Therefore, here’s a list of the top seven online resources (in our opinion!) for language learning via the internet:

1. Youtube

Youtube hosts a variety of great language learning content, generally not especially in depth though. It’s great for those going on holiday or just beginning, with tutorials from native speakers. It’s also good for more advanced learners, but they’ll have to be a little more creative with how they use it. In this case, for those with intermediate or advanced knowledge can simply find clips of television shows in their preferred language and use these to practice more natural (although scripted) speech compared with the extremely artificial speech in lessons. 

2. Openculture

Are you a keen traveller? Or just like to try lots of new things? In that case the wide variety samples and sources serve as a great mini-encyclopedia of resources. This is particularly good for Arabic, Mandarin and English. It also focuses heavily on audio tools, great for those of you on the go to learn on the daily commute.

3. Learnalanguage.com

This site provides in depth material for Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, German, Chinese (not specified which dialect), Russian and English. All the material is hosted by the website so it’s relatively straight-forward to use but is littered with advertisements. So unless you’re dedicated enough to wait ten seconds each time you want to play an educational game or test yourself this isn’t for you.

4. Use your friends!

Ask a bilingual or foreign friend out for a drink and say you’d like their help. Of course, this depends on how entertaining they find teaching! But they can be a great resource for vocabulary information and with social networking can be accessed within seconds.

5. The BBC

BBC Languages provides language tutorials for English speakers. A good feature with this is that transcripts of TV shows and news is provided, allowing you to augment your listening and comprehension skills. However, this is obviously not accessible or realistic to all who are not already fluent in English.

6. Internet Polyglot

This site provides plenty of useful lessons in a variety of languages, hosting for speakers of many languages also. However, similar to learnalanguage.com it’s very cluttered with adverts and not aesthetically pleasing. There is plenty of content though.

7. Word2word

This is a link host, check this out to be provided with a bountiful collection of links to resources in the language you’re looking for. This website includes less popular languages and many of the languages of Africa and some that are even obsolete! So for those interested in more obscure languages, this is a great place to look for help.

However, on the other end of the spectrum traders and travelling merchants needed some knowledge in other languages. During medieval times these merchants developed dialects of their own in order to communicate between different villages and other merchants. In more modern times, though, as the world becomes a smaller place due to progress in transportation, technology and global trade attitudes towards bilingualism have changed drastically.

Transition of labour force duties post-Industrial Revolution resulted in more people in offices rather than in factories, colonial trade links meant for a more informed, worldly workforce and subsequently increased requirements to be able to communicate with other nations for the sole purpose of trade. In the following century with the telephone becoming an office staple and most recently the development of the internet and computers global business can be conducted from the comfort of a desk anywhere. This, of course, means you have the opportunity to trade with anyone anywhere – that is, if you can speak to them.

From New York to London, Tokyo to Baghdad, you’d be hard pushed to find there isn’t a representative at every big company to communicate with international partners in their native tongue. Communication is key to the success of a business. This is why bilingualism or multilingualism is such an important factor when securing a job in the current economic market. Fluency in languages like English, Spanish, Mandarin and German are invaluable to opening up career opportunities. Even less widespread languages are in demand, if not more so.

Conducting business in various languages allows oneself to be versatile, it shows ingenuity, initiative and intelligence. All of which factors that are highly valuable to prospective employers. However, the bilingual audience must not get too ahead of themselves, proclaiming their language capabilities as something which distinguishes them from the crowd. As identified earlier the increasingly small global market facilitates increased (and more vicious) competition. And more and more frequently it’s considered a disadvantage to not boast a second language on your resumé, particularly in capital cities.

It is beginning to become widespread, if not expected, that a significant portion of a corporation’s workforce can effectively work internationally; particularly in the EU as this allows corporations to take advantage of free trade and movement of peoples in addition to the variety of languages on the landmass. In the UK, young adults are scrambling to learn European and Asian languages in order to improve their job prospects, it is commonplace in central and eastern European nations for children to learn English in school as well as in China. This increase in bilingualism is great for employers but the versatility of individuals means hypothetically any person can secure any job anywhere – meaning the most aggressive competition for jobs, possibly in history.

This prediction is due to patterns found in children aged 7-12. Children who develop especially early tend to experience a significant decline in progress over time, whereas children who develop their skills at a ‘normal’ age will consistently experience improvement. This is as a result of the connection between two parts of the brain associated with sound, sight and speech, which determine reading ability by the extent to which they are (or are not) used. In poor readers, it is often the case that the use and experience of the two brain regions is not synchronised whereas the processes work in tandem is proficient readers.

