This blog is about learning and acquiring languages, and will be of interest to:
- Students of foreign languages looking for advice on how to learn English or any foreign language in general
- Anyone interested in foreign languages in general; Tricks and Techniques.
- People who want to improve their English accent.
- Parents raising a child in their ‘heritage’ language in another country
- Foreign language teachers who are interested in discovering other aspects to learning languages and bilingualism in general.
LA ÚNICA FORMA DE APRENDER UN IDIOMA DE VERDAD. ¿LA HACES?
The Personal Language Learning System. #6. Habits and Routines Hace tiempo que me pregunto, ¿Por qué logro unos objetivos y tengo resultados mediocres en algunos casos, y fracasos estrepitosos en otros? Cuando leí ATOMIC HABITS de James Clear y THE POWER OF HABIT de Charles Duhigg, por fin las piezas del puzle empezaron a encajar y por fin, y me di cuenta de una fórmula del éxito. Detrás del éxito de muchas personas dirías que hay muchos factores ¿No? La pregunta del millón tiene varias respuestas que encontrarás en un millón de artículos y videos YouTube. Pero, en realidad, hay…
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La única pregunta que debes hacerte antes de aprender un idioma.
The Personal Language Learning System. #5 Motivation Tengo unos recuerdos de cuando tenía unos 5 o 6 años jugando con un amigo con unos soldados alemanes y intentando hablar en alemán. Mi amigo de la misma edad, me preguntó, ¿Sabes hablar alemán? Y, yo le respondí con mucho orgullo, “¡Sí!” ¡Era mentira! Solo sabia “Auchtung” que había oído en una película. Es que tenía unas ganas increíbles de hablar otro idioma. Me fascinaban los “sonidos” que hacían personas de otros países para comunicarse, y quería hacerlo yo. Desde estas edades muy tempranas sabía que quería e iba a hablar dos…
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¿EXISTEN TÉCNICAS Y TRUCOS PARA APRENDER Y MEMORIZAR VOCABULARIO Y FRASES MÁS RÁPIDO?
Personal Language Learning System #4. Trucos y Técnicas No ha pasado ni un mes en los últimos 30 años sin que un alumno o conocido me haya preguntado por un ‘chip’ o un sistema o truco para aprender un idioma “sin esfuerzo.” Y, ¿Porqué no? Siendo humanos y sin control sobre nuestro inconsciente, tenemos la tendencia de pinchar sobre cualquier video o artículo en internet con título click bait y alguna formula novedosa o técnica que promete aprender un idioma a través de un nuevo método descubierto “cuando vivía en Canada”, o “cuando dejaba la radio en inglés encendida toda…
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¿CUÁNTAS PALABRAS INGLESAS PUEDES APRENDER EN UN AÑO?
The Personal Language Learning System #3 ORGANIZACIÓN Es una pregunta que me hacen y me han hecho desde hace más de 30 años. ¿Cuántas puedo aprender al mes / curso / año? Y ¿Cómo se aprenden? Son preguntas válidas, porque por mucho que estudies, si no te acuerdas de casi nada, has perdido el tiempo invertido. Los 2 artículos anteriores del Personal Language Learning System – el Sistema Autoaprendizaje personal, #1. Gana exposición #2. Gana Fluidez trataban de ponerte en contacto con el idioma el máximo posible y practicarlo. La tercera estrategia imprescindible de los políglotas trata de cómo organizar…
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¿“UNA DESGRACIA” es “A DISGRACE” en INGLÉS? ¡CUIDADO CON LOS FALSE FRIENDS!
Llegamos al tema escabroso de los falsos amigos, y un grupo de escritores que no sienten pudor a la hora de traducir lo que ven literalmente, como si de una traducción de Google se tratara – los periodistas. Si te interesa incluso solo un poco el fútbol, ya te habrás enterado del resultado del partido de la eliminatoria de octavos de la Champions League entre Liverpool y Real Madrid. Según el periódico Marca, el mítico defensa de 45 años Jamie Carragher, leyenda del Liverpool (1996 a 2013), describió la derrota del Liverpool ante el Madrid así (en inglés) en la CBS,…
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HAPPY International Mother Language Day. February 21st.
“Speaking Valencian is a waste of time.” Just in case you hadn’t added it to your calendar, today is International Mother Language Day. It’s promoted by UNESCO which “encourages and promotes multilingual education based on mother tongue or first language. It is a type of education that begins in the language that the learner masters most and then gradually introduces other languages.” The education system is out of the hands of parents, and it’s unusual to find educational authorities that provide tuition in a student’s native language to bridge the gap between school and home. Despite Trumps “English only” rhetoric, California…
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¡CÓMO MEJORAR TU FLUIDEZ EN INGLÉS SIN TU PROFESOR!
3 TÉCNICAS QUE DEBES EMPLEAR HOY #2 PRÁCTICA / OUTPUT A veces me quedo con la boca abierta y estupefacto cuando me encuentro anuncios en YouTube o Facebook, etc, con reclamos como “Aprende a hablar inglés sin hablarlo” o “No hace falta practicar tu speaking para comunicarte bien en inglés.” Doy por sentado que no tienen un componente speaking en su curso. Claro, siempre buscamos la manera más corta y los atajos para llegar a nuestra meta sobre todo si quien te lo dice es una persona atractiva con una bonita sonrisa. No creo que encuentres actores que no ensayen…
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3 COSAS QUE DEBES HACER HOY MISMO SI QUIERES MEJORAR TU INGLÉS EN SERIO.
