19Aug
19 Aug 2021
All You Need to Truly Ace the TOEIC Test
TOEIC, the Test of English for International Communication, is probably the most widely taken test of English language proficiency in the world. TOEIC is taken by around seven million people every year, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal. It is my observation that most people who take TOEIC, especially in […]
Read more All You Need to Truly Ace the TOEIC Test22Jul
22 Jul 2020
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 to be the case. Of course we need to learn key words like “I”, “you”, “he” and “she” and the like, or “where”, […]
Read more How Many Words Do We Need to Speak a Foreign Language?17Mar
17 Mar 2020
How To Improve Your Speaking Skills
You are unlikely to learn to speak a new language perfectly, but perfection should not be your goal. Your main goal should be effective communication. I am not perfect in any of the languages that I speak, but I can communicate. And whenever I communicate in another language I'm satisfied. I also know from experience that my ability to speak and to pronounce well will only improve with time, [...]
Read more How To Improve Your Speaking Skills16Jul
16 Jul 2019
Can Older Adult Learners Acquire New Languages?
I often hear this question from adult learners. Sometimes my followers on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter bring this up. In fact, not so long ago I had the following request from one of my followers.“I want to do some research on the problems of older language learners and see what I can do to help them.”I replied by asking. “What do you consider to be an older language learner?” His answer [...]
Read more Can Older Adult Learners Acquire New Languages?10Apr
10 Apr 2019
Language Learning Process
Language Learning Progress has been transcribed from Steve’s YouTube channel. The original video was published on August 13, 2013 Hi there, Steve Kaufmann here. Today I want to talk about how we can make progress. How do we progress in language learning? To me, the answer is very simple. Keep moving. Move forward, that’s what […]
Read more Language Learning Process11Oct
11 Oct 2018
Learning Czech and Accumulating 100 Words a Day
I studied Czech a few years ago so my statistics at LingQ for that language are not current. However, the statistics from my recent Polish challenge illustrate the fact that we can learn or add to our “known words” total well over 100 words a day. In fact in the case of Polish (since I know other Slavic languages) it is over 300 words a day. You can learn 100 words a day, if you are willing [...]
Read more Learning Czech and Accumulating 100 Words a Day10Apr
10 Apr 2018
Effective Independent Lifelong Learning
Independent learning is the most important issue in education today, and in many ways the most elusive or difficult issue to deal with. More than class size, teacher accreditation, or the latest innovations in teaching methodology, developing independent learning habits, in other words, self-learning, in students, and teachers, should be the main preoccupation of educators, […]
Read more Effective Independent Lifelong Learning13Feb
13 Feb 2018
Meaningful Language Learning Goals
The goal of fluency in a foreign language can often seem vague and elusive. It is not always clear what fluency means. Those who have not experienced the feeling of achieving fluency in another language doubt they can get there, and doubt they would know if they did. Learners often feel they are not making […]
Read more Meaningful Language Learning Goals30Jan
30 Jan 2018
How to Learn Any Language Effortlessly
When I wrote my book The Linguist: A Personal Guide to Language Learning, I began with what I called ‘The Parable of the Crooked Tree’. The author of the parable was Zhuangzi, an early exponent of Taoism, a school of Chinese philosophy from over 2,000 years ago. I referred to Taoism on a number of occasions in my book. Zhuangzi’s basic principle in life was to follow what was natural, what [...]
Read more How to Learn Any Language Effortlessly10Mar
10 Mar 2017
Language and Memory
I am starting to believe that memory is not that important when it comes to language learning. I have recently started learning Greek. Most of the words are completely unfamiliar to me, and not related to languages that I already know. As I start to get a toehold in this world of new and strange […]
Read more Language and Memory