Are you among the many people who are interested in languages and has passion for foreign travel, music, cuisine and culture?  Are you a beginner, intermediate, or advance language learner or a language teacher?  Are you a linguist who loves languages or are you somebody who would want to find a job with languages?  If YES is your answer to one or more of the questions, then better read on and prepare yourself for an ultimate language experience with the 2008 Language Show!

The 2008 Language Show which will take place on October 31 to November 2 in London’s Olympia Exhibition Center, is the biggest event in the United Kingdom for language learners, language teachers, linguists, and language enthusiasts.  The event offers language aficionados all the help, resources, and advice needed to learn or teach different languages all under one roof.  More than eighty seminars and one hundred sixty exhibitors will cover every aspect of language learning and teaching in an entertaining and enjoyable way during the said event.  If you are among the many language lovers in the world, you should not miss this event!

Language learners will have the chance to join language taster classes in twenty languages; intensive classes in Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, or Arabic; and language seminars.  The taster classes are free half hour sessions for beginners which offer a simple introduction to any of the twenty various languages; and also deal with the basics and some typical phrases of the languages.  The intensive language classes are all day sessions run by professional teachers in intimate and highly interactive classes.  The language seminars are free seminars which will tackle issues like what to do with your language skills; how to find exciting ways to learn and improve language skills; exploring foreign cultures, cuisine, wine, music, and travel; and a whole lot more!

Foreign language teachers and EFL or ESOL teachers can avail of twenty-nine free sessions which offer resources, practical tools, inspiration, and ideas they can take with them and start using in their classrooms.  The language teachers are also welcome to visit the TEFL Village to learn about the latest online tools, CD-ROMs, associations, and accreditations which can help enhance classroom language teaching.

The Language Show also has a Language Recruitment Fair which showcases companies who are currently recruiting people with language skills.  If you are among the ones who are interested to work in multi-national and international companies and if you have ample language skills, bring with you your curriculum vitae and have the opportunity to meet potential new employers!  Put your language skills in good use by using it on your future job!

The exhibitors in the Language Show include language schools, language associations, cultural organizations and institutions, publishers of various language materials and books, student exchange programs, university departments, volunteer programs, and so much more!  There are also exhibits for correspondence courses, ministries and embassies, courses for families, multimedia, online learning, self-study, interpreting and translation, holiday destinations, and language careers.  There are so many kinds of exhibitors in the Language Show for sure you will definitely find what you want to find!

The Language Show will be one good event for you to explore and enjoy as a beginner language learner or as somebody who already has sufficient foreign language skills.  As a total beginner, you will have the opportunity to take part in the intensive language courses; or you can learn simple phrases and basic language rules in the free taster classes!  As somebody with more advance language skills, you will have the chance to earn money by being hired by one of the many companies who are in search of people with language skills.  Either way, you will have a lot of chances to help improve your language skills and to improve your quality of life.

The Language Show has more than a hundred opportunities for you to take advantage of that is why you should not miss it!  Visit the 2008 Language Show in London and have and enjoyable language experience!

At this present age where globalization is the key to better economies, better international relations, better education, and better lives; there is a serious need of proficiency in languages other than our native tongues.   English has become the language if science, international business, politics and the internet yet in different parts of the world, various people learn other foreign languages.  In most English-speaking countries, people pay attention to learning foreign languages such as Spanish, French, Italian and German and many opt to learn them since they are the only languages which are offered for learning in their area.  Other languages are not being paid much attention to since they may not be offered for learning and there could be a shortage of teachers who are qualified to teach those languages.  These “other” languages which are also called “critical need” languages are Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Urdu, Farsi and all the other languages which are not spoken by too many people all over the planet.  These critical languages are considered to be critical from the security point of view and the listings and classifications of critical languages vary from one country to another.

