Category: Main Categories


I'm Fluent in German! Exam Results and Analysis

I’m Fluent in German! Exam Results and Analysis

written by Benny Lewis

After slightly more than two weeks since sitting my third CEFRL exam (German this time), I have just gotten the results of it today! I have to say, I am very pleased with the results and happy to share them with you all! 🙂 One unique thing about my language learning projects is complete transparency […]


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Reading time: 15 minutes

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The stone of Rosetta & multilingual Language Hacking Guide 2.0

written by Benny Lewis

NOTE: The Language Hacking Guide is now available to be read in its entirety in six languages (seven next week), translated by natives. The stone of Rosetta You might think that this post has something to do with expensive yellow boxes that you can buy at airports with language learning software. Nope. The Rosetta stone […]


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Reading time: 6 minutes

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How to download free native-spoken podcasts & MP3s in almost any language

How to download free native-spoken podcasts & MP3s in almost any language

written by Benny Lewis

Every Friday I send out an e-mail to the Language Hacking League with a list of interesting websites to check out, as well as more precise updates regarding my own language missions. This particular tip got a great response from our readers, so I’ll share it on the blog too. It’s very easy, and yet […]


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Reading time: 4 minutes

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Taking CEFRL tests for quality European language certificates with no classes

written by Benny Lewis

Now that I’ve sat three of these diploma examinations (French, Spanish and German), I feel like I can give a useful summary for those curious! When I introduced my current mission, I only quickly mentioned some details about the exam and what it exists for. They do indeed serve much more of a purpose than […]


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Reading time: 11 minutes

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How to achieve the impossible

written by Benny Lewis

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my first year of blogging about my 3 month language missions has probably been discovering that achieving the “impossible” is actually easy. It turns out that several people that I’ve come across or read about have achieved the impossible several times over each. Taking their lead, […]


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Reading time: 9 minutes

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Non-verbal skills: essential but ignored aspects of foreign language communication

written by Benny Lewis

Can you guess what I’m thinking from looking at my expression in the photo? When I run into some study-focused learners and the discussion turns to languages, sometimes I honestly feel like we are talking about completely different things. A lot of them like talking about subjunctives, past participles, cases and word roots, conjugations, tone […]


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Reading time: 9 minutes

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Just 2 weeks learning Esperanto can get you months ahead in your target language

written by Benny Lewis

Whenever I meet new people and try to help them with their language learning missions, when they hear that I have already learned to speak a few languages and ask me to list them, the one that always gets their attention the most is Esperanto. Most people have never even heard of it, but occasionally […]


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Reading time: 9 minutes

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Embracing embarrassing mistakes

written by Benny Lewis

“I made a new video – I look cool in it! Want to come up and check it out?” Sounds like an innocent enough thing to say, right? While talking to a German friend of mine (a girl, but seriously just a friend and one I’ve had for many years), I wanted to say this […]


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Reading time: 5 minutes

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