Newest Questions
1,440 questions
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Best way to improve listening and speaking
I'm a learner from South Korea.
I think I'm skilled at listening and reading quite a bit, with TOEIC 965 and TOEIC Speaking AL level. Even got 98 points on Korean university entrance test, top 1% ...
- 111
2
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0
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28
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Can a non-native phoneme acquire a new mental category through exposure?
As an example, for me the contrast between [e] and [ɛ], such as Portugese sé and sê, is a non-native contrast. If I pay attention I can identify differences between them that allow me to distinguish ...
- 129
2
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22
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Is there any research available on brain parts getting involved while speaking tonal languages like Chinese and Korean as the second language?
I want to know whether anyone has assessed the activity of different brain parts that get active while speaking a tonal language as the second language and do not get involved while speaking non-tonal ...
- 131
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13
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Need help with understanding Romanian
I have problems understanding Romanian grammar.
Especially for the words ați, a-ți, i-ați, l-ați, le-ați, m-ați.
Now you probably noticed that ați and a-ți is the same word, the only difference being ...
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18
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Anki android app : Best setup for Spaced Repetition learning
I am new to android app for Anki to use for spaced repetition.
I have a bunch of cards categorized in sub-decks.
To take benefit of spaced repetition technique, how many times a day should I use this ...
1
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36
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Courses for Modern Hebrew
I need to learn conversational Modern Hebrew to take a masters in Judaic studies. I can fluently/quickly read with vowels, but I have limited vocabulary. Any suggestions for good online courses to ...
Howard
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12
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Recommendations for Reading Material on Darija Etymology
I'm interested in learning more about the etymology of Moroccan Darija. Specifically, I'm looking for books, articles, or other resources that delve into the linguistic origins, historical influences, ...
3
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3
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111
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Which strategy should I use in reading German-language books?
I studied German several (20...) years ago and am returning to it. I did some basic grammar and vocabulary review and worked through a beginner-level textbook. Looking for a new challenge, I turned ...
nuggethead
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28
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How to can I structure a Hebrew (or any other language) touch typing program for beginners?
Context
Currently, there doesn't seem to be many comprehensive programs designed specifically to teach Hebrew typing from scratch. (besides for this post which I found).
For example, MonkeyType ...
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7
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14
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3k
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How do native English speakers know the archaic or domain/time specific words in English literature like The Tale of Two Cities?
I have been reading The Tale of Two Cities for multiple months. The progress is pretty slow because I would like to know most of the details in a way that I can learn some literature techniques in ...
- 79
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32
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Are there free objective tools that can be used for assessing pronunciation?
The "standard" would be against that of native speakers.
I'm also interested in fluency and intonation.
1
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1
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45
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How l could learn middle persian
How I could learn Middle Persian (i.e. from the time of the Sasanian Empire)? Are there any sources which you would recommend to help me learn it?
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2
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34
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Where/how can I learn Telugu?
I want to learn Telugu. I have searched for resources and found almost nothing. Duolingo and most of the language apps don't have it. The few that do either have only very basic stuff (introductions ...
- 121
2
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1
answer
319
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Where can you learn the Russian language for free in Russia?
My family will be moving to Russia in a few months. We don't know where yet. Though we have no interest in Moscow or St. Petersburg, if that helps. Where I live in Albania, local language courses cost ...
- 37
2
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24
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Is the HSK7-9 reading section easier than the HSK6 reading section?
I took the Chinese HSK6 exam about 5 days ago, and am mulling over taking the HSK7-9. In comparing the reading sections of these two exams, we find:
HSK6: 50 questions in 50 minutes.
10 语病 "...
- 2,843
8
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4
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4k
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How do speakers of gendered languages experience English [non-gendered] nouns?
In many languages nouns have a gender assigned (masculine, feminine, or neuter) which affects the nouns themselves and changes the forms of related words like adjectives and verbs. In English, most ...
- 181
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49
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An example of iTalki's AI lesson summary?
Reddit's r/iTalki has quite a few posts about iTalki's upcoming iTalki Pro. Piecing together various posts:
the teacher and student can allow iTalki to record the class, and the AI generates a ...
- 2,843
2
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0
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26
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More complete English reference to the Harari language than what is linked on Wikipedia?
