American Stereotypes: Americans are fat
This is the second installment in a new series of articles called "American Stereotypes," which explores stereotypes about Americans. Today's topic is: Americans are fat.
"Americans are fat" is a pretty common stereotype. Often, the view isn't that Americans are just slightly overweight, but rather that most Americans are downright morbidly obese! Just do a Google image search for fat American if you don't believe me. ;-)
As with many stereotypes, there is some truth behind it.
Read more to learn about this stereotype!
Learn Polish in Poland: Lengua Viva
I strongly believe that you don't need to live in a foreign country to learn its language. Personally, I learned Polish primarily in my home country.
You can even learn a lot about a foreign culture from your home country. You can read the literature, watch the films, and even speak with the natives.
However, to experience certain aspects of any culture, you simply have to visit the country!
This article is about Lengua Viva, a language school in Gdańsk, Poland which offers courses in Polish as a foreign language. Plus, they've offered a special price for readers of LinguaTrek!
(Full disclosure: I have never been to Lengua Viva, so I can't personally vouch for the quality of their courses. I agreed to promote their school in exchange for a special reduced price for LinguaTrek readers. I don't personally receive any money or anything else from them.)
Read more for information about the courses!
Vlog: Trzy lata na YouTube, pięć lat z j. polskim!
Dokładnie trzy lata temu w dniu 27 września 2008 przesłałem mój pierwszy filmik po polsku do YouTube'a! I pięć lat temu w wrześniu 2006 zacząłem uczyć się j. polskiego.
W tym filmiku, trochę mówię o wpływie, który miały YouTube i j. polski na moje życie.
Proszę podaj mi poprawki do tego filmiku w serwisie Lang-8.
Czytaj transkrypcję poniżej!
How to learn words with multiple meanings
In all languages, there are words with several, seemingly unrelated meanings - and English is no exception.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "get" has over 20 different meanings! It's even hard to count them all. :-)
So, what's the best way to learn words with multiple meanings?
Read more for my advice!
American Stereotypes: Americans are workaholics
This is the first installment in a new series of articles called "American Stereotypes," which explores stereotypes about Americans. Today's topic is: Americans are workaholics.
A workaholic is a person so obsessed with working and earning money that they often forget to enjoy life. Are Americans workaholics?
More often than we'd like to admit, there's some truth to many stereotypes. In this case, there are even statistics to back it up! But I think the reality of the situation often falls somewhere between the stereotype and the true human experience.
Read more to find out about this common stereotype!
Is spelling easier for non-native speakers?
I receive lots of comments on the videos of me speaking Polish like:
"You speak pretty good Polish. But can you spell? It's really hard, even for native Poles!"
The first time I saw this, I was really surprised! The Polish alphabet is very straightforward and I have no problems spelling in Polish. In fact, I spell much better in Polish than I do in English!
Personally, I've always thought English spelling was really hard. But I've had non-native speakers tell me that spelling in English is much easier than in their native language.
So, I've started to wonder: is spelling simply easier for non-native speakers?
Read more for my whole theory!
What is grammar good for?
Occasionally I write articles about grammar (like I did last week). I always feel a little weird writing about grammar, because, in general, I don't advocate studying grammar, particularly not in the beginning.
However, studying some grammar when you've already got some fundamentals in the language can be helpful!
Read more to find out how!
The first grammar you should learn in Polish
As I've written before, learning Polish shouldn't start with grammar. You should start by doing a lot of listening, learning vocabulary and maybe some speaking (possibly shadowing).
While using these techniques, it's often helpful to have a basic understanding of Polish grammar, so you know what patterns to look for. (See my overview of Polish grammar.)
But, before you focus on grammar, you should first understand some fundamentals of the language. This way, the grammar will make more sense and actually mean something to you.
So now you've reach that point. Congratulations! It's time to start studying Polish grammar. :-)
But there's so much to learn - what should you start with?
Read more for my advice!
The natives won't speak to me in their language!
Speaking your target language with native speakers is the ultimate goal of most learners. But what should you do if the people you meet only want to practice your native language?
You're not the only one having this problem! How can you get native speakers to stop speaking Engilsh (or your language) and practice their language with you?
Read more for some tips!
Polish cryptologists crack the Nazi code
The Enigma machine was invented near the end of World War I. An electro-mechanical cypher machine that allowed the German military to send encoded messages, the Enigma evolved to become a powerful tool the Nazis would soon use before and during World War II.
But did you know that this powerful and complicated machine was deconstructed and decoded by a clever group of Polish mathematicians? Plus, as a result of their efforts, many agree the war in Europe ended two years sooner than it could have!
Read more to learn about this great (and often overlooked) moment in Polish history!
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