Learning Languages with Music: A Taste of Ugandan Culture

Studies have proven that music can help when it comes to learning, boosting your mood and helping you to form memories. But when it comes to learning languages, in particular, there’s another way that music can help—they’re direct exposure to your target language! In this blog post, we’ll be looking at music from Uganda, as … Read more

Why Song is a Lifeline for Sephardic Jews

Sunday 12th January marks International Ladino Day, a celebration of the Ladino (or Juedo-Spanish) language through story and song. Music is a thread woven through the history of Sephardic Jews and is one way in which the community is trying to preserve and promote the language, with prominent figures such as Karen Gerson Sarhon and … Read more

🎶 This uTalk 3.3 release will be music to your ears 🎶

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

5 ways to be happy like the Bhutanese

Recently, we were recording the Bhutanese language of Dzongkha for uTalk (now available!) and realised we knew hardly anything about the Himalayan kingdom. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are visiting as part of their Royal visit to India and Bhutan; so we thought we would do a bit of reading – and now we want … Read more

5 times you spoke Italian and didn’t know it

Did you know that you speak Italian? No, really – you do. And we don’t just mean that time you ordered a pizza. Here are a few words you’ve probably used at some point, but might not have realised were Italian: Novella Longer than a short story, but not quite a full novel. Well-known novellas include … Read more

5 Great Songs to Help You Learn English

Everyone knows the key to language learning is immersion, but upping sticks and moving to the country where your language originates from is a huge commitment and not always possible. However. There are a few things you can do to help your learning along. Watching films (with or without subtitles, depending on how brave you … Read more

Way, Haul Away… Sea shanties and language learning

Last weekend, I spent a very merry, slightly tipsy few days at the International Sea Shanty Festival in Falmouth. International What, now? Allow me to explain. Every year, Falmouth town hosts a three-day festival of nautical songs and chants, to which people flock not only from all over Cornwall, but from foreign parts too – … Read more

3 surprising facts about the relationship between language and music

It’s often said that music is the “universal language of mankind”. Indeed, like language, music has great expressive power, and manages to convey a vast array of sentiments and emotions, even without the use of words. But just how connected are language and music? Research suggests that the relationship between the two may be even … Read more

The power of song in language learning

Everyone has individual tips and specific techniques on how to learn a language quickly and effectively, ranging from immersing yourself in the culture of the language to listening to hours of vocabulary when asleep. During my final year of secondary school I had to learn French, to a very high standard, in around six months, … Read more