Category: Culture


First week settling into Amsterdam

written by Benny Lewis

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 update (which will likely be much shorter and include occasional videos) to the Language Hacking League, so sign […]


Language:

Reading time: 15 minutes

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Communicating without words – my fun non-spoken train ride in India

written by Benny Lewis

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 […]


Language:

Reading time: 10 minutes

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Tagalog: a fun language to learn in the Philippines!

written by Benny Lewis

In this post, I’d like to give a summary about some cool features of Tagalog and my impressions of it for those of you curious! Best news: Encouraging locals When describing features of a language if you leave out context of how it’s spoken and who’s speaking it and focus just on grammar and vocabulary, […]

First weeks in the Philippines & video tour of my beach cottage

written by Benny Lewis

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 […]


Language:

Reading time: 8 minutes

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Where are all the language tourists?

written by Benny Lewis

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 […]


Language:

Reading time: 8 minutes

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Any language, anywhere hack 2: Dancing, painting and cooking your way to fluency

written by Benny Lewis

What are you doing with your target language? Reading? Listening to Podcasts? Watching movies? That’s nice, but why should everyone else be having all the fun and leave you to be nothing more than an inactive spectator? It’s time to get active with your language and/or travels! This doesn’t just mean finding ways to meet […]


Language:

Reading time: 6 minutes

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The many benefits of English-free travel

written by Benny Lewis

When I meet other travellers, it’s great to be able to share stories and relate to them in ways that only nomads can. Because of this I do like to spend time with other travellers when I can. However, most of my time is actually spent socialising with locals, most of whom speak little to […]


Language:

Reading time: 7 minutes

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