Learning another language aside from one’s mother tongue is an activity which can benefit one in the future.  People who speak more than one language have more chances of being offered more opportunities either for business or leisure purposes.

Learning languages at a young age had been proven by various studies to be effective since young children have brains which are like sponges that have the ability to absorb a lot of information.  Studies also show that learning languages can benefit young ones and their parent since children who learn languages demonstrate higher orders of learning and brain capacity.

In New Braunfels and Comal in Texas, the independent school districts offer bilingual education at the elementary school level.  Back then speaking Spanish in classrooms was not allowed but since the times have changed and the demand and need for bilingual education has increased that is why programs are created to cater to the students.

There are dual-language courses in the schools and these courses mix English speakers with Spanish speakers in classrooms where students will learn the same state curriculum.  The only difference is that they will learn in an environment that integrates the use of both languages.  The advantage of dual-language courses in schools is that bilingual education enables the native English speakers to learn another language and the non-English speakers can learn English.

The benefits of learning another language are not only limited to job opportunities in the future but also cultural awareness and academic achievement.  Studies show that students who are involved in such programs tend to do well in school and they tend to appreciate the culture of their classmates and eventually become each other’s role models.

The organizers of the programs have also said that they want to emphasize the importance of the involvement of parents in these courses.  The parents are told that education must continue in their homes though reading and conversation.  Since the programs still offer Spanish and English, the goal of the organizers is to help students become proficient in these languages.

Have you ever consider Italian as a beautiful language to learn? English and other languages are distinctive in their own features, but in this article you will ascertain the exquisite image of Italian language.

With a number of more than 60 thousand million speakers, Italian brought the prestige of becoming one of the learned languages worldwide. This language is primarily spoken in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, Slovenia, Malta, and Croatia as a national language and the official language of European Union as well. Even countries like Brazil, Argentina, France, Switzerland, Australia, UK, and Egypt are infiltrated by Italian.

This Romance language is the closest tongue to Latin especially with its vocabulary. Compared to other Romance languages, French only has 89%, Catalan with 87%, Spanish with 78%, and Sardinian is 82% in terms of Lexical similarity. Furthermore, the grammar of Italian is very much simpler than its mother tongue itself.

Learning Italian may be as cliché as learning other common language, but there is much more than learning the language itself. If you aim for an employment, education, or just a simple vacation in one of the Italian’s territory, you will discover that Italy, the country that speaks Italian natively is one of the top five economies worldwide, which a wide array of employers are seeking for bilingual employees. In fact, an approximate number of 7,500 American companies and more than a thousand U.S. firms are established in Italy alone. How’s that for an employment opportunity? This is going to be your chance if you’re an Italian speaker yourself.

Do you know that your knowledge towards other Romance language is an advantage to you when you want to learn Italian? Robertson Kunz stated in his article Speak and Understand Italian that “the grammar between Italian and other Romance languages like Spanish and very similar and almost the same in many cases. If you studied a Romance language even in high school, you will find many similarities to help you.” Besides, “English speakers worldwide think of Italian as a very beautiful language,” Kunz added. Do you agree with it? I do.

So if you are dearly interested to learn Italian, remember this: you should make a commitment to learning the language everyday and continue to apply effort to your studies for as long as it may take to reach your goals, even years if you are aiming for fluency, another account by Robertson Kunz. Therefore, make your learning outstanding and value Italian’s beauty at its best.

Have you ever been interested to learn your level of language learning proficiency? Where do you think is your stand in your language learning? You want to know how? Let’s find out.

The Foreign Service Institute or FSI says that there are six levels of language proficiency. These levels are not intended to improve a learner’s speaking and writing abilities. Instead, it will serve as a measuring rod and evaluate a learner on his learning process. This level, once known by learners, will provide adjustments and may give alerts to them regarding the kind of method they are applying.

Now, here are the six levels of language learning proficiency. Try evaluating yourself to this.

Level Zero- No Proficiency

This is, as its level is named, is the primary level. Basically, learners are starting to familiarize then eventually memorize few simple phrases from their learned languages.

Level One- Elementary Proficiency

This level, a little elevated from the previous mentioned, enables learners to use those memorized phrases for simple general-purpose tasks. This level is observed to learners’ practical gestures such as asking directions, ordering meals, and other short conversational phrases. However, this level covers a learner’s ghastly pronunciation.

