Staying Resourceful in Language Learning Posted by Malachi Rempen on Aug 26, 2015 in Archived Posts
Do any of the following sound like they might have come out of your mouth at one time or another? “I know drilling grammar is important, but it’s just not fun…and life’s too short.” “I can read street signs and menus, and understand when spoken to, but I can’t speak it. I just can’t find…
How U.S. Libraries Survive—and Thrive—in the Changing Linguistic Landscape (Part 1) Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 24, 2015 in Archived Posts
All 119,000+ libraries in the United States (whether public, academic, or government) share a common goal: to serve their community. As the linguistic landscape of the U.S. shifts, libraries must adapt to better serve their diverse members. How exactly can libraries respond to meet the needs of recent immigrants, resettled refugees, and non-English speakers in…
Appreciating the Little Things about Language Learning Posted by Malachi Rempen on Aug 19, 2015 in Archived Posts
I love the way that learning languages, like learning anything I suppose, slowly strips away the fog of ignorance. If you don’t speak French, it might sound to you like some kind of sugar-whipped vocal pastry, a pretty but unintelligible alien tongue. As you learn, however, gently the veil begins to lift, and what was previously opaque becomes…
Custom Spanish Lessons: Viva La Tomatina! Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 17, 2015 in For Learners, Learning Material Updates
Each year on the last Wednesday of August, the streets of Buñol, Spain run red. Fear not, it’s only tomatoes, thrown around as part of a massive tomato fight known as La Tomatina. True story. This is the kind of stuff that brings the Spanish language and culture to life; the stuff both students and…
How to Learn a Language with Twitter Posted by meaghan on Aug 12, 2015 in Archived Posts
As much as I try to resist, when I pull up Chrome, my finger automatically gravitates toward the F or T keys. Facebook and Twitter have some kind of gravitational pull over my hands, I swear. Apparently, I’m not alone—28% of all time spent online is on social networks. There’s no reason that social media…
Transforming the Economics of Language Learning (Part 6): The Elegant Discipline of DABL Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 10, 2015 in Archived Posts
Ask a doctor the one thing that would make most patients healthier and you might hear, “if my patients would simply do what I ask them to do.” For many ailments, the cure is a simple behavior change: stop smoking, exercise. But behavior is astonishingly stubborn. Language learning, on the other hand, is as actually…
Vocab from the Italian Dinner Table Posted by Malachi Rempen on Aug 5, 2015 in Archived Posts
In Italy, food is king. As I’ve mentioned before, food is the ultimate topic of conversation, and there’s nowhere better to engage in a conversation about food than in Italy. I’ve had dinners where literally 99% of the conversation had something to do with food – and dinners in Italy can last hours. If you’re…