• Some Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language

    Some reasons to learn a foreign language are obvious, while others may be new to you. Some obvious reasons are traveling, meeting new people, and improving your work life. With a little help from Brent White, Elise Taylor, and Miranda Gennaro, I’d like to focus on the less obvious reasons, and let me know what you think: Understand what’s being said about you when you’re sure it’s not good. Understand what your fortune cookie really means. Be able to talk to your mail order bride. Don’t accidentally order something wrong at a restaurant. You can turn off subtitles on foreign movies. Swear in front of your kids without them knowing it. Know what your Japanese tattoo really means. Get better technical support. Celebrate more holidays. Confuse telemarketers or anyone you’re …

  • Saving the World One Language at a Time

    In his song, “This Cowboy’s Hat”, the great Chris LeDoux says, “There’s always been groups of people that never could see eye to eye, and I always thought that if they ever had a chance to sit down and talk face to face they might realize they’ve got a lot in common.” I stated in a previous blog post that one of my favorite reasons to learn a new language is to meet new people. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all learn new languages, meet new people, and put all the demeaning, racial stereotypes in this world to rest? That is a large goal for any one person or organization to assume, but together there is no limit to the difference that can be made in this world. …

  • You Will Make Mistakes But Keep Practicing

    You have probably heard the old saying, “Practice Makes Perfect”. If you have never heard that saying, well, now you have. In my opinion, the fear of making a mistake while practicing a new language hinders more people than maybe any other factor of learning a language. Here are a few tips to help you overcome the fear of making a mistake and just practice: Have a sense of humor and laugh at yourself because it’s probably okay. Whoever you are speaking with will most likely appreciate your efforts. Realize that you will make mistakes. That’s part of it. Think: “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”. It’s probably not that bad. Keep practicing, because practice will increase confidence. Watch this video about an experience I may have had on …

  • Learn a Language – Meet Famous People

    I’d like to officially welcome you to the Visual Link Languages blog about language learning. Well let’s get right into it, shall we? Why would anyone want to learn another language? Why do you want to learn another language? I have personally posed that question to hundreds of customers. I won’t go into explaining all the reasons customers have given, but travel, work, homeschool, service missions, school, and fun are just a few responses. One of my favorite reasons to learn a language is to meet new people. Watch the video to see exactly who I would want to meet. Be sure to subscribe to this blog via RSS and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. I’ll be writing at least 1 article each week. Stay tuned for language-learning tips, …