Language Skill Changes Lives in North Korea
As North Korea announced the creation of its own time zone, the leaders of the “hermit country” have again politically distanced themselves from the rest of the world. However, in the last decade, there...
Overcoming Portunhol: Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
U.S. universities have been hip to the unique challenges that Spanish speakers face when they learn Portuguese. Many universities that offer Portuguese also offer a separate section of Portuguese for Spanish speakers, including Harvard,...
Spain Honors Ladino in Israel
Spain’s Real Academia Española (RAE), the leading authority on the Spanish language, is to establish a special institute in Israel to preserve Ladino—the Judeo-Spanish...
Hong Kong Asked to Prove Mandarin Instruction Works
Hong Kong’s Audit Commission has asked the Education Bureau to prove the effectiveness of using Standard Mandarin (or Putonghua) as the medium of instruction in Chinese language classes before making it mandatory for all...
RULES on the Run
Learning, remembering, and using the stress and intonation patterns of North American English can be complicated and cumbersome. The interference of using one’s native-language rhythm patterns can create the potential for misunderstanding, frustration, and...
Arabic Teaching Hub Opens in Abu Dhabi
Zayed University in Abu Dhabi has launched an Arabic education hub to help the Emirates’ drive to encourage wider use of the language. The Zai Centre will explore how Arabic is taught across the...
Spanish Media Lacking Diversity
GLAAD, the pressure group for acceptance of the LGBTQ community, has released its second annual Spanish-language media report, Still Invisible/Todavía invisibles (https://www.glaad.org/stillinvisible-todaviainvisible). The bilingual report analyzes the LGBTQ characters in primetime scripted television airing...
Spanish Controversies in the US
Political Misinformation
During last month’s midterm elections, misinformation and conspiracy theories were circulating among Spanish-speaking communities, especially in South Florida, raising fears that they could discourage some Latinos from voting.The most widely spread false narrative...
Deborah Short on TESOL 6 Principles
What Are The 6 Principles?
TESOL International Association has defined a core set of principles for the exemplary teaching of English learners. The 6 Principles are universal guidelines drawn from decades of research in language...
“The Emergence of Culture Out of Anarchy”: Self-Organization in the English Language
The English language has progressed over time without a handbook or guidance, so one would think that the structure...