There’s a common assumption that if someone starts learning a language when they are very young, they will quickly become fluent. Many people also assume that it will become much harder to learn a language if they start later in life. Research into language learning shows that how old someone is when they learn a language does matter, […] … learn more→

Language learning is often a daunting prospect. Many of us wish we had learned a language to a higher level at school. But even though adults of all ages can do well in acquiring a new language, fear – or the memory of struggling to memorise grammar at school – can hold us back. We […] … learn more→

If you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, don’t let age put you off. People aged over 60 can be independent and flexible in how they learn a language – and successful, too. There is ample evidence from decades of research that, as we age, some of our perceptual and cognitive abilities gradually decline. Our […] … learn more→

Imagine a child reading the story of a refugee girl who crosses the sea to flee a war. By the end of the book, that child has not only learned new words: they have felt fear, hope, anger, relief… This is one of the powers of literature: its ability to make us experience other people’s […] … learn more→

Acquiring written language is a complex process that spans an entire school year. And the omnipresence of digital tools requires rethinking how we learn, as screens require a different way of processing information. From notebooks to computers or smartphones, the logic is no longer the same. Here are some ideas for reflection. “Writing is not […] … learn more→

The digital environment is profoundly changing the way we write. Fewer rules, more reflexes: writing is becoming fast, spontaneous, often dictated by voice or copied and pasted. A new chapter in a story that began over 5,000 years ago. Writing was born under the sign of economy and memory (pastoral accounting, recording of debts). Around […] … learn more→

Do you use words or phrases from other languages ​​in informal get-togethers with friends or when sending text messages? In what language do you discuss a movie you’ve seen in the original English version with someone else? Has a second or foreign language teacher told you that you can’t use your first language in class? […] … learn more→

Across its nearly 250-year history, the United States has never had an official language. On March 1, U.S. President Donald Trump changed that when he signed an executive order designating English as the country’s sole official language. The order marks a fundamental rupture from the American goverment’s long-standing approach to languages. “From the founding of our […] … learn more→

It seems to come earlier every year: publishers and dictionaries choosing their “word of the year”. Initially intended to sum up a meaningful trend or feeling that represents the past year, the exercise is now becoming a competition to identify and highlight fashionable slang. Collins went with brat, the Charli XCX album phenomenon as applied to […] … learn more→

Ever since the American Dialect Society selected a Word of the Year at its conference in 1990, over half a dozen English dictionaries have anointed an annual word or phrase that’s meant to encapsulate the zeitgeist of the prior year. In 2003, the publisher of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary began bestowing a crown. On Dec. 9, 2024, it selected […] … learn more→