Alternative Valentine’s Days

Valentine’s Day is a moment we should all pause our busy lives to celebrate love and the important people in our lives with whom we share special moments – not only lovers but also friends or family. Obviously a popular holiday on the American continent, followed by Western Europe and in the last years Eastern Europe, … Read more

Stop thinking about it and get going!

In the spirit of ‘Linguists Anonymous’, I am Felicity Jones, 45, and I am mildly addicted to learning other languages. I speak French, German, Spanish, Italian and some Mandarin. I have used uTalk to learn some Danish, and my January challenge is Greek. Even as a child I would listen under the bed cover to … Read more

Why Russian? Why not?

Lucy was our first ever winner of the Junior Language Challenge and at age 23 has now chosen to take part in the uTalk Challenge learning Russian. Lucy already speaks Spanish, French, Italian, German and Latin and has been learning languages since she was 10 years old. Why? Why not? I was talking to some … Read more

What’s in a name?

Welcome to my family! My Grandma’s called Minnie, and my Granddad’s called Jack. Except, they’re not really. Because, in English, we have an eccentric tendency to distort names until they no longer resemble the original at all. My Gran’s actually called Mary and my Granddad, of course, is John. Now meet my Uncle Bob, cousins … Read more

Español en Florida? Por supuesto!

This year in November I went for my first trip in the USA. I was lucky enough to spend my birthday in sunny Florida and it was wonderful! But the story I want to share with you starts earlier than that, on our way. After a 10 hour long flight spiced with excitement, plans and … 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

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

Junior Language Challenge: Aalaya’s story

Last week, we heard from Jackie Gliniecka, a teacher at The Hawthorns School in Surrey, about her experience of the Junior Language Challenge over the last ten years. But how does it feel to take part in the competition? Today we’re sharing runner-up Aalaya Sanjeeva’s story, which begins three years ago… Aalaya I started JLC … Read more

What languages mean to me

Interview with Alexandra Turner – translator, writer, editor Alex left her London life a few months ago to go and travel around the world. She is passionate about culture and languages and has traveled to 26 countries up to now. At the moment she lives in Stockholm, Sweden (and we deeply envy her for that). EuroTalk: What … Read more

The Language of Chocolate

Ah chocolate, that little sinful delight that you can pretty much find in every corner of the globe. Eat it, drink it, wear it or even play with it, you simply can’t get away from it. Since it’s National Chocolate Week I was curious to find out where the word ‘chocolate’ actually comes from. Unfortunately … Read more