20+ Spanish Reading Resources
The best way to learn more vocabulary and improve your Spanish grammar is to read as much Spanish as you can. This could include books, magazines, comics, newspapers but the most important thing is to choose something you are interested in and will enjoy reading.
The resources listed below are fun and easy to read as long as you already know a little basic Spanish to begin with. Continue reading
Weather Talk in French
The English are always talking – and usually complaining – about the weather, but the French do their fair share too. In fact, one way to translate the expression “to make small talk” into French is parler de la pluie et du beau temps, literally ‘to talk about the rain and the fine weather’.
To ask what the weather is like, you can say Quel temps fait-il? Continue reading
“To know” in French: “savoir” vs “connaître”
There are two verbs in French that can be used to translate the English “to know”: savoir and connaître.
Sometimes the difference is explained in terms of meaning, for example, that savoir means “to know how to do something”, whereas connaître means “to be familiar with someone or something”. Continue reading
Interview with polyglot Steve Kaufmann
Who is Steve Kaufmann?
Steve Kaufmann is a well-known polyglot who has been learning languages for over 50 years. He can speak 17 languages fluently and is currently learning more. He has a strong social media presence with over 100,000 subscribers to his Youtube channel, maintains a language learning blog and is the author of books to teach people how to learn languages successfully. Steve kindly agreed to answer a few questions that language learners frequently ask: Continue reading
Online Resources to Learn Spanish Fast
Nowadays there are so many language learning apps, websites, and online resources out there that anyone can learn a language from the comfort of their own home without ever having to visit the country where the language is spoken.
In this blog post we will look at the many different online resources to help you with your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills when learning Spanish. (Most of these apply to all language learning.) Continue reading
Adventures in French Canada
Although it is perhaps a rather delicate subject, one thing I think that visitors to Québec need to be warned about is Québécois profanity. In my first month or so I noticed that people’s speech was full of what appeared to be religious words, and my first thought was, “What devout people they are!” but then it dawned on me that these were swearwords.
Unlike in Standard French, where swearwords tend to centre on sex and excrement (such as merde – shit), Québécois profanities (known as sacres from the verb sacrer to consecrate) are words and expressions related to Catholicism and its liturgy. They originated in the early 1800s when people became frustrated by the tight social control exerted by the Catholic clergy. Continue reading
How many words do you need to know to be fluent in a language?
Most people ask themselves this question when they start learning a foreign language. It can be daunting to think about how much you need to learn to be able to have a conversation with someone as you do in your native language. However the good news is that it is not as difficult as you might think! Continue reading
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