On Location Italian – meet our blogger

olit-nicole-introCiao a tutti! It’s Nicole here. I’m 21 and I live in Glasgow, Scotland where I study the slightly unusual yet rewarding combination of law and Italian. I am so glad that I chose Italian because it has led me to the beautiful town of Verona in the Italian region of Veneto where I will be studying law at the city’s University over the next year.

When I am back in Glasgow I like to keep myself busy and spend most of my time out socialising with friends and family. I also love being outdoors and enjoy going for long walks, whether it be around my home city or venturing out to some of Scotland’s amazing countryside. Another of my favourite past times is tasting good food and this is something I will be sure to continue whilst in Verona.

I cannot wait to become completely engrossed in a new culture and surround myself with all things Italian. I plan on being very open to trying new things and having new experiences. I also want to learn Italian from Italian themselves and not simply from a textbook.

I come from a big Scots-Italian family to whom I am very close and so the biggest challenge for me living away from home will be to avoid getting homesick. It is fair to say that I don’t have the best cooking skills (something about which my family love to tease me!) so perhaps not being able to enjoy my nonna’s home cooked meals on a daily basis will be difficult. However, hopefully I will come back from Verona and be able to whip up my own sugo good enough to rival hers.

So here’s to a year of meeting new people, experiencing new things, exploring different places, eating/cooking good food- and all whilst improving my Italian. Non vedo l’ora!! (I cannot wait).  A presto!

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On Location Swedish – meet our blogger

olse-ailie-introHej! My name’s Ailie and I’m from the northeast of Scotland, although I’ve been living in Edinburgh, the capital city, for the past two years where I study Swedish, Italian and EU Studies. My absolute favourite film of all time is Roman Holiday, with Audrey Hepburn – although I do enjoy anything which features The Muppets!

In my free time I enjoy dancing (anytime, anywhere), knitting and reading. This year I’m really excited for meeting lots of new people, experiencing lots of new things, and being able to say that I’ve independently lived abroad before the age of 21. I’ve always really liked learning languages – along with English, Swedish and Italian I also have French, a smattering of Catalan, and a tiny little bit of German… but there’s still many more I’d like to learn! Vi ses snart!

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On Location Spanish – meet our bloggers

You’ll be able to follow our Spanish bloggers over the course of this year as they share their experiences living and studying in Spain. Join Grace and Iain in their weekly blog posts and join them in their language-learning journey.

Meet Iain

oles-iain-intro¡Hola de Salamanca! I’ve travelled from Edinburgh in Scotland to the northern Spanish city of Salamanca for my Erasmus year abroad as part of my Masters in International Business and Spanish. I’ve been studying Spanish since school and, thanks to some incredible teachers along the way, I’m captivated by this truly international language. I’m studying at the larger of the two universities in Salamanca – the Universidad de Salamanca, or USAL – and I’m doing a mixture of Spanish and Business classes.

I’m very much looking forward to exploring Spain and Salamanca, as well as getting to grips with the language – and having some fun along the away! ¡Hasta pronto!

Introducing Grace

oles-grace-intro¡Hola a todos! I’m Grace and over the next year I’m going to be one of your On Location Spanish correspondents! Right now, I’m writing to you from the fast-paced city of Valencia, on Spain’s eastern coast. But before we get into the language stuff, I thought I’d tell you a bit about me.

Having just recently turned 20, I’ve lived in Glasgow for my whole life. When people first move out, it’s usually just down the road, but not me – I had to leave the country! I’m currently studying Law with Spanish, so during my Erasmus year I’ll be studying Law at Valencia University where I’ll be attending lectures entirely in Spanish!

Where I’m a Law student by day, I’m a Sales Assistant by night so I’m quite into Fashion. In my spare time I like to swim, catch the odd movie and listen to music. When it comes to music, I very much like Scottish bands like Three Blind Wolves and Twin Atlantic. As for movies…I’m quite ashamed to admit that my favourite film of all time is Armageddon.

So far as my language interests are concerned, I truly have my mother to thank since she started me on French classes at the tender age of 4. As well as trying to get my head round legal jargon in a second language, this year I’d really like to take some time to get into Spanish literature. So I suppose you could say I’m most excited about getting a bit more cultured, and of course meeting new people.

Now with all that in mind, I hope I haven’t put you off. The only thing left for me to do now is to get out there and start learning. I hope you can join me soon for On Location Spanish. ¡Hasta luego!

