Kerstin Cable's Blog, page 39

Guest Post: 4 Artists Successful Language Learners Listen To

Today's guest post comes from Alice Morell, all the way from the Big Apple. She writes all about the world of music over at http://mymusicbox.org, and you can also find her on

img © contactmusic, idol,...

Quick'n'Easy Guide to Language Blogging

Let me just switch on my psychic super-skills for a minute and guess who you are. Are you a

language learnerwho spends an hour or two online every dayand likes getting new tips and ideas for your language learning?

If that is you, then this article is for you more than ever. You might remember that in my 2014 New Year's Post I put a call out to anyone wanting to start a new blog about their language learning progress. Here's what I said:

I don't see enough of real people, dedicating time to la...

9 Questions To Discuss With Your Language Tutor

Today's post is inspired by a recent episode of David Mansaray's "Language Is Culture" podcast. In Episode 12 of Language is Culture, we hear from computational linguist Judith Meyer - she's German, she loves languages and you can totally hear it in her voice!

Working with a language tutor is something I can recommend for any language learners, especially introverts, because you'll just get more out of the intense environment and focused attention.

Even if you have never worked 1-to-1 before,...

My Birthday Swim and 50 Language Calls

This week, I have spent a lot more time in bed than I usually would. I'm ill with a virus that's making it pretty uncomfortable to speak, hear or breathe right. Now I know that getting sick is just one of those things that happens. In fact, yesterday I got so bad and anxious ("What do you mean, I can't work?!") that I decided to go and see a doctor. The lovely lady and quick appointment really made me appreciate the healthcare that we Europeans can usually take advantage of. But like many of...

Language Practice: Why You Don't Need A Native Speaker

The native speaker is often considered an absolute holy grail of language learning: They naturally know how language is used, they speak it perfectly and of course you will be immersed in your target language if you speak to one. But today, I'm writing to make you re-think your dependence!

Have you ever found one of the following problems when practicing with a native speaker:

It's difficult to understand regional accents
You ask them a question, and they respond with "it just is like this"
They...

New Podcast! How Personality Influences Language Learning

On today's podcast I'll be talking to Jade Joddle. Jade started out as an English language teacher in language schools, but she quickly realised that something about that system didn't make her happy at all. She felt drained by the busy classes and lively environment in a language school.

Jade is not alone in having a strong introvert preference in her personality. She made some important changes and these days, she works from home, in 1-to-1 environments and small groups, and her energy is m...

Top 5 Hot Bilingual Hollywood Stars

When I was a little girl, I wanted to become an air hostess. The sleek uniforms, beautiful make-up and obvious intelligence of those women was one of the most attractive things I'd ever seen. These ladies truly had it all. They got to travel the world and speak all these cool languages (English!), all in one of the most glamorous industries around.

Guess I was not living in a feminist world, and I was pretty naïve about the airline industry, but I did become a traveller and language lover. Rol...

Report from Colombia: Do You Worry Whether This Country Is Safe?

The biggest danger in Colombia is…

Now things are getting interesting. You’ll remember that I’ve landed in Colombia to realise one of my life-time goals, and I've begun my South American adventure.

So here I am in Bogota, Capital of Colombia, city of 8+ million people. Of course, I remember watching the news from Bogota and Medellin back in the 80’s - bombings, kidnappings, massacres...but things have changed since then, right?

My first impressions of Bogota would be one word - civilised. Here...

There's Nothing You Cannot Learn

Hello everyone, much love from the other side of the world where I am experiencing a bit of Californian sunshine. Yesterday I got to visit the absolutely stunning Montaña de Oro State Park - do not miss this if you are ever here. I texted everyone I know saying that this is the most beautiful place on earth. Just look! I can't even tell you...ich bin verliebt!

Montaña de Oro, near Morro Bay in California

You Can Do It!

But there is something else I want to share with you. It's something that...

There's Nothing You Cannot Learn (This Rule Applies Even German Grammar.)

Hello everyone, much love from the other side of the world where I am experiencing a bit of Californian sunshine. Yesterday I got to visit the absolutely stunning Montaña de Oro State Park - do not miss this if you are ever here. I texted everyone I know saying that this is the most beautiful place on earth. Just look! I can't even tell you...ich bin verliebt!

Montaña de Oro, near Morro Bay in California

You Can Do It!

But there is something else I want to share with you. It's something that...