Language

Language incorporates so many aspects of what makes us who we are. And it is the first point of connection to build communities. We’ll discuss how you can improve your language learning sessions and different ways to think about language overall.

A photograph of paper with Chinese characters with a tea cup. Featured image for "learning Mandarin Chinese" article

The Essential Guide to Learning Mandarin Chinese

For those who want to immerse themselves in Chinese culture fully – whether to be close to family, work abroad, read web novels and Chinese-based fantasy fiction, or for another reason – learning Mandarin Chinese can give you a richer experience. Heritage learners, too, often already have Chinese language skills, but may not feel confident …

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A young man with glasses and brown hair looking pensively at his reflection in a window. Featured image for foreign language anxiety article.

 What’s Behind Your Foreign Language Anxiety?

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 …

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A woman on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a city. Featured image for language learning goals article.

 5 In-Depth Steps to Setting Strong Language Learning Goals

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% …

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A feminine pair of black hands with elaborately designed green nails settled over a luxurious green-colored journal. Featured image for Bullet Journal for Language Learning article.

How to Keep a Bullet Journal for Language Learning for Busy People

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 …

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The 6 Best Language Learning Exercises for Speaking Practice

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 …

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An image of a man and a woman discussing a language learning exercise...maybe going over a difference in language style?

The Basics Practical Use of Style for Language Learners

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 …

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A woman in a grey jacket sitting on the edge of a bridge in german. German coffee breaks featured image.

Can You Boost Your Language Skills With 50 German Coffee Breaks?

After weeks of trudging through Im Krebsgang by Günter Grass, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a simple trade-off in my inbox: Would I review a copy of the recent book 50 Coffee Breaks in my preferred language? As a glutton for language resources and looking for a brief change from my current German practice, …

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My Italki Review: Everything That You Ever Wanted to Know About Italki

Yes, I’ve got italki review for you. And for good reason. In our recent survey, 44% of language learners struggle with speaking, and only around one-third of learners feel comfortable with this language skill. This is unfortunate, learning to speak a foreign language is usually the first “proof” of fluency. For those of us realizing …

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