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On Location French – meet our bloggers

Each week you’ll be able to join our French bloggers who will be updating you on their language-learning adventure from two very different parts of France: Scott is studying in the southern city of Toulouse, and Rose is teaching English in a secondary school in St-Brieuc, Brittany.

Introducing Rose

olfr-rose-introBonjour, tout le monde! My name is Rose and I’m from Glasgow in Scotland. I study History and French at university, and I’m lucky enough to be spending a year abroad in Brittany in northern France. I enjoy vintage shopping, writing, going to the cinema and I love live music! I’m excited to meet people during my year abroad and to sample some of the local delicacies – so far, I could live off the bread here. I also can’t wait to explore the fishing villages and beaches along the pretty Breton coastlines. I am a bit worried about understanding my pupils at the lycée where I’m teaching English though – or maybe I should be worried about them understanding me! À bientôt, Rose x

Meet Scott

olfr-scott-introBonjour! My name is Scott, I’m 23 years old and I’m from the southwest of Scotland. I study International Business with Modern Languages at the University of Strathclyde and I’m currently on my year abroad, studying on exchange at Toulouse Business School. From an early age I was always interested in languages and now, a little older and wiser, I am just as passionate about actively promoting the benefits of learning about different languages and cultures – I think it is a wonderful way to broaden the mind and learn more about the world we all live in.

In my spare time I also enjoying playing the guitar, playing golf, socialising, listening to music and I’m also a bit of a movie buff – my favourite movie is L.A. Confidential. As well as being excited to see all which my year abroad in Toulouse has to offer and to try out and improve upon my French skills, I am also very much looking forward to sharing my experiences with you through my blog posts. À bientôt!

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On Location German – meet our bloggers

Our German bloggers will be bringing you weekly blog posts from Dülmen and Herford in the northwest of Germany. Meet Holly and Daniel:

Introducing Holly

olde-holly-introMy name is Holly, I’m 19 and I’m a student from Scotland. This year I am working as an English language assistant in a town called Dülmen which is near Münster. I study French, German and Spanish at the University of Glasgow because I absolutely love languages. I also love to dance and meet up with my friends.

This year I really want to improve my German and learn more about the culture. I have already made a few German friends so that will be good for my German. I also really want to do a lot of travelling this year around Germany.

Meet Daniel

olde-daniel-introHallo! My name is Daniel and I’m from the southwest of Scotland. I study French, German and Spanish at the University of St Andrews and was an active member in the university’s German Society, before I left for my year abroad. Since primary school, I have always been fascinated by languages and chose St Andrews because it’s the only Scottish university where I can study all the languages I studied at school until the end of my degree. At university I also study Russian and Arabic at evening classes.

I look forward to improving my knowledge of the German language during my year abroad and to letting you all know about my experiences in the coming weeks! Bis bald!

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Announcing Coffee Break German

Coffee Break GermanBist du fertig? Lass uns anfangen! We’re delighted to introduce to the world a new member of the Coffee Break Languages family: Coffee Break German will launch in January 2013.

Since 2006, Coffee Break Spanish and French lessons have been downloaded over 100 million times and we hope that Coffee Break German will be equally as popular among German learners throughout the world.

The tables are turned on Coffee Break Spanish and French teacher Mark in this series: he becomes the learner and is joined by native speaker Thomas and other experts in the German language, bringing you German language and culture in our 15-minute lessons. The series will be made up of forty lessons and will cover what you would expect from any Coffee Break course:

  • introductions and greetings
  • talking about yourself and your family
  • likes and dislikes
  • talking about your job
  • coping with language problems
  • ordering drinks and food in cafés and restaurants
  • checking into a hotel
  • shopping and services
  • directions and travel
  • illness and emergencies
  • talking about the weather
  • dealing with numbers, days, months
  • and much more!

Of course, the whole series will be delivered in a gradual, structured way and you’ll not simply be learning words and phrases: you’ll come to understand how the German language works and be introduced to the patterns of the language with the help of our Grammar Guru. You’ll also find out more about the culture associated with the German language and we’ll bring you reports from our Cultural Correspondent who’ll share many aspects of German, Austrian and Swiss culture with you.

Coffee Break German launches in January 2013. Until then we’ll be keeping you posted with further developments here on the Radio Lingua website. Bis Januar!

Coffee Break Spanish Magazine – Promo episode

In this promo episode of the Coffee Break Spanish Magazine, Mark outlines what listeners can expect from each episode of the show. The video episode (normally part of the premium materials) is included below to give you a feel for the new style of show:

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