Ode to imperfection: why trying to be perfect is counter-productive to language learning
A couple weeks ago, I got some criticism for my imperfect Russian in a Russian-language Facebook forum that had linked to my Russian language video about using music and media to learn languages.
Here's my...
Why Hearing (The Unexpected) Is Often Not Believing
Yesterday, I heard a story, Why Seeing (The Unexpected) Is Often Not Believing on National Public Radio (in the US) about people at a crime scene blocking out what is right in front of...
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...
Learn Any Language By Treating it as Music
My local Patch.com (AOL local news site) just published an article, Learn Any Language By Treating it as Music, about my books. Here's the beginning of the article:
Cupertino polyglot, author, and prolific traveler Susanna...
Learn Spanish, English & Japanese with songs (chords, Spanish, English & Japanese lyrics included)
Do you want to learn Spanish, English or Japanese using songs but you are too lazy to ind the translation in English, lyrics in Spanish and chord notations?
It can be time consuming to dig...
Older Students Learn Fake Language Rules Faster. What about real languages?
Although I agree with the premise of the research findings that adults can learn languages, and perhaps even faster than children, I don't like the way language acquisition is measured by creating an artificial...
Music = learning languages and staying in school
Another TV interview about the awesome power of music!
Songs, TV and other media help us learn foreign languages. Hip-hop music can keep at-risk kids in school and out of trouble.
Susanna Zaraysky and Anthony Pineda...
Lives lost in wars because GI Joe and GI Jane can’t speak foreign languages
The Time Magazine blog post: The Pentagon's Foreign-Language Frustrations shows how poorly US military personnel can actually communicate in Iraq and Afghanistan. The news is appalling, but not surprising. The military's language schools have...
Defense Language Institute: “We learn foreign languages so you don’t have to”
Which US government agency is most interested in vocal about foreign language training?
a) The Department of Education
b) The Department of State
3) The Defense Department
The answer is #3. The US has no national foreign language...
You don’t have to go to Brazil to speak Portuguese or move your hips...
I am constantly working on improving my Portuguese by finding Brazilian cultural events to attend to practice the language, dance, sing and enjoy the company of Brazilians and Brazil lovers.
A typical excuse I hear...
