Techniques
25Aug
The Importance of Repetition in Language Learning
First of all, obviously when you start in a language, whatever you're listening to is not comprehensible. So you can't begin with comprehensible input. You'll begin with input, which is not comprehensible, but which gradually becomes more and more comprehensible. However, if you have access to the text, so you can look up words, then you have a chance. And if you can use LingQ for example, [...]
Read more The Importance of Repetition in Language Learning28Jul
How To Improve Your Listening Skills
Reading helps you acquire more words, but listening gets your brain used to the language. And of course listening comprehension is a tremendously important skill because if you're speaking to someone, and we all want to speak in the language, if you can't understand what the other person is saying, then it's very uncomfortable and you can't have a very meaningful conversation.
Read more How To Improve Your Listening Skills14Jul
Do NOT Go to Language School
What the language school provides is instruction in the language. In other words, explanations of how the language works. The language school provides the materials, the textbooks, the content from which we learn, the language schools can provide encouragement and motivation also. The language school provides a social context where you meet not only your teacher, but other students. The [...]
Read more Do NOT Go to Language School30Jun
How to Learn a Language the LAZY Way
What I would call being a lazy language learner doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't being a successful language learner, it just means that you're being lazy the way I'm being lazy. And so there are seven habits I think that we need to acquire if we're going to be effective, successful, lazy language learners.
Read more How to Learn a Language the LAZY Way16Jun
Do NOT Study Grammar
Grammar basically describes usage. So since languages evolve over time, sounds in languages evolve over time, usage patterns evolve over time. Therefore the grammar which describes the usage will evolve over time. So how useful is it to attempt to teach people what the rules of usage are before the learner has had enough experience with the language?
Read more Do NOT Study Grammar19May
Learn a Language in a Month: Is It Possible?
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Studying English? Here’s the transcript as a lesson to study on LingQ. We regularly see blog posts and videos where people provide advice on how to learn a language in a given period of time: one month, three months, […]
Read more Learn a Language in a Month: Is It Possible?05May
How to Study Effectively
First of all, the first thing I think we need to do to study effectively is to improve our reading skills. If we aren't good readers, we need to become good readers, to read faster, to get better at acquiring information through reading, because reading is very effective, very efficient. It enables us to access so much information, whether in a traditional book or an ebook where we can look [...]
Read more How to Study Effectively07Apr
What is the Hardest Language to Learn?
What is the hardest language to learn? I think that's a very difficult question because there are so many factors that enter into that.
Read more What is the Hardest Language to Learn?24Mar
How to Build a Step By Step Language Study Plan
The biggest thing in a study plan is that you want to develop new habits. I've said many times that language learning is a matter of attitude and spending the time with the language. So we want to have habits that reinforce a positive attitude that give us a sense of success.
Read more How to Build a Step By Step Language Study Plan23Feb
The Best Way to Learn New Vocabulary
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Studying English? Here’s the transcript as a lesson to study on LingQ. Hi there, Steve Kaufmann here. Today I’m going to talk about vocabulary, words, the most important thing in language learning. Remember if you enjoy these videos, please […]
Read more The Best Way to Learn New Vocabulary