The Language Learning Specialists
uTalk 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
That’s right, the uTalk Junior Language Challenge is back for the 2019/2020 academic year! We’ve got a whole new website with a brand-new look and we’re ready and waiting for your sign ups. But what is the uTalk JLC, and why should you take part? For the last fifteen years, uTalk has been proud to … 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
Find out what Game of Thrones and Star Trek have in common and why fans of both will be living it up in Montreal this weekend! You’d be forgiven for not having heard of Marc Okrand or David Peterson, though it’s likely that you’ve seen some of their work. Both of these gentlemen are going … Read more
Our tech guys have been hard at work over here on all sorts of fun stuff and we’ve decided it’s time to give you all a little treat. With this new update, we’re going to almost double the amount of free words available on the app—so alongside such classics as ‘yes’ and ‘no’, you’ll also … Read more
This spumoni day, we explain how Neapolitan ice cream came to exist. Chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla? Or maybe you’d prefer cherry, pistachio, and vanilla instead? When it comes to ice cream, everyone has their own preferences. This is particularly true in Italy, where food is so closely tied to culture that several dishes, including spumoni, … Read more
You’ll now be able to listen to music in the background while learning which, according to the people who know, can ease stress, create a positive mood and aid learning. And, to show we’ve thought of everything, the music turns off automatically when you’re recording. You’ll also be able to adjust the text size from … Read more