The 2012 Holiday Gift Guide from Fluent City

by Mandy Menaker

Finding the perfect holiday gift can be stressful, but we’ve got you covered with suggestions for a few ways to personalize and package a language class. Your picky roommate, boyfriend, sister or best friend will love any of these affordable gift ideas. You can get a little selfish and grab a class for yourself too. After all, signing up for a class together is the perfect way to continue seeing a relative weekly after the holidays are over! Let us help you select the perfect gift with our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide…

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5 Reasons Fall is the Best Season to Study a Language

by Mandy Menaker

Fall is filled with all sorts of amazing things: pumpkin bread, apple picking, MLB World Series games, costume hunting, Oktoberfest and hot cider. If you need more incentive to get pumped, try out a language class at Fluent City for the first (second, third, or fourth) time. Here are just a few reasons that fall is the best season to study a foreign language.

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Spanish Language & Culture – Colby College

Spanish Language & Culture – Colby College: http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/quemiedopase.php
This Colby website is an amazing resource but I really like this preterite/imperfect activity where you can watch a video of a hotel receptionist talking about a day at work and then do follow up activities.

Why Japanese is a Challenging but Satisfying Language to Learn

by Professor Jordan

One time my friend´s two schoolgirly Japanese cousins came to New York to visit. Uniforms and all. When I spoke to them in Japanese they practically fainted. Then ensued a bunch of handshaking and bowing because I had made an effort to learn the language and because I am a teacher (this scores you a ton of points in Japanese culture) at a language school. I still send them garbled emails in Japanese talking about the weather in NYC and get back responses about Tokyo that I can only half understand. Awesome! Though there have been lots of great moments like these, I´m far from fluency in the language of the Rising Sun.

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How to Rock Learning a Foreign Language

by Megan Heise

After checking out the Brazilian Film Festival at Central Park’s Summerstage this past weekend, I’m pretty convinced that foreign-language films and music are one of the most fun – and efficient – ways to learn a new language.

First of all, film and music are just plain enjoyable. Who doesn’t want to dance to the Afro-Brazilian beats of boTECOeletro’s DJ set? And the film itself, Raul: O início, o fim e o meio, was an entertaining, if at times somber, glimpse into the life of the late, great, Brazilian rock god, Raul Seixas.

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Student Aims to Get Fluent in Two Languages Simultaneously at Fluent City

by Mandy Menaker

Most students come to Fluent City knowing what language they are most interested in learning. For Jacques, the decision was anything but easy. Says Jacques, “If I had unlimited money and time, I would learn every language you offer.” Jacques, who grew up hearing his father speak French, Hebrew, Italian and Arabic, decided to compromise on studying two languages. The East Coast native will begin tackling both Arabic and French in Fluent City’s Level 1 courses this month.

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