Level Two- Limited Proficiency

Limited proficiency, compared to the first two levels, has observable improvements. The learner can handle basic communicative conversations and work-related interactions. In this level, the learner can understand the language better. Likewise, his pronunciation is very much progressive and understandable, but the accent still needs enhancements.

Level Three- Professional Proficiency

In this level, large vocabulary and more improved pronunciation is valiantly observable to learners. They are confident enough to communicate properly to native speakers who speak of the same language. Though its accent is still needs more improvement, it won’t matter anymore. The learner who reaches this level will not magnify such issue. They are greatly understood already.

Level Four- Full Proficiency

In this level, the learner already develops his ability to use his learned language correctly in all kinds of conversation. Likewise, a full proficient learner can guarantee himself to be an interpreter, with his grammar, pronunciation, and accent absolutely faultless.

Level Five- Native Proficiency

This level goes beyond the learner’s mastery and skill of the language. A native proficient speaker embraces not just the language, but even the culture and tradition behind the language. This level even goes further even to the point of patriotism to the language’s native country.

Now, which level do you belong? Try evaluating it yourself and feel free to respond by sharing what level are you with your language today.

Next to English and Mandarin Chinese as the top two most popular languages in the world, Spanish takes the third rank with a total number of more than 400 million people spoken from different countries. Yet, if we could take Spanish as the language spoken with the most number of speakers, it surpasses English as second ranked since most of its speakers are not native and have a different mother tongue.

Now, similar to other languages that vary depending on the area where it is spoken, Spanish has ample dialects and variations. Spain alone even has different dialects being used like Mexican, RioPlatense (Argentina), Catalan, Galician, Basque, and particularly Castilian as its national standard. This standard is also implemented in countries like Uruguay, Paraguay, parts of Ecuador, and other Latin American countries. This diversion is caused by aboriginal languages that greatly contribute to the present status of Spanish language at present; and immigrants who influenced Spanish from different nations.

As Wisegeek explained, diversion of Spanish language is varied based on its accent, forms of address, and pronunciation of certain Spanish letters. Other accents outside Spain are also being used particularly on areas like Central and North America, Argentina, and more. In terms of its vocabulary, Spanish plainly has two singular pronouns for the second person:  tú for informal and usted for formal. But RioPlatense variation has a third form, which is known as voseo. Even Spanish in Ecuador has vos variations as well. Lastly, pronunciation of Spanish differs in particular with letters s, c, and z, and the y and ll. Latin American countries standards s and z in most of their words, just as casa (house) means a lot different from caza (hunt).

One common language, different variations: that’s the beauty of language. This only reveals that Spanish is worth learning for.

Wondering where you could learn the English language in other parts of the world aside from the usual places?  Why not try to learn English in Cork, Ireland and discover a historically and culturally rich place?

The city of Cork is the second largest in the Republic of Ireland and it is located in the southwest coast of the country on the banks of the River Lee.  The city has more than one hundred twenty thousand inhabitants and it as a popular center for banking and commerce.  Cork is strategically located on one of the deep and natural harbors of the world and it is a major Irish seaport.  The city has wonderful attractions and sights for you to discover.

Cork was founded by St. Finbarre more than a thousand years ago and since then the charming town has developed into a trading merchant town and into a modern cosmopolitan city.  It is a very varied town and it is the largest county in the country.  Cork has rich farmlands, sandstone hills, river valleys, and a magnificent coastline.  In order to discover the treasures of this city, try to go around on foot, enjoy the fantastic views and meet the wonderful people of Cork!

We have a partner language school in Cork which is the Cork Language Center International and it is located in two adjacent eighteenth century Georgian buildings.  The school has comfortable teaching rooms which provide a pleasant environment for language learning; listening stations to help learners improve pronunciation and listening skills; self-access files for practicing all areas of language; computers with CD-ROM based language learning activities; a library with language learning books, magazines, newspapers, and novels; an internet room with free internet access and free WiFi access for all students; a DVD and video library, a coffee room, and a garden where students can hang out and relax.  The teachers in the center are professionals who are qualified to teach the English language.

Try improving your English language skills in a city full of possibilities and charm.  Learn English in Cork, Ireland and discover another part of the world!