In this final episode of ‘Will I ever learn Chinese’ I discuss how I would approach learning a new language in future, outlining the techniques, materials and approaches for different languages of the world. Then, I reflect back on my own learn...

We’re coming to the end of the first series of ‘Will I ever learn Chinese’. In these last two episodes, I am looking at language learning techniques and summarise my process of learning Chinese. In this episode, I’m looking at different approac...

I love puzzles, be it crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles or the puzzle that is learning or analysing another language. My PhD thesis, for example, is a grammatical description of the small Amazonian indigenous language Mosetén. I was working wit...

I’m always amazed by how similar the languages of the world are when I’m learning a new language. Languages are able to express the same concepts, often in strikingly similar ways. The apparent differences in lexicon, grammar, sound and so on, ...

In this episode I’m talking about traveling to China for the first time and using my newly acquired language in the real world. Wherever I travel, I like to be able to speak at least a little bit of the local language and communicate with local...