This study caught my attention as since a young age I have been a particularly slow reader, to the point where my teachers and parents just thought I was too lazy to read (which may have been partially true). It has never affected my life greatly however I did wonder why it had improved very little since about the age of 13 or 14. Unfortunately the article does not define what a ‘low level reader’ is, or how this is quantified – whether it’s comprension or speed or a combination – but in terms of speed, in my personal experience it’s a very hard factor to improve.

The positive news from this study is, however, that these developments in neuroscience mean that appropriate teaching methods and categorisation of abilities can be implemented in the classroom, optimising learning for all. We’d all love to be one of those people who can power through a book in a day, but sometimes slow and steady wins the race, right?

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Polit insisted on joining Lingibli as he sought after the list of items Old Casta gave him, would you be able to help translate?

(for the last installment click this link http://en.lingibli.com/blog/general/onto-bigger-things#more-958)

- vidrio
- madera
- alambre de metal
- ruedas

“So the first item, vidrio, that’s glass – something like a window pane would be perfect.” Polit explained one of the floating properties was a junkyard, all they had to do was find it and there was sure to be plenty of things they could use.

So the pair of them wandered around under the shadows of the floating city until they saw one wonky building floating above with rubbish falling out of the windows and from the garden onto the surface of Saturn. This had to be what they were looking for. Polit said

“Okay, so we’ll wave for the junkyard owner to let us up and we’ll explain the situation. I have some moneda, sorry, money so we should be fine.” He then proceeded to wave wildly at the window of the house in the middle of the junkyard, urging Lingibli to join him. So they both stretched out their arms and the junkyard started to lower towards them, lumps of metal and timber crashing onto the ground as it fell.  Once it settled on the ground a tiny blue (azul) creature popped it’s head out of the window and shouted

“¿Que quieres?” The voice was so loud and high pitched it was almost a shriek. The creature looked grumpy. It saw that Lingibli was surprised and said in a softer voice “¿como puedo ayudarte?”, at this point Polit began speaking quickly in Spanish, gesturing flying and crashing and walking long distances. The creature said in broken English “take what you like”, and Polit began running through the trash like a child in autumn leaves.

They found everything the engineer had asked for

- Glass (vidrio)
- Wood (madera)
- Metal wire (alambre de metal)
- Wheels (ruedas)

They said ‘adiós’ to the junkyard owner and returned to Old Casta, he began sawing and welding right away!

The Lingibli story continues next week, we rely on your feedback and opinions so please let us know what you think!
Contact me at lucy.howard@lingibli.com

Any seasoned language learner knows that language dictionaries can be inconvenient, especially when you need them 24/7. This was one of the main premises for the development of the Lingibli app, but we can’t cover everything with our ‘use straight away’ method. As a result we like to keep an extensive translation dictionary with us at all times to augment learning in daily life in the event of vocabulary arising which is obscure or not included in the app.

Of course, the app enthusiasts that we are, we have the Ultra Lingua dictionaries. As any regular readers of the blog will know I’ve been trying to learn Spanish since about a month ago. And although the usual methods (books, Youtube videos) with Lingibli was working well, I was at a loss in those moments when you just suddenly wonder what a particular word means. You know, when you’re checking the time and realise you don’t know the translation for watch.

Like Lingibli, all content is available offline, making it great for travellers. Plus it’s a universal app, so you can download it on your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad without paying for multiple products.

So for any language learners who are passionate about the value of multilingualism and are a fan of associations which truly care about linguistics and learning then I’d suggest checking out Ultra Lingua. Plus they’ve got some influential friends (the Peace Corps, UN, Government of Canada amongst others) so I wouldn’t get on their bad side if I were you.

Check out the Ultralingua site, Facebook, Twitter and find them on the Appstore.

- Lucy Howard, lucy.howard@lingibli.com

The benefits of being bilingual extend far beyond simply being able to speak to people of different nationalities and opening up career opportunities: it makes you mentally superior!

 1. Effortless observation

A study comparing German-Italian bilinguals and Italian monolinguals conducted at University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain found that bilinguals’ brains tend to operate more efficiently with less overall brain activity in tasks relating to observation of surroundings (like driving a car).

