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National language initiative for business

20 July 2005

Monash is playing a key role in the newly formed National Centre for Language Training, which will provide customised language and cross-cultural training courses for Australian businesses involved in international trade.

The centre is a consortium of Australian universities and TAFE institutes and is funded through the Department of Education, Science and Training.

It will provide services including language and cultural readiness assessments, short courses in practical business language, immersion-training programs for staff and management, as well as seminars and workshops on cultural awareness and intercultural communications and negotiations.

The centre is based at the University of New South Wales with branches at several universities and TAFEs, including Monash.

The Monash convenor, Ms Sally Staddon from the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, said Mandarin would be the first in a series of intensive weekend language courses to be offered by the university.

The first course is scheduled for 17 and 18 September. Courses in English covering intercultural communication and doing business in China would follow in October.

"Monash has one of the largest language schools in the country, and this is a terrific opportunity to promote its expertise," Ms Staddon said.

"Through the centre, Monash will be able to offer something that most individual education institutions and private language schools and consultants really can't. Our Chinese studies program is highly regarded and successful, and the staff have strong links with China, which will be of enormous benefit to business."

Ms Staddon said the courses were designed to appeal to businesses exporting, or planning to export, to China, as well as those involved in tourism and education that were seeking to enter the international marketplace.

The other partners in the centre are Curtin University of Technology, Griffith University, the University of New South Wales, the University of South Australia, TAFE NSW and the Australian TAFE Consortium.