What’s the first word you learn in any language? “Hello”, of course! “Hello” is the way you’ll meet new people, make new friends, and start conversations. Even if you’re not aiming for fluency in a language, just learning this one little word will endear you to any native speakers you meet at home or abroad. […]
MORE12 Fun Grammar Games to Help You Learn a Language
Grammar. To many people, the word is almost synonymous with “boredom”. Does that make “grammar games” a contradiction? I’m going to say not. More on that in a moment. True, the average grammar book is more useful as a cure for insomnia than it is as a tool for language learning. And in school you […]
MORELearning a Language Through Music: Here’s How It’s Done
Can you learn a language through music? Of course you can! From slow, crooning love songs to the latest boy band hits, music is a really useful tool for language learning. Pop music isn’t the whole story, though. Any style of music, by any artist, as long as it has lyrics, can be useful in […]
MORETutorial: How to Hack Facebook Live Video to Learn a Language
Did you know Facebook can help you to improve your listening skills in just about any language? I didn’t! At least not until a few weeks ago when I stumbled across a feature that had been hiding behind a little tab on my Facebook home screen. Recently, I was surprised to find out just how […]
MOREHow to use Social Media for Instant French Immersion
Can you get French immersion through French social media? Of course you can! In fact, using social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in French. Think about it this way: Cost of a round-trip ticket between New York and Paris by plane? $500-$2000. Cost to open your […]
MOREHappy Paddy’s Day! (3 NEW Irish-Themed Videos for Language Learners)
Top o’ the morning to you! Just kidding, we Irish don’t actually ever say that – even on today, the day of our world-famous patron saint, St. Patrick! Despite being associated with all things Irish, St. Patrick wasn’t actually Irish by birth. Historians agree that he was born in Britain at some point in the […]
MORE10 Good Reasons to Learn Spanish
Want to learn Spanish? You’re in good company. By one estimate, nearly 100 million people worldwide speak some level of Spanish as a second language, and that number is growing fast. Spanish is the language that got me started on this whole language-learning adventure over a decade ago, so it’s definitely a language that has […]
MORE13 Badass German Words We Really Need in English
You know that moment when you can’t find the word to describe what’s happening. Or how you feel. It can be a pretty frustrating, right? Learning a new language opens the doors of communication in more ways than one. The word that describes the emotion you’re feeling may actually exist – you’re just searching for […]
MOREHow to Say “My Love” in French (Plus 28 More Romantic French Words and Phrases)
Is Paris a romantic city? Is French a romantic language? If you had asked me a few years ago, I would’ve answered “Nope!” But that was then. Things have changed quite a bit for me since my first experience living in the City of Light, trying to learn la belle langue. I returned to Paris […]
MORENo More Excuses! How to Stop Whining and Start Learning a Language
What holds you back from speaking another language? Perhaps you tell yourself: I’m not good at language learning. I flunked languages in school. This language was okay when I started, but now it’s too difficult. I don’t have enough money to travel the world and properly learn this language. I’m too old to learn a […]
MOREHow Adults Learn: 6 Important Things to Know
“I’ll never learn to run with the stamina of Paula Radcliffe, so why bother training for a marathon?” “I’ll never win a Nobel Prize in maths, so what’s the point of studying it at all?” “I’ll never play cello like Yo-Yo Mah, so I shouldn’t even start.” How do these excuses sound to you? If, […]
MORELanguage Immersion: How to Create an Immersion Environment on Your Phone
Immersion is the best way to learn a language – and there’s no need to move overseas to do this. Moving to another country is only one approach to creating an environment where the target language is a part of your everyday life. Even then, there’s no guarantee that you’ll immerse yourself in the language. […]
MOREHow Do Spies Hide Their Accent?
Want to know how to improve your accent in a new language? In 2010, eleven people blew the minds of their friends and neighbours. Their arrests by the United States government revealed that they weren’t simply “normal” Americans, living the suburban dream. It turned out that they were intelligence agents, collecting information to send back […]
MOREWhy Learn German? 10 Good Reasons to Learn German
Have you ever wondered “should I learn German?” or “why learn German?” There are plenty of good reasons to learn how to speak German. Deutsch was the fourth language I learned to speak fluently. I got to spend three months living in Berlin, Europe’s capital of cool. I met some amazing people, and made some […]
MOREThe Coolest Jobs! Get Paid to Learn a Language
What if you could get paid to learn a language? I’ve spent most of my adult life doing this. I’ve gotten jobs overseas and then learned the local language on the job. While I don’t think it’s necessary to live in a foreign country to learn a language, I will admit that I see the […]
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