Kerstin Cable's Blog, page 25

Podcast Episode 30: How to Achieve a New Year's Resolution of Learning a New Language

Welcome to episode 30 of the Creative Language Learning Podcast, and as always I can't tell you how excited I am that this show is happening. 30 episodes marks a significant point - the show has been running for two years and brings you regular language love on your commute, in the gym and everywhere else.

How long have you been listening?

Here's what's in the big episode 30:

How to find the time for language even when you're megabusyCommunity Classes and Polyglot Clubs have lots in commonNEW...

How To Use A Dictionary Like The Most Succesful Language Learners

No language learner should be far from a dictionary, ever. These days it's very tempting to look everything up in Google Translate, but with a few of the following choices you'll be way ahead.

What Makes a Great Dictionary?

Dictionaries come in all shapes and sizes. You can buy a tiny pocket book I took to Sweden this summer, to a 3 volume edition for your parents' bookshelf. Some come with grammar guides, others come with phrasebooks.

And of course, paper is pretty 20th century these days so...

Podcast Episode 29: How to Be Super Efficient with Languages with SmarterGerman's Michael Schmitz

Thanks to our podcast sponsor Hello Talk- check out their free app.

Note the episode contains two mild swearwords!!

Listen to the latest episode

Things get real with Michael Schmitz, creator of the SmarterGermanblog and teaching system. Michael is dedicated to bringing German learners to a high level in just a few months. And he has some frank opinions about what it takes to get there.

If you want to learn about efficient German learning, this is your show. Listen to discover:

Why teaching at Be...

Festive Fluency Tips: How to Learn German This Holiday Season

I hope that you're enjoying a great start into the holiday season. One of the happiest activities during this season is decorating your home. Have you ever thought about how it could boost your language learning efforts?

Why This Is So Effective

You often spend so much time with books and screens that it becomes difficult to put language love into your life. Here are some of the easiest, most effective ways to bring language and Christmas together in your house this year.

Decorating your home...

Podcast Episode 28: What You Are is What You Say (Language and Identity)

Welcome to Episode 28, a fun collection of language learning news. Lindsay and I shared our progress in Japanese and Welsh, read out wonderful listener feedback, and moved on to 3 big news items.

This episode is brought to you with support from HelloTalk, the world's largest language exchange app.

What's it like when your language changes to express who you are?

The episode features an interview with J from Compassionate Language Learnerwho identifies as gender-neutral herself and has some fabul...

Getting to grips with Schwäbisch (Swabian German) in Germany

Today's guest post has been a long time coming. I can't wait to share this story, because it's a report from Fluent's friend Tom Pandolfino! Tom wrote here on the blog about his A-Levelsand his first year at university.He's currently in Stuttgart, Germany, working as a junior translator.

I love how Fluent gets to feature glimpses of Tom's language learning story. Check out how he's dealing with a special German quirk: The Swabian dialect!

Speaking in SwabianStuttgart...more like communication...

A Basket of Language Learning Deals for Black Friday

Now, here's a funny cultural thing: Even though no one in Britain has had a Thanksgiving meal in the last 24 hours, we are all excited and ready for the cultural shopping day "Black Friday".

What can I say.. on the one hand, don't feel like you must drop everything and shop. But on the other hand, just look at these discounts!

Here is a roundup of the best deals (some are available for a limited time only) that I have found from my friends in language blogging and teaching. Some of the links...

Losing Motivation is Not Failing: 4 Smart Tips for Positive Language Learning

I recently found myself so tired of languages that my mind refused to even learn how to say "thank you" in another language. Has that ever happened to you?

Are you normal?

Have you failed as a polyglot?

In today's article, let's dive into this phenomenon called "language learning burnout". I've gone through several types of "burnout" in my life, and never ended up as a desolate burnt-out shell. Since "burnout" is a rubbish word, I'll be calling it "fatigue" in this article.

How Alarming is Langu...

Podcast Episode 27: Inside the #add1challenge with Brian Kwong

This episode is brought to you with support from Other Cats to Whip. Get 10% off with the code FLUENT.

In this episode, Lindsay went out and discovered the world of Brian Kwong, creator of the#add1challenge. Brian has studied 5 languages and created one of the most successful trends in the polyglot world.

Listen to hear more about how it all works inside the challenge:

How the Study Groups and Mastermind Groups workWhich schools approach turns out to be a rocking techniqueHow the challenge ch...

8 Life-Changing Language Learning Events Around the Globe

When was the last time you hugged a language learner?

Language learning can be lonely, so events that bring us together make a huge difference in motivation and attitude. After Lindsay and I reported on the Language Show Live in London last month (don't miss her vlog!), there were so many people commenting and saying

"I wanna go to this, how can I find out when and where?"

How to Find The Best Language Learning Events

There are three different types of events to attend, ranging from small me...