Las 7 Estrategias #1: Exposición al idioma Vamos a ser realistas. Si tú o tus empleados solo hacen una hora o dos de clases a la semana, ¡no os quejéis de la falta de progresos en tu inglés u otro idioma! Si todavía crees que un par de horas y nada entre clase y clase es suficiente, piensa en cuán progreso harías en tocar bien el piano, aprender a dibujar o bailar Ballet sin ejercicios prácticos adicionales. Hacer nada entre clases es frustrante tanto para el alumno como para el profesor y puede demostrar una falta de motivación por parte…
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4 CHARLAS EN LA ESCUELA OFICIAL DE RUBÍ.
Quiero agradecer al equipo de profesores de EOI Rubí por invitarme a hacer las 4 charlas en 2 días, la semana pasada sobre PERFECTING YOUR ENGLISH VOICE y THE PERSONAL LANGUAGE LEARNING SYSTEM (PLLS)- The 7 strategies of highly successful language learners. Ha sido de agradecer la gran afluencia de alumnos en todas las charlas y el alto grado de interacción. Y, tengo que reconocer que el feedback muy positivo ¡siempre se agradece! Si quieres contratarme para charla sobre la motivación en el aprendizaje de idiomas, ponte en contacto conmigo Mientras tanto, puedes encontrar muchos de los temas de mis…
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NO DIGAS “I won’t assist to the meeting today.” SI NO SABES PORQUÉ, SIGUE LEYENDO
Cuando yo era niño, mi madre siempre me decía, “Don’t talk to strangers” (¡extraños y no extranjeros!), si hubiesen sido extranjeras, no me hubiera casado. Por mi parte pensaba, “Si no hablo con gente desconocida, como voy a conocer a gente nueva.” O sea, psicología de los niños. Sin embargo, puede ser un buen consejo general. Hay gente que se presenta como amigo o amiga, pero luego resulta que no son amigos para nada, si no, FALSO AMIGOS. La primera vez que escuché el concepto ‘false friends’ fue en una clase de francés en un colegio de Irlanda; tendría unos…
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¿QUÉ LIBRO ME COMPRO o REGALO PARA NAVIDADES PARA MEJORAR EL INGLÉS? SOLUCIONADO: PUES, ¡ÉSTE!
Hace unos 2 años, haciendo limpieza encontré una libreta con los apuntes de mis clases que impartía…. del 1992! De allí me surgió la idea de recopilar los errores más típicos de los alumnos de inglés y los trucos de superarlos en un libro didáctico accesible y entretenido. Y, hay una sección para profesores. UNA PEQUEÑA PRUEBAPara darte un pequeño avance del libro, ¿dirías que un empleado que trabaja mucho es ‘laborious’? ¿Un ‘motorist’ en inglés conduce un coche? ¿En inglés se usa ‘parking’ para tu coche o un ‘camping’ para el sitio donde dejas tu caravana? ¿’Resume’ en inglés…
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CÓMO HACER UNA PRESENTACIÓN EN INGLÉS. 5 CONSEJOS IMPRESCINDIBLES.
Hay montones de videos, gurús y consejos para mejorar tus presentaciones en general y en inglés en particular. Para añadir algo de valor, os presento con 5 consejos tanto que HACER como EVITAR, que mucha gente que da charlas ni piensa. Las palabras y el contenido de tu charla son SUPER importantes, y la forma de ensayarla también, sobre todo en un idiomas que no sea el tuyo, (explicado en otros videos míos). Pero, sobre todo, lo más importante para comunicarte con precisión, impacto y coherencia es la forma de combinar tu voz y tus palabras con tu lenguaje corporal.…
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GET MOTIVATED – THINK ABOUT DYING
Has anyone ever suggested that you think about death to get you motivated to achieve your goals? Did you suddenly imagine someone pointing a gun to your head and saying, “Write the first line of your book, or you die!”? Sadly, this only works for very short-term actions, like opening a safe or handing over the code to your Netflix account. By the way, I don’t know this from experience! At the recent Speakers Association of Spain TalksX event 2022, where I gave a talk, I met Sébastien Roger de Nuñez (Thought Leadership Academy) who says he challenges potential coaching…
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IS IT SOCCER OR FOOTBALL ?
