![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/laura-bailey.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr Laura Bailey<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics recommends, The language lover’s puzzle book <\/em>by Alex Bellos. Laura says, “It’s a compendium of puzzles from the various Linguistics Olympiads along with some background and context for the languages (and the answers!). There are chapters on invented languages and writing systems as well as the sounds, structure and vocabulary of languages from all over the world. It’s a really fun way to learn something new and stretch your grey matter over the holidays.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rebecca Ogden<\/a>, Lecturer in Latin American Studies, says, “Since the ‘Christmas movie’ doesn’t really exist in Latin American cinema, I would say that this is as good a time as any to watch the brilliant dark comedy Wild Tales <\/em>(Relatos salvajes<\/em>). It’s a Spanish-Argentine collaboration, and just one example of some of the many excellent films produced in the Spanish-speaking world.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I would also like to recommend on the Modern Languages Facebook page the Italian film \u2018Rose Island<\/a>\u2019 available on Netflix UK. The film is a light-hearted comedy based on the true (but surreal) story of the \u2018Isola delle Rose\u2019. A visionary engineer builds in the late 1950s (1968 in the film) an island off the coast of Rimini (Italy), in International waters and declares independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/eleni-kapogianni-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr Eleni Kapogianni<\/a>, Lecturer in Linguistics, recommends the podcast, Lingthusiasm, \u2018a podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. Dr Kapogianni says, “A lively, deep, language-y conversation with real linguists!\u2019. I also recommend, video and board games including Thorny Games<\/a>, Ling your Language<\/a> and Rewordable<\/a>. I would also recommend an interesting talk talk by Co-Founder of Thorny Games, Kathryn Hymes, \u2018Word Play: Language is a treasure box of game design majesty<\/a>\u2019.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/david-hornsby-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr David Hornsby<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in French and Linguistics, shares his recommendations: “The film, Arrival,<\/em> for an interesting take on the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (the idea that we can only perceive the world in terms of the categories provided by our language), the French film Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis <\/em>– a comedy about a guy who gets posted to the grim, industrial north of France as a punishment by his employers and meets some of the most wonderfully warm people you’ll find anywhere in the world. This is\u00a0 practically the story of my own undergraduate year abroad, and it’s also a great introduction to regional variation in French, as there are lots of ‘don’t we northerners\u00a0 talk funny?’ style jokes along the way.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/tobias-heinrich-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr Tobias Heinrich<\/a>, Lecturer in German, recommends Adalbert Stifter\u2019s novella Bergkristall<\/em> (Rock Crystal<\/em>, available in numerous English editions); set in the Austrian mountains, it is about two missing children and their rescue on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/rebecca-ogden-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/alex-marlow-mann-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Alexander Marlow-Mann<\/a>, Lecturer in Italian, says, “Here\u2019s a suggestion that, even if not set during the festive period, is nonetheless suffused with the human warmth and good spirits typically associated with the season: Silvio Soldini\u2019s Pane e tulipani<\/em> (Bread and Tulips<\/em>, 2000). It is an incredibly charming and beautifully judged comedy centring on a middle-aged mother\u2019s search for personal growth and affirmation after her family accidentally forget her at a motorway service station during a family holiday. Buone feste!”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/ben-hutchinson-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Professor Ben Hutchinson<\/a> recommends Counterpart <\/i>(available from Amazon): Not exactly a purely German recommendation, but the series Counterpart<\/i>\u00a0(Amazon) is a sci-fi thriller, a Cold War spy story with a metaphysical twist, and it’s all set in Berlin.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/nuria-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Professor N\u00faria Triana Toribio<\/a> suggests to listen to the songs by the 2020 Latin Grammy awards winnner Natalia Lafourcade<\/a>. The singer, composer, producer and activist is one of the most successful Latinas in music and her songs are enjoyed throughout the Spanish-speaking world.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/secl-news-events\/files\/2020\/12\/alvise-Sforza-Tarabochia-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr Alvise Sforza Tarabochia<\/a>, Head of the Department for Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Kent, suggests to read The Importance of Languages in Global Context: An International Call to Action<\/a><\/i>. This unprecedented joint statement by the British Academy and other international Learned Societies highlights the key role that language skills play in international cooperation, especially during global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and calls on governments, policy makers, educators and industry to take \u201cconcerted, systematic and coordinated\u201d action to increase capacity for easily accessible education in a broad range of languages.<\/p>\n