportamiento.

El verbo quedar tiene al menos 7 significados y cada uno tiene una estructura gramatical distinta, si no conoces sus usos vas a QUEDAR LOCO.

Cuando estaba en la secundaria yo ya sabía que estudiaría la Licenciatura en Lengua y Literatura Hispánica en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Sin embargo, esta futura elección que en un principio parecía ventajosa al final terminó por afectarme de manera negativa. Yo pensaba que por estudiar lo hispánico no tendría la absoluta necesidad de la lengua inglesa, que era la materia en donde tuve mayor deficiencia en mis estudios preuniversitarios.

Do you know the origin of the idiom “de tal palo tal astilla”?

Is similar to “like father like son” or “the apple doesn´t fall far from the tree”. This expression is often used to refer to the defects or virtues of a child compared to his father, mother or other family members. Usually, the character, the physical traits, the habits… are transmitted between parents and children and when we allude to it we use this expression.

¿Conoces el origen de la expresión “de tal palo tal astilla” o “the apple doesn´t fall far from the three”?

Esta expresión se suele utilizar para referirse a los defectos o las virtudes de un hijo respecto de su padre, madre u otros miembros de la familia. Por lo general, la forma de ser, los rasgos físicos, las costumbres… se transmiten entre padres e hijos y cuando hacemos alusión a ello utilizamos esta expresión.

From ancient times, there has been great diversity of languages. These, from the beginning, have been different from each other. There has never been a single common language, but great linguistic groups identified by area, as it is the case of the Indo-European region. However, this great linguistic diversity also poses enormous difficulties for communication between peoples with different languages. This impediment to communicate is interestingly interpreted by the Bible as a punishment given by God to men, who, when trying to build the Tower of Babel to reach their deity, were reprimanded with small stones that fell on their heads, causing different peoples to receive different languages. This became an obstacle to harmonious coexistence, and also caused linguistic separation.

Desde tiempos ancestrales es que existe una gran diversidad de lenguas y estas desde un principio se diferenciaron, nunca existió una lengua común pero sí grandes agrupaciones lingüísticas por zona, como es el caso del indoeuropeo. Sin embargo, está gran diversidad lingüística representa también una dificultad enorme para la comunicación entre pueblos con distintos idiomas. Este impedimento de comunicación es curiosamente interpretado por la Biblia como un castigo de Dios a los hombres, quienes, al intentar construir la Torre de Babel, para alcanzar a la deidad, fueron reprendidos con pequeñas piedras que cayeron sobre sus cabezas, ocasionando que los pueblos obtuvieran diferentes lenguas, lo que sería un impedimento para la convivencia y que también ocasionó la separación lingüística.

Red Nose Day was born in 1985 in UK, leaded by the non-profit organization Comic Relief and it started in the US in 2015. Red Nose Day is more than a special day to have fun, it is a movement to end with child poverty in the world.

¿Conoces el origen de la expresión “it´s raining cats and dogs” o “llueve a cántaros”?. Vamos a conocer el curioso origen de estas expresiones. Con este tipo de frases hechas mejorarás tus habilidades de conversación, solo tienes que empezar a utilizarlas y rápidamente hablarás como un nativo.

Do you know the origin of the idiom "it´s raining cats and dogs" or in Spanish "llueve a cántaros"? Let´s find out the curious origin of these idioms. With this kind of common phrases you’ll improve your conversation skills, you only have start using them and quickly you will speak like a native.

Have you ever been in a situation where you're trying to tell something to a friend or colleague, but you don't want to be direct about it? Maybe you don't want to sound like you're gossiping, or you don't want to sound mean. Maybe you think your friend will understand what you mean even if you only give them a few small clues. Maybe you don't want your coworker to feel bad.

Carnaval is a large celebration in Brazil before Lent. It is an unique opportunity to experience the many artistic sides of the country and its culture. From its dancers and singers to the capoeira martial artists, tourists and locals alike are sure to have a great time. Here are some of the highlights that show what happened this year for Carnaval.

Los aportes de los inmigrantes a Estados Unidos ha sido uno de los recursos más transcendentales para el éxito del país. A través de sus grandes contribuciones han dejado una marca indeleble en el carácter estadounidense. Más aun, sus capacidades de desarrollar soluciones creativas, su tenacidad y su criterio amplio, han enriquecido la cultura americana y en ocasiones, la han definido.

The contributions made to the U.S. by American immigrants have enriched the country in no small part due to their tenacious drive to succeed and their ability to approach problems in novel ways. These and many other gifts immigrants bring, have not only enriched American culture, but in many instances have defined what it means to be an American.

