Learn Nahuatl in Transparent Language Online Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 25, 2017 in For Learners, Learning Material Updates
Thanks to Tlahtoltapazolli and 7000 Languages, you can now learn Nahuatl in Transparent Language Online for Libraries. Nahuatl is the language of the Aztecs, the 14th century Mexican empire you probably learned about in your high school history class. While the empire may have fallen to Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, the language lived…
Dubbed Movies are Silly Posted by Malachi Rempen on Oct 23, 2017 in Archived Posts
When foreign languages get dubbed in movies and TV, it sometimes gets ridiculous. Then again, sometimes it gets ridiculous anyway. We can all agree that dubbed films and TV shows have their silly moments when it comes to foreign languages. Obviously writers can’t account for their work being re-voiced in every conceivable language, so we…
Why the Anti-Mistake Culture is Detrimental to Foreign Languages Posted by meaghan on Oct 18, 2017 in Archived Posts
What’s the best thing you can do to improve your language skills? Make mistakes. The Problem With Anti-Mistake Culture In an article on Medium, entrepreneur Catalin Matei describes what he calls the “anti-mistake culture”, the societal expectation that making mistakes is a bad thing, something to punish. One vivid example to which anyone can relate…
Why Language Learning is the Best Posted by Malachi Rempen on Oct 16, 2017 in Archived Posts
There are many things to love about learning new languages. But this is undoubtedly the best one. My absolute favorite thing about language learning happens to be the exact same thing I love about travel in general: it forces you to see the world from another perspective. You might take this for granted. You might…
Children Can Learn a Language at the Library with KidSpeak™ Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 11, 2017 in For Libraries
KidSpeak™ is now included in all Transparent Language Online library subscriptions. You’ve heard it before and it’s worth hearing again: the best time to start learning a new language is as early as possible. The cognitive benefits of bilingualism pay off into adulthood. For children whose parents do not speak another language and whose school…
False False Friends in German Posted by Malachi Rempen on Oct 9, 2017 in Archived Posts
Germans have a habit of stealing English slang and using it incorrectly. Is that a False Friend? Or something else entirely? Germans are funny. They are proud of their language and culture, but also proud of their ability to speak other languages – mostly English, and to a lesser but still significant degree, French. Quite…
5 Ways to Fight Off Forgetting When Learning Languages Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 4, 2017 in Archived Posts
The forgetting curve is steep, but we can get you over that hump. This article on Edutopia defined forgetting as the “nemesis of memory.” This rings especially true for serious language learners, who are never really “finished” learning. The article goes on to explain Hermann Ebbinghaus’s “forgetting curve”, a measurement of how much (or perhaps…