Perceived cultural distance: From Them to Us

Perceived cultural distance: From Them to Us

Ask someone what the hardest language in the world to learn is, and they’ll probably tell you something like Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, or another language vastly different from English. Yet the truth is that there is no one “hardest” language. The difficulty of a...
What is the concept of “working memory”?

What is the concept of “working memory”?

What makes a good language learner? Many people ask whether there are certain traits or skills which make some people better language learners than others. Does it take a mathematical mind to decode grammar? A musical ear to hear unfamiliar sounds? Someone with a...
Speaking ideas for non-talkers

Speaking ideas for non-talkers

Some of us are talkers; speaking comes naturally, and we almost always have something to say. Others of us, however, are much more comfortable listening, and marvel at how some people can seem to talk endlessly without ever coming up for air. Whether or not you have...