Unreleased Talks
These are talks from previous Polyglot Conferences both online at Global and in-person. You get to see them before anyone else during the Polyglot Conference Global event each year!
From Polynot to Polyglot : How I Started with Zero Language Interest and Became a Language Teacher and Enthusiast.
In this session I’ll be speaking about my own story as a language learner, how I failed to learn the language of my city at school as a kid to becoming a teacher of that same language as an adult, and continued learning and accumulating new languages over the years
Sensibilização intercultural
Como incluir a sensibilização cultural nas aulas de idiomas. (#interculturalidade #plurilinguismo #ensinodeidiomas)
Ancient Writing Systems: A Workshop on Decipherment
The invention of writing gave humanity a history. But who created the first writing and why? And how did it work? Learn about the ancient writing systems from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, decipher a Viking inscription with Nordic runes and write your name in Old Persian cuneiform!
Translation and technology: Perspectives for the future of the profession
Let’s talk about which new technologies and ways of working exist for translators and interpreters, and how the market is going on right now and in the next few years.
Linguistic Prejudice: what kind of bias do we promote in the language learning process?
English is used as a Lingua Franca all over the world, however people are still not used to its variations. Different accents or creole englishes are never represented in media, and when they are it’s always pejorative. An accent represents a culture, and some cultures are always inferiorized, so that’s xenofobia. All this puts pressure over English learners, who feel that they are never good enough as speakers. Media, in general, and also teachers and language schools are all responsible for that, but we all can change some attitudes. We should make variations more visible, acceptable and respected.
Revitalizing the Quechua Language and Culture.
Revitalizing and valuing the Quechua language is sciential to empower its speakers so that we can preserve our language and be integrated in the society.
Using Twitter to learn and maintain languages
Tweeting to kill two birds with one stone: using Twitter to connect with fellow language learners and improve your languages! This will be a personal story about how thanks to Twitter, I joined a hyperpolyglot society, met like minded language enthusiasts, improved my languages and was inspired to learn new ones!
Clube Poliglota Brasil: a change for people learn and practice languages.
We are a group of volunteers helping people to language learning and practicing more accessible all over the country and spreading it in the continent, especially during the pandemic.
Learn Catalan through Spanish, Italian and French
I will teach my audience some Catalan words and phrases, and a lot vocabulary through songs and folk stories in that they can easily decode. I will make my audience listen some Spanish, French and Italian songs as well, and make them compare their grammars with Catalan in an immersive, interactive and funny way.
KidsLipi - a language learning platform - enhancing kids’ language learning experience!
Kids who learn a second language face many challenges and one of the challenges is practicing a language at home. KidsLipi provides a solution to this challenge. KidsLipi allows teachers with a language curriculum to create personalized content and deliver it through a mobile app. The platform enables kids to access the class material in the mobile app while at home and reinforces what they learned during the class. I started KidsLipi to help my son learn the foundation of Gujarati, my mother tongue, and his heritage language. Today, the app supports five languages: Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Telugu, and Tamil. Join the session and learn my journey towards building the platform and helping teachers teach a second language more effectively. To learn more about KidsLipi, visit https://www.kidslipi.com.
Sustaining a Culture Community on Clubhouse
Since July 2021, a small dedicated group of Garifuna people with connections to Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, St. Vincent and the United States have been meeting on Clubhouse weekly. The first consistent room has been a collaborative learning and advocacy space to discuss history, traditional food, health and the arts.
Lily Liu
In this session, Lily Liu, a literary translator, will speak about how using a tape recorder helped her when she first began translating from Chinese into English. As a 1.5-generation immigrant to the United States, Lily spoke basic Mandarin with her family but could not read it easily. When she started to translate her mother’s memoir into English, Lily had her parents read Chapter 1 into a tape recorder. Because her listening comprehension was high, Lily could then translate the essay and got it published.
How to Organize a Language Conference
As a co-founder and current main organizer of a language conference in Brazil, called Poliglotar, I’d like to explain about my experience of organizing 6 editions of this event since 2016. How to find the speakers? Who is the target audience? In which venues and platforms can such an event take place? How much does it cost? What may emerge from such gatherings? We will discuss about these and other details of a polyglot event.
Learning languages (French) via podcasting and action-oriented approach
How listening to podcast can be more than listening comprehension, but an action-oriented approach that help learners accomplish tasks in their target language.
Flexible Linguistic and Cultural Identities: Becoming a Chameleon
I will focus on how constructing robust linguistic and cultural identities corresponding with the new languages you learn and use is essential to approximate sounding like a native speaker of the target languages.
The Future of Language Tech
The use of digital technology for the growth of the African language and other languages around the world is important. There’s more to languages. As a result, we seek to raise awareness and educate the public on how language technology can play a tremendous role – voice especially – in securing a place for the future of languages that aren’t mainstream in technology.
How Education Systems (can) Make Way for New Polgylots
The presentation is going to be about how education systems of different continents differ when it comes to language learning and education. Some systems rely heavily on extracurricular activites, some systems have mandatory language learning. I want to open up a discussion about how we, as language learners, can influence these systems and how we could potentially improve certain aspects of language education.
(LIVE) Reclaiming My Mother Tongue: The Struggles of a First Generation Immigrant
Avishta takes us on a personal journey through her experiences moving from one side of the world to another and the experiences she had that came with that change.
Didza Xidza, una lengua Zapoteca hablada en la Sierra Norte de Oaxaca.
