Mango Languages

Twitter > Textbooks: why social media is tres/muy/molto useful for language learning.

Twitter recently announced the release of the social networking site in 5 new languages bringing the total number of available languages to 17. As a student of French and an avid social media user, this news made me stop and think about the many ways in which social media (Twitter specifically) has shaped my language learning.

Since I first created a Twitter account, I began following French speakers who were influential in topics that interested me. In my case, that means I follow graphic design and marketing professionals from France and French-speaking Canada.

I was able to “eavesdrop” on their topical conversations to learn industry-specific vocabulary. Learning real-word vocabulary, grammar, and slang specific to my interests is something I could have never experienced reading out of one of my college textbooks.

Sorry to any of my dear professeurs reading this but here’s why I think social media is better than traditional advanced language-learning methods:

1. It’s more fun.

Let’s be honest: hanging out on Twitter is more fun than making conjugation charts or writing a literary analysis of a French poem. While learning the basics first is necessary to understanding and interacting in a new language online, once you build a foundation, you’re more likely to stay engaged with something fun that doesn’t feel like homework.

Bottom line: textbooks are expensive and they’re horrible conversationalists.

2. It’s real.

The language you read on Twitter from native speakers is unstructured and natural. People express themselves on social media the same way they do in real life.

If your end goal is to be able to communicate effectively with native speakers of the language you’re learning, the best way to do it is talk with them! If a luxury séjour in the south of France isn’t 100% doable for you right now, logging on to your social networking accounts might be a cheaper alternative (albeit minus the tan).

My advice on how to use the [excessive, in my case] time you spend on social networking sites to accelerate your language learning? Follow, respond to and make your way into the online social circles of native speakers of your target language.

In my experience doing exactly this, I’ve learned cultural nuances, new vocabulary, met fascinating people from around the globe and have even attended tweet-ups in other countries.

Not ready to start chatting-up foreign strangers? Understandable.
A great place to start is by changing the default language on your accounts to the language you want to learn. It’s a simple way to learn new vocabulary words and have them really sink in!

Do you have a success story or suggestion for ways to utilize social media to learn a language?

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!

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.

Mango Elves Launch New Website

We are so excited to announce our new website. www.MangoLanguages.com

This has been a labor of love to all of our current customers and their requests. We tried to make it user friendly, fun to go through and helpful in finding the information you need. We have customized our new website to provide information for all of our markets and all of our fans. Our new website is all about about our passion for language learning and international communication. From cool graphics, getting to know the Mango elves, new product information, the Mango Blog, to our methodology and testimonials, the new www.MangoLanguages.com has it all.

Please take a look around…get comfortable, so you can watch the videos, click on links and let us know what you think! After all you helped us build it!

Please leave us a comment and share your impression of the site!

Video: Best Trip Ever Mango Languages Commercial

Want to see our product in action and see how you will be communicating with people in a foreign country? Then watch this video! We tweaked it slightly from our launch last week.

What do you think?

Coming Soon: A New Mango Website!

We are so excited to announce the launch of our new website. We have been busy working to improve  our existing website www.mangolanguages.com and have added all sorts of cool features to make it as fun and informative as possible. Our new website will launch with a new, more interactive interface.  It will be the place to find everything you need to know about Mango Languages!

The new site has been customized for each of the markets that we’re serving. You can look forward to getting more of information about our languages, products, customer service, FAQ’s, testimonials, and so much more. You can also learn about the elves that work here at Mango Languages. We basically live and breathe language learning around here, but we make sure to have fun doing it. You’ll have a chance to dive into the Mango Culture through videos about the unique people that are behind the creation and production of  the Mango Courses.

Ultimately we wanted to provide a website that allows everyone to see what we’re all about. Not only what and who Mango is, but how and why it works so well. You’ll be able to meet the owners and see what has inspired them to come up with what Mango Languages is today.

We’re very excited about this and hope you enjoy the new site. It’s coming in the next few weeks!

