Video: Why learn Portuguese? Brazil’s economy is flourishing and its culture and people are...
When I first began learning Portuguese, it seemed odd to many people because few American schools, if any, offer Portuguese language classes. Brazil's economy is growing an incredible rate. Foreign investment is flowing in,...
Rosetta Stone or a teacher? Foreign language learning technology
About a week ago, I received an email from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages asking the members if they felt that the ads for the Rosetta Stone foreign language learning...
Links between languages and music
I just got Aniruddh Patel's book, Music, Language, and the Brain because I am keenly interested in learning more about the relationship between music, language and our complex neurological system.
Patel is a neuroscientist and musician who...
Where are the female and non-white polyglots?
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...
Susanna quoted in San Jose Mercury News
While on the set for the Comunidad del Valle show at NBC in San Jose, California, I gave a short interview about Language is Music and how to use music and media to learn...
How to communicate if you’re deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH)
I am curious about how deaf people in the US communicate. Anywhere from 37 to 140 out of every 1,000 people in the United States have some kind of hearing loss. Either you or someone you know needs or will need assistive hearing devices.
Science of language learning
I just read the “Science Grows on Acquiring New Language” article in Education Week by Sarah D. Sparks highlighting research about how we learn foreign languages. Researchers think that the “critical period” to learn...
Free tips on learning languages, Polyglot Project
Claude Cartigenese of the "Polyglot Project" compiled a huge 600 page document with stories from many language learners around the world who explain how they became polyglots. Some of the linguists in the book...
What does it take to keep a language alive?
Minde, a Portuguese village of 3000 people, has its own language, Minderico.
DSCN1304Minderico developed as a secret language of the textile merchants in the town of Minde. When I heard it, I couldn’t understand anything even though the language has Latin roots.
Improving my Portuguese, one (lost) calorie at a time
We've probably heard of people improving their conversation skills in a language over a meal.
I'm reversing the trend. Portuguese vocabulary goes up and the inches melt away. (Let me be ambitious and count in...
