Posts Tagged ‘dictionary’
Monitoring VAT Refunds is Misguiding Retailers about International Expenditure
Retailers, particularly in the luxury sector, are mistakenly measuring the footfall of overseas clients to their premises by measuring VAT refund applications filed by their customers on site to be redeemed at the airports. So in order to simplify the counting process, they add the amounts refunded by – for example – all Chinese clients who fill in the VAT documents in store and then decide the amount of expenditure by the Chinese during a certain period of time.
Following this addition exercise they would compare the spending rate and footfall of different nationalities using the same process.
This is happening in almost every department store in London, Paris and New York… In addition to flagship boutiques whose managers are desperate to quantify international contribution towards their overall retail turnover.
This way of calculating the international footfall in any premises depending only on VAT refunds is severely inaccurate for a simple reason: Not All International Customers Claim VAT. Actually most of Arab customers, for example, don’t claim any VAT. I personally served many rich international clients who would consider waiting in a cue at airports to claim VAT is a shameful act (one of them felt insulted by the fact that I offered to assist him with his VAT documents!).
Knowing that measuring international footfall and overseas expenditure is extremely important for businesses in cities like London, Paris, New York, etc… There is a rather simple process which determines the facts more accurately. Retailers should depend on their staff feedback to get more accurate figures. Staff members can easily report international sales to their managers or more directly to the accounting department by adjusting the way they record their sales.
Nearly all luxury retail businesses depend on computerised tills applicable to generate various sales reports. IT managers can easily add a button to the sales screen on these tills which a sales person can quickly tick to determine the nationality of the client. JOB DONE . So to simplify this, let’s say I’m serving a Russian customer… Closed the sale and went to the till to process the payment. Before I finalize the sale, the till would show me a small window in which I would have a multiple choice of nationalities. I would press for choice number 4 (this is for Russian in this example) and the till would assign the word Russian to this sale. Simples!!
One Retail Manager might argue that not all staff members can easily determine the nationality of their clients. This is right! as I always get confused between a Chinese and a Japanese customer. Let’s use the carrot here and base a small portion of the sale commission on whether the sale is accompanied by nationality of the customer or not. Through my experience, any salesperson can politely ask any customer about where they are from whether when helping them with currency conversion or simply during the process of breaking the ice or even simpler… by throwing the blame on the manager and claim that they are obliged to include the nationality of the client when processing the sale. In my courses I teach the Collecting-Feedback-in-order-to-keep-you-updated-on-our-new-releases-Trick.
There are many other solutions to this problem, but through experience I think that this is the most convenient one logistically.
Having inaccurate figures about international clients in luxury retail businesses is really dangerous as this does not only affect accounting but also buying and merchandising processes and even recruitment decisions.
I think that retailers should fix this bug in their operations before it grows out of hand and they become like the farmer who bought hay to feed his chickens.
About the Author
M Said Chaarawi is the Managing Director of UnderstandArabia Ltd… A Training and Consultancy Firm based in London UK. www.understandarabia.com
Dual-language (german-english) texts (stories, news, letters,dialogues etc.) online..?
I need dual-language (german-english) texts (stories, news, letters,dialogues etc.) online to improve my elementary german. I’ve found a website (www.a-language-guide.com) but this is not enough. Where can I find more?
Thanks everyone!
You can try Wikipedia.org and change the language to German for almost any article you want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herz
also try (it has multiple language choices)
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,2142,265,00.html
Elizabeth Barrett Browning: a Discussion of How Do I Love Thee?
“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning was written in 1845 while she was being courted by the English poet, Robert Browning. The poem is also titled Sonnet XLIII from Sonnets From the Portuguese.
Early Experiences
Elizabeth Barrett was born in Durham England in 1806, the first daughter of affluent parents who owned sugar plantations in Jamaica. She was home-schooled and read voraciously in history, philosophy and literature. Young Elizabeth learned Hebrew in order to read original Bible texts and Greek in order to read original Greek drama and philosophy. She began writing poems when she was 12 years old, though she did not publish her first collection for another twenty years.
Elizabeth Barrett developed a serious respiratory ailment by age 15 and a horse riding accident shortly thereafter left her with a serious spinal injury. These two health problems remained with her all of her life.
