Language Learning Blogs

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1. Comical language learning: Itchy Feet

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Language learners across the web love Itchy Feet because it’s as hilarious as it is spot-on.
Malachi makes comics on every language topic you can imagine, and they nearly always deal with the struggles and frustrations that we learners face as we study and use the languages we love. And there’s something about putting those everyday obstacles into comic form that just makes for a great way to let go and giggle a bit at the weird linguistic world we live in.
Some of the Itchy Feet comics are tailored to one particular language, but even those generally deal with the universal anxieties and challenges of language learning. Popular posts like “View from the Top” portray the shared struggle we all face in climbing to the top of “Mt. Fluency.”
There’s also a super handy random comic button at the bottom of the homepage, a solid way to click away an entire afternoon while yelling “no, but it’s so true!” at your computer screen.

2. Self-taught success: Talk Foreign to Me

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Despite growing up with two passports and three languages in her home, Ruth of Talk Foreign to Me was a monolingual English speaker until her mid-30s. Throughout her youth she lived abroad, studied French and Spanish, and even did a Hebrew immersion course, but all to no avail. It seemed that linguistic greatness was just not in her destiny.
But when she took a solo trip to Argentina in 2014 something clicked, and she finally figured out how to teach herself languages. Now she shares the fruits of her language learning labor on her blog. Talk Foreign to Me is so appealing because of the firsthand experiences of both success and failure that Ruth shares from her own language learning journey, both of which she spins into spectacular inspiration for her readers.
You’ll find tons of information here tailored to learning French and Spanish. Even if you’re not learning one of these languages, give her inspiration tag a click whenever you need that extra dose of positivity!

3. Globetrotting language learner turned linguist: Travelengua

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Elica is a language-obsessed polyglot who turned her passion into a profession, and she writes about both at Travelengua. Her blog often views language learning issues through the lens of her studies in Applied Linguistics, but fear not: She drops the jargon and does a great job translating all that science and theory into practical how-to’s and actionable advice.
The blog’s best posts artfully blend Elica’s academic perspective with her accessible personal one, like in “The Difference Between a Linguist and a Language Learner.”
She’s an expert, but one with a very human face who isn’t afraid to share her own personal relationship with languages in honest detail.

4. Learning 19 languages in one city: Words and Worlds of New York

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Ellen at Words and Worlds of New Yorkdocuments the many languages and cultures of her city, as well as her experiences interacting with and often learning them. It’s a beautiful look at the linguistic and cultural layers of a global city like New York, as well as in many ways a practical guide to how you can learn a language without moving to a far-flung corner of the world.
Ellen’s a language learner’s language learner, with lots of great and thoughtful reviews of various learning products out there. If you’re looking for a relatable personal perspective on learning and using a new language in day-to-day life, read some of her first-hand accounts of meeting speakers of her target languages in her home city, like this one on becoming an official Big Apple greeter.

5. It’s never too late to learn: Adventures in Midlife Spanish

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Newell never learned a new language until his 50s, and now he’s debunking the myth that there’s such a thing as being “too old” to learn a language. Adventures in Midlife Spanishchronicles his experiences both in Mexico and at home in Minnesota working with Spanish-speaking immigrants and refugees, blending the perspectives of learning abroad and learning in your own back yard.
This blog is great at integrating language and culture and presenting them as two parts of one whole, like in Newell’s post about joining a Hispanic congregation near his home in Minnesota. While this blog’s focus is on the Spanish language and Mexican culture, its insights are golden for anyone who wants to learn a language as they near their golden years.

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