Thumbnail image for Language confusion: 3 funny polyglots explain how to avoid mixing up your languages

Language confusion: 3 funny polyglots explain how to avoid mixing up your languages

November 8, 2012

If you thought that polyglots are just serious language lovers who spend all their time talking about grammar, you are wrong! I spent three fun-filled days in Poland with Richard Simcott and Luca Lampariello switching languages and making some videos about language learning. We spent most of the three days laughing and enjoying Poland. The [...]

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Thumbnail image for Learn Portuguese and Brazilian history with samba, “Apesar de você”

Learn Portuguese and Brazilian history with samba, “Apesar de você”

October 22, 2012

Luciana Lage and I are back with a new lesson in learning Portuguese with Brazilian music. This time we’re examining the serious subject of the Brazilian dictatorship through the song, Apesar de você, by Chico Buarque. Luciana has prepared a blog post, “Learn Brazilian Portuguese with Songs – Apesar de Você” with the lyrics of [...]

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Thumbnail image for Review of Rosetta Stone (Arabic), $1 tea lesson is better than $500 Rosetta Stone

Review of Rosetta Stone (Arabic), $1 tea lesson is better than $500 Rosetta Stone

October 14, 2012

I learned more Arabic in 10 minutes with a $1 tea than from 1.5 hours of Rosetta Stone ($500).         (This review shows the negative and positive elements of the Rosetta Stone software for Arabic. I have a list of free and paid resources for learning Arabic.) Disclaimer: In 2003, nine years [...]

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Thumbnail image for Free and inexpensive resources to learn Arabic

Free and inexpensive resources to learn Arabic

October 14, 2012

Free online resources to learn the Arabic alphabet, phrases and other BBC Arabic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/arabic/guide/videos/learning_arabic.shtml Arabic alphabet: http://arabicreadingcourse.com/ List of Arabic learning resources: http://arabic.desert-sky.net/links.html Explanations of songs, dialects and other resources for students of Arabic,  The Arabic Student, http://www.thearabicstudent.com/ Arabic music with English translation and transliteration: http://www.arabicmusictranslation.com/ http://www.shira.net/music/lyrics/fromarabic.htm Resources to learn Arabic for free 
Videos: Sesame [...]

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Portuguese via Brazilian music

October 8, 2012
Thumbnail image for Portuguese via Brazilian music

In this lesson, Luciana Lage (of Street Smart Brazil) and I use the song Toda Sexta Feira to teach the days of the week in Portuguese, how to use the words todo/toda, and pronounce words that start with the letter “r” in Portuguese. We have a series of videos on learning Portuguese via Brazilian music. [...]

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Thumbnail image for Where are the female and non-white polyglots?

Where are the female and non-white polyglots?

October 3, 2012

Most of the public Internet polyglots are white males. Do race and national origin play a role in the decisions people make about learning languages? What can we do to inspire more non-whites to learn foreign languages? Back in March 2012, I recorded a Skype call with Fasulye and Jana Fadness to encourage more women [...]

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Thumbnail image for How to learn a language: surrender to it

How to learn a language: surrender to it

September 24, 2012

The word “surrender” conjures up images of defeat and submission. But when it comes to language learning, the more you give yourself up to your target language, the more successful you will be. Why do people speak with accents? They are stuck in the phonological structure of their native tongue. Why do foreign language speakers [...]

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Thumbnail image for A musician and polyglot discuss how to learn languages with music

A musician and polyglot discuss how to learn languages with music

September 13, 2012

While in Sarajevo last month filming the documentary Saved By Language (about how the endangered language of Ladino saved a Jewish boy’s life in World War II), I spent time with my dear friend Damir Imamović. He’s a sevdah musician and singer. We went to a vista point in the hills surrounding Sarajevo and filmed [...]

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Thumbnail image for Polyglots discuss learning languages with music, TV and films

Polyglots discuss learning languages with music, TV and films

September 10, 2012

Last month, I was in Poland and was thrilled to speak in various languages with Richard Simcott and Luca Lampariello. We recorded various videos about language learning. There are more videos in other languages to come. Here are the last two: 1) This one is about how Luca and I have used music to learn [...]

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Polyglots in Poland

Three polyglots meet in Poland

August 28, 2012

Do polyglots just talk about language learning? If we did, we’d probably bore each other very quickly! I had the pleasure of meeting Richard Simcott and Luca Lampariello in Poznań, Poland earlier this month. We share six common languages (Russian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian) and we gracefully switched from one language to another [...]

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