Category Archives: News

Jump on Stage for the Eurovision Song Contest!

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Eurovision is the colourful, over-the-top, cheesy and fabulous international music competition that is broadcast every year across Europe, Asia, the US and Australia to millions of fans and ironic supporters! The Eurovision Song Contest Final always offers an evening of fun and excitement, packed with wacky musical delights.

The Eurovision Final 2022 airs on Saturday 14th May. Come along and explore the ballads, pop songs and other tuneful entries from some of the hopeful nations right here. Plus, we’ll explain how the competition works and consider how the Eurovision Song Contest can add a melodious edge to your next EFL lesson! Continue reading →

Robot Teachers Take Over Language Lessons

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British academics have programmed a child-sized robot to teach languages to children. The design has been piloted in the UK and is now being tried out across Europe. The Nao robot teachers are designed to look friendly and approachable and react to children’s moods and facial expressions.

Originally designed to teach History and Maths, the dwarf robots are currently being used in Germany to teach language skills to refugee children as part of the L2TOR language project.

Experts believe that robot teachers will soon become a regular part of the general school education system. Read more to find out about the robot teachers currently being used in Europe’s language classrooms – and how robots could revolutionise education and language learning. Continue reading →

Music Training Improves Language Learning, Studies Show

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Researchers have found that children who learn an instrument find learning languages much easier, even as adults. It has been proven that music training improves language learning, however, it is not only the ability to learn foreign languages that is boosted. Children who study music before the age of seven also develop better linguistic abilities in their mother tongue. Musicians have bigger vocabularies, better pronunciation and a stronger awareness of grammar than their non-musical friends. Read on to find out more about how music is linked with language learning. Continue reading →

The Connection Between Sound, Language and Emotion

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Connection Between Sound, Language and Emotion - headphones listeningSound, language and emotion have strong links. Over 130 years ago, Darwin suggested that speech and melody have the same ancestor. Now two academics have returned to the idea and are currently researching the connection between sound and emotion in relation to language.

It seems that the tone of someone’s voice can affect our emotions in the same way that other sounds in the natural world can, such as running water or barking dogs.

We can feel calm, anxious, excited or happy and can even have our perceptions altered by the tones we hear.

Read on to explore the connection between sounds and emotions as we think about what this means for language. Continue reading →

Scientists Compete to Find the Best Method of Remembering

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Learning new vocabulary can be time consuming and tedious for even the most enthusiastic of language learners, so finding an effective way to memorise new words is a top priority for many students. But what is the best way to remember new words?

Is it flash cards, word families, spatial recognition, starting with the easy words, total immersion, visual images, cramming vocabulary lists until your brain begs for mercy? Well you can stop wondering. Memory scientists have launched a competition to find the best method of remembering – and you can volunteer to take part in the big memory experiment!
Continue reading →

Tough New English Language Test for International Students

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The government plans to cut the numbers of foreign students coming to British universities by 25,000 a year by introducing a tough new English language test. Some universities are running remedial classes for first year students and the home secretary has called for a crackdown on the number who cannot speak English properly. But is this decision fair on students coming to study science subjects or Mathematics, who often have weaker langauge skills and for whom English is not a main factor in their studies? Continue reading →

No Swearing with New Google Voice Typing Tool

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Google has launched a brand new ‘voice typing’ tool that allows you to write by talking into your microphone via the Google Chrome browser. This exciting new development is the latest addition to Google Docs, Google’s word processing app.

The Google voice typing tool is great news for mobile users and lazy typers, however, a few early problems have been detected regarding the way the app deals with strong accents, swear words and American/British English. Continue reading →

Is the Scottish Accent Dying Out?

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Linguistics experts at Glasgow University and Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University believe that a natural change is happening in the Scottish accent. It seems that the distinctive Scottish rolled ‘R’ is slowly disappearing as young people soften the letter so much that it has become almost inaudible. The rhotic or tremulant consonants have always been a distinctive part of the Scottish accent but are they going to vanish for good? Continue reading →

Italians Resist an English Language Invasion

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Italy flag - Italians Resist an English Language InvasionThe Times has reported that the English language is currently a worry to Italian linguists. It seems that the Italian language guardians at Accademia della Crusca are concerned that an influx of English words is corrupting the beauty of the Italian language.

The academy is looking for ways to put a stop to the Anglo-Saxon influence and will hold an emergency meeting about the matter today. We explore the recent news story and examine how the English language has influenced Italian – and in turn, how the Italian language has influenced English. Continue reading →

Voting Vocabulary for Political EFL Lessons

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Palace of Westminster - Parliament - Political EFL LessonsAs Boris Johnson is declared the new Prime Minister of the UK, politics is a popular topic of conversation everywhere. This controversial appointment has given us all the perfect excuse to slip some political vocabulary into our EFL lessons. There is currently much discussion about political issues affecting the UK, especially with Brexit on the horizon, so read on for some vocabulary ideas to add to your next politics EFL lesson. Continue reading →