What Happens When You Study Foreign Languages For Over a Decade?

In a world where most people stop after a few weeks.Photo by Anthony Intraversato on UnsplashI will never find enough words to express my love for languages. I’ve been learning languages as a hobby since I left high school. I’ve dabbled in over 10 languages and became a polyglot speaking 6 languages.To my current self, not learning...

Your Skills Will Reach New Heights After You Begin Focusing on These 9 Details

“How” you learn isn’t the most important factorPhoto by Yeshi Kangrang on UnsplashThere’s too much fuss about how to learn something nowadays.I write about it too so I’m part of the problem. But this isn’t what I’m here to tackle today. Learning how to learn a skill is important, but the advice often doesn’t fit well...

Why You Should Dabble in Foreign Languages Even If They Aren’t Your Passion

The overlooked positives of not trying too hardPhoto by Leo Rivas on UnsplashI freaking love languages. I keep trying to explain how much I do, yet feel like no word I use gets even close to how much I love them. Ironic for a polyglot who’s a writer.Because I’m so in love with languages, I know I’m...

3 Common Language-Learning Tips That Will Slow Down Your Improvement

And why you should drop them right away.Photo by Paul Hanaoka on UnsplashThe internet is full of terrible tips and tricks to improve quickly in a new language. Most are easy to spot even for beginners but, unfortunately, that’s not the case for all of them.After studying over 15 languages, including some at a very high level,...

Pushing My Learning Routine for a Week Reignited My Motivation

And I didn’t even realize it needed attention before.Photo by Nicholas Doherty on UnsplashI recently tried to spend 40 hours learning ASL in a week for the 40h7dLC (40 hours, 7 days Language Challenge). I didn’t accomplish my goal but I still studied a lot more than I usually do.That made me realize an important lesson.It’s...

6 Misconceptions I Had Before Trying to Learn ASL

Deaf people know about the hearing world. We should all reciprocate.Photo by cottonbro from PexelsAs I write these words, it’s been 3 weeks since my first “encounter” with a sign language. To be more precise, I chose to learn about it in order to study the American Sign Language (ASL) as a challenge for the 40h7dLC...

How to Be Fluent in 20 Languages by the End of the Week

HumorHere’s the secret native speakers have been keeping for themselvesPhoto by Yoel Peterson on UnsplashPeople think it’s hard to learn a foreign language. Whenever I hear this, I laugh.Learning a new language is so easy I could learn 20 languages and be told by native speakers I speak it well by next week. I know. Crazy,...

I Tried to Spend 40 Hours in a Week Learning ASL

Here’s what you can learn from my failure.Photo by cottonbro from PexelsI recently tried to spend 40 hours in a week learning American Sign Language (ASL) for the 40h7dLC (40 hours, 7 days Language Challenge). Guess what. I wasn’t even close to it. Or, at least, not on my own terms.In my defense, I shot myself in...

One Crucial Language-Learning Lesson I Was Reminded of By ASL

Passive learning should always stay in second placePhoto by Yoel Peterson on UnsplashI’ve always been curious about sign language yet never tried to do anything to quench my thirst for knowledge. That was, until I tried to learn as much as possible for the 40h7dLC.That challenge was started by polyglots Language Come Up and SeaBolt Speaks and...

Living a Happy Life Relies On Being Misunderstood by Most People

The rich aren’t understood, the poor aren’t either.Photo by zhang kaiyv on UnsplashMost people complain all the time. I do it too. After all, I’m French. But there are limits to what deserves complaining.In the past year, I’ve heard complaints about almost any country in how badly they handled the Covid crisis. French people complained about the...

春秋筆法 (しゅんじゅうひっぽう)

春秋筆法をもって話そうとすれば、相手が理解していただくか先に確認したほうがいい！

If You Want to Be Happy, Stop Looking for It in the Worst Times

You’re only making it harderPhoto by Faisal Amir on UnsplashDid you know looking for happiness could lead you to more anxiety and depression? I had my doubts but a recent study seems to have proven it.They asked 400 people a single question, “What do you hope your life’s purpose would have been?,” and analyzed how happy the...