While starting learning a new language is usually fun (if you do it right), maintaining and improving the language you already know is the harder part. In this article you’ll find some tips for intermediate and advanced learners, e.g. how often you should practice, what is the plateau and how to overcome it, whether language certificates make sense, and why imitating somebody is a good thing!
How to improve your foreign language skills?
10 tips to start learning a foreign language
If you decided to learn a new language, congratulations! A whole new world is just opening up for you. But you also know how easy it is to screw up such an amazing experience as learning a foreign language – most probably you have such a story yourself and certainly you know many people who started learning a language and basically just wasted their time.
What to do to be successful at learning a new language and not to lose the motivation somewhere on the way? In this and the next article I’ll share my personal tips and tricks which have helped me learn foreign languages (with little budget and mostly without even leaving my country).
Pardon my French, part 3. To italicize or to quote?
When it comes to titles, the rule of thumb is: size does matter, so when it’s big – italicize! Books, full-length plays, long poems, anthologies, collections, blogs, newspapers or magazines, academic journals; movies, radio and TV shows; operas, musicals and music albums; airplanes, ships, spacecrafts and trains; important works of art; computer and video games – all italicized.
Pardon my French, part 2
We now know that there is no death sentence for those who employ foreign words and phrases in their everyday English. However, before I bestow upon you more miraculously acceptable weird phrases, let’s find out how to use them properly. I realize that most of you, despite my vigorous encouragement, will not tell their bosses that the reason you keep on using Facebook at work is not germane to the situation. But how about writing that in an e-mail?
Pardon my French, part 1
We are all doing it, so let’s just admit it and stop shaming one another, OK? There is absolutely nothing wrong with adding a soupçon (a dash; supsɔ̃) of French to your linguistic daily grind. Get your minds out of the gutter, people, and stop scrutinizing those leaked naked photos, I am simply trying to persuade you into employing foreign words in your everyday English.
Poczuj moc średnika!
Jako że opanowaliśmy już nieomal magiczną sztukę wstawiania przecinków w miejscach do tego przeznaczonych, zajmijmy się zaklęciami z pozornie nieco wyższej półki. Mowa oczywiście o średnikach, które pewnie spędzają sen z powiek wielu purystom językowym skoro nawet znany z Saturday Night Live zespół The Lonely Island poświęcił prawidłowemu ich użyciu osobną piosenkę.
Of kangaroos and George Clooney: the world of the ER
Let me start with something disturbing: not every ER hires George Clooney. I know, I know, it’s extremely upsetting but that’s the cold truth.
The good news is: you’re fired!
OK, so there are subjects that nobody wants to talk (or think) about. But I’d like you to join me in the dangerous journey to the core of despair: unemployment. Sure, there are always those who cherish the thought of doing nothing all day and catching up with all the latest gossip or watching the fresh episode of Grey’s-whatever. For those brave enough to admit that such a travesty exists and may-or-may-not lurk somewhere in the future, let’s dive right in: how to detect whether you’re given a break or a long farewell?
To comma or not to comma?
Ucząc (się) języka angielskiego trudno o większą enigmę niż interpunkcja. Wbrew pozorom większość uczących siebie i innych nie ma problemu ze zrozumieniem różnicy między czasem prostym a ciągłym, przedimkiem „the” lub „a”, czy stroną bierną a czynną. Nawet najbardziej wytrwali gladiatorzy gramatyki angielskiej przegrywają jednak często walkę z zasadami interpunkcji. Przecinek czy brak przecinka? Przecinek czy średnik? Interpunkcyjne „być albo nie być” nie jest tak dramatyczne jak szekspirowski oryginał, ale niewłaściwa odpowiedź na to pytanie może być równie tragiczna w skutkach.
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