We all have days when we feel down. Or are very busy. It is okay. Life is life, and it gives us ups and downs. What is not okay is giving up language practice during those days. The most important thing for learning languages is to keep practicing, and frequency here matters more than duration
Nobody Speaks That Language Here
Isn’t it hilarious that in 2015, when the world is globalized and connected, many people still believe they should have native speakers around to practice their target language? “Nobody speaks that language where I live, so I can’t practice it”, they say. The most amusing part of it is that those people are usually confident
Isn’t it hilarious that in 2015, when the world is globalized and connected, many people still believe they should have native speakers around to practice their target language? “Nobody speaks that language where I live, so I can’t practice it”, they say. The most amusing part of it is that those people are usually confident
More Than One Right Choice
Language learners are usually afraid of making mistakes. When you learn a new language and try to put your ideas into words, you always hesitate. You naturally ask: what is the right way to say this? There’s nothing wrong with this question, but there is a trap one should be aware of: there is always
Language learners are usually afraid of making mistakes. When you learn a new language and try to put your ideas into words, you always hesitate. You naturally ask: what is the right way to say this? There’s nothing wrong with this question, but there is a trap one should be aware of: there is always
Getting Prepared For Online Lessons
Online lessons with native speakers bring language learning to a new level. Everybody with a computer connected to the internet, mic and speakers can enjoy a wide choice of teachers, tutors and language exchange partners. Yet there are a few technical details one should consider when arranging an online language session. Those details are relevant
Online lessons with native speakers bring language learning to a new level. Everybody with a computer connected to the internet, mic and speakers can enjoy a wide choice of teachers, tutors and language exchange partners. Yet there are a few technical details one should consider when arranging an online language session. Those details are relevant
School Is Over
It is fascinating how strongly school determines our behavior and perception of the world. School teaches us to value scores more than knowledge. Some kids study literature, or chemistry, or mathematics because they like those subjects and they are craving for new knowledge, but the vast majority of students are interested in better scores, and
It is fascinating how strongly school determines our behavior and perception of the world. School teaches us to value scores more than knowledge. Some kids study literature, or chemistry, or mathematics because they like those subjects and they are craving for new knowledge, but the vast majority of students are interested in better scores, and
The Philosopher’s Demise
What can one do after failing to achieve something? Learning from failure is a good way to utilise one’s painful experience. Writing a book about your failure and letting other people learn from it is even better. First, you help others avoid the mistakes you made, second, you can heal your wounded ego with the
What can one do after failing to achieve something? Learning from failure is a good way to utilise one’s painful experience. Writing a book about your failure and letting other people learn from it is even better. First, you help others avoid the mistakes you made, second, you can heal your wounded ego with the
How Your Mother-tongue Sabotages Your Language Learning
What helps people to acquire a new language? Surprisingly, it is not adding something new to their everyday practice. It is getting rid of the unwanted help of their mother-tongue. When learning a second language, adult people use their mother-tongue as a middleman between them and their new language. It is unavoidable at some stage
What helps people to acquire a new language? Surprisingly, it is not adding something new to their everyday practice. It is getting rid of the unwanted help of their mother-tongue. When learning a second language, adult people use their mother-tongue as a middleman between them and their new language. It is unavoidable at some stage
Setting Up Right Goals
We need goals. They navigate us through the chaos of life. They help us to become what we want to be. They organize us. If you decide to learn a new language, you have to set up your goals. The only problem is that more often than not our goals remain unachieved. Most people start
We need goals. They navigate us through the chaos of life. They help us to become what we want to be. They organize us. If you decide to learn a new language, you have to set up your goals. The only problem is that more often than not our goals remain unachieved. Most people start
How Not To Die Of Boredom
The first steps into a new language are the hardest ones. You know so little, you have to look up every word in a dictionary. You struggle with unfamiliar grammar forms, you can’t distinguish one part of a speech from another, and fail to recognize new grammatical forms of familiar words. It is so frustrating!
The first steps into a new language are the hardest ones. You know so little, you have to look up every word in a dictionary. You struggle with unfamiliar grammar forms, you can’t distinguish one part of a speech from another, and fail to recognize new grammatical forms of familiar words. It is so frustrating!
Why Etymology Matters
The question of why some words look suspiciously similar in Russian and English first arose when I started learning English at the age of 11. I was so puzzled by this fact that I asked our Russian teacher to explain the mystery to me, and she told me that many centuries ago, there was a
The question of why some words look suspiciously similar in Russian and English first arose when I started learning English at the age of 11. I was so puzzled by this fact that I asked our Russian teacher to explain the mystery to me, and she told me that many centuries ago, there was a