For people who love languages, or would but were discouraged.
- Believe in yourself and have the right attitude
- Put in an hour a day
- Use a system that works... like LingQ
Free14Jul
14 Jul 2021
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 School07Jul
7 Jul 2021
All the Tricks and Tips You Need for Learning Spanish
I think Spanish is one of the most attractive languages to learn. We can all be motivated to learn a specific language like Mongolian or Finnish because we have a friend or a particular interest. Spanish is different: there are a number of real big advantages to learning Spanish.
Read more All the Tricks and Tips You Need for Learning Spanish30Jun
30 Jun 2021
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 Way23Jun
23 Jun 2021
How To Learn Portuguese
Many of us are watching the Olympics in Brazil. Despite all of the bad reports that we always get in the lead up to any Olympic Games – some British newspaper called the 2010 Vancouver Winter games the worst Olympics in the world ever, then there were all the problems with toilets in Sochi and now pollution in Rio – it looks like actually things are proceeding swimmingly, so to [...]
Read more How To Learn Portuguese16Jun
16 Jun 2021
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 Grammar09Jun
9 Jun 2021
Italki Review: Get the Most Out of the Language Learning Resource
The last 15 years have brought revolutionary change to language learning. Amongst the most popular new opportunities is the possibility to connect with native speakers of the languages we are learning via the Internet, and specifically via Skype. We all take Skype for granted today, but the app was first launched in 2003, in Estonia. […]
Read more Italki Review: Get the Most Out of the Language Learning Resource02Jun
2 Jun 2021
How I Learned Japanese
*** 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. Back in 1968, I was sent to Hong Kong by the Canadian government to learn Mandarin Chinese. I spent a year learning Chinese and then the idea […]
Read more How I Learned Japanese26May
26 May 2021
How to Learn Vocabulary Fast
The most important task in language learning, in my opinion, is the acquisition of vocabulary. If we have enough words, we can make sense of what we’re reading or listening to and we can somehow express ourselves. Vocabulary is much more important than grammar. The grammar you acquire gradually as you become familiar with the […]
Read more How to Learn Vocabulary Fast19May
19 May 2021
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?12May
12 May 2021
How to Learn English Fast
If you really want to learn English fast, here is what you do. This advice is valid for other languages as well. The only difference between English and other languages is that most people learning English have had a lot of classroom instruction, which is not usually the case for learners of other languages. […]
Read more How to Learn English Fast