Exploring Languages at Home Without going outside, you may know the whole world.Without looking through the window,you may see the ways of heaven. – Laozi It is always easiest to learn a language when you are living in a society that speaks that l…
I am going to post a few random excerpts from my book over the next few days. This book is entitled ” The Linguist, A Personal Guide to Language Learning.” The book is available in print form in English and Chinese and in e-book version in French,…
Pako writes in his comment here that we should avoid making mistakes in our English learning. He also encourages English learners to spend more effort on input rather than on output, and on that point I do agree. The more you prepare yourself with…
Over the next few posts I will talk a little bit about testing. How effective are the existing language tests for English? How do we know what our skill level is in another language? How can other people best judge our skill level? Is our own subj…
In sports it has been found that to improve in sport A it is often a good idea to practice sport B. Tennis or ping pong or gymnastics may improve strength or quickness or balance needed for ice hockey, for example. I think the same works in langua…
What is the most important thing and what is the most difficult thing in learning a new language? My answer is always vocabulary. You can express yourself with faulty grammar and less than perfect pronunciation. If you do not have the words you ca…
People always ask me how quickly they can “learn” a second language, like English for example. I always answer that it depends on your level, and whether the language you are learning shares a lot of vocabulary with a language you already know (It…
When I say linguist I do not mean someone who studies complicated theories about language. I just mean someone who can speak more than one language and who enjoys doing it. Usually the two go hand in hand. Native speakers of English are at a big d…
