The Linguist

25Aug

25 Aug 2023

How Long Does It Take to Learn Spanish?

How many hours a day will you spend with Spanish? This is perhaps the most important consideration and does not refer to how many hours do you spend in a Spanish language classroom. It means how much time do you spend listening, reading, speaking or writing in Spanish. It can be listening to podcasts while walking the dog, reading, watching movies, listening to songs in Spanish or being [...]

11Aug

11 Aug 2023

Create Your Own Dictionary

Learning Techniques

When it comes to learning a new language, some learners like dictionaries. They read them. They treasure them. They worry about getting the best possible dictionary. I don’t like using dictionaries. Using them is like one-way love.

28Jul

28 Jul 2023

Comprehensible Input and Compelling Input (CI)

Techniques

What is meant by comprehensible input in language learning? Stephen Krashen uses this term, as well as the term compelling input, to refer to the kind of language exposure we need in order to learn a language. The term CI, in language learning, can apply to both. What do they mean?

17Jul

17 Jul 2023

The Best Way to Learn Italian

Learning Italian

Italian is a language that has always appealed to me, as Italy is such a lovely country. I have traveled and hitchhiked through Italy and, at that time, I didn’t speak Italian, so I was relying on my knowledge of Spanish to communicate with people. With so many fascinating places to visit, great food and […]

03Jul

3 Jul 2023

To Improve Language Comprehension DON’T Try to Understand

Motivation

Experienced language learners accept uncertainty, yet they keep going. They accept that they don’t fully understand. In the above video I refer to two kinds of comprehension, listening comprehension and reading comprehension, but in this post I will simply refer to them as language comprehension. Language comprehension is the most […]

19Jun

19 Jun 2023

Ser Vs Estar in Spanish

Learning Spanish

Every language has some issues, often grammar issues, that cause learners difficulty. In the case of Spanish, one thing that gives people special trouble is the existence of two forms of the verb “to be”. Both ser and estar translate into English as “to be”. Ser vs estar, here’s how to get them straight. […]

05Jun

5 Jun 2023

Google Translate Doesn’t Work? Google and Language Learning

Techniques

I hear all the time that Google Translate doesn’t work. It’s not accurate. It’s this and that. I think Google Translate is a tremendous resource and not only for language learners. It’s not 100% and it’s better for some languages than others, but I find it extremely useful.

22May

22 May 2023

Is It Hard to Learn Japanese?

Learning Japanese

Japanese, simply in terms of the vocabulary, the structure being very different from say English, if you're an English speaker, is going to be more difficult. However, there are a number of things that make Japanese easier, in my opinion.

08May

8 May 2023

French for Beginners: What You Need to Know

Learning French

French was my first love when it comes to languages. In fact, there’s an expression in French: “On revient toujours a son premier amour." It means you always go back to your first love. I love French; I love all the languages that I learn, but I have a special affection for French. I highly recommend learning French for beginners. There’s a whole world that you can access so much better if [...]

24Apr

24 Apr 2023

Levels of Language Proficiency: What Is Fluency?

Learning Techniques

I recently watched a video which features polyglots Luca Lampariello and Anthony Lauder. In it they make the point that you don’t need to have a large vocabulary in order to be fluent. Anthony has said in the past that even with a few hundred words you can be fluent, or you can be fluent at a relatively low level of proficiency in a language. I don’t agree at all.