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...
How to learn Turkish
Here is the second part of my conversation with Aaron Myers of Everyday Language Learner, an expat from the United States who has been living in Istanbul for over four years. We met in...
Don’t fault innovative musicians!
Instead of criticizing people who are risk takers, we should be applauding their efforts because if we don’t innovate, these languages are going to die.
Video on relationship between Language and Music, “Music, Language and the Brain”
Great video of a lecture by Aniruddh Patel on the relationship between language and music at the Library of Congress. The discussion of how language background can effect classical music from England and...
Not learning languages reduced job prospects
The Telegraph article, Foreign languages are 'elitist' subjects, came out earlier this year in the UK showing that state jobs require foreign language knowledge while fewer school offer language classes. This means that more people...
Russia through French eyes: Experiencing life anew in a different language
Rare is the book which envelops my attention, delights me in its prose, makes me re-read passages both for the joy of the flow of the sentences and for the content and strikes a...
Making language learning free and available to all
Aaron Myers and I met in Istanbul, Turkey in November 2011. Aaron Meyers has created his project, I-586, to bring free language learning materials to people in languages other than English since so many...
Don’t speak like your neighbor’s cow, Why a good accent is important
The French, who are very proud of and particular about the pronunciation and proper use of their language, have a saying about people who speak French poorly and/or with a bad accent: “parler français...
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.
Colleges strive to make foreign languages relevant
USA Today and Higher Ed report in the article, Colleges strive to make foreign languages relevant, that one college is finally getting it right and making foreign language education be more than just grammar and...
