I made it! I reached the end of my three-month mission to learn Portuguese. Be sure to catch up on earlier updates if you haven’t already: Portuguese Mission: Day 0 Portuguese Mission: 1 Month Update Portuguese Mission: 2 Month Update The question is: Did I reach the B1 (lower-intermediate) level of Portuguese that I wanted to? Here’s […]
MOREMayan Languages: How I Learned to Speak Tz’utujil in Guatemala
Have you ever wondered what ancient Mayan languages sound like? I did. My curiosity, in fact, led me to the indigenous town of San Juan La Laguna in Sololá, Guatemala where I volunteered my time at a health clinic and studied the language of Tz’utujil in my spare time. Six months have passed and I […]
MOREHow to Improve Your Basic Writing Skills: Hacks for Language Learners
Basic writing skills matter – there’s no denying that. However, there’s a good reason writing skills aren’t central to the Speak From Day One method for language learning: Languages are made to be spoken. Real conversations with real people is what it’s all about. Connecting with people is what makes a language come to life. […]
MOREThe Coolest Jobs! Get Paid to Learn a Language
What if you could get paid to learn a language? I’ve spent most of my adult life doing this. I’ve gotten jobs overseas and then learned the local language on the job. While I don’t think it’s necessary to live in a foreign country to learn a language, I will admit that I see the […]
MOREHow Getting Older (and Wiser) Improved My Language Learning Skills
“I’d love to learn a new language, but I’m just terrible at it. Plus, the best time to learn a language is when you’re young.” People say this to me a lot. I can relate. When I decided to quit my job and take a sabbatical year, in part to regain my fluency in Spanish, […]
MOREHow to Overcome the Fear of Speaking a New Language
“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”― Steven Pressfield, […]
MOREHow I Learned to Speak Mandarin Chinese while Living in Kansas
If there is one language where it is important to speak to natives regularly, it’s Mandarin Chinese (or any Chinese dialect really). The reason for this is simple: you must practise Chinese tones if you want to be able to speak the language! A year ago I was in a pretty difficult situation: I had […]
MOREHow to Make Money as a Language Tutor
I still remember my first gig as a Spanish language tutor. I loved learning languages, and was fluent in Spanish after having studied it for a few years in university the US and abroad living in the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking country in the Caribbean. I was passionate about learning the language and invested all […]
MOREWhat’s it Like to Be a Language Hacker?
So, my new Language Hacking courses are on their way to bookstores around the world, and we’ve already had over a thousand pre-orders. While the courses are en route, I’ve got together a group of language learners who are trying out the courses ahead of time, sharing videos from the missions, and giving me their […]
MOREHebrew for Beginners: 10 Reasons Hebrew is Easy
“Oh my god! Come here, look at this! Hurry, you have to take a picture of it!” My mom yelled at me to catch up. She pointed up at the Tel Aviv street sign. Lucky for her, street signs in Israel have three languages on them: English, Hebrew and Arabic. In English, it read, “Yeremyahu […]
MORELearn a Language Faster: 8 Simple Language Hacks
“How has this gone so badly?” I thought. I was taking the official listening exam in Chinese proficiency, and I could not understand a single word of the recording. The test was “elementary” level, and I was there, handing the paper to the teacher at the entrance to the classroom, confused. I had studied by […]
MOREHow to Get a Dream Job Overseas Using Your Language Skills
“If you want the job it’s yours.” I couldn’t believe it. After teaching English for a few years in China I’d been offered a job as a cultural liaison. I’d be working at an international design and manufacturing company in China, using my Mandarin Chinese skills every day. I’d previously tried to find a job […]
MOREHow I Learned Spanish in 4 Months (Without Leaving India)
India doesn’t have a foreign-language culture. This is at odds with the fact that most Indians are trilingual, if not polyglots. The reason for this paradox is simple: India has over 50 languages of its own and most Indians rarely feel the need to gun for a foreign language other than English. Even those Indians […]
MOREHow Yoga Can Make You a Better Language Learner
I took a friend of mine to my yoga studio last week. When we walked out of the classroom, I asked him what he thought of the class. He could barely talk. “That was the hardest thing I’ve done in the last year.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah, yoga can be hard.” Truthfully, I hadn’t […]
MOREHow to Use Tinder as a Language Learning Tool
I used Tinder for two years, before I met my boyfriend. As a shiftworker, I worked odd hours and thought the app would be a good way to meet people – in my hometown of Sydney, Australia and as an expat in both Doha, Qatar and London, England. I mostly viewed it simply as a […]
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