How do you best undertake intermediate/advanced foreign language writing exam preparation? Here's an update on what I'm doing in Operation Write Russian Right, my retake of the writing paper of the Test of Russian as a Foreign Language Third Certificate (ToRFL or TRKI - Тест по русскому языку как иностранному третий сертификационный уровень). I have three quick takeaways … [Read more...]
Bratislava Live! Five daily vlogs from the Polyglot Gathering 2017
Hello from Slovakia's lovely capital city. The fourth annual Polyglot Gathering, a meeting for language lovers of all hues, has moved here for the first time to a new venue: Bratislava's Economics University. I've covered each previous Gathering (from Berlin) extensively on the site....last year I vlogged from there for the first time. This year I'm trying my hand at daily … [Read more...]
Language learner’s update (May 2017)
Hello from Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. I landed in central Europe from London yesterday for this year's Polyglot Gathering. There's just time for an update about how my various long term language learning projects are going. There's also some news about one or two things I've got going on "below the radar". Why do you care? Well, I hope you'll be encouraged in your own … [Read more...]
German pronunciation challenge! (video)
A key to success in language learning is don't be afraid. Jump in and have a go! That's just what a great bunch of language enthusiasts did at the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin when I challenged them to practise their German pronunciation. The result? A new fun video, the "Howtogetfluent.com German pronunciation challenge". You can dive straight in by clicking on the … [Read more...]
Singapore’s languages: “smash and grab” (video)
I've made a video to share my impressions of the languages, sights, sounds (and tastes) of Singapore with you. It's what I've called a "smash and grab": a quick raid on the linguistic landscape of this cultural melting pot. To jump straight in to the film, scroll down to the bottom of this introductory post. I just had a few days in Singapore before and after my … [Read more...]