The end of the old year is a natural time to reflect on the past twelve months. It's also a time when many of us want to make a fresh start and do some looking ahead. In the last week, two friends have separately drawn my attention to a free tool to help with this. It's called Year Compass. I'm late to the party with this one, as it turns out that it's been … [Read more...]
How to learn French fast
So, you want to learn French fast? Follow the advice in this post and you can get yourself ready to use your French in the sorts of basic everyday contexts that we all need or in highly specialised contexts that are personal to you. This post is addressed to you if you're a beginner, a false beginner or rusty. That said, much of what you'll read will also help … [Read more...]
Four language learning mini habits for big results in 2022
In this post you'll discover four mini language learning habits that are easy to take up and that you'll find fun to do every day. There's a habit for each of the four language skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. New Year's resolutions don't all have to be big and dramatic and, if you stick to your new tiny language learning habit, it could compound over the … [Read more...]
German Christmas words you need for Christmas traditions you’ll love
Christmas is big in the German-speaking lands and here's your cultural crash course in some wonderful Christmas traditions, many of which have spread throughout the world. Read on and you’ll also kit yourself out with the German Christmas words and phrases you need to throw yourself into the celebrations as a German learner. How do you say Christmas in … [Read more...]
Japanese update: March to July
Here's a quick update on my learning Japanese project which began at the beginning of 2019. In October that year I got to pay may first visit to Japan. Little did I know that would be the last foreign travel I got to do to date. (There's also an update vid at the end of this post). Language learning log: March through July Since returning from my trip to Japan in autumn … [Read more...]
Welsh football words
Wales supporters everywhere are celebrating Wales' arrival at the EUROs 2020, even if the tournament is a year late. I've put together this list of Welsh football words specially for the occasion. If you're a Welsh learner or thinking of learning the language, here's a great chance to start learning some Welsh football vocabulary. The Football Association of Wales makes … [Read more...]
Get Russian verb aspects right every time
Russian verb aspects can feel like the bane of a learner’s life. Just when you’ve learned some common Russian verbs, you discover that you have to learn a second set. For most verbs in English, Russian has a pair: an imperfective and a perfective. For “to say”, we have govorit’ and skazat’, for “to see” videt’ and uvidet’. But what’s the difference between the imperfective and … [Read more...]
The 50 most common French verbs
Learning the most frequent French words is makes tactical sense when you're starting to learn the language. The most common French verbs - words expressing an action like “to eat” or state like “to be” or an experience like "to happen" - should be at the top of your list. After all, beyond pointing at objects and naming them, you won’t get far in French without some "action"! … [Read more...]
How to learn Russian fast
So, you want to learn Russian fast? There’s no hiding it, getting really good at Russian is a big undertaking that takes a lot of time: maybe 300 hours study for a basic, functional “working knowledge” at the “lower intermediate” level (sometimes called “B1”). It also takes a shedload of commitment. But here’s the thing! If you’re motivated, you can achieve specific goals a … [Read more...]
Great inspirational quotes for language learners
In this, the 200th post on Howtogetfluent, I thought I’d step back a bit and share some inspirational quotes for language learners from language fans past and present. Since 2014, I’ve been sharing language learning information and tips, my own learner ups and downs and the stories of others, all to encourage you on your language learning journey. Or, at least, to warn you … [Read more...]