2. What you lack in speed, you make up in capability

Children, after a year of learning a second language, will experience increased neural activity when exposed to an unfamiliar language compared with monolingual children. That is, their brains are effortlessly more active.

3. Offset dementia

Many studies have found that the stimulation of the parts of the brain used when multilingual cause us to be more advanced cognitively, there are theories that this stimulation can delay dementia in the elderly. A study conducted in the University of California concluded that bilingual people are less likely to suffer from dementia or the symptoms of Alzheimer’s which those who are more proficient in both languages lucky enough to delay onset further.

4. You’re less biased

The University of Chicago held an experiment on bilinguals making decisions while thinking in their native tongue, compared with the same scenario but thinking in their additional language (all Americans who had learned Spanish in school). All participants behaved more rationally when processing information in the non-native language.

5.  Less capable of being manipulated

When speaking the non-native language bilinguals are far less likely to be influenced by ‘triggering’ words or psychologically manipulated through semantics. This is because they view the language in a linear, formulaic fashion digesting the information and transferring it into their own language as simply as possible, where words which may be synonyms in the language being consumed are considered the same in the mind of the reader.

6. Inhibitory control

This means that bilingual people are better at selecting valuable information and filtering irrelevant content more efficiently. This is useful in many aspects of daily life and contributes to being more decisive.

7. Improved short term memory

An experiment conducted on children to remember a group of words then recite them showed that the bilingual children recalled more words, and in cases of semantically linked word groups and arbitrary word groups had improved memories.

8. Less difficulty learning additional languages

As the bilingual person is more adept to noticing linguistic variation it is less difficult for them to build upon their two existing languages than it is for a monolingual individual to take that first step into a new language. Much like those first few trips to the gym are the most difficult, a bilingual person already has developed language learning ‘muscles’.

For references, information or more articles like this please contact me via email at lucy.howard@lingibli.com

One of the main priorities when teaching is always for students to remain engaged, which is extremely difficult with traditional drills, repetition and recitation; therefore more dynamic teaching approaches must be adopted. There are many reasons game play augments learning.

First and foremost, it’s a distraction. Often once children realise they are being taught or are in a learning environment, they become less receptive. This same cliché of associating school with boredom is an attitude a lot of us carry with us later in life. If we understand the task to be a game, then we are far more inclined to give it a chance.

Another major factor which causes games to be more efficient for learning is the interactivity aspect. This applies particularly to games which involve handling objects (Lingibli pexeso), looking at pictures and listening to audio stimulus. This additional dimension captures the learners attention and they are more likely to engage with the content for longer

There are countless products on the market promising education and entertainment in the software industry, but our personal favourite has to be GamesForLanguage.com. The extensive online language programme offered in Italian, French, Spanish and German is an intensive course which is extremely affordable. For a three-month subscription (that’s 36 complete language lessons) it’s just $10. There is nothing to download and currently you can even play the first six lessons for free by just clicking “demo” and registering.

http://www.gamesforlanguage.com/

Preparation is key
Before you jump right in and apply for positions working or volunteering abroad you should acquire a teaching qualification (EFL, TEFL, TESOL for English readers). These are not especially difficult to get and prepare you brilliantly for any teaching you do in the future. Also, they serve as an indicator that you know what you are doing – anyone can speak their native language but it doesn’t mean you can teach it.

Also, consider your destination and check out the job market. Are there any expat teachers there? Is there a forum or Facebook group where you can get advice from people who have experienced the country the way you will? Gather as much information as possible from as many different sources as you can to make an informed decision.

You must also decide whether you will be a freelance teacher or at an institution. There are perks to both options and of course depending on the destination there’s more opportunities for one or the other.

It’s good to learn some of the native language before you arrive. Get to grips with the basics and have audio help every step of the way so you remain confident in pronunciation, for this your smart phones comes in handy: using Google Translate to quickly get vocabulary when you’re in a tight spot, maybe listen to podcast lessons and an app like Lingibli is your new best friend for both home learning and on-the-go.

On arrival
I don’t need to tell you to have all your visa and registration papers completed but there are legalities which must be fulfilled on arrival. Because of this I would suggest arriving in your new home a week before your job begins – allowing you time to settle in and complete any errands such as opening a bank account etc. Use this time also to find any communities you may be interested in involving yourself with: Facebook is a great tool for this.

