Friday, March 27, 2009

Learning languages boosts your brain

Researchers from University College London report that learning a second language “boosts” brain-power. The scientists studied the brains of 105 people, 80 of whom were bilingual. They found that much like exercise builds muscles, learning languages alters grey matter, the area of the brain that processes information. This is not just the kind of change your brain goes through as a result of increased stimulation, but actual brain development.

There is even more good news for children learning a second language. They are likely to have more advanced grey matter than those who learned later, the scientists said.

What do you think? Ready to work out your left inferior parietal cortex?

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Learn French in one post

It's not a gimmick. It's not a trick. You can learn French in one post. Maybe you won't be fluent, but you will have significantly more French ability than before reading this post. The best part: you'll learn French by speaking English.

That's right.

We did a little brainstorming and came up with...



Our 100 favorite French words already used in English!

Odds are you already use some of them but maybe didn't realize they are French in origin. Take a look and let me know how many you already use or know.

à la mode
à la carte
adieu
aperitif
après-ski
armoire
art nouveau
attaché
au jus
au naturel
au pair
ballet
belle
boudoir
brunette
café
café au lait
carte blanche
c’est lavie!
chaise longue
chic
chignon
cliché
coiffure
concierge
connoisseur
coup d’état
couture
crème brulée
crème de la crème
crudité
cul-de-sac
décolletage
déja vu
dénouement
derrière
divertissement
du jour
éclair
encore
entrée
entrepreneur
faux pas
femme fatale
film noir
fiancé
fleur-de-lis
forte
gaffe
grand prix
haute couture
hors d’oeuvre
ingénue
je-ne-sais-quoi
joie de vivre
laissez-faire
macramé
mardi Gras
marquee
mirepoix
mise en scène
montage
motif
mousse
naïve
nom de plume
nouveau riche
ooh la la
papier-mâché
passé
peignoir
petite
plat du jour
pièce de résistance
poseur
potpourri
première
rapport
rendez-vous
repertoire
RSVP (répondez s’il vous plaît)
restaurateur
résumé
risqué
rôle
roux
sabotage
sans
sauté
savoir-faire
soirée
sommelier
soupe du jour
touché
trompe l’oeil
tour de force
venue
vinaigrette
vive
voilà!

World's easiest French lesson, non?

Friday, March 20, 2009

Celebrate French!

Today is the day to celebrate the French language! The annual celebration takes place around the globe in the 70 member countries of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Join the party!

A few figures from La Francophonie dans le monde 2006-2007:
* 128 million Francophones: speak French (as a native or adopted language) fluently and use it on a regular basis.

* 72 million "partiel" Francophones: live in a francophone country but do not speak French regularly, due to limited knowledge.

* 100-110 million students of all ages: do not live in a francophone country, but have learned/are learning French in order to communicate with Francophones.

Click to enlarge.

Click here for a list of 25 events planned across the US to celebrate French today. If there's not one near you, why not host your own? Invite your francophile friends over for apéritifs this evening.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

New releases!

Now available, two new audio learning guides in English!

Let’s Eat!
Learn how to order food like an English-speaker and what to say when you’re invited for a meal. With this CD, you’ll find out how to compliment your hostess, talk about food and wine and feel at ease in even the poshest restaurant. Comes with full transcription booklet.




Authentic English
50 key expressions that you will hear frequently and should know when to use if you want to sound really English or American. Help with pronunciation, an explanation of usage and a short dialogue to understand each expression in its context are all included in this CD. Comes with full transcription booklet.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Disappearing languages

Do you know anyone who speaks Livonian? Probably not, as the only remaining speaker lives in Latvia. Livonian is one of 2,500 languages that UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, says are in danger of becoming extinct or have recently disappeared. To put this figure into perspective, you should know that there are a total of 6,000 world languages.

A UNESCO atlas published in February gives the latest information about the general status of languages. It states that more that 200 languages have recently become extinct. India, the United States, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil are the countries with greater linguistic diversity, but with the highest number of endangered languages. Papua New Guinea, with more than 800 languages, has the greatest linguistic diversity in the world. The country has comparatively a far fewer languages currently endangered compared to those of other nations.

Which languages will you help keep alive?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Fun with Idioms

Learning idioms helps you understand the language, gives you insight into the culture, and it’s also a great way to impress your friends! Here are a few fun idioms to get you started:

Tirer à quatre épingles
In English this translates as "to pull with four pins", but in French it is used for "dressed to the nines." Ooh la la!

Antes que te cases mira lo que haces!
English-speakers would say, "Look before you leap!" but in Spanish you would say, "Before you marry look what you do!"

Avoir un chat dans la gorge
A French person never has a frog in their throat. It’s not that they are more eloquent, but that in French, you "have a cat in your throat"!

Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente."The shrimp that falls asleep is carried away by the current," say Spanish-speakers. Or, as we’d say in English, "You snooze, you lose!"

Coûter les yeux de la tête
If something is very expensive, it may cost you "an arm and a leg" in the US, but in France it costs "the eyes of the head".

Darle un beso a la botella.
In English we’d say "take a swig", but doesn’t "give the bottle a kiss" sound muy fun?

Être simple comme « bonjour »
If something is "as easy as pie" a French person would say it is "as simple as 'hello'". This actually makes a lot of sense – saying hello is much easier than making a pie!

Comer frijoles y repetir pollo
An English-speaker would tell you, "His bark is mightier than his bite," but a Spanish-speaker will say that the person "eats beans and belches chicken."