Andy Mills

In L.A. for the nonce, but spent 13 years in Asia. I've learned around 10 languages—some well, some others quite rusty. How many languages are enough? One more.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

Going for a break in Taiwan—while there, I'm gonna' head for the hills in 台中 and find this hilarious "Encouraging Sign" http://t.co/qtLum96B

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

I get bored whenever I fly to Asia and hear the safety instructions in languages I know—but if I hear a language I don't know, it's torture.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

You think learning a language is hard? Well, not forgetting a language once you depart your student lifestyle is infinitely more challenging

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

Dang…I just realized that someday I'll have to learn Thai script, not from intrinsic motivation, but 'cause many polyglots I admire know it.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

(con't) …but I freely admit that whenever I see a phrasebook with happy, smiling people, I think, "Shiny! New!" and like a sucker, I buy it.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

Any self-study language text that has happy, smiling people on its cover is using marketing instead of linguistics to try to get you to buy.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

Last year, over 95% of my Twitter messages were exactly 140 characters. It's become so second-nature, it's hardly challenging any more…sigh.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

So, you think you speak English? Oh? Listen to audio clip of Urban North British (scroll down to keyword 'taxi driver') http://t.co/AseL2g3i

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

I often wonder why college-level language textbooks don’t have tons more examples of handwriting samples, especially for Chinese and Arabic.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

To prep for my Taiwan trip, I am leafing through 實用視聽華語 4 (Practical Audio-Visual Chinese 4)—impressed to see the occasional handwritten 短文.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

Tip for learning foreign languages: stop wasting time endlessly searching for tips and pick up one of the many resources you've already got.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: realistically, no job in the world requires that you speak 10 languages…but hope springs eternal.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

A friend once saw me studying Korean and asked, "What? Languages that have letters are no longer good enough for you?" Classic line, Laurel.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

If you speak French or Spanish, people's expectations of you are high. If you speak even a modicum of Chinese, you can get away with murder.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

I often hear people say "I want to learn French!" Far less often do I hear "I want to talk to the French!" But that's what they mean, right?

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

I head to Taiwan next week. As is my quirk, my thoughts whirl not around what to pack, but rather what book to re-read to prep the language.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

@SpeakinFluently My New Year's Resolution: get acquainted with whatever exactly is inside all those language books I impulsively keep buying

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

A new year's wish: let me find knowledge through serendipity and not through some well-intentioned but evil "you might also like" algorithm.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

@lisapepin I think I was in that French class with Stephen Hawking—that guy is such a ham in class, it's no wonder he didn't learn anything.

[Andy Mills @JonAndyMills]

In my life I've met 2 people with a photographic memory—and while they were both interested in languages, they both sucked at it. Weird, eh?