A lot of this is common sense, however in the hubbub of arranging a transnational move it can be easy to lose a grip on your logic! Have you ever migrated to teach? Or would you like to?
Leave a comment and tell us about your teaching experience.

When learning a new language it’s always great to get out there and interact, get real-life experience and learn from those who use the dialect every day. However, it’s not uncommon to seek safety in the traditional non-interactive methods of language learning such as CDs, books and classes. But why is this? When more progressive methods are proven to yield better results what is the lure of sticking our nose in a book and repeating words under our breath?

Language classes:
The inauthentic conversation used in language classes serves an important purpose, it helps define language rules and formulas for the student – the fundamental structures of a language can be pointed out and memorised. This all seems very simple; until you leave the classroom and try to talk to a native speaker, who just so happens to not be asking ‘which direction is the swimming pool’ or ‘what colour is your cat’.

It’s extremely rare that an example of a ‘perfect sentence’ can be seen in daily life, people are relatively lazy when it comes to speaking the ‘perfect’ form of a language. This doesn’t mean that they are speaking incorrectly (although sometimes they are!) but that all the necessary components for a statement to make sense are all included. There are exceptions to this, such as a common phrase in English is “I don’t know nothing”, which logic would dictate means “I know something” but in fact it means the opposite. This type of language feature, which although may be highlighted in language classes, is unlikely to be taught as an appropriate way to speak – when in fact conversations with native speakers would include many “incorrect” utterances.

Language textbooks:

Lingibli could see over the horizon, there was lots of movement in the town up ahead.

If you don’t know the story so far, check the first two installments:

Part 1:
http://en.lingibli.com/?p=894

Part 2:
http://en.lingibli.com/?p=927

“We must go to the mercado…sorry I mean market. We will find Old Casta there.” Said Polit. Lingibli was so excited, all these new words and new places. They continued on, and soon Lingibli realised there was so much movement in the town because all the buildings were flying! An entire town floating above the surface of Saturn.

Just like a normal town it had a barbershop (el peluqueria) and a butcher’s (el carnicería), a bus route (el línea de autobús) and homes (los casas), but every building had spinning blades on the top like a helicopter.

They wandered under the town for a little while, Polit twisting and turning his one eye to find Old Casta’s workshop, when suddenly thick smoke filled the air and screeching and thumping noises filled Lingibli’s ears.

“What is that? What is happening?!” Lingibli panicked.

“Watch out! Peligro!” Polit pushed Lingibli to one side, Lingibli could hear the sounds getting louder and more aggressive until there was one final THUD and the dust began to settle. Lingibli looked up, in front of him was a hardware store, as if from nowhere!

“Here we are, let’s ask for the old guy’s help” grinned Polit. Old Casta was a good ingeniero, Lingibli explained the state of his ship and Old Casta agreed to fix it. Lingibli was overjoyed, but didn’t want to leave just yet.

“What parts do you need to collect to fix the ship?” Lingibli offered to help, Old Casta wrote down a list of items in Spanish for Lingibli to find…

Tune in next time to learn more and continue on the adventure! Leave any plot suggestions or comments down below or on our Facebook  

He begins his day
With a cup of tea
Eats some eggs
and fruit from a tree.

He looks out the window
and is surprised to see
There’s a something outside
But what could it be?

He sees it’s a spaceship
and out climbs a creature
he’s small and green
it’s quite a picture!

The little green man
says to Jack, wondering
“Do you speak French?
Or English or Mandarin?”

Farmer Jack is shocked
the creature can speak
“I speak Spanish and German,
but my English is weak.”

“I hope I don’t trouble you”
Says our new friend
“But I’m new to this planet,
and my ship I must mend”

“Well around here”
Farmer Jack replies
“we say astronave
for a ship that flies”

“That’s great to know!”
The monster exclaims
“It’s nice to meet you,
Lingibli’s my name.”

This is the first installment of our new poem for books which will be in stores. Feedback is appreciated!

In last weeks installment Lingibli met a one-eyed purple monster named Polit, who knew fluent Spanish. This week we follow Lingibli and Polit as they begin on their journey to explore language, friendship and a new land. What do you suggest Lingibli’s next friend looks like? Let us know and we may just make him a real character!

Last week’s key word:
Chair -> silla

This week’s key words:
table -> mesa
window -> ventana
Plus some colours

Lingibli sat at the table and looked out the window of Polit’s unusual house on Saturn. It was much more colourful than his own back on his home planet, Pluto. Polit’s table was blue (azul), the walls had purple (violeta) stars on them, the chairs painted brown (marrón) and even a great big yellow (amarillo) front door! What colour is your mesa? Can you pronounce it?

