We live in the most hurried, busy time the world has perhaps ever seen. We have more engagements, more work, more distractions to fill more hours of more days and if you are like me, you still find yourself wishing you could accomplish – just a bit more. Amongst all this business is a desire […]
Category: Languages
Climbing the Listening Ladder to Learn Another Language
Have you built a personal listening library? As a language learner, it is important to engage with your target language through all four language modalities at all stages of the language learning journey. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced learner you need to be reading, writing, speaking and listening on a regular – […]
Language Learning Activity: How Word Field Practice Can Help You
“Oh, I know this word…. “Arghh…..let me think…. “I can’t even think of a related one! “It’s on the tip of my tongue! I suspect you know what I’m referring to by now – that frustrating thing that happens when you’re trying to express something and the words just won’t come to you. So. Annoying. […]
10 Free Resources For Learning Nearly Any Language
Fifteen years ago, if you wanted to learn another language you needed to either sign up for a course or fly to the country in which the language was spoken. Resources were sparse and firmly in the hands of the teachers. Access to books, to recordings, to courses, to anything that would be useful for […]
How To Learn Language Through Food
Travel and food go hand in hand, so incorporating the local cuisine into the language learning process is a great way to discover the traditions and culture of the native-speaking country whilst picking up new vocabulary and learning how to interact with locals along the way. Plus, food is a vital part of life for […]
The Number One Rule For Learning A Foreign Language
Maybe it’s your first conversation outside the classroom. Perhaps you found a copy of a local newspaper in the language you’ve been studying. Disaster strikes – and it’s a wake-up call: you’ve still got a long way to go! So here’s the number one rule for getting your language beyond the classroom stage, and ready […]
Speaking a foreign language when you’re an anxious perfectionist
After putting it off for way, way too long (more on that in an upcoming post), I jumped into trying to speak German semi-regularly about 8 months ago. I started using the Tandem app, chatting with folks, and making fairly regular phone calls. I’ve since made some great friendships with a number of people, many […]
Vocabulary Myths – Myths to Look Out for when Learning a Language
I recently read Vocabulary Myths: Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching and really enjoyed it. I also see that I posted about a distilled PDF about this 8 years ago (wow, time flies!). Check that out if you’d rather not read the whole book. However, I think it’s certainly worth your time. It’s a fairly short […]
3 Essential Resources for Daily Language Learning
Nowadays, everyone who aims to learn a new language wants to know the answer to a single, insidious question: Which language learning resource can I use to reach fluency in the shortest time possible? This question is built on two incorrect assumptions: That there is one resource that will address all of your language learning […]
What is a Linguist?
Let’s begin with another term with a couple of very different meanings: the linguist. What is a Linguist? According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, the word linguist has two principal meanings: A person skilled in foreign languages. A person who studies linguistics. This is a term that generates considerable controversy amongst language enthusiasts, […]