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! […]
MOREIs “Learning from Mistakes” Really a Thing? Here’s What the Science Says…
“Did I really just say that?” That’s the question I was asking myself as I was chatting to my future Italian mother-in-law over dinner. I had meant to say è palese, “it’s obvious”, but I actually said è palloso, which means “it’s effing boring”. If you’ve been learning a language for long enough, you’ve probably […]
MORE35 Free Online Korean Language Classes and Resources
Learning Korean doesn’t have to empty your pockets. But it can be tricky to find the right resources that work for you on a budget. There are countless resources online that teach you Korean. The only problem is how do you know which are good quality, without wasting hours weeding through them? The good news […]
MORE16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes
Are you learning Portuguese, and you want to find the best free online Portuguese language lessons? You’ve come to the right place! I’ve searched far and wide to find a variety of quality, fun, and free resources to boost your Portuguese skills. Learning European Portuguese? Overwhelmed by the number of Brazilian Portuguese resources out there? […]
MOREHow to Find a Language Exchange Partner
What is a language exchange partner – and what’s the best way to find one? In this article, I’ll answer both these questions to help you understand what language exchanges can do for you, where to find language exchange partners, and how to choose the best ones for you. Language exchange partners are a fantastic […]
MORE16 Must-Know Words and Phrases For Any Language
What are the basic phrases you need to know when travelling? Often, native English speakers believe that everyone speaks English. So when they travel, they don’t bother learning the language of the place they’re visiting. After all, it’s fine to get by in English, right? Well, maybe. But there’s a much better way of doing […]
MORECultural Immersion: How Learning 20 Basic Phrases Transformed My Travel Experience
For ages I’ve recognised, at least in theory, that learning even just a small handful sentences in a new language can take you a long way on a holiday, and give you a unique experience of cultural immersion. I really enjoyed reading about Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny Lewis’s experience getting by with limited […]
MORELearning a Third Language: An In-Depth Guide
I know lots of people who speak their second language at a very good level, and yet hesitate to jump into learning a third language. Why is this? Well, some people are perfectly happy stopping at one foreign language. That was their goal, and they reached it. That’s all good. On the other hand, too […]
MORESentence Stretchers: An Easy Way to Sound More Fluent in Your Target Language
Most beginner language learners I know are keen to pick up new vocabulary, so they’re ready for real conversations in their new language. And it’s true that learning a wide variety of vocabulary is essential to having conversations about a lot of different subjects. But there’s a group of words and phrases that never seem […]
MOREInternational Greetings: How to Say “Hello” in 29 Languages
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. […]
MORECEFR Levels: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Test Yourself
CEFR levels: what are they? And do they matter? In the language-learning community, we often hear other learners throw around certain terms when they’re talking about their level in a language. “I speak German at a B1 level” or “I’m an A2 in Russian.” But what do B1 and A2 mean? These descriptors are skill […]
MORENew Mission: One Month Without English!
Have you ever reached a plateau in your language learning that you just couldn’t break through? I did. It didn’t matter how many German lessons I took. How many Skype calls I made. Or, how many grammar books I read. I just couldn’t get to the next stage. I kept making the same mistakes and […]
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 […]
MOREGerman Noun Genders: Hacks to Learn them Faster
Learning German? You’re going to notice one major difference between English and German grammar right away: German noun genders. All German nouns are one of three genders: masculine, feminine or neutral. For someone who is just starting out with German, this can be really confusing – especially as the genders don’t necessarily seem logical. Take […]
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