Polit was talking to Lingibli in a mix of Spanish and English, he did not use English often on Saturn and so easily slipped back into reminding himself of words in Spanish. This was helpful for Lingibli, as he hopped over to the window to look out at his temporary home he could hear Polit muttering behind him…

“Ventana, ventana…Ah! Window! Did the windows on your ship smash?” Asked Polit. Lingibli nodded, he was sad. “Oh gosh, that’s a pity. Old Casta, the ship engineer in the big town down the road will be able to help you out, I’m sure. It’s a long walk, but it will be worth it, I promise!”

So Lingibli and Polit embarked on their journey to find Old Casta, in Saturn’s cold weather. Once they were out of the small village Polit lived in, Lingibli saw all sorts of new plants and animals: humungous pink (rosa) birds that Saturnian’s were riding like horses, tiny little white (blanco) flowers with legs ran around Polit and Lingibli’s ankles and strange orange (naranja) jelly slid across the ground!

“AH! THAT JELLY IS ALIVE!” Lingibli screamed and ran towards the town.

“You’ve got a lot to learn Lingibli!” Polit shouted. And they continued on their journey.

The story continues next week, as they arrive at the town and meet Old Casta. If you have any storyline suggestions feel free to contact us on Twitter, Facebook or direct to office@lingibli.com
Happy learning!

Language learning in babies takes place in three stages:

1. Stage one – Learning Sounds
2. Stage two – Learning Words
3. Stage three – Learning Sentences

In the first stage the baby has the remarkable ability of making and hearing all the sounds in all the languages in the world! This is quite amazing as there are about 150 sounds in 6500 languages in the world.The sounds in a language are known as phonemes and at this stage the baby learns which phonemes belong to the language they are learning and which ones do not. This ability is known as “phonemic awareness”.

In the second stage children learn how the phenomes in a language go together to produce meaning. to make sense of the sounds the kid is learning at this stage, he/she has  to be able to recognize where one word ends and the other begins. the technical term for this is “word boundaries”

In the third stage children get to learn how to create sentences. the achievement here is putting words in the correct order.

At these early stages of development usually before children hit puberty, they can acquire more than one language and be proficient in it if they are well taught because it is easier for them to learn. An app like Lingibli can be the perfect learning solution to a young child as it uses a combination of words, pictures and sounds and this is a far more effective technique of language learning as opposed to the traditional methods.

In short, Lingibli incorporates a form of language learning known as Dynamic Immersion method which aims to teach you a new language the way you learned your mother tongue as a child. You learn without the use of translation but by matching up words and sounds to images on-screen.  Well, the Lingibli app does provide translations but the QR code stickers and online phrases tend to make one feel like they are being taught 

Read before you begin:
Your child is under the assumption you know everything, so prepare yourself and have plenty of materials for when you sit down together. If they ask any questions you can’t answer, be honest and find out together or arrange to discuss it in the next session. You’re a team, not a teacher and student.

Involve the learning points in activities you know your child already enjoys:
This doesn’t mean have him/her watch Dora the Explorer for hours (although one episode won’t hurt), this means before you approach a topic or language feature think about how it may relate to a fun task. Maybe your child likes playing in the garden – you could draw a picture of a garden and label everything in the new language then explore the garden with your new knowledge, or maybe your child has a great imagination – he/she could introduce her/his toys to you and describe their personalities with one adjective in the new language.

Keep it casual:
If the lessons are too structured or are strikingly similar to classroom activities your child may start to resist participation, anticipating the next lesson and avoiding the selected time slot. So as an alternative have the session in a different location each time, avoid learning drills (repetition) and create incentives beyond candy and TV time (gold stars and points systems are a wonderful way to display progress).

Stick together:
Don’t assign work to your child then leave the room, you’re learning too. Your child will see that you’re just using search engines to answer any queries they have and it will undermine the integrity of the lesson as a whole. The parent must dedicate themselves to actually learning the content rather than memorising it.

These tips are a good basis for informal teaching sessions with your child but of course you know your child’s requirements best, so if you feel these methods are not working then trust your intuition and make use of an alternative.

