Interview with Jason West, Creator of English Out There
In my interview with Jason West, the creator of English Out There, we discuss the weaknesses of traditional English schools, methodologies, and materials, and how his approach aims to overcome them.
read moreThe Secret to Learning a Language in 10 Days
Check out this beautifully illustrated talk about how to learn foreign languages using the Pimsleur approach. I was reluctant to share the video on the site as they sneak in a sales pitch every 5 minutes of so, but they do an excellent job of summarizing what I believe to be the fundamentals of effective language learning, with pretty drawings to boot! Enjoy!
read moreHow to Conquer Kanji
Kanji: arguably the most enjoyable part of learning Japanese, but also the most intimidating for those just getting started in the language. Since beginning my Japanese journey over a decade ago, I have come across a lot of Nihongo teachers, textbooks, and courses that advise learners to hold off on kanji until they already speak the language fairly well. I think this is absolute rubbish, but let me first give some of the common arguments before I tear them to shreds...
read moreInterview with Arkady Zilberman, Creator of Language Bridge
Arkady Zilberman, creator of Language Bridge and a former simultaneous interpreter in Russia, addresses what is perhaps the greatest impediment to adult language learning success: cross-translation to and from one's native language. Few learners are probably aware this sub-concious process goes on at all, but Arkady's extensive experience learning languages, interpreting, and experimenting on learners, have proven that it does indeed occur. As he points out in our interview, even many seemingly successful foreign language learners still translate to and from their native language, but can just do so at such a rate that they can't perceive the process.
read moreReview of Brainscape’s Spanish! iPhone App
Spanish is one of my next target languages and I was quite excited when Amanda Moritz of Brainscape asked me to do a review of their new Spanish language learning app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. There's no better excuse to study a language and play on my iPod touch than doing a product review!
read moreThe Polyglot Project
The Polyglot Project, a collection of language learning tips from polyglots and language enthusiasts across the globe (including yours truly), is now available as both a physical book on Amazon and as a free PDF download. This tome of language awesomeness contains over 500 pages of language learning advice, tips, and success stories, with contributions from 43 authors, including Moses McCormick, Steve Kaufmann, Benny Lewis, Stuart Jay Raj, and countless others language heroes.
read moreWhy eBooks are a Language Learner’s Best Friend
Just as the printing press democratized access to the written word, ebooks are again revolutionizing how information is produced, distributed and consumed. Even successful authors, whose very livelihoods have depended on the sale of dead-tree books (e.g. Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek and The Four-Hour Body, and Seth Godin, author of Tribes, Permission Marketing, and All Marketers are Liars) have seen the writing on the literary wall, and agree that "print is dead", or at least "dying fast"... But this is not necessarily a bad thing considering the myriad advantages of ebooks, especially for learners of foreign languages.
read moreThe Input vs. Output Debate: John’s 2¢
As a language learning addict, I follow lots (and I mean lots) of polyglot blogs and podcasts. It is always interesting to see what has worked (and what hasn't worked) for successful language learners. While most fluent foreign language speakers tend to agree on the vast majority of language learning DOs and DON'Ts, there is one area that always seems to cause heated debate, shouting, name calling, and occasional mud/poo flinging: the importance of language input (i.e. listening and reading) versus language output (i.e. speaking and writing). I have sat quietly on the sidelines for some time now, politely listening to both sides of the argument. But it's time to blow my referee whistle because both teams are "offsides" (Okay John, enough sports analogies already!)
read moreTo Busuu or Not to Busuu… That is the Question.
Busuu is a fast growing online language learning community with over a million users as of early October 2010. The site is named after a Cameroon language of the same name, which according to their website, is now spoken by only 8 living people! All in all, the site is very similar, in a good way, to LiveMocha (read my review of LiveMocha here). Both use a "freemium" model, offering both free and premium services, which is great for new users who want to get their language learning feet wet before committing to a monthly credit card charge. Both are social networks, relying upon and benefiting from crowd sourcing to correct user writing samples, provide conversation practice, etc. There are, however, many subtle differences between the two sites; some good, some bad...
read moreReview of LiveMocha, The World’s Largest Language Learning Community
With over 5 million registered users spread across 200 countries, LiveMocha is the world’s largest language learning community. And with sufficient venture capital and corporate partners behind them, the Seattle-based start-up firm has the resources to keep expanding their service offering long into the foreseeable future. The site has been well received by most, and comes strongly recommended by many language bloggers, school teachers, and individual learners. Steven J. Sacco, a Language Professor at San Diego State University, has this to say about LiveMocha: “LiveMocha is the...
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