Archive for February, 2014
The Language of Music: Using Music as a Learning Tool Posted by mtaulier on Feb 26, 2014 in Archived Posts
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” -Aldous Huxley You’ve tried every language-learning method out there: books, audiotapes, classes, immersion, computer software, but you’re still struggling. You’ve reached a point where learning a foreign language is no longer fun and you begin to lose hope that you’ll ever attain even…
8 of the Most Translated Stories in the World Posted by meaghan on Feb 24, 2014 in Archived Posts
Looking for a good read in your target language? Chances are one of these stories will be available, considering they are among the most translated stories in the world. Here are my top 8 picks for foreign language reading materials, from children’s books to comics to full-length classics. 1. Harry Potter Series This seven-part book…
You Know You Love Language Learning When… Posted by meaghan on Feb 19, 2014 in Archived Posts
A few weeks ago, I posted this image to our Facebook pages and asked you to fill in the blank. Here’s a few of my favorite responses: …when you stop relying on Google translate to do your homework. …your social life consists of asking others if they speak Arabic also. …you find the phrase “Il…
Grammar Instruction in Transparent Language Online Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 17, 2014 in For Educators, For Learners, For Libraries, Learning Material Updates
Got grammar? Transparent Language Online does! At Transparent Language we talk a lot about the declarative: words, phrases, and other “chunks” of language that we believe are best delivered to learners via technology. While we believe the procedural aspects of language (skills such as properly applying a grammar rule) are best reinforced with the guidance…
Something Borrowed, Something Blue… or Red Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 12, 2014 in Archived Posts
A wedding is a momentous occasion in every corner of the globe, though the event itself may take vastly different forms from one country to another. From the proposal to the preparations to the ceremony, the entire nuptial process is chock-full of traditions and superstitions. Not a detail is overlooked, with cultural peculiarities influencing the…
Make It Easy to Type in a Foreign Language? Challenge Accepted! Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 10, 2014 in For Educators, For Learners, For Libraries, Learning Feature Updates
One of the advantages of using software to learn a foreign language is the ability to interact with the language in many ways. One of those ways is writing, or in this case, typing. When learning a foreign language, learning how to type matters… a lot. Learning to write and type in a foreign language…
Heehaw or Eeyore: Onomatopoeias in Foreign Languages Posted by meaghan on Feb 3, 2014 in Archived Posts
WHAM! One of my favorite aspects of a language is onomatopoeia—the words assigned to specific sounds, like the woof woof of your childhood dog, or the vroom vroom of a new car. Part of the reason onomatopoeic words differ among languages is the availability of sounds in each language. A diving bird obviously can’t make…