In the United States, the country’s need in increasing the number of people who can speak critical need languages is in the national interest.  The Pentagon would prefer its personnel to speak a second language to improve its ground operations; intelligence agencies need officers who can speak critical languages; and international businesses are concerned about competition with countries which have an unlimited supply of technically skilled workers who speak the English language.  The American school system does minimal work to expose its future scientists, businessmen, diplomats and soldiers to foreign languages when they are still young, when their brains are in their best stage to learn them.  In order to produce citizens who can communicate internationally, the involvement of parents, educators, the government and other sectors are required to help make foreign language learning a must for all students at all levels rather than as an elective courses for a few.  The studying of foreign languages should not be considered only as optional but it should be treated like other subjects since languages are very crucial for economic growth, national security, and diplomacy.

The United States Departments of Defense and State, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Education are proposing to establish grants and train teachers under the National Security Language Initiative of President Bush.  It has been stated that American students must master critical need foreign language skills in order to help advance national security and global competitiveness.  The Department of Education and its partner agencies will be focusing resources toward educating teachers, students, and government workers in critical need foreign languages and increasing the number of advanced-level speakers in those and other languages.  It has also proposed that critical language learning should start at a younger age and continue as years go by; from kindergarten through university.  The budget of the Department of Education will include set budget to create incentives to study and teach critical need languages; create programs in critical need languages in twenty-four school districts in partnership with universities and colleges; create a language teacher corps with the goal of having a thousand new foreign language teachers before the end of the decade; a nationwide e-learning program to deliver foreign language education resources to students and teachers across the country; and a whole lot more.

Since the US is already doing its part in promoting the importance to learn critical need languages, don’t you think it is better that the rest of the world should to the same?  We are at the liberty to learn whichever language we want to learn for our own personal purposes.  However, it is essential that when we chose to learn languages, we know that we will be using them in the future not only for our own benefit but for our countries and for the world as well!

If you are still deciding which foreign language to learn, the best choice is the one you are most interested in and which you consider to be very useful for you in the future.  If you were to choose one or more of the said critical languages, then better you better start learning now and help spread the use of these languages!

Learning languages is one enjoyable and fascinating activity you can spend your time, effort and money on since it is very useful and beneficial in the future and even at present.  Learning a language can help you expand your horizons and have a better understanding of the world that is why it is essential that you start to learn as soon as you can.  There are so many ways in leaning a language.  Learning languages in language schools can be very helpful as they help you attain your goals in language learning by helping you learn the basics such as vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure and pronunciation; and it is also ideal to learn in a language school which is located in a place where the native language is your target language in order for you to be fully immersed in its natural environment and be exposed to the culture where it hailed from.  However, how do you learn languages through other techniques?  Are there easier, cheaper and more convenient ways in learning languages?

Learning languages through music is one of the many language learning techniques which is easier than and not as expensive as other language learning tools.  Music is interesting and it plays a significant role in the language teaching and learning process by bringing life to the language.  Music is international and it is used worldwide for communication and it can be enjoyed and shared by people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.  It enables language learners to relax in their learning atmosphere where music affords a pleasant environment to the process of learning.  Music can make language learning interesting since it can easily catch the language learners’ attention, and it reduces tension and pressure in learning the target language as well.  Music has a very powerful effect in a person’s memory; songs learned during childhood can still be recalled word for word when one grows older regardless of what language the song is in as long as it was repeatedly heard during the learning process.

Language teachers use songs and music in their classrooms for various reasons and the main reason is that it creates a good atmosphere in the classroom.  It is also easier for students to relate to music as part of entertainment rather than as a learning task.  Music with the target language as lyrics is more interesting when repeated many times over than just the usual reading and pronouncing of words repeatedly.  Music enhances the ability of the language learners to remember words easily and it can really help in shortening the period of time in learning a new language.  Music can help language learners build confidence in learning a new language since it has a carefree feel to it, not as strict and formal sounding than the usual language learning methods.

