Stars and Specials: what’s new in uTalk

Our small office has been very busy recently preparing a big new update to uTalk, and we’re very happy to finally share it with you! Some of you may have already tried it – if you have we’d love to hear what you think. So what’s new? Stars and Specials Stars are the biggest change within … Read more

Welcome to Bhutan! William and Kate’s guide to the local language

Bhutan, known as the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’, only opened up to visitors in the 1970s, which means the tour of India and Bhutan the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are going on, is a very special trip! The country is still relatively unexplored by outsiders and holds some lovely traditions, like their measure … Read more

5 ways to be happy like the Bhutanese

Recently, we were recording the Bhutanese language of Dzongkha for uTalk (now available!) and realised we knew hardly anything about the Himalayan kingdom. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are visiting as part of their Royal visit to India and Bhutan; so we thought we would do a bit of reading – and now we want … Read more

Why children should learn a second language

The Scottish Government has committed to every child learning a second language at the age of 5. Alongside this, they’ll learn an additional language in P5, which means children will know 3 languages by the time they leave school. It’s called the 1+2 policy and we think it’s a great pledge, as there are so many reasons why … Read more

Beginner’s Guide to Romanian

The Junior Language Challenge is a national competition for children aged 10 and under across the UK. One of the goals of the competition is to give young learners the chance to discover exciting new languages, and this year we’ve chosen Romanian as the first language. But how much do you know about this European … Read more

‘Something I’ll always be very proud of’: Shane’s JLC story

Shane came in 3rd in The Junior Language Challenge in 2014 and is now in year 7 studying German and Latin. Below he talks about the wonderful JLC experience and why any teacher/parent should register their kids.  If you’re a parent or teacher of children aged 10 and under in the UK, visit juniorlanguagechallenge.com to find out more about … Read more

Junior Language Challenge: fun for the whole family!

Isobel Eason from Hartlepool qualified for the Junior Language Challenge final two years in a row, and came third last year, with her proud family cheering her on. Here her mum Vickie shares their experience of the competition… If you’re a parent or teacher of children aged 10 and under in the UK, visit juniorlanguagechallenge.com to find out more … Read more

Mum’s the word! How different languages say ‘mother’

Today is the day we celebrate ‘Mother’s day’ or ‘Mothering Sunday’ here in the UK. Mum is one of those words we start to use from a young age; perhaps you used ‘mumma’, ‘mother’, ‘mam’ or ‘mummy’ instead; there are many ways to say it! Some languages offer a similar word to English, like ‘la … Read more

Happy Baba Marta!

Today is “Baba Marta Day”. In Bulgaria the 1st of March marks a holiday that welcomes the upcoming spring. “Baba Marta” translates to “Grandma March”, the mythical character who brings the end of the bitter cold winter! On this day people exchange “Martenitsi”. These are red and white coloured bands or figurines that symbolise health and … Read more

Not your average Monday: what’s so special about 29th February?

Happy Leap Day! The 29th of February comes around every four years, but how much do you know about this extra day? What is Leap Day? Originally the Sumerians divided the year into 12 months and allocated 30 days for each month. This was adapted by the Egyptians, who realised that this didn’t fit in with the … Read more