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Hello, can you tell us more about you? I am Coach Ilse. I live in the breathtaking city of Cape Town in South Africa. I grew up in a small town called Somerset West. I have two naughty but adorable dogs, two beautiful cats and about ten Koi fish. I love hiking, camping, surfing and […]
You may already know all our coaches are VILLA certified. But have you ever wondered what the VILLA pedagogy is and why it is so important that your kids’ coaches are VILLA certified? What is the VILLA? The ViLLA stands for the VivaLing Language Learning Approach. It is a comprehensive framework outlining the foundations for […]
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is the 21st FIFA World Cup. It’s happening right now in Russian from 14 June to 15 July 2018! If you are watching the game and enjoying it, do also explore the following football themed language games recommended by VivaLing Coach Tom B, and have fun learning English! Basic 4 […]
It’s time of the year again…to say “Thank You!” to Dad! Do you want to make a little difference and give him a bigger surprise? Let’s learn some simple recipes and cook him a feast! Editor’s note: Never leave a child unattended in the kitchen. Limit the child to tasks that are safe and age-appropriate. […]
Every country has its own “rituals” and unique ways of behaving. If you are ever in Spain, it will be very helpful to remember these top 5 Spanish customs to avoid any embarrassing situations. GREETINGS When seeing a friend or being introduced to someone for the first time, two kisses are given on each […]
Tapas, paella, sangría, jamón,… A lot of people around the world know and have even tried these typical dishes at least once in their lifetime. However, there are plenty of different local Spanish dishes which are more typical in Spain and even tastier than these world-known ones. I chose 5 dishes (although there are many more) […]
It’s holiday time! Wondering what you can do to spend quality time with your little ones? Our answer is, reading! Research has shown that shared reading experiences are highly beneficial for children. These benefits include: Facilitating enriched language exposure Fostering the development of listening skills, spelling, reading comprehension and vocabulary Establishing essential foundational literacy skills […]
The benefits of a language stay are many: a life experience, the discovery of another culture, self-discovery and a way of traveling “smart” If you are not yet convinced, here are some excellent reasons why to try this adventure. Linguistic immersion An intensive practice of the language: A linguistic stay means real practice in […]
A German psychologist named Ebbinghaus carried out an interesting experiment. He created a list of 2300 made-up words and tried to memorize them. While attempting this, he tested himself at various time intervals. The results showed that after one day, he only remembered around a third of them. After two days, he remembered just 5%. […]
An ancient Chinese legend about the origin of chuxi tells us that there was a monster called Xi. Xi would emerge from the sea on the 30th day of the 12th lunar month to dine on the locals. No one would dare sleep that night until, at last, they learned that the monster could […]
Chinese people attach much importance to family reunion. No matter how far the family members live from each other, they will normally go back home to eat a family reunion dinner on the Spring Festival Eve. The dinner, usually a big feast, includes dumplings and all kinds of other food. In northern China, each […]
There is an amusing song that Old Beijingers sing about the time before the Spring Festival Eve. It vividly depicts how people busily and happily embrace the New Year: “Little kids, little kids, don’t be greedy. After laba, it’s New Year’s time Drink the porridge for several days, then on the 23rd day, On the […]
What is Spring Festival? Is it the equivalent to Chinese New Year? When is Chinese New Year? Does it occur at the same time of year? How long does Chinese New Year last? How do people celebrate it? If you don’t have the answers to all these questions, then read this article to uncover the […]
The Singapore VivaLing team joined the UWCSEA Community Market on Saturday 03 February 2018!! This market was an engaging eco-marketplace that seeked to go beyond the buying-selling point of healthy, eco-friendly, compassionate and/or ethically-sourced products or services by including an immersive element to it. We had such a great moment exchanging on language learning […]
We empirically know that kids learn differently from adults. They see the world afresh, experience sights and sounds with unabashed simplicity, approach the unknown with candor. Sadly, adults have lost some of that along the way. But why is that? Science attributes much of a child’s unique worldview to a partially developed prefrontal cortex. Where […]
Discover Oneself There is often a language that plays a special role in a family’s history. This language is that of the local land, forefathers and roots, culture or religion, or even in-laws. You may have come across this little child whose family immigrated one generation ago. For lack of a common language, she cannot […]