Four Things to do When Starting a Web Business

1.  Finding your UVP

First of all what is a UVP?

It’s a Unique Value Proposition. A strong UVP makes potential customers want to use your product or service over your competition.

Often times for a start-up, it’s better to start small and work your way up.   At first, try serving the needs of a smaller group of people, and when you are successful at this, then you can begin expanding your presence in the market.  For example, let’s say you were going to start an online shoe store.  Rather than trying to go heads-up against a company like Zappos, you may want to specialize in oversized shoes or European styles and bring them to a U.S. customer base.

Something that makes you unique and has value in a niche area will help you to differentiate yourself from the other sites.  And most importantly for your survival as a business, this uniqueness will enable you to make sales.  If you aren’t unique or better in some way, then your business will be reduced to marketing reach and/or a price war.  This strategy represents an uphill battle for a startup that often ends in failure.

2.  Marketing Reach
There are so many ways to market your business online today.  Simple options, like Google adwords, as well as more creative strategies, like viral marketing, can be very effective ways to grow your web presence.  Anything you decide to do requires a good plan and the willingness to experiment.  One thing is certain: balancing the business with marketing and sales is an exercise that couples quality decision making with experimentation.  Not everything you try is going to work, but you have to be persistent in analyzing your returns.  This equips you to make the best decisions possible.  Go with what works, and toss what doesn’t!

3.  Technology & Getting Up and Running
This is a gray area, and it is very difficult for most people to understand.  All kinds of questions face the web entrepreneur:  Should you buy out of the box software and customize it?  Should you build custom software?  Should it be a combination of both?  How much will it cost?

This is not a simple topic and there is no cookie-cutter answer for these questions.  As a matter of fact, I will go into more depth on this area in future blog posts because there is just so much to think about.

Before you dive into a technology solution, you should consider your UVP and your marketing strategy.  These things will determine what’s important for you.  Then as you think about the features your website or web  application will need, you can make strategic technology decisions that integrate best with your overall goals.

Then you should define in as much detail what you want website to do.  I would even go as far as to hire a designer to make story boards that show the look, feel, and flow of the site.  Once you’ve gone through this exercise, you will be able to decide if the software package you need even exists (adequate for customization), or whether a better option would be to build your own custom solution.

One small suggestion from my early days as a web developer:  I wanted to plan for every feature that I could ever possibly think of that I might need.  This can be a daunting task.  And really, at the beginning it can also be unnecessary unless you plan on implementing it all right away.

I discovered that it was best to let the website evolve organically.  Once you actually create the first version of your website, you will learn lots of new things from seeing how people react to it, your success in the market, etc.  Usually at this moment, you discover that there is a big difference between what you originally thought you would need, and what the customers actually desire.  All that time spent planning for the fancy applications (that never got used) was wasted.  Therefore, at first you should narrow things down only to what you need to get started, and then just make a plan for meeting those objectives.  Your successes and failures will pave the way for your future.  You’ll figure out what to do when the time comes, and it will be based on much better information than what you had before.

4.  Capital and Longevity
A few years ago, I read somewhere that the number one reason businesses fail is that they didn’t have enough time to get off the ground.  From my personal experience I believe this statement to be true.

In the beginning you need to create a survival plan that allows you to have enough time to make the mistakes necessary for success to follow.  This means you should plan on spending more startup money, or be willing to live on less of a salary for a while so that you can get things off the ground.  Be prepared for the reality that you may open your website up to the public, but without the fanfare you were expecting on day one.

Don’t let this discourage you!  This is the rule, not the exception.  You have to keep working it until you find the right formula.  Having the willpower and resources to survive gives you the opportunity to experiment and play with your business model until you get it right.  Really, ultimately, that is the biggest secret to success with an online business.  And although it may seem easy at times, it will put you through a roller coaster of emotions.

This is the reality of starting a Web Business.  Welcome to Entrepreneurship! Do you have any stories or tips you want to share?