What is LingQ and how does it work? In this LingQ review I’ll give my honest opinion of LingQ, and we’ll look at how you can use LingQ to learn a language. What is LingQ? LingQ (pronounced “link”) is a language learning website created by Steve Kaufmann that provides a wealth of audio and written […]
MOREDuolingo Review: The Quick, Easy and Free Way to Learn A Language
One of the most popular and well-known tools for learning a language online is Duolingo. Duolingo is completely free. But is it worth it, and how do you use it? To investigate, Agnieszka from 5-Minute Language shares her experience using Duolingo to genuinely learn some languages. Over to you Agnieszka! The free language learning app […]
MOREWhat’s the difference between “Fluent in 3 months” and the “Language Hacking Guide”?
Ever since I announced the book, and followed it up with the HUGE language learning giveaway (US here, UK here), one of the most frequent questions people have asked me is what the difference is between Fluent in 3 months and the Language Hacking Guide.
So, for those of you wondering, here are the answers!
Language Hacking Guide: Idea to reality in just SIX WEEKS
The great thing about self-publishing is the speed with which it can take place. I had an idea to write an e-book, I got on it immediately
MOREReview of “Language Ninja”, the new language learning system definitely worth checking out!
There are many competing language learning systems out there, but due to many requests from Fi3M readers, today I am going to review Language Ninja, a promising newcomer that looks like it’s going to overtake the rest! While I highly recommend you check out their site, and click to see what’s on offer in their […]
MOREDozens of xmas gift ideas to cheer up your language-learning loved ones
Language learning can and should be free, and there are many ways to do it without spending a penny, which I discuss regularly on this site. However, there is one time when spending a bit of bob can certainly be justifiable – when giving in to the consumerist frenzy that we celebrate just after the […]
MOREReview of italki: Find native teachers and free language exchanges to learn a language via Skype
Today I’m ready to share one of my favourite discoveries for learning a language; italki. I’ve reviewed several websites in the past, such as LingQ, Busuu, DuoLingo, and paid courses such as Rosetta Stone. They each have advantages and disadvantages, but my conclusion is generally the same, that you can’t beat the best language learning […]
MORETwo ways to bring as much as you want on no-frills flights (video of jacket with 14 pockets)
I’ve showed you before how I take advantage of the loophole that weight doesn’t count when I fly – just put your luggage on your person with an intentionally “destroyed” jacket! But a company that actually makes jackets especially for taking advantage of this loophole got in touch with me and sent me one of their jackets. Jaktogo is the ugliest jacket you’ll see in your life, but is a huge improvement on what I was doing before.
MOREHow to receive language feedback for free and provide it for profit using Soundcloud
It’s time for another guest post from Fi3M’s most frequent guest contributor, Idahosa, of The Mimic Method. Since I’m currently working on improving (among other things) my accent in various languages, this post is very timely for myself! I’ll get into using Soundcloud too for feedback on the specific problems I need to fix (such […]
MOREReview of Chinesepod & chat with co-host Jenny
Note: this video is not an update of my Chinese level, because I recorded it the day after the previous one (John is also a co-host on Chinesepod). [I actually do a little worse with my Chinese than the previous video because I was a sick this day and exhausted because of it.] I interviewed the […]
MOREPleco Review: Read Chinese from Day One
Reading the language independently is an important part of my Chinese project. However, my focus is on speaking. So until I can read a larger amount by myself, I needed a boost to allow me to use the language immediately in everyday situations like making purchases, reading signs, and understanding menus and ingredients on products. […]
MOREIntroducing LWT: The free, open-source computer, iPad & mobile foreign language reading tool
Please note Learning With Texts is no longer hosted at Fi3M, though it has been continued as a SourcForge project. We also recommend LingQ as an alternative with similar features. The video gives my overview of this incredibly useful and totally free tool – check it out! As I say, you are in for a […]
MOREWhy your smartphone will NEVER be a universal translator
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. […]
MOREWhy Turkish isn’t as hard as you think!
This post is about my summer spent in Istanbul some summary points of the Turkish language for you! It won’t be as detailed as my usual language summaries, since I ran into a few (non linguistic) problems during my time in Istanbul, but I learned enough to definitely get by in Turkish and have a great understanding of sentence […]
MOREReview of Rosetta Stone: Detailed and honest look at latest version (TOTALe)
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 […]
MOREThe Pareto (80-20) principle in language learning
Being a perfectionist when it comes to language learning is one of the main reasons so many people never end up using a language they’ve studied. They are paralysed by the thought of making a mistake. They don’t know all the words & all the grammar, therefore they “can’t” speak yet. It’s sad how much […]
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