In this post, you'll discover 1) What the German nominative case is 2) When to use the nominative case and 3) What the special nominative case forms of certain words are, including a clear explanation of the German case endings and my handy all-in-one table German case endings table. We'll finish with some take-away tips in summary. Let's get started! What is the … [Read more...]
How to find and fix mistakes in your foreign language speaking and writing
In this post, we’ll look at three easy but effective techniques to help you find and fix mistakes that you make repeatedly when use your foreign language, so that they don't solidify as permanent features of your speaking or writing. The distinction between good mistakes and bad mistakes when you use your foreign language First, let’s be clear! There's lots of scope … [Read more...]
Polyglot Gathering daily vlogs
The Polyglot Gathering is an annual, four-day get-together for language learning enthusiasts. It takes place at the beginning of the summer. We all came home from the sixth Gathering in Bratislava in May 2019 and began looking forward to the 2020 event in Teresin, near Warsaw Poland. Alas, history had different ideas! For the next two years, the event was forced to switch … [Read more...]
Five fun Christmas foreign language practice ideas
We had ten days of "deep and crisp and even"-ish snow here in London, but, as I write this on Christmas Eve, I'm afraid we're back to the seasonal norm: rain and dank grey skies. But not to worry! It's still festive enough here at Howtogetfluent Towers. 🎄 🎄 🎄 I do love a bit of Christmas kitsch, not least the … [Read more...]
A fun little vocab and writing skills project
Grrr. It’s mid November and it's getting dark by half past four in the afternoon here in London now. By 8pm last night, when I headed out for an evening walk, it was dank and misty. It really felt like autumn. My mood, though, lifted up as I came across something quirky: a Royal Mail pillar box adorned with a knitted hat or “topper”. I’d heard before that there’s … [Read more...]