To be open right at the beginning: my language helper is getting bored with me. The beginning is so difficult. The method says I should not talk but only listen in the beginning. That means that he talks a lot more. Then, quite often, I don’t get it, as so many words are new and…
We landed in Africa and everything, but really everything was different. We had expected some, but so many differences. Uncomfortable border officials who wanted an address which we didn’t have. An incredible number of control: luggage, passports, with body scanning and all alike. Within a short time we were totally intimidated. After a few weeks…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] We haven’t been in Aix-en-Provence for two weeks yet when Mike wants to take some photos of our house to show them on the home page later. So he takes the elevator from the 8th floor down to ground floor and ambles across the square, half of which is a parking lot, the other…
PhD, the highest level of education, is not typically focused on language learning, but on something else. The language is the base. The thesis is something new on grammar, literature or whatever. In my case, it was grammar. The language itself is only a means to an end. You need it as the foundation of…
As a German I have to link to this very famous and funny youtube video on language learning: Enjoy!
A friend helped me to find a guy and then on a Monday we started learning Tunisian Arabic. I have spent a few months learning Algerian Arabic and a few weeks on Modern Standard Arabic, and I’ve studied a bit of Arabic grammar with several books. But this time it’s meant to be long-term and…
How could I keep this high level I had achieved after having coming back from Spain? Well, the answer is easy: I couldn’t! To hold your level, there are many necessary things: talk regularly to mother tongue speakers continue learning new stuff even though you may think you know “enough” stay inside the culture of…
In Algeria, as in all Arabic countries, there is Standard Arabic, which is the official national language. In addition, there are many other dialects spoken, dialects of Arabic and also several Berber languages. In Algeria there must be around 15 minority groups of Berbers, but no one knows exactly how many. About 30 people live…
Why on earth do you still need to attend language courses once you have been in the country for more than a year? Well, I had to. Even though I had just came back from Spain, having been there for the third time for a total of over nine months, I had to go back…
By now we have learned a lot about the culture, language and people of this country. But there are some things we can’t get through our heads. We just don’t get it. For example, our landlady says, “If I make this meal tomorrow, I’ll invite you over.” We express our thanks. The next afternoon a…