In 1828 her mother died and four years later the family business faltered and her father sold the Durham estate and moved the family to a coastal town. He was stern, protective, and even tyrannical and forbid any of his children to marry. In 1833 Elizabeth published her first work, a translation of Prometheus Bound by the Greek dramatist Aeschylus.
A few years later the family moved to London. Her father began sending Elizabeth’s younger brothers and sisters to Jamaica to help with the family business. Elizabeth was distressed because she openly opposed slavery in Jamaica and on the family plantations and because she did not want her siblings sent away.
Early Writing
In 1838 Elizabeth Barrett wrote and published The Seraphim and Other Poems. The collection took the form of a classical Greek tragedy and expressed her deep Christian sentiments.
Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth’s poor health prompted her to move to Italy, accompanied by her dear brother Edward, whom she referred to as “Bro.” Unfortunately he drowned a year later in a sailing accident and Elizabeth retuned to London, seriously ill, emotionally broken, and hopelessly grief-stricken. She became reclusive for the next five years, confining herself to her bedroom.
She continued to write poetry, however, and published a collection in 1844 simply titled, Poems. It was also published in the United States with an introduction by Edgar Allan Poe. In one of the poems she praised one of the works of Robert Browning, which gained his attention. He wrote back to her, expressing his admiration for Poems.
Robert Browning
Over the next twenty months Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning exchanged 574 letters. An admiration, respect, and love for each other grew and flourished. In 1845 Robert Browning sent Elizabeth a telegram which read, “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett. I do, as I say, love these books with all my heart – and I love you too.” A few months later the two met and fell in love.
Inspired by her love for Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett wrote the 44 love poems which were collected in Sonnets From the Portuguese and which were eventually published in 1850. Her growing love for Robert and her ability to express her emotions in the sonnets and love poems allowed Elizabeth to escape from the oppression of her father and the depression of her recluse.
Her father strongly opposed the relationship so she kept her love affair a secret as long as possible. The couple eloped in 1846 and her father never forgave her or spoke to her thereafter.
Move to Italy
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband, Robert, went to Pisa, Italy and soon settled in Florence where she spent the rest of her life, with occasional visits to London. Soon Elizabeth’s health improved enough to be able to give birth to the couple’s only child, Robert.
In 1850 she published Sonnets From the Portuguese. Some have speculated that the title was chosen to hide the personal nature of the sonnets and to imply that the collection was a translation of earlier works. However, Robert’s pet name for Elizabeth was “my little Portuguese,” a reflection on Elizabeth’s darker, mediterranean complexion, possibly inherited from the family’s Jamaican ties.
While living in Florence, Elizabeth Barrett Browning published 3 more considerable works. She addressed Italian political topics and some other unpopular subjects, such as slavery, child labor, male domination, and a woman’s right to intellectual freedom. Though her popularity decreased as a result of these choices, she was read and heard and recognized throughout Europe. She died in Florence in 1861.
The Poem, “How Do I Love Thee?”
Sonnet XLIII, “How Do I Love Thee?” is probably Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s most popular love poem. It is heartfelt, romantic, loving, elegant, and simple. It is also quite memorable.
The love poem starts with the question, “How Do I Love Thee?” and proceeds to count the ways. Her Christian spirituality testifies that she loves Robert “to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.” She then professes seven more ways that she loves Robert. Her “passion put to use in my old griefs” refers to the depth of her former despair. The love that “I seemed to lose with my lost saints” refers to the lost loves of her mother and her brother.
The love poem ends with the declaration that time and death will not diminish her love for Robert because “if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.”
How Do I Love Thee
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,–I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!–and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
About the Author
Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about politics, real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of The Dating Advisor and is the National Director of Good Politics Radio.
German jobs London and throughout Europe
The UK is still a country that is in high demand. It’s financial centre and its positioning creates a conduit to the US and further attractions for foreign investors. Individuals are still travelling through the open market (EU) from country to country trying to utilize their skills in the best environment possible.
Jobs in London are stagnant for many industries, but due to its vast portfolio of language job seeking professionals and especially German jobs London and German speaking professionals there has been an uptake in these sorts of professions in London and the UK.
Even though a lot of Germans are bilingual, in the sense that they speak English as a second language, there are a lot of Germans and non native Germany in the UK. These individuals are raising the bar for language speaking professionals as UK residents who learn German as a second language do not often offer the standard that native German speakers offer.
