How did you get your surname?

Do you know how you got your surname? It is regarded as a tradition for women to take their husband’s surnames when they get married in Britain. It’s also the tradition for men to always be Mr but women will be Miss until they’re married and become Mrs. So if Miss Young married Mr Smith, … Read more

EuroTalk Christmas Countdown starts here!

My countdown to this Christmas started on 26th December 2014; it’s my favourite time of year! I keep an app on my phone all year that counts down the number of sleeps until Christmas is back once again. When it gets to the 1st of December, it’s traditional in the UK to use an advent … Read more

How do you know when you’re fluent in another language?

The other day, in a moment of idle curiosity, I took an online Spanish test. And it went rather well; when I finished, I was told that I was 87% fluent. This is very funny, because – to my shame – I haven’t spoken Spanish properly for years. And although the test proved that everything I … Read more

Help to choose your loo – and you won’t need to spend a penny

We’ve all had that moment, haven’t we? That moment when you’re in another country, you don’t speak the language, and suddenly realise you don’t know which loo is the men’s and which is the women’s. Do you guess, and risk getting it wrong? Or do you just cross your legs and convince yourself you didn’t … Read more

Breaking down barriers with The Broke Backpacker

Meet Will. He’s the writer and adventurer behind travel blog The Broke Backpacker, and he just embarked on an epic two-year journey from home in the UK to Papua New Guinea.     The twist? He’s not taking any flights. Oh, and he’s travelling on a daily budget of $30. Will’s been on the road already for two … Read more

You never know until you try…

More years ago than I care to remember, I did a degree in Hispanic Studies at the University of Nottingham. I loved the course, but there was one part of it that filled me with terror from the very first day. The Year Abroad. This is a pretty standard element of a modern languages degree – … Read more

Junior Language Challenge – 2016 here we come…

The Junior Language Challenge 2015 may be over, but we’re already thinking about next year’s competition. In 2016, we’d love to double the number of children taking part from 1,100 to 2,200, and raise even more money for our brilliant charity, onebillion. Every year, we’re blown away by the enthusiasm and commitment shown by children, parents … Read more

How does a Greek person say ‘it’s all Greek to me’?

‘It’s all Greek to me’. This is what an English speaker might say when they don’t understand something at all. In this context the Greek language is used as a metaphor for ‘something incomprehensible’. So that got us thinking here at EuroTalk… if an English speaker uses Greek, what does a Greek speaking person use? And … Read more

How do you say ‘I have lost my rabbit’ in German?

Blogger Erika Holt is a big fan of languages and learning. In today’s blog post, she tells us why, and explains how knowing a little Greek helped her out in a sticky situation… What made you start learning languages? I have always found myself interested in languages.  I have a huge passion for reading and writing, … Read more