Linguas & More

What is an accent? Everybody has an accent, no matter where you live. A language accent can have many different types of variations, called dialects, which indicate where in your country of origin you are from. When learning a foreign language, a good accent can help you connect to the culture of the country of the language you are studying. However, is a perfect accent necessary to start speaking conversationally? Absolutely not. You don’t have to have a "native" accent Don’t forget that learning to speak a second language takes intelligence. Even if your accent isn’t perfect, people will be impressed you can hold a conversation in a foreign language. Besides, most speakers actually don’t have a ‘native’ accent! There are usually way more language learners than native speakers. So instead of being embarrassed, wear your accent as a badge of honour for all the hard work you’ve put into learning. Embracing your accent can help you meet people and create a positive first...

January is almost ending - but it’s never too late to set new language goals ! The beginning of 2026 was for me all about travel, relax and reset. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t even think about my language learning goals on January 1st. What matters is that now I feel more than happy to start creating a new language learning routine . But first, let’s talk about setting language learning goals. This year I’ve decided not to set any goals to maintain my main languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French). I already follow a lot of YouTube channels and Instagram accounts, I listen to podcasts on a regular basis and I attend meetings for polyglots. This gives me a number of opportunities to practice my languages . So, I want it to come naturally - less planning, more doing . When it comes to the languages I want to focus on this year, here they are: 1. Swedish - I’m somewhere in between level A2 and B1 and want to practice this language every single day ( main priority ) ...

My journey with Swedish Jag älskar svenska! I started learning this beautiful language over 2 years ago . Wow, that’s an insane thought! Anyway, I only studied it seriously in the very beginning - the rest of the time I unfortunately spent learning on Duolingo . I can now say it was a huge waste of time. This platform is not great when it comes to explaining grammar or having real-life interactions . I used to keep a diary in Swedish and occasionally write in it, but that’s about it. In the meantime, I also tried learning other languages (Greek, Gaelic, Finnish) but my unsuccessful efforts led me to burnout . Essentially, I wanted to learn too much in a short period of time, without ever reviewing what I had learned. That’s also why my level in Swedish is pretty much the same as last year. Now it’s time to finally change it . 30-day challenge Since I’m not a complete beginner in Swedish, I’m gonna be using mostly resources on B1 level . I do understand a lot of Swedish, but the rea...

"Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language." – Frank Smith Why practicing languages with native speakers matters The more you practice in a real conversation , the more comfortable you become with speaking your target language. When you start interacting with native speakers more often, your brain starts associating ideas directly with words in that language. This helps a lot to stop translating in your head and enables you to express yourself more freely in your target language. Besides, native speakers use language in a way it is actually spoken . This is something you can’t really learn with a textbook. Plus, by mimicking native pronunciation, your own speaking abilities improve and become more natural . Not to mention that interacting with natives can also bring you closer to different cultures . That’s why practicing languages with natives is a excellent way...

 ¡Hola! Esta semana estuve revisando mis fotos de Barcelona, donde viajé en febrero de 2020. Sentí un vuelco en el corazón al recordar lo importante que solía ser el español en mi vida. Recuerdo cuando formaba parte de mi día a día, y no solo como una preparación para mis exámenes, sino como algo que disfrutaba plenamente. Leía libros, escuchaba podcasts y escribía en mi diario en español. Pero, sobre todo, lo que más me gustaba era ver series . Me encanta cómo el español permite transmitir emociones de manera tan intensa y auténtica. También me interesa cómo esta lengua cambia según el país y la región, adaptándose con giros únicos y expresiones fascinantes. Siempre hay algo nuevo por descubrir. Hoy quiero compartir con vosotros/as mis series favoritas en español . Intentaré describir cada una en pocas frases y, si os entra la curiosidad, podéis descubrir más viéndolas por vosotros/as mismos/as:) ... 1. La casa de papel (2017-2021) Ocho delincuentes enmascarados irrumpen en l...

Cześć! There is obviously nothing wrong with using the most common Polish greetings, such as “cześć” or “dzień dobry” . However, if you want to impress your Polish friends or sound more natural speaking Polish, here are a few ways you can greet a Polish person: Informal greetings 1. Cześć [Chesht] / Hej [Hey] / Hejka [HEY-kah] / Siema [SHE-mah] These are a few of the most common informal Polish greetings . They all mean “hello” or “hi” or “what’s up” and can be used in informal situations. Be careful though, because you shouldn’t always say it in situations in which you’d say “hello” in English. You can use it when talking to your family , friends , peers and people you’re on familiar terms with. “Cześć” is a little more formal greeting than the rest of them, so it’s generally a safer option when you’re speaking Polish. “Hej” is often used when you feel like you need something more relaxed than the usual “cześć”. “Hejka” and “Siema” are even more informal and should only be u...

My French learning journey I started learning French in the summer of 2021, right after graduating from high school. The decision to choose this language was an easy one, as I had always found it very beautiful , and I thought that my knowledge of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese could give me some advantage . In addition, I went on a roadtrip across France with my family that summer. I signed up for an intensive online French course , which meant 9 hours of classes a week for 2 months . Immediately after the first class, I was able to start speaking (simple sentences) to people in France. I remember I really learned a lot during this course. Later, I studied French for a while at my university , where I had the opportunity to learn more business , marketing and economic vocabulary . The following summer, I enrolled in an intensive online course again and traveled with my family to Brussels and Paris for a week, where I was able to practice French a lot. Then I continued to study th...

How HYPIA changed my life What is HYPIA? If you still don’t know what HYPIA is, you missed out on a lot! Luckily, you have me to make everything clear to you. So HYPIA is actually the International Association of Hyperpolyglots . It’s an amazing community of over 400 people who can speak at least 6 languages (on at least B2 level). I admit this association may be a bit particular, but that’s what makes it so fun to be part of . We meet up every single month during the Grande Fête on Zoom and we chat with other polyglots in many different languages (sometimes we sing or play games too). There are even people who can speak 20+ languages . And these meetings are open for non-members as well! We also have a website that consists of interviews with all HYPIA members which you can check out here . Apart from that, we have a WhatsApp group for over 1000 polyglots and a YouTube channel with interviews. Some of us are also involved in linguistic research, but it’s not ne...