Parentese and Infant Led Communication Adults that spend time with young children will notice a difference in the way that they talk to other adults and the way that they talk to babies. Adults draw out and exaggerate words, their pitch is higher and speech is slower and emphasized. W
My Secret Cure for Insomnia I often have a hard time falling asleep, but a few years ago I came up with a simple language game that often does the trick. When other techniques such as trying to relax each part of the body or deep breathing aren’t working, or when my brain is buz
The Importance of Language Play We’ve written many times about the importance of having fun with language, and my recent linguistic adventures have got me thinking about an important aspect of language play: making up words. I often tell my students that when they don’t kn
Teaching Idioms, Learning Slang Teaching idioms (a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., raining cats and dogs, see the light ) (from Google) is one of the more difficult lessons to teach in English language tea
Is a seahorse a ‘sea’ ‘horse’ in any language? In English, we know that the marine fish with the long snout and the curled tail is called a ‘seahorse’. It makes sense; the shape of the head resembles the those of our familiar land horses. Evidently
Observations of a Linguaphile OK, I guess I can’t speak for all language nerds so this is actually a list of thoughts I have on a fairly regular basis. Do you have them too? (How many language lovers have to agree before the post title is accurate?) 1. I wonder how many language
How to Memorize New Words without Lists or Flash Cards Most people who have learned, or tried to learn, multiple languages know the phenomenon where you try to speak one language and another comes out. This especially seems to happen with third or fourth languages – somehow your
There is a myth out there that adults make language errors forever, while kids just effortlessly absorb whatever they hear. Now, I’m no specialist in childhood learning, but I am here, backed up with recently acquired anecdotal evidence, to tell you that kids do not just pick up
Is it just me or are all language lovers also map lovers? Whether or not your linguaphilia is accompanied by an obsession with history, world cultures, or geography, I’m willing to make a bet that a good language map is up there on your list of nerdy pleasures. In addition to th
Last December I took my daughter to see Disney’s Frozen and I am the first to admit that I loved it as much as she did. I laughed (and cried) and instantly fell in love with the music. Having grown up with musical theatre (my mother worked in wardrobe), I have a real soft spot f
