Who says that learning a language has to imply thick glasses, more than 1000 page books and a teacher who punishes you with loads of homework? Well, I believe learning can be fun! You might say “who are you to say that?” well, let’s just say I’m really smart and also lazy: I want maximum results with minimum effort. Trust me; you will WANT to read about these easy, fun methods of learning Italian!
1. Sing, sing, sing
What’s funnier than seeing all your friends goof around and try to keep up to both music and the lyrics? Well, your learning process has a lot to gain if you make a special Italian karaoke night! Great Italian singers like Laura Pausini, Tiziano Ferro, Biagio Antonacci, all have very inspired, clear lyrics that are easy to understand and to reproduce – they’re great for your pronunciation and vocabulary! Plus, in karaoke you also get to read the lyrics - improves you reading & writing skills! So, all in all, the Italian karaoke night will be a success both as a party and as a learning lesson.
2. Label everything in your way!
We feel more comfortable around the house, so we assimilate with more ease what we want to learn. Around the house – that’s where we have all the stuff we use on a daily basis. So why not take a pack of post-it notes and a dictionary and write the Italian word for things and label them? For example write “armadio” on a note and stick it on your closet, stick a “frigorifero” note on your fridge or even a “scarpe” note on the shoes you don’t wear as often. And also try to read the notes any time you see them – your family might consider you a loony, but soon enough, they will be proud of you being the only one in the family who speaks the language of DaVinci!
3. Pasta, anyone?
Have you ever considered taking up cooking as a way of getting familiar with a new language? Well, you can start now! Who doesn’t love a good lasagna, some freshly made spaghetti carbonara and of course, the Italian superstar: a ten topping pizza? The Italian kitchen is one of the richest and flavored of all. So, buy a dual-language recipe book or simply buy one in Italian (you will find loads on the internet) and a dictionary, and translate each recipe from Italian into your native language, as you cook it.
This helps you get familiar with the names of fruits, veggies and all sort of groceries and activities (cutting, baking, seasoning etc). Plus you have your belly filled with the world’s most exquisite meals. If you are a man and you’re reading this, trust me: your fiancé will be impressed by the pizza quarto stagioni you prepared for her! It gets your language learning juices flowing and stops your stomach from aching!
These 3 easy and fun steps are just the beginning of your “learning Italian odyssey”, but they will help you remember usual and common words and phrases, taking just a few minutes every day to do it. Once you know the basics, going to an Italian class will give you the professional teaching you need. Your teacher will see to your pronunciation being accurate, and your writing and grammar being close to perfection. But remember, the three methods I showed you above can be paired with your classes, so that you will speak fluent Italian in no time! Tanta fortuna, amico! (Good luck, buddy!)
Friday, April 18, 2008
7 Tips Every Wannabe Polyglot Needs
Any craft or skill in the world has its pros and amateurs and many times, the difference between the two is not necessarily natural talent, or hard work, it’s knowing the secret ingredient that makes the recipe what it is. Make no mistake about it, language learning is pretty much the same: know the tricks, you win the game. Here’s a collection of 10 useful tips and tricks on language learning for any wannabe polyglots out there:
1. Get Over Mistakes
One of the most annoying drawbacks when learning a language is fear of using it. Whether it’s fear of not spelling something right in an e-mail or letter, fear of sounding funny when speaking it or something similar, you need to get over making mistakes! So what if they occur? It’s the only way you can improve your language skills.
2. Set Yourself Stepwise Targets
Don’t go all out and plan to be proficient in a language, in a certain amount of time. Just take it stepwise, try getting to a basic level in the first few months, then improving your vocabulary in the next, then your grammar, then your speaking and so forth. Break it down into small bits, so you don’t choke on the bite.
3. Get Over Apparent Lack of Progress
Language learning is a flow that may or may not keep a steady rise. You might find yourself stagnating at some points during the process and it’s these that are the hardest to overcome, because you feel like you’re doing nothing apparently. Get over it!
4. Interests First
Are you learning Japanese for business purposes? Or maybe learning Brazilian to be able to communicate with your hot new Brazilian girlfriend? Whichever the purpose, study the language as if you would for that particular reason. Don’t stumble on small mistakes, get those economical Japanese terms so you can have a basic conversation, then build up on those.
5. Build a Solid Foundation
Again, if you have a solid foundation you can build up on it quickly and without too much trouble. Get the basic vocabulary down: that’s around 200 words that are commonly used, including common nouns, verbs and adjectives. Once you grab hold of that, there’s really nothing that can stop you.
6. Revisions
Happened to each and everyone of us in school, didn’t it? You learnt some long list of verbs in French class, but when it was time to actually use them the second time around, at the exam, you forgot them. That’s why revisions are always necessary, don’t lie on your back as soon as you’ve gone through the exercises, vocabulary practice or lessons.
7. Have fun While Studying
It’s been scientifically proven that if we learn something while we’re having fun, our brain assimilates that information a lot easier and for a longer period of time. Spice up your language learning habits, play some vocabulary games, maybe use some flashcards, or learn together with a friend. Anything that you deem as fun, is probably going to help you loads.
1. Get Over Mistakes
One of the most annoying drawbacks when learning a language is fear of using it. Whether it’s fear of not spelling something right in an e-mail or letter, fear of sounding funny when speaking it or something similar, you need to get over making mistakes! So what if they occur? It’s the only way you can improve your language skills.
2. Set Yourself Stepwise Targets
Don’t go all out and plan to be proficient in a language, in a certain amount of time. Just take it stepwise, try getting to a basic level in the first few months, then improving your vocabulary in the next, then your grammar, then your speaking and so forth. Break it down into small bits, so you don’t choke on the bite.
