It is possible to learn to speak foreign languages very well without a degree in linguistics, but there are a few things that linguists and language teachers can teach us. We asked Jaana, a language student towards the end of her studies, what she has learned from her degree in linguistics and pedagogy. – Language students at the university take courses in language structure, phonetics (the study of sounds), semantics (the study of meaning) and pragmatics (how context contributes to…
Take my word for it – learning languages is easy For me learning languages has always been easy. At least, that’s what I’ve always thought (or told myself). I don’t find language learning boring or demanding – quite the contrary. I think it’s interesting and fun. I constantly want to learn more and improve. I believe that with this attitude learning really does become easier. In my opinion, one of the greatest problems with learning languages is the belief that…
Learning languages is more than just studying vocabulary or grammar and taking endless classes. It means dreams, visions and goals. It brings people and cultures together, it takes you to incredible countries, makes conversations possible and even makes people fall in love. We believe that people rarely study a language just for the language itself. There is often a deeper reason, a wish or a goal that inspires people to study. We interviewed three inspiring persons, Sissi, Lauri and Leena-Mari,…
We Finns believe that Midsummer is the second best party of the year (Christmas is the best). Midsummer in the north is all about sauna, barbecue, bonfires, dancing and magic (one of the most popular rituals is to run around the dewy fields naked). In addition to the abovementioned activities, Swedes also like to erect maypoles and dance around them. In both countries, people head out of the cities to their summer cottages already on Thursday or Friday morning to decorate…
Essi Pohto, a Finnish pedagogy student, is WordDive’s own polyglot who is fluent in four languages. She is working as a summer intern at WordDive and will graduate as a teacher of English, Italian and German next year. She also speaks some Russian and French. – Languages have always been present in my life. I was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for the first eight years of my life. Later we spent several years in Central and Southern…
Are your travel plans still open for the summer? Would you like to try something different from the traditional tourist traps? In this post, we have gathered our best tips and recommendations for discovering the hidden gems of Europe. These less-known destinations are definitely worth the visit if you are looking for something new and exciting. Austria: Linz Our summer intern Essi lived in Linz, Austria for 18 months when she was about 6 years old. She revisited the town later…
