Have you ever given up learning a language? After triumphantly telling yourself one day that “Yes, I’m finally going to learn this language!”, have you ever stopped studying, let go of your learning or otherwise let your fluency falter? It’s happened to the best of us, myself included. Sometimes the language is harder than we […]
Category: Languages
How to Change Your Keyboard Language for Foreign Language Typing
Computer-based writing skills are the speaking skills of the information age. If you speak a language, you can communicate with anyone in the same physical space as you are, but if you can type a language, you can communicate with anyone who can read that language—anywhere, and at any time. These skills are important to […]
6 Types of Language Learner: Which Group Are You In?
Hey, you there! Yeah, YOU. Reading this article. Who are you? Or rather, what kind of language learner are you? “Kinds? There are kinds?” you may ask. Oh, sure. Many kinds. In the age of the Internet, language learning as both a hobby and a professional pursuit is more widespread than ever before. With more […]
Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Are you comfortable? No, not in your chair. Not on your couch, or bed, or wherever you’re reading this. Are you comfortable in your language learning? When you use your target language, do you stick to the things that you know how to do? Do you play it safe, and use just the resources, techniques, […]
Deliberate Practice for Language Learning: Finding Your Focus
There is a myth in language learning that suggests that the fastest gains in ability will come to those who spend the longest amount of time studying per day. Dive into online language learning forums, and you’ll see people discussing, debating, and promoting the merits of studying for two to three hours a day, or […]
Setting Goals & Building Skills
In this article series, we’ve been examining a concept known as deliberate practice; a research-backed method for improving performance in any skill up to the highest levels possible. In our first article, we took a bird’s-eye view of the concept, looking at its various necessary components. In our second and third article, we began a […]
Tools for Self-Assessment
Language proficiency tests are the most accurate and efficient way to officially prove your language level. The most widely-available and accessible of these tests are based on three major proficiency frameworks: the ILR scale, the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, and the CEFR. There’s one problem, however. Taking proficiency tests requires you to have time, energy, and […]
Dialects of the Most Commonly Learned Languages
Languages vary. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. As explained in our article What is a Language? What is a Dialect?, all languages vary across multiple spectra. These spectra encompass natural linguistic variation, including regional dialects, social dialects (sociolects), registers, styles, and personal dialects (idiolects). For social and political purposes, however, such variation is inconvenient, […]
Comparing CEFR, ACTFL, & ILR Proficiency Scales
If you’re out to prove your language level, you may find it difficult to determine which of the three major language proficiency frameworks is right for you. From the ILR scale, to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, to the CEFR, navigating the maze of levels, descriptors, and skills can be somewhat overwhelming. To avoid this, efforts […]
How Do You Prove Your Language Level? – The CEFR
On any journey, it’s human nature to want to know where we’re going, and how long it will take us to get there. That’s why we use maps. That’s why our roadsides are practically littered with signposts, milestones, and other landmarks that serve to tell us where we are, which way to go, and what […]