John Fotheringham

My Website Tips and Services

John — Sat, 21 May 2011 14:11:37 +0000

I created HelpMeBuildaSite.com to help small and medium sized enterprises create attractive, professional websites on a tight budget.

Having worked in a number of start-up companies, I know how difficult it can be to make ends meet, and developing a website likely takes a backseat to making payroll and keeping your accounts payable under control. However, to be a legitimate business today, a web presence is an absolute must. No matter how busy you are (and yes, I know you are busy!), give your web presence the priority it deserves.

Save Money

In today’s world of open-source, user-friendly tools like WordPress, there is no reason to pay tens of thousands when you can learn to do it yourself or pay someone a modest fee to help you get started.

Save Time

Using WordPress, a professionally designed theme, and the right plugins, even a website newbie can create, publish, and update a website with a few quick clicks of a mouse.

Save Your Sanity

Building a website the old, code-based way is not only expensive and time consuming, but can quickly turn into a real headache! Modern tools will save your precious time, cash, and sanity.

Learn More

The NOT To Do List for Successful Language Learners

John — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:23:03 +0000

To do lists seem like a good idea in theory, but they have one major disadvantage: there is an infinite number of potential to do items. With this in mind, Timothy Ferriss, best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek (and a speaker of 6 languages), recommends “not to do lists” instead. Since they isolate a finite set of behaviors that are getting between you and your goals, they are far more effective than traditional to do lists. This tool applies perfectly to language learning, where most learners waste a lot of time on ineffective methods and bad materials.

Language Learning: Why Most Fail and How YOU Can Succeed

John — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:20:01 +0000

This is the complete version of a shorter presentation I entered in the “Fuze Tell a Story Contest.” It expands much more on:

1) Why most learners fail to learn foreign languages depsite years of effort.

2) Tips on fostering the right attitude for successful language learning.

3) Advice on what materials to use for maximum efficacy and efficiency. For more tips, interviews with language experts, and suggested e-learning resources, come to Foreign Language Mastery: http://l2mastery.com

My Language Learning Blog

John — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 05:14:18 +0000

Foreign Language Mastery is a blog, podcast, and perhaps one day a book (I need to finish my other book first) created by John Fotheringham (c’est moi), and dedicated to helping adult language learners master foreign languages as quickly, cheaply and painlessly as possible. Learning a language well does indeed require an investment of your precious time, energy and money, but if you go about it in what I see as the “right” way, it will take far less of all three currencies, and actually become an enjoyable process you look on with joy instead of dread.

Learn More

Back soon!

John — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:30:37 +0000

I hit some digital speed bumps but will have the site back up shortly.

Please stand by…

My Japanese Learning Guide

John — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:25:27 +0000

Give yourself Master Japanese: Self-Guided Immersion for the Passionate Language Learner, and learn on your own time, reach your own goals, and use tools you’ve chosen. Master Japanese is not a textbook that will “teach” you Japanese: no book, course, or teacher can ever get a language into your head (this is not The Matrix). Only you can acquire Japanese by getting enough exposure to (and enough practice using) the language. Fortunately, the modern learner has more chances than ever to do just that. The problem today is not a lack of resources, but an over-abundance. It can be hard to know where to start. Master Japanese is a navigation system that helps you negotiate the wild waters of independent language learning, saving you time and money while maximizing fun.

The independent, social, free-formed language learning resource guide shows you step-by-step instructions on how to:

Learn using natural, intuitive, brain-friendly methods.

Master all four skills of Japanese: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Gather the best free and affordable online resources.

Build a highly effective immersion environment no matter where in the world you happen to live.

Acquire Japanese through interaction with native speakers and authentic content instead of bland textbooks or courses.

Better than overpriced language programs sold in airports and informercials that tether you to a computer, Master Japanese will empower you to reach fluency in spoken and written Japanese with ninja-like flexibility.

My Taipei Living Guide

John — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:25:41 +0000

Living, Learning and Teaching in Taipei (or LLTT for short) was created to help:

Anyone thinking of moving to Taipei for work, study or play. Young or old; experienced professional or green graduate, rich or poor; black, white or teal.

Those who have lived here for a short time but are frustrated by too many unanswered questions and too little quality information about living, learning and teaching in Taipei.

Experienced expats who have lived in Taipei for many years but are in search of ways to improve the quality of their life by improving their Mandarin skills, beginning or honing their martial arts training, or becoming a more capable, well-liked (and ideally, well-paid) teacher.

There are many wonderful travel guides for Taiwan as a whole (Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, National Geographic, Discovery, etc.) with heaps of useful information for those visiting the island for a short time. However, those wishing to make Taipei, Taiwan home will be quickly frustrated by a lack of useful, detailed, and well-written information in English for long term residents.

The sole living guide available (Taipei Living) is written for families with the financial and logistical support of the breadwinner’s employer. If you plan to bring children to Taiwan or work for a multi-national corporation that provides relocation services, Taipei Living is a useful tool. But those coming to Taiwan to teach English, study Chinese, or train in a martial art have very different needs, most of which have been unmet until the creation of LLTT. And although countless books have been written on the individual topics of learning Mandarin, training in a martial art, or teaching English, none exist with detailed Taipei-specific information, and none bring them all under one roof.

The Living, Learning and Teaching in Taipei site and companion book aim to fill these gaps.

Learn More