Monthly Archives: May 2015

how to learn several languages at the same time
One of the things that often come up in my conversations with other language learners is the question of how to learn and maintain multiple languages at the same time. Below, you will find my tips, as well as a summary of what other language experts think about learning and maintaining several languages simultaneously. I’m going to start with the logistics of how to ensure you’re not mixing up the different languages you’re learning. I’ll then give you some examples of how you can structure your time to make sure you’re devoting equal amounts of time to each one of […]

How to learn and maintain multiple languages at the same time

mnemonics - how to learn vocabulary effectively
What is mnemonics and how can it help you learn vocabulary? I was in the car with my Mum the other day, after her and my Dad picked me up from the train station on my way back from the Berlin Polyglot Gathering. I was telling them all about memory palaces and a lecture by memory expert Anthony Metivier I’d attended the day before. The most important thing I had taken from that lecture was how powerful mnemonics can be as a technique for memorising foreign words – in any language. Here’s a brief explanation of mnemonics, which I recorded […]

How to use mnemonics to learn vocabulary in any language

French learning podcasts
The best 7 podcasts for learning French In part 1 of this series, I gave you a list of blogs that have some great French language content to help you learn the language in a fun way. Now, it’s time to look at some podcasts for learning French. I don’t know about you, but I love using podcasts for language learning. They’re a very flexible way of learning languages because you can listen to them anywhere – on your way to school or work, on your lunch break, while washing up or doing other things around the house, or simply […]

The best podcasts for learning French

best language blogs
I went to the 2015 Polyglot Gathering in Berlin last week – met a lot of fantastic people, listened to a number of interesting talks and here are the 10 things I learned! 1. You don’t need a reason to learn a language. My monolingual friends often ask me what the reasons were behind my decision to learn each of the languages I can speak. To live abroad, to go travelling, to get a new job? They’re missing the point, though. Multilingual people don’t always think along the lines of ‘utility’ when picking languages to learn. Sometimes, there’s no reason […]

10 things I learned at the 2015 Polyglot Gathering

I took part in a quiz this evening. And I totally lost – I came third with minus 6,400 points. And here’s why this story is important for you if you’re learning a foreign language. I arrived in Berlin today for the Polyglot Gathering. It’s Saturday and some of the train tracks are closed so there were no direct trains from the airport to the Berlin central station. I ended up in Lichtenberg, which is in East Berlin and had absolutely no idea how to get to the centre. Maps and schedules in the main station hall were non-existent. The […]

Why you should always put your hand up