It's been many times that I have heard an incorrect use of the word dialect, especially because the average speaker does not know how to properly differentiate between a language and a dialect.

Son muchas las ocasiones que he escuchado un uso incorrecto de la palabra dialecto, sobre todo porque el hablante promedio no sabe distinguir de manera adecuada entre lo que es una lengua y lo que es un dialecto.

In one of my conversations with a Mexican friend who lived in Spain, he was telling me that for a Spaniard the best way to make a Mexican look bad is to ask what language he speaks. Any Mexican would naturally answer, “Spanish”; however, the Spaniard would correct him saying that his answer is incorrect, as he in fact speaks Castilian. This issue is somewhat controversial in Spanish-speaking countries, and for certain students of the Spanish language, as there are many factors and facts to take into account (which often are only due to mere confusion). In the following lines I will explain the respective uses of these terms through a brief historical and geographical review of the Spanish language.

En una de mis conversaciones con un amigo mexicano que vivía en España me comentaba que para un español la mejor forma de dejar mal parado a un mexicano consiste en preguntarle qué lengua habla. Cualquier mexicano respondería naturalmente que español; sin embargo, el español lo corregiría, diciéndole que no, que en realidad él habla en castellano. Esta cuestión resulta algo controversial en los países de habla hispana y para ciertos estudiantes de la lengua española, ya qué hay muchos factores y hechos a tomar en cuenta (que muchas veces no se deben más que a una simple confusión). A continuación, explicaré los respectivos usos de estos términos mediante una rápida revisión histórica y geográfica del español.

Aún recuerdo que hace casi seis meses aconteció esta curiosa experiencia en la coordinación del Colegio de Letras Hispánicas de la UNAM. Mientras trabajaba en una revisión del plantel de docentes de la carrera, llegó un alumno de intercambio procedente de Corea del Sur.

Es un hecho innegable que el inglés es la lengua mundial, ya que no solamente la respaldan sus 942 millones de hablantes (nativos y no nativos); además, es el vehículo en el cual se publica la mayor parte de información de fácil acceso en el mundo. Es decir, es la lengua más utilizada en internet con un 26.3 % de usuarios a su favor; lo que representa a más de 948 millones de personas que utilizan la red en dicha lengua. Esto convierte al idioma en la llave de acceso al mundo del ciberespacio, donde la mayor parte del contenido estará en inglés.

Amid public outcry, the Enrique Pena-Nieto’s government announced a hike in consumer gasoline prices. The price hike, also known as the, “Gasolinazo,” has lead people to pay up to 20% more at the pump than what they were paying for last year. Mexico’s gas price increase seems to run at odds with one of the Pena-Nieto administration’s keystone facets of its sweeping energy reform: lowering the price of gas.

Entre manifestaciones y protestas el gobierno de Enrique Peña-Nieto ha subido el precio de la gasolina. El incremento, conocido como el “Gasolinazo,” ha ocasionado que el consumidor mexicano tenga que pagar un 20% más de lo que pagaba hace un año por gasolina. Este incremento de precio va en contra de uno de los puntos clave para el gobierno de Peña-Nieto: reducir el costo del gas para el país.

“A Mexican in Star Wars? Come on! And not just for five minutes!” so Diego Luna exclaimed, who is playing the lead male role in the most recent Star War’s movie ““Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Luna was speaking in a recent interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show about his experiences playing the role of Cassian Andor. Luna’s excitement was palpable throughout his interview with Ellen. After watching the film, I understand why. Rarely do large roles in Hollywood go to Mexican men. They often play the same tired tropes: gang members, janitors, or landscapers. What makes Diego Luna’s role unique, is that a Mexican man is playing a large role in one of the most financially successful movie franchises. Moreover, Luna’s character forms part of a multicultural cast.

Portuguese is a powerful language that holds a great deal of importance in the modern business world. Due to its rich heritage, the linguistic sphere of influence extends far beyond the Iberian Peninsula and Central America. Here in the United States, many companies are having difficulties finding people to hire for Portuguese related articles. Not only is this language a great choice for those who wish to expand their skills overseas, but it is also a great way to become invaluable for companies without having to leave the country.

In her latest book, The Latino Patient, Nilda Chong says that "When a non-Latino provider meets a Latino patient in the clinical setting, both face the challenges of a cross-cultural interaction". In this way, not only language can be a barrier, but also body language, and even voice tone. Within a medical appointment it is important to be able to get the patient to trust the provider and relax, so he or she can open up and share symptoms, habits and worries without fear of being misunderstood. Being able to speak the same language certainly helps, but it is not everything. There are things we can take into consideration that will help the interaction, even if it is carried out with the help of an interpreter.

