The Reykjavik Grapevine is a great online & physical newspaper about life in Reykjavik! Mainly in English (I’d like to read more in Icelandic, but I’m not at the level of reading the newspaper yet haha), but there is lots of cultural & current events information to read about. They have also been reporting on the recent volcano that has erupted & fissured in the … Continue reading Language Links 3
People often ask me if I’m essentially giving myself homework when I study languages…yes and no. They say it like it’s a bad thing- and I was one of the kids that enjoyed school and usually liked doing my homework. So yes, you do have to study and put in the work to learn a language. But also no, since you can make your studying … Continue reading Wait, if you learn languages for fun, does this mean you give yourself homework?
March 2021 seemed long while I was working through the month (probably because February was nice and short), but now that it’s over it seems like it flew by! Here’s what I’ve been up to with my language learning for the month. In general: I’ve really been cranking through my youtube queue, so I’m grateful that I made it a point to take advantage of … Continue reading Month in Review- March 2021
You’re able to see more clearly from their point of view. You’re able to meet them in the middle. You actually learn the cultural significance of certain things, without having to go through the lens of translation. I’m a big proponent of translation- and that’s a discussion for another day- but when you have the option, learning at least the basics of a language for … Continue reading To speak someone else’s native language, is like walking a mile in someone else’s shoes…
Whoa, the first month of 2021 is already over! I haven’t done one of these “Month in Review” posts in a while. I don’t always have to look back or analyze how my month went, but it is nice sometimes to be able to visualize some progress. In general: I have taken advantage of more language content on youtube this month! I also feel like … Continue reading Month in Review- January 2021
I often get asked how I fit my language learning into my life, and how much should you practice. I’ve made previous posts about this topic…and this post will be about how to actually plan out a schedule! I’m learning 9 languages right now, which can be a lot to fit into a week. This was my old schedule when I was learning 7 languages, … Continue reading How to create a language learning schedule
Japanese has also been on my languages-to-learn wishlist! I don’t have as much of a story with it as I do with German, but here goes. I always thought it was a cool language as a kid- Japan and Tokyo seemed like exotic, faraway places. Sushi wasn’t particularly popular when I was growing up, and my family weren’t adventurous eaters, so I wasn’t exposed to … Continue reading がんばります!
I learned basic German for a trip to Munich, Salzburg, and Innsbruck back in 2017, and really enjoyed speaking it. But maybe I should start before this… As a kid, my father had friends from his work that were a German couple who had immigrated to the United States. They invited our family over for Christmas every year. It was usually in January before they … Continue reading Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The short answer is… when you want to! Because you want to! Here’s my long answer about why/when to add new languages: In general, once you’ve learned 1 or 2 languages, you probably know how you like to learn. What your daily schedule is like, how long it takes you, what your learning style is, and what resources work best. So when you want to … Continue reading Adding new languages to learn… Why? When?
I shared my language goals for 2021 in a previous post. As I was writing it, I thought about what I achieved in 2020! French: I actually read 9 books in French this year! 5 manga books, 2 short novels, and 1 classic book. I didn’t watch as many French movies as I wanted to, but I watched a few early in the year. This … Continue reading Language wins from 2020
