Spending big, spending small

Author

Simon Forbes
April 18, 2025

In today’s edition:

🔸 How to spend on language learning
🔸 Overcoming cringe when speaking a language
🔸 Geoguessr open majors

Hey Reader. Time for an anecdote. I first started learning Russian at the age of 18, and, being a broke student yet to own a smartphone, I didn’t want to spend any money on learning. I found a website with a series of pages explaining the grammar and made flashcards by hand. That’s not the way I’d recommend anybody do it these days, but it did work! This edition’s feature looks at where to spend your hard-earned 💰💰 when learning a language.

Simon

Feature 💡: How much should you spend to learn a language?

How much does it really cost to learn a language? In my latest post, I break the question down a little, and come back with some insights on the how and where of spending to learn a language. If you’ve got a bit of budget to spare, give it a read!

At the end I come out with a handy table, which is an approximate cost combined with an order to prioritise your spending. Here’s the table:

Resource

Average cost per month

Running total per month

Priority

All free resources

$0

$0

Essential

+ 1 course app/book

$10-20

$10-20

High

+ a tutor (1x/week)

$20-40

$30-60

Medium

+ learner content

$5-10

$35-70

Medium

+ reading/vocab tools

$5-10

$40-80

Medium

+ a streaming service

$10-20

$50-100

Low

+ a second tutor (1x/week)

$20-40

$70-140

Optional

From around the web 🌐

Geo-nerds

The Geoguessr open majors are on now 🌎. For those not in the know, Geoguessr is a game where players are placed randomly in the world using Google Street View, and are challenged to guess where they are. Players compete in a head-to-head, where the closer player scores more points. I’m meaning to write a piece on it some day. If you’re interested, give Geoguessr’s Twitch channel a follow. Games are streamed regularly.

Languages

5 ways the English language breaks its own rules - The linguist in me says that the title is contradictory, but something tells me “5 ways English usage differs from the rules we are commonly taught” I wouldn’t get as many clicks.

Is English really a germanic language? Despite being technically classified as such, English is quite different from its germanic cousins. Rob Words takes a look into the matter.

Language learning

Over on Reddit, a user asked about overcoming cringe when speaking another language, resulting in some insightful responses. Here’s one great answer:

I used to be embarrassed doing the French accent when I spoke French. It felt like I was mocking the French and making a joke. It sounded silly to me. It’s a really silly accent truly. But it was the only time French people understood me is when I faked it and tried to sound like a French cartoon character. I realized that accent wasn’t an exaggeration, but actually how they spoke, and that’s what made me get over it.

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