Lingibli has been relaxing on Saturn’s rings for a little while now, enjoying the cool breeze, checking which parts of his ship need to be fixed and getting ready to explore for the replacement materials; now it’s time for app users to get involved.

I suggest using your Lingibli printable labels in your home on the matching real life items/places, now walk around and scan them each a few times, become familiar with the words and sounds. As Lingibli needs help your knowledge will come in handy on his journey, so when words that relate to the QR codes are mentioned use it as a prompt to remind yourself of the new word you learned.

While gazing into the galaxy Lingibli realises that wood is a lot like a material on his home planet, a lot like one that he used to build his ship! He sees a wooden chair near the front door of a house. He wanders over and hops on the chair, it seems strong enough to be used as the wings of his ship, maybe whoever owns this house will be kind enough to give it to him?

Just as Lingibli climbs down from the chair a purple monster with one eye bursts out of the house and speaks too quickly for Lingibli to understand:

“No me gusta…amigo…silla…” is all that can be clearly heard.
Lingibli thinks for a moment, he knows amigo means friend and me gusta means like. But what does silla mean? The purple monster keeps on repeating it, does it mean chair? Is he saying “I don’t like you sitting on my friend’s chair”? Lingibli screeches and jumps back

“I’m ever so sorry! I didn’t realise I would upset anyone by sitting on this chair…I’m just trying to get home, I didn’t mean any harm!” The last thing Lingibli needs is to make enemies. The purple monster replied in English,

“Oh you speak English? Well in that case, you can’t touch that chair it’s not mine, I’m just looking after it for a friend. You’re not from around here are you? Come inside, my name is Polit.” Polit made Lingibli some Saturnian tea at the table. Lingibli explained how he arrived on the planet. Polit agreed to help him with getting around this new land plus gave him some old wood to use for his ship. Lingibli had made his first friend on the planet.

Lingibli’s adventures continue next week as he explores with his new friend – until then try to get ahead on your Spanish vocabulary or even suggest vocabulary points you’d like us to cover!

Latin + Arabic + Northern Castilian = Spanish

Celtic + Latin + Germanic = English

I don’t know a word of Spanish (well, that’s an exaggeration but you know what I mean!), so Lingibli and I are starting on the same plain in terms our Spanish skills. As a result, I’ll be making a brief mention in my weekly posts about our progress and maybe you can join us and tell us in the comments how you’re doing.

Something important to keep in mind when learning a language is to learn about the culture. For example, I’m English and on the surface Spanish culture may not seem too far removed from English culture but if you look at the traditions, food and history of the nation you start to see differences. Similarly this goes for languages, just as fashion changes over the centuries so does language and although the languages may have similar roots; tastes and trends mould the languages into very different entities.

Let’s compare sentences and word origins:

Spanish

Cocinar   la    berenjena

Latin                Arabic

English

Cook                                            the            aubergine

Latin + Germanic influence                       Arabic ->French

As members of the Indo-European languages family Spanish and English share many similarities. Spanish belongs to the Romance sub-group of languages which includes Italian, French, Portugese, Romanian and Catalan. The term ‘romance’ is used for these languages as they are derived from the Roman dialect, Latin, and the modern English word ‘romance’ comes from Medieval storytelling: where love stories were often written in the everyday form of Latin. Of course you may think well how does this relate to me learning Spanish, as an English speaker? It’s simple. The Romans made their mark on the world as we know it today, even on English, and as a learner knowing the historical influences on a language allow for more efficient learning. Before the 15th century Spanish was different to what you might recognise it as today as there were a lot of borrowed Arabic words in the language, after the long standing medieval Islamic state of Al-Andalus (from which the name Andalucia derives), also there were lots of different dialects which were wiped out as Castilian (Spanish) spoken in the north of Spain became uniform across the country. And that is the language that we know today.

So where did English come from? Before the invasion of the Romans Great Britain was a celtic culture. Due to the Roman invasion in 53AD there was a strong presence of Latin in what was then called Britannia, however, when the Roman troops left the UK in 410AD their language was no longer a part of society. As a result, when the Anglo-Saxons settled in England in the fifth century they integrated into society rather than ruling it, and their strong presence resulted in the development of Old English. But there’s no stopping the Romans! As Latin was the official language of Christianity in Great Britain it still had a role in daily life, also the settlers from Germany and the Netherlands had trade links with the Roman Empire and so used a lot of their words.

