The Will to Plasticity

Brains, culture, and language learning

by Michael Erard, Ph.D.

So You Want to Learn an Endangered Language...

Endangered languages are often in the news, and it might be tempting to say, let's go learn some. An excellent book on Yucatec Maya (spoken in Mexico) offers a sophisticated discussion of the cultural mechanics of doing this. Read More

Learning an Alien's Language

People have recently wondered, if we were contacted by aliens, would we know what to say? Here I offer a science fiction solution: resurrect a hyperpolyglot to do the job. Read More

How Good Are You at IDing Spoken Languages?

There are 7,000 languages on the planet. This book video features a very small subset. But which ones? Can you identify them? Read More

Are You Postmonolingual?

Even if you speak one language, you may be postmonolingual. Read More

The Secrets of Foreign Language Learning

The author is interviewed by CBC and Huffington Post, and his new book is reviewed by The Economist. Read More

"Polyglot Dragon": What Languages Does the Chinese Army Learn?

The Chinese are learning more languages than just English. Which ones? And why? Read More

How Much Dutch Can Elio Di Rupo Learn?

Don't envy Elio Di Rupo. He may be the new prime minister of Belgium, but he's also a 60-year-old man who has to master a new language or lose his reputation. Maybe even his job. Read More

Babel No More Video

With the help of some friends, I put together a video about Babel No More. It's the first of two book trailers that will be released. It's based on some footage I shot of Alexander Arguelles talking about what his daily language learning routine is. Read More