2/22/2018

I'm Speaking At The Women In Language Online Conference! Get Your Tickets Here!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to update you and let you know that I was invited to speak at the first annual Women In Language conference which is taking place March 8th - 11th. I will not only be speaking on March 9th but I will also be part of a round table taking place on March 10th.

The best part is, you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home! It's an online event and you can take part anywhere you are in the world.

If you'd like to see me speak, please click here to purchase tickets to the 4-day event. I'm in great company, there will be loads of women in languages giving some awesome language learning tips, tricks and resources over the course of those 4 days. For $29, that's an amazing value!

There will also be freebies, raffles, etc. Let me know if you're going to attend. I'd love to connect with you!


xoxo,


Language Bae

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2/04/2018

7 Reasons Why We Need More Multilingual Black Women!

• We need to break the unrealistic stereotypes. If you look at the media you see more images of black women a la Love and Hip Hop/Real Housewives of Atlanta and less images a la Claire Huxtable (who spoke Spanish fluently by the way), perpetuated by the media regarding black women. By the way, there are less black women that actually behave the way the media portrays.
• We are underrepresented in profiles of multilinguals and polyglots. I spend hours performing google searches and refining keywords again and again in pursuit of information on multilingual black celebs and notables. Very few (or even worse no) black notables come up in my initial searches. I see loads of lists such as “21 Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Multilingual”. Honestly, I’m lucky if I see a brown face on the list. The sad part is, I keep seeing the same 2 brown faces in different lists. I KNOW that there are more of us than that. Couple this fact with #1 and you’ll understand why I say people act soooooooo shocked, when I start speaking other languages besides English.

• We can enrich our lives with different experiences as black women. Multilingualism provides access to additional experiences, career opportunities and multiple avenues to success.
• We can ensure our safety. Do you remember that episode of Scandal, where Olivia Pope quickly outwitted her kidnappers and foiled their trafficking attempt by speaking fluent Farsi to the Persian terrorists? While this is a fictional show, the dangers of human trafficking are real. The danger increases when you are not in your home country and it increases even more when you don’t speak any of the language. The more languages you know when traveling abroad, the safer you become when your voice can be heard by any and everyone at any given time.
• We stimulate our creativity and intellect. When we speak another language besides our native language, we stimulate activity in less used areas of the brain, thereby increasing brain power and creativity.
• We can expand our dating pool (if we so choose). It expands the dating pool, not only beyond race, but you can also date people who don’t even speak your native language.
• We can mentor. We can give back to the community by teaching what we’ve learned or we can become a role model and use our story to inspire and encourage others.

What other reasons can you think of for more black women to become multilingual? Share below!

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