We talked to Elina about her music, but also about languages since she sings in many different languages. How many actually? Watch our interview to find out and learn more about this charming Swiss-Albanian vocalist.
Elina Spiro Duni is a jazz singer, born in Tirana, Albania. Elina made her first steps on stage at the age of five. Born to an artistic family (her mother and grandfather were writers, her other grandfather was a singer, whereas her father was an actor and theater director), she was exposed early to different types of art. When living in communist Albania, the only opportunity for her was to sing in the “palace of pioneer” (Albanian: Pallati i Pioniereve). In 1992 she settled in Geneva, Switzerland along with her mother. READ MORE
A US based education group and academic consultancy PRODIREKT, which also owns the Verbalists Language Network, has partnered with the leading education event organizer Advent Group to promote their Access MBA and Access Masters tours. Access MBA and Access Masters tours represent a series of events that take place in over 55 cities around the world. The tours bring together elite international business schools and high-caliber candidates. READ MORE
Once again, ICEF was very successful in bringing international educators, service providers, work & travel professionals, and the world’s best agents under the same roof, helping them to create strategic partnerships. In fact, the ICEF Berlin workshop, which was held from 3-6 November at the InterContinental Hotel, proved to be the best so far for Prodirekt and its Verbalists Education & Language Network. A total of 2,842 participants from 1,789 organizations, representing 111 countries across six continents, took part in ICEF Berlin 2018. READ MORE
The recently published Times Higher Education (THE) survey reveals which universities offer students the best quality of life.
The survey ranks institutions by analysing a range of other surveys and data including surveys on living costs, employment and salary on graduation, and student satisfaction. The following universities made the top ten. READ MORE
The Study Travel Magazine, one of the best known and most read publications in the education and travel industry, published in its December issue several responses from the leading education agents in East and Southeast Europe on the subject of the strength of the British Pound and its impact on language education opportunities around the globe.
Commenting on how the rise of the British Pound has affected people’s choice of destination for language learning, Maja Merdovic, Education Program Manager at Prodirekt, said that “it has created significant problems for language travel in price sensitive markets”. READ MORE
After the Manchester United football club, the representation of Manchester City added to the Verbalists Language Network’s programs portfolio for the great rivalry on the pitch but also in the classroom.
Educational group PRODIREKT LLC, along with its Verbalists Language Network, took part for the 5th time in the most important annual educational workshop held in Berlin, from 1st-3rd November, which was organised by the revered Berlin’s ICEF organisation. READ MORE
A shocking 45% of the doctors who applied to work in the UK were barred after failing to prove their English-language skills.
About a year after the EU’s freedom of movement rules were amended to require medical doctors to pass a language proficiency exam in order to practice medicine in an EU member state in the doctor’s non-native language, a shocking 45% of the doctors who applied to work in the UK were barred after failing to prove their English-language skills.
Doctors from non-Anglophone EU member states must achieve a sufficient score on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in order to receive a license to practice medicine in the UK. Out of all the applicants, 779 were rejected. According to the UK’s General Medical Council, only one-third of 245 Italian applicants passed the English requirement; 40% of the 174 Greek applicants passed; and less than a quarter of French applicants earned a license to practice medicine in the UK. Polish and German applicants proved to be the most competent in English, with 69 of 114 Polish doctors and 53 of 79 German doctors scoring at least a 7.5 out of 9 on the IELTS. The IELTS is widely considered to be more challenging than other popular English proficiency exams, such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).
The recent language requirement, which came about after a German doctor administered an overdose of painkillers killing a patient in the UK in 2008, aims to ensure that the language barrier never interferes with a patient’s right to appropriate medical care.