The Wikipedia article on Harari language links to an Appendix 2 of the works of one 'Burton' (absent from the article itself, apparently that would be Richard Francis Burton, and the book 'First ...
- 121
3
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1
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78
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When native Chinese speakers hear their native language, do both their left and right temporal lobes activate, while it's only the left for English?
張鳳蓮's 2016 master's thesis writes:
心理學家 Sophie Scott 於倫敦醫院所作的實驗顯示英文母語者聽到母語英語時，左側顳葉顯示活動的影像，而漢語母語者聽到漢語時，左右兩側顳葉都在活動。
[Google Translate]: Experiments conducted by psychologist Sophie Scott at a London ...
- 2,843
2
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61
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Might students using ChatGPT to learn languages develop a kind of "ChatGPT accent"?
Students (like me) who use ChatGPT for second-language learning may pick up some of ChatGPT's idiosyncrasies. E.g., ChatGPT changes my 很多 to 许多, and I've kind of adopted this into my writing style. ...
- 2,843
1
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10
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Islandic element names derived from Latin with "-ium" ending [closed]
Looking at the islandic periodic table it occured to me that all element names that originate from Latin and end in "-ium" are given in Islandic with the ending "-ìn".
Does anyone ...
4
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2
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249
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At what point is the best to switch instruction language to the target language
Somewhere I've read the recommendation that one should strive to use the target language as much as possible preferably exclusively, but I guess that doesn't work optimally from day one. Yes, for your ...
- 203
3
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2
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70
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Bilingual Chinese-English poetry books
I am looking for anthologies of Chinese poetry, with the following properties:
bilingual, i.e. includes both original (simplified) Chinese and English translation;
broadly covers classical poetry, as ...
- 31
4
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1
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99
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Is it really a good idea to learn to enumerate German adpositions taking the accusative and other cases?
I'm currently freshing up my German knowledge and I remember in school we were taught to remember and recite "für-um-durch-gegen-entlang-bis-ohne-wider", which are adpositions that take the ...
- 203
3
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4
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346
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Why, in France, was there an emphasis on cursive handwriting when it's harder to read, and is it the same throughout the Anglosphere?
In France, I was taught to write in cursive when I was six to ten years of age (alongside vocabulary, grammar, grammatical conjugation and so on). Once I completed this instruction, I never thought of ...
- 139
1
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2
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147
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Free app/website for learning Japanese
I want to learn Japanese using a completely free (iOS) app or website. I’m currently using Duolingo (very low knowledge level right now), but any simple web search will explain why Duolingo is bad at ...
- 69
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1
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73
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Will I mix Dutch with German up?
I speak German at C1 and I want to learn Dutch. Will I mix these two languages when I use them all the time and my Dutch is at an advanced level with German? And if I learn Dutch and devote more ...
3
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1
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52
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Could the Elo rating system (used in chess, etc.) be used for language proficiency?
I used to be a bit of a chess player, where we rank chess proficiency using the Elo rating system (or the Glicko rating system). When you "win" your rating goes up, and when you "lose&...
- 2,843
3
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1
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45
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Under what circumstances is it beneficial for an untrained native speaker to correct a non-native speaker?
I'm becoming increasingly disabused of the belief that average native speakers (i.e., untrained in teaching their native language) provide helpful feedback to students learning their language. Often ...
- 2,843
2
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0
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91
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Nowadays, how similar is Duolingo to a gacha game?
Gacha games are known for ethically dubious monetization practices (see this video).
They're free to play games, but you can make in-game purchases;
They're designed to be easy;
They're deliberately ...
- 2,843
2
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0
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28
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How to type Vietnamese with tones on a Chromebook?
On Android, using Gboard, all I have to do is long press e.g., "a", and I get tons of choices for which kind of Vietnamese "a" I wish to enter.
But on a Chromebook, yes with "...
- 121
3
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61
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Want to find an English vocabulary learning app
I want to find an English vocabulary learning app for an intermediary English user (~IELTS 5.5-6.0)--i know that there are plenty of such apps, such as Duolingo. The problem is, I want to find an app ...
- 131
1
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1
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209
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Natural method book for Dutch?
Does anyone know of a book for learning Dutch by the natural method or something like it please?
I'm thinking of something like Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata or Erstes Deutches Buch.
