Category: Missions

Week 1 of a monoglot’s first language learning journey (Benny coaches his girlfriend to learn Esperanto)

written by Benny Lewis

I have had many language learning projects myself, but this one is the first one that I get to document of another person. Lauren, my girlfriend, had the great idea that we should have the camera rolling every single second that she is studying, speaking, using or otherwise getting some kind of exposure to Esperanto.

Over the space of 6 days we had over seven and a half hours of footage, and I edited the best realizations down into today’s 13 minute video (above). I hope you enjoy it! This way you can see the gradual but definite progress of a genuine beginner language learner to a more confident speaker, from start to finish

New language mission! [video]

written by Benny Lewis

Since I’m not learning a new language this year, it’s hard to have a language mission, right? Well, see this video to find out what my next language mission, for the next six weeks, is going to be 😉

You should be subscribed to my new Fluent in 3 Months channel to get updates on this. Share your thoughts on this in the comments below. The mission has already started today!

When projects don’t go as planned (Biting off more than you can chew)

written by Benny Lewis

What a whirlwind few months! Rough start, but a good first two months Back in September after announcing my Japanese project, I jumped in and started speaking spontaneously my first weeks, and was able to share a prepared speech pretty confidently. But I quickly ran into a hitch of being desperately sick, just when I […]

Japanese project conclusion: Wrapping up the learning part & getting ready to travel

written by Benny Lewis

Thanks for following along in my Japanese project! Right now there should be two weeks left, but realistically what was initially a three month project has morphed into a two month one. This final month has led to another secret project of mine taking over! [Edit: Several months before this Japanese project, I had written my first […]

Benny’s first time speaking Japanese in person? Not quite! [video at Manga Hall event]

written by Benny Lewis

Note: While I was initially aiming for 3 months, unfortunately preparations for my published book took up all of my time and I had to end the project at this 2 month point. Summary of the project is given here, but this video below represents the end point of the 2-months that were intensive in […]

Benny’s Japanese: Skype conversation over the half-way point [+ new language discussion channel]

written by Benny Lewis

This week, I can finally do what I had wanted to do last week and give you a full example of how my conversations tend to be going, right now a little after my half-way point in the Japanese project!

At this stage, I can handle straightforward question and answer exchanges pretty well, but my grammar and vocab still need serious improving, and will continue to be the focus for the next weeks. I’m also not so confident about explaining a concept for a few minutes and did a really poor job at describing what “Couchsurfing” was, especially when the lack of important vocab held me back.

As well as this, my accent and pronunciation need lots of improvement. I’m aware of such issues, but they will definitely take the back seat to higher priorities for now.

Very quick look at Benny’s current Japanese level. Suggestions (with whom, about what) for longer upcoming video updates?

written by Benny Lewis

Sorry that this video is so short! Starting next week, I’ll get back into weekly updates until the end of the project with maybe just one break (so that’s six more videos up until the week my 3 months runs out), but I hope this teaser snapshot shows you more or less how I’m doing right now!

The reason the video isn’t longer is because my Skype recording software crashed after 4 minutes, which is a pity because Yuri asked me interesting questions and we had a real exchange (you only hear her say a couple of words in this video), discussing how my parents visited me here in Valencia.

First month learning Japanese: How things are going so far, initial impressions of Japanese, and Burning Questions for Benny

written by Benny Lewis

Last week on Wednesday, I reached the one month point of my Japanese project. After an excellent start, I had a little bit of a bumpy final bit of my first month that slowed me down a little, but am back on track now to hopefully make up for lost time by the end of […]

Tour of my home in Japanese after learning it for 2 weeks!

written by Benny Lewis

A little tradition I’ve kept up since starting the blog, is to give you a video tour of almost every place I temporarily call home! For instance, in English I showed you my penthouse in Rio, my lovely flat in Medellín, the flat around the corner from the Danube in Budapest, and the beach cottage […]

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