"Hacking language learning": My new and improved TEDx talk that includes the best polyglot videos online. Please share!!

I really hope this new and improved TEDx talk will get lots of views, inspire many new language learners and even be considered to be used in the main TED stream to ultimately reach millions! Even though you may be well aware of my language learning advice, this video shares a new aspect of why I failed at my first attempt to learn Spanish which I have not discussed on the blog yet, and I go through the five most commonly [more]

40+ FREE online language learning resources: Most comprehensive and up to date list of courses, communities, exchanges and more!

The great thing about blogging, compared to traditional print media, is that you can update posts as often as you like. With that in mind, I've decided to make this the go-to page for the most comprehensive list of completely free online resources for learning and practising many languages, that you may find online! I will constantly be coming back to this post to make sure it is up to date with the latest and best [more]

I'm severely deaf and partially sighted, but have learned 5 languages. Here's my story

So, I'm Julie Ferguson and I have nothing on Helen Keller! I am, however, severely deaf and partially sighted. My parents realised that I had a hearing problem when I was 2 years old, though I didn't get my first hearing aid until I was 4. Unfortunately, when I was 4, nobody could understand me babbling away in my version of English, except for my mum and my brother. Apparently, I was bad. I couldn't even [more]

Mini mission: Reawakening a dead language! (Hungarian)

It's time to raise the dead!! My secret mission that is taking up the vast majority of my time in Berlin continues (don't worry, I'll tell you all about it when the time is right! For now, it's so secret that I can't even give clues as to what it is or when I can tell you about it!), but it's time for one final mini-mission! Next weekend I'll be flying back to Budapest to spend the weekend at the first ever [more]

Encouraging quotes, Chinese proverbs with original translations, and inspirational thoughts for language learners

I asked those following my Facebook, twitter and G+ pages what their favourite quotes or short inspirational ideas were, to inspire language learners and got some real gems! I also did my own research online and tried to include some quotes on this blog that people have really enjoyed. And finally, I searched long and hard for the best Chinese proverbs relevant to language learning and went the extra mile to provide the original Chinese (simplified and traditional) along with the [more]