I Will Teach You A Language | Weekly Motivation And Language Learning Tips To Help You Become Fluent In Any Language

Fernando asks: "How useful is laddering?" In this episode: Laddering = Using one foreign language to learn another Two possible reasons for doing this: 1) The languages are very similar, 2) Just as a challenge! Learning a language quickly requires focus and efficiency I would personally find laddering for the sake of it rather inefficient and confusing There are better ways of using your time in order to get your practice in Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit: --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

Fernando asks: "How useful is laddering?" In this episode: Laddering = Using one foreign language to learn another Two possible reasons for doing this: 1) The languages are very similar, 2) Just as a challenge! Learning a language quickly requires focus and efficiency I would personally find laddering for the sake of it rather inefficient and confusing There are better ways of using your time in order to get your practice in Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you have a question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about th

Wilbert asks: "I'm learning Portuguese with flashcards. Which side of the flashcard should I display first?" In this episode: If you display the foreign word first, you only have to recognise it If you display the mother-tongue word first, you have to recall and produce the word in the target language - much harder to do Resources mentioned in today's episode: Make Words Stick - a short video lesson about memorising vocabulary and not forgetting it Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start spe --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

Wilbert asks: "I'm learning Portuguese with flashcards. Which side of the flashcard should I display first?" In this episode: If you display the foreign word first, you only have to recognise it If you display the mother-tongue word first, you have to recall and produce the word in the target language - much harder to do Resources mentioned in today's episode: Make Words Stick - a short video lesson about memorising vocabulary and not forgetting it Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you have a question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve

Sabina asks: "I'm trying to reach C2 level English, what should I do?" In this episode: Many native speakers are not C2 level It's not easy to reach and involves complex skills Knowing the C2 level descriptions doesn't necessarily help you know how to reach it Focus on your subject area, and become an expert in that area The language skills will follow quickly C2 CEFR Descriptors: Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations Resources mentioned in today's episode: Khan Academy MOOCs IELTS Writing CEFR  Fluent Spanish Academy To join --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

Sabina asks: "I'm trying to reach C2 level English, what should I do?" In this episode: Many native speakers are not C2 level It's not easy to reach and involves complex skills Knowing the C2 level descriptions doesn't necessarily help you know how to reach it Focus on your subject area, and become an expert in that area The language skills will follow quickly C2 CEFR Descriptors: Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations Resources mentioned in today's episode: Khan Academy MOOCs IELTS Writing CEFR  Fluent Spanish Academy To join the testing group for the Fluent Spanish Academy, click here: http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/academy Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is th

A listener from Korea asks: "What's the easiest language to learn?" In this episode: The difficulty of a language depends on its proximity to your mother tongue For Koreans, Japanese is very close For English speakers, Spanish and other romance languages are very close Motivation is still the most important thing to consider when choosing a new language   Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you ha --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

A listener from Korea asks: "What's the easiest language to learn?" In this episode: The difficulty of a language depends on its proximity to your mother tongue For Koreans, Japanese is very close For English speakers, Spanish and other romance languages are very close Motivation is still the most important thing to consider when choosing a new language   Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you have a question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d

In this episode, I discuss a hypothetical 1-year plan to learn Spanish. In this episode: My hypothetical 1-year plan to learn Spanish: 1-3 weeks: Use an introductory audio course Months 1-3: Study a good textbook and work with a teacher Months 4-6: Speak a lot and focus on vocabulary Months 7-12: Replace daily activities in life with Spanish Resources mentioned in today's episode: Olly's favourite Spanish resources - a complete list Weeks 1-3: Pimsleur Spanish Michel Thomas Spanish Months 1-3: Colloquial Spanish Assimil Spanish Months 4-6:

In this episode, I discuss a hypothetical 1-year plan to learn Spanish. In this episode: My hypothetical 1-year plan to learn Spanish: 1-3 weeks: Use an introductory audio course Months 1-3: Study a good textbook and work with a teacher Months 4-6: Speak a lot and focus on vocabulary Months 7-12: Replace daily activities in life with Spanish Resources mentioned in today's episode: Olly's favourite Spanish resources - a complete list Weeks 1-3: Pimsleur Spanish Michel Thomas Spanish Months 1-3: Colloquial Spanish Assimil Spanish Months 4-6: Electronic flashcards Olly's books of Short Stories for Beginners  Months 7-12: A frequency dictionary of Spanish vocabulary SBS radio - podcasts for learners Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you hav

In this episode, I talk about the impact that language communities have had on my life. In this episode: The Polyglot Gathering in Berlin What it's like in a language conference Developing deep relationships with likeminded people Getting outside your comfort zone How this can impact on your language learning Resources mentioned in today's episode: With podcast listener Maria in Berlin...  Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:

In this episode, I talk about the impact that language communities have had on my life. In this episode: The Polyglot Gathering in Berlin What it's like in a language conference Developing deep relationships with likeminded people Getting outside your comfort zone How this can impact on your language learning Resources mentioned in today's episode: With podcast listener Maria in Berlin...  Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with affordable and effective native speakers teachers and tutors. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, simply visit:http://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkishownotes Do you have a question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the

