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James Lane - Babbel Magazine

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James Lane

James grew up in Australia and has worked as an independent theatre producer, filmmaker and teacher in Hanoi and Berlin. He has written for NPR Berlin, the Newer York Press, ExBerliner and Babbel on issues of language and culture. He is currently based in Delhi, working with disadvantaged children to address environmental issues through film, radio and storytelling.

Articles by James

Can You Manage These Hard Tongue Twisters In 9 Different Languages?

Prepare for your tongue to be twisted in 9 different languages!

Hilarious French Animal Idioms You Should Learn

“As bored as a dead rat” and other weird and wonderful idioms.

Why Italians Talk With Their Hands (And Scandinavians Don’t)

Babbel explores the concept of speaking with gestures as well as words.

Can You Learn A Language With The Army Method?

The Army Method isn’t particularly popular anymore, but its elements have survived to today in other ways.

Is There A Link Between Dreaming And Language Learning?

Babbel explores the phenomenon of language learners dreaming in a newly learned language.

The War On Local Languages: How Linguistic Hegemony Threatens Education In The Developing World

As global and regional languages dominate our schools and our media, what happens to local languages — and what are the consequences?

The 10 Most Spoken Languages In The World

Almost half of the world’s population claims one of only 10 languages as their mother tongue.

21 Essential Australian Expressions

From brekkies to barbies, here are some useful Australian expressions so you’ll never be lost for words Down Under.

How To “Have Your Cake And Eat It Too” In 8 Languages

We’d all like to have things both ways, but common sense — and these funny proverbs from around the world — suggest we can’t.