We play fair
или честный бизнес возможен!

В современной России, где господствует капитализм с непонятным лицом, где погоня за прибылью часто оправдывает все средства, туманит взор и нарушает этические основы взаимоотношения между людьми, будь они конкуренты друг другу или клиенты, - возможен ли честный бизнес? Если говорить о том поле, на котором мы работаем, то в моем понимании образовательный бизнес, в особенности обучение иностранным языкам, накладывают особые этические обязательства на организаторов процесса обучения и на самих преподавателей. Образовательная услуга по определению не может быть тождественна продаже материального товара. Она интеллигентна и этична по своей сути: и поскольку осуществляется преподавателями, на которых лежит особая гуманитарная ответственность в каждой культуре, и поскольку адресована личностному началу в человеке.

В своем бизнесе мы имеем дело с производством знаний, культурных навыков, человеческих способностей, можно сказать, что мы производим само общение людей, принадлежащих разным культурам. Это задача профессиональная и моральная одновременно. Честность образовательных центров во взаимоотношениях с клиентами и конкурентами должна быть обязательно, иначе образование, ценность его, процесс обучения рано или поздно начинают терять свой моральный авторитет, ценностно девальвируются.

В области частного обучения иностранным языкам конкуренция достаточно велика и постоянно растет, что совершенно естественно. Многие из конкурентов в нашем бизнесе являются коллегами, хорошими знакомыми, с которыми нередко мы вместе встречаемся на семинарах и конференциях и обсуждаем общие профессиональные проблемы. Уверена, такой стиль поведения образовательной компании на рынке должен быть профессиональной и корпоративной нормой. Однако далеко не все настроены так корректно. В нашем городе, к сожалению, есть обучающие компании, которые, во-первых, не всегда чистоплотны в предложении своих услуг, облачая фикции в красивые рекламные упаковки, превращаясь в машину по выколачиванию денег из доверчивых клиентов. Во-вторых, они практикуют, мягко говоря, нечестный стиль поведения на рынке. Все чаще и чаще мы видим так называемый «партизанский маркетинг», когда молодая компания берет себе популярное имя уже существующей школы где-то в Англии, Москве, Питере или даже в Самаре (!), так чтобы первые ассоциации или поиск в Интернете выдавал «большое имя», а там пойди разберись, они сами по себе или это все же чей-то филиал. Или еще «прием»: сесть под крыло конкурентам, в одно с ними здание, даже на один этаж, на раскрученное место, пусть клиенты путают, авось что-то и перепадет. Есть в Самаре примеры и понаглее: назвать себя филиалом или представительством зарубежного колледжа, пригласить иностранцев и продавать свои услуги, и никто не узнает, что про них в Англии никто слыхом не слыхивал, но ведь пока клиенты разберутся, что милые иностранные преподаватели и сами не владеют форматом того международного экзамена, к которому готовят, пройдет время, которое, как известно, деньги. Тут, конечно же, и ребрендинг придет на помощь: не пошло дело под одной вывеской, назовем по другому. Ну а случаи, когда работали вместе, потом кто-то кого-то кинул, ушел с клиентской базой данных на новое место, увел преподавателей, - это как и в других сферах бизнеса бывает. Не говорю уже о таких ловушках, которые имеют место еще на стадии тестирования клиента при записи на курсы: ну и что, что вы неплохо справились с тестом, ведь вы еще делаете кое-какие ошибки, зачем вам на следующую ступень, идите поучитесь у нас с самого начала, а когда заслужите доверие, пойдете дальше… Не понятно, чего здесь больше – непрофессионализма или хитрой манипуляции. Так что, уважаемые клиенты, будьте очень внимательны при выборе тех, кто будет вас обучать!

