Interview with Educator and Performer Paulino Brener
Posted by John Fotheringham on Dec 30, 2011
Paulino Brener is one of the few people I know who has managed to successfully blend all of his passions (foreign languages, teaching, crafts, social media, and performance arts) into one, and even get paid to do so! In our interview, he discusses creative ways to harness one's passions in foreign language learning, whether as teacher or learner.
read moreInterview with Jason West, Creator of English Out There
Posted by John Fotheringham on Dec 30, 2011
In my interview with Jason West, the creator of English Out There, we discuss the weaknesses of traditional English schools, methodologies, and materials, and how his approach aims to overcome them.
read moreThe Secret to Learning a Language in 10 Days
Posted by John Fotheringham on Sep 20, 2011
Check out this beautifully illustrated talk about how to learn foreign languages using the Pimsleur approach. I was reluctant to share the video on the site as they sneak in a sales pitch every 5 minutes of so, but they do an excellent job of summarizing what I believe to be the fundamentals of effective language learning, with pretty drawings to boot! Enjoy!
read moreHow to Conquer Kanji
Posted by John Fotheringham on Aug 10, 2011
Kanji: arguably the most enjoyable part of learning Japanese, but also the most intimidating for those just getting started in the language. Since beginning my Japanese journey over a decade ago, I have come across a lot of Nihongo teachers, textbooks, and courses that advise learners to hold off on kanji until they already speak the language fairly well. I think this is absolute rubbish, but let me first give some of the common arguments before I tear them to shreds...
read moreInterview with Arkady Zilberman, Creator of Language Bridge
Posted by John Fotheringham on May 27, 2011
Arkady Zilberman, creator of Language Bridge and a former simultaneous interpreter in Russia, addresses what is perhaps the greatest impediment to adult language learning success: cross-translation to and from one's native language. Few learners are probably aware this sub-concious process goes on at all, but Arkady's extensive experience learning languages, interpreting, and experimenting on learners, have proven that it does indeed occur. As he points out in our interview, even many seemingly successful foreign language learners still translate to and from their native language, but can just do so at such a rate that they can't perceive the process.
read moreReview of Brainscape’s Spanish! iPhone App
Posted by John Fotheringham on May 17, 2011
Spanish is one of my next target languages and I was quite excited when Amanda Moritz of Brainscape asked me to do a review of their new Spanish language learning app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. There's no better excuse to study a language and play on my iPod touch than doing a product review!
read moreLanguage as a Window into Human Nature
Posted by John Fotheringham on Mar 29, 2011
I'm a big fan of Harvard's Steven Pinker and RSA Animate makes his excellent talk about language and human nature even better. If you enjoy the talk, I highly suggest his influential book, The Language Instinct. Incidentally, it was the first book I was assigned in university linguistics, is one of the only assigned books from university that I still own, and is the only college text I actually reread regularly for fun...
read moreThe Polyglot Project
Posted by John Fotheringham on Dec 5, 2010
The Polyglot Project, a collection of language learning tips from polyglots and language enthusiasts across the globe (including yours truly), is now available as both a physical book on Amazon and as a free PDF download. This tome of language awesomeness contains over 500 pages of language learning advice, tips, and success stories, with contributions from 43 authors, including Moses McCormick, Steve Kaufmann, Benny Lewis, Stuart Jay Raj, and countless others language heroes.
read moreWhy eBooks are a Language Learner’s Best Friend
Posted by John Fotheringham on Nov 23, 2010
Just as the printing press democratized access to the written word, ebooks are again revolutionizing how information is produced, distributed and consumed. Even successful authors, whose very livelihoods have depended on the sale of dead-tree books (e.g. Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek and The Four-Hour Body, and Seth Godin, author of Tribes, Permission Marketing, and All Marketers are Liars) have seen the writing on the literary wall, and agree that "print is dead", or at least "dying fast"... But this is not necessarily a bad thing considering the myriad advantages of ebooks, especially for learners of foreign languages.
read moreThe Input vs. Output Debate: John’s 2¢
Posted by John Fotheringham on Nov 18, 2010
As a language learning addict, I follow lots (and I mean lots) of polyglot blogs and podcasts. It is always interesting to see what has worked (and what hasn't worked) for successful language learners. While most fluent foreign language speakers tend to agree on the vast majority of language learning DOs and DON'Ts, there is one area that always seems to cause heated debate, shouting, name calling, and occasional mud/poo flinging: the importance of language input (i.e. listening and reading) versus language output (i.e. speaking and writing). I have sat quietly on the sidelines for some time now, politely listening to both sides of the argument. But it's time to blow my referee whistle because both teams are "offsides" (Okay John, enough sports analogies already!)
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Recent Articles
- Interview with Educator and Performer Paulino Brener
- Interview with Jason West, Creator of English Out There
- The Secret to Learning a Language in 10 Days
- How to Conquer Kanji
- 2nd Edition of my Master Japanese Guide Now Available