The dialect differs from region to region in Germany, as it does in the UK, but with stronger variations. A person in north Germany may struggle to understand someone from southern Germany due to the influences from neighboring countries.
Countries that surround Germany affect the jobs that are available to German speaking language professionals. A high percentage of Polish decide to immigrate from their home country to other countries to seek higher wages and send the money home. When Germans migrate, they move because of the quality of life and interest of that particular region. It would be more of a long term thing rather than a short term fix which is applicable to the Poles.
German jobs London and German speaking jobs are highly sought after and to speak the language correctly takes years of practice.
There are many great jobs out there in cities such as London, Paris and Rome which require German language professionals. We hope that countries will receive these foreign language professionals as well as London has received them. In the future countries will have to accept the fact that they are part of a free economy and accept people with multi language skills from all walks of life.
About the Author
Dan Whitehouse is a writer for Top Language Jobs – http://www.toplanguagejobs.co.uk/language/German
What English words are considered offensive in China?
I am working on a project for a business class and I need to know what english words are considered to be vulgar or slang in china.
No English word is offensive to a Chinese unless you explain to them that it is offensive. The Chinese take every English word as it is defined in the dictionary unless you explain its alternative meanings. Many of them feel no shame in using offensive words that they hear through Hollywood movies. To them those words don’t have the same sense of vulgarity or offensiveness as it does to a native speaker. But instead it’s the foreigners who are offended and have to explain to the non-native English speaker that some words should be used with caution.
In fact the concern should be on the foreigner’s Chinese. There are many everyday Chinese words which can have vulgar meanings too.
One usually doesn’t learn them until they offend someone or create giggles around the table.
So my suggestion is to focus on the Chinese slang.
(In your project you may want to include a section on what to do if you offend someone in China, and then go on to teach a few good defensive KungFu moves)
Canadian French – HIGH Tension Between English and French
Canada isn’t really a bilingual country except in theory or in legislation. Outside of Quebec and New Brunswick as well as some small pockets in Ontario, if you speak in French you will have a hard time getting yourself understood.
Origin of English vs French tensions
In reality there is a lot of tension between French and English speakers that can still be felt today. This goes back to when the English invaded French settlers in Canada and essentially took it over in a watershed victory called The Battle of the Plains of Abraham. This anger also stems from the fact that the French people, eventually becoming a minority, had difficulty getting their voice heard and rights respected in an English-dominated Canada.
The English aren’t the only ones who have contributed to this antagonism. French speakers (Francophones) have also stirred up similar feelings in the English residents of Quebec. They have passed language laws (i.e. Bill 101 – The English speaker (anglophones) refuse to accept it as a valid law, hence Bill 101) that to this day prevent many people from going to English school. There are also strict laws regarding signs and advertising. French must be on all public signs and must be a certain percentage larger than English. Stiff penalties are dealt out for those who refuse to put French on signs that are posted.
A riled-up fuming Canadian teenager
There’s a popular video going around of some Canadian kid that gets worked up to a frenzy over the way French is influencing his neighborhood. I mean he goes so far as to tell the French to get out of his “country, province, etc.” and raves about how stupid French sounds. This video got an overwhelming number of views and got such negative publicity that people started making death threats and flooding the kid with phone calls. It got so bad that the kid ended up taking down the video and his account while setting up another one in which he made a public apology admitting to his tactlessness!
Anyway, I’ll leave you to see the rest of the video yourself, but it illustrates beautifully how strong tensions (although not always expressed in public) can sometimes be between the two languages in Canada – something that you don’t really see much of in more (officially) monolingual countries like the US.
So have a look through, and decide for yourself. Is this kid going way overboard?
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v21011925kxgZwThx
About the Author
Charlie has been a French as a Second Language Classroom Teacher at the Elementary and Secondary levels and has been teaching and tutoring adults, teenagers, and children for over 8 years.
