Author: Language Mag

Language Mag aims to be the internet's number one destination for news and articles about languages and language learning. Stop by regularly to keep up to date on the latest developments, tips, tricks, and news. Or why not help out by contributing your own articles?
May252018 by Language MagNo Comments
Forum and Blogs Roundup – 2

Forum and Blogs Roundup – 2

Blog
Last time we had a couple of interesting forum threads from Duolingo to show you. This time the Duolingo forums feel a little bit dry in terms of interest. The Fluentin3 months blog seems more intent on showing us advertising banners than providing content (although this post on Introverts and language learning did catch my eye). In short, all the usual sources of interest are lacking. So it's time to do some digging around and see what Blogs we can come up with: The first post of interest is this post about learning Japanese. Clearly this is picked with a whole lot of bias as I'm learning Japanese and it gives a rather nice little list of resources. Credit goes to this post for my discovery of the Drop app, which may or may not get its own review on this site after I've used it for...
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May242018 by Language MagNo Comments
Duolingo Stories

Duolingo Stories

Language News, Reviews
Perhaps one of the best features of Duolingo is locked away in the Labs section of the site. Once you've finished the main Duolingo courses you're left in a bit of a void. You can understand a bit of the language, especially when you read. But your knowledge isn't complete enough that you could say reading was easy. In an ideal world you'd be able to find reading material that is suitable for adults (i.e. not dull as dishwater) and has an audio version that you can play to get the pronunciation set in your mind that isn't in a stupid children's character voice. For me, reading has always been the next logical step for improving and increasing vocabulary after a Duolingo course. This is where Duolingo stories comes in and its implementation is nothing short of genius. To disappoint a...
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May232018 by Language MagNo Comments
Duolingo Crowns Update – Is it Simply About Money?

Duolingo Crowns Update – Is it Simply About Money?

General, Language News
I recently started to think about Duolingo Crowns and the crown levels. I'm a fan of Duolingo and recently started learning Japanese and Spanish with it. But it wasn't long before I heard that Duolingo would be changing their system to the Duolingo crown system. They'd been beta testing it. I'd read complaints on the forums and I crossed my fingers that they'd hold off release until my challenge was done. No such luck. In this article I want to take a look at what the update is, what Duolingo say it is, and what it might mean. In particular, I want to delve deeper into the potential commercial aspects of Duolingo and this update. Duolingo and Making Money The original idea behind Duolingo would be that it would be a sort of crowd sourced translation bureau. In return for teaching you...
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May222018 by Language MagNo Comments
Useful Chrome Plugins for Language Learners

Useful Chrome Plugins for Language Learners

General
Like many people, I'm a fan of both the simplicity of the Chrome browser and the power of its extensions. Where I find that extensions really come in handy is in the realm of language learning. The internet is really useful for practicing reading and listening (think, for example, about youtube videos). But a few extensions can improve this experience even more... The clever little Language Analytics plugin helps you to track how long you're browsing on pages in different languages so that you can easily tell if how much you've been reading in a foreign language. Better yet, it allows you to set browsing time targets in any language you choose and then gives you a notification when you get hit those targets. Transover is a clever little extension that uses the power of Google...
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May202018 by Language MagNo Comments
Polyglot Gathering 2018

Polyglot Gathering 2018

Events
The Polyglot Gathering 2018 takes place on May 30 to June 3 2018 in Bratislavia. This is an informal gathering, at the time of writing the website is as dead as a dodo - so we'll have to make do with a couple of youtube videos instead.
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May202018 by Language MagNo Comments
ExpoLingua

ExpoLingua

Events
ExpoLingua Berlin offers you the chance to "Discover Global Language Learning and Culture" on November 16th and 17th. ExpoLingua advertises that they have 150 exhibitors from over 30 countries. Among them are language schools and travel operators. They have a seminar programme, cultural events, activities and performances and... prizes. Who can resist prizes? Find out more here.
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May202018 by Language MagNo Comments
The Language Show

The Language Show

Events
The Language Show is being held on 9th-11th October in London. It targets itself towards a wide audience of people learning, teaching, using languages professionally or who simply love languages. There are exhibitors, seminars, language taster classes and cultural performances. The best part? It's free!
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May202018 by Language MagNo Comments
LangFest 2018

LangFest 2018

Events
LangFest takes place on August 21-26 in Montreal. LangFest describes itself as a magnet for "polyglots". So if you're made from some kind of metal then you presumably can't resist. In their own words: LangFest attendees learn from and gain access to world-class language gurus, entrepreneurs, educators and industry professionals. You will be introduced to cutting edge tools, techniques and technologies to inform and inspire how you learn and use languages or teach them to others. Find out more here.
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May202018 by Language MagNo Comments
Polyglot Conference 2018

Polyglot Conference 2018

Events
Love a Conference? The Polyglot Conference has been running since 2013 and takes place in Ljubljana, Slovenia this year (we presume that if you can't pronounce it then you can't go!). It takes place on October 26th to October 28th. Of particular interest is that Friday 26th is dedicated to language learning techniques, so you can find out how to be a more effective language learner. Beyond that, it's also a great chance to practice your language skills with your fellow polyglots. More information is available on their site here.
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