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New Words

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New Words

The Oxford English Dictionary last week added 42 new words borrowed from other languages, including gigil, a Tagalog expression for witnessing something adorable, like the golden retriever puppy pictured above.

What is something — a feeling or experience, for example — that you wish there was a word for in English? Why?

Do you speak any languages other than English? If so, is there a word you love that doesn’t have a clear English translation? What is it, and what does it mean? How do you use it? Would you like to see it added to the Oxford English Dictionary someday?

Tell us in the comments, and then read the related article about the other new terms from Southeast Asia, South Africa, Ireland and more that are now considered part of the English language.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

What Do You Think of a New ChatGPT Feature That Makes Images in the Style of Studio Ghibli?

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What Do You Think of a New ChatGPT Feature That Makes Images in the Style of Studio Ghibli?

Are you a fan of the famed Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, whose Studio Ghibli made animated movies like “Spirited Away,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “My Neighbor Totoro”?

Last week, OpenAI released an update to ChatGPT that improved its image-generation technology. As a result, any user who asked the platform to render an image in the style of Studio Ghibli could be shown a picture that would not look out of place in those films.

Soon, Ghibli-style images began flooding social media. Though many people posted selfies or family photos, some used the new feature to create renderings of violent or dark images, like the World Trade Center towers falling on Sept. 11 and the murder of George Floyd.

Did you see any of these images? Did you make any yourself? What do you think of them?

In “People Love Studio Ghibli. But Should They Be Able to Recreate It?” Madison Malone Kircher interviews people who raise concerns about what this technology means for creative work:

Kouka Webb, a dietitian who lives in TriBeCa, turned photos from her wedding into Studio Ghibli-esque frames. Ms. Webb, who is 28 and grew up in Japan, said seeing herself and her husband stylized in such a way was surprisingly moving.

“My Japanese mother passed away and I just feel really homesick,” she said. “I found a lot of joy in making those images. It was just a fun way to turn memories into a format that I grew up with.”

She posted the photos on TikTok, where she said she had received criticism from some commenters for using artificial intelligence instead of commissioning a human artist.

Online, some users have also voiced concerns about the use of the image-generating feature. In a 2016 documentary, Mr. Miyazaki called A.I. “an insult to life itself.” A clip from the film circulated on X after the filter’s sudden popularity. (Studio Ghibli-inspired A.I. art has been popular in the past, but the latest OpenAI offering is perhaps the most realistic iteration of Mr. Miyazaki’s style yet.)

As A.I. platforms have become more powerful and popular, a growing number of people in creative fields, including writers, actors, musicians and visual artists, have expressed similar frustrations.

“To a lot of people, having our art stolen, they don’t view it as anything personal — like, ‘Oh, well, you know, it’s just a style; you can’t copyright a style,’” Jonathan Lam, a storyboard artist who works in video games and animation, told The New York Times in late 2022 when discussing Lensa AI, a different image-generating platform. “But I would argue that for us, our style is actually our identity. It’s is what sets us apart from each other. It’s what makes us marketable to clients.”

In 2024, a group of over 10,000 actors and musicians, including the writer Kazuo Ishiguro, the actor Julianne Moore and the musician Thom Yorke of Radiohead, signed an open letter criticizing the “unlicensed use of creative works” to train A.I. models, including ChatGPT.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

  • Are you a Studio Ghibli fan? If so, what do you admire about the films?

  • What do you think of these A.I. images? Are they just a fun form of fan art, or are they more problematic? Does anything about them concern or raise questions for you?

  • Mr. Miyazaki called A.I. “an insult to life itself.” Does that matter to you in terms of how you think about these images? What about the fact that some have used this new ChatGPT feature to create renderings of violent or dark images, like the World Trade Center towers falling on Sept. 11? What have you noticed, heard or read that helps you formulate an opinion on this issue?

  • Jonathan Lam, a storyboard artist quoted in the article, said he would argue that, for artists, “our style is actually our identity. It’s what sets us apart from each other.” Do you agree, or are you more sympathetic to those who say you can’t copyright a style? Do you think it’s OK for A.I. platforms to profit off these creators’ work?

  • Do you think fears about A.I. are overblown? Or are artists rightfully worried about how the technology how might affect their livelihoods and art itself? How do you think individual artists and the industries they work in should respond?

  • Should work created with artificial intelligence be considered art — equal to what an artist might create with a pen, a camera, a brush or a lump of clay? Why or why not?

