Short Films And Typography Help You Learn A New Language

A new series of advertisements by Education First, a language-school network based in over fifty countries, makes the case for learning another language in a wonderfully unique light. Not a single word is spoken in the ads, nor do they pitch the school. Instead, you follow the adventures of four students touching down in Paris, Barcelona, London and Beijing respectively. Without speech, they manage to express perfectly how learning a new language helps you experience it. Specially-designed typography accompanies the film, accompanied by phonetic pronunciation underneath, and while there is no translation, they work perfectly.

Niklas Johansson's cinematography envelops you in the adventures of the protagonists as they wander through the cities, while Albin Holmqvist's deftly designed original typography and typefaces beautifully reflect the languages of Paris, Barcelona, Beijing and London, and tell you more about the words than dull verb charts ever could. The films don't belabour the process of learning a language, but the benefits of being able to lose yourself in a different culture - the things you discover, the different things to see and do, and the attractive strangers that may or may not come your way. If these films don't make you want to jump on a plane straight away, I don't know what will.

[Via ModCloth]