Language learning through music is one great language learning supplement.  However, it is not totally recommended as an absolute language learning technique since not all songs teach how to formulate sentences and apply correct grammar to statements; a more formal approach is needed for such elements to be mastered.  Music is considered a good supplement since it makes language learning interesting and fun especially to those who are in the beginner level.  Foreign language words in a song are easier to remember and in many ways they reveal something of the culture where the language came from.  Songs can also reveal emotions and feelings which makes a language learner easily associate certain words to certain emotions.

So the bottom line is, learning languages through music is very helpful in honing your memory with the words of your target language and it also helps you keep interested in learning the language.  Music helps create an interesting and pleasant atmosphere for language learning and it can help you relax and become confident as you learn the language.  Music crosses barriers and it also bridges gaps and differences that is why is very useful in becoming familiar with a language which is not your own.

Learn languages through music and listening to songs in your target language!  Incorporate the beauty of music to your language learning program and find it that you will learn your target language easier, faster and merrier.

If you would like to continue reading about this subject, please visit our other post Learning Languages and Performing Arts.

Learning languages is interesting and fun, new languages can make you twist your tongue yet they can help you open doors to various possibilities and opportunities.  Learning languages may be beneficial and all but have you ever wondered if it is naturally in you to learn languages?  Have you ever thought whether it is inherent in you to acquire languages easily or not?  Did it ever cross your mind that learning languages may be influenced by your genes?

A study conducted by Dan Dediu and Robert Ladd at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland a couple of years ago has found that there is a possible link between a human being’s DNA and his or her ability to learn a particular set of languages.  The findings could be the first sign of the subtle effect in which a person’s DNA could bias him or her in learning other languages.  You might be wondering why you have difficulty in learning a particular language, well the study shows that your genes could be held responsible for it.

The genes which are called ASPM and Microcephalin are found to play a role in brain development and they appear to still be evolving in human beings.  They are very unevenly distributed geographically yet they are very common in populations in Northern Asia, Europe, and some parts of Southeast Asia and Oceania, and are quite uncommon in East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.  Impressionistically, the areas where the genes are common are areas where tonal languages are rare, while the areas where the genes are rare are the areas where tonal languages are common.

Tonal languages are languages which use tone to distinguish words.  One of the main characteristics of tonal languages is that, one word can have various meanings depending on the tone it was inflected by the speaker.  Tone is a phonological trait which is common to numerous languages around the world yet they are rare in South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.  About half of all existing languages in the world are tonal; while the other half of all the languages in the world are non tonal, they use pitch only to stress statements or questions.  Among the tonal languages on the planet are Norwegian, Lithuanian, Swedish, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, some Slovene dialects, Limburgish, Punjabi, Hausa, Vietnamese, Lao, Thai, Burmese, all Chinese dialects, Central and Eastern Tibetan dialects, languages of New Guinea, the Na-Dené languages of Alaska and the American Southwest, the Oto-Manguean languages of Mexico, Uspantek, a dialect of Tzotzil, and Yucatec.

If you are or your ancestors were from the places where the native languages are nearly all tonal such as sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia, you most probably have the older version of the genes.  However if you or your ancestors were from the areas where most people speak non tonal languages, you most probably have the newer version of Microcephalin and you have the fifty-fifty possibility of carrying the new ASPM gene. The newer versions of the genes may give you a sort of insensitivity for tone therefore you might have difficulty in learning a tonal language if your native language is a non tonal one.

Very young children may not show the effects of the genes while they are learning their native tongues.  Various studies have already found out that very young children can learn any language on the planet equally easily regardless where they came from as long as they are exposed to it from a very early age.  The effects of the said genes are more evident in adults who are struggling to learn a foreign language.  Adults already have developed language systems in them that is why it could be difficult for them to learn new languages especially ones which could be totally different from their native tongues.

The researchers have encouraged more studies to be done in order to have new insights into the nature of the human language faculty so do not be totally discouraged from learning a new language which is from a language set that is different from yours.  There are numerous language learning methods which you can try and learn from and there are so many ways to help you achieve your language learning goals.