The ancient Greek civilization had a saying that was so important to them it was written at the entrance of the great temple of Apollo. It said "γνωθι σεαυτόν", which is basically translated "know yourself". This is wise advice when researching and learning about different cultures. Take a look in the mirror and get to know yourself. It is how other cultures view you at a first glance.

It is no news that being bilingual is a powerful tool in today’s job market. In Houston alone, the Latino population has dramatically increased, reaching over 40% of the city demographics, while nationally, we are expected to reach 25% by 2050.

What is Transcultural Competence?

The ability to work and live across cultures is key to for today’s globalized and interconnected world. It is also known by the term Cultural Intelligence. A expert in this field is capable of avoiding cultural misunderstandings that can ruin business or themselves. In 2015 alone, more than half of international business deals failed because of cultural differences. For example, doing business in a Latin American environment can lead to inadvertent misconceptions that also carry unwanted consequences into your deals. Being transculturally competent means being able to work through diverse values rather than against them. This, in turn allows you to transition smoothly toward your goals.

English is the most spoken language in the United States. However, it is not the only means of communicating in this country. A close second to English is Spanish, which is spoken by a large percentage of the U.S. population. Being able to speak both can be one of the keys to success in America. For those who came to this country and already knew this language, it is an important part of who they are. As a direct result of learning it, individuals who embrace it as a second (or even third) language grow closer to their roots, or broaden their horizons. Speaking Spanish is more than gaining a new skill; it is a great step in becoming a better person and a citizen of the world.

El año 2016 presenta un panorama laboral mucho más complejo que al menos los últimos 3 años. Este incluirá los cambios estructurales al plan de salud (healthcare) de Obama (Obamacare) cuyas multas alcanzarán su máximo esplendor en 2016; el cambio hacia unas oficinas más modernas e inteligentes así como a la incorporación del primer grupo de "generación z" al trabajo en mayo siguiente son algunos de los puntos más importantes a resaltar en este período.

Ok, when you think about Christmas they may come to your mind images of beautiful and tall trees, plenty of gifts and delicious dinner with family and friends, but it never comes to your mind the Christmas party with your colleagues at the office. Lets be honest, most of times we don’t have good memories from this events but here are a few tips that could help you to survive the Christmas party at the office.

Como lo hemos comentado en repetidas ocasiones, el hablar un segundo idioma siempre abrirá muchas puertas que toquemos. Hablar y escribir inglés es algo que se ha convertido en un requisito forzoso para aspirar a un nuevo puesto de trabajo en una empresa grande, sobre todo si son transnacionales. Pero en los últimos años, muchas compañías han decidido dejar de lado eso y han dado un paso más, ya que exigen la añadidura de un tercer idioma, lo cual genera un valor adicional a la capacidad del empleado. No cabe duda que el inglés es imprescindible debido que su uso en presentaciones, negociaciones y hasta para entablar conversaciones está siendo cada vez más demandado; pero hay que tener en cuenta que la fluidez con la que se dialogue y el vocabulario. No es suficiente con hablar, sino proyectar seguridad.

Saber inglés ya no es un lujo, ni tampoco un gusto: es una necesidad. Para desarrollarnos profesionalmente y alcanzar un perfecto desempeño en cualquier lugar de trabajo, debemos de hablar al menos otro idioma. Siempre hemos dicho que la manera más adecuada para aprender un idioma es poniéndolo en práctica; para dominarlo y hacerlo parte de nosotros lo mejor y para hacerlo más divertido, es viajar a algún país en el que se hable ese idioma y de esta manera ir aplicando lo aprendido.

Estás aprendiendo un idioma y conforme pasa el tiempo, te vas preguntando: ¿qué será mejor, gramática o conversación?., aquí te diremos por qué la conversación es mucho más importante que la gramática. Al aprender un idioma lo primero que hacemos es memorizar el vocabulario tan básico y un sinfín de reglas gramaticales, conjugación de verbos, entre otras cosas. No negaremos que la gramática juegue un papel muy importante a la hora del aprendizaje, pero realmente cuando nos enfrentamos al mundo de los idiomas o simplemente, intentamos entablar una conversación con otra persona que habla un idioma diferente al nuestro, no es común ni lo más correcto tomar una hoja de papel y estar intercambiado palabras por el simple hecho de que no sabemos cómo expresar nuestras ideas otro idioma.