This is a question that many students ask: football or soccer? The word ” soccer” comes from “soc” + “er”, which is the “soc” you find in AsSOCiation Football. Does it depend on where you live in the English speaking world? Find out the difference in this video. IG. simonbrampton TWITTER: simonbrampton
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Los Puentes de Madison o Los Viaductos de diciembre en España
La verdad es que casi todo el mundo conoce el título de esta película de Clint Eastwood protagonizado por el mismo Clint Eastwood y Meryl Streep. Fue inédita por la ausencia de gente matada por Clint y gratificante por la historia romántica y conmovedora que recibió una muy buena crítica. Junta con Torrente 5 (Operación Eurovegas), es una película obligada para cualquier cinéfilo. Y, cuando pienso en puentes, no puedo quitar de la mente las fiestas que dominan el panorama laboral en España, y no tanto por su exceso, sino, sobre todo por la forma de distribuirlas. La famosa semana…
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PRESENTATION SKILLS COURSE FOR MEDICAL STAFF – BELLVITGE HOSPITAL
“That was great, when can we do more presentation workshops!?” “It’s been really useful.” It was a pleasure to help these two doctors with their presentation skills over 2 sessions at Bellvitge hospital (masks still in force). The courses always include solid practice and theory on voice and language, but also practical presentation practice in front of a camera with personalized feedback and advice on the key aspects of delivering information clearly as well as a persuasive message. I’m looking forward to going back soon to help other doctors improve their delivery of important research findings. If you or your…
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HAY QUE CENTRARSE EN ESTAS 3 COSAS CUANDO HABLAS INGLÉS
Tuve el placer de dar el taller IMPROVING YOUR ENGLISH VOICE en EOI GRANOLLERS esta semana. Cuando hablo de ‘mejorar tu voz y la pronunciación’ en inglés, destaco 3 cosas principalmente. 1) INTELLIGIBILITY – pronuncias las palabras de tal forma que quien te escuche te entiende, aunque la pronunciación no sea perfecta. 2) COMMUNICATION – que la precisión de tus frases comuniquen lo que pretendes decir. Se precisa un buen conocimiento del vocabulario y la gramática del idioma como mínimo. 3) VOICE QUALITY – ¿Qué tipo de voz tienes? El objetivo es tener una voz “agradable” para los que te…
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5 TOP TIPS FOR PREPARING A PRESENTATION IN ENGLISH IF YOU’RE A NON-NATIVE SPEAKER
HERE ARE THE 5 AREAS: CLICK THE PHOTO HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO.- ENJOY AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU PREPARE YOUR PRESENTATIONS IN ENGLISH
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THIS PROSE POEM KEEPS ME SANE IN MAD AND STRESSFUL TIMES
I remember when I was a teenager lying in bed late at night after tuning into my favourite Irish pirate radio station (Sunshine Radio closed in 1988). The last item they played was always the DESIDERATA (from the Latin: Things Desired), and was penned by American writer Max Ehrmann in the 1920s. Even at 16 I was captivated by the words and the deeper meaning, although I’ve related to it much more in later life. It transforms religion despite its similarity to a prayer, and seems to express universal principles that nearly everybody could find acceptable. I admit that I…
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IT’S MONDAY. WELCOME.
What’re you going to do in English this week? I hope you’ve had a good weekend. I’m not going to say, “I hope you’ve had a PRODUCTIVE weekend!” because that will put me in the category of someone who doesn’t know how to enjoy my free time, right? How we categorise what constitutes fun and enjoyable activities is personal of course. But, were you productive? If you’re learning a foreign language, what are you planning to do this week to improve it? If you’re doing classes, especially with IDIOMAS ADVANTGE, great, and good choice by the way. Whether you are…
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STOP WASTING YOUR LIFE WATCHING TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube and NETFLIX or CHANGE THE LANGUAGE
Do you know what a lot of business students tell me they do when they get home from work after a long tiring day at the office? Can you guess? If you’re like them, you probably look forward to sitting on the sofa in front of your bigger-than-necessary flat-screen TV and settling in for a session of turn your mind off and watch the latest Netflix series that you’re into at the moment. It’s a lovely feeling, isn’t it? A comfy sofa, a big screen, your stomach full of dinner and a favourite series to enjoy, perhaps with your partner…
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OPEN MIC NIGHT? SPEAK ENGLISH? SCREW IT. JUST DO IT!
Sometimes you just have to go for it. “Just do it”, according to NIKE, “Screw it, let’s do it” as the title of Richard Branson’s book urges us to do, or simply mix the two. The message is the same; if in doubt, or if you’re thinking twice about something, the advice is to just go ahead and try it. We often hear of people wanting to be absolutely perfect before performing or producing a piece of work, and then endlessly procrastinating, and never getting stuff done. The above catch phrases may seem trite, but they pack a strong message…
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SIMON BRAMPTON – ENGLISH COACH en
A2VEUS – TV3 Fue todo un placer ayudar a los 4 concursantes super talentos (Raquel, Keila, Mouna i Iván) de A2VEUS mejorar su pronunciación de la canción Midsummer Night de Ramón Mirabet. También, fue de una agradable sorpresa conocer a Nina en persona, la presentadora del programa y consejera a los aspirantes. Es una super producción que rompe con el formato tradicional de los concursos de canto. En aquest capítol d’”A2Veus”, quatre aspirants nous ( Raquel, Keila, Mouna i Iván) competiran per demostrar el seu talent per poder cantar amb Ramon Mirabet en un indret molt especial. Tots quatre passaran tres dies a la…
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS! y ¿LO MEJOR?
NADA DE INGLÉS DURANTE UN MES Muchos esperan las <<ansiadas vacaciones>> porque me imagino que lo que se ha vivido antes ha sido… ansioso. Oigo una y otra vez frases como <<¡Necesito unas vacaciones ya!>> Según Confucio, un señor que no solía dar puntadas sin hilo, “Elige un trabajo que te guste y no tendrás que trabajar ni un día en tu vida”. No sé qué tipo de trabajo tenía en mente allí en China por el año 550 AC, pero sabía construir frases con gancho sobre las que engarzar sus ideas. Hoy, él mismo encontraría trabajo como periodista o…
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GET PODCASTING this summer…
AND ALL YEAR ROUND Listening to English-speaking podcasts is a great way to increase your English level. Playing back parts that you don’t understand and writing down words you don’t recognize will help you expand your vocabulary. Which podcasts should I listen to? We are spolit for choice, and luckily there’s something for eveyone and every level. You could being with either the The Learn English Podcast from the British Council or 6-minute English from the BBC. But, look at all the options below and chose something you like and for your level. At the beginner level, in general, you’ll find that the programs are focused…
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STOP WASTING YOUR LIFE READING and LISTENING TO IRRELEVANT NEWS: And change the language
Throughout most of my adult life I’ve loved listening to the news in the morning during breakfast or travelling to work in the car. I would put on the radio and find a news channel to get up to date with the latest goings-on in the world. I’ve also got even more excited about sitting down on Sunday mornings and reading through the entire Sunday paper while dipping different pastries in my coffee with a smile on my face. Then, with the news on my smartphone, I was soon disappearing head first down rabbit holes in Germany and the floods…
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DARLING, WHAT’S HAPPENED TO YOUR VOICE?
