All posts tagged: languages

more young people are studying languages – but the overall picture for language learning remains bleak

more young people are studying languages – but the overall picture for language learning remains bleak

Published by skeptic

The 2024 GCSE results reveal that more young people in schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are opting to study a language. French and Spanish remain the most popular languages, with increases of 2.9% and 6.2% from last year respectively. German, once in steady decline, has gone up by 3.5% compared to last year, but has still seen fewer entries than in 2022. Meanwhile, only 16,429 students took a GCSE in a classical subject – which includes Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew and Latin. The most significant surges in interest have been for Irish (a 14.8% rise) and what is referred to as “other modern languages” (8.1%). This relates to all modern languages except French, German, Irish, Spanish and Welsh. It includes non-European languages such as Mandarin and Arabic as well as some common home and community languages, such as Polish, Portuguese and Urdu. Students at City Heights Academy in London celebrate after receiving their GCSE results. PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo However, while these modest gains are encouraging, they need to be interpreted …

Learn up to 25 languages with lifetime access to the highly-rated Rosetta Stone app

Learn up to 25 languages with lifetime access to the highly-rated Rosetta Stone app

Published by skeptic

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Do you have plans to travel internationally or ambitions to gain comfort while communicating in foreign speech? The ability to learn new languages is a crucial tool that’s become even more vital with evolving global business landscapes, and you can currently pick up a popular and proven resource at a special price.  Lifetime access to the Rosetta Stone Language Learning app is temporarily on sale for only $179.97 (reg. $399) by using coupon code ROSETTA. Take advantage of nearly 60 percent savings on a service that has helped millions of users over more than three decades. Described by The Wall Street Journal as “maybe the next best thing to living in a country,” Rosetta Stone is an acclaimed learning platform that provides lessons in 25 different languages. It’s been recognized as PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice for best language-learning software for five straight years. Gain familiarity with a list of languages that includes Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, …

Practice New Languages With This 0 Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription Deal

Practice New Languages With This $180 Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription Deal

Published by skeptic

Learning a new language can be fun for anyone, and it’s also a very useful skill to have. But learning on your own or finding the time to take classes can be challenging with a full schedule. Apps like Rosetta Stone make the process more approachable, and although these apps can be costly, you can skip the recurring monthly fees by opting for this lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone instead.  StackSocial has slashed the cost to just $180 right now when you use the coupon code ROSETTA at checkout. A lifetime license normally costs closer to $400, so this is a good opportunity to snag it for less. The deal even beats the current $199 offer available directly from Rosetta Stone right now. Rosetta Stone is our favorite language learning app for auditory learners and this membership gives you access to 25 different languages, from Spanish to Korean, allowing you to better communicate with locals on your travels and increase your comfort level in international settings. Even if you don’t plan on traveling far from home, improving your language …

Young people in Britain aren’t bad at learning languages – but the school system doesn’t make it easy for them

Young people in Britain aren’t bad at learning languages – but the school system doesn’t make it easy for them

Published by skeptic

According to a senior British diplomat, British young people’s poor language skills played a role in the UK’s decision not to stay in the Erasmus+ European student exchange programme after Brexit. “There’s always been an imbalance between our inability to speak languages very well and therefore to take advantage of the outward mobility opportunities, and people wanting to come to the UK,” Nick Leake told a committee meeting in Brussels, as reported by news site Politico. Leake commented that this caused a financial burden to the UK, and Erasmus+ proved too expensive. “The interests of the UK taxpayer is why we decided not to participate in Erasmus+,” he said. But are the British really bad at learning foreign languages? I’m certainly not the first academic researching language learning to ask this question. And there’s no reason to think that British students are any worse than anyone else – but they are let down by an environment that doesn’t prioritise learning international languages. Back in 1998, linguistics experts James Milton and Paul Meara at the University …

The languages AI is leaving behind

The languages AI is leaving behind

Published by skeptic

This is Atlantic Intelligence, a limited-run series in which our writers help you wrap your mind around artificial intelligence and a new machine age. Sign up here. Generative AI is famously data-hungry. The technology requires huge troves of digital information—text, photos, video, audio—to “learn” how to produce convincingly humanlike material. The most powerful large language models have effectively “read” just about everything; when it comes to content mined from the open web, this means that AI is especially well versed in English and a handful of other languages, to the exclusion of thousands more that people speak around the world. In a recent story for The Atlantic, my colleague Matteo Wong explored what this might mean for the future of communication. AI is positioned more and more as the portal through which billions of people might soon access the internet. Yet so far, the technology has developed in such a way that will reinforce the dominance of English while possibly degrading the experience of the web for those who primarily speak languages with less minable …

