I run a blog about language learning and have ~9 months until a book of mine gets published. During that time, I'd like to grow my audience as much as possible, which basically means writing as many interesting articles as possible.
While I have a list of blog-post ideas, I'm currently living in book-related tunnel vision, and could use some outside input. If you knew someone who knew a lot about foreign languages and language learning, and was willing to do some research and write an article about anything you wanted, what would you want him/her to write about? What burning, unanswered questions do you have about languages, language learning, memory or any other related topics?
posted by sdis
on May 19, 2013 -
37 answers
My kids (currently 6 and 9) have become voracious readers. We have a large and varied collection of excellent fiction for them, but the non-fiction collection is more haphazard. They love learning new facts as they read (the type of thing that makes them look up from the book and say, "Did you know...?"). I want to make sure that the collection of books gives them a good introduction to fields where I myself may not have enough knowledge to judge the quality/accuracy of the book. So what's the kid's book in your field that makes you say, "If only every kid got to read this book, people would understand [topic] better."?
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posted by winston
on May 18, 2013 -
19 answers
I am teaching myself how to program. But there seems to be a big gap between intro courses/resources (CodeCademy, O'Reilly books, Learn X the Hard Way) and Actually Doing Things. Help me figure out a road plan?
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posted by Phire
on May 6, 2013 -
16 answers
I'm writing a book about language learning and the science of memory for a major publisher. We're a couple months away from sending galley copies around to various people for blurbs and reviews, and they've asked me for input as to who might be interested. So! Who should read this thing? Name some people who, if you saw their name on the back of a science-y book on language learning and memory, you'd buy it.
posted by sdis
on May 4, 2013 -
20 answers
I want to relearn algebra, chemistry, basic mechanics, and basic physics this summer. For free?
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posted by Grandysaur
on Apr 25, 2013 -
12 answers
I'm writing a book for a major publisher on language learning, and we're currently in the process of figuring out/fighting over a title+subtitle(+sub-subtitle) combo.
Here's the issue: the book crosses two genres. Originally, it was simply a how-to book, with a step-by-step method for learning any language quickly. But over the course of writing and researching it, it's turned into a discussion about the science of memory and learning, how we learn languages, why we generally don't succeed at learning them in school, and what to do differently. It's become
interesting, not just on a how-to level, but on an intellectual how-do-our-brains-work sort of level. This is great news from an audience standpoint – we've added a whole new potential audience (people who aren't looking for a how-to-learn-a-language book, but *are* interested in how their brains work) – but it's very tricky from a title standpoint.
How do you choose a title that conveys the How-to nature of the book and the How-your-brain-works part at the same time?
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posted by sdis
on Apr 17, 2013 -
14 answers
My almost 3 y.o. has been accepted into the head start program in the summer. Will they be able to work with him as an advanced learner?
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posted by kristymcj
on Apr 4, 2013 -
12 answers
So, I really like learning new stuff and spend a fair bit of my spare time reading. If I won the euromillions I'd retire and spend the rest of my life at uni. In the real world, I have to keep paying rent/eating, so have been exploring MIT's open courseware - writing essays will give a focus to my reading and structure my repsonses to it more effectively, but it ends there. The feedback on my thoughts and arguments a lecturer would give me, or points to improve on, are still missing. This is what I need help with!
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posted by abbagoochie
on Apr 2, 2013 -
8 answers
I am taking an on-line course that is mostly video-based. This is not the best way for me to learn. I am falling very behind and struggling with it. More inside.
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posted by JoannaC
on Mar 27, 2013 -
11 answers
I've recently finally gotten really fit and in shape, after spending most of my 27 years...not doing that. I've been looking for something local and athletic to do, both for fun and for fitness, but since I haven't played sports since I was 12 or so, my skills are lacking. However, all the local instruction is oriented towards youth, so I turn to you folk for aid. How can an sports newb adult learn how to play?
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posted by Punkey
on Mar 20, 2013 -
25 answers
I'd like to learn more about the history of the left, particularly the far left, particularly as it relates to me, a late-20's north american male. I'd love to learn more about the left, labor, unions, communism, socialism, labor laws, etc., particularly in what factors and machinations gave and took away rights and freedoms.
Here's the kicker - I'm really, really hoping to find them in audio format so I can learn while I exercise. Audiobooks, podcasts, lectures, etc.
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posted by rebent
on Mar 8, 2013 -
8 answers
I am taking an entry-level college class in programming. We are using Javascript "playground" that works within a web browser. I am a visual learner and the textbook and exercises are useless to me. We're only six weeks in and I'm in the weeds. Is there a tool that shows what exactly is happening at each step in the Javascript code?
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posted by crosten
on Feb 27, 2013 -
15 answers
I'm looking to compile a list of those piano songs that "everybody" learns because they are simple, memorable, or good skill builders. Any genre is acceptable.
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posted by davey_darling
on Feb 15, 2013 -
21 answers
Want to up my game as a vegan baker, but feel weird about going to a pastry school that doesn't use ingredients common to my chosen field. A few snowflakes inside.
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posted by Kitteh
on Feb 13, 2013 -
14 answers
Looking for a descriptive and short name for a blog about university study. Save me from bad puns and opaque acronyms!
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posted by Paragon
on Jan 29, 2013 -
12 answers
I’m about to start a six-month-long online
course that I'd like to do really well on. The next ten days are very quiet at work.
How can I use this time to help myself prepare, given that I’ll need to be in the office for part of each of the ten days...and then keep up with the course while going back to full-time teaching?
