Learning Science
How the brain learns — and how to apply it to language and life.
The articles in this section are written and synthesised by AI from published research in the fields of learning science and linguistics.
The sources for each article are listed at the end of the piece — do read them, both for a fuller grounding and to satisfy yourself as to their reliability.
HSK 2.0: the six-level exam, and how to prepare for each level
Six levels, with vocabulary roughly doubling at each: 150, 300, 600, 1,200, 2,500, 5,000. That curve, rather than any li...
TOCFL CAT: how the adaptive test works, and how to prepare for Bands A, B and C
The test adjusts its difficulty with every answer. The most commonly missed detail sits in the registration form: TOCFL...
20 self-check questions to answer before your next IELTS practice test
If you cannot answer these questions yet, ten more practice tests will only help you repeat the same mistakes faster.
Step by step to IELTS 8.5–9.0 for a primary school child
The goal is achievable and this piece keeps the 8.5–9.0 target intact. But one number forces the plan to change, and it...
Beautiful Literary Books That Make You Want to Learn a Language
There is a familiar trap: buy a beautiful novel in the language you are learning, stall on page three, and conclude you...
A History of Korean: Two Answers to the Same Problem
In the fifteenth century Korea and Vietnam faced the same problem: how to write a language the available script was neve...
A History of Chinese, and What Vietnamese Speakers Already Carry
With English, a Vietnamese reader has an analogy. With Chinese it is something else entirely: descent. The Hán-Việt laye...
A History of Japanese: Where Your Modern Vocabulary Was Made
When you say cách mạng, tư bản, thời gian or dân chủ, you are using words manufactured in Japan. This piece closes a loo...
A History of Vietnamese: The Language That Measured the Others
The previous six articles in this series all used Vietnamese as the measuring stick. This one turns the instrument on it...