How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins

How to learn a foreign language. Methods, matrials and stories to help you maximise your effectiveness on the road to fluency

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In-depth explorations, actionable tips and inspiring conversations for language learners who REALLY want to get fluent…..plus a little bit of fun along the way.

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

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In this example-packed post you’ll discover how to form the German genitive case and what it’s used for. There are some nifty genitive-avoiding workarounds too! Genitive-avoiding?   Yep, the first of three good pieces of news about the case is that it’s by far the least-used of German's four cases.  Even in higher registers of written German, the … [Read more...]

Best Black Friday / Cyber Monday language learning deals 2025

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All the best Black Friday language learning course offers

(Updated Friday 5 December '25) The Black Friday through Cyber Monday language learning deals for 2025 are now largely over but until Sunday 7 December the MONDLY and BABBEL deals are STILL open. Kerstin Cable's Fluency Bundle is also still available till Sunday 7 December. Below you'll find the best deals on my favourite courses. Check them out below and sign up to my free … [Read more...]

Japanese update: August to October

By Dr Popkins 6 Comments

Here's an autumn update on my Basic Japanese Project (update vid at the end of the post). I started learning the Japanese twenty months ago in preparation for my first visit to Japan (last October). I had a great time there both exploring as a tourist in Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo and attending the Polyglot Conference. Since then, I've continued with this … [Read more...]

Learning Japanese: Month 19 update

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July was a big month in my Japanese journey: I started speaking Japanese with a teacher. During the month I had with six one-to-one conversational sessions online. In this latest monthly update on my Project Japanese, I'll tell you all about that in the context of my wider efforts to learn the language (also as a vid at the bottom of this post). I started learning the … [Read more...]

Polyglot Gathering Online: daily vlogs

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Polyglot Gathering Online participants montage

The Polyglot Gathering Online was never meant to happen. For its seventh incarnation, the Polyglot Gathering was to take place for the first time in Poland. But, after the first three years in Berlin and another three in lovely Bratislava, we'll have to wait to next year to explore Teresin (just outside Warsaw). Once it became clear that the pandemic meant there couldn't … [Read more...]

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