How to start learning Japanese? I decided to find out first hand. As I announced at the beginning of the year, my new language learning prooject is to be able to function at a basic level in the language when I visit Japan for the first time for the Polyglot Conference in October. This is the second of my monthly update posts: a review of how study went in February and … [Read more...]
Intermediate B1 German vocabulary and grammar: what and how?
What new vocabulary and grammar do you need to move from upper beginner (A2) to lower intermediate (B1) German? Maybe you want to improve your German for work or pleasure. You may even need to pass a German B1 exam. If so, you're in the right place for some actionable information on the B1 German vocabulary and grammar that you need and how to master it. We've already done a … [Read more...]
Edinburgh language learners’ meetup, reviewed
Here's a review of the Edinburgh language learners' meetup that I recently attended. It had a bit of a back-story. A new event for language lovers called "LingoFringo" was scheduled to take place in the Scottish capital. The event website was a mess (with no clear programme) and Edinburgh is a long way to travel just for a couple of days. That's especially the case in January, … [Read more...]
From beginner’s (A2) to intermediate (B1) German: What’s the difference?
If you feel like you've got the basics of German off pretty well but want to know how to break into the ranks of the intermediate German learner, this new series of articles is for you. What do you need to be able to do to call yourself an intermediate speaker? How do you acquire those additional skills? How's the process going to feel and how can you ensure that you keep going … [Read more...]
Learning Japanese: Month One update
How do you start learning Japanese? I'm finding out first hand thanks to my recently-announced "Learning Japanese" project. My goal is to be able to function at a basic level in the language when I visit Japan for the first time for the Polyglot Conference in October. This is the first of my monthly update posts, where I'll be sharing how it's going and looking ahead to the … [Read more...]
The visibility of Scottish Gaelic: a signage safari
In this post I want to share some photos I took of bilingual Scottish Gaelic - English signage from a recent trip I made to the Highlands of Scotland. It was my first visit to areas where Gaelic still hangs on, in pockets, as a minority language. I vlogged the trip in a series of five videos (from Loch Ness, the Isle of Skye, Inverness, Culloden, the Cairngorms National Park … [Read more...]
“Dr Popkins Method?” How I got fluent and you could too
What are the elements to success when you’re learning a foreign language? In this post, it’s time to pull together some of the threads that have emerged from telling my own language learning story in the “Dr Popkins Method?” series. I’ve got fluent in French, Welsh, Russian and German and make good progress with several other languages, mainly thanks to independent study as an … [Read more...]
New Project: Learning Japanese
I’m starting a new language project. I’m learning Japanese. This post sets out how I’ve gone about two of the important first steps that you should be taking to set yourself up for success when you begin any new language. You need to work out your “why” and your ultimate destination. Then you need to plan the first concrete, initial short-to-medium term goals that … [Read more...]
“Dr Popkins Method?” Keeping going at language learning
If your methods are good, or even just ok, keeping going at language learning may be the most important ingredient of all when you want to get fluent. ln a recent post, I looked at the things that fill me with enthusiasm about learning a language. But what about when enthusiasm starts to wane? It's time to move from language learning carrots to things that may work more like … [Read more...]
Goodbye 2018, hello 2019!
How has your language learning gone this year? As one year makes way for another, in this post let's take a step back and look over how things went....and look ahead to share hopes and plans for 2019 (also in vlog form, down at the bottom). But first, my annual year-end review and preview wouldn't be complete without a picture of a Christmas tree. Here's my 2018 "bark n … [Read more...]