When it comes to practicing listening in a foreign language, one of the first questions most of us have is ‘What should I be listening to?’ It’s pretty easy to find good listening resources for popular languages like Spanish, French or German. But what if you’re learning Russian? Good Russian listening materials might be harder […]
MORESentence Structure: How to Build Sentences and Use the Correct Word Order in Your New Language
“What’s the best way to learn difficult sentence structure and word order?” This is a question me and my team get asked a lot here at Fluent in 3 Months. No matter which language you’re learning, sentence structure is a common stumbling block. Thankfully, there are some general principles that can help you learn sentence […]
MOREThe Language Learning Curve: What’s the Best Way for You to Improve Your Language Skills?
Becoming fluent in a new language is a journey… and in my research with language learners I’ve discovered a “language learning curve” that most people follow. Before I share that, here’s how the language learning journey went for me. After 5 years of learning Spanish at school, I was only able to remember the bizarre […]
MOREConversational Spanish: 88+ Spanish Conversation Starters and Questions
How can you speak Spanish in a more conversational, everyday way? Textbooks can be surprisingly unhelpful in this regard. They might teach you useful grammar and vocabulary, but it’s often presented in an unnatural, forced way that doesn’t reflect how people actually speak in real world, conversational Spanish. “What are the days of the week?” […]
MOREHow to Improve Your Spanish Accent: A Spanish Pronunciation Guide for Native English Speakers
Would you like to lose your Spanish accent and be mistaken for a native Spanish speaker? That’s the “holy grail” of language learning, after all. Yet people can spend decades living in a foreign country and speaking the local language without ever completely losing the twang of their native tongue. Clearly, a convincing accent isn’t […]
MORE10 Incredible German Sayings: The Inspiring, the Funny and the Just Plain Confusing
One really effective way to make your German sound more like a native’s is to learn Redensarten. These are the everyday German sayings that German speakers use to express emotions, actions and thoughts. You probably know them better as turns of phrase or idioms in English and you use them every day. You know, expressions […]
MOREHow to Ace a Job Interview in a Non-Native Language
I remember one of my most exciting job interviews in a non-native language. It was with a company that I had followed for several years, and I really admired its growth and development. When I was informed that they had an interesting position available, I immediately realized that this was fate. I prepared intensively for […]
MORESpanish Jokes: 9 Lame but Hilarious Jokes in Spanish
Did you hear about the Spanish-speaking magician? He said “for my next trick, I will disappear on the count of three. Uno, dos -” but then he vanished without a tres. Okay, that one isn’t going to win me any comedy prizes. To redeem myself, I’ll share some funny jokes in Spanish. As well as […]
MOREBilingual Baby: How to Teach Your Baby Two Languages
This past year, my husband and I welcomed a new addition to our family. While we were awaiting his arrival, we discussed whether or not we’d raise him to be a bilingual baby and speak multiple languages. For this article, I’ll call the little guy our “Little Linguist”. First things first: Is it beneficial to […]
MOREHow Speaking from Day One Helped Me Conquer Love and The Spanish Language
When you think back five years ago, did you ever think that you would be where you are now? Maybe so, maybe not. However, I most certainly didn’t. Five years ago, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I would be living in Colombia with my wife, speaking Spanish. But here I am […]
MORESpanish Accents and Dialects Around the World
Do all Spanish accents sound the same? Of course not! Like most languages, Spanish is diverse and can vary significantly, even in the same country. Even within Spain there are many Spanish dialects and accents (along with four official languages!). Being able to understand a range of dialects is part of what takes you from […]
MOREWhy You’re Stuck At Intermediate Spanish … And How To Break Through The Plateau
Is your progress in Spanish slowly grinding to a halt? Did you breeze through your beginner lessons, only to run into a brick wall as you approach intermediate Spanish? If so, grab a pen and paper, and clear your schedule for the next 5 minutes… I’m going to show you the following: Why your progress […]
MOREA 5-Step Method to Improve Your Listening Skills
Let’s talk listening skills. Do you remember how you felt the first time you heard someone speak your target language? Bamboozled? Personally, I’ve always found listening to be the most difficult language learning skill. Maybe you feel the same way? In this post, we’ll look at the key to improving your listening and I’ll share […]
MOREForeign to Familiar: How to “Language Proof” Your Immediate Environment
Sometimes, when you’re surrounded by a new language it can overwhelm your capacity to pick up new things. It’s almost too much newness, and you just draw a line. Everything from the toothpaste to the billboards to the TV is filled by the unrecognizable. You end up looking at words and noting that you’ve seen […]
MOREConversation Exchange: How an Online Language Buddy Took Me from Fear of Speaking to Confident Conversations
This is my story of how I found an online language buddy for a conversation exchange, which took me from feeling terrified of speaking a new language to having real conversations in that language. My heart was pounding when I received the call. Would they be offering me a job in the Middle East? Yes! […]
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