Category: Culture


Language Hacking tips for English speaking travellers (My TBEX talk)

written by Benny Lewis

Here it is! My first time ever speaking in front of such a large audience! The video is 30 minutes long and covers some tips and encouragement that I’ve mentioned on the blog at various times and which are covered in much more detail in the Language Hacking Guide of course. Since the audience was […]

25 Speed Dates in Dutch

25 Speed Dates in Dutch

written by Benny Lewis

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 […]

Language, culture and context are intertwined

written by Benny Lewis

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 […]


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Reading time: 5 minutes

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First week settling into Amsterdam

written by Benny Lewis

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 […]


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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 […]


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Reading time: 10 minutes

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