Version 2.0 of LSI’s language Test App was released in late October and since then has been downloaded well over 2’500 times. In addition to the original multiple-choice grammar test of version 1.0, the updated App also tests reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. It is downloadable to your iPhone, iPod and, for the first time, to your iPad. At the moment, version 2.0 tests English only. French and German tests will be added in 2012. Visit the App Store and type in “LSI” to try it for your-self or email zur@lsi.edu to find out more.

On the 29th May, billions of people around the world were glued to their screens to watch the pomp and pageantry of the wedding of  Prince William to Kate Middleton right in the historic heart of London. Many of the LSI London Hampstead and LSI London Central students were able to watch the events first hand by standing along the wedding route. It was a trully amazing experience, a day none of those who witnessed it will ever forget.

Not to miss out on the occasion, LSI Zurich teamed up with Energy Zurich, the leading radio station in Zurich, to celebrate in their own inimitable way. The  LSI Zurich staff devised a difficult ‘Royal wedding ‘ quiz which was aired online. All the contestants had to do was answer 15 tricky questions relating to the royal couple with the winner receiving the amazing prize of a a free all inclusive  two week language course at LSI London Central. For two weeks prior to the wedding, LSI were regulary  on air to advertise the quiz, creating so much interest that several thousand participated in the quiz and visited the LSI Zurich website.

Our lucky winner was Deny Ammann, who not only managed to answer all 15 questions correctly but did so in a super fast time.  As part of the prize Deny will receive a free flight to London, free accommodation with one of our excellent Host families and receive two weeks of intensive language tuition all right in the heart of London. Deny will soon be off to London. Who knows Deny might even get to see the royals in person but will definitely get the chance to improve his English at our LSI London Central school.

LSI Zurich was recently approached by EnergyZurich ( NJR), the number radio station in Zurich, to help provide a language course to an FCE student who had been let down by her previous college. NJR  has a regular show which helps out young adults who are facing a difficult situation. A few months ago, our school was contacted by the radio station about a young student called Deborah  who was struggling financially after  completing  a course at another language school and had then subsequently failed the crucial FCE exam  (the internationally recognised Cambridge First Certificate of English) that she needed to continue her studies abroad.

NRJ asked LSI Zurich to step in to help Deborah. It was agreed that NRJ and LSI would share the costs of  a new FCE course and exam, and after several weeks of studying at LSI under the expert tutelage of Mick Cavanagh, Deborah was successful at her second attempt. Ian Cryer, school director of LSI Zurich,  felt it was a positive move all round . “As a result of helping this student out, we have received a lot of  free air-time  advertising at the radio station which is great, especially when you consider that the core audience for the radio station is exactly the same young adult  market that  our courses are aimed at. We have been able to raise brand awareness about LSI promoting the wide variety of course we offer, whilst having a great deal of fun!”

LSI Zurich has just received a new digital face. Not only have graphics been exchanged, but an advanced CMS has been implemented and advanced website features have been installed to optimally suit the complex needs of LSI Zurich. The stakes were also high: initially the fear was that LSI Zurich’s google ranking could possibly be jeopardized (LSI Zurich’s website has been LSI’s best optimized and best-ranked website being place 1 for over 5 years on all relevant markets). LSI Zurich school director Ian Cryer did his utmost to minimize this risk and put Stephan Lendi in charge of SEO, who had optimized LSI Zurich’s original website. The results are more than convincing, not only regarding SEO.

Ian Cryer, Director of LSI Zurich, is more than happy with the new site, “The website perfectly fulfills our needs. LSI Zurich is the only LSI school running daytime and evening courses, in-company courses and an extensive high school program in addition to a business offering which includes not only traditional courses but also online support, e-learning and online testing. This is essentially why LSI Zurich was in charge of developing the new website prototype.”

LSI Zurich’s website is actually a prototype for other LSI sites. Currently Stephan Lendi together with LSI Paris school director Emanuel Viret and marketing assistant Christelle Margalho as well as LSI’s programmer Venelin are developing the redesign and re-launch of LSI Paris’ website lsi-paris.fr. LSI’s German website is also being created at the same time.