  • What is the value of art in our world in general? What role does it play in your own life? What might we gain from A.I.-created images? What might we lose?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Word of the Day: rapprochement

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Word of the Day: rapprochement

The word rapprochement has appeared in 77 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 24 in “Forget the Mona Lisa. The Louvre Gets a Fashion Show” by Elaine Sciolino.

“Museums and fashion have been dancing with each other for decades,” said Pamela Golbin, the former chief curator of fashion and textiles at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. “Now there’s a real rapprochement. It is not always a successful pairing, but if it triggers an interest from the public — if it can see the art differently — it’s a great way to use the power of fashion.”

Can you correctly use the word rapprochement in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

If you want a better idea of how rapprochement can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

Weekly Student News Quiz: Earthquake, Security Breach, Baseball Season

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Weekly Student News Quiz: Earthquake, Security Breach, Baseball Season

A video of the arrest by Homeland Security of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen and a graduate student at Tufts University, was circulated widely online last week.

She had drawn the attention of a right-wing group after she helped write an opinion piece in the student newspaper criticizing the university’s support for what?

Pranks

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Pranks

Did you see the oil rigging prank going around TikTok last year? Influencers called up their loved ones and told them they had been invited on a trip, paid for by Exxon Mobil, to an oil rig off the coast of Texas. Those on the receiving end of the call (who were not in on the joke) had mixed reactions — some were supportive, some were just confused.

Have you ever played a memorable prank or joke on someone? Has anyone ever one played on you? Have you encountered any on social media that you thought were especially funny?

How do you feel about pranks in general? Do you look forward to April Fools’ Day each year, or dread it? Why?

Tell us in the comments, and then read the related article about last year’s viral #oilrigging prank.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

What Are Your Favorite Things About Spring?

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What Are Your Favorite Things About Spring?

Spring is officially here. For many in the Northern Hemisphere, that means warmer temperatures, new blooms, a fresh wardrobe, holiday celebrations, baseball season, spring break and more.

What are your favorite things about this time of year?

The New York Times has been reporting on the arrival of the season across sections. In a column about gardening, Margaret Roach writes about noticing the first signs of spring in nature:

Is it spring yet?

The calendar insists that the new season arrives in the Northern Hemisphere precisely on March 20. Instead we can piece together a more textured sense of its start from real-time clues: the first shoots poking through the soil surface, perhaps, or leaf buds swelling and gradually opening. Is the shadbush (Amelanchier) — always one of the first bloomers — awake yet, or have the magnolias’ furry bud scales parted to make way for the blooms?

Was it spring when the Eastern chipmunks, absent since late fall, were suddenly scurrying around in numbers the last week of February? Or will it not truly arrive until the first peeper peeps, or I see a mourning cloak butterfly on the wing — a species that overwinters as an adult even here in my Northern zone, hence its early flight?

Spring is also a holiday season for many around the world. Christians celebrate Easter. Jews celebrate Passover. In Iran and beyond, more than 300 million people celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is tied to the spring equinox. This video explains:

And, of course, spring is the beginning of baseball season. The Athletic reports on Opening Day this past Thursday:

Jackson Chourio adjusted his batting gloves as he walked toward the plate at Yankee Stadium. The 21-year-old Milwaukee Brewers left fielder shook hands with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, then he bent down and touched the dirt. He stepped his right foot into the batters’ box and his left foot followed. He wiggled his bat and waited.

At 3:13 pm ET on Thursday, Chourio swung at the first pitch of Opening Day. It was a 96-mph fastball for strike one from Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón. A fastball and a slider later, Rodón had the day’s first strikeout. Wells hit the first home run a half-inning after that.

And suddenly baseball was back.

For others, spring might mean a wardrobe refresh. The Style section suggests trying the color butter yellow, which Jodi Kahn, the vice president of luxury fashion at Neiman Marcus, said “will be the fashion color for the spring season.”

And in “Lightening Up,” the March 8 edition of The Morning Newsletter, Melissa Kirsch writes about what the return of lighter evenings and longer days means for us:

“Daylight Saving Time Begins.” That entry on the calendar always reads like a triumphant return, a welcome back. We tried this “standard time” thing all winter, tried being measured and responsible with how we spent our time, and now, exhale, finally, that’s over. Now, we will loosen up. Now we will stop being so withholding and rigid with our time, with our presence, with our imaginations. Now a perfectly good Saturday plan is just to meet up outside and see what develops. The season of scarcity is coming to a close and now we will spend ourselves with abandon.

