Newest Questions
1,458 questions
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On the HSK7-9 exam listening section part 2, are there 9 objective + 3 subjective questions, or 8 objective + 4 subjective questions?
The official website for the HSK7-9 exam has this:
In the listening section, part 2, we see there are 9 "objective" (A, B, C, D multiple choice) questions and 3 "subjective" (fill ...
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How do people study L1-to-L2 translation in preparation for an exam?
The Chinese HSK7-9 exam has "translation" tasks: in my case, from English to Chinese. Here's an example of the provided material:
After experiencing a major disaster, people’s behavior may ...
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Which language do you think can express love, anger, or joy more vividly and why?
The ability for emotions like love, anger, or joy to be articulated in a particular language is often a function of the language's lexicon, sociocultural context, and idiomatic expressions.
Here are ...
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Methods to stay motivated with language apps?
I'm intermediate in Mandarin and have tried the whole Anki/Duolingo/DuChinese thing. They're all great apps but after about 2-3 weeks I notice my motivation just falls off a cliff with all of them. ...
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Which major L2 language exams are incorporating AI in 2026?
The Chinese HSK 3.0 standards is in the news talking about using AI in unspecific ways:
综合来看，HSK3.0具有以下特点：一是主动融入数智化时代。将人工智能发展、大语言模型应用和国际中文教育特点相结合，调整HSK词汇、语法、话题、任务大纲，增加汉字大纲，加大AI命题、AI监考、AI评分，...
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Creating an accurate Leitner system schedule
In Leitner system, say I have a box a review daily, a box I review every Tuesday and Thursday, and a box I review only in Friday. If I add a new card on Wednesday, I will review it next day (Thursday) ...
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Hindi axe/foot idiom
I had a colleague tell me "We have a saying in Hindi, 'you throw an axe on your foot or your foot on axe the result is the same.'" Is anyone familiar with the original idiom? How would you ...
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How many characters were in the Chinese HSK 1.0 standards?
For the HSK 1.0 standards (before 2010):
Wiktionary says there were 800 + 803 + 591 + 671 = 2865 characters, whereas
Wiktionary's source says there were 800 + 804 + 601 + 700 = 2905 characters.
I ...
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what is the best way to learn American sign language?
I am a hearing person who would like to learn American Sign language. I live in the USA.
What is the most effective way to go about this? In person lessons and things that cost money aren't an option. ...
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Do language-learning researchers learn languages more efficiently than non-researchers?
There are many researchers in language learning describing many different (sometimes conflicting) ways that students should and shouldn't learn foreign languages, often citing/conducting observational ...
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What are the most comprehensive resources on modern English Grammar?
I'm aware that a similar question was asked here: What's the most complete book on English grammar?
But it was more than six years ago, and some new grammars have been published since then, so I ...
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Learning sign language when everything is mirrored
I've been trying to learn ASL online. That the instructor's left hand lines up with my right and all of the signs are horizontally flipped on the screen is really difficult for me. Because of my ...
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How can I improve my French listening from B1 to B2+ in 60–90 days? Looking for a structured daily plan
I’ve been learning French since last August, and I estimate my listening comprehension to be around B1.
The first few episodes of Inner French are easy to follow — I can understand most of them. ...
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60
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difference between श and ष in modern Hindi [closed]
I'm learning some basic Hindi on Duolingo 1 (not ideal but cheap and easy). I can't hear any difference between some letters, for example, श and ष sound almost equal to me. Perhaps the second one has ...
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115
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How can I get perfect grammar in foreign languages? [closed]
so I've a problem. I've perfect pronunciation of words, yet struggle to put them in perfect grammar. My grammar is not abominable, however it isn't perfect. I'm the type of person who is a ...
Ariseus
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Arabic learning resources
I want to become fluent in Arabic through self-study. Since Arabic has many dialects, I want to first focus on learning Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha) and then later move on to the Gulf dialect.
Right ...
