Category: Language Hacks


The “flow” of fluency: How to freestyle rap in a foreign language

written by Guest Author

While many guest posts here are from people I’ve met in my travels or been in touch with online a lot, occasionally I’ll be sent a topic so damn interesting that even if I don’t know the person yet, it’s definitely worth sharing. Today’s is an excellent example of such a topic, which takes a […]


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Reading time: 13 minutes

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How much time does it take to learn a language?

written by Benny Lewis

One understandable misconception from people when they first arrive on this site is that I would think it takes exactly three months to learn a language. To me the question and answer “How long does it take to learn a language?” “X months/years/lifetimes” is ludicrous, as it leaves far too much undefined and only caters […]


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Reading time: 6 minutes

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Language Learning Tips For Couples

written by Guest Author

Erin and Simon are a British couple who I had been talking to for some time, and following their really cool blog “Neverendingvoyage.com” until a year ago when I actually got to meet them in person and hosted them as my Couchsurfers in Medellín! I’ve used the advice on their blog about eating vegetarian to […]


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Reading time: 8 minutes

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Is long-term solo travel… lonely?

written by Benny Lewis

Whether or not I feel lonely in travelling by myself for such a long time is one of the biggest questions I get asked when people hear about my lifestyle of over eight years of solo travel, and something I’ll tell you all about today. What you read may surprise you!


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Reading time: 9 minutes

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Language Hacking success story: Marcus speaking Portuguese in Brazil

written by Guest Author

There are many people out and travelling the world, and luckily more and more are trying to speak the local language when they see it isn’t so hard. Every day I’m hearing/reading more and more success stories from others, and I thought today’s one was among those worth sharing! This guest post is from Marcus, […]

Frequently asked questions for an experienced language learner

written by Benny Lewis

Last week I shared some FAQs for a long-term traveller, and taking a bunch of questions that readers have been sending me on Facebook, Instagram and the LHL email list, now I’ll discuss some language learning issues that people have been wondering about. Note that I discuss FAQs about the website and my missions separately […]


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Reading time: 9 minutes

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What will I talk about when my language level is so basic?

written by Benny Lewis

One of the biggest questions I get when I encourage people to just speak, no matter how bad your grammar is and how few words you know, is “What will I talk about?? They’ll just get bored and angry with me!” This attitude is quite strange because it presumes a level of rudeness of foreign […]


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Reading time: 3 minutes

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Why your smartphone will NEVER be a universal translator

written by Benny Lewis

Anyone who follows sci-fi will have come across the “universal translator“. To get around use of other languages on the shows that aliens would undoubtedly speak, (other than when part of a plot device, like Klingon or Na’vi), a computer does all the work of understanding other languages so the human explorers don’t have to. […]


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Reading time: 10 minutes

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Tour of my home… in Klingon!

written by Benny Lewis

As promised, here is a video of me speaking Klingon 😀 Laugh and enjoy as I give you the most guttural tour of my home I probably ever will… and I do it in costume and in character of course! I only started to learn this a couple of weeks back, and as you can […]


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Reading time: 2 minutes

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