This is episode 100 of the podcast! In this episode we hear from you - the listeners. In this episode: I asked you to tell me the single biggest lesson about language learning you've learnt from listening to 100 episodes of the podcast. I was struck by the diversity of people around the world who got in touch - everyone learning different languages, in different countries. It was truly inspiring, and it reminded me how we are all striving to improve our lives by learning languages, and are making the world a better place in the process. I hope you enjoy this special episode! Please leave me a comment below with your favourite message of all! Also, please take a second to share this podcast episode on Facebook, Twitter, or with a friend who's learning a language. They'll draw motivation from all the others around the world learning languages, and find a new lease of life in their own learning! Start speaking today I’d like to thank

This is episode 100 of the podcast! In this episode we hear from you - the listeners. In this episode: I asked you to tell me the single biggest lesson about language learning you've learnt from listening to 100 episodes of the podcast. I was struck by the diversity of people around the world who got in touch - everyone learning different languages, in different countries. It was truly inspiring, and it reminded me how we are all striving to improve our lives by learning languages, and are making the world a better place in the process. I hope you enjoy this special episode! Please leave me a comment below with your favourite message of all! Also, please take a second to share this podcast episode on Facebook, Twitter, or with a friend who's learning a language. They'll draw motivation from all the others around the world learning languages, and find a new lease of life in their own learning! Start speaking today I’d like to thank iTalki for supporting the show. iTalki is the best place online to connect with

Isabelle asks: "I'm learning Korean, but I'm slow at reading. How can I improve?" In this episode: An unfamiliar alphabet can be off-putting Some alphabets present significant challenges (e.g. Chinese) Korean is relatively easy - only 24 characters The pronunciation is reflected in the characters (unlike Chinese, for example) Learn all the characters and associated sounds at the beginning Improving is really just a question of practice Keep away from romanisation Persist! Resources mentioned in today's episode: About the Korean language - a great summary from the Omniglot blog Polyglot Pub Facebook Group - language meetups I run in London Polyglot Pub E --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

Isabelle asks: "I'm learning Korean, but I'm slow at reading. How can I improve?" In this episode: An unfamiliar alphabet can be off-putting Some alphabets present significant challenges (e.g. Chinese) Korean is relatively easy - only 24 characters The pronunciation is reflected in the characters (unlike Chinese, for example) Learn all the characters and associated sounds at the beginning Improving is really just a question of practice Keep away from romanisation Persist! Resources mentioned in today's episode: About the Korean language - a great summary from the Omniglot blog Polyglot Pub Facebook Group - language meetups I run in London Polyglot Pub Email List - get email notifications about events Your Homework! Help me create an amazing feature for the 100th episode! I'd like to create a montage of voices of podcast listeners from around the world, all giving one piece of language advice they've learned from the show. This would be such a great way to commemorate the 100th episode, and provide motivat

Tomasz asks: "How can I improve my writing in English without a teacher?" In this episode: Three powerful ways to get better at writing: Use a community site like Lang-8.com to write diary entries and get corrections from native speakers Reverse translation - click here to learn about that Exam books give specific writing exercises and sample answers... Your Homework! Help me create an amazing feature for the 100th episode! I'd like to create a montage of voices of podcast listeners from around the world, all giving one piece of language advice they've learned from the show. This would be such a great way to commemorate the 100th episode, and provide motivation for all of you out there learning languages on your own. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

Tomasz asks: "How can I improve my writing in English without a teacher?" In this episode: Three powerful ways to get better at writing: Use a community site like Lang-8.com to write diary entries and get corrections from native speakers Reverse translation - click here to learn about that Exam books give specific writing exercises and sample answers... Your Homework! Help me create an amazing feature for the 100th episode! I'd like to create a montage of voices of podcast listeners from around the world, all giving one piece of language advice they've learned from the show. This would be such a great way to commemorate the 100th episode, and provide motivation for all of you out there learning languages on your own. If you'd like to participate, please click the link below and leave a short message including the following information: Name Where you're from The ONE thing you've learned from the show that's made a big difference to your language learning Click here to leave the message Start speaking toda

Freddie asks: "What's the best way to get my head around different word order and sentence structure in a new language?" In this episode: Three approaches to getting used to word order and sentence structure: Learn the rules. It doesn't take long, but is important for you to be aware of how the language works Lots of input. Word order is something you ultimately get used to in a language, so in order to make this happen you need to be listening and reading to as much as possible. Regular production. At the beginning, it's natural to think using the word order of your mother tongue. To get over this, make sure you're producing (speaking or writing) the language regularly. Two ways to practise producing and getting used to the word order of the language: Copy out the dialogues from your textbook onto paper. This gives you the experience of producing th --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message

2 weeks ago, I started learning German. In this episode I talk about my experience learning a brand new language. In this episode: Why I decided to learn German My specific aims The time frame I've given myself, and why this is important My strategy for learning German Similarities with English and the opportunities that presents Resources Featured In This Episode Colloquial German - the textbook I'm using to study every day Basic German - A Grammar and Workbook - the grammar book I chose to compliment the textbook Your Homework! Help me create an amazing feature for the 100th episode! I'd like to create a montage of voices of podcast listeners from around the world, all giving one piece of language advice they've learned from the show. This would be such a great way to commemorate the 100th episode, and provide motivation for all of you --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iwillteachyoualanguage/message