376: What’s the secret to learning Cantonese tones?

Quinton asks: "How can I prepare for my trip to China?" Episode Summary: What's the unique opportunity you'll have on your trip? Most likely, it's speaking, and the chance to speak a lot to people If...

5 Maj 201710min

Meg asks: "How can I make my Russian sentences less English?" Episode Summary: The challenge you're facing is learning to express ideas the way a Russian would It's not just a linguistic thing - it's...

3 Maj 201711min

Andy asks: "Why am I still a beginner?" In this episode: Asian languages can take a long time to get used to 6 months seems to be the length of time it takes to become familiar with a new language If...

1 Dec 201615min

Tadeusz asks: "Do Chinese concepts of time differ from English?" In this episode: In this episode, I'm joined by Chris Parker. We discuss... How to express time in Chinese Potential confusion with En...

25 Nov 201616min

In this episode, I look back on the last 3 months of learning Thai. In this episode: What I've done since returning from Thailand Is one lesson a week enough? Learning two languages at once Advice fo...

22 Nov 201611min

Rana asks: "How can you learn a language without traveling abroad?" In this episode: Traveling abroad isn't necessarily a good thing You can easily learn the basics of a new language from anywhere Ge...

10 Nov 201614min

Dave asks: "How useful are word frequency lists?" In this episode: A small number of words account for a disproportionate amount of use in spoken language But does it make sense to memorise the most ...

8 Nov 201611min

Syawal asks: "How can I enrich my vocabulary when speaking?" In this episode: Why we tend to use the same limited vocabulary when we speak Syawal's English is already strong, so we're talking about f...

3 Nov 201610min