After I learned Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and a little Arabic I did not think that switching between foreign languages was very hard. The three (plus English) were all from distinctly different language families, which made the task relatively painless. Not only did they sound different but the very grammar and...

  I have tried reading books in foreign languages before, such as when I was learning Spanish. Like most, I found it challenging. The number of unknown words and the sheer amount of confusion made it easy to give up, even with simple books. It seemed more like a chore...

Long before the first chemist ever burned his eyebrows off, there were chefs.  No skill lends itself to experimentation quite like cooking (I always wonder about the first person to say “I wonder if I can eat that?“).  You’re already eating two or more times per day… why not take...

Creating a language bubble is a great way to make use of otherwise “wasted” time when learning a new language. One blogger has even used it to learn Japanese before ever arriving in Japan. The idea is to surround yourself as much as possible with the target language so the time...

One of the experiments I am currently carrying out is on the effects of different “brain boosters” or “study drugs” on learning.  My intention was to create something close to a “one man blind clinical trial” on the different drugs, so I had a friend remove the labels from each...