Mango Languages

World Refugee Day

Today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. This day honors the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threats of persecution, conflict, and violence, as well as the people who have dedicated their lives to helping them.

According to the United Nations, the 2010 Global Trends report shows that 43.7 million people are now displaced worldwide – roughly equaling the entire populations of Colombia or South Korea, or of Scandinavia and Sri Lanka combined.

Within this total are 15.4 million refugees (10.55 million under UNHCR’s care and 4.82 million registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), 27.5 million people displaced within their own country by conflict, and nearly 850,000 asylum-seekers, nearly one fifth of them in South Africa alone.

Many of the world’s poorest countries are hosting huge refugee populations, both in absolute terms and in relation to the size of their economies. Pakistan, Iran, and Syria have the largest refugee populations at 1.9 million, 1.1 million, and 1 million respectively.

Today is a day when everyone should be made aware of these facts and learn what they can do to help. The UN Refugee Agency has the ‘Do 1 Thing’ campaign, where you can donate to help refugees around the world.

The World Refugee Day website has a great Take Action page. It provides ideas and suggestions of activities that everyone should do in order to take part in World Refugee Day. The website also has Survivor Stories that give a first hand look at what life is like as a refugee. The stories are both heart-breaking and inspiring.

What are YOU going to DO for World Refugee Day?

Speaking another language makes you sexier

I have always had a thing for men with an accent but there is something really sexy about Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie released on May 20, 2011. I really can’t put my finger on exactly what it is but I know I am not alone. Many of my female friends are in complete agreement. But I can guess that one of the contributing factors to his sexiness is… he speaks Pirate.

Why does knowing a foreign language or having an accent seem sexy? It implies education, good taste, and refinement, and it will certainly make you standout against the competition. Now, pirates may not have any of these qualities so it might just be Johnny Depp and his dreads. Either way, I will have more please.

How much is my love for the Johnny Depp pirate character…I was excited to even meet a Captain Jack Sparrow impersonator at a recent event for the Travel and Adventure and Travel Show in LA. (see picture above). I am so excited about our new FREE Pirate language course that is available through the end of June. The Mango pirate linguist who developed the course was definitely one of a kind. Our pirate course has been reviewed by users as “fun,” “genius,” “brilliant,” and even “a great way to waste away a few hours of your day.” The best part of the course is the cultural notes where you can learn about the roots of modern democracy. There are even a few pirate jokes thrown in for good measure.

But really, don’t you just want to learn to speak Pirate so you can impress all those swashbucklers out there? Try it for FREE!

Mango goes to the Bees Awards

Last week, I got the chance to go to San Francisco, California for the Bees Awards.  The awards program honors the best social media marketing practices of the year.

The day started off with a social media seminar that focused on international social media practices. I got to meet Guy Kawasaki who signed my Enchantment book. So fun, I have been following him in the social media space for over 3 years.

In the evening, we all dressed up and moved to the Legion of Honor where the actual awards ceremony was held. Such a great venue, there were statues from Rodin, including The Thinker. Really neat space.

Mango Languages sponsored the student brief section of the awards. We created a project brief and several students from around the world submitted ideas. They were all great ideas. From Facebook Games to cool new product ideas. We actually had a vigorous debate on who should win. Great submissions! We plan on using one or two soon.

I was asked to present 3 awards and to give the student brief winner a check for $2,000. I was so excited to be at the ceremony and all of us had a great time. I particularly liked giving the check. It was one of those huge checks like from Publishers Clearinghouse. That was a first for me! I guess I can literally “check” it off my list now.

What do YOU love most about social media?

Public Service Recognition Week

Since 2007 Mango Languages has supported public servants across many sectors of government, military, and law enforcement in their foreign language learning (and ESL) needs. Mango believes, as President John Kennedy envisioned, public service is a noble calling and we are grateful to all those who serve. The First Lady, Michelle Obama has declared the week of May 1^st PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK.  Mango Languages supports hundreds of people in the public service sector everyday by providing language learning resources.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/public-service-recognition-week

Public servants do a million things we take for granted every day.  These are the people who pick up the phone when you call 911; the police and firefighters who come to your door; the teachers in your schools; and the people who maintain your local parks. Public servants are not always visible. They focus on national security and law enforcement tasks like protecting our borders; they pursue criminals who cross state lines; and they care for our veterans.  Some fifty years ago, in his state of the union address, President John F. Kennedy declared, “Let the public service be a proud and lively career.”

Mango thanks each and every public servant for keeping our homeland and shores secure and safe.

Happy National Teachers Day

The National Education Association describes National Teacher Day as “a day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives.”  I’ll never forget my high school business teacher Mr. Rosenburg.  He had the unique ability to capture my wandering attention and created a very fun and interactive classroom environment.