—————– For your FREE eBook on the powerful TOP French resources I used to go from speaking zero French to being SUPER fluent in no time, please visit – http://www.charliesfrenchfactory.com/welcome.html
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Dynamics GP Implementation in International Environment Notes
It is common scenario, when mid-size USA based firm or corporation goes internationally: outsources production and assembly, research and development, acquires mining facility, you name it… If this is your case, and you work for corporate IT department, the question you are likely facing is your Corporate ERP application, in our article Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly known as Great Plains Dynamics, is a good fit for overseas branch. As you probably expect, the answer is – it depends… Before we dive into details, please think about two complicating factors: foreign country usually speaks and writes in foreign language and second – foreign country typically enjoys independence and it exposes it own domestic regulations on businesses (tax code, government financial reporting, licensing). Sometimes it goes even further, as local accounting practice might be cash oriented in profit recognition (where most generic Corporate ERP platforms in USA count on accrual method). Let’s move on to details:
1. Dynamics GP Server License. Licensing is per server, so if you plan to roll Great Plains out for international subsidiary, you can do so, if you add GP company on your Headquarters server, the same one, which hosts you current Great Plains system. please, note, that Microsoft SQL Server database for overseas subsidiary must support foreign language collaterals, assuming that targeted language is based in Latin alphabet: accents and other character modification marks
2. Where in the World Dynamics GP is localized? ERP localization typically assumes translation to local language and compliance to local country business regulations. About 10 years ago, when Great Plains Software was American software development corporation – it has only Great Plains Dynamics as its Accounting platform for international expansion. Those days Great Plains was available in multiple languages, including major European, such as Spanish, German, French, Polish, even Russian. However, when Microsoft acquired Great Plains Software in 2001 and then shortly after Navision Software (adding Navision and Axapta to Microsoft Corporate ERP family), and as Navision already had large portion of European Corporate ERP market, the emphasis was made in Navision direction, and Dynamics GP was step by step deemphasized in Europe. Similar story happened in Brazil, where our company was chosen by Microsoft to localize Great Plains 7.5 and then Navision was chosen as preferred ERP platform and now emphasis is Dynamics AX (formerly known as Axapta). At this time, October 2009, Microsoft Dynamics GP version 10.0 is available in English speaking countries: US, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Oceania, English speaking South East Asia (Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia). It is also available in Spanish for most of Central and Latin American countries. In French it is available for Quebec. Local Dynamics ISV partners have limited support for Dynamics GP in Poland
3. What if all we need to do is translate several Dynamics GP interfaces into local language and maybe have few Custom Crystal Reports? This is not very difficult routine. Translation could be done in Great Plains Dexterity (String resources), and you could deploy translated Dynamics.dic on the terminal server or Citrix, dedicated for foreign office GP users
4. Unicode characters (typically hieroglyphs: Chinese, Japanese, Korean). Here you do not have a lot of room for Dynamics GP customization, as Great Plains Dexterity platform (GP architecture foundation layer) doesn’t support Unicode at this time, and likely will not support in the future. Dexterity is the shell programmed in C++ in earlier 1990th, when Unicode was not yet known. Some limited GP functionality could be open out if you deploy NJ Star products (we are happy to give them some credits here)
5. What if I don’t see my country listed here? Well, if you are dedicated to Microsoft Dynamics platform, please consider couple of ways. One would be have Microsoft CRM implemented in local language, where you can produce Quotes and Sales Orders and integrate them to Dynamics GP in the headquarters (where GP company is open for CRM integration only). Second option is implementing Dynamics GP AX Axapta (it is localized in wide variety of countries, including China and it supports Unicode characters). What if you do not think that AX or CRM is the way to go? then read next paragraph
6. SAP Business One. This small and mid-market business Corporate ERP and MRP application is perfect in our opinion in international implementation and integration to Corporate Great Plains scenarios. SB1 is localized in such countries as Brazil, China, Japan, Russia, most of continental Europe. It does support Unicode. We have implemented SBO in international corporations, where SB1 company is integrated to Dynamics GP via Integration Manager scheduled integrations on General Ledger level. You can easily export SB1 transaction in Excel format and then include them into FRx consolidated Financial reporting. As “Luxury” approach we recommend overnight or weekly GL transaction level integration from SAP Business One to Microsoft Dynamics GP via Integration Manager or eConnect (if complex custom integration logic is required and it is not doable in IM VBA event based scripting), and as budget approach we recommend exporting SB1 Financial Statements (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet) to Excel and consolidate them on FRx reporting level