3. Get Over Apparent Lack of Progress
Language learning is a flow that may or may not keep a steady rise. You might find yourself stagnating at some points during the process and it’s these that are the hardest to overcome, because you feel like you’re doing nothing apparently. Get over it!
4. Interests First
Are you learning Japanese for business purposes? Or maybe learning Brazilian to be able to communicate with your hot new Brazilian girlfriend? Whichever the purpose, study the language as if you would for that particular reason. Don’t stumble on small mistakes, get those economical Japanese terms so you can have a basic conversation, then build up on those.
5. Build a Solid Foundation
Again, if you have a solid foundation you can build up on it quickly and without too much trouble. Get the basic vocabulary down: that’s around 200 words that are commonly used, including common nouns, verbs and adjectives. Once you grab hold of that, there’s really nothing that can stop you.
6. Revisions
Happened to each and everyone of us in school, didn’t it? You learnt some long list of verbs in French class, but when it was time to actually use them the second time around, at the exam, you forgot them. That’s why revisions are always necessary, don’t lie on your back as soon as you’ve gone through the exercises, vocabulary practice or lessons.
7. Have fun While Studying
It’s been scientifically proven that if we learn something while we’re having fun, our brain assimilates that information a lot easier and for a longer period of time. Spice up your language learning habits, play some vocabulary games, maybe use some flashcards, or learn together with a friend. Anything that you deem as fun, is probably going to help you loads.
Finding Motivation to Learn a New Language
Learning a language is a HUGE job and let’s face it, procrastinator or not, huge projects scare us. Learning a new language is also a long term deal, so there’s really no easy way out of this: you’ll have to buckle up and roll with the punches. There are however a couple of tips and tricks that a lot of people use in order to find that motivational spark to language learning and I’m going to try and share them with you in the next few minutes.
Taking Things One Step at a Time
Whenever we take up on a huge job, it seems a little bit easier to do if it’s broken down into several parts. It might just be an illusion, because after all, the time and effort invested in the smaller parts will probably be equal to what you would invest if you would run the project heels to head, but it’s how our mind works and it’s how motivation gets pumped up. Imagine a language as a…sandwich. You have your bread, your mustard and ketchup, your baloney layer and of course, the tomatoes. In terms of a language, that’s vocabulary, grammar, spelling and speaking. Take your time to prepare each of these ingredients before even daring to drool about the sandwich itself.
Picking up Words from Your Environment
Chances are the language you’re learning is a somewhat popular one on the international stage and there’s plenty of opportunities to pick up new words and expressions from around you. Movies of course, are a great inspiration for French, Spanish, German and Italian. Wanna learn some Italian? Pop in The Godfather and try to repeat what the characters are saying (granted, you’re probably going to utter some nasty words). How about German? Well, pretty much any World War 2 movie will feature some native Germans speaking (Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan come to mind). And the examples could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Yes, TV can dumb up people at times, but it can also help you turn into an efficient polyglot.
Motivational Posters!
Some people trying to lose weight will place motivational posters in or around their fridge with stuff like “No Cake for You Today!” or “Taste lasts for an instance, fat lasts FOREVER!”, etc. Well, although it’s an extreme method, it works. Maybe make a couple of posters saying “Have your learned your 5 new words today?” or whatever you find motivational. Trust me, as stupid as it sounds, it’s an effective way to make yourself feel guilty about not learning the language you’re aiming for :). Good luck!
Taking Things One Step at a Time
Whenever we take up on a huge job, it seems a little bit easier to do if it’s broken down into several parts. It might just be an illusion, because after all, the time and effort invested in the smaller parts will probably be equal to what you would invest if you would run the project heels to head, but it’s how our mind works and it’s how motivation gets pumped up. Imagine a language as a…sandwich. You have your bread, your mustard and ketchup, your baloney layer and of course, the tomatoes. In terms of a language, that’s vocabulary, grammar, spelling and speaking. Take your time to prepare each of these ingredients before even daring to drool about the sandwich itself.
Picking up Words from Your Environment
Chances are the language you’re learning is a somewhat popular one on the international stage and there’s plenty of opportunities to pick up new words and expressions from around you. Movies of course, are a great inspiration for French, Spanish, German and Italian. Wanna learn some Italian? Pop in The Godfather and try to repeat what the characters are saying (granted, you’re probably going to utter some nasty words). How about German? Well, pretty much any World War 2 movie will feature some native Germans speaking (Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan come to mind). And the examples could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Yes, TV can dumb up people at times, but it can also help you turn into an efficient polyglot.
Motivational Posters!
Some people trying to lose weight will place motivational posters in or around their fridge with stuff like “No Cake for You Today!” or “Taste lasts for an instance, fat lasts FOREVER!”, etc. Well, although it’s an extreme method, it works. Maybe make a couple of posters saying “Have your learned your 5 new words today?” or whatever you find motivational. Trust me, as stupid as it sounds, it’s an effective way to make yourself feel guilty about not learning the language you’re aiming for :). Good luck!
How to Read and Write in Chinese
Definitely not the easiest of languages to learn, for us westerners, but Chinese is becoming an increasingly influential language member on the international stage, so whether we like it or not, we’re pretty much forced to take a look at it. True, not everyone needs to learn Chinese for business purposes for example, but there are people that are fascinated with the Chinese culture and would like to learn how to read and write in Chinese. Others simply want to take up on a hard language to test their skill, or to prove themselves true polyglots (some linguists say that you’re not a true polyglot, unless you learn a language that’s completely different from yours – as is the case with Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and so forth, for us westerners).
