Tag Archives: second language

Spanish in Latin America – You Might Think It’s All One Language, But Then You’d Be Wrong

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If you’re studying the Spanish language or are thinking about doing so, get ready for limitless opportunities for adventure and excitement. Yes, learning the language will take lots of time and hard work, but speaking Spanish will open doors to explore the world and meet people from different cultures. While you can always make friends(…)


No bad words for bilinguals

Brains are complicated and odd things. Take new research from Bangor University in the UK. Researchers have found that an unconscious brain quirk dampens down people’s responses to negative words in their non-native language. Bilingual people thus respond less emotionally to words like ‘failure’ in their second language. Similarly they are less shocked to hear(…)


Foreign thinking

Thinking in a foreign language leads people to make more rational decisions, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. Featured in the current issue of Psychological Science, the study found that people have less emotional ties to a foreign language, meaning they have a more rational thought process. Their emotional ties to their native(…)


When speaking a second language is a problem

Most of the time it’s seen as desirable to speak more than one language. When isn’t it? When you’re hoping to become President of the United States. An interesting article at The New Republic explores the reasons why bilingualism becomes an issue in presidential campaigns: In 2004, it was John Kerry who was derided by(…)