Yesterday I posted for the first time from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I'm here on a one-week "minimmersion" to try to get some Indonesian language basics and to learn about the country and culture. Today was the first of my five days of study. The day started with a good breakfast at the hotel, then I was picked up and driven to the language school. The driver told me to … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion Indonesian” 2: arrival video
I'm now in my hotel room in Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java on "day zero", the eve of my week's intensive Indonesian. The flight from Singapore was smooth, made easier by the efficient civility of the airport there. I was pretty tired on board after only about four hours' sleep last night and, as a result, I worked less on vocab that I'd have liked....I did try … [Read more...]
Basque Intensive! 5: post-course native speaker call
Hi from Thessaloniki where I've arrived for the 4th Polyglot Conference. Look out for more later on the site on that, as I'll be blogging and vlogging like last year and the year before. I'll be straight on from here to Singapore with work. A second leg to Hong Kong was cancelled at short notice, so I'll have a spare week in South East Asia. So, just time to duck and dive … [Read more...]
Basque Intensive! 4: second half diary
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...]