Actually, the US State Department made a survey and ranked language by difficulty and as it turns out, Chinese (its Mandarin branch actually) is the toughest language to learn for an English-speaker, on a list of over 100 languages. So if you’re really set on learning this language, know from start that it won’t be easy.
One of the problems in learning Chinese is obviously, its system of characters. This is sometimes wrongfully filed as an alphabet. Chinese characters don’t form an alphabet, instead each word has its own specific character, made up of straight, curved and jagged lines and dots. There are over 50,000 of these characters, so you have a titan’s work ahead of you.
One of the worst problems we face when learning Chinese symbols is that we try to memorize each word by hard, which is a rather silly and unproductive tactic. When we grew up as kids, no one forcefully made us learn all the words in our vocabulary, we assimilated most of these words naturally, taking them out of their content. This is how you should learn how to interpret Chinese characters, because they’re not just random patterns of lines and dots, they’re actually very carefully constructed and the symbols can be understood from the context after a while.
Sure, some symbols are very similar and you may have problems confusing them for one another, which is where practice kicks in. No real way to go around this problem, other than sheer practice, or carrying around a character dictionary with you all the time. It’s also understandably a good idea to start off with characters that are written in a clean, clear fashion, so as not to spur any additional confusion.
Writing the Chinese vocabulary symbols should not be taken for granted, even if you are somewhat skilled in deciphering them. It takes a steady hand and again, a lot of practice to get all characters right, much like it took you to learn how to write alphabetical symbols as a kid (of course, you only had to learn 35ish characters, not 50,000). Good luck, you’ll need it :)
Actually, the US State Department made a survey and ranked language by difficulty and as it turns out, Chinese (its Mandarin branch actually) is the toughest language to learn for an English-speaker, on a list of over 100 languages. So if you’re really set on learning this language, know from start that it won’t be easy.
One of the problems in learning Chinese is obviously, its system of characters. This is sometimes wrongfully filed as an alphabet. Chinese characters don’t form an alphabet, instead each word has its own specific character, made up of straight, curved and jagged lines and dots. There are over 50,000 of these characters, so you have a titan’s work ahead of you.
One of the worst problems we face when learning Chinese symbols is that we try to memorize each word by hard, which is a rather silly and unproductive tactic. When we grew up as kids, no one forcefully made us learn all the words in our vocabulary, we assimilated most of these words naturally, taking them out of their content. This is how you should learn how to interpret Chinese characters, because they’re not just random patterns of lines and dots, they’re actually very carefully constructed and the symbols can be understood from the context after a while.
Sure, some symbols are very similar and you may have problems confusing them for one another, which is where practice kicks in. No real way to go around this problem, other than sheer practice, or carrying around a character dictionary with you all the time. It’s also understandably a good idea to start off with characters that are written in a clean, clear fashion, so as not to spur any additional confusion.
Writing the Chinese vocabulary symbols should not be taken for granted, even if you are somewhat skilled in deciphering them. It takes a steady hand and again, a lot of practice to get all characters right, much like it took you to learn how to write alphabetical symbols as a kid (of course, you only had to learn 35ish characters, not 50,000). Good luck, you’ll need it :)
How to Read and Write in Chinese
Definitely not the easiest of languages to learn, for us westerners, but Chinese is becoming an increasingly influential language member on the international stage, so whether we like it or not, we’re pretty much forced to take a look at it. True, not everyone needs to learn Chinese for business purposes for example, but there are people that are fascinated with the Chinese culture and would like to learn how to read and write in Chinese. Others simply want to take up on a hard language to test their skill, or to prove themselves true polyglots (some linguists say that you’re not a true polyglot, unless you learn a language that’s completely different from yours – as is the case with Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and so forth, for us westerners).
Actually, the US State Department made a survey and ranked language by difficulty and as it turns out, Chinese (its Mandarin branch actually) is the toughest language to learn for an English-speaker, on a list of over 100 languages. So if you’re really set on learning this language, know from start that it won’t be easy.
One of the problems in learning Chinese is obviously, its system of characters. This is sometimes wrongfully filed as an alphabet. Chinese characters don’t form an alphabet, instead each word has its own specific character, made up of straight, curved and jagged lines and dots. There are over 50,000 of these characters, so you have a titan’s work ahead of you.
One of the worst problems we face when learning Chinese symbols is that we try to memorize each word by hard, which is a rather silly and unproductive tactic. When we grew up as kids, no one forcefully made us learn all the words in our vocabulary, we assimilated most of these words naturally, taking them out of their content. This is how you should learn how to interpret Chinese characters, because they’re not just random patterns of lines and dots, they’re actually very carefully constructed and the symbols can be understood from the context after a while.
Sure, some symbols are very similar and you may have problems confusing them for one another, which is where practice kicks in. No real way to go around this problem, other than sheer practice, or carrying around a character dictionary with you all the time. It’s also understandably a good idea to start off with characters that are written in a clean, clear fashion, so as not to spur any additional confusion.
Writing the Chinese vocabulary symbols should not be taken for granted, even if you are somewhat skilled in deciphering them. It takes a steady hand and again, a lot of practice to get all characters right, much like it took you to learn how to write alphabetical symbols as a kid (of course, you only had to learn 35ish characters, not 50,000). Good luck, you’ll need it :)
Actually, the US State Department made a survey and ranked language by difficulty and as it turns out, Chinese (its Mandarin branch actually) is the toughest language to learn for an English-speaker, on a list of over 100 languages. So if you’re really set on learning this language, know from start that it won’t be easy.
One of the problems in learning Chinese is obviously, its system of characters. This is sometimes wrongfully filed as an alphabet. Chinese characters don’t form an alphabet, instead each word has its own specific character, made up of straight, curved and jagged lines and dots. There are over 50,000 of these characters, so you have a titan’s work ahead of you.
