Category: French (PF)

• The Textbook of Life: your 2026 personalised language plan for B1-C1 learners of any language

  

  Keen to start your 2026 language journey with a bang, but don’t know where to begin? Try my personalised language plan to keep you motivated and engaged throughout the year. All you need are 12 topics you love, 24 resources, 1 notebook. I call it The Textbook of Life.

  Lucy

  January 5, 2026

  French, French (PF), German, German (PF), Italian, Italian (PF), mindset, more languages, Portuguese, Portuguese (PF), resource, Spanish, Spanish (PF)

  2026 language goals, B1 French, B1 German, B1 Italian, B1 level topics, B1 Portuguese, B1 Spanish, B2 French, B2 German, B2 Italian, B2 level topics, B2 Portuguese, B2 Spanish, C1 French, C1 German, C1 Italian, C1 level topics, C1 Portuguese, C1 Spanish, French, french self-study, German, german self-study, Italian, italian self-study, Portuguese, portuguese self-study, resource, Spanish, spanish self-study, the textbook of life

• 9 reassuring truths about language learning to motivate you to keep learning

  

  Feel like you’re the only person in the world really struggling to learn your target language? News flash! You’re not special, you’re normal. Here are 9 reassuring facts about language learning to keep anxiety about your progress at bay.

  Lucy

  March 10, 2025

  French (PF), German (PF), Italian (PF), mindset, Portuguese (PF), Spanish (PF)

  embarrassing language mistakes, feel like I’m not progressing in my language, ways to set and achieve language goals, what counts as fluency, what’s the dunning-kruger effect, what’s the hardest part of learning a language, when can I consider that I’ve learnt a language, why are my speaking skills sometimes bad

• The simplest (and most fun!) way to set your language goals and achieve them

  

  Sick of failing to achieve your language goals? You don’t need a language coach, an expensive habit tracking app or to wake up at 6am to achieve ultimate productivity. Try language bingo and win over and over

  Lucy

  February 3, 2025

  French, French (PF), German, German (PF), Italian, Italian (PF), mindset, more languages, Portuguese, Portuguese (PF), resource, Spanish, Spanish (PF)

  2025 language goals, A1, A2, habit tracking languages, how to achieve language goals, how to learn a language faster, language bingo, language goals, language habit tracking PDF, learning strategies, new year language goals, resource, set language goals

• How to level up from Duolingo: a 14-step guide for novice learners on how to take the next step

  

  If you’re new to language learning, and don’t know how to get past Duolingo, try out any of these 14 steps beyond the little green owl to really make progress.

  Lucy

  August 19, 2024

  French, French (PF), German, German (PF), Italian, Italian (PF), Portuguese, Portuguese (PF), Spanish, Spanish (PF)

  A1, A2, board games for learning a foreign language, can you learn a language with duolingo, chatterbug, crosswords for French learners, crosswords for German learners, crosswords for Italian learners, crosswords for portuguese learners, crosswords for Spanish learners, does duolingo work, duolingo, Duolingo stories, graded readers, hellotalk, how to level up from duolingo, how to move past duolingo, kloo games, language exchanges, language reactor, language tandems, learning strategies, lingo mastery colouring book, lingoclip, lingoda language sprint, podcasts for learning french, podcasts for learning german, podcasts for learning italian, podcasts for learning portuguese, podcasts for learning spanish, tv series for learning french, TV series for learning German, tv series for learning italian, tv series for learning portuguese, tv series for learning Spanish

• 9 thought-terminating clichés about language learning and how to respond to them

  

  Sick of people spouting the same old rubbish to you? Or do you catch yourself using clichés to excuse yourself from continuing your learning? Here are 9 thought-terminating clichés on language learning and how to deal with them.

