Join a graduate in linguistics as she tries to master Italian, Japanese, and her native English.
The present continuous is used to talk about what is happening at the moment. It is only used in this circumstance, and not to talk about things that are continuing, but not happening at this very minute. The present continuous is relatively simple to conjugate. It is made using the present tense of stare and the gerund... Continue Reading →
Another text in my Italian Reading Practice journey is the appropriately named Il lungo viaggio by Leonardo Sciascia. Unlike Alice in Wonderland (a reading endeavour that I talked about in a previous post), Il lungo viaggio is a short story that I have not read before in English and therefore will present different challenges. You may be wondering... Continue Reading →
In a previous post I wrote about how I am reading Alice nel paese delle meraviglie (Alice in Wonderland). Although the text is quite challenging, I'm having a lot of fun reading this novel in Italian and thought I would share some of the vocabulary I have come across so far. I hope this is helpful... Continue Reading →
Reading Alice in Wonderland in Italian
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) has been offered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (formerly Association of International Education, Japan) since 1984 as a means of evaluating the level of language proficiency in learners of Japanese. For those of us studying Japanese, it is practically the only test available where we... Continue Reading →
Nature and forms of reflexive verbs in Italian
False Friends. Let's look at words in Italian often mistaken for words in English that look similar.
How many times a day do you use the verb to like? Quite a few times I'm sure. It is a very common verb and of course language learners are keen to learn its usage as soon as possible. However, it is not only for this reason that I have chosen to write about PIACERE (to like,... Continue Reading →
A look into the particulars of the verb SPOSARE
I want to dream in my target languages. Perhaps to be more accurate (or realistic), I want to daydream in my target languages. This is a strange aspiration, I know, but what kind of language learner would I be if my ultimate goal was not to be so comfortable in my abilities that I think... Continue Reading →
Dreaming In Another Language 