On a distant planet something terrible has happened, a ship has crashed. Inside this ship is a little green monster by the name of Lingibli, and he’s complaining that he needs to fix it to visit some friends on Mars. Of course we’re happy to help him but he’s landed on Saturn…

Saturn is a Spanish speaking planet, and he doesn’t know Spanish! So as a joint learning experience we can search to find items that can help him rebuild his ship while developing our Spanish vocabulary.

As our product becomes more child-friendly, we thought we should be more friendly to children, involving them in a language learning world revolving around Lingibli, the green monster. The purpose of this is to foster a sense of fun, not monotony with vocabulary drills and hear and repeat processes, but rather an encapsulating narrative which allows kids to subliminally learn as much as possible.

So, Lingibli has officially arrived on Saturn and doesn’t know a bit of Spanish, are you up to the challenge of helping him out?

Africa is the worlds second largest and most populous continent and this makes it a very attractive emerging market as each and every country on the continent offers unique investment opportunities. Therefore it makes good business sense for any strategic corporation to look for opportunities in the continent which it can make maximum returns on investment. Such a move will necessitate learning of the indigenous peoples culture, language, sociopolitical set up, laws and business practices.

Learning their language can make the prospective company be more readily accepted and their products can find it easier to enter the market. It also makes it easier for them to carry out clear and well defined communication which is a key component of any company. Africa has over 2000 native languages that are spoken across the continent. This can be a daunting task for a foreign investor or company but there are European languages spoken across the continent depending on which colonial rulers were in that country.

The most common foreign languages spoken in Africa are English and French. For West and Central Africa its mainly French, North Africa is mixed with Arabic being a common language and English, for East Africa its predominantly English and the same applies to Southern Africa. All of these languages are available on in the Lingibli App with more to be added soon.

Language learning methods like those employed by Lingibli can greatly assist in developing communication structures for such business endeavors allowing for international trade to take place. It may seem like a far fetched idea but a simple app like Lingibli can do wonders to open up great opportunities and develop strong networks that lead to bigger things. The power of language is unquestionable and it can lead to success or failure especially when it comes to business.

A company can use Lingibli to maximum effect in training its staff the local language of where it intends to invest and also training the locals of the country its own language making it a two way street thereby achieving more.

The conceptualization of an app like Lingibli has been brought about by globalization and it is such apps that are redefining how people work, interact and live so get down to Google play and the App store and get started on learning a new language on Lingibli. You never know where your career will take you!

The continent is made up of 57 countries

Hi!

My name’s Lucy and I recently moved to Slovakia from the UK, I’m going to be updating this blog about my experiences in a new country, grappling with a new language and looking at all things that relate to learning and travel. (and using the office to learn as you can see!)

This is my second week in the country and I’ve been using Lingibli to get around and make sure I’m always polite, once I start to branch out of my recent social interactions (mainly the cashier at the food store and my English speaking colleagues) I hope to start using the more complex aspects of the app. I don’t know much about Slovakia and am sure this will help me a lot. But learning a language is a slow process and I’m impatient! I’ve tried to learn languages independently before but it’s difficult going between books and the internet to hear real pronunciations so it’s been really helpful having pronunciations on hand when I need them most.

Learning a new language is a great way of improving brain function and gives one a professional

The World is Getting Smaller

advantage in many fields. With increased globalization, being able to communicate in multiple languages is key as companies and people of different nationalities work together and they have to be able to communicate effectively and efficiently.

Some of the key elements that will help one learn a new language easily are constant exposure and practice.It’s more efficient to study a new language as often as possible and for shorter periods. This is because the brain doesn’t get overloaded and is able to retain more of what is learned.

Listening and reading is important, even when you do not understand  the material. Over time  you will increase your ability to make sense of the language your learning. The premise put forth by Tony Buzan is what the Lingibli learning system is based on. According to him, only 100 words make up 50% of all conversations in any language. The Lingibli app focuses users on these key phrases and words and combines its teaching with sound and visuals. It is one method that has proven to produce great results.

The use of music and foreign films is also to be encouraged in learning a new language. The principal is the same one applied by the Lingibli app, when you hear the sounds you will be able to recall them more easily as well as gain authentic pronunciation of them.It also helps you understand in which context they can be used.

Basically, you have to put some effort into learning a new language and there aren’t any quick fix shortcuts. Here are a few tips on faster learning:

• Practice speaking the language
• Use music and movies to learn the pronunciation and help you remember
• Have fun while learning