Language Courses

Those of us who were lucky enough to be raised in multilingual homes will be the first to say that the experience is wonderful; it opens doors, it creates opportunity and it is simply a pleasure. Not everyone is as lucky but for them language courses can be the way to go. Sometimes it’s necessary not for pleasure but because English (or another language) is a second language in an adopted country and you simply won’t get by at work or school without some English language courses.

The great news is language courses are readily available and often for free. The other great news is that there many ways to take a language course from full immersion to online. Deciding which is right for you will depend on your character, your learning style, your resources and the time you have available. Full immersion is usually undertaken in person amongst a group of people. Sometimes these particular language courses require students to live-in for a period of time so that they are fully immersed in the language 24/7 for a number of days. This is super if you have the time to spare and you need to learn fast.

For people with less time or for those who require a degree of flexibility, online language courses have really taken off in the past few years. These language courses generally enable students to work at their own pace and in their own time. They are ideal for people who work shifts or have a lot to juggle. They are also perfect for those who really like to work through and process information slowly.

Language courses strictly for pleasure or personal development are becoming increasingly popular too. This is due in part to the wider range of learning options available. In fact apart from language courses one can utilize dictionaries, grammar books, phrasebooks, mp3/4 players, recordings and electronic translators to help them learn a language or enhance a language course.  

In the spirit of diversity and multilingualism here are some language facts you may find quite interesting and entertaining while considering your language course options.

Cool language facts:

• The number of living languages is 6912
• The number of those languages that are nearly extinct is 516
• The most widely published language is English
• All pilots on international flights identify themselves in English
• The six official languages of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish
• What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France
• The language with the fewest irregular verbs is Esperanto (no irregular verbs)
• The language which has won the most Oscars is Italian (12 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film)
• The most translated document is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written by the United Nations in 1948. It has been translated into 321 languages and dialects
• The language with the greatest number of native speakers is Mandarin Chinese
• The language with the most words is English with approximately 250,000 distinct words
• The language with the fewest words is Taki Taki (also called Sranan) with just 340 words

Based on this information it is clear that if you want to begin a language course at the simplest end of the scale you might want to consider taking Taki Taki. It could be an experimental language course to decide if you like language learning. Meanwhile English is probably not your best bet if you’re looking for something short and sweet, but it is the obvious choice if you intend to be a pilot or to write a book!