- 11
1
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2
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122
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Why do people have an aversion to practicing speaking foreign languages by themselves?
I can't think of any other skill than speaking a foreign language where people (despite having no non-mental obstacle to doing so) often choose not to practice by themselves.
This doesn't apply to ...
- 2,843
1
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1
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75
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Is there a precise definition of "sentence mining"?
One of the frustrating aspects of language learning is imprecise definitions; here I'm interested in the definition of "sentence mining". If we google it, we get:
Sentence mining is the ...
- 2,843
2
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3
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218
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is it possible to learn English like a native speaker?
I'm Chinese and have been learning English for more than 10 years. As it is a compulsory course in China, so we start learning it from a very young age. I can communicate with others fluently when it ...
fanshu xia
2
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1
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141
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What is the school grade level equivalent of each HSK level?
I am just getting started learning Chinese. My goal is to be able to speak Chinese at the level of a first grader. My plan is to evaluate this by completing HSK course(s). But I do not know which ...
- 123
3
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0
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77
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I need help with reducing my Indian Accent. I want to move toward an American one
This is a sample of my voice: https://voca.ro/1n9yVi2OmlOm
English is pretty much my first language and the language I know best.
I have an accent and it frustrates me a lot. I want to get rid of it.
...
FranKnash
1
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1
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51
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Are there any short and entertaining English animation channels similar to GAG Anime that can help improve my listening skills?
I've been learning Japanese by watching anime and YouTube videos (I think this is my learning style), especially from these channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@parako
https://www.youtube.com/@...
- 11
2
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1
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87
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Considerations when learning a very similar language
I'm considering learning Danish, while I am native Swedish speaker. The languages are partially mutually intelligible (and even more so in written form).
Are there any special considerations to be ...
- 203
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If an experiment is conducted on 1 class of 30 students, is that 1 data point or 30 data points?
Academic papers report language-learning experimental results using methods like those described here. Often they take a class of students (say, 30) and randomly assign some task for one half, and ...
- 2,843
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53
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What input doesn't count as "comprehensible input"?
I was perusing Reddit's r/languagelearning, and this comment by u/whosdamike piqued my curiosity (especially the parts I highlighted in bold):
Here is an update I made about learning Thai via pure ...
- 2,843
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25
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Do Krashenian-educated language teachers struggle to answer common student questions?
The Krashenian school of language learning emphasizes comprehensible input and values implicit (subconscious) knowledge far above explicit (conscious) knowledge.
Let's imagine a student who has ...
- 2,843
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1
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71
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Anki collection stats is showing reviews from years before I started
When I look at my collection stats, it's showing some reviews from years before I started anki which should be impossible.
How can I search for the card causing these phantom reviews and delete them?
- 119
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52
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How has iTalki, etc., been impacted by the advent of ChatGPT?
I'm curious as to how foreign-language online teaching sites/apps like iTalki have been impacted by ChatGPT and generative AI.
Question: How has iTalki, etc., been impacted by the advent of ChatGPT?
A ...
- 2,843
2
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0
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14
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Does research account for improved efficiency due to novelty when comparing language-learning methods?
The papers I look at in language-learning research often take a group of students and tweak their class in one way (like as explained here). Perhaps half will continue as usual (a control), and the ...
- 2,843
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Recommended Language Learning Method to Write Poetry & Songs
If I am primarily interested in learning a language to write poetry and songs in it, in addition to reading poetry and listening to music, is there a recommended way to build writing skills? I imagine ...
- 993
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111
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What are some good French educational shows for toddlers?
A more colloquial way of phrasing the question is, Is there a French Ms Rachel?
J'ai étudié le français au lycée et à l'université. Je l'ai appris à partir de l'anglais, qui est ma seconde langue, l'...
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4
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171
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What is considered the most effective and efficient method for acquiring new vocabulary in a language?
I believe I've formulated a strategy to ingrain English (or any language) vocabulary into memory for effortless and enduring recall. This method mirrors the natural language acquisition process ...
user14979
1
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0
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24
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How many basic words in a language one should know in order to look up unknown word in a dictionary in that language?
Suppose I was born and use AAA as a native language, then later I want to learn BBB language. It is pretty straightforward that when I encounter an unknown word in BBB, I can look up the word using ...
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