My sister is a teacher, plus being the Academic Sales Manger, I work with teachers and professors on a daily basis.  I know the extreme amount of effort that they put into their profession to give their students the best learning experience possible.  To all of our teachers and educators around the U.S. using Mango Languages, we hope that you truly know how important and special you are.

Have you had a teacher that has changed your life? Let them know you appreciate all that they do!

April is Month of the Military Child

Did you know there are 1.7 million American children and youth under 18 with a parent serving in the military and about 900,000 with one or both parents deployed multiple times?

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, underscoring the important role military children play in the armed forces community.

The Month of the Military Child is an opportunity to recognize military children and youth for their heroism, character, courage, sacrifices, and continued resilience.

Mango Languages supports the Troops and their families by working with United States Marine Corps and the United Air Force.  Mango Languages is an online Language Learning Resource tool offered at Military Base Libraries all around the world.  The online language learning experience is critical to Military personnel during peacekeeping efforts.  Language learning for military families is something that the entire family can share.

For instance a military family member deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq might need to learn Arabic in order to function in a foreign setting on behalf of United States peace keeping exercises.  Learning a new language through a tool like Mango can put everyone on the same page.  Mango offers language learning courses for children ages 0-6 via its Little Pim product.   Accessible and engaging for young children, the Little Pim method incorporates words and themes that are relevant to the child’s daily life, and research shows that early language learning enhances verbal development, social, and cognitive skills. Click here for more information about language courses for your Military Library.

Mango Languages celebrates the brave little souls this month in their support of families on the front line, and says thank you (in 49+ languages) to all the Troops and those family members supporting them at home.

5 Ways to Make Language Learning Work for You

One of our linguist elves, Kimberly Cortes, wrote an article that was published today on www.HowToLearn.com. We are so excited about this!

The five ways to make foreign language learning work for you are listed here:

1. Get exposed!
2. Make it meaningful.
3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
4. Practice active learning.
5. Make it fun!

To read the entire article, click here.

What ways do you make language learning work for you?

Pattaya International Music Festival

This year, the Pattaya (not “Pad Thai”) Festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in Thailand. The festival is regarded as one of the largest international beach festivals in all of Asia and features over 100 artists from both Thailand and abroad.

With an expected turnout of over 400,000 people, this festival is most definitely going to be making a great deal of noise from March 18-20th.

There is literally something for everyone here.  From rock, to jazz, to pop, a little bit of everything will be featured at the festival.

And the Oscar goes to…

This weekend we celebrated the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. The celebration took place at the Kodak theater in Hollywood, California, where actors, directors, and designers came together to see which films and actors were going to receive the Oscar, the highest honor in film production.

Among many of the categories, Foreign Language Film, was one that I was looking forward to the most. The nominee list consisted of incredible and diverse films; Biutiful (Mexico), Dogtooth (Greece), In a Better World (Denmark), Incendies (Canada), and Outside the Law (Algeria). Each of the movies represented a unique and moving story, immersing the audience in different cultures and outlooks on the world we live in.

The Oscar went to In a Better World from Denmark, a dramatic film about violence, friendship, family, and the clashing of all three. On the topic of creating this film, director Susanne Bier said,  “Our experiment in this film is about looking at how little it really takes before a child – or an adult – thinks something is deeply unjust. It really doesn’t take much, and I find that profoundly interesting. And scary.”

I personally thought that In a Better World, was a beautiful film that tested human relationships as well as emotions through an incredible story. I recommend everyone to go and see it along with the rest of the nominated foreign language films.

Want to get the full experience of the film instead of focusing on the English subtitles? Brush up on your Danish through your library for free with Mango!

Have you seen any of the nominated foreign language films? Which ones? Do you speak the language they were filmed in?

Celebrate Mother Languages

Today is International Mother Language Day. It is a celebration of all the things we at Mango Languages believe and are inspired by: the emphasis and acknowledgment of the value of language as a integral part of communication throughout humanity. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It has been observed for over a decade to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, multilingualism, and to preserve and protect all languages spoken by all people.

Here at Mango Languages, we strive to do just that. Our passion for languages and cultures have allowed us to see the diverse world we live in as storybook full of history. The story can be told in many different ways and it is our responsibility to uncover as much as possible of it through the power of language. This in turn will force us to be more aware of the cultural diversity around us and allow us to take further steps to peace.

Embrace what makes our world such a beautiful place: the diverse people who live in it. We may all come from a different background, and may speak a different language, but we all have a story to tell. Let’s all listen and try to understand.

“Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage.” -United Nations

What is YOUR mother tongue?