In the “Dr Popkins Method?” series, I’m telling my own language learning story. The reason? To help you to get to grips with your own. I’ve already look in detail at how I got fluent in my main languages. Now I’m moving on to look at the broader context: my language learning strengths and weaknesses. We’ll start with aptitude and personality and then move on to … [Read more...]
The TRKI 4 advanced Russian exam: successful candidate interview (2)
The TRKI 4th Certificate or Тест по русскому языку как иностранному Четвертый сертификационный уровень (ТРКИ 4) is the top official Russian as a foreign language. My earlier interview with Daria, a successful TRKI4 candidate from Poland, provided some scarce first-hand information about an exam that is seemingly shrouded in mystery and rumoured to be fiendishly difficult. I'm … [Read more...]
Polyglot Conference Daily Vlogs (Ljubljana)
Pozdravljeni iz Ljubljane! Greetings from Ljubljana! I'm in the Slovene capital for this year's Polyglot Conference. It was great to be a speaker at the Conference's Language Learning Event the day before the Conference weekend. That evening, Friday, there was a "Welcome" reception. Day One of the Conference itself was Saturday and we had another full day of talks, … [Read more...]
“Dr Popkins Method?” How I got fluent in German
To help you better in your language learning, I’m sharing my own story in the "Dr Popkins Method?" series. I’ve told the story of how I got fluent in French, Welsh and Russian. Now, let’s look at how to learn German.....or, at least, how I've done it. This post covers roughly the same German ground - but in more detail - as the second half of the vlog linked at the bottom of … [Read more...]
How “to boldly go” when you’re too shy to speak your foreign language
Feeling too shy to speak a foreign language is at times a real handicap for me and many other language learners. This post is packed with actionable tips to help you overcome your language shyness. First, it’s worth taking a moment to get the measure of the enemy! What is shyness? Shyness is awkwardness or apprehension around other people, especially new people or in … [Read more...]