busuu Inspires Change Through Language Learning on International Women’s Day, 8th March 2014

LONDON - March 7, 2014 - PRLog -- Scientists believe that learning more than one language can boost your brain power (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17892521), and in today’s global culture it can positively help you to navigate your life. More people than ever before are learning to speak at least one other language. These days, polyglots that are proficient in three or more languages are not uncommon. Celebrity polyglots include actresses Jodie Foster who speaks English, French, German and Italian, and Natalie Portman who speaks all of those along with Hebrew too. Poet Maya Angelou speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Fanti, and Italian star Monica Belluci is fluent in four Latin-based languages. Actresses Diane Kruger and Charlize Theron also speak at least two languages each.

busuu (http://www.busuu.com)’s methodology teaches language tied to a functional syllabus around a specific topic. Instead of random words, the words and phrases chosen are relevant to daily life. As such, they are more memorable which aids better recall. This makes the learning process easier while helping students learn grammar with a focus on conversational language most applicable to what they would use in their regular activities in their personal and professional lives.

With a community of over 40 million people, busuu users practice what they learn with native language speakers. Students can choose from more than 150 lessons across 12 languages to learn English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese languages.. Some of the most popular reasons for learning language, as cited by women on busuu, include developing a professional career, living and working abroad, travelling and cultural activities. With the ability to learn online or on the go with busuu’s mobile apps for iOS and Android, the flexibility and convenience of learning language on busuu has great appeal.

Startup founder Cecile Monfort, also a busuu user and support agent, is a native French speaker who also speaks English, Russian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and some Dutch. Growing up in a multilingual family, she has lived abroad in three different countries. Cecile remarks, “Knowing multiple languages has helped me power up my fashion startup, SpottinStyle.com, to a global audience. For me, knowing these lanugages has been hugely valuable. Language learning keeps your door open to the world, personally and professionally. It enriches your mind and allows you to see things from a different perspective by learning about foreign cultures.”Cecile further commented, “I love to see how surprised people are when I start speaking their language and they did not expect it at all. They are more willing to help you or interact with you. It immediately brings a sense of friendliness and camaraderie.”

busuu user Helena Nacinovic is a Brazilian who speaks Portuguese natively. She also speaks English and French, and has been learning German on busuu since she moved to Bremen in 2012. She comments, “Language learning is valuable for any professional career, but most importantly it's critical to opening up our minds to new cultures. Through a language we discover new concepts, new ways of expressing ourselves, new cultures. For women specifically I think it gives us a better feeling of safety when visiting foreign countries. At least I feel safer when I can understand what is going on around me.” She adds, “It's incredibly cool to be able to talk to people in their native language. People tend to warm up faster and share more. I think it's also a matter of respect when one moves to a new country. I felt welcomed in Germany by the locals and I feel it's important to become proficient in the language as I am living here.”

On International Women’s Day 2014, let’s take the opportunity to congratulate female polyglots, the role models who encourage other women to learn new languages. For those women who have always wanted to learn a new language but never pursued their dream, head to www.busuu.com where free language lessons are available across all twelve of the languages offered by the company.

About busuu

busuu is the largest social network for language learning, with over 40 million users worldwide. The company offers free and premium paid-for access to audio-visual courses for 12 languages: Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and English.

Members can improve their language skills through direct interaction with native speakers within the community via an integrated video-chat application and peer-to-peer text corrections. As a result, every busuu.com user is both a ‘student’ of a foreign language and also a ‘tutor’ of their own mother tongue.

The website has received several awards including AlwaysOn Global 250 Winner 2009, Language Label 2009 from the European Commission, CeBIT Innovation Award 2010, Red Herring European Winner 2010, ‘Best Education Start-up’ at The Europas TechCrunch Awards in 2011 and BETT’s EdTech Innovator award in 2014.

The company is named after the Busuu language of Cameroon. According to an ethnological study from the 1980’s, Busuu is spoken by only 8 people.