One of the worst problems we face when learning Chinese symbols is that we try to memorize each word by hard, which is a rather silly and unproductive tactic. When we grew up as kids, no one forcefully made us learn all the words in our vocabulary, we assimilated most of these words naturally, taking them out of their content. This is how you should learn how to interpret Chinese characters, because they’re not just random patterns of lines and dots, they’re actually very carefully constructed and the symbols can be understood from the context after a while.
Sure, some symbols are very similar and you may have problems confusing them for one another, which is where practice kicks in. No real way to go around this problem, other than sheer practice, or carrying around a character dictionary with you all the time. It’s also understandably a good idea to start off with characters that are written in a clean, clear fashion, so as not to spur any additional confusion.
Writing the Chinese vocabulary symbols should not be taken for granted, even if you are somewhat skilled in deciphering them. It takes a steady hand and again, a lot of practice to get all characters right, much like it took you to learn how to write alphabetical symbols as a kid (of course, you only had to learn 35ish characters, not 50,000). Good luck, you’ll need it :)
Learning French Subliminally - For & Against
The human nature is designed so that whenever we want something, we want it as soon as possible so when we want to learn a language, like French in our case, we will want to learn fast and at least at an intermediate level, right? I will talk to you about three different methods of learning French and some for and against tips.
Learning French the subliminal way is based on the theory that our brain is capable to receive information even when it’s not aware of receiving it. In other words, the brain learns subconsciously. The subliminally learning of French can be done in two ways: the first is that you will listen to a CD. Probably playing music, as music relaxes you brain and creates the perfect climate for receiving information. Behind the music, there will be inserted different words and phrases in French, words that you will not perceive with your conscious brain, but you will sure receive in you subconscious .This means that they first compress the information digitally and then insert it on the CD.
The second method is text messages, bright colored images or watermarks that are either embedded in texts about any either subject than learning French, or images move around so fast that the naked eye does not see them, but in fact they send a strong message to our brain.
PRO: I tend to believe this method for I was always the kid in the last row who never listened to the teacher talking (I used to draw, draw, or just … draw as I got bored) but always got straight A’s. I tend to believe my brain perceived the information even if I was not paying any attention to the conversation going on in class.
Another pro I see for the subliminal learning of French is that you get to learn while you are doing other things. Fox example you can cook, drive, enjoy a cup of coffee, clean the house, while you are listening to the CD with subliminal messages in French. Convenient, isn’t it? Plus, remember that our subconscious works even while we sleep, so it should work for you to do what you want all day long and save the night for learning French – you go to sleep playing the CD.
AGAINST: there are no studies which actually prove this theory, even if you will find on the internet several site promising you will learn French quickly, without any effort. Ok, I believe that our subconscious is awake all the time and that we can pick up information unwillingly and insert it into our conscious, but we have no guarantee it works for everyone and definitely no guarantee that is an easier or faster method that any other.
Plus, you don’t get to practice grammar, reading comprehension, pronunciation, spelling etc. So, is there any use for learning random words and phrases?
To end it in a funny way, I must ask: do you remember that episode of Dexter’s Lab when Dex falls asleep listening to his CD for subliminally learn French, and the CD keeps skipping so in the morning all he can say is “omlette du fromage” ? Well, if you do choose this method, make sure the CD is ok, will you?
Learning French the subliminal way is based on the theory that our brain is capable to receive information even when it’s not aware of receiving it. In other words, the brain learns subconsciously. The subliminally learning of French can be done in two ways: the first is that you will listen to a CD. Probably playing music, as music relaxes you brain and creates the perfect climate for receiving information. Behind the music, there will be inserted different words and phrases in French, words that you will not perceive with your conscious brain, but you will sure receive in you subconscious .This means that they first compress the information digitally and then insert it on the CD.
The second method is text messages, bright colored images or watermarks that are either embedded in texts about any either subject than learning French, or images move around so fast that the naked eye does not see them, but in fact they send a strong message to our brain.
PRO: I tend to believe this method for I was always the kid in the last row who never listened to the teacher talking (I used to draw, draw, or just … draw as I got bored) but always got straight A’s. I tend to believe my brain perceived the information even if I was not paying any attention to the conversation going on in class.
Another pro I see for the subliminal learning of French is that you get to learn while you are doing other things. Fox example you can cook, drive, enjoy a cup of coffee, clean the house, while you are listening to the CD with subliminal messages in French. Convenient, isn’t it? Plus, remember that our subconscious works even while we sleep, so it should work for you to do what you want all day long and save the night for learning French – you go to sleep playing the CD.
AGAINST: there are no studies which actually prove this theory, even if you will find on the internet several site promising you will learn French quickly, without any effort. Ok, I believe that our subconscious is awake all the time and that we can pick up information unwillingly and insert it into our conscious, but we have no guarantee it works for everyone and definitely no guarantee that is an easier or faster method that any other.
Plus, you don’t get to practice grammar, reading comprehension, pronunciation, spelling etc. So, is there any use for learning random words and phrases?
To end it in a funny way, I must ask: do you remember that episode of Dexter’s Lab when Dex falls asleep listening to his CD for subliminally learn French, and the CD keeps skipping so in the morning all he can say is “omlette du fromage” ? Well, if you do choose this method, make sure the CD is ok, will you?
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Learning French Outside the Classroom
No matter how interesting, structural and organized are the French classes you take, sometimes you just need a break, you need to be able to smile while you’re learning, relax and even have fun. Nowadays, our good buddy – the Internet – can provide several ways for doing that.