7. Recommendations for Russia. In Russian Federation you may find very strong local Accounting school and very challenging business practice regulation. SAP Business One is localized for Russia, but considering tough business regulation, you may decide to implement local Corporate ERP packages, such as 1S Accounting (1C bukhgalteria)
8. Recommendations for Brazil. In our opinion SB1, Axapta are both ready for being chosen, SAP Business One is cheaper in licensing and implementation services budget, AX has more functionality (especially considering Process manufacturing, where Axapta is the leader – Brazilian food processing and export to USA, Europe). In Brazil you may also hear strong sentiments against foreign Corporate ERP systems, and if this is too important for Brazilian accounting folks, consider such local Brazilian package as Microsiga
9. How to get help? Please, feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, outside of USA: 1-630-961-5918 or email us help@albaspectrum.com We are very technical and real Dynamics GP Dexterity, SAP Business One SDK programming gurus. We have Great Plains Software Development Factory and could support unlimited Dynamics GP Customization and Programming needs. Plus we speak English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and not only as native speaking sales folks, but as real technical consultants. If you prefer skype: albaspectrum
About the Author
Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum , help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577 http://www.albaspectrum.com Serving ERP and MRP community since 1994, local service in Chicago, Houston, San Diego, Atlanta, Los Angeles. Information portal: http://www.pegasplanet.com We serve you USA and Canada nationwide from our Dynamics GP and SAP Business One call center: California, Illinois, New York, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Ontario, Quebec, Washington, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Oregon, New York, New England. International clients welcome from Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, South Africa, UK, Brazil, Caribbean, Russia, Central America: Honduras, Costa Rica, San Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala
Denmark Train Travel – 10 Simple Step to Mastering the Danish Train System
The Copenhagen train system is known as the S-Tog. Most of the trains on the system now are new and very sleek red carriages. In order to enjoy the experience, than mastering Danish train travel is vital to traveling with confidence. Here are 10 simple steps.
1. The S-Tog or S-Train and runs along 6 lines – A, B, C, E, F and H. Each line runs north and south from Copenhagen Main Train Station. except for the F line. At each station you will find a map of the various lines. You now find out which station you want to get off at and than get on that line.
2. Zones: The train system is broken into zones and it is vital to understand how many zones you will travel through. On the train maps, the various zones are divided into zones. Each zone is divided into colors and also has a number attached. The most popular zones are 1 and 2. Zone 1 is must of metropolitan Copenhagen; Zone 2 is the outlying suburbs to the north and west of the city.
3. Tickets are necessary for all train travel, so you must either pick up a ticket at one of the ticket automats at the stations or get a klippekort from the kiosk to punch. At the automat you just follow the instructions for buying a ticket. You check your route from your starting station and than how many zones are you travelling through including your starting and ending zones. If you start in Zone 1 and end up in Zone 31, you will have travelled in zone 1,2 and 31, so that would be 3 zones. You will need a 3-zone ticket.
4. Finding the right train. Each train will have the line number displayed on the front and side of the train, but since each line goes in two directions, how do you know which one to take. Here you need to look at the line map and look at the last station. If the last stop is Farum, you know that the train is on the line that goes from your station towards Farum. If it says Solrod Strand the train is travelling towards that station. If in doubt, which is usually the case for first timers, just ask another passenger on the platform, who will gladly help.
5. Boarding the train. This may not be problem if there are others around, but sometimes you are the only person boarding. To open the door, there are two round buttons on the outside doors. Just push the button and the doors will open automatically. Always let people exiting the train get off, before you get on.
6. Seating: All S-Tog trains have open seating. You can sit anywhere you like. The only exception is that some of the carriages only have seats along the way and have a large open area in the middle. This carriage is to accommodate people travelling with bikes and baby carriages. You should try to avoid using these places during busy times.
7. Navigating the train: You will be surprised how many people get frustrated trying to get into a carriage. There are glass doors between carriages and there are no handles. To open these doors, just wave your hand directly in front of the door. There is an electric eye directly above the door, which activates the door. At other times, there may be a small circle near the middle of the doors – where the two sliding doors meet- just push one of those buttons.
8. Your ticket may or may not be checked, depending if there is a conductor on your train. If a conductor comes by, just show him your ticket and do not give it him. Conductors do not wear uniforms anymore, so the person asking for your ticket could be someone trying to steal it. Conductors only need to look at your ticket, unless it is a special rail pass that needs to be clipped.