Aprender el idioma inglés se ha vuelto tan necesario en estos tiempos, casi como tener una computadora en casa. La mayoría de nosotros aspiramos a conseguir importantes puestos de trabajo, y de ser así, solemos buscarlo en empresas bien posicionadas. Es por eso, que el estudiar idiomas, especialmente el inglés, es algo que está muy valorado en la sociedad actual y que gracias a ello, podrás destacar del resto; además, en este mundo tan globalizado, la gran mayoría de las empresas tienen contacto con personas de distintas nacionalidades. Existen muchos métodos para aprender cualquier idioma, sin embargo, debemos considerar que para que este aprendizaje tenga reconocimiento, debe de haber un gran papel de por medio llamado “certificado”. Es por eso que te compartimos las distintas certificaciones que podrán pedirte como requisito para comprar tu nivel de idioma:

Noviembre es un mes importante para todos los mexicanos, debido a que a principios de éste se celebra una de las fechas más representativas para la cultura de este país: Día de muertos. La celebración es llevada a cabo los días 1 y 2 de Noviembre; 1, dedicado al alma de los pequeños angelitos y el 2, al de los adultos. Estas fechas coinciden con la celebración católica del Día de los Fieles Difuntos, y, a pesar de ser una festividad mexicana, existen comunidades en Estados Unidos que también celebran estos días gracias a la gran cantidad de México-americanos.

The month of november is important for all the mexicans, this is because in the beginning of the month one of the most representative customs’ is celebrated: día de muertos “day of the dead”. The celebration takes place in November 1st and 2nd, the 1st is dedicated to the souls of the little ones and the 2nd to the grown-ups. This dates coincide with the catholic celebration of “all hallows eve” and, even this is a Mexican festivity, there are communities in the USA that also celebrate this holidays thanks to the great number of Mexican-Americans within them.

CCLS Houston, along with Friends of Chuck (FOC) was very pleased to sponsor an evening “Meet and Greet” for Houston mayoral candidate Adrian Garcia at the Post Oak Grill Restaurant on 7 October. The packed event was a great opportunity for invited guests and friends to meet the well-known mayoral candidate Adrian Garcia and his lovely wife Monica Garcia, and listen to his plans for moving Houston forward. The evening’s success was guaranteed, thanks to Chef Polo Becerra’s peerless service. The Hors d’oeuvres were delicious and wine glasses were kept full by his professional staff. On behalf of CCLS Houston, we wish mayoral candidate Garcia well in the upcoming election!

The Sister Cities of Houston hosted its 10th annual Fall Concert at St. Thomas University on Sunday evening, and CCLS Houston was proud to be a sponsor and attendee at the gala.

La eterna duda: profesor nativo o no nativo. Como siempre la respuesta no es blanco o negro. ¿qué puede aportar un no nativo?. Existe un mito del que solo se puede aprender idioma con un profesor nativo, debemos entender que hablar un idioma no es garantía de entender su funcionamiento interno, mucho menos saber explicar por qué funciona de esa manera, y aún en el caso de que se posean tales conocimientos, no es lo mismo que saber transmitirlos. A continuación te presentamos las ventajas que podemos encontrar en un profesor nativo:

Surely you have been encouraged to learn another language, but the arguments does not seem too convincing or don’t make you believe that it is really necessary. Next we’ll share you some benefits of studying another language, so you can’t resist to try it.

Brazil is known as one of the funniest places in the world, and yes it is, indeed. If we stop to think about the customs and traditions of Brazil, immediately we think about dancing, music, carnival and the sports. So we want to introduce you some of the most representative Brazilian customs.

Brasil es uno de los países señalados como uno de los más divertidos del mundo, es que efectivamente, lo es. Si nos detenemos a pensar sobre cuáles son las costumbres y tradiciones de Brasil, de inmediato pensamos en todo lo que tenga que ver con el baile, la música, el carnaval y el deporte. Por eso te presentamos algunas de las costumbres brasileñas más representativas:

As a direct result of the Internet being everywhere you look, the world we live in is more connected than ever. From the countless individuals looking at their smartphones during the day to the many other methods of communication, it is pivotal that we are able to talk to one another. While people have their differences in terms of taste, clothes, culture, and lifestyles, the international community has adopted English as the primary way of transmitting information. With a solid background covering more than one language, you can speak with countless individuals all around the world, and gain many new opportunities as a result; from personal reasons such as traveling and hobbies to professional growth, there are countless reasons to fine-tune one’s understanding of this rich language.

Being mindful of cultural differences in the business world goes beyond following simple rules of thumb such as punctuality standards, dress code, and greeting gestures. It comprises understanding the underlying nature of communication across cultures, as we shall explore in this article.

Ser más productivo no significa simplemente lograr más, también significa disfrutar más. De nada sirve que alcances la meta del año, del mes o del período propuesto en tu trabajo si al terminar el día sientes estrés, cansancio o cualquier otra emoción negativa porque entonces de nada habrá servido todo el trabajo hecho, ¿o sí?.

