airmail envelope with French stamp, and I Love Paris on the front

French Letter Writing

In our world of instant messaging, texting, tweeting and social media, letter writing may seem hopelessly old-fashioned. As American comedian Steven Wright puts it, “I stayed in a really old hotel last night. They sent me a wake-up letter.” For centuries, though, letter writing was an art form and an… Read More
Small blackboard with Parlez-vous Francais written on it, with French flags beside it.

French Pronunciation Guide

Seven Words That Say So Much Pronounce these seven words properly in French, and you’re well on your way to speaking the language. Give them a go but watch out – they may look familiar but they contain some tricky tongue twisters. 1. Restaurant This word sounds quite different… Read More

Spanish Letter Writing – Por favor, señor cartero

Writing letters in Spanish People often wonder whether, with phones, email, texting and the like, we’ve got out of the habit of letter-writing. The truth is that both in the UK and in Spain, fewer and fewer letters are written by the general public, while the tide of junk mail… Read More
woman texting on a pink phone, sitted at table at a cafe, with a coffee

Texting in Spanish – Txt me l8r / M1ml

Texting in Spanish Texting in Spanish is based on the same premise as texting in English, in that the aim is to convey the desired message as concisely and quickly as possible. To do this – and to achieve the holy grail of using a minimum of characters – both… Read More
hi-tech skyscrapers

Are you in the red? Social Networking in Spanish

Ever fancied trying social networking in Spanish? Recent estimates suggest that 90% of all Spaniards are members of a social network, and numbers are growing across Latin America. Naturally enough, Facebook is the top destination for Spanish-speakers looking to link up with old friends or find… Read More
computer keyboard

Misspelled Words

Silent Letters English has lots of ‘silent’ letters such as the c in rock, the numerous final e’s in words like bake, cake, and make, or combinations of silent letters at the end of words like macabre and denouement. Also, we often have more… Read More
woman on a computer wearing headphones

Spanish Pronunciation – La lluvia en Sevilla es una pura maravilla

How’s your pronunciation of Spanish vowels? For a language so beautiful and evocative, Spanish is really stingy with its vowel sounds, trailing way behind English with a sum total of five. Of course, this makes it much easier for foreign learners to master, as there’s no equivalent of dreaded English… Read More
table with red checked table cloth laden with food

Spanish Expressions – Senses Working Overtime

A trip to Spain invariably sends the senses into overdrive, with so many things to look at and touch, voices to listen to and food to smell and taste – not to mention the range of emotions we’ll feel. It would be a shame to keep our reactions to ourselves,… Read More
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