Cactus Language Blog

Cactus Launches new language education site

admin — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:48:12 +0000

Cactus launched the first beta of its new Language education site Learn a Language Your Way from Cactus. The site is localised for UK English and Soon US Audience with other languages to follow. We will be trying to guide you to the right learning path way for your chosen language. So stop by and tell us [...]

Cactus Meets The Mayor!

Sarah — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:52:49 +0000

Cactus TEFL’s Sarah Wilson met the Mayor of Manchester, Cllr Mavis Smitheman, on November 6th at Manchester City Council’s ‘Celebrating Success’ awards ceremony. The ceremony marked the culmination of the ‘Inclusion and Integration Through ESOL’ pilot project, which aimed to teach ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) to local women who did not qualify [...]

There is no such thing as too early for learning a second language

Sarah — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:45:56 +0000

For monolingual parents who can’t offer their child a bilingual upbringing, it would be money well invested to enroll their children in a foreign language course as early as kindergarten. I, for example, was raised bilingually - my mom spoke my native Bulgarian and German to me, and I started learning English at a pre-school age. [...]

Top 10 free things to do in London

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:46:09 +0000

London can be an expensive place to visit, however there are plenty of places to visit and things to do that won’t cost you a penny. Here are some suggestions: 1. Museums There are numerous fascinating museums to visit in London, all of which are free, though they do stage some special exhibitions which you do have [...]

How to say ‘Happy New Year’ in 20 languages

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:43:44 +0000

New Year is celebrated around the world, though not necessarily on the same day everywhere. In some cases, such as in Chinese and Vietnamese communities, there are celebrations for both solar New Year on 1st January according to the Gregorian, and Lunar New Year, the date of which changes every year. In the Eastern Orthodox [...]

Test your fluency with these French tongue-twisters!

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:41:04 +0000

Tongue-twisters, or les virelangues (tongue trippers) in French, are a good way to practise your pronunciation. They focus on different combinations of sounds difficult to pronounce one after the other in quick succession. They can also teach you some new words, not all of which will necessarily be immediately useful, but they could come in [...]

Celebrating All Saint’s Day in France

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:38:14 +0000

All Saint’s Day or La Toussaint is a Catholic festival celebrated on 1st November each year in France. It is the day when all the Saints recognised by the Roman Catholic church are honoured. The following day is Le Jour des Morts (All Soul’s Day), when people pray for the souls of the departed. Both [...]

Common mistakes to avoid when learning French

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:34:34 +0000

French is probably the least difficult language for English speakers to learn, sharing as it does a great deal of vocabulary with English. However there also plenty of aspect of the language that may cause puzzlement and confusion. Gender In English we use he to refer to male humans and animals, and she to refer to females. [...]

Business etiquette in Germany

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:32:24 +0000

When doing business in Germany or with Germans elsewhere, it is a very good idea to familiarise yourself with German business etiquette to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. It is best to make appointments for meetings well in advance – at least a week or two’s notice is needed for meetings arranged by [...]

Gutten appetit - Essential German words and phrases for eating out

simonager — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:31:11 +0000

Traditionally in Germany lunch (mittagessen) is the biggest meal of the day, while dinner (abendessen) tends to be smaller. Most restaurants (Restaurant/Gaststätte) do serve larger dinners as well. Breakfast (Frühstück) also tends to be quite substanstial even in cheap hotels. Some people have a second breakfast (zweites Frühstück), a smaller version of the first breakfast [...]