New Language Lessons: Hebrew

New language lessons have been uploaded today to the Internet Polyglot site. This time the new addition is Hebrew lessons. So if you are interested in learning this ancient language, please be very welcome to http://www.internetpolyglot.com/lessons-he-en .

History of the Hebrew Language



Hebrew is one of the world oldest languages and it’s one of the few languages that kept its composure and structure for the most part, since it is written and spoken today almost the same way as it was more than 2,000 years ago. For example, the style and structure of the Hebrew language that is used today in most books, newspapers and magazines published in Israel is very similar to the one used in the Bible. A strange fact in the history of the Hebrew language is that it ceased to exist as a spoken language for almost 1,700 years ago, being reborn as a modern language around the 19th century. Nowadays, Hebrew is the official language of Israel and it is spoken in the large Jewish Diaspora.



The comeback of Hebrew as a spoken language in the 19th century is often attributed to the name of Eliezer ben Yehudah. Eliezer was a visionary linguist and polyglot that devoted his entire life to the revival of his ancestors’ language, adapting it to the rigors and rules of modern society as well as allowing a substantial vocabulary increase through foreign words. Following Eliezer’s efforts, Hebrew gradually came to use among Jewish settlements around Palestine and when the State of Israel was created in 1948 it became its official language.



Tips and tricks for learning Hebrew



One of the fastest ways to learn Hebrew is over the Internet (for example, on Internet Polyglot Hebrew Lessons), where you can find a lot of free Hebrew lessons online to start off with. If these don’t cut the mustard for you, you could always try a local “Learn Hebrew” course or start studying it from a course book. However, these methods should only be considered a starting point to help you grasp the basic notions of Hebrew and help you improve vocabulary. Direct communication is always a great teacher, so you can try finding a Hebrew conversation partner to help you out, or even try out learning through video conferences with an online teacher (they could cost quite a bit though).



The grammar of the Hebrew language is usually considered easy to understand by most students, however the major problem is spelling and pronunciation of words. These can be improved through several of the above mentioned methods, but if you find those too boring or stressful, you might want to try out a few Hebrew vocabulary games that you can find in books, on audio tapes or over the Internet. These games improve both spelling and pronunciations and they will also allow you to memorize words easily.



Take note that these tips and tricks don’t apply STRICTLY to Hebrew, as they can be used in studying a number of other languages. Remember that learning skills grow up directly proportional with language skills, so the more you learn of a language the better you are at learning a different one in the future. Once this happens, becoming a true polyglot is only a matter of time and ambition.






You can also read about Hebrew in these articles in different languages:

History of the Hebrew Language (in English)
Lengua hebrea (in Spanish)
Hébreu (in French)
Hebräisch (in German)
Ebraico (in Italian)
Hebreeuws (in Dutch)
Hebrew (in Portuguese)
Limba Ebraica (in Romanian)
Полезные советы изучающим иврит (in Russian)
تأريخ اللغة العبرية (in Arabic)

Learning A New Language To Create A Bilingual Household

Learning a new language as a family can be a wonderful and rewarding thing to do, especially if you have small children at home. For them, learning at smaller ages will be much easier than learning later in life. It will also be more rewarding for you, as a family to be able to have that extra cultural exposure that another language makes available to you. Most children will grow up learning both languages naturally, at the same time if they are used constantly near him. However, if you want to speed up the process or make it more effective, there are several techniques that you can try out.

For example, there are many online programs that can assist you with learning a new language for yourself as well as making the process fun through the use of games for the entire family. In addition to the ability or need to memorize words, you will find that these online programs will actually teach you to analyze and choose the correct words in the first place. This is done through the use of flash cards, matching games, word scrambles, and tons of other games that make the learning process seem much less like learning and much more like fun.

If you are having fun learning something, chances are that your children will wish to learn as well. Keep reminding them how fun it will be to travel to the land of the language and speak like a native or go out to dinner in a new town and pretend to be foreign by only speaking to each other in the language you've learned. Not to mention the fun they will have on the school bus when no one else really understands what they are saying.

Raising a bilingual family in today's world has many benefits that go far beyond knowing a second language. In addition to the languages learned you are increasing their ability to learn more languages, as each subsequent language is easier to learn. While at a young age, children may have a tendency to mix languages or switch back and forth that is something that will occur less frequently in time.

