Archive for October, 2015
Phone Me Maybe: Language Change Right Against Our Ears Posted by janet on Oct 28, 2015 in Archived Posts
Here’s a language question for you to ponder, the next time you’re waiting for enough bars to make a call: Have you ever, at any time, referred to your cell phone as a “telephone”? I don’t think I ever have. In fact, it would actually sound weird to me if someone were to do so……
Three Terrifying Things About Language Learning Posted by Malachi Rempen on Oct 26, 2015 in Archived Posts
It’s that time of year – the days are shorter, the evenings are chillier, and the leaves are dying in droves of yellow and brown, their shriveled, bone-dry corpses falling unceremoniously to the ground where they will wither and decay, shattering into a gory, crunchy mess under the feet of children everywhere. Yes, it’s a…
Free Online Spanish Lesson: El Día de los Muertos Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 21, 2015 in For Learners, Learning Material Updates
El Día de los Muertos (more commonly called “Dia de Muertos” in Mexico, or the “Day of the Dead” in English) might sound like a frightful holiday, but don’t mistake it as the Mexican version of Halloween. The holiday, originating in Mexico and observed to some extent throughout much of the Spanish-speaking world, is actually…
Be Delighted by Your Chosen Language Posted by Malachi Rempen on Oct 19, 2015 in Archived Posts
It’s easy to be hard on German. It’s a fun language to complain about. It sounds needlessly harsh to untrained ears, it’s got a bewildering system of declensions that serve no conceivable purpose (I’ve heard Russian is worse, which is enough for me to keep a safe distance from that language), and something about German history and the…
Maintain Your Language with the Learned Vocab Refresh System Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 14, 2015 in For Learners, For Libraries, Learning + Usage Tips, Learning Feature Updates
The only way to maintain language proficiency is to regularly interact with the language, but how do you do so when you’re not in school or not living among people who speak the language? Learned Vocab Refresh System The Learned Vocab refresh system in the CL-150 and Transparent Language Online removes the burden of tracking…
Doing Things Their Way: Language Learning in Foreign Lands Posted by Malachi Rempen on Oct 12, 2015 in Archived Posts
Let’s say you read this previous post of mine, encouraging you to go and not just speak, but learn new languages out in the real world, where those languages are being spoken. Let’s say you decided, “you know what, that guy that does those web comics is right! I’ve got to get out to where…
How to Remember a Language Longer Posted by meaghan on Oct 7, 2015 in Archived Posts
No, this isn’t a top Transparent Language secret. It’s just plain science. Psychologists have long studied the ways people learn. Part of that study includes how people forget, too. It is well known that we start to forget what we’ve learned very soon after we’ve learned it. The trick to fighting forgetfulness: reviewing often. Just how quickly do…