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BRAVE Blog

Virtuous and vicious cycles – and where to find them

Virtuous and vicious cycles - and where to find them

‘All of this has happened before, all of this will happen again.’ This spooky Battlestar Galactica quote is sometimes appropriate to things I come across in my work, or coaching, or learning. Here’s what it often means for me: the way others behave – and the way I behave – can be predictable, and one action can lead to another. This is not a new idea. Psychologists worked this out long ago. Today, I want to think about what this could mean for anyone wishing for smarter learning or a braver everyday life. Can we find good or bad cycles around us? And once we spot them, can we do anything about them?

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BRAVE Blog

More language for your click: 3 simple ways to make Freerice teach you more

file7231339581147From the word go, I was charmed by the idea behind Freerice – get a question right, click through to the next one, help fight world hunger. This worked for my English students, worked for my Arts knowledge – and recently, it’s been part of my 25-minute German daily workout. But the big question remains – for a foreign language learner, how useful is this website – and how can you make it work for you better?

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BRAVE Blog

How to budget for a polyglot lifestyle – the cost of language learning

Piggy bank full of dirty  coins This is a quick note inspired by an exercise I did for myself the other day. It is connected with long-term thinking, but also with the prices and money matters connected with learning foreign languages. I’m going to give you a few ideas about how to budget for your bilingual education – but I’m happy to hear yours!

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BRAVE Blog

How to Talk Back at Chris Lonsdale Fluently in Six Points

Human Brain Evolution Every time someone claims to have found a new method for learning a language, I pause and listen intently. It’s not unusual to discover something useful and really effective by paying attention to language learning experts. But there are also times when the expertise is not enough – especially when it’s connected to strong and bold claims. Can you really learn a new language fluently in six months?

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BRAVE Blog

3 Free Tools to Build Up Your Motivation For Language Study

 

You know how it goes. Halfway into January, and your New Year’s resolutions don’t look that flashy any more – what seemed to be a good and useful plan turns into a pile of unconnected wishes…sounds familiar? Well, fear not. Today you’re getting introduced to three fabulous instruments. Each of these will help you get your foreign language learning back on track. Best of all, none of those costs a penny.

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BRAVE Blog

How Body Language can affect your foreign language

body language in foreign languagesThe relationship between language learning and nonverbal signals has been alluded to several times on this blog. The occasion for returning to this is a brilliant TED talk about the effect of body language on the mind. Can this matter for polyglots as well?