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Gapped text in Proficiency
I feel like I haven't been doing the Gapped Text properly. I find links, try to fit them together. Or, sometimes my instinct tells me that it fits, so I choose it. For instance, this is the gap number ...
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How important is immersion for self-taught language learners?
Morphology includes understanding morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning in a language. For example, the word "unhappiness" consists of three morphemes: "un-" (a prefix ...
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Best way to improve listening and speaking
I'm a learner from South Korea.
I think I'm skilled at listening and reading quite a bit, with TOEIC 965 and TOEIC Speaking AL level. Even got 98 points on the Korean university entrance test, top 1% ...
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Can a non-native phoneme acquire a new mental category through exposure?
As an example, for me, the contrast between [e] and [ɛ], such as Portuguese sé and sê, is a non-native contrast. If I pay attention, I can identify differences that allow me to distinguish between ...
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Is there any research available on brain parts getting involved while speaking tonal languages like Chinese and Korean as the second language?
I want to know whether anyone has assessed the activity of different brain parts that get active while speaking a tonal language as the second language and do not get involved while speaking non-tonal ...
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Need help with understanding Romanian
I have problems understanding Romanian grammar.
Especially for the words ați, a-ți, i-ați, l-ați, le-ați, m-ați.
Now you probably noticed that ați and a-ți are the same word, the only difference being ...
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Anki android app : Best setup for Spaced Repetition learning
I am new to the Android app for Anki to use for spaced repetition.
I have a bunch of cards categorized in sub-decks.
To take advantage of the spaced repetition technique, how many times a day should ...
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47
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Courses for Modern Hebrew
I need to learn conversational Modern Hebrew to pursue a master's in Judaic studies. I can fluently/quickly read with vowels, but I have a limited vocabulary.
Any suggestions for good online courses ...
Howard
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Recommendations for Reading Material on Darija Etymology
I'm interested in learning more about the etymology of Moroccan Darija. Specifically, I'm looking for books, articles, or other resources that delve into the linguistic origins, historical influences, ...
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Which strategy should I use in reading German-language books?
I studied German several (20...) years ago and am returning to it. I did some basic grammar and vocabulary review and worked through a beginner-level textbook. Looking for a new challenge, I turned ...
nuggethead
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How to can I structure a Hebrew (or any other language) touch typing program for beginners?
Context
Currently, there doesn't seem to be many comprehensive programs designed specifically to teach Hebrew typing from scratch. (besides for this post which I found).
For example, MonkeyType ...
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How do native English speakers know the archaic or domain/time specific words in English literature like The Tale of Two Cities?
I have been reading The Tale of Two Cities for multiple months. The progress is pretty slow because I would like to know most of the details in a way that I can learn some literature techniques in ...
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Are there free objective tools that can be used for assessing pronunciation?
The "standard" would be against that of native speakers.
I'm also interested in fluency and intonation.
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How l could learn middle persian
How I could learn Middle Persian (i.e. from the time of the Sasanian Empire)? Are there any sources which you would recommend to help me learn it?
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Where/how can I learn Telugu?
I want to learn Telugu. I have searched for resources and found almost nothing. Duolingo and most of the language apps don't have it. The few that do either have only very basic stuff (introductions ...
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1
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343
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Where can you learn the Russian language for free in Russia?
My family will be moving to Russia in a few months. We don't know where yet. Though we have no interest in Moscow or St. Petersburg, if that helps. Where I live in Albania, local language courses cost ...
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Is the HSK7-9 reading section easier than the HSK6 reading section?
I took the Chinese HSK6 exam about 5 days ago, and am mulling over taking the HSK7-9. In comparing the reading sections of these two exams, we find:
HSK6: 50 questions in 50 minutes.
10 语病 "...
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How do speakers of gendered languages experience English [non-gendered] nouns?
In many languages nouns have a gender assigned (masculine, feminine, or neuter) which affects the nouns themselves and changes the forms of related words like adjectives and verbs. In English, most ...
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An example of iTalki's AI lesson summary?
