Blog

Hidden Talents

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:28:48 +0000

Want to find out if you have a special aptitude for learning languages? The UK's Channel 4's popular, new series, Hidden Talents has created a slew of specific self-marking online tests designed to tease out innate abilities and this week they've added a language aptitude test. Give it a go when you're feeling brave, but don't worry if you don't score highly, as we've spoken to several people who didn't do well in the test but nevertheless are happily and successfully making a living using their language skills.

English that's good enough

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:59:11 +0000

Ever felt that unless you speak a language fluently it's not worth having a go? Marina Warner's recent article in The Guardian is a rallying cry for making do with what you've got. As she points out: "First, it is possible to speak another language fluently and yet make continual mistakes in it – mistakes of word order and phrasing, register and weight of terms used, and numerous other pitfalls. Second, languages are mobile, capricious, and have a voracious appetite." That is to say: turn your back on the language by being out of the country for just a month and you'll find on your return that it will have moved on. Faced with these thoughts, but mindful of the cultural enrichment that comes with multilingualism, she suggests we should drop our fears and inhibitions and celebrate and make the most of whatever second language attainment we have. Amen to that.

Cockney cash: Lady Godivas and speckled hens

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:19:35 +0000

Fun story on BBC News of an initiative by the Bank Machine Company to add the option of cockney rhyming slang on cash machines in the East End of London. This sounds a great way to introduce overseas visitors to the Olympic stadium to a much-loved and vibrant aspect of spoken British English. Next time you need some 'sausage and mash' you'll now know where to go!

Why Bilinguals Are Smarter

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:02:23 +0000

More fuel for Bilingualism as one of the most effective forms of brain training in the op-ed piece in this Sunday's New York Times. The article highlights research that now shows that that the 'interference' that is created in the brain from having two languages active at the same time even when speaking one language is a blessing in disguise as It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. It would appear that this, in turn, improves the executive function of the brain that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. This type of research is a rallying cry to help encourage families who speak more than one language to persevere in raising their children bilingually. For the rest of us, it seems increasingly clear that the act of learning a second language has so many other positive benefits and spin-offs in respect of improved cognitive function.

Specialist language teachers 'urgently required'

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:40:03 +0000

At last some good news for language teachers in the UK: according to a news story on the BBC there's an urgent need for specialist language teachers as the number of pupils set to sit language GCSEs next year has increased by 22% to 52%. The rise is thought to be tied to the English Baccalaureate, which requires GCSEs in language among other subjects. Hopefully, if this carries on this will impact further up the education ladder and reverse the decline in graduates taking languages at UK universities. The good news is tempered by the fact that the increase in the actual number of school children taking languages is coming off a very low base. Clearly, this welcome news is just a start in restoring languages to their rightful place in the curriculum.

The Art of Mastering Many Tongues

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:33:37 +0000

Excellent book review in the New York Times of Babel No More, The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Language Learners by Michael Erard. As well as looking at some of the secrets of language acquisition from some of the great polyglots--always interesting for those of us hunting for tips as to how best to learn a second language--the review closes with a fascinating quote from the book that distinguishes multilingualism from hyperpolyglottism: “For multilinguals, learning languages is an act of joining society,” he writes...but “being a hyperpolyglot means exactly the opposite. The hyperpolyglot’s pursuit of many languages may be a bridge to the rest of the world, but it walls him off from his immediate language community.”

How do you become fluent in 11 languages?

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:31:55 +0000

Inspirational Friday fun: video on the BBC web site of twenty-year-old Alex Rawlings, the winnner of a national competition to find the UK's most multi-lingual student, explaining in 11 different languages a few of his secrets of polyglottery. The government should pay for him to go on a national tour of schools as a torch bearer for languages in primary and secondary education.

Digital tools 'to save languages'

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:31:05 +0000

Digital technology often gets accused of accelerating the rise of English at the expense of other languages, but according to a piece on the BBC Technology pages, the internet could be the salvation of endangered languages. As the article mentions, North American tribes use social media to re-engage their young, for example, and Tuvan, an indigenous tongue spoken by nomadic peoples in Siberia and Mongolia, even has an iPhone app to teach the pronunciation of words to new students. Many languages become extinct owing to the geographical isolation of the few remaining speakers. Social media and the internet both facilitates communication, acts as an oral and written repository of knowledge of the language and as the article points out, just as importantly, helps the endangered language to appear cool and relevant to the next generation.

As a coda to this story, this week's Economist has published an article, Embracing the Future, which looks at some interesting case studies from around the world of where technology has had a positive impact in preserving endangered languages.

French cyclist breaks age group record for The Hour - three months after his 100th birthday

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:12:55 +0000

Here's a story to put a pep in your step at the end of a long week: A 100-year-old cyclist from France has set a new age group world record for The Hour an incredible 86 years after his first competitive race. The article on the road.cc web site details the remarkable exploits of Robert Marchand, centenarian cycliste extraordinaire. Maybe the elixir of youth is to be found by keeping fit and by cycling in France!

Interview on RFI with the André Goosse, editor of Le Bon Usage

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:37:24 +0000

Fascinating interview on RFI with the André Goosse, editor of Le Bon Usage, the bible of French grammar, to mark the recent publication of the 15th edition. Goosse talks about the differences in approach in France and from this Belgian publication in respect of the observation and cataloguing of French grammar usage. You can listen to the entire interview at RFI or download it as a podcast.