Blog

Public Service Interpreting – Using Your Language Skills to Help Others

You are learning a language so you will have heard of interpreting: the art of converting one spoken or signed language into another spoken or signed language. The role of an interpreter is to help two or more people who don’t speak the same language to communicate with each other....

Read more

How to learn vocabulary by grouping words together

In this blog post, we look at a useful way to help us remember vocabulary – putting words into groups.  We find out how to harness our brain’s natural tendency to understand the world through association (this object is green and has leaves – it must be a plant!) to...

Read more

Talking the Talk: Slang and Idioms Help You Sound Authentic and Understand Nuance

When I moved to France, I thought I could speak French quite well – but, I soon realised that although I could hold a high-brow conversation about politics or recycling, I couldn’t have an informal conversation that would help me make friends!  One of the problems was that I hadn’t...

Read more

Learning a Language: Learn Arabic with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese & Mandarin Chinese) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s ARABIC today! Are you planning your beach holiday in Monastir, Tunisia? Do you travel frequently...

Read more

Learning a Language: Learn Mandarin Chinese with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian & Portuguese) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s MANDARIN CHINESE today! Are you planning your beach holiday on Hainan Island? Do you travel frequently to...

Read more

Learning a Language: Learn Portuguese with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German, Russian & Italian) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s PORTUGUESE today! Are you planning your beach holiday in Ilha de Tavira? Do you travel frequently to Lisbon...

Read more

Learning a Language: Learn Italian with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German & Russian) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s ITALIAN today! Are you planning your beach holiday in Positano? Do you travel frequently to Rome? Do you dream...

Read more

Learning a language: Where to find foreign-language film and TV

In several of our blog posts, we have promoted the benefits of watching films or TV programmes in the language you are learning as a way to help you practise listening and pick up new words and expressions.  It’s not always obvious where you can find film and TV in...

Read more

A Summer Getaway With a Difference

The holidays are calling – it’s time to get away, or at least get booking, and dream of adventure.  For language learners, holidays can be a great time to practise what they have learned in term-time.  But have you ever thought of going on a holiday where language learning is...

Read more

On teaching: How to improve the language learning experience using the flipped learning model

Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. William Faulkner In the post-method era, the role of language teachers changed, as did the learners’, who do not receive their knowledge passively, but are instead expected to actively participate in learning. There...

Read more