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
Free23Jun
23 Jun 2021
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 [...]
Read more How To Learn Portuguese16Jun
16 Jun 2021
Do NOT Study Grammar
Grammar basically describes usage. So since languages evolve over time, sounds in languages evolve over time, usage patterns evolve over time. Therefore the grammar which describes the usage will evolve over time. So how useful is it to attempt to teach people what the rules of usage are before the learner has had enough experience with the language?
Read more Do NOT Study Grammar09Jun
9 Jun 2021
Italki Review: Get the Most Out of the Language Learning Resource
The last 15 years have brought revolutionary change to language learning. Amongst the most popular new opportunities is the possibility to connect with native speakers of the languages we are learning via the Internet, and specifically via Skype. We all take Skype for granted today, but the app was first launched in 2003, in Estonia. […]
Read more Italki Review: Get the Most Out of the Language Learning Resource02Jun
2 Jun 2021
How I Learned Japanese
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Studying English? Here’s the transcript as a lesson to study on LingQ. Back in 1968, I was sent to Hong Kong by the Canadian government to learn Mandarin Chinese. I spent a year learning Chinese and then the idea was […]
Read more How I Learned Japanese26May
26 May 2021
How to Learn Vocabulary Fast
The most important task in language learning, in my opinion, is the acquisition of vocabulary. If we have enough words, we can make sense of what we’re reading or listening to and we can somehow express ourselves. Vocabulary is much more important than grammar. The grammar you acquire gradually as you become familiar with the […]
Read more How to Learn Vocabulary Fast19May
19 May 2021
Learn a Language in a Month: Is It Possible?
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Studying English? Here’s the transcript as a lesson to study on LingQ. We regularly see blog posts and videos where people provide advice on how to learn a language in a given period of time: one month, three months, […]
Read more Learn a Language in a Month: Is It Possible?12May
12 May 2021
How to Learn English Fast
If you really want to learn English fast, here is what you do. This advice is valid for other languages as well. The only difference between English and other languages is that most people learning English have had a lot of classroom instruction, which is not usually the case for learners of other languages. […]
Read more How to Learn English Fast05May
5 May 2021
How to Study Effectively
First of all, the first thing I think we need to do to study effectively is to improve our reading skills. If we aren't good readers, we need to become good readers, to read faster, to get better at acquiring information through reading, because reading is very effective, very efficient. It enables us to access so much information, whether in a traditional book or an ebook where we can look [...]
Read more How to Study Effectively28Apr
28 Apr 2021
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 [...]
Read more French for Beginners: What You Need to Know21Apr
21 Apr 2021
How I Learned Russian
I was about 60 when I started learning Russian and my approach to language learning had always been that you shouldn't focus on grammar. You need to get used to the language through lots of listening and reading. I had done that with Chinese, with Japanese.
Read more How I Learned Russian