The process of creating a bilingual household also requires a considerable amount more effort on the part of the parents. Not only are you learning a new language and committing to learning it well enough to teach to your children and speak on a regular basis, but you are also committing your child to another language as well. This can be confusing to him or her at times and overwhelming at others. Be careful that you don't overload them, which may cause them to stop speaking all together and that you are patient with them offering support and kind words when needed. This is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children and they will understand that in time.

Happy Holidays!

Hi everybody!

I'd like to thank you all for showing your support for Internet Polyglot, for using it for your language learning and just for your many feedbacks. It was very exciting year for us and for the site - it grew from 15 visitors a day to 1100 visitors a day and keep growing. More and more language learners find this method of memorizing words useful and start playing with our games.

I would cordially like to wish you happy Holidays, peace in the whole World, love to you and your family. And of course, Happy Language Learning with Internet Polyglot!

---

Now it's time for some fun. These videos virtually made my month! They can be even considered a language learning videos, hehe :)

---

Let's start with Learning Dutch. Hilarious girls teach us some useful Dutch words and phrases: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGzwZH03QLE

---

Learning French? Here some funny guys from Russia will sing you a very popular song by one of my favorite singers In-Grid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGJRTpgE0dY



And here is the transcript for this song:


Tu m'as promis
et je t'ai cru

Tu m'as promis le soleil en hiver et un arc en ciel
tu m'as promis le sable doré j'ai reçu une carte postale
tu m'as promis le ciel et la terre et une vie d'amour
tu m'as promis ton coeur ton sourire mais j'ai eu des grimaces

tu m'as promis
et je t'ai cru

tu m'as promis le cheval ailé que j'ai jamais eu
tu m'as promis le fil d'Ariane mais tu l'as coupé
tu m'as promis les notes de Mozart pas des plats cassés
tu m'as promis d'être ta reine, j'ai eu pour sceptre un balai

tu m'as promis
et je t'ai cru
tu es foutu
tu-tu-tu...
tu es foutu
tu-tu-tu ...

je ne sais pas ce qui se passe
mais je sais pourquoi on m'apelle mademoiselle pas de chance

---

Learning English, huh? Yeah, me too :) Have been learning English for almost all my conscious life, hehe. Here is a fiery Irish song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6A-ucLv44Y

---

And finally, here is a Holiday song for all of you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owK5tHjL0aE

---

Happy Holidays!!!

World Map of Internet Polyglot users

I have configured a world map of Internet Polyglot users. Now if you are an Internet Polyglot user, you play with its games, learn languages using its lessons, you can add yourself on the world map (if you don't see the map, go here):



This page is also added on Internet Polyglot here. The permanent location of this map is here. When you go to this map you can add your shoutouts, your pictures, chat with other Internet Polyglot users. Have fun!

Learning A New Language Makes The World Seem Smaller

The Internet is becoming a massive force in the lives of many people around the world. It is used to connect to the world at large, to communicate for the purposes of business, family, and friendships, as well as to find entertainment. The Internet is quickly replacing the television as the preferred medium of entertainment around the world as well as opening doors to new cultures, ideas, and beliefs as well as new opportunities.

As a result of this, we've seen an abundance of people interested in learning new languages as they meet friends and build relationships across the cultural and language barriers that once seemed so much larger than they are today. With the global community literally at your fingertips it is great to know that you can get free language lessons online or that you can easily find courses and books to help you skill up in a foreign language, regardless of its popularity across the Globe. You'd be amazed to find out how many sites offer such great services for free. Not only are these lessons free, but you can also find programs that offer fun matching games, flash cards, and word game worksheets to help you build your skills.

Not only will you learn the basic vocabulary of other languages, but also how to improve your existing vocabulary skills in your own language. You will study language arts activities, pronouns, adjectives, and common slang terms of the language you are studying. You will be able to travel with the ease of a native without the worry of needing translations of road signs and simple instructions thanks to flash cards, and free language lessons online.

When used alone, the results of this will be slow and not provide a comprehensive learning experience, but when you combine the power of such an interactive site with your other language courses, you will be amazed at how quickly your progress and even advance in your studies. Play games designed to improve vocabulary while receiving a top-notch foreign language education. In fact, you have the ability to teach yourself at your own pace and learn far more than you would ever learn in a traditional classroom. It is well known that learning through entertainment is the easiest and most effective way of dealing with any given subject, even more so with a foreign language, since it requires a lot of assimilation to be done.

