Richard DeLong

Richard DeLong writes about self-guided learning and the quest for foreign language mastery from the perspective of someone who has marched to the beat of his own drummer in some unlikely places and circumstances.

Richard has experience starting life over four times in four different foreign countries: as a high-school exchange student in Slovakia, as a missionary in Russia, as a college graduate in Ukraine, and as a soul-searching thirty-something in the Republic of Georgia. Each time he learned a new language and built lasting connections to the country.

He is now permanently attached to the post-Soviet region and speaks 9 languages, including functionally native Russian. He works as a simultaneous conference interpreter, writes extensively in English and Russian, has a podcast in Russian ("Observers Club"), runs the Tbilisi Language Exchange Club, leads groups of people on mountain hikes several times a month, and is an amateur musician.

Richard occasionally gives interviews, speaks at international polyglot events, and conducts workshops related to language learning.