9. Each ticket has a time restriction, so make sure that you complete your travel within the time period or you will be liable to a fine.
10. Getting off the train: There is no need to push any stop button, like on the buses, in order to get off. Trains will stop at all their scheduled stops. You only have to open the door. Again you push the round button on the door and wait for it to open.
Riding the trains in Denmark is not a difficult thing to master, if you just take the time to learn the basics. Once you figure out how to read the maps, understand how the city is divided into zones, you will be able to get on and off any train and soon you will be zooming around Copenhagen like a native.
Remember, if you are ever confused or not sure, ask a fellow traveler. Most Danes love to help and understand the confusion for first time travelers.
If you would like to learn more about mastering the Denmark train system including klippekorts, planning your trip, learning how to read train schedules and figuring out the zones and route lines, there is more detailed information at “>www.fyidenmark.com/train_travel.htmlincluding information on Copenhagen and Denmark.
About the Author
FYI Denmark is run by Charlie and LyAnn who have been helping expats integrate into Danish society for many years. You can visit them at www.fyidenmark.com.
Can I start doing an Italian GCSE at home if I am halfway through my school GCSEs?
Basically, I would really like to have a GCSE in Italian, but I am not sure if I can start the course now, or when I would take the exam, or anything. My mum speaks fluent Italian, so she would have no problem teaching me, and I already learn it on a non-regulated basis. I am 14 and halfway through my school GCSEs, and have no clue how to go about this… any help?
Maybe, maybe not.
Usually, when homeschoolers want to do any GCSEs, we do IGCSEs (International GCSEs – also done in many private schools and some grammar schools) cuz they’re heaps easier to arrange to do from home. Neither of the IGCSE exam boards currently does an Italian IGCSE though, meaning you would have to do the bog standard, domestic GCSE.
Problem 1.
All the GCSE exam boards are in the process of replacing coursework with continuous assessment. That effectively means it will, in a year or so, be impossible to do GCSEs outside of school or college or some other official b&m institution. Some subjects at GCSE have already switched to continuous assessment meaning you can no longer do them as a ‘homeschooler’, other subjects switch in 2011 or 2012. I don’t know about GCSE Italian. If it still includes coursework, you *may* be able to do it at home. If Italian is one of the subjects that has already replaced coursework with continuous assessment, you won’t be able to do it at home.
The one exam board I found which offers a GCSE in Italian is Edexcel (London); http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gcse/gcse-leg/lang/italian/Pages/default.aspx .
Problem 2.
Is your school registered as an exam centre with Edexcel? If so, you could ask to sit your Italian exams there but if they’re not registered with Edexcel (if they are an OCR exam centre or an AQA exam centre etc) you would have to find yourself an alternative exam centre, at a different school or college, one that is registered with Edexcel, at which to sit your GCSE Italian exams. The easiest way to know if your school is an Edexcel exam centre is if you’re doing your other GCSEs through Edexcel. Otherwise you’ll have to ask at school.
(You also have to pay to take the exams as a private candidate – currently around £100 per GCSE although it does depend on how much the exam centre choose to charge you for allowing you to sit your exams with them.)
Problem 3.
The other problem you will run into by doing an Italian GCSE outside of school is finding someone (again accredited by Edexcel) to oversee your oral exam and to mark your coursework.
(Again that’s another service you/your mum would have to pay for.)
Problems 1 and 2 are not insurmountable (but problem 1 is). You might be better off investigating the possibility of either:
1) doing GCSE Italian either by going through a local college of further education or Adult Education (most councils let you enrol in Adult Education courses at 15); or
2) doing some other qualification in Italian, e.g. the Open University (OU) starts their Italian provision with a Level One (Beginners) course @ http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/l195.htm
(You don’t need prior qualifications to enrol in the OU. Joining the Open University and getting qualifications from them, instead of doing GCSEs, is a pretty common way for homeschooled kids to get round problems 1 – 3 as described above!)
I need and textbooks online in English?
The book is accurate McDougal Littell Language Network, and is not just to deal with the answers! All you need is a copy of the textbook so you can read the questions and answers. If you know any good text book English websites online please tell me them. Thanks in advance.
Which my university uses is called ichapters.com you probably want to find the ISDN before trying to find the book, but as this makes it much easier to find.