Examining the 4 “Apology Languages” and Their Effectiveness

Examining the 4 “Apology Languages” and Their Effectiveness

Published by skeptic

Igor Érico / Unsplash In human connections, conflicts arise inevitably, varying from minor disputes to significant ruptures. The manner in which these conflicts are addressed often serves as a litmus test for the health of the relationship, potentially even a predictor of how long it might last. Genuine apologies act as catalysts for reconciliation, fostering understanding and personal growth. Conversely, the absence of sincere apologies can corrode trust, allowing conflicts to escalate and destabilize the very foundation of the relationship. Renowned author and relationship expert Gary Chapman, as an extension of his five love language model, posits that people have distinct methods of expressing and seeking forgiveness too—their apology languages. Recognizing and aligning with each other’s apology language can preempt misunderstandings and facilitate smoother conflict resolution, promoting emotional literacy and communication skills. Here are four “apology languages” that can empower you to navigate conflicts effectively. 1. Expressing Regret Expressing regret serves as the cornerstone of sincere apologies, laying the groundwork for genuine reconciliation. This gesture entails the straightforward yet profound act of verbalizing the words, …

The AI Revolution Is Crushing Thousands of Languages

The AI Revolution Is Crushing Thousands of Languages

Published by Sam

Recently, Bonaventure Dossou learned of an alarming tendency in a popular AI model. The program described Fon—a language spoken by Dossou’s mother and millions of others in Benin and neighboring countries—as “a fictional language.” This result, which I replicated, is not unusual. Dossou is accustomed to the feeling that his culture is unseen by technology that so easily serves other people. He grew up with no Wikipedia pages in Fon, and no translation programs to help him communicate with his mother in French, in which he is more fluent. “When we have a technology that treats something as simple and fundamental as our name as an error, it robs us of our personhood,” Dossou told me. The rise of the internet, alongside decades of American hegemony, made English into a common tongue for business, politics, science, and entertainment. More than half of all websites are in English, yet more than 80 percent of people in the world don’t speak the language. Even basic aspects of digital life—searching with Google, talking to Siri, relying on autocorrect, …

Learning a new language makes it harder to remember previously learned foreign languages

Learning a new language makes it harder to remember previously learned foreign languages

Published by José

A study conducted in the Netherlands discovered that learning new vocabulary in a foreign language can impede the recall of words from another, previously learned foreign language. The research found that native Dutch speakers who learned Spanish translations for English words they already knew experienced more difficulty in recalling those English words later. The paper was published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. Most people had an experience when learning some new information made it difficult for them to recall information they previously learned. This phenomenon is called retroactive inhibition. Retroactive inhibition works by interfering with the memory consolidation process. When new information is learned, it can disrupt the stabilization and integration of previously learned information into long-term memory. This disruption occurs because the brain has limited resources for processing and storing information, and the new information competes with the old for these resources. As a result, the recall of the earlier information becomes more difficult, leading to a decrease in memory performance for that information. Studies have shown that knowledge of different foreign …

Access all 14 Babbel languages for life for just 9.97

Access all 14 Babbel languages for life for just $139.97

Published by skeptic

TL;DR: Through April 2, this price drop gets you a lifetime subscription to all 14 Babbel languages for just $139.97 (reg. $599). There are many reasons one might want to learn a new language. For starters, it helps you communicate while traveling and can boost your marketability as a professional. If you have been thinking about learning another language, this lifetime all-language subscription to Babbel Language Learning is on sale for just $139.97 (reg. $599), so it might be a good time to take the plunge. Not only can learning a new language open the door to new opportunities, but it’s also terrific for your brain health. According to an article in Real Simple magazine, learning a new language has a host of cognitive benefits. Babbel was created with over 100 linguistic experts to help learners see success quickly. Designed for all levels, Babbel uses smaller lessons that take only around fifteen minutes to finish, which allows even the busiest professionals to get their lessons in. Built with a conversational focus that steers clear of …