Cactus Language Blog

GCSE results reveal new low for languages

Posted by Lucy under Cactus Languages Abroad

GCSE results hit another record high this year but it’s bad news for modern languages.  The number of students studying has continued to nosedive since the Government abolished the requirement for all teenagers to study a foreign language beyond the age of 14 in 2004.
There have been falls year-on-year ever since the policy was introduced, from 547,189 [...]

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Tags:GCSE results, Languages

Day of the Dead in Mexico: A Time to Celebrate

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Learning a language, Spanish

A unique and heart-warming tradition to look forward to in November
The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is not the morbid event it may at first appear: to the contrary, it is an uplifting fiesta, celebrated mainly in Mexico, to remember and pay tribute to friends and relatives who have died. It [...]

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Tags:Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, Mexico, Morelia, November, Oaxaca, Spanish courses Mexico

School Trips for the New School Year

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Cactus School Groups Abroad, Learning a language

How does a school trip abroad benefit students learning a language?
With students fresh from holidays and the new school year due to start in a few weeks, this is the perfect time for parents and teachers to start thinking about school trips abroad for the next academic year.
For students studying a language there can be [...]

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Tags:Cactus School Groups Abroad, GCSEs, language trip abroad, October, school groups, school trip abroad, September

McClaren picks up bizarre Dutch accent

Posted by Lucy under Cactus Languages Abroad

He was no good as England Manager but Steve McClaren seems to think he has found a way to ingratiate himself with his new Dutch team, FC Twente. In a truly cringeworthy and baffling interview on Dutch television, he adopts a Dutch accent and talks in pidgin English, making jokes and gesturing as if [...]

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Tags:Dutch accent, McClaren

Language Holidays for the Over 50s

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, French, German, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

Why learn a language later in life?
With an increasingly ‘older’ population, and people living for longer, it is not surprising that the over 50s and retirees are now enjoying, and demanding more, of their free time. Many now have the time, money and freedom to indulge in existing passions and explore new interests, whether at [...]

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Tags:language learning over 50s, Learning a language, learning later in life, young at heart

10 French False Friends to Watch Out For!

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, French, Learning a language

A few French words that aren’t all they seem…
Learning a language is as much about stringing together a perfect sentence as it is about being able to laugh and pick yourself up when you make a mistake. False friends, or faux amis, are one such route to finding yourself in the latter situation - but [...]

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Tags:false friends, French

Cactus Opinion: Learning Spanish in the Dominican Republic

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Learning a language, Spanish

Managing Director of Cactus in the US, Rich Ambler, tells us about his Spanish course in Sosua

It’s late Sunday morning and I am sitting at what passes for a bus station in Sosua, in the north of the Dominican Republic, waiting for the next bus to the capital Santo Domingo. My Spanish language holiday is [...]

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Tags:Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Sosua, Spanish, Spanish course, Spanish language course

Language Learning: Setting Yourself Goals

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, French, German, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

When you learn something new - whether it’s a sport, a musical instrument or a foreign language - it can really help to have a goal, or set of goals. A goal will not only motivate you and provide the impetus to keep going; it will also give you a valuable means of tracking [...]

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Tags:Cambridge Further Exams, CELI, DELE, DELF, language exam preparation course, language holiday abroad, language learning, language learning goals, TestDaf

Attenzione! 10 Italian False Friends

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Italian, Learning a language

Not all Italian words mean what you think they do…
Learning a language is as much about stringing together a perfect sentence as it is about being able to laugh and pick yourself up when you make a mistake. False friends, or falsi amici, are one such route to finding yourself in the latter situation - [...]

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Tags:false friends, Italian

Capturing true Spanish passion through Flamenco

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Learning a language, Spanish

Germaine Broadbent searches for the spirit of Flamenco with one of the South’s leading dancers, Ana Dueñas León
1. So, Ana, how long have you been dancing Flamenco?
A: I’ve been dancing Flamenco for about 8 years and I absolutely love it; I’m lucky to be able to do the things I love the most. I so [...]

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Tags:Ana Dueñas León, flamenco, flamenco dance, flamenco holiday, learning Spanish, spain, Spanish & Flamenco