The Nest
"The Nest" is LanguageBird’s new channel for sharing language and culture globally.
Meet LanguageBird instructors and special guests who share their language and culture with LanguageBird Founder, Dr. Karyn Koven and friends. LanguageBird's mission is to connect people together through language. Language is all about communicating with others cross culturally for greater understanding and collaboration.
Our diverse group of instructors connect to students one-to-one to teach languages and share their cultures during their lessons. We have invited them to share more here in "The Nest." Join us in exploring their stories, languages, and cultures.
The Nest, Season 1
Andres F.
LanguageBird Spanish Instructor
The Nest Episode 1: Andres Franco, LanguageBird Spanish Instructor, and Dr. Karyn Koven
LanguageBird Founder, Dr. Karyn Koven, talks to Spanish instructor Andres Franco about his military background, how he learned English by translating Eminem rap songs, and why he loves living in Brazil and teaching for LanguageBird.
Talia S.
LanguageBird Hebrew Instructor
The Nest Episode 2: Talia Segal, LanguageBird Hebrew Instructor, and Dr. Karyn Koven
In this episode, LanguageBird instructor, Talia Segal discusses early man and the pre history, geography, and culture of the area now known as Israel.
Natalia B.
LanguageBird Russian Instructor
The Nest Episode 3: Natalie Belikova, LanguageBird Russian Instructor, and Dr. Karyn Koven
LanguageBird Russian instructor, Natalie Belakova, speaks to Dr. Karyn Koven about her inspiration for her artwork and shows her most recent work of watercolor mixed media art.
Estella C.
CEO of MandarinX
THE NEST EPISODE 4: Dr. Estella Chen and Dr. Karyn Koven talk about why and how to learn Mandarin.
Dr. Estella Chen discusses her methods for teaching Mandarin, how best to study, and how to listen for and practice the tones.
Yasmine M.
LanguageBird French Instructor
The Nest Episode 5: Yasmine Martinet, LanguageBird French Instructor, and Dr. Karyn Koven
LanguageBird French instructor, Yasmine Martinet, speaks to Dr. Karyn Koven about being multi-lingual; living in France, Germany, Brazil, and the US; and why she finds speaking multiple languages so valuable.
Talia S.
LanguageBird Hebrew Instructor
The Nest Episode 6: Talia Segal, LanguageBird Hebrew Instructor, and Dr. Karyn Koven
LanguageBird Hebrew Instructor, Talia Segal, explains the origins of all writing and how current alphabets, including the Hebrew alphabet, were created.
Cassie H.
LanguageBird American Sign Language Instructor
The Nest Episode 7: Cassie Hargroves, LanguageBird American Sign Language instructor, talks about deaf culture
Learn about Deaf culture; the do's and don'ts of interacting with deaf people; why learning ASL is valuable; and Cassie's experiences, family, and teaching style.
Cristina C.
LanguageBird Italian and French Instructor
The Nest Episode : Cristina Confalonieri, LanguageBird Italian and French instructor, talks about her life, traveling the world and is living in Asia.
Learn about Cristina's life, her adventure traveling the world, and how being bilingual helped her.
Dr. Kathleen J.
LanguageBird French and ESL instructor
The Nest Episode 9: Dr. Kathleen J., LanguageBird French and ESL instructor, meet with Dr. Karyn Koven to discuss her love of French culture, literature, mythology, and cinema.
In this Nest episode, Dr. J talks about her life as a professor at the U. of Connecticut and her passion as a French medievalist scholar. She loves teaching French literature, language, writing, cinema, and mythology. She sees medieval studies as a bridge between the past and modernist French society. Dr. J loves working with LanguageBird students one-to-one to tailor classes to their particular interests.
Paulina C.
LanguageBird Spanish Instructor
The Nest Episode 10: Paulina Chapa, LanguageBird Spanish instructor, talks to Dr. Karyn Koven about her time in the U.S. and then going back to the culture and family closeness of Mexico.
In this Nest episode, Paulina Chapa talks about her home-town Chihuahua, Mexico, and some of the differences between teaching teens in Mexico vs. teaching students online all over the globe through LanguageBird. Paulina discusses her degrees from the U.S. and her experience in schools as well as her home lifestyle in Chihuahua with her daughter and family.
Margareta B.
LanguageBird Russian Instructor
The Nest Episode 11: Margareta B., LanguageBird Russian Instructor, talks to Dr. Karyn Koven about taking advantage of opportunities to travel and learn globally.
From Belarus to Thailand to Paris, France Margareta’s lust for language has taken her around the globe introducing her to new people, experiences, and languages. She talks about the new world view she discovered living in Thailand and her life in Paris now learning French from her husband and toddler.