Language acquisition
Process in which a first language is being acquired
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We include updates on Noam Chomsky, Feral child, Steven Pinker, Multilingualism, Code-switching, Distributional semantics, Cryptophasia, Block letters, Input hypothesis, Universal grammar, College Composition and Communication, Extensive reading, Plurilingualism, Critical period hypothesis, Mama and papa, Non-native pronunciations of English ... and more.
| June 2024 | Chomsky was discharged from the hospital to continue recovery at home. In the same month, false reports of his death circulated on social media, leading to retracted obituaries. |
| June 2023 | Suffered a stroke and moved to Brazil full-time. |
| 2022 | Pimsleur released Voice Coach, a voice recognition tool with instant feedback. |
| 2022 | Pimsleur offered its Ukrainian Premium course to support the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. |
| 2021 | Pimsleur introduced an All Access subscription plan containing all 51 languages. |
| 2021 |
Multilingualism
The documentary film 'Dreaming of Words' is released, documenting Sreedharan's 25-year journey of compiling a multilingual dictionary across four Dravidian language states.
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| 2020 | Pimsleur added bonus content to its Premium courses and started selling courses via a subscription model in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. |
| 2020 |
Multilingualism
Tokyo Olympics planned, with increasing emphasis on English language proficiency for the international event.
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| 2019 |
Multilingualism
Japan ranks 53rd out of 100 countries in the EF English Proficiency Index, highlighting challenges in English language skills and prompting calls for improvement before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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| 2018 | Pimsleur released its mobile app for iOS and Android, compatible with Amazon Echo devices, and replaced Unlimited with Pimsleur Premium. |
| 2017 | Hired as a part-time professor in the University of Arizona's linguistics department, with duties including teaching and public seminars. |
| 2017 | Taught a short-term politics course at the University of Arizona. |
| 2016 | Pimsleur made its Unlimited product line available as digital downloads worldwide. |
| 2015 | Released the documentary 'Requiem for the American Dream', which summarizes his views on capitalism and economic inequality. |
| 2015 | Chomsky and Valeria Wasserman acquired a home in Brazil. |
| 2015 | Purchased a residence in São Paulo, Brazil, and began splitting time between Brazil and the U.S. |
| 2015 | Pimsleur released Unlimited interactive software for Mandarin, Portuguese, and Russian languages. |
| 2014 | Chomsky married Valeria Wasserman. |
| 2014 |
Multilingualism
A study demonstrated that people using a foreign language are more likely to make utilitarian decisions in moral dilemmas, particularly in the Fat Man dilemma, where participants more frequently chose the utilitarian option when the scenario was presented in a foreign language.
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| 2014 |
Linguistic development of Genie
Jones reiterated his earlier critique in a book, noting that no additional outside analysis of Genie's utterances had occurred since his 1995 paper.
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| 2013 | Pimsleur donated 15 lessons of its Tagalog course to support aid agencies and volunteers after Typhoon Haiyan. |
| 2013 | Pimsleur celebrated its 50th anniversary and launched the blog 'Pimsleur Speaks: On Language, Learning, and Culture'. |
| 2013 |
Multilingualism
Research found that switching to a second language appears to exempt bilinguals from social norms and constraints, such as political correctness.
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| 2013 | Russ Rymer published a novel 'Paris Twilight', drawing thematic inspiration from Genie's life. |
| 2012 | Pimsleur released Pimsleur Unlimited, an interactive software version of Spanish, German, French, and Italian courses. |
| 2012 |
Multilingualism
A psychological study revealed that using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases, demonstrating that the framing effect diminishes when choices are presented in a second language.
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| 2011 | Supported the Occupy movement, speaking at encampments and publishing on the movement, which he described as a reaction to a 30-year class war. |
| 2011 | Pimsleur donated eight hours of its Japanese course to support aid agencies and volunteers after the tsunami disaster. |
| 2011 | Genie's brother dies. |
| 2010 | Pimsleur donated its Haitian Creole course for free to relief and charity workers after the Haiti earthquake. |
| 2010 | Pimsleur partnered with the USO, The Boston Foundation, and Playaway to produce Pashto and Dari courses for U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Noam Chomsky, Genie (feral child), Pimsleur Language Programs, Multilingualism & Linguistic development of Genie, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.