Christmas Traditions Around the World Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 23, 2013 in Archived Posts
‘Tis the season… but not just in America! People around the world are in the holiday spirit, so let’s take a look at how they celebrate Christmas. You might not think to associate Christmas with the Arab world, but the holiday is widely accepted by many Arabs, and rightfully so considering that the birthplace of…
22 Hilarious, Useful, and Bizarre Foreign Words That Monolinguals Are Missing Out On Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 18, 2013 in Archived Posts
English speakers get a small dose of foreign languages every day, whether you’re watching your favorite football team blitz the quarterback, stringing up a piñata for your child’s birthday party, or searching for something chic to wear. Loan words give us just a small taste of other languages, but there’s so much more out there…
Immerse Yourself Without Traveling: Join a Cultural Organization in Your City Posted by mtaulier on Dec 16, 2013 in Archived Posts
One of the problems with learning a language is that it is often a solitary endeavor. Unless you’re sitting in a classroom with other students or you move to a foreign country and immerse yourself in the language, you’re usually left to your own devices. And this is why it can take years before we…
5 Ways to Raise a Bilingual Child When You Don’t Speak the Language Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 9, 2013 in Archived Posts
I always imagined my children would speak fluent Arabic, Spanish, French and English. Before having kids and up until the time they could talk, I thought this was totally realistic. Arabic they would get from their dad, a native speaker, Spanish they would learn from me, a non-native speaker but fluent, and French they would…
Practice Your Pronunciation Anxiety-Free with EveryVoice Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 4, 2013 in For Educators, For Learners, For Libraries, Learning Feature Updates
Speaking an unfamiliar language can be terrifying, but learners who avoid it never succeed at achieving proficiency. That’s why Transparent Language’s EveryVoice™ speech analysis technology relieves the tension by providing our users with a judgment-free environment in which to make otherwise life-endingly bad mistakes. So go ahead, stammer your way those foreign words until you…
5 Cognitive Benefits of Bilingualism Posted by meaghan on Dec 2, 2013 in Archived Posts
Speaking more than one language certainly doesn’t hurt when job hunting or traveling, but the benefits of bilingualism go way beyond your resume or your passport. I’m talking about your brain. You’ve probably heard that bilingualism can stave off dementia or Alzheimer’s in as you age, but what is it doing for your brain right…
5 Reasons Why Language Learners Should Focus on Vocabulary Posted by meaghan on Nov 25, 2013 in Archived Posts
“While without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” – David Wilkins New language learners may assume that learning grammar is more important than learning vocabulary. Can you really learn a language if you’re unfamiliar with sentence structure, verb conjugation, noun-adjective agreement, and so on? If you want to reach advanced…