Play the games you love, but do it in French. Most of the games you can use for practicing your French are simple ones, like crosswords or hangman. As simple as they are, they can prove very efficient for your writing skills, vocabulary and comprehension. But there is also another option: change the language menu of the games you play more often from English to French (admittedly, not all games are bilingual) – this will help you get familiar with different words and phrases. Plus, if you play online games (like Lineage II), talk to you fellow players that are French in their native language! It's really some awesome, hands-down practice of your French language.
Another way to ractice your writing and comprehension skills by joining a chat room online. With one simple search on the internet you will find French chat rooms on any subject. There are beginner speakers and advanced ones, native speakers or even teachers, and they will all help you improve. It is ok to tell everyone from the start what your level is in French so they know where you need improvement. Plus, if you have an interest in the subject talked about in the chat room and you have studied it in your native language before, it will be easier to pick up meanings and words.
Find a French speaker friend and start a ‘language exchange’ program. This means you should find a native French speaker who wants to improve his English and make a sort of an agreement: you teach each other French and English. This will help in every aspect of learning a new language: comprehension, reading, writing, pronunciation. Plus you improve your social life buy having a new friend! This method can be efficient as long as you both have a little bit of knowledge of the other’s language and also a bit of teaching skills, right? Because what’s the use of being a native speaker if you are not able to pass your knowledge to your “student”?
We spend most of our time on the internet so why not begin taking online courses or play a CD for improving your listening and pronunciation? I personally prefer learning a language this way, for I am pretty busy and I spend most of my day in the car. So I’ll just play my French-learning CD and repeat after it “red – rouge”, “boy – garcon”, “small – petite”. The only disadvantage I see for this, is that I can’t advance in my writing skills, for I only listen, comprehend and pronounce. For this, every night, I take 10-15 minutes to go over the lesson I heard in the car and write all the words in it. It sure helps a lot!
The online French courses usually consist of short lessons which are very explicit and focused on the essentials. Plus you get to write, read and listen to French in it’s most correct state, you learn grammar and writing, not only spoken skills.
Of course, the funniest way to take the learning process of the French language outside of the class room is to take it into the great wide open! Visit France, visit Paris, pick up words along the way, find a French fiancé, eat baguettes with Brie Cheese, enjoy a piece of tarte au citron (lemon pie) and just have fun, every moment of it! You'll literally feel your French get pumped up with each day that catches you on French soil.
If you read this and you still feel like going to class, c’est la vie, mon amie! (that’s life, my friend) you’re no fun at all!
Play the games you love, but do it in French. Most of the games you can use for practicing your French are simple ones, like crosswords or hangman. As simple as they are, they can prove very efficient for your writing skills, vocabulary and comprehension. But there is also another option: change the language menu of the games you play more often from English to French (admittedly, not all games are bilingual) – this will help you get familiar with different words and phrases. Plus, if you play online games (like Lineage II), talk to you fellow players that are French in their native language! It's really some awesome, hands-down practice of your French language.
Another way to ractice your writing and comprehension skills by joining a chat room online. With one simple search on the internet you will find French chat rooms on any subject. There are beginner speakers and advanced ones, native speakers or even teachers, and they will all help you improve. It is ok to tell everyone from the start what your level is in French so they know where you need improvement. Plus, if you have an interest in the subject talked about in the chat room and you have studied it in your native language before, it will be easier to pick up meanings and words.
Find a French speaker friend and start a ‘language exchange’ program. This means you should find a native French speaker who wants to improve his English and make a sort of an agreement: you teach each other French and English. This will help in every aspect of learning a new language: comprehension, reading, writing, pronunciation. Plus you improve your social life buy having a new friend! This method can be efficient as long as you both have a little bit of knowledge of the other’s language and also a bit of teaching skills, right? Because what’s the use of being a native speaker if you are not able to pass your knowledge to your “student”?
We spend most of our time on the internet so why not begin taking online courses or play a CD for improving your listening and pronunciation? I personally prefer learning a language this way, for I am pretty busy and I spend most of my day in the car. So I’ll just play my French-learning CD and repeat after it “red – rouge”, “boy – garcon”, “small – petite”. The only disadvantage I see for this, is that I can’t advance in my writing skills, for I only listen, comprehend and pronounce. For this, every night, I take 10-15 minutes to go over the lesson I heard in the car and write all the words in it. It sure helps a lot!
The online French courses usually consist of short lessons which are very explicit and focused on the essentials. Plus you get to write, read and listen to French in it’s most correct state, you learn grammar and writing, not only spoken skills.
Of course, the funniest way to take the learning process of the French language outside of the class room is to take it into the great wide open! Visit France, visit Paris, pick up words along the way, find a French fiancé, eat baguettes with Brie Cheese, enjoy a piece of tarte au citron (lemon pie) and just have fun, every moment of it! You'll literally feel your French get pumped up with each day that catches you on French soil.
If you read this and you still feel like going to class, c’est la vie, mon amie! (that’s life, my friend) you’re no fun at all!
Learning German Through Traveling
Let's be honest: German is not the easiest language to learn, in fact, despite the similar roots to the English language, German won't be a walk in the park even for the most experienced polyglots. But this doesn’t mean that you cannot do your best to improve your conversational skills at least. Even if you are not able to write very good, because it’s indeed complicated, we will try to give you some hints on how to be able to have a conversation in German.
I strongly believe that the easiest way to improve your German language is to plan a trip over there! Germany is a great place to visit, there are some wonderful things to see: castles, gothic churches and domes, historical sites and so on. Once there, don’t be afraid to use your conversational guide and start pumping up your vocabulary.
