Saving endangered languages through music: Susanna Zaraysky at TEDxSantaCruz

Music language (songs) activate our brains, hearts and souls. By using songs, we can learn foreign languages and saved dying tongues. This TEDxSantaCruz talk is one of 22 surrounding our theme of “Activate“ at the third full-day TEDxSantaCruz event held March 8, 2014 at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, CA. Susanna Zaraysky speaks eight languages. She is the author of Language is Music (in English, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) about how to use music & other media to learn foreign languages and the book, Travel Happy, Budget Low (a budget travel guide). The BBC, CBS, CNN, EFE, The Guardian, Univision and Telemundo have interviewed Susanna about how to improve foreign language education with music. She hosted her own segment in Spanish on the Al Despertar morning show on Univision San Francisco called “El idioma es música“ where she taught English grammar and pronunciation via songs. She is the co-producer of the documentary, Saved by Language, about how a young Bosnian boy saved his life in the Holocaust by speaking Ladino. The US State Department has organized her presentations about language learning through music in Bosnia, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Qatar and Russia. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)