Have you ever wondered why it seems so easy to understand a Portuguese phrase even when you don't have any previous knowledge of it?

Despite the fact that a Spanish speaking person can understand almost 80% of written Portuguese, to speak the well known "portuñol" doesn't guarantee any business success in the Portuguese-speaking countries.

Una mujer joven entra a mi oficina. En ese tiempo yo era consejera académica en una universidad privada en Brasil. Sus grandes ojos marrón brillan con emoción, mientras que un ligero gesto revela preocupación.

“Maestra, “dice. “Cuando me gradúe quiero viajar por el mundo, trabajar y estudiar en diferentes países, entender diferentes culturas, visitar lugares exóticos. ¿Cómo me puedo preparar para ello?” “Aprende inglés,” respondí simplemente. “Y apréndelo bien.”

En los últimos 2 años, un paquete de reformas energéticas se convirtieron en ley en México, estas incluían 9 nuevas leyes así como modificaciones a las ya existentes, con lo cual se establecía un nuevo marco legal para la industria energética en México. Algo que definitivamente urgía a México, si tomamos en cuenta que paso de ser el sexto exportador de petróleo a nivel mundial al décimo lugar en 2014.

In the globalized, interconnected information era that we live in, communication is key to development. It is easy to see why being able to speak more than one language could improve one’s opportunities for communicating, as human beings speak many different languages across the globe. But are there other aspects to being bilingual? Could it ultimately affect economic, social, cultural, and even health aspects of our lives?

En los últimos años, empresarios de todo el mundo han visto a América Latina como el lugar donde invertir y un nuevo mercado donde promocionar sus servicios y productos. De entre todos los países latinoamericanos hay dos que llaman particularmente la atención dadas sus últimas tasas de crecimiento, nos referimos a México y Brasil. Por eso, en el blog de hoy hablaremos de estas dos importantes figuras en el ámbito de la región.

Una de las frases más famosas en el mundo de los negocios es "El tiempo es dinero" y aun cuando en algunas ocasiones pueda sonar algo exagerado la realidad es que es completamente cierto, la manera en que ocupamos nuestro tiempo puede determinar nuestro éxito o fracaso en determinado proyecto o parte de nuestra vida, por lo cual es muy importante saber cuáles son esos pequeños detalles en los que podemos evitar perder el tiempo, sobre todo si hablamos del tiempo que ocupamos en la oficina.

Les compartimos esta infografía que muestra personalidades destacadas del mundo de los negocios en diferentes generaciones. ¿Ustedes qué opinan, qué generación ha sido más destacada en el mundo de los negocios?

Sabemos que en el mundo corporativo y de negocios el email es el medio de comunicación más utilizado; ya sean cotizaciones, solicitudes, órdenes de trabajo, o en el proceso de reclutamiento, el correo electrónico es la forma en la que la información fluye a través y en las organizaciones. Aquí te compartimos 7 consejos para que la gente que reciba tus emails tenga la mejor impresión de ti:

Aprender a trabajar en equipo siempre ha significado una tarea ardua para cualquier grupo de trabajo ya que intervienen diferentes factores como la cultura, el nivel de estudios, la efectividad de comunicación e incluso la edad de sus integrantes. En este post hablaremos de este último factor: la brecha generacional en el trabajo.

• Stop having to repeat yourself
• Open up career improvement opportunities
• Perform better in school
• Stop being too embarrassed to speak publicly

It is an all too common scenario: Roberto studied English in his home country of Mexico for many years. When he was transferred to the United States for work, he thought he was ready. Once he was here, he had trouble understanding the native English speakers in meetings and other interactions. When he needed to communicate his thoughts, he was often either misunderstood or not understood at all, despite repeating himself and avoiding difficult words. It was a very frustrating process for him, realizing that he had learned to speak and understand English with the accent spoken in his home country only. This is how he described his situation:

It is that time of the year. No matter what religion (if any) we practice, most of us will gather with friends and family to celebrate the Holidays. For thousands of years, humanity has been passing generation to generation the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions as they plan for the year to come. From the Babylonians to the 21^st century, both men and women have always possessed a drive to reflect upon our self-improvement every year. Here at CCLS Houston, it is our commitment to help you on your personal journey in 2015.

Spanish is an important language in the workplace for many professions. Not only can it help you have an international career where you get to travel abroad for business, but it can also help you to gain an academic edge. In some cases, literature in your field may only be available in Spanish, and being able to understand it can greatly help. No matter what your career is, Spanish can help you take it to the next level.