Articles


Just 2 weeks learning Esperanto can get you months ahead in your target language

written by Benny Lewis

Whenever I meet new people and try to help them with their language learning missions, when they hear that I have already learned to speak a few languages and ask me to list them, the one that always gets their attention the most is Esperanto. Most people have never even heard of it, but occasionally […]


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Reading time: 9 minutes

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Embracing embarrassing mistakes

written by Benny Lewis

“I made a new video – I look cool in it! Want to come up and check it out?” Sounds like an innocent enough thing to say, right? While talking to a German friend of mine (a girl, but seriously just a friend and one I’ve had for many years), I wanted to say this […]


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Reading time: 5 minutes

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Why studying will never help you speak a language

Why studying will never help you speak a language

written by Benny Lewis

This post has been a long time coming. Teachers and linguists are going to hate me for this, but it has to be said: You can never speak a language by just studying it, no matter how much you study Yes, you read that right. Studying is the wrong thing to do if you want […]


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Reading time: 7 minutes

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First month in Berlin & 8 language 6 dialect tour of my flat

First month in Berlin & 8 language 6 dialect tour of my flat

written by Benny Lewis

It’s been a month since I arrived in Berlin, so it’s about time for a mission update! To make it more interesting, I’ve decided to include this multilingual video tour of my flat. I also made (just English) videos to show my home in Prague and Rio, since I host Couchsurfers most of the time […]


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Reading time: 6 minutes

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Stop being such a crybaby

written by Benny Lewis

My life is so unfair – forget the starving children in Africa, or people with terminal illnesses; they have no idea what I have to put up with. I have seperable verbs and conjugations to deal with. Oh, woe is me!! For example, German has strange word orders, prepositions at the end of sentences that […]


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Reading time: 6 minutes

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First WeekFirst Week in Germany, No English. Here's How I Did It in Germany, No English. Here's How I Did It

First Week in Germany, No English. Here’s How I Did It

written by Benny Lewis

*Note: Written in 2010  Just one week into my latest crazy mission and I am happy to report that I have only been speaking German with Germans since I got here. Apart from with my landlord (who is American) and lunch with a Canadian friend, I have used no English at all outside of the […]


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Reading time: 15 minutes

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German 3 month mission: Sit C2 exam

German 3 month mission: Sit C2 exam

written by Benny Lewis

Take Note: I wrote this post while preparing for my German mission in Berlin back in 2010. It’s a good post to read when preparing for your next language mission, so you can see what I take into consideration and how I approach short and long term goals. Enjoy! OK, I’ve had several months of a […]


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Reading time: 8 minutes

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Are you close-minded? How I finally learned how to get along with Parisians

written by Benny Lewis

If you ask someone the question “Are you close-minded?” the answer will almost certainly be a no. I don’t think anyone in the world sees themselves as closed minded. They are always sceptical or simply convinced that the other guy is wrong. The description closed minded is one we tend to reserve for someone else. […]


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Reading time: 10 minutes

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