Kerstin Cable's Blog

Whenever I hear that someone new is starting language learning, I get excited.

But then, they mention Duolingo and I know how this is going to go.

I’ve spent years teach...

Real-life story of how I helped my Spanish learning friend turn a ChatGPT language learning fail into a fun success, and what I’d recommend for you if you want to learn with ChatGPT too.

We all know that person who’s been on language apps but never speaks. That is not the way to get fluent.

To become fluent, focus on four essential skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.

For speaking practice, the gold standard is to talk to a human. ⭐️

Real conversations are like rocket fuel for language learning progress.

Immersion is often touted as one of the fastest and most effective methods for language learning. 

But is it truly the best approach for everyone? 

In this discussion, we will explore the potential benefits and challenges of immersion courses, and consider whether it suits your individual learning goals and preferences. We will examine what immersion entails, how it can enhance your results when you learn languages, and whether it aligns with your personal learning style.

One-to-one language lessons are a favourite resource in any successful learner’s arsenal, and most smart learners have long discovered that they can easily meet tutors online (check out italki if you haven't tried it yet).

But for many learners and tutors, it’s not always easy to stay excited about lessons...

…if all you ever do is talk about last week, language lessons quickly get boring

…if you don’t feel like you’re spending your money on a good tutor, you might give up

And teachers,...

For a long time, I had a difficult relationship with goal-setting. As a fully-fledged questioner, I find it hard to take anything at face value, let alone the idea that I must have a goal to achieve anything.

When I was learning languages in full-time education environments like school and university, the goals weren't on my mind. My school sorted that out for me: turn up to classes, write essays, take exams. But since I've started working with independent language...

How would you like to learn a language with the help of a famous musician?

Sounds awesome, right? Truthfully, the idea isn’t so far-fetched.

Learning a new language isn’t all about studying grammar and memorizing vocabulary. In fact, many of us have listened to music in another language and even learned a few things from our favourite songs.

For example, who knew the name of Seoul’s cool kid district before "Gangnam Style" became a sensation?

Are you an electric language fiend, armed with Flashcard apps and podcasts? Or going it old-school with pen and paper?

What if you had a language learning tool that cost...

Here's a dream scenario: Watch an hour of German TV every day. Within two months, you will understand everything.