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foreign languages

Language Talk - Episode 4

Our fourth Language Talk: KWLA podcast, National Updates, features co-hosts Laura Roché Youngworth and Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby discussing with Jacque VanHouten, 2015 President of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, national issues and initiatives relevant to world language educators. Topics include current policy such as bi-lingual certification, curricular and instructional shifts, and advocacy opportunities for educators of languages.

Language Talk - Episode 3

Our third Language Talk: KWLA podcast, Unwrapping the World Language Program Review, features host Laura Roché Youngworth discussing with Alicia Vinson, Lucas Gravitt, and Lydia Kohler details of the KY Program Review. As they “unwrap” the terminology of the PR, they share their understandings of Regular and Routine, Global Competency, Job-embedded, performance goals, etc. and share examples of how these are being implemented across the state.

Hispanic Studies to offer Portuguese Language Course

Portuguese is the fifth most spoken language in the world, with more than 250 million speakers worldwide. Aside from its country of origin, Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Acores, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe, and is commonly spoken in seven other countries. A part of the Ibero-Romance language group that descends from Latin dialects, its origins are ancient, but during the Age of Exploration, it spread to many corners of the globe, and is present in many popular forms of music, such as bossa nova and samba.

Second Language Shows Benefits to Aging Brain

As people age, cognitive flexibility — the ability to adapt to unfamiliar or unexpected circumstances — and related "executive" functions decline. Recent studies suggest lifelong bilingualism may reduce this decline — a boost that may stem from the experience of constantly switching between languages. However, how brain activity differs between older bilinguals and monolinguals was previously unclear.

12 International Artists Who also Speak French: Amelia Stevens and Sadia Zoubir-Shaw

Foreign languages are in a period of transition regarding requirements for graduation here at the University of Kentucky. French professor Sadia Zoubir-Shaw and French graduate student Amelia Stevens discuss the continuing importance of world languages in a regular curriculum, as well as the career possibilities that a second language opens up.

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