Do you know you have it in you?

May 27th, 2018 Posted by irina Language, Local Discovery, Self Discovery

I often ask ‘What’s your biggest struggle in language learning?’ but today I’m calling for something different. I want you to reflect about a much more subtle quality of learning…

Tags: ability, celebrate, clarity, empowerment, strength, struggle, triumph

What you’re truly capable of…

May 20th, 2018 Posted by irina Inspiration, Language, Self Discovery

I spent a lovely evening with friends last night and we got to talking about this amazing Finnish beatboxer named Felix Zenger. Juha and I saw him perform a few years back and to our amazement, it sounded like he had a 10 synthesizers in his mouth, when all he held was a microphone – nothing else. “How does someone do that?” we kept asking. I’m often asked this question in the context of speaking fluent Finnish. Here’s something we’re not considering…

Tags: hidden ability, inspiration, language learning, learn Finnish, self-discovery, truths

3 things spring teaches us about life & Finnish language

May 13th, 2018 Posted by irina Inspiration, Local Discovery

Ah… spring! Do you feel it in the air? This time of year is among my favourites. There is so much we can learn from the seasons and their cyclical nature. Think about it: what is the purpose of spring in the context of the year?

Tags: cycle, inspiration, learn Finnish, nature, quiz, spring, summer

Had enough of feeling discouraged? The answer is in your story

April 22nd, 2018 Posted by irina Language, Local Discovery

language learning story, little red riding hood, wolf

As language learners, we also tell ourselves and each other stories that that build up our perceptions, and thus our reality. So what happens when our stories are actually keeping us from learning? Can we change the narrative and shift our results right along with it?

Tags: emotions, language learning, mindset, perception, story

Discussion for foreigners on Braving the Wilderness book

April 3rd, 2018 Posted by irina Books, Life

This post is the first of its kind! It’s a book-club type discussion on Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown. I believe when we live abroad, we look out into the expanse of the wilderness – the complete unknown – on a daily basis. We find ways to cope and minimize our risks, but we also hold ourselves back from living fully out of fear. I felt so much of what Brené Brown discusses in her book Braving the Wilderness is incredibly pertinent to those of us living abroad. Themes include…

On gratitude when you don’t feel grateful

March 24th, 2018 Posted by irina Self Discovery

Yesterday I found myself feeling deeply grateful for hardship and pain, especially that which I’ve felt in the past 6 months or so. This was, quite frankly, a new feeling…

Tags: emotions, gratitude, perspective, process, shift

What women language learners can teach us

February 27th, 2018 Posted by irina Language, News | Announcements | Updates

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been speaking more openly about my view that we’re living in a world that’s lacking the feminine — a world that’s unbalanced. I recently came across an explanation of the masculine and feminine as being traits most often associated with…

Spoken Finnish pronouns

February 23rd, 2018 Posted by irina Language

Some words are more important than others: Finnish pronouns are very important. Since pronouns are used in virtually every sentence, the way you use them is going to immediately signal how well you speak to your listener. But don’t worry, it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it!

Is it really time for another Finnish course?

February 20th, 2018 Posted by irina Language

There’s an unspoken rule that the more Finnish courses you take, the better. I don’t like this rule. Here’s what we assume when we think another Finnish course is what we really need, and 5 helpful questions to help you decide if another Finnish course is what you really need.

Practicing the Finnish partitive case in real life – video

February 15th, 2018 Posted by irina Language, Video

I learned the partitive by trying to study it, and when that didn’t really help me grasp it, I TOOK TO THE STREETS. No, really. I read all the ads on the street and I hunted down the partitive. This is one of my favourite ways to learn. In today’s video, I give you an in-depth example of how I do this using a Subway ad.

Tags: finnish, finnish grammar, Finnish language, kielioppi, partitive case, suomen kieli

Do you know you have it in you?

What you’re truly capable of…

3 things spring teaches us about life & Finnish language

Had enough of feeling discouraged? The answer is in your story

Discussion for foreigners on Braving the Wilderness book

On gratitude when you don’t feel grateful

What women language learners can teach us

Spoken Finnish pronouns

Is it really time for another Finnish course?

Practicing the Finnish partitive case in real life – video

WHY ISN'T MY FINNISH GETTING BETTER?

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