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How to learn a language

Meet the people who speak many languages. How do they do it, and why?

Simon Calder asks how to go about acquiring a new tongue. He gets tips from those who know - innovative teachers and polyglots. The answers are surprising. At school, it is repetitive drills, shouted out loud by the whole class, that seem to lodge the grammar and pronunciation in the pupils’ brains. But if you are an adult learning by yourself, then, on the contrary, don’t stress about grammar and pronunciation, there are better, and more fun things to focus on. Simon has a go at learning Slovenian, can he order coffee and cake after just one lesson?

(Photo: Olly Richards and Katie Harris, with kind permission from both)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 1 Nov 2020 19:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 12:32GMT
  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 17:06GMT
  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 21:06GMT
  • Wed 10 Jul 2019 01:32GMT
  • Sat 13 Jul 2019 08:32GMT
  • Sun 14 Jul 2019 17:06GMT
  • Wed 28 Oct 2020 05:32GMT
  • Wed 28 Oct 2020 06:32GMT
  • Wed 28 Oct 2020 09:32GMT
  • Wed 28 Oct 2020 11:32GMT
  • Wed 28 Oct 2020 21:32GMT
  • Wed 28 Oct 2020 23:32GMT
  • Sat 31 Oct 2020 02:32GMT
  • Sat 31 Oct 2020 08:32GMT
  • Sun 1 Nov 2020 19:32GMT

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