ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing
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ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing

Michael Brenndoerfer•November 2, 2025•16 min read•3,837 words•Interactive

A comprehensive guide to ELMo and ULMFiT, the breakthrough methods that established transfer learning for NLP in 2018. Learn how contextual embeddings and fine-tuning techniques transformed language AI by enabling knowledge transfer from pre-trained models to downstream tasks.

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Reference

BIBTEXAcademic
@misc{elmoandulmfittransferlearningfornaturallanguageprocessing, author = {Michael Brenndoerfer}, title = {ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing}, year = {2025}, url = {https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/elmo-ulmfit-transfer-learning-natural-language-processing}, organization = {mbrenndoerfer.com}, note = {Accessed: 2025-11-02} }
APAAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer (2025). ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing. Retrieved from https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/elmo-ulmfit-transfer-learning-natural-language-processing
MLAAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer. "ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing." 2025. Web. 11/2/2025. <https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/elmo-ulmfit-transfer-learning-natural-language-processing>.
CHICAGOAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer. "ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing." Accessed 11/2/2025. https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/elmo-ulmfit-transfer-learning-natural-language-processing.
HARVARDAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer (2025) 'ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing'. Available at: https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/elmo-ulmfit-transfer-learning-natural-language-processing (Accessed: 11/2/2025).
SimpleBasic
Michael Brenndoerfer (2025). ELMo and ULMFiT: Transfer Learning for Natural Language Processing. https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/elmo-ulmfit-transfer-learning-natural-language-processing
Michael Brenndoerfer

About the author: Michael Brenndoerfer

All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer.

Michael currently works as an Associate Director of Data Science at EQT Partners in Singapore, where he drives AI and data initiatives across private capital investments.

With over a decade of experience spanning private equity, management consulting, and software engineering, he specializes in building and scaling analytics capabilities from the ground up. He has published research in leading AI conferences and holds expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, and value creation through data.

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