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

24Nov
Quanto tempo se levar para aprender uma língua?
A aprendizagem de línguas depende principalmente de três fatores: a atitude do aluno, o tempo disponível e a atenção do aluno à nova língua. Se assumirmos uma atitude positiva, uma atenção razoável e crescente por parte do aluno, quanto tempo levará para aprender uma língua?
Read more Quanto tempo se levar para aprender uma língua?17Nov
The Importance of Reading
Of course, we want to speak, we eventually want to speak a lot. Our goal is to speak. We want to speak well, but the emphasis should be on listening and reading because it's something we can do whenever we want, on our own and it really does help our brain become familiar with the language.
Read more The Importance of Reading10Nov
Introverts Vs Extroverts in Language Learning
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 [...]
Read more Introverts Vs Extroverts in Language Learning03Nov
Pour Parler Une Langue il Faut D’abord L’écouter
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Bonjour, ici c’est Steve Kauffman. Aujourd’hui je veux parler de “l’écoute” dans l’apprentissage des langues, parce que pour moi, c’est, disons, “la tache” dans l’apprentissage des langues. Et pour ceux qui ne me connaissent pas j’en suis à ma 19ème et [...]
Read more Pour Parler Une Langue il Faut D’abord L’écouter27Oct
スペイン語の学習に必要なヒントやコツ
何度も言ってきたことですが、言語の学習で重要なのはやる気です。何度も繰り返し言い続けているのは、言語の習得は才能でもなく、クラスや教師や勉強の仕方でもなく、主にやる気が関係しているからです。タスクに費やす時間、そして気づくこと。その言語がどうなっているのかに気づくことです。優秀な言語学習者は気づくのが上手になっていくと思うんです。言語に何が起きているのかをより意識し、それにより敏感な学習者が上達も速いですね。 私個人の意見ですが、 [...]
Read more スペイン語の学習に必要なヒントやコツ20Oct
How to Become a Polyglot
Part of becoming a polyglot is accepting that you're going to be less than perfect. That means you're going to speak with mistakes. Your pronunciation may not be perfect, but you have this sense of achievement and the intellectual stimulus of discovering a new world, yet another new world with all of the people, and as you learn another language, then the people of that language come alive, [...]
Read more How to Become a Polyglot05Oct
Learning Languages with Netflix & YouTube
Language learning as we know is about motivation. That's the driver. That's the smart plug that triggers your interest, your curiosity. Content, which feeds that curiosity and those interests, is extremely important. Content that you like, content that has resonance for you.
Read more Learning Languages with Netflix & YouTube29Sep
Experience Is The Best Teacher
At the age of 55, I decided to learn Cantonese. I had studied Mandarin and could read Chinese characters, but I needed to develop the ability to understand how Chinese characters were pronounced in Cantonese. I went through a period of six months of intensive listening. That was when I discovered the minidisk player. For […]
Read more Experience Is The Best Teacher22Sep
Don’t Speak in Your Target Language
I think very often in the standard classroom there's a tremendous emphasis placed on producing the language, speaking the language, which is fine because that's what people want to do. But what I think is more important is what will I be able to do with the language in a year from now? And from that perspective, I'm not tremendously motivated to speak.
Read more Don’t Speak in Your Target Language15Sep
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.
Read more English Grammar 101