Learning the German noun gender system can be a real headache. In this post, I'm sharing some top tips on how to remember the gender of individual words. Taken together, the tricks will stack odds of getting the gender right significantly in your favour. The info below will save you time and give you confidence as you power ahead auf Deutsch. Los geht's! So what is all the … [Read more...]
Welsh to B2: certified! A successful candidate shares her story
Karen is a linguist and translator from the south of England. She's already shared her tips on how to become a successful translator with us here at Howtogetfluent and I'm delighted that she's agreed to be interviewed again to tell us how she passed the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC)'s Upper Intermediate (B2) exam in Welsh. Below, she shares not only her tips but tells … [Read more...]
Britain’s “other” languages: three creators speak (report)
"Indigenous: Welsh, Gaelic, Scots, Cornish and More" was an evening event recently held at the British Library here in London. Three creators who work in some of Britain's "other" languages took part. Is it realistic to redefine "Britishness" to include some of the oldest, true Brits? What does it mean to create in these languages? What are the challenges and rewards if you … [Read more...]
Motivation for intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows
After the initial excitement of starting to learn German, you'll already have found that your motivation goes up and down. That's true at all levels. But what are the specific highs and lows that you're likely to encounter as a lower intermediate (B1) German learner? In this post, let's look at the good bits (things to look forward to( and the not so good bits (and how you … [Read more...]
Learning all six Celtic languages (with Simon Ager)
If you've ever googled just about any question about languages, the chances are you'll have hit on Omniglot.com, the "Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems & Lanugages". Like me, though, you might not have immediately known who the self-effacing, yet immensely talented, language expert behind the site actually is. I finally met Simon Ager at the first Polyglot Gathering … [Read more...]
Learning Japanese: Month Two update
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 what intermediate German vocabulary and grammar you need how to master it. We've already done a … [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 to 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...]