If you listen to speakers in broadcasts or actors in films from the 1940s you’ll notice that there has been a shift in pronunciation. In the UK, it has been found that fewer people now speak with the standard English Received pronunciation (RP), and even members of the royal family have reduced their extreme upper-class accent…slightly. However, it not only accents that have changed over the years. Women’s voices have also shifted. Sometimes it’s very apparent that a person’s voice has changed. Little Red Riding hood perceived not only physical changes but also audible differences in her grandmother, which provided…
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PERSONAL VOICE BRANDING (PVB) – You are your voice
There are many features that identity us as who we are, such as our faces, our hairstyles or our clothing. These are our visual identifiers that make us more unique. Another important feature is your voice, and from your first few words people have probably decided how intelligent, trustworthy, or rich you are! It’s an extremely important characteristic of your identify. Among singers, Frank Sinatra was known as “The Voice.” But it’s not only singers who can have distinctive voices. Many famous people have been known for their unique voices. Some classics come to mind: James Cagney, George Clooney, Morgan…
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¿Cómo ves el aprendizaje de un idioma?
La tarea será más a menos difícil, según como contestes la pregunta A veces un cometido puede parecer una montaña cuando lo contemplas. Si piensas en lo complicado que es tocar bien un instrumento, sacar una licenciatura o aprender un idioma, es fácil sentir algo de pereza, deprimirte o ni siguiera empezar. Incluso, ponerte en forma o aprender a hacer malabares puede parecer todo un reto insuperable. En cuanto a los idiomas, si empiezas uno desde cero, sabes que delante tienes un corpus de hasta medio millón de palabras. ¿Cómo enfrentarte a esto? A continuación, os propongo 5 recomendaciones. ¿Cómo…
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Language Learning Strategies: MUSIC
It’s no secret that listening to a language that you are learning is an incredibly good way of increasing not only your comprehension, but also your vocabulary knowledge. If you can unite enjoyment with what you’re listening to, then your motivation is going to increase and you’re more likely to repeat the activity. Let’s look at all the advantages of adding music to your language learning toolkit. Music seems to tick all the boxes when it comes to language learning and if you are serious about improving quickly, you need to incorporate it into your life. How do I learn…
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WHAT A POTATO PEELER REMINDED ME ABOUT VALUE
Do you use a potato peeler for your potatoes, or just a sharp knife? Personally, I prefer a specific peeler, and it can also work great on carrots to prepare your healthy mid-morning snack. Marketing has given us at least 5 Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, Place and People). Convenience is associated with price, and is an important factor in choice when we decide to buy something; and that’s one of the key reasons for the success on online shopping outlets such as Amazon. Price is also a key factor, and when I needed to buy the aforementioned kitchen utensil, the…
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RAFAEL NADAL
¿ES DE VERDAD UN EXTRATERRESTRE? Después de ganar su 22º Grand Slam en Roland Garros en 2022, en España le llamaron Extraterrestre y en Francia Le Martien. En inglés no es ni an alien ni a Martian. ¿Esto quiere decir que los anglohablantes no aprecian sus altas capacidades y su forma de superar escollos insuperables para otros seres humanos o alguno de Star Trek o Star Wars? Pues, no. Es simplemente otro ejemplo de que, aunque exista una palabra igual en otro idioma, el uso metafórico no coincide. Al final, Rafael Nadal es a superhuman o para buscar una frase…
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SEX and THE CITY
¿Con o sin subtítulos? La pregunta del millón Me acuerdo de la sección con las entrevistas llamada S’ho fa con la Rosa (Se hace con Rosa / Sofa con Rosa), en Malalts de Tele (el programa de TV3 con Rosa Andreu y Toni Soler, 1997-2000), y la pregunta estrella para los invitados siempre fue “Las pelis porno, ¿Con o sin subtítulos? Bueno, aparte de este tipo de ejercicio lingüístico, voy a dar unas recomendaciones a continuación para sacar el máximo provecho a los subtitles; con, sin y en qué idioma. Primero de todo, si tienes un nivel muy bajo e…
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ARE YOU HUNGRY or ANGRY? o ¿Tienes HANGRY ?
One of the most typical existential doubts that a Spanish student can have in English is choosing between hungry /ˈhʌŋgri/ and angry /ˈæŋgri/, mostly due to the pronunciation of the two words. And you can add to that the difficulty of differentiating between the u /ʌ/ and the a /æ/ as Spanish has a composite sound similar to a mix of the two. One way of remembering the words is to remember that hungry starts with an h like hambre. And remember Hungary can be pronounced exactly the same as hungry but means Hungría. All clear so far?! But then…
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TURKÍA ha cambiado su nombre. Y, ahora se llamará…
¿Cuántas acepciones sabes para turkey en inglés? Pues, por esa razón, el país ‘del pavo’ liderado por Recep Tayyip Erdogan ha anunciado que a partir del 3 de junio 2022 el país pasará a llamarse Türkiye en vez de Turkey en inglés. Al menos en castellano Turquía no tiene nada que ver con las aves. A partir de ahora, quieren que se adopte el nombre Türkiye en todas las comunicaciones oficiales. Y, ha lanzado una campaña turística en inglés donde los turistas dicen el nombre en turco. La pronunciación suena en inglés como turkeyay /ˈtɜːkieɪ /, o sea, lo mismo,…
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ARE YOU A LANGUAGE OPSIMATH?
