The last three days I have been skiing at Whistler. There was not a cloud in the sky for two days and today is a little overcast. The snow conditions are not ideal but not bad. A little ice in spots and some bare patches. You kind of have to pick …

I think adults get more frustrated than young learners when they seem unable to remember things. They probably have poorer short term memory than younger students. Even high school and university students probably have an ability to cram informati…

I have been reading “The Mind and the Brain, Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force” by Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley. What becomes clear is that the brain constantly responds to stimulus to adjust and create neural networks. Language …

As I am reviewing one of my old Korean books I am reminded of all the things that textbook authors do to make it hard to learn languages. Most textbooks introduce vocabulary in categories. The names of the colours , or the parts of the body etc. w…

In sports it has been found that to improve in sport A it is often a good idea to practice sport B. Tennis or ping pong or gymnastics may improve strength or quickness or balance needed for ice hockey, for example. I think the same works in langua…

It is a rainy day in Vancouver. What else is new? Rather than feel sorry for myself I am going to study some Korean. I started Korean about a year ago and went at it quite hard for about 2 months. I bought three different beginner books with CDs. …

Many language learners just want to talk. They think that if they just talk they will improve. In my experience just talking is not enough. Talking is like playing the game of language learning. In a way it is the reward. It is why we do the other…

The following is a recent exchange at The Linguist Forum on English. what are important phrases!! Posted: Feb 3, 2005 8:01 AM Reply Dear sir:I have read each and every article of the linguist site recently. I have also read free newsletters of the…

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who are surrounded by a language but do not learn it properly. Here in Vancouver there are countless people who live in English, work in English, and even watch TV and read the newpaper in English and…

People who come from a non-Western language background, have a much tougher time learning English. They do not have the Latin and Greek based vocabulary that is common to so many European languages.They have also not been exposed to the Western wa…