Unconventional language hacking tips from Benny the Irish polyglot; travelling the world to learn languages to fluency and beyond!
You see the native speaker of your target language, that girl/boy you like, an important person you admire or you could be moments away from clicking “send” on an important e-mail or job application, or pressing that last digit to make an important phonecall. And then it starts: the self-doubt, the reasons you’ll fail and […]
As an engineer with a scientific background, I am quite sceptical to wild claims, in life, explaining how the universe works, and in language learning. Even in the days of ebooks and smartphones we still apply backward centuries-old thinking to concepts that should have died out long ago. While some would call it closed mindedness, […]
I had the chance to attend one of the world’s most famous parties; Brazil’s Carnival. While most visitors would check it out in Rio, which I have lived in, my experience of the Carnival in Olinda in the Northeast was incredible! Some ‘gringos’ (note: in Brazil that word is used affectionately, not derogatively, and describes […]
What’s the best language learning system? So many people keep asking me this question, so I want to settle it once and for all. It’s not Rosetta Stone, it’s not Pimsleur, it’s not LingQ, it’s not any book you can find in your local library, or any podcast that you can download. If you have […]
Time for a mission update! Last time I updated was after a few days in Manila when I had decided to go down south. I made it to Cebu, and went straight to the very south of that island (around Moalboal) to get some time by the sea (I hadn’t been by the sea for […]
If your end-goal is to speak then having a silent period to prepare (while you study, listen, or brace yourself for the glorious coming of your ready day foretold by language learning prophets) is nothing more than a comfortable way to waste time. It’s amazing how much this is promoted by various methods I see […]
Explanations of foreign body language / gestures is one of the many many things you won’t find in grammar books and typical courses. And it’s something you’ll never pick up from audio based passive learning. The vast majority of non-verbal communication is actually universal – it would just seem strange to list them. But then […]
For most people, the grammar issue is a huge question. So you may be surprised to see I haven’t written many posts about it despite running this blog for over 5 years about languages and related topics. The reason is simple: there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I have my method, and someone else will tell […]
In this day and age travel is so easy and cheap that taking a “gap year” is becoming more and more commonplace. Travel before settling down into your job or even before going to college is something a large number of Europeans and Australians have been doing for well over a decade. I’m glad to […]
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