Unconventional language hacking tips from Benny the Irish polyglot; travelling the world to learn languages to fluency and beyond!
*Note: Written in 2010 Just one week into my latest crazy mission and I am happy to report that I have only been speaking German with Germans since I got here. Apart from with my landlord (who is American) and lunch with a Canadian friend, I have used no English at all outside of the […]
Take Note: I wrote this post while preparing for my German mission in Berlin back in 2010. It’s a good post to read when preparing for your next language mission, so you can see what I take into consideration and how I approach short and long term goals. Enjoy! OK, I’ve had several months of a […]
If you ask someone the question “Are you close-minded?” the answer will almost certainly be a no. I don’t think anyone in the world sees themselves as closed minded. They are always sceptical or simply convinced that the other guy is wrong. The description closed minded is one we tend to reserve for someone else. […]
What an experience!! This “dipping my toes” in my first Asian language has helped me see so many things I hadn’t realised before, despite the extremely little amount of time that I actually put into it, i.e. about 15 hours in the first month exclusively to be able to read the symbols and understand the […]
Travel update – no language tips in this (long) post My experience in Thailand has ended and I’m already back in Europe (in Paris for the weekend, Ireland for the next 3 weeks and then starting the next 3-month mission). I’ve learned quite a lot in terms of general life lessons, as well as for […]
My 8 weeks in Thailand are up – I had made some great progress in reading Thai symbols and tone rules in the first month, but for nearly all of the last 3 weeks in Bangkok I’ve have to work double time and have, unfortunately, barely been out of my apartment! This meant that the […]
When you take on any major project like learn a language, get out of debt, lose weight etc., out of all the things that can hold you back from reaching your goal, there is one that stands out above all the rest: Motivation You clearly want it; it could even be one of the major […]
When considering where to move to in a country, there seems to be this general consensus that you’ll have a greater feeling of immersion, both cultural and linguistic, if you choose a small town / village over a major city. I disagree. If you happen to like villages for their serenity, pace of life etc., […]
Over the last month, I’ve changed my ways of trying to communicate in the local language, and I’ve been living the life of a typical English-speaking tourist. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve tried this, as I almost always work on linguistic immersion as a means of getting to know […]
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