How’s your Greek? While a Philomath is a lover of learning (it also refers to a student of mathematics), an opsimath /ˈɒpsɪmaθ/ can refer to a person who begins, or continues, to study or learn late in life. The word is derived from the Greek ὀψέ, meaning ‘late’ and μανθάνω, meaning ‘learn’. Something I hear often from students as young as 40 years old is that they are too old to really learn a language well. And when someone hits 50 or 60 then they tell me it’s game over! I used to be an agent for the Anglo Continental English School…
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¿Cuáles son los idiomas más fáciles de aprender para un hispanohablante?
Si aprendes o ya has aprendido el inglés (¿Qué nivel tienes?), ¿dirías que es un idioma fácil de aprender? Si tu primera lengua es el español, y quieres añadir otro idioma a tu colección por placer o por añadir valor a tu CV, y buscas una opción fácil, a continuación, te presento una selección de idiomas que te podría interesar. Las lenguas romances son el grupo de idiomas que más se parece entre sí y son los más fáciles de aprender por su cercanía al español, sobre todo a nivel de vocabulario. En primera posición podríamos poner el portugués y…
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HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE?
Your career might depend on it. A typical reply to this question in English is “How long is a piece of string?” That is, it depends. OK, some people are better than others, but nearly everyone can reach a C1 level. Do you live in the target language country? And if you do, do you speak to any of the locals? Do you immerse yourself in the language at home and use a speaking app? In the business world, I’ve found cases of managers who needed a foreign language for their new role or because their local company had been…
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WORDS WITHOUT TRANSLATIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES
In this article we’re going to look at 6 words that defy a simple one-word translation. This is often because of the peculiarities of the culture, the climate, the traditions or habits that are then reflected in the language. Hygge This Danish term is all about finding cosiness indoors through a warm fire, blankets, comfortable (IKEA!) furniture, warm comfortable clothing, hot drinks and hot food, and the feeling that all that gives us. In English you’d say I love feeling warm and cosy on cold winter days. It’s closely related to the climate and way of life in Denmark.…
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EUROVISION – We’re back! But why now?
How Spain and the UK turned things around The UK and Spain have been the butt of the Eurovision jokes for quite a few years now, and most people had given up hope of either country ever bouncing back again, but as the votes came in with 10s and 12s, the feeling of “Is this really happening?” started changing to “This really is happening!” In the end, with Russia banned, Ukraine won with The folk-rap act, Kalush Orchestraas as the European audience decided to vote in support of a country at war. I’m sure both Sam Ryder and Chanel were…
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JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY?
Our Western Weekend Culture There are so many songs with a negative message about Mondays, and I’m sure that reflects how many people feel about it, especially as the West’s week revolves around reaching the weekend and having Friday off as well if possible. The Bangles were pretty clear that It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah) I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah) ‘Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah, woah, woah) My “I don’t have to run day” (Woah, woah) It’s just another manic Monday And Bob Geldof from the Boomtown Rats told us about a schoolgirl that…
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THREE QUICK TRICKS TO GET YOUR CHILDREN TO SPEAK TO YOU IN YOUR LANGUAGE when they don’t or won’t.
(BILINGUAL FAMILIES) There is one really frustrating experience for parents who are trying to raise their children in their native language while living in a country that doesn’t speak it; their children answer them in the local language rather than their own one. The first TWO KEY STRATEGIES for raising a child in your language are 1)OPOL. One Parent, One Language. That is, you only speak your language to your child, and the other parent speaks their native language. This is important and establishes one single clear channel of communication. It’s simple and effective. And simple and effective is a…
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ADVANTAGE FRIDAY: PHRASE OF THE WEEK
We’re not out of the woods yet. We’ve been living with the Covid 19 pandemic now for two years, and in recent weeks, with the majority no longer wearing masks and far more events taking place in a face-to-face mode, you could be forgiven for thinking that Covid is over. You could say “it’s not over till it’s over”, especially if you sang in a band called Starship, but I want to focus on another similar phrase which sums up the situation nicely. I thought I was somehow immune to picking up illnesses, but apparently not; I’ve caught Covid,…
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TALK/XERRADA A L’ESCOLA OFICIAL D’IDIOMES RUBÍ
THE SECRETS OF LEARNING A LANGUAGE according to Polyglots It was a pleasure to give the talk on THE SECRETS OF LEARNING A LANGUAGE at the EOI in Rubí on Wednesday 27th April. I’d like to thank Lucia Bonet for organizing and coordinating the talk so efficiently, and all the students and teachers from the school for their warm reception and being so receptive and interactive. Gràcies a tots i totes per l’interès i la càlida acollida. Fins la propera! I’m looking forward to coming back soon. Polyglots and successful language learners are notoriously good at learning languages and in…
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MISTAKES NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS WISH THEY HADN’T MADE
THINGS I WISH I KNEW V THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN As a learner of English, you’ve studied a lot and depending on your teacher you started studying I wish at Low or High Intermediate level. You learned that: I wish + past simple is for things you wish for now or in the future, I wish I knew more about saving money. (Ojalá supiera más sobre como ahorrar dinero.) and I wish + Past Perfect is for things you wished for in the past that didn’t happen. I wish I’d (had) known more about saving Money when I was twenty. (Ojalá…
