I enjoy explaining to others just what it is that makes me enjoy learning and speaking Mandarin Chinese so much, as it is a language which is poorly understood. Shrouded in mystery in the west, we’re likely to see it employed as a “mystical” tattoo instead of as a communicative...

Nobody wants digital learning techniques (software, games etc.) to succeed more than me. I was formally trained in computer science and video game design, and readers of the blog know that neuroscience, human learning and foreign languages are all amongst my primary interests. I’ve even created a few iPhone apps...

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...

Sometimes experiments do not work out quite the way we expect.  The study drugs experiment is one of those cases.  It was fraught with problems, from shipping errors to technical problems to all-out hardware failures.   I do not consider the experiment to be a failure by any means.  I...

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...

I dislike school.  This may be surprising given that, despite culminating my upper-education with a Bachelor’s degree a year ago, I have not been outside the classroom for more than a summer at any point in my life.   Schools, especially those in the formal educational system, are extraordinarily imperfect...

This particular experiment is very dear to my heart as it has become a way of life. For 9 months I have lived in 4 countries, never staying in one for longer than 11 weeks.  I have had the opportunity to do and learn some amazing things by challenging the...

Today marks the two week (halfway) point in my experiment to learn French.  I’ve actually found the process to be surprisingly easy so far, despite the fact that I am still working full-time in English.  Below is my schedule and some tips for my fellow language students and/or productivity enthusiasts....

I do not approach the idea of taking any drug lightly, even one prescribed to me by a doctor.  So when I was setting up my experiment on the effects of different drugs on studying, I knew that I had to choose the subjects of my experiment carefully.   There...