In any written language, words are subject to a triple association: sound, spelling and of course meaning. For example, the English word horse refers to the working and racing animal, is pronounced /hɔː(ɹ)s/ and spelled h-o-r-s-e. Anyone knowing how to read will be able to pronounce the word relatively correctly even if they have never […]
Many great educators believe that motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, is where interest originates. The sense of satisfaction a student gains from having learned something is example of Intrinsic motivation. The student is subsequently motivated to learn more. An extrinsically motivated student, on the other hand, studies for different reasons, such as receiving a reward or […]
Five Spanish songs to inspire your little ones What is your first impression of Spanish language? Passionate, mysterious, artistic…it could be a mixture of feelings. With 329 million native speakers, Spanish ranks as the world’s No. 2 language in terms of the number of first speakers. Spanish is also the the fourth most widely spoken […]
There are still many beliefs and cliches about bilingual education and bilingualism. This argument deconstructs the 10 most popular beliefs. 1. Monolingualism is the norm and bilingualism is the exception. Not true. We estimate that more than half the people on the planet are bilingual and 40% speak more than one language on a daily […]
Discover six songs that bring your kids closer to English language Music training speeds up brain development in children, especially in the sound processing function. For very young children, music has more power and meaning than words. Moreover, when children are exposed to music from other countries and cultures, they are able to learn about […]
Why do you like teaching English? When I teach I feel important and I want to share this emotion with my students, making them acknowledge how important we all are as people, as children. Teaching has become an art; the more creative you are, the better you become as an artist. When I teach, I […]
This week is the “Semaine de la Langue Française et de la Francophonie” (Week of French language and cultures). A great occasion to give you more information about this international language spoken on the 5 continents. A language spoken on all five continents French is one of the very few languages spoken all over the […]
So you’ve been thinking about teaching online. You have likely taken an online course yourself, so you believe you have a pretty good idea about what the job entails. Hmmm…. You may need to think again. Your conventional notions may deceive you. 1-Teaching online is a career supplement (not a career). The scene is shifting. […]
Victor, Paris entrepreneur and founder of (soccer center company) Urban Football, and his wife Aude, manager at BNP Paribas, decided to take a year out to travel the world with their 4 children: Candice 8, Georges 6, Maxime 4 and Emile, 1. They packed a few bathing suits, travel guides, toys and … VivaLing! Staying […]
Who are you? My name is Jing, which means calm and peaceful. I am from Baoding in Northern China,, Hebei province. Now I am living in Haarlem, in the Netherlands. I graduated from the Hebei University with a degree in Economics and then went on to get a degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second […]
Children who experience two languages from birth typically become native speakers of both, while adults often struggle with second language learning and rarely attain native-like fluency. With roughly two thirds of the world’s population estimated to understand or speak at least two languages, bilingualism has become the norm rather than the exception in many parts […]
Dear parents, did you sing “if you are happy and you know it” or “Jingle bells” with your children, when they first started learning English? Well, what if they’re learning Mandarin and feel like singing? Here are six songs for different age groups. Let’s sing together! For 3-6 years old Sounds from animals 动物的叫声 […]
My name is Laëtitia and I grew up in Normandy. I’ve lived in Paris and Belgrade (Serbia) and now live in Camarès, a tiny village in the South of France. I have been teaching French for 8 years, to adults and children in variety of situations: abroad and in France, FLE, tutoring French as a […]
What is your best Chinese New Year memory? Most of the time, I celebrate Chinese new year with my family: we sit and watch the new year gala and cook dumplings together. But in 2013, I started working in Thailand, where I experienced hot tropical weather, a different culture and had no family around. I […]
What is your best Chinese New year memory? The best moment I’ve ever had is playing with fire crackers in the yard with my friends when I was young (maybe 7 or 8 years old?) The crackers are so beautiful and I loved to share and exchange special crackers with my friends. How do you usually celebrate […]
