Studying a language? There are several plates to spin: 1. learn vocab 2. learn grammar points 3. improve comprehension 4. get a good accent

To put the title question another way: Are there more synonyms in English than in other languages? The simple answer is yes. The Oxford...

Pausing for breath you look up from the steep mountain path and see nothing but blue sky beyond the ridge, visible only now that the mist...

Some eponymous inventions from around the world One of the best things about teaching/learning languages is that there is always an...

Discussion point: “English is the most tonal of all European languages.” The Swede could make a similar claim, but they do it in a...

Whichever foreign language you are studying, you may or may not be familiar with the nomenclature of English Sunday-league football. Voilà

Humour: one of the best tools of the linguist, whether to understand the target language/culture or to laugh at ourselves - and with others

Reflections, skimming stones on a Swedish lake, the silence is total.

Learning birds' names in foreign languages is considered 'next level' vocabulary. Here's a start...

how to type accents on foreign words, special characters, “diacritics”. Here is a range of options for how to do it

There is no such thing as a synonym, says the poet. The language teacher respectfully disagrees...

Are you learning Spanish? Of the four main skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking, which do you find the most difficult to make...

An effective translation between languages is rarely word for word. A great translation is never word for word, especially when...

There was recently an online discussion in which non-native speakers shared their thoughts on the hardest aspect of learning English. The...

Do you know the origin of the word "posh"? Well-read people (which is of course not the same thing as posh people) will tell you the...

How many of the following English money expressions do you know and use? Do you know these two Beatles’ songs? Money (That’s what I want)...

Image source: Samuel Raphael: Distant Galaxy (oil on canvas) Astronomers(1) have discovered a new planet, which is nothing remarkable,...

Photo source: Toa Heftiba/Unsplash Spain's tourism minister has poured cold water on(1) any thoughts of an early return by UK visitors to...

Photo source: Zwaddi/Unsplash According to the Met(1) Office May 2020 was the sunniest calendar month on record in the UK. There was a...