In our continuing series on different language learning experiences, Ashleigh shares her story with us. Why Italian? I didn’t so much choose Italian, as it chose me. My husband is Italian and before we were even considering getting married we decided to come to Italy for a year or two. I decided to learn… [Read more…]
March 29, 2012
I recently interviewed Fiona about her experiences learning Danish. She blogs over at fionalynne.com about life, marriage, faith, and expat adventures, and has an insightful post today about how language learning can build your character, pushing you – if you really want to take the plunge and learn – towards both bravery and humility. “…Bravery,… [Read more…]
March 28, 2012
I’m excited to announce the launch of the first Conquering Babel online course! Beginning French will last six weeks, and is designed to kick start your self-study. Each week, you will be sent a lesson consisting of grammar, vocabulary, and tips for learning, and links to resources. You’ll be set homework, which you will send… [Read more…]
March 15, 2012
Word games are a great way to stretch your linguistic muscles and learn new vocabulary. You can, of course, buy word searches in magazine format, or play a solitaire game of Scrabble on a traditional board. But if you have a smartphone or a tablet, these days there are many other options. I was excited to find… [Read more…]
March 8, 2012
Sometimes you send your book out for review, full of hope and expectation for glowing praise and vastly increased sales. Almost always you are disappointed. Not this time. Up on the Becoming Madame blog is a thorough, thoughtful review of language learning and how my little eBook can fit into the process. This is my favourite line.… [Read more…]
March 2, 2012
Get a vocab book I know I’ve said this before (and will probably say it again), but the single most useful item you can use for language learning is a pocket-sized notebook which you can slip into your handbag or pocket. Down one side, write the word in the target language, and down the other… [Read more…]
February 25, 2012
Health warning: you probably don’t want to read this unless you’re already advanced in French and have a fairly good grasp of what you thought were the rules of the subjunctive. When I first started teaching French, I often had to bite my lip when I turned over the page of a grammar book in… [Read more…]
February 24, 2012
I’ve been asked a couple of times this week about good books for studying French. For all the great resources that are out there, I still don’t think that you can beat the CLE series. They aren’t glamorous or trendy, and their titles aren’t subtle: Grammaire Progressive du Francais, Vocabulaire Progressif du Francais. There’s no attempt to… [Read more…]
February 21, 2012
Tiffany’s blog The Migrating Yankee is a great resource for expats. I asked her about her experience of learning Dutch. She has some good pointers about finding native speakers to speak to, and about the benefits of intensive language courses. Why Dutch? My husband is Dutch and we’ll be raising our daughter bilingually with English… [Read more…]
February 17, 2012
Since the dawn of time, the school supply lists of French schoolchildren have included a book known as the Bescherelle. French verbs andtheir spellings are notoriously difficult, even for native speakers, and the Bescherelle is a kind of road map to help them (and their parents) navigate the pitfalls. It basically consists of list after… [Read more…]
.jpg "Available on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com as an ebook and paperback.")
April 13, 2012
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