Let’s face it, the main reasons you’re planning to visit Greece are probably related to the excellent weather, mouth-watering cuisine, and fascination with antiquity and Greek mythology. Maybe you even want to learn Modern Greek. But there’s a whole other side of Greek history that commonly gets overlooked: The Ottoman Occupation. After achieving Independence in …
8 Tourist Sites of Ottoman Greece You Must Visit Read More »
Music, movies, and fiction are the holy trinity of “chill” language learning activities. And movies are perhaps the best mix for beginners and low-intermediate learners, especially if they can get both target and first-language subtitles to help them along. For those learning Modern Greek, it makes sense to dive head-first into Greek movies. But before …
7 Greek Movies and Series with English Subtitles Read More »
When the pandemic hit, everyone closed down. Containment was key. But while many countries have been opening their borders over the past year, Japan has notably been slow to admit foreign nationals—including students, researchers, spouses, and foreign workers. Tourists didn’t have a chance. Finally, some of that that changed last October. Japan’s reopening policies are …
Visiting Japan in 2023: Japan Visa Rules + 3 Travel Ideas Read More »
You’ve probably experienced these scenarios, but never linked them to foreign language anxiety: For a language learner, these bouts of foreign language anxiety often make it seem like mastering another language is impossible. In fact, it’s common for learners, especially younger students, to link their anxiety with an inability to learn. But that’s far from …
You have already heard that 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail. But does that statistic translate into language learning goals or even goal setting in general? Well, when you consider that only 20% of people actually set goals, we can see the sample pool for success is already pretty small. And even though only 6% …
5 In-Depth Steps to Setting Strong Language Learning Goals Read More »
Antiquity was only the beginning of Greek writing, across not only the mainland but also within its diaspora. And while classics from Homer, Sappho, and various other Hellenic writers continue to be influential, several Greek writers have made a name for themselves over the past two centuries. Some of them you probably know—Nikos Kazantzakis, George …
The Modern Greek Literature List: 28 Writers You Should Know Read More »
Over the past decade, I’ve relied on my bullet journal as a backup for every task. And over the years, I’ve begun using it to improve my target language skills – or at least, my writing and reading skills. But it wasn’t easy to figure out a system that worked. When bullet journaling in your target language, there are a few challenges: I overcame these challenges by keeping my journal simple …
How to Keep a Bullet Journal for Language Learning for Busy People Read More »
Speaking a second language is one of the most difficult skills to master, and there are many reasons why. Anxiety, lack of practice, lack of practice with a native speaker, and vocabulary barriers can make it difficult to speak fluently and comfortably. Personally, I’ve studied and dabbled in several languages, but I only feel moderately …
The 6 Best Language Learning Exercises for Speaking Practice Read More »
Going from an elementary textbook to real-life usage often feels overwhelming and almost disorienting when learning a language. So often, phrases and vocabulary from a list and sample dialogues fail to account for variety or language styles. This is an intermediate topic and is likely one factor leading to a learning plateau. There’s just too …
The Basics Practical Use of Style for Language Learners Read More »
Recently, I’ve been dabbling into other languages again. While I’ve tried to set a primary and secondary language for the year, there’s just an itch to play with a new sound set and grammar system. So, after making progress on my Greek and Japanese goals, I downloaded an app. One I tried years ago. Because …
Ling App Review: Great for Less Common Languages Read More »
