The Language Learning Specialists
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many wonderful ways around the world. uTalk’s Language guru, Brian, presents five countries and their colourful customs all done in the name of love! Argentina Argentineans are so passionate about love that in addition to Valentine’s Day, they celebrate an entire week in July called La Semana de la Dulzura … Read more
Find out how a simple plant, once used to guide Māori hunters home after nightfall, is now a much-loved symbol of New Zealand. The history of the Silver Fern is just one of the fascinating facts about the Māori language and culture that we’re celebrating as part of ‘Te Wiki o te Reo Māori’, which … Read more
Today is Shark Awareness Day, a chance to raise the profile of a type of fish vital to our ecosystem that has, in some form or another, been roaming this planet for over 400 million years. (That’s before dinosaurs even existed, in case you were wondering!) But what do sharks have to do with language … Read more
We’ve talked multiple times before about how important culture is when it comes to languages and language learning. And if you don’t have the ability to travel the world (which none of us really do right now!), then an easy way to get a glimpse into the culture of a place is by taking a … Read more
Last week, we talked about the importance of our culturally-specific topics, which differ from language to language. As our language of the week this week is Flemish, we took a look at the words and phrases you can learn on the app—and decided to give you a new one and its story, right here! No … Read more
When it comes to learning a new language, where do you start? Pronunciation, maybe, or some listening? Then you’ll start learning words, phrases. Grammar. How to write. All these building blocks come together to help make up a language you can then communicate with. But, of course, communication is more than just words—it’s culture, too. … Read more
If you visit India, you might feel inclined to greet everyone with ‘namaste,’ a traditional Hindu greeting that shows your respect. But you might not hear the same thing in reply. In this blog post, we explore the origins of the word ‘namaste,’ how it is used in India today, and the impact of its … Read more
Germany is famous for a lot of things—but its cuisine doesn’t really top that list. Most stereotypes around German food include sausages, potatoes and lots and lots of beer. And while these stereotypes may be somewhat grounded in fact, Germany has much more to offer—as we’ll share with you today. If you’re in any city … Read more
Speakers of the Basque language, a language spoken in self-governing parts of France and Spain, have a tradition of male-only nights out. The evenings take place behind closed doors in specially rented or purpose-bought premises, often basements. But the events, which are called txoko—from the Basque word ‘zoko,’ meaning ‘cosy nook’—are far from questionable; sweetly, … 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