The Seven Secrets to Language Learning Success: Part 1
People often ask me how I learned 20 languages. I will tell you what works for me; you’ll have to decide if this can work for you. Here are the first four secrets to language learning success…
French for Beginners: What You Need to Know
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 you speak French. The language is spoken in other countries like Canada.
Levels of Language Proficiency: What Is Fluency?
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.
Unpacking Justin Sung’s Language Learning Advice: A Critical Analysis
Justin Sung offers interesting advice about learning in general on his YouTube channel, particularly regarding the importance of relevance, curiosity and repeated retrieval in learning activity. However, his recent video on…
To Improve Language Comprehension DON’T Try to Understand
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…
Monolingual or Bilingual Dictionaries for Language Learners?
Which is better for language learners, monolingual or bilingual dictionaries? This question often comes up. A monolingual dictionary explains the meaning of a word in the language that you are learning. A bilingual dictionary provides a translation…
Chinesisch lernen: Meine Top 6 Tipps
Ich habe vor 50 Jahren Mandarin-Chinesisch gelernt. Ich habe neun Monate gebraucht, bis ich das Niveau erreicht habe, mit dem ich Zeitungsartikel von Englisch nach Chinesisch und von Chinesisch nach Englisch übersetzen,…
The Definition of a Polyglot
As people who speak multiple languages, polyglots like to use those languages; we like to see how we do. But there is an element of performance. Are you better than me? Am I better than you? For some people that’s fine. I think a lot of us are very happy, in fact, when we hear somebody speak better than we do.
6 Brain-Friendly Strategies for Reading in Any Language
Reading is the ‘killer app’ for education, communication, and language acquisition in my opinion. It bridges gaps between cultures, connects us with history, and enhances our linguistic abilities. In this post I…
How to Learn Chinese: My Top 6 Tips
I studied Mandarin Chinese 50 years ago. It took me nine months to reach a level where I could translate newspaper editorials from English to Chinese and from Chinese to…