Stephan Lendi, who has just completed his MBA in global marketing and global communication sees further advantages.”The website also optimally fulfills our needs regarding marketing research. At LSI we want and need to stay on top of things and ahead of our competitors. Continuous evaluation of our service quality as well as our offering is crucial especially as a basis for R&D.“

We all wish the Zurich and Paris teams continued good luck with the redesign of lsi-paris.fr and lsi.de.

LSI’s Language Test app has been downloaded over 10’000 times. For the two project managers Stephan Lendi and Ian Cryer (LSI Zurich ) it is not however time to relax.

“We are currently working on version 2.0, improving not only the graphics of the app, but adding further content, while improving the app structure,” states Stephan.

In version 2.0 which can be expected in autumn 2010, vocal guidance is added in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. In addition to the multiple-choice grammar tests, version 2.0 enables students to test their listening, writing and even their speaking skills. With LSI being the first provider of iPhone/iPod app language tests, Ian Cryer and Stephan Lendi are confident, that version 2.0 will further strengthen the lead of LSI regarding iPhone/iPad language testing.

To find out more about our current Language test app you can visit out iPhone page or visit iTunes and type in LSI to download it.

LSI’s strategic partnership with the Metropolitan College New York brought MBA students to Zurich, Switzerland and London, UK for one of their field trips. As part of the MBA sessions taught, marketing, law and the media were covered in addition to LSI-related projects and analyses.

Students in Zurich enjoyed a team-taught Swiss banking secrecy class. Lecturers Terrence Spaeth (LLM), USA and Stephan Lendi (MBA), Switzerland, aimed to show students the underlying laws and principles, while debating and contrasting Swiss, American and German perspectives.

As part of the media session in LSI Zurich taught by Stephan Lendi (MBA), the case of the local Zurich radio market currently dominated by license trading issues was studied and possible solutions debated for the case of NRJ Zurich. Subsequently, the students, many of whom study media management, got to enjoy a tailor-made tour at NRJ Zurich: Christian Kramer (NRJ) addressed NRJ’s impressive marketing and social media strategies, and Stephan Lendi (MBA) gave students an idea of acoustic branding principles, while producing a radio commercial for MCNY in real-time, live and on the spot . Listen to the Radio commercial, voice over by Stephan Lendi, produced by the students with the help of senior station designer and sound engineer Andy Mejuto.

Students as well as the lecturers have greatly enjoyed their collaboration and are looking forward to future sessions, where LSI and MCNY join forces.

Based at the Manhattan Campus of the Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY) , LSI New York has over many years established a mutually beneficial relationship with MCNY. Indeed, LSI New York offers one of the designated ESL programs  permitting international students to follow on their LSI language courses by studying  a huge array of degree courses at MCNY.

Due to this tradition of close cooperation between  (MCNY) and LSI New York, LSI was only too happy to help out when approached by a group of MBA students asking to use LSI as a case study for their MBA program. These 25 students set out to focus on three main strands of the LSI business: Finance, Media Management and General adminstration. Initially meeting were held with the Director and staff at LSI New York but then spread out to include seminars and discussions with many of the top LSI management, LSI marketing , and culminated in a two-week trip to Europe visiting our schools in London and Zurich. The intention for this first phase of the project is to produce some recommendations for LSI as to how we can further improve our business. We look forward to hearing what they have to say!

LSI Zurich – LSI’s Zurich school is extending their ‘English at Work’ program run on LSI Zurich’s LSIcorporate platform, an e-learning tool successfully developed and implemented in 2007 and 2008 by LSI Zurich’s Stephan Lendi for a major Swiss insurance. The program was tested and was first used in continental Europe with over 2500 employees at the insurance. Further ‘English at work’ sessions are being planned, fostering not only grammar, reading, writing and listening skills but also stressing cultural aware issues, i.e. cross-cultural training, which has been highly appreciated by employees, as much as HR, as cultural awareness skills have been becoming crucial in organizations operating globally. Three further sessions at various levels of the European language portfolio are planned for 2009.