Germans will honestly appreciate your effort to talk in their own language (even if you may mess up every now and then) and they will help you so that you get the right pronunciation or will teach you new words to improve your vocabulary. One of my funnies days spent in Germany was when we visited The Village Titisee, in the Black Forrest Mountains. There was a group o students singing around the fire, when they understood I was really doing my best to learn German, they wrote me the lyrics of the song so that I could sing along. It was not only funny but a good lesson of reading and pronunciation. And you know what they say, when you have fun learning something, it sticks!
Also, traveling in Germany will give you the opportunity to converse with a native speaker. The advantages for this are multiple: not only they tell you the proper way to pronounce words, but they give you immediate feedback, so that you don’t perseverate in your mistakes. Plus, it’s a known fact: learning along with people is a far better way then learning by yourself, while reading a book. The social aspect of learning is important for it relaxes you and creates the proper climate to assimilate new language. Besides, you won’t find the slang and the colloquial usage of German inside the conversational guide, will you?
In order to improve your reading skills, I strongly advise you to read and type the text that you encounter. Since you’re traveling and visiting all sorts of locations, take the opportunity to read directions, info panels, brochures on all the sites. I remember I was so willing to learn German, that I ever read the door signs. I still remember the “druken” for push and the “zien” for pull on the door of each shop. Never let any detail slip by you, it's the only way you can truly increase your German vocabulary.
Last, but not least, remember that your trip is not just a study tour, but also a holiday, so try to relax as much as you can, don’t ever be embarrassed to talk in German and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Each one of us needs to make mistakes in order to learn by correcting them. Always remember how easy it is, for a prescholar, to learn a foreign language! Because he is not ashamed to mispronounce, because he repeats words exactly as the teacher says them (your teacher for the trip is any native speaker you meet) and because he has a lot of fun during the whole learning process.
In order to make the whole lesson fun, don’t forget to sing the world renowned preschool song and do your best to understand them:
“Ich bin Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil.
Komm aus Ägypten, das liegt direkt am Nil.
Zuerst das ich in einem Ei,
dann schni-,schna-,schnappte ich mich frei”
I strongly believe that the easiest way to improve your German language is to plan a trip over there! Germany is a great place to visit, there are some wonderful things to see: castles, gothic churches and domes, historical sites and so on. Once there, don’t be afraid to use your conversational guide and start pumping up your vocabulary.
Germans will honestly appreciate your effort to talk in their own language (even if you may mess up every now and then) and they will help you so that you get the right pronunciation or will teach you new words to improve your vocabulary. One of my funnies days spent in Germany was when we visited The Village Titisee, in the Black Forrest Mountains. There was a group o students singing around the fire, when they understood I was really doing my best to learn German, they wrote me the lyrics of the song so that I could sing along. It was not only funny but a good lesson of reading and pronunciation. And you know what they say, when you have fun learning something, it sticks!
Also, traveling in Germany will give you the opportunity to converse with a native speaker. The advantages for this are multiple: not only they tell you the proper way to pronounce words, but they give you immediate feedback, so that you don’t perseverate in your mistakes. Plus, it’s a known fact: learning along with people is a far better way then learning by yourself, while reading a book. The social aspect of learning is important for it relaxes you and creates the proper climate to assimilate new language. Besides, you won’t find the slang and the colloquial usage of German inside the conversational guide, will you?
In order to improve your reading skills, I strongly advise you to read and type the text that you encounter. Since you’re traveling and visiting all sorts of locations, take the opportunity to read directions, info panels, brochures on all the sites. I remember I was so willing to learn German, that I ever read the door signs. I still remember the “druken” for push and the “zien” for pull on the door of each shop. Never let any detail slip by you, it's the only way you can truly increase your German vocabulary.
Last, but not least, remember that your trip is not just a study tour, but also a holiday, so try to relax as much as you can, don’t ever be embarrassed to talk in German and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Each one of us needs to make mistakes in order to learn by correcting them. Always remember how easy it is, for a prescholar, to learn a foreign language! Because he is not ashamed to mispronounce, because he repeats words exactly as the teacher says them (your teacher for the trip is any native speaker you meet) and because he has a lot of fun during the whole learning process.
In order to make the whole lesson fun, don’t forget to sing the world renowned preschool song and do your best to understand them:
“Ich bin Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil.
Komm aus Ägypten, das liegt direkt am Nil.
Zuerst das ich in einem Ei,
dann schni-,schna-,schnappte ich mich frei”
Learning Spanish for Everyday use
First of all, let’s get things straight: most of us don’t want to learn Spanish so that we can get a career in politics, so that we become good public speakers or for writing sensible and deep poetry. No, we want to learn Spanish in order to COMMUNICATE. Spanish is the second spoken language in the US, so why not try to get along with our Latin fellows?
As I said, I will try to give you a few tips for learning Spanish so that you understand what people talk to you about and even try to give a pertinent answer.
First of all, don’t forget to read the labels of the products you use. Most of the products, whether they are cosmetics, cleaners, food, clothes, have a bi-lingual label, so that it is very easy to associate words or phrases and understand their meaning. The more various the products, the more you learn words from different categories. Fox example, on the label of a cleaner, you will read in English “grease-cutting formula / long lasting fragrance” and underneath the same phrase in Spanish “formula corta grasa / fragrancia duradera”. On all sort of products you will find some words that are very useful to us all “no se deje al alcance de los ninos” (keep out of the reach of children).
Once you get a few basic words, try to use them as often as you can and don’t be afraid to use them in public. For example, when you go out to eat to a Latin fast food (like El Pollo Loco) try to order your meal in Spanish. Even if you don’t get the right pronunciation or you don’t get the grammar right – most of the employees are Latin and will help you get the pronunciation right. You should know Latin people are very friendly and willing to teach you their language!
