Tag Archives: Animals

Join Our Feathered Friends for International Dawn Chorus Day

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Robin and Pink Blossom - Bird Vocabulary EFL Lesson

International Dawn Chorus Day falls on first Sunday of May. This is the perfect time for bird watching, as our feathered friends build their nests and new families of birds arrive in our gardens. But do you recognise all of our feathered visitors?

Our bird vocabulary EFL lesson explores the most common garden birds, learning their names, appearances, nesting habits, food preferences and other related bird vocabulary. We’re also exploring bird-related idioms, proverbs and slang phrases inspired by birds, as we prepare for a feathered EFL lesson!

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It’s Crufts! Canine Capers at the World’s Biggest Dog Show

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Crufts is the annual event where thousands of dogs compete to be crowned Best in Show! This famous British dog show is organised by the Kennel Club and takes place each year at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, UK. Dog lovers will watch their favourite pooches compete in different events with four days of canine competition. Our Crufts EFL lesson gives us a perfect platform to explore dog-related vocabulary as we await the excitement of the agility, obedience and heelwork challenges! Which pups will triumph? Watch this space! Continue reading →

Bringing Home the Bacon – or Bagels?

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Animal rights charity PETA has suggested that many current English idioms carry negative associations with animal abuse and that we should change their wording to reflect awareness of animal rights. The altered animal idioms would retain the original meaning, while shedding the abusive imagery. As vegetarianism and veganism become more popular and awareness of animal rights grows, should our language change to keep up with society’s shifting attitudes? And is this a positive progression – or political correctness gone mad?

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World Elephant Day: Exploring Signs and Sounds in Elephant Communication

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Elephant Language - woman and elephant calfGet ready to trumpet! World Elephant Day falls on August 12th every year and to coincide with this special event, we’ve been examining the fascinating language of elephants. Read on for an exploration of elephant language, how to read the signs of elephant body language and vocalisations and how far these intelligent animals can understand human language. Continue reading →

Baboon Study Reveals Early Evolution of Language

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Baboon Study Reveals Early Evolution of Language - grooming monkeysScientists have discovered that baboons can produce five distinct vowel sounds, which are strikingly similar to our own human vowel sounds. This discovery suggests that language skills actually evolved tens of millions of years earlier than previously thought. It is now thought that our pre-human ancestors could have been using meaningful language over 25 million years ago. Continue reading →

The Connection Between Sound, Language and Emotion

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Connection Between Sound, Language and Emotion - headphones listeningSound, language and emotion have strong links. Over 130 years ago, Darwin suggested that speech and melody have the same ancestor. Now two academics have returned to the idea and are currently researching the connection between sound and emotion in relation to language.

It seems that the tone of someone’s voice can affect our emotions in the same way that other sounds in the natural world can, such as running water or barking dogs.

We can feel calm, anxious, excited or happy and can even have our perceptions altered by the tones we hear.

Read on to explore the connection between sounds and emotions as we think about what this means for language. Continue reading →