During my first year at my Italian university, I dropped my language degree course in English and Spanish after just three months. Back then, in addition to studying English and Spanish at university, I was also studying at an art academy in Rome to become a professional cartoonist (cool, right?). As you may imagine, doing […]MORE
When I was 4 years old, I discovered Sailor Moon. To say I had an obsession was an understatement. Ever since, I've loved Japanese culture. The delicious food, the rich and crazy unique culture, the wacky shows, the cherry blossoms. But more than anything, I fell head over heels in love with this beautiful language. […]MORE
Let’s take a look at French slang. First, a quick caveat: Slang is hard to teach in any language. It varies a lot by region and age group. Consider the following English slang words. Depending where you live and how old you are, you may have never heard many of these before: hella (“extremely”) gobshite […]MORE
So you’d like to speak Azerbaijani? Good call! Never thought about studying Azerbaijani? Keep reading, because there are plenty of reasons why it’s a wonderful language to learn. In a moment, I’ll show you how to get started learning Azerbaijani. But first… Grab Your Suitcase — Azerbaijani Is Your Ticket into Another World Azerbaijan is […]MORE
If you have been learning Spanish for a while you have probably tried a few things by now: language classes, apps, podcasts, websites, using social media in Spanish, listening to music and reading books. They all have their place in learning Spanish. But there is one thing that will fast track your language studies, particularly […]MORE
Learning how to speak Spanish? It can be tricky to find high quality online Spanish lessons that don’t cost a fortune. You want to learn Spanish, and you’re willing to put in the time, but where can you go to learn? With this question in mind, I’ve put together a list of online Spanish classes and lessons that won’t cost you a single cent. While some...MORE
This is a very detailed and frank review of the latest version of Rosetta Stone: version 4 TOTALe Rosetta Stone is one of the biggest brands in language learning in the English speaking world (not to be confused with the Rosetta Stone that helped us decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, which it is named after). The problem is that it is out of the budget o...MORE
The rolled r comes up in so many languages. I've heard it in various forms in Czech, Thai, Hungarian, Tagalog and of course in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. And yet it seems to be something that evades native English speakers. The laziest of them will just give up entirely and use the bullshit excuse of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". [Desp...MORE
Want to learn Korean? Good call! Korean is hot property. Interest in the language has soared over the past few years. “Gangnam Style” by Korean pop icon Psy was the first YouTube video to reach one billion views (and the first to hit two billion views). K-Dramas - Korean television dramas - are a rising trend that’s set to take the world by storm...MORE
Napoleon Hill wrote in his bestselling book Think and Grow Rich, "There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge." Do you say to yourself, "I am too old/young/fat/skinny/rich/poor/educated/uneducated/white/black/gay/straight/hairy/hairless/sheep/goat to be learning a new language [or insert any formidable-sounding thing]." Realize this...MORE
Today's guest post is from Zack, (@zackjsimon) who is a long-term reader of the blog and has sent me this guest post idea for a concept that you all know I like to write about for as many languages as I can! Considering French is considered by some to be among the world's "hardest languages" (yes, seriously, Parisians will insist on this; luckily, you...MORE
Have you ever wanted to woo a lover with your prowess in languages? What better way than by giving them a very special name from another part of the world. Around the world and across languages, people express their love in different, imaginative and sometimes - to our English speaking minds - strange ways. You may be surprised to learn that some term...MORE
