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April 28, 2020 Steve Learning Techniques Language learning Learning Methods

The Three Language Acquisition Stages

They say “you are what you eat”. In the global information age, maybe it should be “you are what you can say”. Language, in its varied manifestations, is mankind’s defining achievement, and it also defines us. Language can be social, political, technical, practical, entertaining, sensual, philosophical, and much more. At the banquet of life, each language is another course. The better you can use languages, your own and others, the more you can enjoy the feast. At least that has been my experience.

August 8, 2019 Steve Techniques Learning Methods

Language-Learning Basics, Again and Again

I want to talk about language learning, the basics that is. The basics in a language are important. It is important to speak correctly, it is important to focus on key patterns,…

August 21, 2018 Steve Learning Languages Motivation Education Language learning ...

Language Goals and Frustrations

I had lunch earlier this week with a college professor who is head of the Asian language department in a large university here in Vancouver. He told me that a majority of…

July 10, 2018 Steve Techniques fluency Learning Methods ...

How to Avoid Language Attrition

Many people, even if they’ve only learned one foreign language, may only visit the country where the language is spoken once a year or once every few years, so it can be hard to maintain or improve those language skills. Not being able to maintain a language can lead to something many multilingual people fear: language attrition, or the weakening or loss of a language. In my case, I claim to have 16 languages, and so language attrition is a concern.

June 12, 2018 Steve Motivation Learning Methods Speaking

Can We Learn to Speak a Foreign Language Like a Native Speaker?

I can speak 17 or so languages to varying degrees of fluency. Some I speak really well, like French, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. Even in languages that I speak less well, like Swedish, German, or Russian, my accent is not too bad, people tell me.

April 3, 2018 Steve Education Traditional Instruction Education fluency ...

Language Acquisition: Do Children Learn Faster Than Adults?

I think that children learn faster than adults. There is ample evidence of this, for example amongst immigrants to Canada. Rare is the immigrant family where the children don’t speak English, or…

October 17, 2017 Steve Learning Techniques Input Language learning ...

Effective Language Learning: Listening and Reading

I want to cover the issue of input-based learning that I have spoken about in two past YouTube videos in Chinese and Japanese. It goes by different names but basically amounts to spending most of your time on listening, reading, working on your vocabulary and becoming familiar with the language rather than on output-activities or grammar-focused activities.

4 Steps to Self-Empowerment Through Learning

August 15, 2017 Steve Learning Techniques Education Learning ...

Self-Empowerment Through Learning: Take Charge with These 4 Steps

Human beings are learning machines. We spend our lives learning. We can’t help but learn. The only question is what we will learn and how it will affect our lives.

April 10, 2017 Steve Learning Techniques fluency Language learning ...

Use TPRS to Accelerate Your Language Learning

Storytelling is a powerful engine of language acquisition. Apparently Blaine Ray, the originator of TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), was also the first person to create these circling stories that…

January 15, 2017 Steve Learning Techniques Chinese fluency ...

Learning a Language Means Acquiring Words

People often say to me, “Steve, you’ve obviously got a talent for languages, that’s why you’ve learned so many. Good for you, but I could never do it.”

To which I say, to myself at least, why don’t you try doing it the way I do it? Maybe, rather than a question of talent, it’s a matter of the method that I use. What is my method? It’s really quite simple. It’s the relentless pursuit of words – words that I glean through content that is of interest to me. That’s basically what it boils down to.

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