The Language Learning Specialists
English speakers should be wary of receiving ein Gift from a German! That’s because Gift just happens to be the German word for “poison”! And more incredibly, both the English and German meanings stem from the exact same Proto-Germanic root – giftiz! Our friend and language guru Brian Loo Soon Hua explains all: The word … Read more
Why every language in the world uses the same two words for “tea” and why in fact, that assumption is wrong! (There’s actually only one word for tea!) Our friend and language guru Brian Loo Soon Hua explains all: The word “tea”, in almost every language in the world, is ultimately of Chinese origin. Whoever … Read more
By our multi-lingual friend Brian Loo Soon Hua aka uTalk’s Language Guru Did you know that Canada was almost named Efisga? Or, even more unusual, Hochelaga? Imagine the jokes Americans would have been making about their Efisgan or Hochelagan neighbours to the north! Thankfully, “Canada” came into official use in 1791 when the Province … 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
Emirates Airline has launched an extended series of 45 videos to help passengers on all its flights grow confidence in learning languages. The specially commissioned and exclusive language learning films are now available in 15 languages and allow passengers to learn the basics needed for when they land in a new country and want to … Read more
uTalk has been chosen to be part of the roll-out of +Air Time; a pioneering new in-flight entertainment system that allows passengers to interact and play with games. Passengers can broaden their horizons and learn to speak a few words and phrases in 130+ languages before they touch down on selected routes thanks to the unique collaboration between uTalk … 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
Our word of the month for the #LanguageDare is ‘Thank you’ (as all of you who have bravely posted your social media entry will already know). And it’s got me thinking about all the people who have helped me on my language learning journey, whether by teaching, correcting, encouraging or even just interacting with me, … Read more
Every year uTalk runs the Junior Language Challenge (JLC), the UK’s only language challenge for primary schools. This summer, JLC 2016 winner Ritisha and her family went on her prize winning trip to Malawi. While there, Ritisha took the time to document her visit, so in her own words read on to find out what they got … Read more