I’m celebrating today! 23 years have passed since I first began this freaking-crazy adventure that is called life. Time flies. It surely does. I have 2 years left now to achieve one of my goals, which is to become quadrilingual by the age of 25. You see, rather than jumping from one language to another, I prefer focusing on one at a time. … [Read more...] about Birthday Girl!
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Don’t make the same mistake I did.
I started learning English in school, at a very young age. I was a little one and didn't know a thing about language learning and fluency. Growing up, my interest for English intensified pretty quickly because I started watching American TV series and following American and British singers. I'm still into that stuff, as you can read from my About Me page. However, I do recognize that I made some mistakes in the past: … [Read more...] about Don’t make the same mistake I did.
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Are you SMART when it comes to language learning?
Lack of motivation (or loss of it) causes most language learners to quit. It doesn’t matter if you’re clever, have a good memory, or amazing materials: you won’t be successful in becoming fluent if you quit. That’s why I stress about the importance of keeping track of your progress. You may do it through a language journal or something else. It’s essential, though, to have a clear vision of why are you learning a language and what are you doing to achieve this goal. Speaking of goals, learning a language is a pretty big one, isn’t it? It may be intimidating to look at it. It is also a pretty vague goal. Most polyglots suggest that it is better to break it down into achievable mini-goals. I agree with them and today I'm going to explain you why. “I'd like to learn Spanish one … [Read more...] about Are you SMART when it comes to language learning?
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9 Reasons To Learn Italian
Ciao! Oh, were you expecting Claire? She's over on my blog, Lindsay Does Languages at the moment! Today you have me, Lindsay, guest blogging right here on Runaway Daydreamer. It's ok, she knows I'm here. So you already know my name is Lindsay and I blog, but did you know I also make YouTube videos about everything language? Well, today, I made a very special video to post here on Runaway Daydreamer. I run a video series called 9 Reasons... and so it seemed only right to make 9 Reasons To Learn Italian to post here today. What's that? Why should I learn Italian, you say? Well, reason number one...hey! I see what you're trying to do here! You want to know why I think you should learn Italian? It's all in the video... Did you enjoy the video? Do you learn Italian and why? I'd love … [Read more...] about 9 Reasons To Learn Italian
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Top 100 Language Blogs: we’re in!
Yay! Exciting news! Runaway Daydreamer has been nominated for the Top 100 Language Learning Blogs competition from the site bab.la! What it's about? It's the number one contest for language lovers, run by Blabla since 2008. Through their site you'll discover the most amazing language bloggers! It's such an honour to be included in the nominees, along with some of the greatest blog out there such as the one by Benny Lewis and Luca Lampariello. Wow. I want to take a moment to thank some of my fellow supporters, like Lu, Andy, Lindsay, Natalie, Melissa, Settit , Dylan and Thảo, just to name a few. You know who you are, anyway. Your support has been incredible. … [Read more...] about Top 100 Language Blogs: we’re in!
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Timeless beauty of Milan
Milan will never cease to amaze me. I've been to this metropolitan city so many times but it's always a pleasure to come back and see what's new. It feels like home. Two weeks ago I got the opportunity to travel to Milan for the millionth time. I swear, I’ll never get tired of it. … [Read more...] about Timeless beauty of Milan
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Living up to Expectations
When you tell other people you’re learning new languages or have learned several of them in the past you often receive different reactions. If you’re lucky, you’ll get tons of encouragement and tons of questions about your progress and your journey. If you’re not, then you’ll get judgments and you’ll end up feeling hurt or under pressure. I bet you know what I am talking about. Let’s see some examples, shall we? You studied Spanish so you can talk about "Quantum Physics" in Spanish, right? Uh… what?! Hell to the no! I’m not able to talk about "Quantum Physics" in Spanish because I’m not even able to do so in my native tongue! All kidding aside... you're not supposed to know *everything*: every word, every grammatical structure, every rule and so on. The thing is, people … [Read more...] about Living up to Expectations
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Finding the time to learn a language
"I have all the time in the world to do everything I want!" said no one, ever. Let's face it: we all struggle to find some spare hours to dedicate to ourselves and to the activities we truly love. If you’re trying to learn a language, though, the more interaction you have with it, the better. So, instead of thinking about how much time you don’t have, think about the time that you’re wasting. Yes, you didn’t misread. Have you got an idea of how much dead time you have in a day? Driving, for example, is a big time waster. If you’re a commuter, then you wait for the bus/metro/train to arrive and you wait in it while going to work/school or home. You even wait when you have an appointment with your doctor or dentist. And you’re probably busy with your daily tasks, like washing … [Read more...] about Finding the time to learn a language
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Why it is important to keep a language journal
You may think it’s not that important to write your goals and your updates on a journal, but you’re wrong. I’ll tell you why. At first I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about a language journal. I thought it was cool to have one but not really necessary. You know what? I changed my mind as soon as I started one. My language journal is like my best friend. It’s always there for me. If I feel like quitting my project, it reminds me of why I started it in the first place by showing me my journey. It reminds me of my previous progress and my goals. Looking at every single page filled with my notes makes me feel proud and encourages me to go on. And we all know that going on is the key to success. It’s practical. I can carry it with me almost everywhere, so, in my … [Read more...] about Why it is important to keep a language journal
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Have you picked the right language?
Once I read in a blog the following statement: “Pick the culture, not the language”. It stuck in my head immediately because the reason I started learning English in the first place is due to the American and British culture. I have always been drowned in everything American related. From the music, to the movies, to the books and so on. English has always been and will always be a huge part of my life because I love everything about English-speaking countries! That’s why today’s question is: “Can you learn a language if you don’t like its culture?” Think about it. Language and culture are two sides of the same coin. You can’t separate them. You may be forced to learn a particular language for work duties or something, but the learning process will definitely be so much … [Read more...] about Have you picked the right language?
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