How to Say “Paris” the Correct Way Posted by Malachi Rempen on Apr 13, 2015 in Archived Posts
Once upon a time, when I was living in Los Angeles, I saw a stand-up comedian, and like most amateur stand-up it was teeth-clenchingly awkward. At one point during his routine, though, he said something that stuck with me ever since. I don’t remember the exact words (or even his name), but it was along…
Transforming the Economics of Language Learning (Part 4) Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 9, 2015 in Archived Posts
Logistics? Of language programs? “Say what…?” In Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, we talked about how to train and sustain language proficiency more efficiently and reliably. Getting that right can radically improve the economics of professional language programs in government, industry and academe. Just as transformative to the economics is changing when and…
Just How Good is Your English? Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 8, 2015 in Archived Posts
We’re excited to announce the new percentile ranking feature in Which is English. In the game, players are presented with pairs of words or phrases. Which option uses English most naturally or correctly? The challenges are easy at first, but get harder if you do well early on. Even native speakers of English usually get at…
There Are No Rainy Days in Language Learning Posted by Malachi Rempen on Apr 6, 2015 in Archived Posts
Many aspects of our lives are ruled by that which we simply cannot control. Try as we might, our fervent honking has no noticeable influence on traffic jams on the way to work; shouting at the television does not, in fact, sway the football match in our favor; and as our unfortunate would-be weekender in…
Hacking Pronunciation in Any Language with the IPA, Part 3: Phonetics Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 1, 2015 in Archived Posts
Jakob Gibbons writes about language and travel on his blog Globalect. He often shares his experiences with learning languages on the road, and teaching and learning new speech sounds is his specialty. In the first and second posts in this series on pronunciation, we delved into phonology and using the IPA for learning consonants and vowels…
Play Ball… En Español! Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 31, 2015 in For Learners, Learning Material Updates
Fear not, sports fans. We may be wrapping up the Multilingual Madness Tournament, but baseball season is just around the corner. This year, the Major League Baseball season will not commence with an international game as it has in previous years, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to add a little international flavor to opening…
Not Improving? Wrong. Posted by Malachi Rempen on Mar 30, 2015 in Archived Posts
My stepfather, Stan Hirsch, is a professional blues guitarist. His story is so classic it’s almost cliché: when he was ten years old he mowed lawns and raked leaves to save up money to buy his first guitar, and when he got it, he decided he wanted to be brilliant at playing it. He wanted…