Не хочу, чтобы думали, что мы идеал. Нет, конечно. Но для меня в английской культуре есть одно из ключевых понятий, пришедших из спорта, а именно из крикета, - честная игра, играть честно, to play fair. О подлых увертках англичане говорят it’s not cricket. В английском языке есть масса образных выражений, связанных с понятием джентльменского, честного поведения, и я говорю, что мы, центр «Status Lingua», считаем, что стремление к эффективности бизнеса не должно приводить к нарушению этических норм, мы играем честно, по правилам и дорожим своей репутацией. Мы честны и на конкурентном поле, и в отношении с нашими клиентами. Мы рассматриваем наших конкурентов как коллег по общему делу, а наших клиентов не как объектов для манипуляций, а как партнеров по образовательному диалогу, чьи успехи и прорывы – это наши общие радости. Мы практикуем прозрачный бизнес, идеологию открытости, мы всегда предоставляем полную и исчерпывающую информацию по каждой программе, по каждому преподавателю, по каждому аспекту и нюансу учебного процесса, по истории нашего центра или по его новым проектам. И вы всегда можете быть уверены, что наши слова никогда не расходятся с делом! Дальше – сам учебный процесс, не всегда легкий, но всегда интересный, энергичный, полный новых эмоций и практик, приносящий радость!

Искренне ваша!
Виталина Лехциер

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Центр английского языка Status Lingua отмечает 10-летний юбилей!

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Natalia Toropova (Intermediate). II место в конкурсе эссе
My Prayers Were Answered (эссе, 2010)

My second visit to the UK was in April 2010 and that is the trip that I’ll never forget. It was a journey to South Wales, the homeland of my friend. At the border of Wales I was greeted by a sign which said “Croeso I Gymru” (Welcome to Wales). The Welsh people honour their heritage and their own language, so all signs and street names are written in two languages, English and Welsh.

Wales is well known for its wet and changeable weather, its evergreen meadows, hills and valleys with many sheep and cows, ancient castles and kilometers of beautiful coastline. I felt overjoyed.

My home for the next two weeks was not a small house (a chalet) near the town of Kidwelly on the shore of the Irish Sea. The chalet was situated only thirty meters from the beach and the sea. I saw the tides of the Irish Sea twice a day. It was incredible for someone like me who lives by a river to see the water disappear and a beautiful coastline appear in front of you. At some places the width of the coast could be over a kilometer. This gave an opportunity to all people to enjoy the beach, play games, relax or look for crabs, mussels and cockles (a special delicacy). But then hours later the water would return, blanket the sandy shore again and cover all of the footprints and traces of the people who had visited the beach that day. The Gower coastline has the best beaches and coastline in Europe.

In a small village I visited the church of Saint Thomas which was built in the sixteenth century. Inside the church was a visitor’s book which had a record of all the people who had visited this beautiful building. I signed in the book and couldn’t help wondering if I was the first Russian who had been there. The village of Kidwelly is an ancient place and I visited the ancient remains of the Llanstephan and Kidwelly castles which were built in the twelfth century to protect the Welsh coastline from attacks. I was amazed to see how well preserved these castles were. I was allowed to enter and climb the castle walls and imagine what it was like to live inside those great buildings.

With my friend I explored this scenic land and visited many traditional small villages, larger towns and cities, we stopped in local pubs and tasted the real ale (beer) and traditional food cowl (soup).Wales is also known as “the land of song” and I saw this at a local rugby match. Before the game started, both teams and spectators sang their traditional songs.

I also visited a horse racing stadium; this was my first experience of predicting the winner. As the races started I forgot about everything else and screamed aloud with excitement. They say that beginners can be lucky and we had our luck as our selections won 4 out of the 6 races YIPPEE!!!!

The time of my holiday had come to an end and it was time to return home, but I did not want to leave, I wanted so desperately to stay longer. And my prayers were answered!!!!! A volcano in Iceland had erupted. All flights in the UK and Europe were canceled. While thousands of people were stranded in panic and millions of people all over Europe were worried about their relatives, I was indescribably happy, “over the moon”, “jumping for joy”. My only concern was about my mother and friends who were worried about me. So, while I waited for the volcanic ash to disappear, I had more time to explore this friendly country. After a few days the news was announced that the volcanic ash was slowly disappearing and my heart sank with sadness.