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GIVING A TALK TO YOURSELF AT A CONFERENCE
SPEAKING AT THE ONLINE POLYGOT GATHERING CONFERENCE 2O22 Last weekend I had the pleasure to attend the annual Polyglot Gathering conference and enjoyed both practising languages and helping other attendees improve their Catalan and English. Between a session on the Klingon language (more and more popular in this part of the Galaxy), and finding out more about the memorising techniques of a national Belgian memory contest champion, I gave a talk on Artificial Bilingualism (In Spanish with slides in English), that is, raising your children in a language that isn’t your native one. I’ve interviewed many families in Spain who…
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MISTAKES NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS WISH THEY HADN’T MADE
THINGS I WISH I KNEW V THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN As a learner of English, you’ve studied a lot and depending on your teacher you started studying I wish at Low or High Intermediate level. You learned that: I wish + past simple is for things you wish for now or in the future, I wish I knew more about saving money. (Ojalá supiera más sobre como ahorrar dinero.) and I wish + Past Perfect is for things you wished for in the past that didn’t happen. I wish I’d (had) known more about saving Money when I was…
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THE POLYGLOT GATHERING 2022
ONLINE and LIVE Yes, according to their website, The Polyglot Gathering is an informal event which takes places once a year and brings together polyglots (people who speak several languages) and language enthusiasts from all over the world. https://www.polyglotgathering.com/2022/online/registration/ For the third year running, due to the pandemic, the conference will be online (28th April- 1st May) but also at a live venue in Poland (1st-6th June). Whereas many foreign language students reach intermediate level in 10 years and then spend most of their lives maintaining it, polyglots give themselves about 2 to 3 years to reach an advanced level in a language,…
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HAPPY SAINT GEORGE’S DAY / FELIÇ DIA DE SANT JORDI
What have England and Catalonia got in common? Well, apart from the great weather, the cuisine and a love of sports, both nations celebrate their national day on the same day. Both have the same patron saint who it would appear was a knight who saved a lady from a dragon. In England the day isn’t celebrated widely, which seems a shame, whereas in Catalunya, sí que és una festa que és celebra amb llibres i roses. The 23rd of April is International Book Day, a date chosen as it coincides with the myth that both Cervantes and Shakespeare died…
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THE FRIDAY WEEKEND WORD #1 TGIF
This is a new series called your FRIDAY Weekend Word. This will include words and phrases to make you sound more natural in English. Only one new word a week? Hopefully you also actively seek out other ones yourself. But, at the very least, that’s 52 special words in a year. Small increases lead to big changes if you are consistent. This week the phrase is Thank God It’s Friday, or TGIF. And you can use the acronym in written and spoken English. T.G.I.F.- Glad it’s the last day of the week Oliver.- Yes, TGIF ! As you can imagine, this is…
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A VOICE COACH OR A VOCAL COACH?
Do you need help singing better or speaking better? Which one do you choose? What’s the difference? VOCAL COACH Very often they are used as synonyms. If you need to sing better, you seek out a voice coach or a vocal coach. Think of the famous television singing competition, The Voice, where the judges can only assess the competitors based on their signing voice. It’s an ingenious way to make someone focus on the voice alone, and not just their looks. However, singing coaches are often called vocal coaches. VOICE COACH On the other hand, if you want to…
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VOICE SHAPERS
WHAT FACTORS CAN INFLUENCE YOUR VOICE? Voice shapers are factors that can influence the quality of your voice features. BREATHING. How do you breathe? Breathing means everything in the control and the quality of your voice. Learning to control the way you breathe is one of the key features of great voice delivery. There are simple exercises that you can do every day to improve not only your voice, but help you relax. We breathe automatically, but when you explicitly change your breathing technique, you can make big changes in the way you feel and how you can use your voice. It’s not only…
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How does voice coaching work?
You have thought about improving your voice in a second language, but you probably wonder how it works, the system and what aspects of the voice and language voice coaches at. Voice Assessment & Analysis In the first meeting, a second language voice coach will listen to you, assess the way you use your voice and language and do a speech analysis which will be used to create a plan to improve your voice. The first questions are: Which aspects do youwant to improve? How do you feelabout your voice and the way you speak? Most people have an idea about whatfeatures they…
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ACCENT MODIFICATION OR REDUCTION
What is it? Do you need it? Are you worried about your accent when you speak another language? Do you want to sound more native? For example, do you want to speak in an English accent like Prince William, or Kate Middleton, or an American one like Meghan Markle or Joe Biden? This is very difficult indeed. According to the Critical Age Hypothesis, once you reach a certain age, imitating an accent and speaking like a native becomes almost impossible. You need a lot of exposure, a special talent for imitating sounds (can you imitate regional accents in your own…
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THE BENEFITS OF BEING BILINGUAL #2 Cognitive
Welcome to this second part, where we’re going to be highlighting the cognitive benefits of having a bilingual brain and being bilingual or trilingual. Bilingualism has positive effects at both ends of the age spectrum: Bilingual children as young as seven months can better adjust to environmental changes, while bilingual seniors can experience less cognitive decline. And the benefits can been in students who’ve studied with Idiomas Advantage! It’s interesting to note that up to 1970s, bilingualism in children was often seen as being a disadvantage and to be the cause of a variety of learning difficulties from dyslexia to…
