Archive for March, 2011
Mar
Mar
The myth of how children learn
There is a popular myth floating around, which suggests that children are somehow more capable of learning than adults are. People love this myth, because as adults it gives them a convenient excuse for not learning.
The myth is particularly popular in the realm of language learning. It’s just accepted as true, without any argument,…
Mar
Mar
First person conjugations
We’ve looked at a few properties of verbs already, and already figured out a lot about verbs without using any instruction at all. But we still haven’t established even the basic first-person conjugations. After three months, I can’t even say “I’m hungry” yet!
Well, it turns out, I can say it. Actually, I can say…
Mar
Mar
Guest reading: Евгений Онегин, chapter 31
This is the second installment of my new weekly feature, based on non-English speakers reading in their native language. You can hear native pronunciation, while reading along, and hopefully it will help you to improve your comprehension.
Today’s contribution comes from Natasha, a native Russian speaker who is working hard to improve her English.
She…
Mar
Mar
More Turkish with Tarkan
Today is a good day to look at another Tarkan song. This is another one that I’ve found really catchy, called Çat Kapı. I couldn’t find the video for it, so it will just be accompanied by the audio. Also, I started with this translation, but tried to clean up the English grammar a bit…
Mar
Mar
Diet pills, lottery tickets, and other nonsense
Okay, you’re probably wondering what diet pills and lottery tickets have to do with language learning. Or, maybe you’re a wise and perceptive reader, and you already see where I’m going with this. Either way, I’m sure you’ll get some value out of what I’m about to say.
Magic pills
You know those weight loss…