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As you get your feet wet learning a new language, you’ll see that there are four areas of learning: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  Your goals will direct your initial focus, but you can’t go too far without all four. Just like you can’t go too far in the...

Once you’re clear on why you want to learn a new language and realistic about what it takes, you’re ready to think about how to get started. Choose Your Starting Focus If you have a general interest in the language or live in a country where this language is spoken...

After you get clear on why you want to learn a new language and think about committing to it, the first question that comes up is usually “How long will this take?” Everybody has lives, and considering where to fit in a new project can be challenging. Of course,...

I’m a language learner. I like to learn new languages. I speak several, and I’m hoping to learn several more. But for a good portion of my life, I struggled to learn languages. As a child, the languages I most wanted to learn were those spoken by my family...

Often we put learning a language and becoming fluent on a pedestal. We view it as a gift and magical power reserved for diplomats or famous movie stars. Many people believe that bilingualism is out of reach for them and that they can’t learn languages; however,...

Some people want to learn a language but believe they aren’t able to do it. As a strong advocate for language learning, nothing is more painful for me to hear. Anyone can learn a language! From my point of view, the worst reason for monolingualism is “I am just not...

Why you want to learn a language influences the path of your study and your motivation, and which language you choose to learn is a big decision. We’ll look at both. Why Do You Want to Learn a Language? Language is used for various purposes, and focusing on a specific...

Hello! My name is Jonty Yamisha. I’m an accidental polyglot, an endangered language activist, and the founder of OptiLingo. Deep down, though, I’m a language learner. I like to learn new languages. I speak several, and I’m hoping to learn several more. But...