A LITTLE MORE ABOUT US:
Learn more about the creator, illustrator, and graphic designer.
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Bonus: Meet the Cards and learn more about their
learning styles below!
THE CARD MASTER
Tiara Youngblood
Creator of Speak in Spades
Classics, Rutgers University, NJ (2018)
Quick Facts:
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I'm a Jersey girl
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I like knitting/crocheting, singing, cooking, and writing short stories.
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Even though I created Speak in Spades, I'm a Club (take the learning style quiz here!)
"Playing cards games and learning languages have been my two favorite hobbies ever since I was young, but I never would've thought I would create language games!
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From my experiences as both a language learner and instructor, I've experimented with many resources and strategies to create awesome study plans.
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My secret?
Turn everything that interests you into a resource.
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My language journey started with the Spanish club at my elementary school, and since then I've added Italian, French, Japanese, Korean and more to my experiences. I even studied Latin, Ancient Greek, and Linguistics at my university, and my thoughts on how to reach 'fluency' have changed quite a bit over the years (more on my stories with each language in future content!).
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Languages are challenging, but with the right mindset and resources, they can be exciting!"
THE CHARACTER DESIGNER
"A year after getting my illustration degree, I took the first plane ticket of my life was to South Korea to teach English abroad. After 3 years, I'm still here!
I began my first serious attempt at learning a second language when I got here, and honestly, it's difficult for me! I started because I wanted to bridge the gap between the end of my Korean middle school students' very limited English and the beginning of my almost nonexistent Korean so I could get to know them better.
As a language learner myself, I am so excited to be a part of this project! Speak in Spades has so many awesome features for disoriented first-timers like me. I want the characters in the illustrations I make for the website and materials to feel like friendly, relatable companions on our journey to fluency :)"
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Molly Ueland
Speak in Spades Illustrator
Illustration, Minnesota State University of Moorhead, MN (2018)
Quick Facts:
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I'm from North Dakota
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I like making art, biking, hiking local mountains, and street market shopping
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I'm a Diamond (take the learning style quiz here!)
THE GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Samantha Joie
Speak in Spades Graphic Designer
Graphic Design, Temple University, PA (2019)
Quick Facts:
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I'm a Jersey girl, too!
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I love designing and taking care of my dog
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I'm a Diamond (take the learning style quiz here!)
"I started designing about 10 years ago in high school to get out of gym and other activities I didn't want to really participate in -- anything that involved physical labor wasn't really for me. About 6 years ago I decided to start my own freelance graphic design and consulting agency, Joie Graphics.
Running the business has taught me multiple things, but the most important is connecting to clients and having a better understanding of their needs and wants. I decided learning a language would not only help me understand my clients better but would also open up a whole new audience I could potentially work with.
Prior to designing this site I had no idea that a business like this existed! All of the resources and tools provided on this site will 100% make learning a language so much easier -- and I'm not just saying it because I'm friends with the CEO ;)."
Meet the Cards!
MISSION STATEMENT
Speak in Spades is a language education resource platform that aims to provide engaging games, e-books, pdfs, quizzes, and recommendations for reaching "fluency".