After completing your lessons you should be able to speak your new language like a native while having a better understanding of how your own language works. Perhaps what you learn about yourself and the language you know already is worth just as much if not more than the priceless gift of learning a new language and opening a window to the world.




Articles about English in different languages:


English Language (in English)

Historia de la lengua inglesa (in Spanish)

Anglais. (in French)

Englische Sprache (in German)

Lingua inglese (in Italian)

Engelse Taal (in Dutch)

Língua inglesa (in Portuguese)

Limba Engleza (in Romanian)

Do you like Internet Polyglot? Then vote for it!

My dear language learning friend! You've been working hard on learning your language and I hope Internet Polyglot has been helpful for you all this time. If you like Internet Polyglot now you can help us too!

Here is what you can do: just click on the following link and vote for Internet Polyglot by Digging it!

Please note that if you don't have an account on Digg you'll have to register there in order to vote for Internet Polyglot.

We'll greatly appreciate your vote, it'll help us immensely to improve Internet Polyglot's visibility in language learning community. Thank you!

---

And to make your life funnier here is the daily joke:

Speed Trap

A state trooper spied a car puttering along at 22 MPH. So he turned on his lights and pulled the driver over. Approaching the car, he noticed that five old guys were inside, and they looked wide-eyed and terribly pale.

The driver pleaded with him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"

"Sir," the officer replies, "You weren't speeding, but driving slower than the speed limit can also be dangerous."

"I beg to differ, Officer, I was doing the speed limit exactly: twenty-two miles an hour!" the old man said.

The trooper, chuckling, explained to him that "22" was the route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the man grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out his error.

"But before I let you go, Sir, I have to ask... Is everyone in this car ok? These guys seem awfully shaken."

"Oh, they'll be all right in a minute," the old man said. "We just got off Route 119."


Enjoy your day folks and don't forget to vote for Internet Polyglot and after that visit Internet Polyglot for language lessons!

Google Helps Learning Words [New Feature]

Today I deployed a new version of http://www.InternetPolyglot.com - it has some nice improvements like better positioning of popup images so that they don't disappear under the bottom of the browser window.

Another one is a new page that describes how you could help Internet Polyglot - if you like it, of course :-) . So if you do like Internet Polyglot - please visit this page: http://www.internetpolyglot.com/public-helping-internet-polyglot.html and decide what you can do to make our life happier. Anything you do from this list (placing a link on your web site, telling about us on your favorite forum or newsgroup, simply bookmarking us with del.icio.us, and, well, ghm..., donation) will be greatly appreciated!

---

But the main improvement of this version is adding Google Search capabilities for words that you are learning. The word/translation list on lesson detail pages now has a new icon, move your mouse over it and you'll get Google's search results for this word: web sites, videos, blogs. I expect it to be a very useful new feature of Internet Polyglot - it should help learning words in context. Just go ahead and play with this new capability, I think it should be fun.

Below is a screenshot that I made on one of the French-English lessons :



As you can see mousing over the "G" icon next to "un employé" display a popup window with Google search (web, video and blog) results for this word. Now just use any of those results and increase your knowledge of what "un employé" means.

Happy languge learning with Internet Polyglot !

Free Language Lessons Online

Learning a new language is never easy, despite any common roots that your mother tongue and the language you want to learn might have. If you've recently moved to a new country, the learning curve will be a lot faster than if you would try to learn that particular country's language at home, since no lesson can compensate for the benefit of being constantly surrounded in people speaking that foreign language. Still, since most people will want to start taking language lessons from the comfort of their home, so they can be prepared when they move or visit a foreign country, we'll focus on them and offer you some tips on how to get free language lessons online.

Whether you want to learn English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, Latin, Hindi, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, Czech or Ukrainian, there's a site out there that can fulfill your lingual learning needs. www.internetpolyglot.com is a compilation of free language lessons that can be taken online, through an intuitive and easy to use system.

