The Language Mastery Blog
150+ Free Articles & Resources to Help You Reach Fluency Anywhere in the World
Interview with Shannon Kennedy, founder of Eurolinguiste
Shannon Kennedy is a language lover, traveler, musician, and writer. She has written extensively for Fluent in 3 Months and Drops, and is also the Language Encourager and Community Manager for the Add1Challenge. In 2018, she co-hosted the inaugural Women in Language event, an online conference to champion, celebrate, and amplify the voices of women in languages. In the interview, we discuss ① why majoring in music led Shannon to start learning German, Italian, and Spanish, ② how her self-study methods differ from how she had learned languages in school, ③ why learning is short, frequent chunks of time is more effective than longer study sessions, ④ her daily habits and how she fits in language learning around work and motherhood, ⑤ why kids don’t learn languages better than adults, and ⑥ why discipline is more important than motivation when learning any skill.
3 Reasons to Learn Japanese Through Martial Arts
Training in martial arts has been one of the most rewarding, meaningful pursuits of my life, and I highly encourage you to give one a try if you’ve yet to don a dougi (道着, “training uniform”) or hit the tatami (畳, “straw mats”). Martial arts training has numerous benefits: ① Increased focus, discipline, and self-control. ② Improved strength, flexibility, agility, and bodily awareness. ③ A better chance of defending oneself from bullies, criminals, rapists, etc. But learning a martial arts offers another potential advantage that few people talk about: highly contextual Japanese immersion! Read on to see three reasons why martial arts is an ideal context for learning Japanese, and a few of the most popular bujutsu (武術, “martial arts”) to choose from.
The Case for Slow: Why Faster Isn’t Necessarily Better in Language Learning
We live in a world obsessed with speed and efficiency. “Faster” is almost always equated with “better” (other than with sex of course). We want our food fast. We want our abs fast. And we want our language skills fast. But the older I get, the more I’ve learned to value slowness. Read on to see why you should savor the language learning process the way you would a fine meal or nice glass of wine.