Unconventional language hacking tips from Benny the Irish polyglot; travelling the world to learn languages to fluency and beyond!
I’m exactly five weeks into my mission to speak Dutch. While there are major advantages of my German and my English giving me a head start thanks to many linguistic similarities, I have had a major set-back in this mission that has been slowing me down tremendously; simply finding opportunities to converse! Dutch culture is […]
A lot of people are a bit fuzzy about this so I want to make it absolutely clear: If you move to a country for a few months (or even years) it’s very possible you will NOT learn the language. Out of all the advice I give on this blog, based on my lifestyle you […]
A lot of people are surprised when I tell them that I am not really that passionate about languages. It’s unlikely you’ll see me ever studying a language like Latin or ancient Greek, or picking a language based on integrate grammar points or because its phonemes or particular tones could be a “fun challenge”. There […]
From the blog’s origin era (2009–2014) — kept as lived proof of the method. See all the missions. This detailed post describes how my first week in Amsterdam went. As requested, I’ll be giving regular updates on how I’ve been adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language. In future I’ll send this […]
Words. Who needs them? Of course, if you want a really high academic level in a language then learning vocabulary, by whatever way you do it, will get you there. Most exams will test you on your memory capacity for even some obscure words that you’ll never actually need in real life. And some people […]
I’ve been in Austin a few days and I can already see that it’s going to be a fun month here!! I have actually intentionally not been out so much, in order to do some writing and ASL learning in preparation before the city explodes into a social frenzy from next week when the immense […]
Learn Tagalog with a clear guide to Filipino, Taglish, pronunciation, aspect, voice and practical speaking, backed by current Philippine sources.
Time for a mission update! Last time I updated was after a few days in Manila when I had decided to go down south. I made it to Cebu, and went straight to the very south of that island (around Moalboal) to get some time by the sea (I hadn’t been by the sea for […]
In this day and age travel is so easy and cheap that taking a “gap year” is becoming more and more commonplace. Travel before settling down into your job or even before going to college is something a large number of Europeans and Australians have been doing for well over a decade. I’m glad to […]
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