Language Resources
Aesthetics typically refer to the nature and appreciation of beauty. When applied to the linguistic field, it refers to the appreciation of language’s beauty and nature. On a more informal level, aesthetics of language could be viewed as our individual perception of the sound and beauty of a language. This is form where the idea that “French is romantic” or that “German is harsh sounding”...
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Language Resources
The majority of my intensive Chinese language study was in preparation for the HSK exam. For a year, I focused on test preparation, having to put speaking and learning conversational language on hold until after I sat the exam. The minute the test was over, I immediately for more colloquial lessons and learning material. After learning textbook Chinese for so long, I was eager to...
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Language Resources
A short while ago, my good friend Kerstin Cable posted a question in her Facebook group. She asked, “if you could only study one language for the next five years, what would it be?” I began to type, thinking it would be an easy answer. Chinese – duh! It’s not my native language and it’s the language I speak with Little Linguist, so I need...
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Language Resources
I am always on the lookout for good audio resources. Because I spend so much of my time in the car, this is where I do the bulk of my language study. For languages like Croatian, there’s not a lot available, so whenever I find something, I’m over the moon. Because my goal with many of my languages is to attain a conversational level, listening...
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Language Resources
It’s easy to think that if you spend enough time with your language’s vocabulary and grammar that one day, you’ll master the language. But a language is so much more than just words and grammar. And in order to effectively learn a language, you first need to learn how to learn. You can be the most dedicated grammar learner or have more points than all...
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Language Resources
After studying Croatian, Japanese has been a big change. And not for the most obvious reasons. While the languages are very different in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and how far removed they are from my native language, none of these things are what made learning the languages difficult. With Croatian, one of my biggest challenges was finding resources, while with Japanese, there are plenty of...
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Language Resources
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to complete a variety of language learning projects. I’ve documented many of these, but before now, they weren’t easy to locate of follow. Now, you can find all of my documented language learning projects in one place. Learning Mandarin Chinese to Pass the HSK 4 Exam Speak from Day 1 Speak from Day 2 My First Experiences Using...
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Language Resources
Are you thinking about learning Japanese but find yourself struggling to find resources that help you start speaking? When I started out, I certainly did. Many of the tools that I found when I started learning Japanese were grammar-heavy textbook style resources and they didn’t offer me a lot in terms of day-to-day conversation. Rather than learning how to say “what did you do last...
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Language Resources
This month, there is something happening that I’m so excited about. It’s… Women in Language. I’m over the moon about it because: It’s the first time I’ve ever organized a language event and the experience has been amazing. I’ve been able to chat and plan with two of my language besties (Lindsay Williams and Kerstin Cable) the last few months. It showcases more than 25...
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Language Resources
As a musician, I’m used to being in circumstances where I’m the only girl. While there are more and more female musicians entering the ranks, it’s still pretty unusual. In a way, this has become “normal” for me. When I entered the language learning space and many of the well-known figures and speakers were men, it didn’t strike me as unusual. But much like in...
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