Students, read any of the articles above, and then tell us:

  • How do you feel about spring? What do you like best and least about this time of year? Why?

  • What are the first signs of spring where you live? What sights, sounds or smells tell you the season has arrived?

  • Do you celebrate any holidays this time of year? If so, what are they? What do you and your family or community do to mark the event?

  • Are there any other spring rituals you take part in, such as spring cleaning, getting new clothes, planting fresh seeds or going to an Opening Day game? What do these annual routines mean to you?

  • In her newsletter, Ms. Kirsch describes this time of year as “a triumphant return, a welcome back” after a season of contracting. What does spring feel like to you?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Word of the Day: profusely

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Word of the Day: profusely

The word profusely has appeared in 71 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 1 in the guest essay “My Home Is Messy, and I Don’t Feel Bad About It” by KC Davis:

Messiness ought to be celebrated. Instead, it’s a problem to solve, a bad habit to rectify, something to apologize for profusely when a visitor walks in.

Can you correctly use the word profusely in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

If you want a better idea of how profusely can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try our vocabulary quizzes.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

From Politics to Code: How I Found Clarity Through Coding

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From Politics to Code: How I Found Clarity Through Coding

Learning to code so that you can land a job in tech can feel daunting. That’s why we’re sharing inspiring stories from Codecademy’s community — to show how people like you (yes, you!) can embark on a learning journey and end up with a totally new career. We hope these stories serve as a reminder that there’s no single path to a more fulfilling work life.

Today’s story is from Torey Kesteven, a 31-year-old former political communications leader turned freelancer living in both Canada and Colombia, Latin America. Read more stories from Codecademy learners here — and be sure to share your story here.

Why I chose to learn to code

“I did a Bachelor of Arts and worked in political communications for several years. Working my way up to a senior role, I got burnt out during the pandemic. Constant news, constant pressure. So I left government communications and took a role in a nonprofit for a year. During this time, it become clear to me that I really wanted to travel more in Latin America. So as soon as travel became normal, I took off to Latin America — kind of an ‘eat, pray, love journey.’ I quit my job. I was looking for some clarity.

I didn’t really like the direction my career was going. I found myself climbing the career ladder but feeling unfulfilled. That’s when I found UI/UX. I did an internship, and now I’m freelancing.

The design industry is super competitive. It’s hard to find long-term roles, and the preferred qualifications include HTML and CSS. I wanted to learn more about coding but was not really sure where to start. My partner is a Software Developer and he was encouraging me to dive in.

I found Codecademy and honestly really, really love the platform. Specifically, that it has a built-in text editor — I didn’t have to go and download something and could start immediately.  

I began with an HTML course, then a CSS Course, and now I’m working my way through the Front-End Engineering career path. I think like the way the market is going — we’re seeing a lot of UX Engineer or UX Designer and Front-End Developer hybrid roles.”

Learn something new for free

How I made time to learn

“Freelancing gave me quite a bit of flexibility with my schedule. I try to make it a goal for myself to code at least two or three days a week. Codecademy makes it quite easy to jump back in, which I really appreciate. I just try and stay consistent with it.”

How I saved up money to switch careers

 “I was fortunate to have savings from my government job, and I also split my time between Canada and Colombia, where the cost of living is lower.

Workaway, a platform offering travelers room and board in exchange for volunteer work, was a great way to live affordably abroad while still having time to focus on learning or freelancing.”

How long it took me to land a job

“I finished my design program in February of 2024 and then got a 6-month internship. Last August, I got an opportunity to start freelancing while I was looking for long-term roles. One client led to the next project, and it built from there. My goal would be to have a permanent position in a design or development agency.

Part of the reason I went the coding route is that there are quite a few paths you can take in this industry. I realized through learning that I wanted to make big things and be a part of a team, and having a fuller understanding of code is what’s going to help me get there.

It’s key to be able to speak the developers’ language so that I can interact and collaborate effectively with them. Having those additional coding skills has really helped me stand out.”

What I wish I knew before I started learning

“Coding isn’t as scary as it seems, and you don’t have to know everything all at once. Platforms like Codecademy make the process approachable, so just take the first step and build on it gradually.