Actually, when learning a new language with Internet Polyglot, you get to create your own lessons, focusing on what you need more: expanding your vocabulary, memorizing words, pronouncing words, learning the common acronyms of communication, avoiding syntax errors in second language learners, learning that particular language's slang and so forth. This way, you can make up your own strategy for learning a foreign language and effectively learn in the rhythm that you see fit, instead of getting overfed with all sorts of bits and pieces of new information about that language.

Among these free online language lessons, you will be able to find some that come under the form of games and fun activities. These are aimed for children learning new languages but they can also be helpful to adults that have just started learning one. Actually, scientists agree that it's a lot easier to learn a language if its lessons are presented under a fun, enjoyable wrap, rather than if you would have to sit down at a table or in front of your PC and simply start memorizing, getting you utterly bored in a matter of hours probably.

Last but not least, www.internetpolyglot.com offers the possibility for simple surfers that had success in learning a new language, to post their own lessons on the site, helping others in their learning process. Of course, what might have worked for someone else in matter of learning speed might not be totally appropriate for you, or at least not in the same manner. But most of these users will offer interesting alternative learning methods that you should at least take a look at, since they might prove to be just the boost you need to your language learning efforts.

Visit http://www.InternetPolyglot.com for free online language lessons.

Drunk Driver

Aren't you getting fed up with all this serious stuff that you receive from InternetPolyglot on a regular basis? Here is some joke for you so that you don't get too bored :)


A policeman pulls over a driver for swerving in and out of lanes on the highway.
He tells the guy to blow a breath into a breathalyzer.
''I can't do that, officer.''
''Why not?''
''Because I'm an asthmatic. I could get an asthma attack if I blow into that tube.''
''Okay, we'll just get a urine sample down at the station.''
''Can't do that either, officer.''
''Why not?''
''Because I'm a diabetic. I could get low blood sugar if I pee in a cup.''
''Alright, we could get a blood sample.''
''Can't do that either, officer.''
''Why not?''
''Because I'm a hemophiliac. If I give blood I could die.''
''Fine then, just walk this white line.''
''Can't do that either, officer.''
''Why not?''
''Because I'm drunk.''

Learning A Foreign Language Will Open A Window To The World

If you've ever had the urge to travel around the world, visiting exotic places, and ordering authentic local cuisine, then you've probably considered the fact that it might help if you were able to speak the language. Even if only to read the menu at your favorite French Bistro or Italian Restaurant, it is amazing how much more of the menu you will understand simply by learning a few key phrases in a foreign language.

Learning a new language is almost always a thrilling prospect, even better when you can learn a new language for free. In fact, at this price why on earth would anyone stop at just one language? Many of these online language programs are not intended to work as a sole source of language education, but when used in conjunction with other language learning programs can produce amazing results.

If you use the flash cards and matching games that are available on this site, you will be speaking your new language like a native in no time, better yet, you will understand it like a native as well. Have you ever envied those that speak several languages with as much familiarity as their own mother tongues? Be jealous no longer. Apply these lessons, study diligently and you will notice a significant improvement in your vocabulary.

Learn an Arabic language conversation free with lessons online. In fact, learn a few. Take a look at the free online "Learn Spanish Video" and see how many new words you can learn in a short period of time. Take lessons with a friend and have competitions to see who has learned the most new words. Playing games is a great way to learn and still have fun being competitive with one another.

Remember though that the overall goal is learning a new language. Whether your goals are Russian, Hungarian, English, French, or some obscure tribal language on the moon, you might be surprised at the selection available. You can even use this program to help you avoid the syntax errors in English second language learners. This will make an incredible difference in how you are accepted globally as well as corporately.

There are several sites out there that deal with teaching a foreign language and you're bound to find something suitable for your needs even after a few minutes of electronic surfing. Although most will focus on popular languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian or Portuguese, other "smaller" languages are not left out in the cold either. Regardless of what language you're aiming for, chances are that you can find a site that covers it and offers some learning courses for it.

For free online language courses visit http://www.InternetPolyglot.com



Articles about Spanish in different languages:


The Spanish Language (in English)
Las raíces de la lengua española (in Spanish)
Langue espagnole (in French)
Spanische Sprache (in German)
Lingua spagnola (in Italian)
Spaanse Taal (in Dutch)
Língua espanhola (in Portuguese)
Originile limbii Spaniole (in Romanian)