This post is available only in Russian. Please change the language at the top of the page.
Our phone:
Category Archives: Foreign Languages
Communication map of a bilingual child
This post is available only in Russian. Please change the language at the top of the page.
It’s never too late to learn a foreign language
Peter exploring the Middle East
I recall reading an article just over 11 years ago as I was about to graduate from Uni on the decreasing interest among Brits, already pretty low, in learning foreign languages. Inspired, perhaps by my contrariness, and still licking the wounds and scars left by learning French at school with Miss Bell, for whom I was a right pain in the arse, I decided to start learning Russian and move to Russia. In the intervening years, I've learned three other languages to varying levels of fluency, but all good enough to enter into and build friendships in those languages.
My friends know me as a grumpy so-and-so who avoids other people at the best of times; however, randomly meeting someone and getting to know a little about them and their background in their own language is a massive source of pleasure and an absolute privilege, which dawns on me afresh every time I have one of these weird communions.
This morning I had one such exchange with a taxi driver in Fes in a mixture of standard Arabic and Moroccan dialect, which was just about understandable, and it has left me in a fantastic mood and slightly emotional all day. I didn't end up where I had wanted to go, but that was not ultimately the point. I had had a great time arriving where I did and learnt a lot along the way.
To those of you who don't speak a foreign language, all I can say is that it is the most incredible, challenging and rewarding journey and one which I recommend wholeheartedly. It's a long hard slog, but it's worth it.
To those of you who think you're too old to learn something new, there's a couple at my school here in Morocco who are well into their retirement years and are learning Arabic together.
Introducing Cloudberry Language Solutions
Cloudberry focuses on critical need languages
Cloudberry has been working with corporate and government clients since it was established. However, this year we have created a new corporate division due to increased demand. Please welcome our big sister Cloudberry Language Solutions and don't hesitate to recommend us to your companies if they need translation/interpreting services, website localization, transcription or foreign language training for their employees.
Check out our new web site for corporate clients and government agencies: www.cloudberryls.com
Why Cross-Cultural Training?
Little ladies learning about cultural differences
Last summer our friends from Russia came to visit us with their two daughters and the goal of immersing these adorable, well-mannered, stylish girls in English. We had found a promising summer camp for the girls, Dasha and Anya, and figured everything was under control. However, after the first day at camp, the two sisters came home with stories about being pushed, kicked and yelled at by other children. We hadn’t anticipated that at all!
At that time, I was too busy to go to the camp and talk to the teachers in person, and so we hoped everything would simply get better after the other children got used to “the foreigners.” But things did not get better. Once the girls came home with bruises, we immediately took action. I observed them from the distance to figure out what was going on and then talked to the teacher, who had no clue why the cute girls were not being accepted by “the gang.”
How To Raise a Truly Bilingual Child
This post is available only in Russian. Please change the language at the top of the page Continue reading
2014 Annual Summary
Ksenia Kologrieva, President & Founder, Cloudberry
I am delighted to report that our performance in 2014 reflected our excellent team work and was in line with our expectations and guidance on every key metric.
The last year was a truly productive one for Cloudberry. As we said last December, our objective for 2014 was to start playing with the big boys and we managed to accomplish that as we began working with government clients and increased our corporate client base.
In 2014 we added more non-traditional languages to our core languages of Russian, Arabic and Mandarin and provided high-quality interpreting, translation and language instruction services in Tagalog, Indonesian, Swahili, Urdu, Albanian, Twi and Japanese in Illinois, Colorado and other states.
We designed unique language immersion programs for adults and now offer them in Colorado, Michigan, Illinois and North Carolina. You can now immerse yourself in a foreign language 24/7 for a couple of weeks without leaving the country or even your own state.
Teaching Russian to Heritage Students
This post is available only in Russian. Please change the language at the top of the page. Continue reading
Russian Colorado
As you all know, large cities like New York and Chicago are very diverse. There are plenty of opportunities to explore a new culture in Chinatown, Brighton Beach or Italian village. Such diversity is more difficult to find it in other cities and states. Yet, the students who take Russian classes with us in Colorado know where to find some good Russian food and drinks and practice their speaking skills. We often take them on field trips to places around the state of Colorado where Russians have rather active communities. We will help you find everything Russian in the Centennial State. So if you are interested in Russian culture and want to explore what this beautiful state has to offer, know that there is more to Colorado than beautiful mountains and rocks!
2013 Annual Summary
Ksenia Kologrieva, President & Founder, Cloudberry
In December, our school reached the important milestone of one year since its inception. Along with our students, we learned a lot over the last year. We were presented with a number of great opportunities and overcame unexpected challenges.
This year we focused on taking care of our clients, doing things right the first time and making sure that promises made were kept—to our clients, our instructors, translators and one another.
We are most proud of the following accomplishments in 2013:
- Launched both group-based and private Russian, Mandarin, Arabic and ESL lessons in five Chicago neighborhoods
- Launched online Russian and Arabic classes for children and adults in small towns in Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Washington and Colorado who otherwise would not have had access to these languages in their hometowns
- Launched ESL instruction for children and adults in Russia
- Hired new teachers for four different languages all around the U.S.
- Expanded globally to attract new students from Europe and Eurasia
- Helped the non-profit Upwardly Global to provide jobs for two talented candidates
- Began working with Chicago Public Schools