Blog - Lockdown Learning

Do Language-learning Apps Work – or Do You Need a Tutor?

03 November 2020

We have seen time and time again how quickly and effectively people can learn a language when working one-to-one with a language tutor or in small and sociable conversational groups. Both scenarios can be achieved in person or virtually, using technology to facilitate teaching rather than do the teaching.

However, app-based language learning saw a surge in interest during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, so might apps offer an effective alternative way to learn a language? In this article, we consider the limitations of language-learning apps.

Remote Working, Language Learning and Becoming a Digital Nomad

20 October 2020

Lockdown acclimatised many of us to near-revolutionary changes in how we live and work. Services such as healthcare, essential retail and postal services were able to continue to keep people healthy and supplied with the food, medicines and materials they […]

Standing Out in a Competitive Job Market with Second Language Skills

13 October 2020

It is hard to imagine a more dramatic short-term shift in the way people do business than the one we have seen in recent months. Companies that had previously resisted flexible and remote working have had to adapt and find […]

Seeing the Opportunity in Your Lockdown Language Learning

29 September 2020

Filling our free time during lockdown became an unexpected 2020 challenge – suddenly we were all becoming experts at making the perfect cake or loaf of sourdough bread. But many people turned to learning a language, finding that they finally had the time to not only complete the lessons, but also to practise their new-found skills.

Now that the world has sped back up again, the challenge is to hold onto that language-learning progress and all its many benefits. In this article, the second in our ‘Life after Lockdown’ series, we summarise some of the many benefits of learning a second language during lockdown.

Lockdown Learning: Advance Your Career with Transferable Language Skills

22 September 2020

Life in the UK and around the world looks very different now to how it looked before the Covid-19 pandemic. We have entered a period of recession for the first time in over 10 years, and it is hard to imagine what the future might look like.

During lockdown, many people were able to focus their energies on developing new skills, including language skills. In this article, the first in our ‘Life after Lockdown’ series, we explore the journey through lockdown and consider how you can turn your freshly acquired language skills into a new career opportunity.