![]() It’s become clear to me that the reason most people fail to get anywhere in a foreign language is down to one thing. One thing that’s helped me to figure this out are all the emails I get from people telling me what their problems are. It’s only been since I started my blog that I’ve started to really understand why the things I did were working. Spanish was a completely different process again. When I then learnt Italian, I tried other things. Language exchanges, textbooks, even a correspondence course. When I first started out learning languages, in Paris at the age of 19, I tried a load of different things. When I look back on the languages I’ve learnt, it’s quite difficult for me sometimes to figure out exactly what it was that worked for me. I didn’t used to think that, but I’ve changed my mind. Learning a language is not easy, but it is simple. ![]() I’m going to put forward the case that shortcut is the one thing you should be avoiding at all costs. In the digital age everyone is looking for shortcuts. “What’s the best method?” “How can I learn Spanish in a week?” “Which app will teach me Japanese the quickest?” Language learners have jumped on the bandwagon and are looking for shortcuts. Now that information flows freely and instantly across continents, it’s only natural that we go hunting for the things that we need: Where to buy the cheapest travel insurance, How to get a book for half price online, Top-rated hostels in Buenos Aires… The internet has brought with it great things. I’m going to give you my perspective on what really matters in the language learning process after many years of struggle and experiments in very different contexts and I’ll end with some practical suggestions for what you should do if you’re struggling. ![]() In this post I want to explore the idea of “hacks”, “shortcuts” and “methods”. These days I focus on one thing only, and on getting that right. You’d think that after learning nine languages I’d have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. I’m delighted to have him share here what I consider to be a really vital point and one I couldn’t agree with more! Olly runs a blog called I Will Teach You A Language where he shares some really sound and helpful advice, as well as progress updates on his own language learning (Cantonese at the moment). Today’s post is from Olly Richards, an accomplished polyglot from the UK who is currently living in Qatar.
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