Thinking laterally. Photo by Rose-Zhang.Lateral thinking is a term created by Author Edward de Bono to describe a way of thinking that promotes creativity. Lateral thinking consists of solving a problem by using and generating as many solutions as possible instead of just the first obvious solution. By creating many […]
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Do not forget The Forgetting Curve when learning a language (or anything else)
The Forgetting Curve Forgetting: A common experience It is the beginning of the summer, you are sitting on your chair staring the questions on your exam sheet and you realize that you have forgotten all the information that you have frantically read in the last week. “How is this possible? […]
Read MoreTesting the reading & listening method (R-L)
In this post, I am discussing the reading & listening method to learn languages. I came across this method on the language forum “how to learn any language” a great source of inspiration for language learners. The reading & listening method (R-L) consists of reading a text while listening to […]
Read MoreLearning a language while learning something else: the obliquity method to learn languages
The method I explain in this post can be applied only if you leave in a country where people speak the language you want to learn. In a recently published book Author John Kay argues that goals are often best achieved indirectly. Similarly, I think that we can often learn […]
Read MoreLearning languages with google translate
This week I will explain how I use google translate to learn German. I recommend this method to people that are at the intermediate level with their language level. While learning German I faced the dilemma that most of the books to learn this language have really boring text. I […]
Read MoreWhy a native teacher is not always the best language teacher
Who is the best teacher? For a long time, I believed that the best language teacher is a native speaker of your target language but I recently realized that this is not always the case. The crucial factor is to differentiate between who are the best people to practice the language with […]
Read MoreImprove to learn languages. How I use theatre improvisation to learn German.
In the previous post, I explained how I use an improvisation exercise to learn German. In this post, I will explain why and how I use theatre improvisation to learn German. Of course, German is just an example, the method can be applied to learn any language. What is improv?Theatre Improvisation, […]
Read MoreHow to use and how to not use flashcards to learn words
Why you should do your own flashcards I bought a set of flashcards to learn German words but soon after the initial enthusiasm, I realized that they were almost useless and I ended up using them very little. Later, I started to do my own flashcards. I bought some blank […]
Read MoreHow to use images and stories to learn languages
Throughout human history, people transmitted and learned new knowledge by means of storytelling, and some scientists argue that the human brain is wired to learn new information and acquire social skills, through storytelling. Furthermore, the brain is all about connections, and memory does work by associating different ideas with each other and […]
Read MoreHow shopping can help you to learn a foreign language
This is a simple method that you can use to learn new words. To apply this method you need to be in a country where people speak your target language. This learning strategy is based on these principles: The memory would recall and retain better words when these are associated […]
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