And to prove how nice Latin people are why not joining a Latin group over the internet? Don’t forget they already speak both English and Spanish so they can understand everything you say and will help you in every aspect of the learning process: reading comprehension (they will know you don’t understand when you don’t laugh at good joke), spelling (a Latin girl will always correct you when you don’t spell “mamacita” right) and pronunciation (it’s Pedrito, not Pedro, ok?).
Who doesn’t love Latin music? If you are a man, you must like Shakira and for the ladies, you must love Alejandro Sanz, don’t you? The best thing about artists like Shakira, is that beside their great music, they have albums in both languages – “Oral Fixation Vol.2” and the Spanish version “Fijacion Oral Vol.1”. This way you will better understand al the lyrics and learn a whole bunch of new words that will permanently improve your vocabulary! Plus you get to have fun and learn to do Shakira’s belly dance!
And last but not least: go out, make new friends! I bet that at least one of your co-workers is Latin and if you ask politely, will agree to teach you a few words and tips, or better yet, you get to practice conversation, with the advantage of being corrected any time you pronounce something wrong. It's really the best way to learn Spanish, by practice.
So, these are my advices for now, and if you read them closely you will see they are not only practical, but also fun. Just try them, one at a time, and you will see that step by step, your Spanish will improve.
As I said, I will try to give you a few tips for learning Spanish so that you understand what people talk to you about and even try to give a pertinent answer.
First of all, don’t forget to read the labels of the products you use. Most of the products, whether they are cosmetics, cleaners, food, clothes, have a bi-lingual label, so that it is very easy to associate words or phrases and understand their meaning. The more various the products, the more you learn words from different categories. Fox example, on the label of a cleaner, you will read in English “grease-cutting formula / long lasting fragrance” and underneath the same phrase in Spanish “formula corta grasa / fragrancia duradera”. On all sort of products you will find some words that are very useful to us all “no se deje al alcance de los ninos” (keep out of the reach of children).
Once you get a few basic words, try to use them as often as you can and don’t be afraid to use them in public. For example, when you go out to eat to a Latin fast food (like El Pollo Loco) try to order your meal in Spanish. Even if you don’t get the right pronunciation or you don’t get the grammar right – most of the employees are Latin and will help you get the pronunciation right. You should know Latin people are very friendly and willing to teach you their language!
And to prove how nice Latin people are why not joining a Latin group over the internet? Don’t forget they already speak both English and Spanish so they can understand everything you say and will help you in every aspect of the learning process: reading comprehension (they will know you don’t understand when you don’t laugh at good joke), spelling (a Latin girl will always correct you when you don’t spell “mamacita” right) and pronunciation (it’s Pedrito, not Pedro, ok?).
Who doesn’t love Latin music? If you are a man, you must like Shakira and for the ladies, you must love Alejandro Sanz, don’t you? The best thing about artists like Shakira, is that beside their great music, they have albums in both languages – “Oral Fixation Vol.2” and the Spanish version “Fijacion Oral Vol.1”. This way you will better understand al the lyrics and learn a whole bunch of new words that will permanently improve your vocabulary! Plus you get to have fun and learn to do Shakira’s belly dance!
And last but not least: go out, make new friends! I bet that at least one of your co-workers is Latin and if you ask politely, will agree to teach you a few words and tips, or better yet, you get to practice conversation, with the advantage of being corrected any time you pronounce something wrong. It's really the best way to learn Spanish, by practice.
So, these are my advices for now, and if you read them closely you will see they are not only practical, but also fun. Just try them, one at a time, and you will see that step by step, your Spanish will improve.
Organize you own Spanish classes
First of all, do we really need an introduction to explain why we would like to learn Spanish? The answer is really simple: it is the second most spoken language in the US and one of the most spoken around the world! So let us get down to business and I’ll try to explain how to use these simple methods for learning Spanish without taking long and boring classes!
First of all, you need to ORGANIZE your study! You must decide how much time a day or a week you want to spend studying and at the begging of each week, you must also decide the topic for that particular week. Always make sure you pick a topic which is interesting enough to keep you fully awake and attentive and also a topic that you can use later. What’s the point in choosing “nuclear chemistry” if you are a dentist?
Once you made up your mind on the subject, try to figure out a way for practicing and improve each one of the following: comprehension, reading comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, writing.
To improve your comprehension of Spanish native speakers, try a quick search on youtube for some bits of “telenovelas” (the Spanish word for soap operas) and you will surely find ones with subtitles. Try to just listen to the conversation and write some ideas you heard there. Then play the video again, reading the subtitles, and see how much you really understood. Always look up in the dictionary the word you didn’t understand, write them down and repeat them a couple of times. This method also improves your vocabulary and pronunciation, for you can play the video over and over again, until you say the word in the right way.
If you want to work on your vocabulary, there are also many sites which have words in Spanish divided in categories such as “words to describe physical appearance”, “list of human body vocabulary” and many more. So choose a category for each day of your study, read the words in both English and Spanish, write each one of them a few times, read them out loud. This is good for vocabulary, reading, pronunciation. If you can’t find such a site (I doubt it, but still) you can chose a category, for example “words relating clothes”, make a list of all the words you can remember in English and use a dictionary to translate them in Spanish.
As far as the grammar is concerned, you will find in any library, as well as online, several books and e-books on “how to Learn Spanish without a teacher”. These books explain simple grammar rules and you can take one lesson at a time.
In order to make your classes at home more fun, invite over a friend who also wants to learn Spanish and work together on this. Your conversational skills will be greatly improved, you can have immediate feedback on any mistake you make and last but not least, you don’t get to talk to the walls, alone!
