I'm now back in London after a month's intensive Basque course at the Maizpide residential language course south of Donostia (San Sebastián) in northern Spain. Regular readers will know that I've been learning Basque for a while now, taking classes in London and online via Skype but this has been my first time "in the field" as a Basque learner. The Basque Country straddles … [Read more...]
TRKI 4th certificate: this top Russian exam really does exist and CAN be passed (interview with a successful candidate)
A lot of mystery surrounds the TRKI 4th Certificate, the top exam for Russian as a foreign language within the framework guidelines established by the Russian Ministry of Education (тест по русскому языку как иностранному Четвертый сертификационный уровень (ТРКИ-4)). It's "the ultimate" Russian exam, the equivalent of the C2 level ("Mastery or proficiency") on the scale of … [Read more...]
Basque Intensive! 3: half way diary
I’m two weeks into my month’s sabbatical from work, at the language school at Lazkao in the middle of the beautiful Basque countryside of Gipuzkoa province in northern Spain. I've made a video of the journey here already and now here's my diary of impressions of the trip at the half-way point. It's an insight into life at an intensive summer language school and an account of … [Read more...]
Basque Intensive! 2: from London to Bilbao and Lazkao (a vlog)
Hello from Lazkao, a small town in deepest Gipuzkao province in the Basque Country. Below you'll find the link to the first of my vlogs from here. I'm already half way through the first week of my four week intensive Basque course and am really enjoying the experience so far. With full board, the company of other enthusiastic learners and committed teachers and in lovely … [Read more...]
Basque Intensive! 1: on the eve
Today was the first day of my one-month mini sabbatical from work. The excitement is mounting here at Howtogetfluent Towers as tomorrow I'm off to the Basque Country (northern Spain) for the fist time since I started learning the Basque language, a unique old tongue, related to no other. I'm bound for a one-month intensive language course. It's three years since I started … [Read more...]
Intensive study of a language from scratch (“ab initio”) at university. What’s it like?
Are you thinking of going to university or college to study an undergraduate course in a new language from scratch ("ab initio")? Are you soon to start such a course as a freshman and wondering what to expect? I've had a revealing conversation on just this with undergraduate student Harry Ness and the video is at the bottom of this post. Harry started Russian when he arrived … [Read more...]
Basque-ing under a summer sun: update, an exciting trip and more tips on keeping going with your beginner level language
It's been well over four months since I posted on my Basque learning. Basque is a fascinating language "isolate", related to no other and spoken by about 600,000 people on both sides of the western end of the Franco-Spanish border. Yes, I'm still at it and in this post I'll bring things up-to-date. Let's mine some tips from my story too, to help you sustain your … [Read more...]
My Russian TRKI 3rd certificate results: insights for your advanced language exam preparations
And then a great darkness fell across the land. And mighty earthquakes did shake the World. And pestilence and a plague of locusts descended. And there was great wailing and gnashing of teeth. Or, in other words, despite no small amount of sweat and toil, I've failed my Russian exam. But don't worry, this post isn't all about me wailing and wallowing. It's intended to … [Read more...]
Polyglot Gathering 3: the movie
"H2GF at Large" is back, this time with a vlog from the 3rd Polyglot Gathering. The film has been strewn across the cutting room floor here at Howtogetfluent Towers since I got back from Berlin (quite a few weeks ago) but now....(drum roll)....here's the vlog. It was actually at the 2nd Gathering, last year, that I decided it would be fun to have a go in this medium and I … [Read more...]
At the Polyglot Gathering 2016
Summer 2016 in Berlin began as language enthusiasts converged from far and wide for the third Polyglot Gathering. The sun was out, the temperature rose, the lilac bloomed. A bright yellow budget hostel in the Lehrterstrasse became once again, for four heady days, the pop-up capital of world language learning. I attended talks and workshops, practised my languages, drank my … [Read more...]