Cactus appears on Five News!

Posted by Lucy under In the Press, Learning a language

Following a story in the national press yesterday about how Spanish has officially overtaken German in popularity for language learners in schools, Cactus teachers appeared on prime time TV last night to discuss the news.
The report from CILT shows that 75 per cent of state schools are now offering Spanish compared with 67 per cent offering German. [...]

Read the full article

Tags: five news, spanish overtakes german

Cactus Opinion: English Course in Edinburgh

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

Ignacio Gimenez, Financial Assistant at Cactus, tells us about his adventures in the Scottish capital

To visit Scotland had always been one of my dreams ever since I was a teenager…and this autumn I went to Edinburgh to do an English course with Cactus and make my dream come true.

Read the full article

Tags: edinburgh, english, scotland

How to say ‘Happy New Year’ in 20 languages

Posted by simonager under English, French, German, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

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 [...]

Read the full article

Tags: arabic, catalan, french, german, italian, mandarin, new year, spanish, voc

Test your fluency with these French tongue-twisters!

Posted by simonager under French, Learning a language

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 [...]

Read the full article

Tags: france, french, tongue-twister, vocabulary

Celebrating All Saint’s Day in France

Posted by simonager under French, Learning a language

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 [...]

Read the full article

Tags: festival, france, french, november

Common mistakes to avoid when learning French

Posted by simonager under French, Learning a language

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. [...]

Read the full article

Tags: france, french, grammar, verbs

Business etiquette in Germany

Posted by simonager under German, Learning a language

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 [...]

Read the full article

Tags: business, etiquette, german, germany

Gutten appetit - Essential German words and phrases for eating out

Posted by simonager under German, Learning a language

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 [...]

Read the full article

Tags: culture, food, germany, germna, vocabulary

Weinachten - essential German words and phrases for Christmas

Posted by simonager under German, Learning a language

Christmas (Weinachten) in Germany is the most important annual celebration. The festivities begin on the forth Sunday before Christmas, or the first day of Advent. Families set up Advent wreathes (Adventskranze) and Christmas / Advent markets (Christkindlmärkte) traditionally start. Shops stay open later during this period as well.
On 6th December, St Nicholas’ Day (Nikolaus), on [...]

Read the full article

Tags: christmas, christmas eve, christmas markets, culture, december, food, german, germany, tradition

Buon appetito! Why Italian meal times are such a special occasion

Posted by simonager under Italian, Learning a language

In Italy people live to eat whereas in some other nations, such as the UK, people tend to eat to live. Food is taken seriously in Italy and meals are social occasions which can last several hours as the food and drink is enjoyed at a leisurely pace.
Every region and many towns have their own [...]

Read the full article

Tags: culture, food, italian, itlay, tuscany