We decided to spend the last two days of my holiday in England, in the ancient Roman City of Bath, which is one of the most visited cities in the UK. It was built many centuries ago by the Romans when they invaded the British Isles. The very first public bath was built there and it is still in working condition, many ancient buildings have been restored and preserved. It was incredible for me to see so much history with my own eyes in every town and village. This was not a journey out of a tour guide, I visited more landmarks than any tour guide could describe and felt so much at home.

Finally and sadly, my second visit to the UK had come to an end and it was time to go home. As I boarded the plane with tears in my eyes and a camera filled with memories, I said to myself “I will return, I will be back someday”.

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Алиса Киреева (FCE). I место в конкурсе эссе
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (эссе, 2010)

Once upon a time, in an ordinary Russian city there lived an ordinary Russian girl named Alice, who has always wanted to get to the Wonderland. Actually, it was me and in 2007 without any White Rabbit’s help my dream somehow came true. The United States of America became my Wonderland for the Summer ’07 and this is not just a felicitous comparison as this is a country of incredible contrasts and inimitable combinations. But 'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter XII, Alice's Evidence)

The first city I have found myself after a long flight was peerless New York. NY is a huge anthill with its never-ending traffic jams, rush-hour crowds and breathtaking skyscrapers. So I was immediately caught by this giddy bustle and ran down the streets like a scalded cat, staring at luxurious clothes in the bright shop windows, intricate buildings and manifold snack bars. "Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English) (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter II The Pool of Tears). So did I, while breathing in mixed smell of hot-dogs, subways and expensive perfume and hearing a lot of sounds from live music melody to crash of the road-building machines. There were people of different nations, like the whole world shrank in one city, so here and there I could hear some exotic languages and in many cases it was Russian. That was how I saw the USA first, but the place I had to stay all the summer completely changed my initial notion about the country.

According to the history, North Carolina was the first American territory, where English colonists attempted to settle down. By a strange quirk of fate, the first and the only one it was for me. I lived in a small provincial town on the Outer Banks quite close to the Atlantic Ocean and the whole life will not be enough to portray what kind of place it is. Orderly rows of cosy neat houses decorated with national flags and flowers, perfect emerald green lawns with bright-coloured porcelain gnomes and acid-pink plastic flamingos on it, stunning sunsets and the sky of stars, fearless squirrels and unhurried rabbits, curious graceful deers and bushy opossums – that was the other side. `One side of what? The other side of what?' thought Alice to herself. `Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter V Advice from a caterpillar), but I mean the USA. In one phrase it’s called ‘The American Dream’ and there is really a lot to dream about. Most people think Americans are none too clever, I am sure they are just none too anxious as they have commoner-centered government and the oceans all around. The Atlantic Ocean... Now stormy and ominous and than still and tender, it has hundreds of different tints and scents. When I was dipping into it, I became a small part of the infinite living organism, which can pamper you with warm soft waves here and destroy the whole city on the opposite shore meanwhile. These were astonishing feelings and I will carry them with me for the rest of my life, as well as the memories which are connected with Virginia State.