Actualmente, el zapoteco es una de las lenguas indígenas con mayor número de hablantes en México, y es la número 1 en Oaxaca. Existen aproximadamente un millón de hablantes de esta lengua originaria, principalmente en el estado de Oaxaca, pero también una gran población de migrantes en otras ciudades del país y los Estados Unidos.
Es por ello que el colectivo Bëni Xidza, ha decidido ofrecer un curso básico que permita a los interesados conocer este idioma y aprender las palabras y expresiones más básicas del Zapoteco, sus carecterísticas y su situación actual, así como sus desafíos en el mundo contemporáneo.
Este curso consta de 20 sesiones de una hora; dos clases semanales, durante 10 semanas; o sea, dos meses y medio. En total son 20 horas de formación donde los participantes interactúan con la lengua a través de diferentes actividades como juegos y cantos, además del uso de herramientas interactivas en la web.
Este curso se realiza dos veces al año; en el periodo de Primavera (enero – mayo) y en Otoño (agosto – diciembre). El horario y la fecha de las clases varía según el periodo, pero siempre se ajusta a la disponibilidad de los participantes.
También ofrecemos clases particulares y pesonalizadas para las personas que así lo requieran; además de asesoría en temas lingüísticos y culturales sobre lenguas y pueblos indígenas.
El curso es abierto al público en general, está diseñando para personas
The multilingual brain: what happens when we learn another language and how that can benefit us physiologically and cognitively
Multilingualism, whether it involves speaking two or more languages, is becoming more widespread. Currently, the topic is an issue of intensive research among neuroscientists and cognition scientists. My paper offers a review of what is currently known about the topic, as will my presentation. So far, researchers have not found any negative effects of multilingualism; on the contrary, multiple experiments point to the benefits that it brings. First, I will discuss the delaying effect of multilingualism on Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive decline. Second, I will explain the structural changes in the brain as a result of speaking a foreign language. Third, I will explore the cognitive benefits that multilingualism brings and the reasons behind them. Finally, the questions that still need to be answered in future research are discussed. The potential benefits of multilingualism to society at large are also described.
Lenguaje, Neurodiversidad y Libertad Económica: Por qué hablar diferente es una ventaja, no una limitación (LIVE)
Durante años se nos hizo creer que hablar, pensar o comunicarnos de forma distinta era un defecto que había que corregir. Hoy quiero demostrar lo contrario: las personas neurodivergentes y multilingües tenemos una forma única de procesar el mundo, y eso nos convierte en estrategas, creadoras y solucionadoras excepcionales. Esta charla explora cómo transformar la diferencia en motor económico, combinando mi experiencia personal reflejada en mi libro La Hermosa Maldición de Ser Neurodivergente— con herramientas reales para convertir nuestra forma singular de hablar en libertad profesional.
Story share: A CI-based method for acquiring each other's languages (RECORDED)
Since November of 2023, my colleague, Nguyen Hanh and I have been helping each other to acquire Vietnamese (me) and English (her). For the first half a year, we engaged in a method we call “story share,” which is a purely comprehensible input-based activity. In this presentation, we explain how we implemented story share and discuss the results and the next steps that we took to continue our pursuit of each other’s languages.
Professional Language Coaching Overview. Adapting Teaching and Coaching Styles for Learners with ADHD (LIVE)
ADHD is linked to specific brain features that affect the internal regulation of attention, impulses, and self-control. This talk explores how professional language coaching, together with special principles that can be integrated into coaching and other forms of working with learners, can support language learners with ADHD — helping them manage motivation, maintain focus, and progress with complex tasks in language learning.
We will begin with an overview of the method of professional coaching and professional language coaching, which is often confused with teaching or advising. Unlike those approaches, coaching is about deep exploration: asking powerful questions, creating out-of-the-box perspectives on goals and tasks, and building tailored action plans. It also provides a unique system of support that helps clients move through difficult challenges — such as learning a new language — with greater confidence and sustainability.
We will then explore four special principles for supporting learners with ADHD, helping them regulate attention, overcome obstacles, and sustain motivation. These same principles are equally useful for teachers and coaches who themselves have ADHD, as well as for anyone facing similar challenges with self-regulation and consistency.
While studies show that over 90% of people who self-diagnose with ADHD may not actually have the condition, many experience comparable struggles in language learning. Therefore, the method of professional coaching enriched with these four special principles offer valuable support not only for learners with ADHD, but also for the broader community of language learners and teachers.
Instagram(Language Coaching Academy)
Instagram(Language Coaching Academy)
Langues africaines, technologies émergentes et intelligence artificielle : Repenser la transmission linguistique (LIVE)
Dans un monde où l’intelligence artificielle transforme l’apprentissage et la communication, les
langues africaines – souvent sous-représentées dans les outils technologiques – sont à la
croisée des chemins entre disparition et renaissance numérique. Cette présentation propose
une exploration des possibilités offertes par les technologies émergentes (IA, apprentissage
automatique, plateformes numériques) pour revitaliser, enseigner et promouvoir les langues
africaines auprès des diasporas et des apprenants du monde entier.
À travers des exemples concrets issus de projets en cours en Afrique et dans la diaspora, je
montrerai comment l’IA peut être utilisée pour créer des dictionnaires visuels, des applications
d’apprentissage vocal, et des agents conversationnels multilingues. Nous discuterons
également des défis techniques et éthiques liés à la collecte de données, à la reconnaissance
vocale des langues tonales ou à faible ressources, et à la centralisation des corpus linguistiques
par des entreprises globales.
Enfin, nous réfléchirons à la manière dont les communautés linguistiques peuvent s’approprier
ces technologies pour créer un modèle de transmission plus inclusif, décolonial et durable.