📖 If we want to speak a language fluently, we first have to memorize a bunch of rules, right? Wrong! 🧠 It turns out that our brains will automatically internalize a language's underlying patterns when we get enough exposure and practice. So instead of spending all your time memorizing rules, focus on reading and listening. This approach is more natural AND more fun. To be clear, I am not saying that you shouldn't use proper grammar in your target language. Syntax certainly DOES matter. What I ...
Aug 10, 2023•9 min
🚪 Languages can unlock doors you never even knew existed, but you first have to reach out and turn the handle. The doors won't open themselves. Don't overthink decisions. Just take action and see where the language learning adventure leads you! I've made a number of pivotal decisions that completely changed the trajectory of my life, languages, and career... Hopping on a Europe-bound ship at age 19. Switching my major to Political Science and then studying in Paris. Moving to Hong Kong to learn...
Aug 03, 2023•5 min
❓What is the most difficult language to learn? The short answer? It depends! The difficulty of a language depends on a number of critical factors, 6 of which I share in this video. I also explain why certain languages tend to be more difficult than others, and why ONE language has been particularly challenging for me. Later in the video, I am joined by the Chinese polyglot Zoe from @zoe.languages. It turns out that she has ALSO found this same language to be the most difficult one out of the 6 s...
Jul 28, 2023•12 min
I’ve learned 20 languages so far, and I usually enjoy the process. But Korean has been a real struggle for me. In this video, I explain why it’s been such a challenge and where I went wrong.
Jul 20, 2023•13 min
📚 Elon Musk allegedly reads 2 books a DAY! That's over 37 million words a year! (For comparison, the average person finishes only 14 books a YEAR.)
Jul 14, 2023•11 min
Some people argue that you must work with a teacher to get fluent in a language, others claim that teachers are unnecessary and that you can learn on your own. So which is correct? Like most things in language learning (and life!) the answer isn’t black and white.
Jul 05, 2023•8 min
I have been learning languages for over 50 years. In this time there is one development in particular that has allowed me to learn more efficiently and given me access to new worlds of meaningful and interesting content: the MP3.
Jun 30, 2023•6 min
I like analogies, they help us understand. An analogy I thought of recently was how our knowledge of a language is like an iceberg: what we can produce or think we know at any given moment is just the tip of the iceberg and there is deep familiarity with the language underneath.
Jun 27, 2023•6 min
When do we know a word? Who cares? Just keep pumping words into your brain. Keep on actively pursuing words. That’s what we measure at LingQ. How many words you have grabbed and thrown into your brain. How many stick or when they stick is largely out of our control.
Jun 20, 2023•6 min
Language immersion doesn’t depend so much on where you are, although it can. It depends more on your attitude towards the language you are learning, and your actions as a learner.
Jun 16, 2023•11 min
Some people are afraid to speak in their target language. It needn’t happen. We can prepare for speaking. We can recognize speaking as a part of our learning process, not a performance to be judged by others.
Jun 13, 2023•8 min
The journey is the reward. As long as you are actively engaged with your target language, listening, reading, speaking or writing, in ways that you find meaningful and enjoyable, you will achieve your goals.
Jun 08, 2023•5 min
Travelling around Poland has made me realize that there is always more to a place than initially meets the eye. This is true for cities and also languages. When we start exploring a language we see that what we thought was the big picture was only a part of it. I love this about the language learning journey!
Jun 01, 2023•6 min
We need to be patient when learning languages. We will learn and forget, learn and forget over and over again. This isn’t a sign of failure but rather the natural way we learn new things. Relax into it and you will be successful.
May 30, 2023•7 min
I have always been interested in the origins of languages and the differences between languages. In my latest video I explore some world languages that share a lot in common and try to answer the question “what is a language?“.
May 25, 2023•9 min
Beginner material needs to contain lots of high frequency words and these words should repeat many times within one lesson. There should also be many lessons. The Mini Stores at LingQ check all these boxes. Watch my latest video to find out more about this fantastic beginner course and why I use it when I start out in a new language.
May 18, 2023•8 min
It’s easy to get caught up in negative thinking when learning a new language: I make so many mistakes, my speaking is so unnatural, I don’t understand when people speak to me, etc. What if we chose to break away from that thinking and believe instead that these things are part of the process and nothing to worry about? What if we chose to focus on the good instead of the “bad”?
May 16, 2023•6 min
Should seniors pay more taxes? We are, generally speaking, a bigger burden on the health system. My answer might surprise you…
May 11, 2023•6 min
To succeed in learning foreign languages, we need to be resourceful, taking advantage of people around us, and what the internet offers us. Iclal of Istanbul is an inspiring example.
May 05, 2023•18 min
Language learning isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to made more difficult. In this video I go over the 10 most common mistakes language learners make that I have noticed over the decades. Would you add any?
May 02, 2023•11 min
Many people are put off learning languages because they think it is difficult to do. Language educators often don’t help, but instead complicate the process with jargon, seeking to describe the minute details of the natural and enjoyable process of language acquisition.
Apr 28, 2023•14 min
It is so important to stay curious and keep learning new things as you age. I have most certainly found this to be the case. I don’t just learn languages, I am curious about many topics and I feed this curiosity every day.
Apr 25, 2023•8 min
Learning a language means leaving the comfort of your native language and confronting the challenges of a new language and its uncertainty. Call it the learning zone. How do we make it more comfortable?
Apr 21, 2023•8 min
People often ask me which language they should learn and my answer is always the same: learn the language you are keenest to learn. Even if you learn for a few months then move on to another language, you don’t lose what you gained. Enjoy the language buffet!
Apr 18, 2023•8 min
Feli is from Germany but lives in the US. She talks a lot about cultural differences on her YouTube channel “Feli from Germany”. There are things she prefers about the US, and some things, not so much, like “ghosting”, a term I had never heard of before this chat.
Apr 13, 2023•20 min
When I learn a language, I also learn the history of the country. I am transported to that area. I gain a new outlook on the world. It’s a process I always enjoy and am in no hurry to end. In fact, in language learning, the process is the reward.
Apr 11, 2023•8 min
For a long time I have been convinced that the simplest and most reliable indicator of our potential and our level in a language is how many words we know. Learning words ought to be a pleasant task at the heart of language learning.
Apr 04, 2023•11 min
There are various ways ChatGPT can assist in language learning: Duolingo seems to have enlisted ChatGPT mostly for error correction and role playing. These are not areas of interest to me. However, these activities could help lessen the workload of teachers.
Mar 31, 2023•8 min
Elon Musk apparently believes that Neuralink, a computer chip that can be implanted in the brains of animals and people, will make language learning and even language obsolete. Here are my thoughts.
Mar 28, 2023•9 min
I will visit Denmark, Sweden and Poland, from May 17 to June 2. I’m working on my Danish, Swedish and Polish to prepare. Travel is a great motivator and stimulating, but we don’t have to leave our home country to travel. Hope to see some of you there.
Mar 23, 2023•5 min
