Language Articles

The internet abounds with language articles. Some are directly related to language learning or specific languages, others are just anecdotes or blog entries that have something to do with language in a round-about way. Here are some of those articles, or at least links or references to articles on language learning which I have found interesting and may help you as well in your language learning endeavors.

I will also include from time to time notes or comments on what I thought of them (some express opinions different from my own) and also some of my own articles on various language-related topics that I have written for sites outside this one that have appeared around the internet. Check out the What's New page for my most recent posts.

Trying Out a Language How does this sound - learning a language entirely at your leisure, no goals, no pressure, study whatever you want, whenever you want - sound good? I call it 'trying out' a language. Just to get a feel for it, what it sounds like, how it works etc. It's nice to break out and try something different once in a while.

Learning Multiple Languages It sounds counter-intuitive but, it gets easier to learn languages the more you learn them!

How Long Will it Take to Learn a Language? Everyone wants this question answered. It depends on the methods you use, how much effort you put into it and a bunch of other factors, but I'm actually going to put a number on it and tell you how long it will take to learn a new language. 

Learning English Conversation and Vocabulary This article from ESL teacher Michael Chtcherbitski contains a great outline on how to learn any language, not just English. It is definitely worth a read for any language learner.

Using Your Phone For Learning Languages Did you realize that your phone may be one of the best tools in your arsenal to help you learn a language? Really! It's almost always with you (unlike books or programs) and the number of possible uses grows every day. 

Language Learning Demos - Try Before You Buy This article is about something that has become a big issue for me. I have found it more and more important to recommend to language learners that they try out as many language products as possible before they commit to a language method. 

Learn Languages For Free Regular visitors to this site know that I like to promote free sources for learning languages. I wrote this article to help expose new language learners to the abundance of free materials available for learning languages.

What Makes One Language Harder or Easier to Learn Than Another? I recently wrote an article on why one language may be harder or easier than another. Factors such as the writing system, relation to languages you already know, and what your native language is all have some bearing on whether or not a new language is difficult or easy to learn.

Learn Spanish : The Cart Before The Horse  This is a four part series of articles by authors Doug and Cindi Bower. What I like about these articles is that they go into detail on why some language methods aren't effective for some people, but they also outline a learning plan that they used themselves using Pimsleur and other methods. 

Language Learning Vacations Turn your trip abroad into a language learning vacation! More and more people are getting more value and life experience out of vacations by going on 'educational' or 'adventure' vacations. There are a wide variety of courses and programs designed for the traveller. Read this article for more information to get started. 

ASL as a Foreign Language Requirement  Since American Sign Language is considered a language, why doesn't it get treatment in Colleges and Universities as a foreign language with regards to credit requirements? I never even thought about it (like many others, I'm sure) before finding this article. 

Age and Language Learning Here are two articles on one page that approach the question of how age affects language learning. This is a very common question among adults of all age groups who wonder if they can still learn a language. Many people come to the wrong conclusion that they can't. These two articles approach the question from different perspectives and basically come to the conclusion that language learning is for everybody. We just learn differently at different times in our lives. These articles are a little dry and academic (being government sponsored) but worth the read if the subject interests you. 

Learn Spanish : Why Americans Don't This article comes from two expatriate Americans living in Mexico. Who better than them to tell us how to learn a foreign language and travel to or live in another country? 

Improve Your Mind Power With Spanish One authors viewpoint on the many benefits of learning languages. He uses Spanish as an example, but these benefits apply to learning any foreign language. 

Using Music to Improve Listening Comprehension Skills This article by language teacher Larry M. Lynch encourages using music in the foreign language classroom to help teach the language. Of course, we can always apply this same technique in learning on our own. 

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"The living language is like a cowpath: it is the creation of the cows themselves, who, having created it, follow it or depart from it according to their whims or their needs. From daily use, the path undergoes change. A cow is under no obligation to stay in the narrow path she helped make, following the contour of the land, but she often profits by staying with it and she would be handicapped if she didn’t know where it was
or where it led to."

- E.B. (Elwyn Brooks) White