No matter which one of the methods you chose for organising the classes on your own, remember that at the begging of each one, you must take a few minutes to review the last class’s information so that it sticks to you. And let us not forget: don’t be afraid to give yourself homework and minus Ds when you fail in completing them. For this, you might need a friend, as we said, so you won’t do it all by yourself and you will be more motivated. Well, good luck and remember to relax – learning Spanish, as learning any language, is a long process that must be conquered one class at the time!
First of all, you need to ORGANIZE your study! You must decide how much time a day or a week you want to spend studying and at the begging of each week, you must also decide the topic for that particular week. Always make sure you pick a topic which is interesting enough to keep you fully awake and attentive and also a topic that you can use later. What’s the point in choosing “nuclear chemistry” if you are a dentist?
Once you made up your mind on the subject, try to figure out a way for practicing and improve each one of the following: comprehension, reading comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, writing.
To improve your comprehension of Spanish native speakers, try a quick search on youtube for some bits of “telenovelas” (the Spanish word for soap operas) and you will surely find ones with subtitles. Try to just listen to the conversation and write some ideas you heard there. Then play the video again, reading the subtitles, and see how much you really understood. Always look up in the dictionary the word you didn’t understand, write them down and repeat them a couple of times. This method also improves your vocabulary and pronunciation, for you can play the video over and over again, until you say the word in the right way.
If you want to work on your vocabulary, there are also many sites which have words in Spanish divided in categories such as “words to describe physical appearance”, “list of human body vocabulary” and many more. So choose a category for each day of your study, read the words in both English and Spanish, write each one of them a few times, read them out loud. This is good for vocabulary, reading, pronunciation. If you can’t find such a site (I doubt it, but still) you can chose a category, for example “words relating clothes”, make a list of all the words you can remember in English and use a dictionary to translate them in Spanish.
As far as the grammar is concerned, you will find in any library, as well as online, several books and e-books on “how to Learn Spanish without a teacher”. These books explain simple grammar rules and you can take one lesson at a time.
In order to make your classes at home more fun, invite over a friend who also wants to learn Spanish and work together on this. Your conversational skills will be greatly improved, you can have immediate feedback on any mistake you make and last but not least, you don’t get to talk to the walls, alone!
No matter which one of the methods you chose for organising the classes on your own, remember that at the begging of each one, you must take a few minutes to review the last class’s information so that it sticks to you. And let us not forget: don’t be afraid to give yourself homework and minus Ds when you fail in completing them. For this, you might need a friend, as we said, so you won’t do it all by yourself and you will be more motivated. Well, good luck and remember to relax – learning Spanish, as learning any language, is a long process that must be conquered one class at the time!
The Best Language Learning Practices - Divide and Conquer
The Roman Empire’s battle philosophy was that no war should be fought heads-on, but rather the territories that were about to be conquered, or the forces that were about to be taken on should be divided and conquered separately. Well, language learning might not necessarily be a war, but it’s definitely a battle with a force to be reckoned with. Many people quit after the first months, or even weeks after starting a language course, because they’re overwhelmed by the complexity of this task. Obviously, it can and WILL get overwhelming if you take a language heads-on, that’s why the Roman tactic of divide et impera is a great way to get a hold of it.
First off, you should break down the language you’re trying to learn in components. Not all languages will have the same components and not all components will have the same difficutly. For example, learning Japanese will obviously have more elements than learning French, because you’ll have to learn the alphabet, gender structure and writing style in addition.
Some common language components include:
Grammar – the glue that keeps a language together. Learning grammar is a structured process and leaves less room for natural assimilation.
Common Nouns – A good part of a language’s alphabet is made of common nouns. People only use around 10% of a language’s vocabulary and most of these are nouns: common nouns.
Common Phrases – this part of the vocabulary is something that could really get you started in a new language. Oftentimes, we start our learning process by memorizing simple phrases like “hi, how are you”, “thank you”, “what’s the time?” and the likes.
Numbers – numbers are another good way to start off and they have the advantage of being memorized in a particular order, making them easier to remember, through association.
Alphabet – even sister languages might have alphabet differences and it’s important to learn of these small variations right off the bat. Obviously, trying to learn german and it’s few new letters won’t be nearly as tough as learning Russian, or Chinese; languages with a completely different alphabet, with completely different sets of rules.
So, take each of these components one step at a time and handle them individually and you’ll notice it makes a world of difference. The trick is that while learning one individual component, you’ll also be practicing several others, so you’re attacking your objective on several levels. Good luck, soldier!
First off, you should break down the language you’re trying to learn in components. Not all languages will have the same components and not all components will have the same difficutly. For example, learning Japanese will obviously have more elements than learning French, because you’ll have to learn the alphabet, gender structure and writing style in addition.
Some common language components include:
Grammar – the glue that keeps a language together. Learning grammar is a structured process and leaves less room for natural assimilation.
Common Nouns – A good part of a language’s alphabet is made of common nouns. People only use around 10% of a language’s vocabulary and most of these are nouns: common nouns.
Common Phrases – this part of the vocabulary is something that could really get you started in a new language. Oftentimes, we start our learning process by memorizing simple phrases like “hi, how are you”, “thank you”, “what’s the time?” and the likes.
Numbers – numbers are another good way to start off and they have the advantage of being memorized in a particular order, making them easier to remember, through association.
Alphabet – even sister languages might have alphabet differences and it’s important to learn of these small variations right off the bat. Obviously, trying to learn german and it’s few new letters won’t be nearly as tough as learning Russian, or Chinese; languages with a completely different alphabet, with completely different sets of rules.
So, take each of these components one step at a time and handle them individually and you’ll notice it makes a world of difference. The trick is that while learning one individual component, you’ll also be practicing several others, so you’re attacking your objective on several levels. Good luck, soldier!
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