08Sep
Why Content is King
One of the most important ingredients for language learning success is interesting, captivating and meaningful content. I am rediscovering this truth as I proceed in my 90-Day Challenge in Polish. The discovery of Real Polish has been a major turning point in my Polish studies. The material that Piotr has created is outstanding, especially the […]
Read more Why Content is King17Aug
Travel and Language Learning
This is a transcript of one of my YouTube Videos – To keep up with my latest thoughts on language learning, subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Hi there, Steve Kaufmann. Here I am in our little yard. We’re in Palm Springs, my wife and I, so I want to talk about travel and language learning. People […]
Read more Travel and Language Learning18Jun
Are There Different Types of Language Learners?
This is a transcript of one of my YouTube Videos – To keep up with my latest thoughts on language learning, subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Hi there, Steve Kaufmann. You often hear that there are different types of language learners. There are auditory learners, visual learners and kinetic learners; people who like to learn by […]
Read more Are There Different Types of Language Learners?04Jun
What Do You Believe? The Placebo Effect Of Language Learning
This is a transcript of one of my YouTube Videos – To keep up with my latest thoughts on language learning, subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Hi There Steve Kaufmann here again to talk about language learning. And I want to talk about something that I often think of and that I have been meaning to […]
Read more What Do You Believe? The Placebo Effect Of Language Learning28May
Three Myths About Language Learning
The 3 biggest myths about language learning are that. 1. You have to practice speaking and focus on grammar. 2. You have to go to school. 3. It’s difficult.
Read more Three Myths About Language Learning13May
Should More Money Be Spent On Language Education?
More money should be spent on language instruction says this article from The Atlantic. Yet many of the arguments strike me, a language learning enthusiast, as out of date. “Educators from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., this past Thursday to lobby in the interest of world languages. It was Language Advocacy Day, an annual […]
Read more Should More Money Be Spent On Language Education?29Apr
Can You Hack Language Learning?
Learn English from this video as a lesson on LingQ Hi there, Steve Kaufmann. Today, I want to talk about language hacks, hacking language learning. It’s very fashionable to talk about hacking things. There’s a self-help site called Life Hacks, a form of advice on how to tie your shoelaces faster and stuff. What do […]
Read more Can You Hack Language Learning?14Sep
Are we learning languages the wrong way?
We are learning languages the wrong way says an article from the New Statesman. I don’t agree with everything in the article, but there are some important points. I have always felt that the emphasis on teaching a few basic survival sentences, or correct usage, is largely a waste of time. I believe we need to emphasize […]
Read more Are we learning languages the wrong way?05Sep
All learning is self-learning
We are conditioned by schools to think that our learning has to be directed by a teacher in the classroom. However, learning is inevitably a process of self improvement and personal growth. What matters most is what we as learners do, whether in the classroom, or outside the classroom. A teacher cannot force learning on […]
Read more All learning is self-learning19Aug
The long road to language learning success
It takes a long time to learn a language. I have sometimes compared language learning to an upside down hockey stick. There is an initial quick steep climb, followed by a long straight period when we are often not aware of our progress. That early climb, when something unintelligible all of a sudden becomes meaningful […]
Read more The long road to language learning success