Turkish vocabulary notes = a pretty good journal When I arrived in Turkey almost three weeks ago, I already spoke enough Turkish to get around and have familiar conversations. But there were, and still are, huge gaps in my vocabulary, especially since I am in Turkey in a new season fo
What Language Learning and Martial Arts Have in Common Last week I went to a Muay Thai kickboxing class for the first time in months. I was comfortable until the last part of the class when the teacher had us go up in pairs for light sparring rounds (practice fights). I do Muay Thai f
“The Lernen to Talk Show” Have you seen this blog in which a guy learns German in a year and posts weekly videos of his progress? It’s great. The guy behind the project, Mickey Mangan, wanted “to prove to people that learning a language is something you can do
Plugging in for listening comprehension My work is all done on the computer, which means I spend between 5 and 9 hours a day staring at a computer screen. I love my work, but at the end of the day I almost always have sore eyes and a pounding headache—which means that I can̵
Sample Sentences Bu kız çok güzel ama yürüyüşu çok tuhaf. This girl is very beautiful, but the way she walks is very strange. Arabaya benzin lazım. This car needs petrol. Bu kutuyu açma. Do not open this box. Bunu bana söylemene rağmen, anlamadım. Although you told me this, I did not
This is the first in a series of interviews with multilingual people. Here Maria jumps into the advantages of speaking more than one language, her preference for Spanish when it comes to swearing, and the significance of who you talk to at the end of the day. Maria, tell us about your
My new favourite language learning tool In one of my first posts for this blog, I shared some ideas for using chinese dictionary apps and in a way that ensures strong and continued language learning. And while I’m still all about the paper dictionaries, I recently discovered the
The original idea In 2012, I proposed to travel to 12 countries and learn 12 languages. I even began the journey–flying to New Zealand to learn a new variety of English, and then to Indonesia to learn Bahasa–but the timing was wrong. I returned to Vancouver. As I now trave
An unconventional listening comprehension strategy This weekend I did the Grouse Grind—the infamous hike that takes you straight up the side of Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver. On a Sunday in late August it was packed, and we were walking in step with dozens of other people. Amid t
The challenge of claiming additional languages “So, what languages do you speak, anyway?” I am always reluctant to answer this question. I have spent time learning French, Spanish, Turkish, and two kinds of Arabic, and even dabbling in German and Mandarin, but I shrug and
