The Language Learning Specialists
Halloween is the favourite holiday of many people all over the world, and its origins can be traced back to ancient traditions. It has, however, been deeply influenced by a traditional Celtic harvest festival: Samhain, where the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could be more easily crossed. In the UK, at least, Halloween … Read more
This week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, or Māori Language Week, in New Zealand and around the world. As one of New Zealand’s official languages (alongside English and New Zealand Sign Language), Māori holds an important position and efforts to revitalise the language are proving successful. But what are the consequences of having … Read more
In this blog series, we’re going to explore common myths people have about learning a new language so that we can encourage you to give it a try. Today’s post explores the idea of a ‘language-learning gene’—do some people really just have a talent for languages? Making assumptions is never ideal. However, we’re going to … Read more
The Russian people have a long and complicated history with their ursine neighbours. In today’s blog post, learn some bear-y useful phrases to impress your Russian-speaking friends. There’s a reason The Revenant performed so well at the box office, and not all of that was down to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning performance: people love a good … Read more
Our friendly quizmasters spent a fun weekend chatting all things language, including brief forays into Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), Breton, and Klingon. Everything had been rehearsed. The audience was waiting, phones at the ready, thumbs twitching in anticipation. To be certain that it would all go off without a hitch, there was an ethernet cable plugged into … Read more
Try out 40 languages free as part of uTalk’s Great Language Adventure We’re off on a round the world trip by (virtual) planes, trains, boats and automobiles to meet and talk to people in 40 different countries celebrating the fact that uTalk goes to more places than any other languages company. Our mascot has started his tour in … Read more
Valentine’s day – a day for declaring your love in any way you can. But love can often be more tortured than a simple declaration. As Alfred de Musset said in his book “On ne badine pas avec l’amour”: “We are often deceived in love, often wounded and often miserable; but we love, and when … Read more
Language learning company uTalk has launched an app to help save the threatened Southern Saami language spoken by reindeer herders in Norway and Sweden. The herders are nicknamed the people of eight seasons because their culture divides the calendar year into eight or more seasons to tie in with the life cycle of the reindeer. … Read more
7000 languages, 7 billion people – one museum’s answer The word of God, children’s novels, recipes, drunken talk, rumours or political promises: everything is about speaking. It’s estimated that there are 7000 spoken languages in the world and a billion different ways to say all those things. This uninterrupted discussion among people of generations started … Read more
Wonderful atmosphere and heart-warming stories at the Junior Language Challenge final 2017 A total of 32 children battled it out at Junior Language Challenge 2017 Final on Friday Oct 13, each with their own motivations and stories. The winner, Jeevan Macro, from Salisbury, wants his success to send a message back to the children’s home in … Read more