02Nov
2 Nov 2020

Interview with Olly Richards, Polyglot and Creator of Language Learning Readers

Interview
My name is Olly Richards and I blog at a website called I Will Teach You a Language dot com. That's where I kind of started this whole journey. Over the years, I have kind of shifted into teaching languages and creating books and courses to teach people. I have an approach that centers around stories. I call this method Story Learning. That's how I'm kind of branding it these days. So to help [...]
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27Oct
27 Oct 2020

Three Stages of Listening to Get to Fluency

Techniques
A lot of this content, as in the case of our mini stories, has a lot of high-frequency verbs. You're certainly going to come across the high-frequency words and verbs often and, therefore, it's easier to get to know them. As you listen to this stuff whereas when you started everything was just noise and you think you'll never learn this language, particularly if it's written in a different [...]
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20Oct
How to Avoid Giving Up in Language Learning
20 Oct 2020

How to Avoid Giving Up in Language Learning

Motivation
I'm not saying that I'm an expert on anything. I can only share with you my experience of language learning. I want to talk today about how we can make sure that we stay the course. The secret to success in language learning is to stay with it, not to be discouraged, so I kind of looked at some of the things that I'm doing. What is it that maintains my enthusiasm that keeps me going?
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13Oct
Learning Languages in the Moment
13 Oct 2020

Learning Languages in the Moment

Techniques
I'm driving up here with my wife and we're listening to a podcast about the Byzantine Empire. So I'm enjoying the drive. I'm enjoying listening to the Byzantine Empire podcast. Why am I listening to a podcast about the Byzantine Empire? Because I've been learning Arabic, Persian and Turkish, so I'm kind of exploring that part of the world. I've read books now on the history of Persia or of [...]
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08Oct
Want to Learn English? Stay Positive like Gabby of Go Natural English
8 Oct 2020

Want to Learn English? Stay Positive like Gabby of Go Natural English

Motivation
So, I'm very happy to have with me today Gabby of Go Natural English because very often we talk about learning languages other than English, although English, of course, is the language that is the most widely studied in the world. In fact, many of my viewers, I know many of you out there, like to listen to me speak English. You can even import from YouTube. Study it from LingQ if you want. [...]
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29Sep
Passive Vocabulary: Why it Matters in Language Learning
29 Sep 2020

Passive Vocabulary: Why it Matters in Language Learning

Motivation
Today, I want to talk about passive vocabulary. At LingQ, for example, we say a word is known if you can recognize that word in a context. So if I'm working on LingQ, I see a word. I know what it means in the context. I can say I know that word. I can also say I don't know that word. In other words, I decide if I know that word. But if I understand the word in that context, typically, I will [...]
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08Sep
8 Sep 2020

Introverts Vs Extroverts in Language Learning

Motivation
The myth is that there exists a battle in language learning: introverts vs. extroverts, and that extroverts are the better language learners. I do not believe at all that you need to be an extrovert to learn a language. Language learning comes down to the three keys: number one, attitude. You have to be interested in the language. You have to like the language. You have to believe you’re [...]
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