What is your best CNY memory? I remember when I was a child, it always used to snow during CNY. It was white everywhere. My old house has a yard. We used to hang red lanterns under the roof. It was so beautiful, especially when the lanterns were covered with a thick layer of snow. […]
My name is Felicity. I come from England. I live in Canterbury. I studied Philosophy at Greenwich University. How long have you been an English teacher for? I have been an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher since graduating at 21. And I have never done anything else. Nearly everyone in my family is […]
Today, more than half of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual. There are obvious advantages to being bilingual, such as the ability to communicate with people from all over the world- for business or simply pleasure. But above and beyond the social benefit, scientific research has revealed the beneficial impact bilingualism has on the […]
At the recent EdTechXAsia 2016 event, an eminent speaker confirmed what all have been witnessing: contrary to initial fears, technology has not replaced teachers. But, he warned, “teachers proficient with technology will very soon replace those who are not.” The speaker knew what he was talking about : he was none other than Dr. Janil […]
My name is Hannah, I’m from Scotland but I live in Italy. I studied at the University of St Andrews and I have a BSc in Biology. I have been teaching for almost 4 years. Why have you decided to become a teacher? I really wanted to have the chance to live in Japan and […]
Christmas all over the world is celebrated on Christmas Day, the 25th of December. Some countries however have different Christmas traditions and Christmas celebrations take place over a longer period of time. Discover how the VivaLing coaches live Christmas around the world. Christmas in South Africa with Coach Angela What is your […]
Orane is an 8 year-old, French-Belgian radiant and mischievous girl. She has been learning English with VivaLing for nearly a year. Alexandra, her mother, tells us more about her learning experience and shares her feedback as a mom. Who are you? My name is Alexandra, I am French and I have lived in Belgium for […]
My name is Mathilde, I come from Le Croisic, a beautiful little coastal town, one hour away from Nantes. I have been living in Athens, Greece, for 8 years now. How long have you been teaching French? I began to teach French upon my arrival in Athens, straight after graduating in French language, teaching. I […]
“They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.”Steve Jobs once said in an interview, regarding his own children’s use of iPads. Isn’t it curious? The founder of the world’s most popular smart devices was worried about the effect of his own products on children. And Jobs was not alone. […]
“The child is not a vessel that is filled, but a fire that is lit”. Montaigne “What language should my child learn?” This is the recurring question for parents, when choosing the first or second foreign language for their child. The question is complex and the answer is difficult to give. This type of […]
My name is Ping Jiao. I come from the Shandong province, an eastern Chinese province on the Yellow Sea. Shandong is known for its Taoist and Confucian heritage. It was also home to the ancient state of Qi, the last kingdom conquered by Qin Shi Huang, who proclaimed himself China’s first emperor in 219 […]
According to the professionals who participated in the new 2025 Education Innovation Survey Report *, in 2025 the key methods of engaging with material and content will evolve to be real-time video collaboration and mobile devices. What are the 5 key trends for the future of education? VivaLing would like to share the main takeaways […]
A Chinese proverb says, “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.” The concept of game-based learning is not new. Plato asserted the importance of the role of play in children’s education, in his work, The Laws. In the fifteenth century, people were already teaching the alphabet and […]
Three mega trends are currently shaping the future of second language learning. The digital leap The advent of digitalization came with a three-fold promise from the very onset: increased reach, decreased cost, and enhanced learning outcomes. The first two were pretty obvious. By going online, learning content could reach anyone with an internet […]
“Children do not learn languages like adults” Meet Abbie Adeyeri – Head of Learning and English coach at VivaLing In a few words, who are you? In short, I am a teacher and a world-traveler. I have lived and taught in six different countries, and traveled to sixteen. I love exploring new places and […]
The man on the street has noticed it and science has confirmed it: children are more able to learn foreign languages and achieve high proficiency than adults. What are the reasons? All else being equal, neurology and psychology will provide us with the answers. Neurological explanations address the state of the brain and its ability […]
