Which Language Should You Learn?
Which language should I study? This is one of the most common questions amongst language learners. Often, we’re torn between choices. For example, you may love the sound of French, but Chinese…
What Is The Hardest Language To Learn?
What is the hardest language to learn? It’s a question I’m asked often. Here I reveal the answer from my experience and give advice and tips on how to get the most out of your language learning, even if that language is a tough one.
The Best Way to Learn Italian
Italian is a language that has always appealed to me, as Italy is such a lovely country. I have traveled and hitchhiked through Italy and, at that time, I didn’t speak Italian,…
The Best Way to Learn a New Language
Good language learners notice what is happening in a language. They notice the sounds of the language, and the structure and the vocabulary. They notice as they listen and read. They notice when they use the language. How can we train ourselves in the ability to notice, in order to become good language learners?
How Long Does It Take to Learn Spanish?
How many hours a day will you spend with Spanish? This is perhaps the most important consideration and does not refer to how many hours do you spend in a Spanish language classroom. It means how much time do you spend listening, reading, speaking or writing in Spanish. It can be listening to podcasts while walking the dog, reading, watching movies, listening to songs in Spanish or being engaged in a conversation in Spanish. In some ways, exposure to Spanish outside the classroom can be more intense than exposure inside the classroom, unless you are lucky enough to have one-on-one instruction.
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.
English Grammar 101
In order to speak English well you need to learn how words are used and how they come together to form phrases and sentences. Only a lot of listening and reading can help you learn this. You need to train yourself to notice how the words are used when you listen and read.
How Many Words Do We Need to Speak a Foreign Language?
It is tempting to believe that we can just acquire a small number of very useful words and sort of get a jump start in a language. I have never found that…
Want to Learn German? Here’s How I Did It.
In 1987, I decided I was going to put forth a major effort to learn German. I’m going to explain that to you in detail. Long before I decided that I…
How To Become Good at Speaking a New Language
You have all heard me stress the importance of input. You have to get the language in you, meaning you have to acquire words, and you have to let your brain get…
