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BRAVE Blog

Fear Less: Four Easy Ways to Lower Your Foreign Language Anxiety

My speaking exam was starting in five minutes, and I was about to faint. I wasn’t the only one: my partner, whom I’d never met before, was just as stressed. We were both sitting there, winding ourselves up, and then she said something strange:

“We should have had a vodka or two before that, you know.”

Several years later, I know how right she was.

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BRAVE Blog

Two Oldest Cognitive Types – And Why They Matter To Language Learners

If you want to make me really upset, you only need to use six words in a conversation: “I have no talent for languages.” These words are clearly and excuse, and a very bad one at that.

Today’s post is not about excuses (it’s a long and fascinating topic, though). I’m going to write about two cognitive types – two ways of thinking about reality and solving problems. By the end of this post, you will understand more about the way your brain works – and hopefully, this knowledge will help you approach your language study more effectively.

And if I’m lucky, it will allow you to never speak of the “talent for languages” again.

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BRAVE Blog

The Pain Of Flow: Learning Till It Hurts

Eternal Scream 3 (Alpha Blending)
(joshsommers / Flickr)

I had never been so proud before, and rarely since.

Staring at the result board, I could only see two names with the highest grades – two people who aced the English university entry exam. I was one of them.

(My future wife was the other one, but that’s another story.)

Let me tell you how it felt when I worked towards it. It’s a personal post, but it’s not about bragging – far from it.

It’s about risk and skill, challenge and pain.

Yeah, mostly about the pain.

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BRAVE Blog

Taboo 101: A Five Minute Guide to Swearing in Any Language

CENSORED
This post is totally safe for work. No explicit lyrics (except the ones on your mind).

“Nonononono. You gotta put more tongue into it…”

It was beginning to work. Five minutes into a random conversation with two folks in a pub, we were already finding a common language, and it wasn’t English. After they’d left, I felt proud, but a bit puzzled. I taught these guys one of the most offensive words in one of the world’s hardest languages. The puzzling thing was: why do people care so much about these words?

I’ve thought about it long and hard. I have consulted masters and gurus. Now I know. And after reading this post, you will, too. Meet me after the jump.