So Can You Speak Globish?
English is the global language of business, yet English is also the native tongue of relatively few people, and it is notoriously hard to learn. What can be done? Jean-Paul Nerrière came up with an answer: Globish, a kind of simplified English that is vastly easier to use and can work almost as well as [...]
Click here to continue readingWant to Pass Your Driving Test? Hire a Translator
Immigrants are to be banned from taking driving tests in their native language amid concerns rogue translators are helping them cheat. Ministers are understood to be considering ditching rules “within months” which allow learners to sit theory tests in any of 19 foreign languages – including Urdu and Albanian. A system which allows translators to [...]
Click here to continue readingAre You a Hyperpolyglot?
When God put the kibosh on the Tower of Babel, 72 languages were said to have been created from the one that unified those hubristic humans. In his new book, Babel No More, linguist Michael Erard seeks out the people who have put those pieces back together: hyperpolyglots, i.e., the most fluent mamma-jammas on the planet. [...]
Click here to continue readingEvery British Child Should Learn A Foreign Language From Age Five
The education secretary, Michael Gove, has proposed that every child aged five or over should be learning a foreign language, and promised to “pull every lever”, including encouraging longer school days, to make it happen. In a pre-Conservative conference interview, he says: “There is a slam-dunk case for extending foreign language teaching to children aged five. [...]
Click here to continue readingTrend Defied as Pupils Enrol on Foreign Language Degree Courses
A Yorkshire school is defying the trend of declining numbers of modern foreign language learners with 14 pupils going on to study the subjects at university. More than three-quarters of the language exams sat at St Peter’s School, in York, resulted in either A*s or A grades yesterday’s results reveal. Students are now going on [...]
Click here to continue readingThe Advantages of Studying a Foreign Language
From impressing people with the ability to translate the menu at an ethnic food restaurant, to securing a lucrative international career, or just being able to speak the local language while visiting a foreign country, having the use of a second language at your disposal is sure to come in handy throughout your life. While [...]
Click here to continue readingDoes Knowing a Foreign Language Make You Richer, Happier… and Sexier?
A recently published report commissioned by Michael Thomas, the Hollywood language teacher who has taught celebrities such as Doris Day, Emma Thompson and Woody Allen, highlights some interesting benefits brought to those who learn a foreign language. According to the report, Britons who learn a foreign language are richer, happier and are regarded as sexier [...]
Click here to continue readingCelebrities Who Speak Foreign Languages
Brits and Americans are often accused of not making an effort when it comes to foreign languages. There are actually many public figures from these countries who are proficient in other languages though, and who therefore serve as great ambassadors for language learning. The majority are actors and sports stars, and like most language learners, [...]
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