  Lucy

  April 23, 2024

  French (PF), German (PF), Italian (PF), mindset, Portuguese (PF), Spanish (PF)

  does duolingo work, has ai made language learning obsolete, how can I practise a language when people always reply in English, I’m a visual learner, is it worth learning a minority language, language learning myths, mindset, the language gene, thought-terminating cliches

• Language learning trauma: why people trash our language skills and why it hurts so much

  

  “I thought you were good at languages?”…”That’s not how you say it”…”I can’t understand you!” Why do people trash our language skills with reckless abandon? And why does it hurt so much? Find out why here.

  Lucy

  March 19, 2024

  French, French (PF), German, German (PF), Italian, Italian (PF), mindset, more languages, Portuguese, Portuguese (PF), Spanish, Spanish (PF)

  how do I get people to stop switching to English, mindset, why are people rude about my language skills, why do people correct me, why do people switch to english when im trying to speak their language

• Why am I struggling to learn my partner’s native language?: 8 obstacles and how to overcome them

  

  Tired of strangers asking you whether you speak your partner’s language? Or your parents-in-law asking you whether you’ve learnt anything yet? Here are 8 reasons why you just can’t seem to get past that early stage of learning.

  Lucy

  January 30, 2024

  French (PF), German (PF), Italian (PF), mindset, Portuguese (PF), Spanish (PF)

  A1, A2, B1, how can i learn my boyfriend’s language, how can i learn my girlfriend’s language, how can I learn my partner’s language, how to deal with your in-laws asking have you learnt our language yet, how to learn my husband’s language, how to learn my wife’s language, how to start learning my partner’s language, mindset, my partner isn’t invested in me learning their language, my partner makes me feel guilty that i don’t speak their language, should i learn my partner’s native language, why is it so hard to learn my partner’s language

• Should you try the Lingoda language sprint? Here’s my experience and advice

  

  If you looking for a course that’ll keep you motivated to progress in a short space of time, Lingoda just might be the ticket. Here’s what to expect and my recommendations.

  Lucy

  December 5, 2023

  French, French (PF), German, German (PF), mindset, Spanish, Spanish (PF)

  A1, A1 French, A1 German, A1 Spanish, A2, A2 French, A2 German, A2 Spanish, B1, B1 French, B1 German, B1 Spanish, French, German, Italian A1, learn a language quickly, learn a language remotely, learn english online, learn french online, learn german online, learn spanish online, learning strategies, lingoda language sprint, more languages, online language course, Spanish

• 3 incredibly common barriers that are making you think you lack the language gene, and how to overcome them

  

  There is no scientific evidence of a language gene; instead, it’s a product of our circumstances in monolingual cultures. Find out how to ditch these unhelpful barriers here.

  Lucy

  June 6, 2023

  French (PF), German, German (PF), Italian (PF), mindset, Portuguese (PF), Spanish (PF)

  A1, A2, bletchley, classroom trauma, codebreaker, do I lack the language gene, does the language gene exist, dyslexia, German, hush waac, is there such thing as a language gene, language gene, maths brain, mindset, success stories, the perse school, why am I struggling to learn a foreign language, women and war, women in wwi, womens auxiliary army corps, wwI, WWII

• What are the different CEFR levels, and how do I get to the next level? CEFR explained with Emily in Paris

  

  A great way to track your progress is to base your knowledge on the CEFR, and who better to model their French than the cast of Emily in Paris?

  Lucy

  April 24, 2023

  French, French (PF), German, German (PF), Italian, Italian (PF), mindset, more languages, Portuguese, Portuguese (PF), Spanish, Spanish (PF)

  A1, A1 French, A2, A2 French, B1, B1 French, B2, B2 French, C1, C1 French, cefr, citizenship, exam, French, french level test, German, how do I get to b1, how do I get to b2 in French, how do I get to b2 in Italian, how do I get to b2 in Portuguese, how do I get to b2 in Spanish, Italian, italian level test, learning strategies, mindset, more languages, Portuguese, portuguese level test, Spanish, spanish level test, study, what are the different cefr levels, what is my level