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posted by mdonley
on Jan 24, 2013 -
8 answers
Ok, HiveMind, I want to sharper my memory. What have you tried/implemented with success? I decided to pick up Sudoku again, but, what else is good for a mental workout and more focused on memory strengthening?
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posted by TRUELOTUS
on Jan 21, 2013 -
13 answers
After a more than 10 year long hiatus spent in the business side of technology, I'm looking to get my hands dirty again. I'd like to find a tutor.
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posted by gertzedek
on Jan 17, 2013 -
2 answers
I spent 4 years learning French in high school, and have retained just enough since then to vaguely eavesdrop on a fellow commuter's French novel the other day. I would like to brush up on my reading comprehension, and could use some suggestions for some simply written fiction to pick up.
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posted by thirdletter
on Jan 16, 2013 -
25 answers
I'll be turning 30 in April, and I'm planning a trip in celebration. There are a lot of places in the world I'd love to go just to hang out and look around, but I decidedly do NOT want to do that for this trip. I want to travel somewhere and do something active. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, my front runner so far is a one week stay in Jamaica learning how to make wood fired pottery. What similar "enriching" type experiences are out there?
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posted by Calicatt
on Jan 3, 2013 -
13 answers
What are some insightful well-written books or articles, academic or otherwise, on the mechanics of how we learn second-languages and anything about the application of linguistics to learning languages?
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posted by pynchonesque
on Dec 30, 2012 -
8 answers
I want suggestions for new skills to learn. What are the best and/or most practical skills that you have acquired in life? What did you find was worth really taking the time to master? I am equally interested in short and long term skill sets.
posted by corn_bread
on Dec 26, 2012 -
35 answers
Why does Mircea Eliade get short shrift in Robert N. Bellah's
Religion in Human Evolution?
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posted by ibmcginty
on Dec 18, 2012 -
3 answers
I need help in acquiring a lot of a vocabulary for a lot of languages. How can I best proceed and what should be my expectations and timetables be?
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posted by SollosQ
on Dec 16, 2012 -
9 answers
I would like access to a supplemental resource for a textbook that I purchased, for non-school-related use, but only instructors for a course can have access.
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posted by zeek321
on Dec 6, 2012 -
3 answers
Education filter: How do you get a class accredited at a community college? Does it depend on the individual state or local system? Who would be the right people to talk to understand this process? Thank you!
posted by tessalations999
on Nov 30, 2012 -
11 answers
Hi everyone,
I am a 24 y/o English native about to start a PhD in London. During the next 3 years, I would very much like to begin learning French alongside my doctoral studies, and I am interested in finding out the most effective and efficient way of going about this.
Realistically I will probably be able and willing to dedicate between one and two hours a day to studying French. I am interested in learning to both speak and write the language in equal measure.
Any advice is much appreciated.
posted by FuckingAwesome
on Nov 23, 2012 -
13 answers
What is a good skill to learn on a commute? 90-120 mins each day, subway/bus, mostly sitting without a table. Kindle/IPod/iPad available. Preferably looking for NON-language suggestions.
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posted by lalochezia
on Nov 7, 2012 -
16 answers
I sort of know Matlab, R, SPSS, and C. But how do I really learn Matlab, R, SPSS, and C?
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posted by Nomyte
on Nov 2, 2012 -
11 answers
Four-year-olds can do it. Grannies can do it. My mom can do it. I could do it myself thirty years ago, but it isn't true that you never forget. How can I re-learn to ride a bike?
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posted by Daily Alice
on Oct 14, 2012 -
36 answers
I live in Brooklyn and want to take classes on electronic music composition.
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posted by prunes
on Oct 11, 2012 -
4 answers
Best structured cheap or free Spanish conversation classes in Toronto (better yet, at the University of Toronto)?
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posted by 256
on Oct 9, 2012 -
2 answers
Did the Catholic Church actively suppress literacy and education during the Middle Ages, or was it simply a byproduct of the era?
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posted by zarq
on Oct 4, 2012 -
28 answers
Can you recall stories where a character learns an enormous amount of information in a short amount of time and performs an amazing feat? (The Matrix: Neo learns kung fu, Superman: Superman reads a library of medical texts and performs a life-saving surgery, etc.)
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posted by sdis
on Oct 2, 2012 -
45 answers
I have a very strong background in humanities but I've completed three-year undergraduate course in math. Though I passed it without trouble, I feel like traditional textbooks didn't teach make me
understand a lot. What are best math resources (books, but not necessarily) that instead of
trying to look like PM read more like literature or work on your intuition and talk about big picture implications instead? Something like
Godel, Escher, Bach for various areas of mathematics.
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posted by desultory_banyan
on Sep 27, 2012 -
25 answers
I'm trying to revive my rather rusty Spanish. One of the green's favourite tips for language learning seems to be to immerse yourself in TV programmes/films/music in the target language. So I want to start listening to Spanish-language music, and I need some recommendations.
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posted by badmoonrising
on Sep 24, 2012 -
13 answers
I want to train my dog to stay, come, and heel (or, "come in closer, but you don't have to come right up to me"). How do I do this?
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posted by jsturgill
on Sep 24, 2012 -
12 answers
Is there any way of adding new dictionaries to the system dictionary app for Mac OSX? I am learning russian and would love to be able to highlight a word and receive an english-to-russian or even just russian definition.
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posted by 221bbs
on Sep 24, 2012 -
5 answers
Browser say what? Trying to find some learning material (online or books) for a 35 yo adult.
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posted by timpanogos
on Sep 20, 2012 -
3 answers