Reddit's r/iTalki has quite a few posts about iTalki's upcoming iTalki Pro. Piecing together various posts:
the teacher and student can allow iTalki to record the class, and the AI generates a ...
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More complete English reference to the Harari language than what is linked on Wikipedia?
The Wikipedia article on Harari language links to an Appendix 2 of the works of one 'Burton' (absent from the article itself, apparently that would be Richard Francis Burton, and the book 'First ...
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When native Chinese speakers hear their native language, do both their left and right temporal lobes activate, while it's only the left for English?
張鳳蓮's 2016 master's thesis writes:
心理學家 Sophie Scott 於倫敦醫院所作的實驗顯示英文母語者聽到母語英語時，左側顳葉顯示活動的影像，而漢語母語者聽到漢語時，左右兩側顳葉都在活動。
[Google Translate]: Experiments conducted by psychologist Sophie Scott at a London ...
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Might students using ChatGPT to learn languages develop a kind of "ChatGPT accent"?
Students (like me) who use ChatGPT for second-language learning may pick up some of ChatGPT's idiosyncrasies. E.g., ChatGPT changes my 很多 to 许多, and I've kind of adopted this into my writing style. ...
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Islandic element names derived from Latin with "-ium" ending [closed]
Looking at the islandic periodic table it occured to me that all element names that originate from Latin and end in "-ium" are given in Islandic with the ending "-ìn".
Does anyone ...
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At what point is the best to switch instruction language to the target language
Somewhere I've read the recommendation that one should strive to use the target language as much as possible preferably exclusively, but I guess that doesn't work optimally from day one. Yes, for your ...
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Bilingual Chinese-English poetry books
I am looking for anthologies of Chinese poetry, with the following properties:
bilingual, i.e. includes both original (simplified) Chinese and English translation;
broadly covers classical poetry, as ...
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116
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Is it really a good idea to learn to enumerate German adpositions taking the accusative and other cases?
I'm currently freshing up my German knowledge and I remember in school we were taught to remember and recite "für-um-durch-gegen-entlang-bis-ohne-wider", which are adpositions that take the ...
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Why, in France, was there an emphasis on cursive handwriting when it's harder to read, and is it the same throughout the Anglosphere?
In France, I was taught to write in cursive when I was six to ten years of age (alongside vocabulary, grammar, grammatical conjugation and so on). Once I completed this instruction, I never thought of ...
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Free app/website for learning Japanese
I want to learn Japanese using a completely free (iOS) app or website. I’m currently using Duolingo (very low knowledge level right now), but any simple web search will explain why Duolingo is bad at ...
user15612
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Will I mix Dutch with German up?
I speak German at C1 and I want to learn Dutch. Will I mix these two languages when I use them all the time and my Dutch is at an advanced level with German? And if I learn Dutch and devote more ...
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Could the Elo rating system (used in chess, etc.) be used for language proficiency?
I used to be a bit of a chess player, where we rank chess proficiency using the Elo rating system (or the Glicko rating system). When you "win" your rating goes up, and when you "lose&...
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Under what circumstances is it beneficial for an untrained native speaker to correct a non-native speaker?
I'm becoming increasingly disabused of the belief that average native speakers (i.e., untrained in teaching their native language) provide helpful feedback to students learning their language. Often ...
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Nowadays, how similar is Duolingo to a gacha game?
Gacha games are known for ethically dubious monetization practices (see this video).
They're free to play games, but you can make in-game purchases;
They're designed to be easy;
They're deliberately ...
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How to type Vietnamese with tones on a Chromebook?
On Android, using Gboard, all I have to do is long press e.g., "a", and I get tons of choices for which kind of Vietnamese "a" I wish to enter.
But on a Chromebook, yes with "...
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Want to find an English vocabulary learning app
I want to find an English vocabulary learning app for an intermediary English user (~IELTS 5.5-6.0)--i know that there are plenty of such apps, such as Duolingo. The problem is, I want to find an app ...
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