Canguro English

Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Remi van Trijp, head of the Language Research Unit and the Sony Computer Science Laboratories in Paris, and one of the main developers of Fluid Construction Grammar. His team is trying to answer some of the most profound questions in linguistics by combining techniques from computational linguistics, artificial intelligence and robotics. It’s complicated and very technical work, but as you’ll see in this interview Remi has an incredible ability to explain complex things in an easy-to-understand way.

Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. In this episode we talk about how language began, including language evolution vs language change, how animal and human communication are similar and different, and the evidence for why language is probably millions of years old, not thousands.

Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Ted Gibson from his eponymous TedLab at MIT which researches why human languages are the way they are, how people learn and process language, and the relationship between language and culture. In this interview we talk about his work with numbers, colours, word order, and information theory across various languages and his search for simplicity in explaining the complexity of language.

Are you stupid and lazy? Do you want to speak English perfectly? Then this podcast is for you! We are going to take a journey through the light and dark of the human mind to discover why you are so bad at English and the secret to speaking perfect English.

There is no doubt that this is the best time in history to learn a language, especially English. We are surrounded by content in English, English language learning apps, English teachers, English courses, information. But one very important question remains: what do we do with all this information? HOW do we study? HOW do we learn a language. One man who knows the answer to this question is Paul Nation. He has been studying and writing about language acquisition and language teaching methodology for more than 50 years, and in this interview he talks about the four strands of language learning, and how by following this simple concept, based on a lifetime of research, both teachers and students can have success at language teaching, and language learning.

Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. In this episode we talk about the theory and the practice of field linguistics, including how to survive in the field, what to take, and what to bring back.

Students ask me all the time if they should learn British English or American English, and in this video you'll discover the real differences between UK and US English and how it's not about language rules, it's about culture. You will discover how they are different and if you should study British or American English.

When you think about improving your writing in English, especially business writing, you probably think about studying lots of rules, and memorising specific phrases, and complicated vocabulary. But recently I spoke to Ellen Jovin who’s been writing professionally and teaching professionals how to write for more than 20 years, and in this interview you’ll discover that good business writing isn’t about language, it’s about people.

It’s a sad fact that the English that millions of people learn in classrooms all over the world, often doesn’t match the reality of English outside the classroom. One person who knows the reality of English as a global language is Heather Hansen. She teaches professionals from the world’s biggest companies how to communicate in English all over the world. And the secret to successful global communication? It isn’t about being like a native speaker, or having an RP accent, or using ‘standard’ English. This is a powerful interview and I hope it makes teachers and students all over the world question their assumptions about what it means to learn and use English.

Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. In this episode we talk about linguistic relativity: the idea that the language we speak can change the way we think.

In the world of language there are few people as experienced, or as respected, as Patsy Lightbown, Distinguished Professor Emerita at Concordia University in Canada. She has been working in the field of language teaching and language learning for more than 40 years as a researcher, writer, editor, and consultant and she literally wrote the book on how languages are learned. In this interview we talk about language acquisition, language learning, language teaching and what life has taught her about the way education works. I hope you enjoy it!

Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. In this episode we talk about culture: we discuss exactly what it is, how it exists on a macro and micro level, how it affects our language and our cognition, and how without it, we would die.

Do you want to really succeed at learning English in 2020? It doesn't matter if this is the first or the tenth time you have tried to get fluency in English, these 9 simple steps will help you to succeed at your English learning goals.

Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. In this episode we talk about the Piraha language, and what it tells us about the intersection of language and culture. We also talk about the practice of the science of linguistics, animal vs human communication, universal translation, and what unites and what divides us as humans.

Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. My name is Christian Saunders and I am an English teacher, and throughout this series I will be in discussion with Dan Everett: linguist, anthropologist, philosopher, and author. In this episode you will meet Dan, and we will talk about the story of his life, including his upbringing near the Mexican border, his research stays with hunter-gatherers in the Amazon jungle, hunting giant anacondas, his famous disagreement with Noam Chomsky, and what his lifetime of work can tell us about language, thought, and being human.

In the world of English language teaching there are few people as controversial and divisive as Geoff Jordan. He is not afraid of promoting what he calls a radical approach to the problems in the ELT industry, how to fix them, and how to improve student learning outcomes in the classroom. And that’s why I had to talk to him, and in this interview we talk about all that, and more. I hope you enjoy it.

Today's daily digest answers a question I get asked every day: How can I get fluent in English? To answer this question we have to travel back in time to 1931, learn about chimpanzees and Klingons, and what that tells us about the secret to fluency in English.

Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Angelica Galante from McGill University in Canada. Originally from Brazil, Angelica’s work focuses on social justice, inclusive education, and critical sociolinguistics. In this interview we talk about plurilingualism, language and culture, and how teachers and students can take advantage of their existing language resources to learn new languages better. I hope you enjoy it.

Today's daily digest is a rant about why you might be part of the problem, and not the solution to good language learning (and teaching).

In this podcast I talk to Pete from Aussie English about how to improve your English IMMEDIATELY, without learning anything new. We also talk about our personal experiences learning languages, and the history and evolution of swearing. CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.