Do I need to write either of these exams to secure a scholarship? The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are international tests taken by non-native English speakers to ascertain their fluency in English language and communication skills. Most scholarships sponsored/awarded by international bodies and…
Dear Language-learning Enthusiast, One of the obstacles that keep language learners in the plateau stage (intermediate level) for a long time is limited vocabulary. For anyone to gain proper mastery or true fluency in any language, they would have to know a lot of words in that language. Words are a key part of languages,…
Dear Language-learning Enthusiast, At the earlier stage of your learning journey, it is very normal to focus on a more generic form of your target language. It is however not advisable to continue on this path once you have reached the intermediate level on your journey. Once you cross the beginner’s line to the threshold…
Dear Language-learning Enthusiast, At the intermediate level on your learning journey in any language, it is expected that you have reached a point where you know a lot about your language of interest. As true as this might be however, the intermediate level is also a point where you realize there’s still a lot you…
Dear Language-learning Enthusiast, One of the problems you could encounter on your learning journey is the unfamiliar form and usage of your language of interest, and this could pose an obstacle in the process of trying to get familiar with basic concepts of the language. For instance, some languages are particular about grammatical genders, others…
Dear Language-learning Enthusiast, As soon as you make up your mind to advance your proficiency level in any target language, some of the mindsets you have to make efforts to get rid of, are those of laziness and procrastination. Things get a little hard for all learners at different stages, but it serves you no…
At some point in your learning journey, it is quite normal to feel stuck, especially after getting past the initial learning stage to the intermediate level. This is popularly referred to by language learners as the ‘language-learning plateau”. Naturally, at the beginning of your journey, you probably made quick and easy progress, due in part…
I am sure you have heard this many times before, “Practice makes progress”. This saying will always be true, because the more times you try your hands at something, the better you get at it with every trial. This applies to all aspects of life; studying for a test, learning a new skill, interacting with…
Many people learn different languages for different reasons; some people say they learn to make their job easier, some people do it to keep mentally fit, some are interested in making interaction easier when they travel to a new place, some even learn just for exploration and curiosity. The common thing about all these people…