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But then we looked at each other and repeated a favourite phrase from our diplomatic days: “Remember, ‘No one’s more important than people’!” In other words, friendship is the most important thing – not career or housework, or one’s fatigue … (p. 268) I dreamed about reading this book in...

Today, I’d like to see if we can improve our language skills via YouTube channels.  I hope to inspire you to use some free resources that are available online. I’ll first focus on the languages that I’m familiar with (Polish, Czech, French and Russian) or plan to learn (Portuguese). Yes,...

We read on the back cover: “celebrating the art of the French language”. Beautiful, huh?   Le mot juste is a collection of French words, phrases and quotations with their actual meaning, pronunciation and sometimes also literal translation. I think it’s a good way to refresh one’s French if it’s...

Jean-Paul Metzger, PhD., is not only a wonderful French language tutor at BLS, but also an experienced translator and a passionate composer. He’s also a bilingual who lives in Bristol, UK, and today we have the pleasure of interviewing him! Hello Jean-Paul. Thank you for taking part in our interview...

Hello, my name is Suzannah and I’m a linguist and freelance translator.  In this video, I answer questions about my journey to speaking 6 languages. I give one answer in each of the languages I speak: French, Dutch, English, Polish, Italian and Spanish. Firstly, in French, I talk about how...

What a treat for a linguist! I loved every single page for the author’s humour, curiosity, witty observations and passion for languages. It tells the story of an American who moves to London, then to Geneva and then to…? The book is also about communication between languages, countries and cultures....

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s FRENCH today! Are you planning your summer holiday in the south of France? Do you travel frequently to Paris? Do you dream of exploring French-speaking...

With around 11 million inhabitants over an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 square miles), Belgium is a small, densely-populated country in Western Europe.  It may be small but Belgium has a diverse population and three official languages, Dutch, French, and German.  Its inhabitants also speak a number of non-official,...

When you are learning a language, sometimes you want to have something official to show for it, to demonstrate which level you have got up to according to recognised examination bodies.  This can be useful if you are applying for a place at a university, which often require proof of...

Estimates say that there are up to 7,000 languages spoken in the world today (in around 200 states!).  Some languages have millions of speakers and some have just a few thousand speakers.  But with so many languages to choose from, how do you decide which one to learn?  This blog...