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A Sign of Language Progress
As I was studying my Russian, I came across a familiar experience I haven’t felt since I was immersed in Japanese studies. I thought it’d be cool to share it here, since I’m sure numerous language scholars can relate. I was looking at a Bible passage, Mathew 5:40, in Russian: “Е́сли кто захо́чет с тобо́й…
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Games Are A Wonderful Tool In Language Study
I remember well those days when I was getting into the upper-intermediate areas of Japanese, and even getting ready to take the JLPT. I was looking for a way to take my learning up a notch and boost my enthusiasm at the same time. I found it in something I’ve always loved: video games. As…
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Cloud Services Need A Backup Plan
I like online services as much as the next guy. There are all kinds, offering all sorts of goodies. Language study, streaming content, online classes, etc. It’s hard to imagine life without them. However, I remember learning the hard way that an online service can change its terms at any time, or even simply die,…
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Why Study A Foreign Language
Learning a foreign language is a lot of work, no doubt. And sometimes, it’s easy to get discouraged about the idea. You might ask, with the continuing rise of automated translation, is there much point? I’m here today to emphatically say “YES”. And for many reasons. One reason is, automated translation is nowhere near the…
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The Faith Involved In Language Study
In my experience, learning a foreign language is a journey of faith. Just like how religion requires a belief in what cannot be seen, language study requires a belief that an achievable goal lies down the road. When you start learning a language, your comprehension is bound to be almost nonexistent. You memorize words, go…