Having patience with yourself is important. It’s a completely new world, just like design was a new world, and then coding, and now development work.

Part of me was just a little frustrated with myself that I didn’t start sooner because I feel like I didn’t  give myself enough credit. I’m a university-educated person who has done a lot of different things. It’s kind of freaky when you hear about ‘different languages’ but even just having a little bit of HTML and CSS is going to be beneficial. 

And with starting any new thing, don’t look at the whole mountain. Take it one step at a time.”

Advice for Aspiring Coders

  • Stay Open to New Possibilities: “I didn’t know exactly where coding would take me, but I knew it was a skill worth having. Be open to where the learning process can lead.”
  • Leverage Flexible Learning Tools: “A platform like Codecademy is great because you can fit it into your schedule, whether you’re freelancing, working full-time, or traveling.”
  • Take Risks, but Plan Ahead: “Big changes often require stepping out of your comfort zone, but smart planning—whether financial or logistical—can make the leap less intimidating.”

Not sure where to start? Check out our personality quiz! We’ll help you find the best programming language to learn based on your strengths and interests. 

Want to share your Codecademy learner story? Drop us a line here. And don’t forget to join the discussions in our community. 

Free April 2025 Wallpaper – Cherry Blossom

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Free April 2025 Wallpaper – Cherry Blossom

Free April 2025 wallpaper is here!

The sheer elegance of cherry blossoms always takes my breath away. I tried to capture that ethereal beauty in this month’s wallpaper pack. Imagine your phone, tablet, or computer bathed in the soft, tranquil glow of these delicate blooms – a constant reminder of spring’s gentle arrival. It’s a little piece of nature’s poetry, right at your fingertips. I hope it brings you a moment of calm and joy each day.

Your April Free Wallpaper Package Includes:

  • Standard Wallpaper: Admire the winter wonderland in its purest form.
  • Calendar Wallpaper: Stay organized and inspired throughout the month.
  • Quote Wallpaper: Find daily motivation with a thoughtful message.

Available in multiple sizes to fit your phone, tablet, and desktop. As an added bonus, I’ve included a social media-ready image featuring graphics from this month’s wallpaper and quote.

April's 2025 wallpaper phone preview

Daily Dose of Love

To add a little extra warmth to your day, one of the wallpapers in this month’s collection carries a special message: “Do small things with great love.” Imagine this tender quote, nestled among the soft, blossoming branches, gracing your screen. It’s more than just a beautiful image; it’s a daily encouragement to infuse kindness and mindfulness into every moment. Just like the cherry blossoms themselves, even the smallest acts of love can create a moment of beauty and brighten your day.

Do small things with great love

P.S. This image is included as a larger file in the download package below! Feel free to post it on your Instagram or Facebook.

What’s included?

Looking for more? Check our previous wallpapers!

With the free download, you get three different desktop options: one with a calendar, a plain one (without any text), and another with a quote. Additionally, there’s a wallpaper available for tablets and three phone options. You’ll also find a social media-ready size that features this month’s quote.

Free April 2025 Wallpaper download includes the following:

  • Desktop wallpaper x3 (plain, with the calendar, and with a quote)
  • Phone wallpaper x3 (plain, with the calendar and with a quote)
  • Tablet wallpaper
  • Instagram/Facebook ready quote
Free Wallpaper for PC, Tablet and Phone featuring cherry blossom and bright blue sky

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

NOTE: This wallpaper is available as a free download through April 30, 2025 only. After that, a $5 download fee applies.

Looking for more?

Browse all wallpapers from this series.

Loving your new wallpaper! It really sets the tone, right?

Speaking of setting the tone, have you considered giving your website or blog a makeover too? A visually appealing design can grab attention and keep visitors engaged, just like a killer wallpaper. Check the designs below and find the perfect fit to elevate your online presence!

Blogger templates

WordPress Themes

Your voice matters!

If you have your favorite quotes or lyrics and would like them to appear on the next free wallpaper, make sure to post them in the comments below or send us your ideas via email.

Enjoy!

Quiz Yourself on the Locations of These Jazz Age Novels

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Quiz Yourself on the Locations of These Jazz Age Novels

“The Sun Also Rises,” Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, was published in 1926 and is about a group of disillusioned British and American expatriates living in postwar Europe. Part of the book takes place in Pamplona, Spain, but where does Jake Barnes — a journalist, a veteran and the novel’s narrator — live as the story begins?

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