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THE BENEFITS OF BEING BILINGUAL – Part 1
I’ve always found it strange that some people are not convinced of the advantages of having a bilingual brain and being bilingual. When you think about it there are some many positive reasons for being or becoming one. When we talk about benefits, we have to divide them into two broad areas, the social and cognitive ones. As we’ll see, bilingualism has positive effects at both ends of the age spectrum: Bilingual children as young as seven months can better adjust to environmental changes, while bilingual seniors can experience less cognitive decline. In this first part we’ll look at the…
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English Voice Coaching
What is English Voice Coaching, and why does it matter? You have just one second to make an impression. Make it count!! If you’re a non-native speaker of English and you have reached a comfortable level in the language, you may start focussing on the way you speak it. It’s obvious that a person’s native accent intrudes in their second language, and even if you speak English very well, you may exhibit certain features in your speech that are distracting and detract from your overall message and your intended effect. Are you worried about your accent? ACCENT MODIFICATION Do you…
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BILINGÜISMO ARTIFICAL
¿Sabias que los no nativos también pueden criar a sus niños en inglés u otro idioma? ¿CREES QUE PODRÍAS HACERLO TÚ? Evidentemente, necesitarás un nivel alto del inglés. Pero ¿Qué nivel? Pues, ¡cuanto más alto mejor! Piensa en la relación que quieres con tu hijo. Si no puedes expresar todo los que quieres transmitir y comunicar, pues, podrías frustrarte, e incluso, podrías acabar por perjudicar la relación. Son los matices que realmente llevan el sentido de la comunicación en muchos casos. ¿Mis hijos acabarán por hablar inglés como nativos si los llevo a una escuela británica? Dependará si es una…
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Key Strategy 3. INPUT. You as a Language Model
This blog post is all about the language you speak; your accent, accuracy, and your idiosyncrasies. I deal with bringing up a child in a language that is not your native one in another post and devote a whole chapter to it in the book. With enough exposure, your children will speak with your accent and all your idiosyncratic forms of the language, or idiolect, especially if you are the sole language source.So, remember that they are a mirror of the way you speak. You may hear words and phrases that you did not know you used, and they can…
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KEY STRATEGY 3 – INPUT How to get them to speak with your ACCENT.
Your accent What accent will your child have when they speak your heritage language (or the local language)? For many people, this is an important issue. After more than thirty years teaching English as a foreign language, and as an English person who lived in Ireland for eleven years, I understand that the accent you have is quite significant, and for many different reasons. Firstly, your accent identifies your ethnicity and in many languages associates you with a social class. In some places your accent may not be seen in a positive light, such as my English accent when I…
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Is there a critical age for learning a language? Sequential bilingualism – and the million dollar question.
If you move to another country where your language is not spoken, the age of your child when they start learning the language has an effect on their proficiency. When a child learns one language first and another one later, this is called Sequential or Successive Acquisition. Parents want to know if children arriving in a new country, where a new foreign language is spoken, will end up speaking the language proficiently or even attain a native speaker level. The consensus among researchers is that the younger the child is when they arrive, the better. The ‘Critical Period’ Hypothesis says…
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Key Strategy 3: Provide enough exposure to your language (Input)
In previous blog posts I explained the Key Strategies 1 and 2 which are about what language you speak to each other. Do you spend enough time speaking your language with your children? Even if you always speak your language (OPOL) and get your child to speak to you in your language (1L2U), if they do not hear and speak enough, they will not pick up the basic structures of the language or native pronunciation. Typically, they will sound ‘foreign’ and make more mistakes than they need to. What level of proficiency are you aiming for? Some parents want their…
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ENGLISH VOICE COACHING FOR SINGERS WHO ARE NOT NATIVE SPEAKERS
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SINGING IN ENGLISH SIMON’S 5-STEP ENGLISH VOICE SINGING METHOD READING: SAY AND TELL Technique 2. SOUND SCRIPTING – INTONATION, MELODY, RHYTHM – Sing in tune! 3. REHEARSE, REHEARSE, REHEARSE 4. COACHING 2. 5. PERFORMANCE & Feedback VOICE COACHING FOR SPEAKERS AND SINGERS has a lot of features in common. It’s important to improve the quality of the voice delivery in both cases, and both require sound scripting and a lot of rehearsal. In this article, I’m going to deal specifically with how I help singers who are not native English speakers with their singing. What this…
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Las 5 Estrategias Clave para criar a un niño bilingüe
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Libros
ELIGE UNO DE LOS 2 LIBROS QUE HE ESCRITO. Bienvenido a la serie de libros de Estrategias Claves Consigue el libro de cómo criar a un niño bilingüe AHORA! CÓMO HAQUEAR EL VOCABULARIO INGLÉS COMO APRENDER EL VOCABULARIO INGLÉS ¡DE UNA VEZ Y POR TODAS! Hace unos 2 años, haciendo limpieza encontré una libreta con los apuntes de mis clases que impartía…. del 1992! De allí me surgió la idea de recopilar los errores más típicos de los alumnos de inglés y los trucos de superarlos en un libro didáctico accesible y entretenido. Y, hay una sección para profesores. UNA…
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Learn English without effort-Really?
