The HypoPolyglot

Onomatopoeia are perhaps most widely known as the tools we use to communicate the sounds that objects, animals, and humans make. But, they can do much more than that! So, listen in and learn why you should add a few to your vocabulary.

When languages provide extra messages or layers of information into sentences, grammarians often refer to these extra layers as mood or grammatical mood. And today, we are going to take a look at three common moods that nearly all languages utilize.

Today, I respond to an email from Cierra, who writes, “I have been using a variety of resources as you suggested.  And I enjoy each of them – However, I am struggling to keep what I am learning from all the different resources organized. Any suggestions?” - yes I do!  and it is quite simple.

This episode explains how grammatical gender adds a whole other layer of information that needs to be both memorized and correctly applied in order to be able to communicate clearly and accurately in a language that uses grammatical gender.

Resources are key to the learning process, so today, I thought I would share my review of a very popular resource on the market – Pimsleur language courses.

In today’s installment, I am going to drill down on the topic of gender....what it is and how it often causes confusion.

In this episode, I present a comprehensive checklist of 8 key elements that I feel every language learner should consider when it comes to gathering resources.

In today’s installment, we are going to look beyond the basic definition of a noun, and we are going to take a closer look at three additional, important concepts surrounding nouns – namely gender, number, and case! So, stick around.

Over the years, I have collected several key tips and tricks from teachers and students alike that have made the use of flashcards even more effective for me. So today, I thought I would pass along these helpful suggestions to you!

In an earlier episode titled Songs – Side B – I introduced you to several activities that help you incorporate music into your studies.  Today, I would like to show you a few additional ways music can be beneficial to your language learning experience as well.

When it comes to learning a language, you may find that time, redundancy, and inconvenience are three major obstacles you are going face.  So, today, I thought I would share some tips on how to deal with them - in order to make it easier to sit down and study.

Today's episode discusses a phenomena that many language learners experience "mental hiccups" - what they are and how to deal with them!  

Today’s episode is part of a Language Fundamentals series which aims to help listeners re-think many of the fundamental building blocks of language in a way that is more conducive to learning new languages! In this installment, I am going to be discussing verbs! More specifically, I am going to be talking about the wide variety of information verbs have to convey.

The 50 question challenge is a great learning tool that helps you track your progress. 

In this episode, I walk you through a step by step process you can use to incorporate music into your study routine.

In this episode, I reply to John, who is currently studying German and Turkish, who asked , “Even though I am learning different languages, can you share the resources you are using to learn Spanish – and maybe include a brief explanation as to why you use that resource? I think this will really help me better gauge whether or not I am using the right stuff.”   (And yes.....I gave the So...

In this Reply All Episode, I respond to a listener who asks a simple, yet important question, "What vocabulary should I focus on as a total beginner?"

Today, using a trivia format, I share some data about world languages that you might find useful when selecting your next language.

In this episode, I discuss subjects at the most fundamental level.

In todays episode, I to respond to an email in which a listener asks, “How does learning another language make it easier to learn additional languages? I often hear people say this, but I have never really heard an explanation as to how or why this is true.”  Listen in for the answer!

In this installment,  I walk you through some steps that will help you estimate how many words you will need to learn. 

In this installment I am going to show you a structure way to go about learning words in context.  This way, you can start reaping the benefits of this beneficial approach to learning new words right away.

In this episode, I discuss two important approaches to reading.  – intensive reading and extensive reading - as having a basic understanding of both of these approaches can help you make the most of your studies and help you improve your overall language skills

I would like to share a few behaviors with you that are highly linked to success in the classroom. I think you will find that incorporating these behaviors may  help you to significantly improve your language skills as well as potentially help you increase your academic performance.  So, listen in....

In today’s reply all episode, I respond to an email I received from a listener who wrote “I am planning a trip to Costa Rica and Panama, for both business and pleasure, and I would like to use this opportunity to improve my Spanish if possible. Do you have any suggestions on how I can make the best use of my trip to improve my Spanish?”