As the main official aim of my sojourn in the USA was to work, I was selflessly working at two jobs and gathering ‘cabbage’ on my bank account. But after another ten days without days off, I suddenly decided to do something adventurous and striking. This was quite a new idea to Alice, and she thought it over a little before she made her next remark. `Then the eleventh day must have been a holiday?' (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter IX The Mock-turtle’s story). By happy coincidence, my friends were on the same wavelength and we immediately began to prepare for a journey to Virginia. On the first day of our mini-holiday we went to a rock-music festival, which took place in The Virginia Beach Amphitheater with more than 20 000 seats. There were a lot of famous bands during all day like ‘HIM’ and ‘My chemical romance’, and the headline of this spectacular show was ‘Linkin Park’. Just after that performance I became a fan of their music. The fantastic singing together with overwhelming drive that musicians were giving the audience won my heart completely and I, like a crazy fanatic, was rushing in the crowd to catch the drumstick or to ‘give a five’ to the member of the band. The second day off in Virginia was none the worse as we went to Bush Garden Park. There were dozens of different rides from the mind-boggling roller coasters to amazing 4-D and water attractions. The fairy-tales and cartoons’ characters were walking everywhere and as a whole that was pretty much like a magic dream. `Wake up, Alice dear!' said her sister; `Why, what a long sleep you've had!'

`Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice, and she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, `It was a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late.' So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been. (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter XII, Alice's Evidence). As for myself, I keep a lot of photos and souvenirs from my Wonderland’07 and nobody raises doubts about my trip. But after slightly more than three years I have been living over all of that and finding myself thinking that my summer’07 adventure is really close to dream... The American Dream.

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Алексей Скачков (FCE). III Место в конкурсе эссе
The holiday trip I will never forget! (эссе, 2010)

I’m going to tell you about the best place I’ve ever been, it’s Karelia. Yes! You are absolutely right! It’s in the northern part of Russia not far from the Finnish state border. And of course it’s one of the most exciting and indescribable places, but I’ll try to describe it.

It was in the middle of summer when I got a route sheet from university. Actually it cost peanuts for me because of 90 percent discount, so that fact made me incredibly happy. I knew it would be an unforgettable holiday. I packed my suitcase and arrived at the railway station where I realized that there were other fifty-three students who I went with! And I became even happier than before. It took two days to get there with one change of train in Moscow. My friends laughed openly about my trip!!! They told me all normal people were going to the south but I was travelling to the north!!!! Fortunately, they were wrong and I hope you’ll understand why.

Karelia has more than ten thousand rivers and lakes on its territory!!! This is the kingdom of waterfalls and coniferous forests!!! This is the best place for hiking and rafting!!! And this is the motherland of Karelian birch!!! I know you want to ask me what we were doing there. Besides excursions to the local museums we had visited Kizhi, Valaam and had a two-day rafting trip. I’ll try to describe them in details. Kizhi is an island somewhere in the Onezhskoe Lake. It’s a non-smoking area because there are two wooden churches which were made without nails and many other historical sites like windmill, forge, merchant houses and other buildings. When you are there you feel as if boyar in the past who is exploring his territory. Valaam is another island but in the Ladozhskoe Lake. There you can find an old monastery which is famous for its gardens. When monks first arrived at this island they realized that there wasn’t enough humus to grow vegetables and garden trees so they had to bring it by boat from the neighboring islands. Both of them are very interesting places which I strongly recommend you to visit at least once in your life.

And now rafting! It was the most memorable part of our holiday. We arrived at the River Shuya bank in the morning. Have you ever seen the red water? You may not believe me but it’s true! And I don’t know why. =) Our instructors separated us into five rafts, gave us necessary instructions and we started sailing. It’s a plain river but there are many rapids on it, the highest we met was about 1 metre high. In the evening we moored somewhere and spent all night in the forest with BBQ, guitar, fire and positive mood. The next day was quite relaxing. We weren’t in a hurry so we tied our rafts with each other in order to make a big float in the middle of the river and went swimming, laughing and singing songs by the guitar. This was the last day of our holiday. All these ten days we had sunny weather. Our instructors told us that we had brought it with us because the weather was usually rainy there. So we arrived home tanned and impressed. Come to think of it! All fifty-four shouted in chorus that this was the most amazing trip which we’d ever had.

The local people told us that if you visited Karelia once you would never forget it and this place would become the only place for your holidays!!! I must admit, I absolutely agree with them. This is the place I will never forget!

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