Italki Review: How Does italki Work for Language Learners?
TL;DR Summary italki connects you with real humans — a resource you shouldn’t overlook. It’s not magic: your gains depend heavily on how well you prepare and follow up. Use it to…
How to Learn Vocabulary: A Polyglot’s Guide to Making Words Stick
TL;DR Summary Don’t force your brain to store lists; your brain learns by patterns and exposure. Mix passive intake (read / listen) with occasional active work (review, check usage) — but don’t…
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 speak.
People ask, if I go to Brazil, can I communicate? What language do they speak? First of all, some may not know that Brazilians speak Portuguese. There’s no Brazilian language, there is Portuguese.
How Long Should it Take to Learn a Language?
Language learning depends mostly on three factors, the attitude of the learner, the time available, and learner’s attentiveness to the language. If we assume a positive attitude on the part of the learner, and a reasonable and growing attentivenes…
How To Improve Your Speaking Skills
You are unlikely to learn to speak a new language perfectly, but perfection should not be your goal. Your main goal should be effective communication. I am not perfect in any of the languages that I speak, but I can communicate. And whenever I communicate in another language I’m satisfied. I also know from experience that my ability to speak and to pronounce well will only improve with time, as long as I remain alert to what I hear and read, and how I use the language.
My 7 Goals of Language Learning
My hierarchy of goals is what I consider to be more important at what stage in my learning. There are seven of them and I’m going talk about the seven today, and then I’ve been giving some thought to doing one video on each of these seven goals. In other words, how do we achieve those goals? How do we use those goals to improve our ability in the language that we’re learning?
How to Think in Another Language (Without Forcing It)
One of the most common questions I hear is: “How do I learn to think in another language?” It’s a great question—and it touches on something deeper: our desire to achieve perfection…
Google Translate Doesn’t Work? I disagree.
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.
Learning Similar Languages: The Pros & Cons
It’s a common assumption that learning similar languages makes for an easier path to fluency. For example, a Spanish speaker learning Portuguese should have less trouble than an English speaker pursuing Japanese….
How to Learn Chinese: My Top 6 Tips
Are you interested in how to learn Chinese effectively? I studied Mandarin Chinese 50 years ago. Within nine months, I could translate newspaper editorials, read novels, and interpret for others. I accomplished…
The 80/20 Rule of Language Learning: Learn Smarter, Not Harder
TL;DR Summary In language learning, the 80/20 rule means that 20 % of words and structures give you 80 % of your real communication power. But don’t obsess over drilling the “top”…
Language Fluency Levels: 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.