Have you ever felt disconcerted by the unpredictable and chaotic progress of your child’s second language acquisition ? Dazzling progress seems to be followed by periods of slower growth, sometimes even laborious, not to mention times of regression. She seemed to master this notion, and all of a sudden she stumbles where she never would […]
What will be left? This is the recurring – and a little anxious – question being asked by parents about the languages learned by their children during infancy or early childhood, especially when these languages are not practiced thereafter. We already wrote a blog post on this topic that many of you read. The conclusion, […]
Here are some tips to encourage and support your child in his learning journey. And you’ll see, you can do a lot to help! 1- Show interest in your child’s Language learning experiences and encourage him or her to share them with you 2- Encourage your child to learn through meaningful language games 3- Read newspapers […]
My name is Yunfeng (Abby) Gu. I am Chinese and I have been living in America since 2011. I got my Master’s degree in Elementary education from Dallas Baptist University in Texas. I started teaching Mandarin as a second language to kids in 2008 and I really enjoy teaching my language to my students: I […]
Start early, learn well, don’t forget : these are the very simple stages of your child’s Journey with VivaLing. Find out more below about the theoretical framework developed by VivaLing and how it is implemented in order to achieve results. You can also read the related posts throughout our VivaLing blog.
Take a child at any given stage of development. All else equal, three key drivers will determine the effectiveness of the child’s foreign language acquisition: quantity of language activities, motivation, and social interaction. What is summarized here as language activities covers in fact several concepts, distinct but complementary, perfectly well introduced by Shumei Zhang (2009) […]
One day you will probably have to decide whether or not to encourage your child to learn another language. Here are 5 myths you need to dispel first. Myth 1 : Most children are monolingual, so why bother ? Well, no. More than half of the world population actually grows up speaking more than one […]
Today we are hosted by Olivia and Simon who took some time out between two trips to share some of their multilingual life with us. Tell us a little bit about yourselves. Simon, my husband, our two daughters Ava (5 years old) and Zélie (2 years old) and myself have been living in Singapore […]
Today we get to meet Fanny and Alex. Tell us a little bit about yourselves. We are a family from the South West of France, expatriated to Singapore since last year. We wanted to discover the world more than just by one-off trips! Singapore is our first expat experience but Alex and myself (Fanny) […]
Today we are hosted by Erika and Romain who just came back to France after many years abroad. Tell us a little bit about yourselves. My husband Romain and myself, Erika, came back last month from Singapore where we lived for nine years as expats. We work with a large construction company. Our two […]
Babies are born universal listeners. In the first months of their lives, they can discriminate all the sounds produced by human beings. It is no small feat: you and I cannot. A typical Japanese adult is unable to hear the difference between an English /l/ and /r/. A typical English adult cannot detect the nuance […]
Sarah and Jeremie’s parents have told us their family’s language history. With a French father and a South-African, English-speaking mother, the two kids grew up simultaneously bilingual. Born in India, surrounded by nannies strictly instructed to speak nothing but Hindi, the kids quickly gained a very good understanding of the local language. The family moved […]
Today we are kicking off a new section of our blog: the linguistic family portraits. Each month, a family shares with us their multilingual experience, the reason behind it, its practical details, the challenges if any and the guaranteed joys. The family also treats us with pictures from their personal media library. For this first […]
Parents, have you ever wondered which pedagogical method your kids’ language teachers use ? They have changed drastically over time, catering to different needs – and achieving uneven results. Many years ago, a Russian teacher was telling his young students about one of his best-appraised former classmates. He was a Frenchman learning Russian, who had perfect […]
Imagine a group of individuals of identical age but all different, immersed in a perfectly uniform educational universe. Their excellent teacher uses a single method for teaching; the individuals all spend the same amount of time on language activities, in the same conditions and with the same motivation. They are thus exposed to the same […]
It is a proven fact: the age of acquisition of a foreign language is a strong predictor of ultimate similarity to native speaking. In other words, aiming for a native speaker level requires engaging in early learning. This is not only the finding of any adult marveling at the ability of young children to learn, or alternatively lamenting […]