Learn English without effort – Were you born yesterday? ¿Te chupas el dedo o naciste ayer? Vale, queremos y anhelamos aprender cosas nuevas sin esforzarnos. Es normal. Aun cuando vemos un anuncio que pone “El secreto de …” , “Aprende sin esfuerzos..” nos cuesta un montón no pinchar sobre el link – es click bait total. Pero de verdad, ¿crees que puedes aprender a hablar un idioma sin hablar, formar frases sin errores, sin estudiar reglas gramaticales o aprender vocabulario sin leerte nada? Pues hay alguien que ha encontrado suficientes adeptos – 1.64m suscritores – que están dispuestos a creer en cuentos…
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The 5 key strategies of successful bilingual families
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Getting your child to speak your language to you (1L2U)
Key Bilingual Strategy 2 The First Key Strategy, OPOL, is about the language you speak to your child; the Second Key Strategy, 1L2U, is about the language that your child speaks to you. For many parents this is the most difficult strategy to use successfully, and it is very common, even with OPOL, that your child will answer you in the local majority language. Do you know cases of this? Is it your case? Here are Four methods to maximise same language communication between you and your children Method 1: Set the language interaction rules from the very beginning One…
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One Parent One Language (OPOL)
Key Bilingual Strategy 1 3 outcomes and 5 reasons why it’s the best approach The One Language One Parent (OPOL) approach is the first of the Five Key Strategies and is about the language you speak to your child. To make this method work, you need to implement this strategy strictly. Luckily, this is one strategy that you have complete control over! Nobody can make you speak the local majority language to your child if you do not want to. 5 reasons why the OPOL method is best for success 1. You express yourself best in your native language;…
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Contact & Hire
If you would like to hire me to give a talk or workshop on a language related topic such as Family Bilingualism, Foreign Language Learning Strategies or Language & Voice Coaching, please contact me here. Talks and Seminars The 5 Key Strategies of raising a bilingual child The 5 Key Strategies to successfully learn a languageNLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) for learning a foreign language. For students and teachers.Presentation Skills training for executivesExclusive individual Professional VOICE COACHING and ACCENT REDUCTION- Increase your influence and image through 1-1 voice training sessions. Especially for non-native English speakers. contact@bilingualuniverse.com
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Book
Welcome to the 5 Key Language Strategies Book Series Get Simon’s book on a raising a bilingual child RIGHT NOW!
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Videos
ENGLISH LANGUAGE GURU YOUTUBE VIDEOS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-LuG5KjPGrYZZDCgvFgJA/videos Simon’s English Language Guru is a channel specially designed to help general and business English students learn some of the most difficult and tricky English GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY and IMPROVE their ACCENT and SPEAKING SKILLS. We’re going to have fun making you SPEAK BETTER AND SOUND YOUR BEST IN ENGLISH. Simon Brampton – English Language Guru es un canal creada con el fin de ayudar a los alumnos de inglés general y business a aprender la gramática y vocabulario más engañoso del inglés además de la PRONUCIACIÓN con una presentación a la vez divertida…
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Marc Trilingual
Bilingual Universe El blog sigue la vida de Marc a través de la adquisición de 3 idiomas simultáneamente. Inglés, catalán e español. The Blog follows Marc’s acquisition of 3 languages simultaneously from birth. English, Catalan and Spanish https://mytrilingualfamilyspain.blogspot.com/
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Simon
I have been teaching English as a second language since 1989, in the UK for two summers, and the rest of the time in Barcelona. I am an English native speaker and fluent in Spanish and Catalan and work in all three languages on a daily basis. I can also speak French to upper intermediate level and have a basic knowledge of Afrikaans. I am the owner and director of Advantage Languages, which provides language training to companies in and around Barcelona and Madrid and employs over 45 teachers as of 2022. I still teach English every week, mostly because…
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Home
SPEAK & SOUND YOUR BEST IN ENGLISH SIMON BRAMPTON EMPOWERING YOUR ENGLISH. SIMON’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-LuG5KjPGrYZZDCgvFgJA/videos I’ll use my 30 years’ experience as a coach to 1.IMPROVE YOUR PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES AND VOICE for PUBLIC SPEAKING in ENGLISH. 2. SHOW YOU EXCLUSIVE TECHNIQUES TO LEARN ENGLISH QUICKER & MORE EFFECTIVELY. 3. FAMILIARISE YOU WITH BRITISH BUSINESS CULTURE. HABLA y SUENA LO MEJOR POSIBLE EN INGLÉS. Emplearé mi 30 años de experiencia para 1.MEJORAR TUS TÉCNICAS de PRESENTACIÓN y VOZ para HABLAR MEJOR en PÚBLICO en INGLÉS. 2. ENSEÑARTE TÉCNICAS EXCLUSIVAS para APRENDER EL INGLÉS de forma RÁPIDA Y EFICAZ .…
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Marc Trilingual: from nought to native / De Cero a Nativo
El blog sigue la vida de Marc a través de la adquisición de 3 idiomas simultáneamente. Inglés, catalán e español. The Blog follows Marc’s acquisition of 3 languages simultaneously from birth. English, Catalan and Spanish https://mytrilingualfamilyspain.blogspot.com/
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BILINGUAL UNIVERSE 2
BILINGUAL FAMILIES FAMILIAS BILINGÜES LANGUAGE STUDENTS ESTUDIANTES DE IDIOMAS LANGUAGE TEACHERS PROFESORES DE IDIMOAS As the name suggests, this site aims at helping parents, children and students of foreign languages learn them more effectively using KEY LANGUAGE STRATEGIES. You will find information and resources about these Key Language Strategies in the Blog and Video Channels as well as the books and articles I’ve written.
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Contacto
Hablemos 👋. No dudes en ponerte en contacto con nosotros mediante la información de contacto a continuación, o envíanos un mensaje mediante el formulario. Ponte en contacto Envíanos un mensaje
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Acerca de
BILINGUAL VOICE es una web para las personas que quieren mejorar su forma de hablar en inglés, sea por hablar en público o cantar, además de mejorar su nivel de inglés y sus conocimientos de él. Además encontrarás información sobre cómo criar un niño bilingüe. Verás enlaces a mi libro en inglés y castellano. Si quieres más información contáctame en thebilingualuniverse@gmail.com
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Simon Brampton 