Do you know what a dialect is? Most people think they do. If you’re a descendant of immigrants, you may have heard that your grandparents spoke a dialect of the language of their home country. If you live in a country where your home or social language is different from the language you speak in […]
Category: Languages
How Do You Prove Your Language Level? – The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines
The experience of learning a language is often likened to going on a journey to a far-off land. As a learner, you have a destination you would like to reach, with various milestones dotting the landscape along the way. There will be obstacles. In some places you will have to struggle climbing uphill, while in […]
How Social Accountability Will Revolutionize Your Language Goals
What do you want to be when you grow up? As a child, I used to get that question a lot. I’m sure you did, too. My answer? An actor. I wanted to star in blockbuster movies. I imagined my face emblazoned across movie posters, my name getting top-billing on the marquee. What was your […]
How to Speak a Foreign Language More Confidently
When you hear that a friend or acquaintance knows a foreign language, what’s the first thing you ask them? If you’re like most people, you probably ask “Can you speak it?” There’s something about seeing someone speak a language you don’t know that’s a bit like magic. It’s just so mysterious, and cool! I’m sure […]
How to Start Learning a Language
So you’ve chosen which language you’d like to learn. Perhaps your sights are set on the more popular languages, like Spanish, French, or Mandarin Chinese. Perhaps you’ve gone the lesser-traveled route, and decided on a language like Danish, Swahili or Korean. Whatever the case, you should pat yourself on the back. You’ve taken an important […]
Overwhelmed? 5 Ways to Deal with Language Learning Burnout
As exciting as language learning can be, there’s no denying that the process of acquiring and mastering a new and foreign tongue can also be incredibly stressful. After all, learning a foreign language means: Finding time in your busy schedule to learn every day. Acquiring (potentially) thousands of new words, grammatical structures, and cultural concepts. […]
Ways of Learning New Languages with Your Device
If you want to learn a new language and need a place to start, your phone or tablet are as far as you need to search. There are lots of ways we can use our devices to learn and practice: Language learning apps The most obvious way to use one of your devices to learn […]
3 Easy Ways to Learn a Language Before Your Next Trip
Traveling is supposed to be fun . But it can be stressful if you don’t speak the same language of the others. Whether you dedicate your vacation to resting or exploring new places, it can be super helpful to learn a language (even just a few words!) before you go. In some cases, like with Americans […]
How easy is it to learn a language?
When I tell people that I speak French and Spanish they often say, ‘Oh I’d love to learn a language’. To which I usually say, ‘Go on then’. They then normally say something like, ‘Oh I don’t have the time’ or ‘I’m not a languages person’. Two things; You do have the time. You are […]
How I’m Learning Portuguese With italki
Language learning is not my forte, no matter how much I really want to be a polyglot to speak the language of most places I visit. These past few years I’ve based myself in cities such as Milan and Chiang Mai, and manage to learn a few words or sentences in the local language, to […]