Posts Tagged ‘practice’
May
May
Badoo – a great place to practice your language skills
The most important thing part of learning a language is using it. Communicating with people. Unfortunately, finding ways to use a new language is not always obvious to the one learning it, so today I introduce Badoo.
May
May
Listen to the news in a new language
When learning a new language, it is important to consume as much of that language as possible, in order to help your ears and brain adjust to hearing that language spoken. Outside of actual conversations, one of the best ways to do this is by listening to the news.
May
May
Nobody’s judging you
I often see people who are studying a language pass up opportunities to practice. Maybe they’re trying to learn Spanish, but they never say anything in Spanish to their friends from Argentina. Maybe they’re learning Polish, but they never use any Polish words with their coworker from Warsaw. Or maybe they’re in the same German…
Jul
Jul
Italian travel blogs
Perhaps the single topic that I read about the most is travel. I have always been fascinated with far away places and beautiful, exotic scenery… multicultured festivals and traditional styles of dress.
So naturally, when I am learning a new language, I go on the hunt for travel blogs in that language. When you’re learning…
Oct
Oct
Do-it-yourself immersion
I’m traveling this week, visiting huge scenic landscapes and beautiful national parks in the big, wide-open western states. It’s a lot of driving, a bit of hiking, and nights in hotel rooms, and I’m doing it all alone. But I’m not complaining about being alone. On the contrary, I like it, because it allows me…
Oct
Oct
Learning as a lifestyle
Usually, when people want to learn a new language but never do it, it’s because they don’t think they have the time for studying. They think they have to make time to study, to go to classes, to listen to CDs, to use software, to do flashcards and exercises… Eventually the thought of all that…
Nov
Nov
Walk to the edge, and then step over
This is a post about going too far. It’s about stepping over the line. It’s about pushing your boundaries. This is a post about stepping beyond what you know. It’s about crossing past your comfort zone. And most of all, it’s about choosing to do that willingly.
I just had lunch with a friend, and…
Nov
Nov
How to practice speaking on your own
This is a guest post written by Pete Lypkie. Pete is a language learner, and the author of Language Fixation. He is currently working on German, Esperanto, and Swedish. He is also a regular reader and commenter here.…
This was originally a response to a question about how introverts can practice speaking a language. Not
May
May
Good Days Gone Bad
This is a guest post written by Zane the Experimenter. Zane is the author of Life by Experimentation. His blog uses science and self-testing to quantify improving the quality of life, including everything from how to sleep two hours less per night to how to actually save money while traveling.…
It has happened to us
May
May
Repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition
As most of you already know, I live in Chicago. With a Chicagoan in the White House, you may have figured out that basketball is a tradition here in Chicago. You might even remember a guy by the name of Michael Jordan being kind of good at it. When I was growing up, I loved…