Language Learning News & Blog

How to... Learn a Foreign Language

2011-02-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

Systems Needed:

1. Using Mnemonics to link words

This is a simple extension of the link method. Here you are using images to link a word in your own language with a word in a foreign language.

For example, in learning English/French vocabulary:

English: rug/carpet – French: tapis – imagine an ornate oriental carpet with a tap as the central design woven in chrome thread
English: grumpy – French: grognon – a grumpy man groaning with irritation
English: to tease – French: taquiner – a woman teasing her husband as she takes in the washing.

This technique was formalized by Dr. Michael Gruneberg, and is known as the 'LinkWord' technique. He has produced language books (an example is German by Association) in many language pairs to help students acquire the basic vocabulary needed to get by in the language (usually about 1000 words). It is claimed that using this technique this basic vocabulary can be learned in just 10 hours.

2. The Town Language Mnemonic

This is a very elegant, effective mnemonic that fuses a sophisticated variant of the Roman Room system with the system described above.

This depends on the fact that the basic vocabulary of a language relates to everyday things: things that you can usually find in a city, town or village. To use the technique, choose a town that you are very familiar with. Use objects within that place as the cues to recall the images that link to foreign words.

Nouns in the town:

Nouns should be associated to the most relevant locations: for example, the image coding the foreign word for book could be associated with a book on a shelf in the library. You could associate the word for bread with an image of a loaf in a baker's shop. Words for vegetables could be associated with parts of a display outside a greengrocer's. Perhaps there is a farm just outside the town that allows all the animal name associations to be made.

Adjectives in the park:

Adjectives can be associated with a garden or park within the town: words such as green, smelly, bright, small, cold, etc. can be easily related to objects in a park. Perhaps there is a pond there, or a small wood, or perhaps people with different characteristics are walking around.

Verbs in the sports center:

Verbs can most easily be associated with a sports center or playing field. This allows us all the associations of lifting, running, walking, hitting, eating, swimming, driving, etc.

Remembering Genders

In a language where gender is important, a very good method of remembering this is to divide your town into two main zones. In one zone you code information on masculine gender nouns, while in the other zone you code information on feminine nouns. Where the language has a neutral gender, then use three zones. You can separate these areas with busy roads, rivers, etc. To fix the gender of a noun, simply associate its image with a place in the correct part of town. This makes remembering genders easy!

Many Languages, many towns

Another elegant spin-off of the technique comes when learning several languages: normally this can cause confusion. With the town mnemonic, all you need do is choose a different city, town or village for each language to be learned. Ideally this might be in the relevant country. Practically, however, you might just decide to use a local town with the appropriate foreign flavor.

3. The hundred most common words

Tony Buzan, in his book 'Using your Memory', points out that just 100 words comprise 50% of all words used in conversation in a language. Learning this core 100 words gets you a long way towards being able to speak in that language, albeit at a basic level. The 100 basic words used in conversation are shown below:

1. A,an	2. After	3. Again	4. All	5. Almost
6. Also	7. Always	8. And	9. Because	10. Before
11. Big	12. But	13. (I) can	14. (I) come	15. Either/or
16. (I) find	17. First	18. For	19. Friend	20. From
21. (I) go	22. Good	23. Good-bye	24. Happy	25. (I) have
26. He	27. Hello	28. Here	29. How	30. I
31. (I) am	32. If	33. In	34. (I) know	35. Last
36. (I) like	37. Little	38. (I) love	39. (I) make	40. Many
41. One	42. More	43. Most	44. Much	45. My
46. New	47. No	48. Not	49. Now	50. Of
51. Often	52. On	53. One	54. Only	55. Or
56. Other	57. Our	58. Out	59. Over	60. People
61. Place	62. Please	63. Same	64. (I) see	65. She
66. So	67. Some	68. Sometimes	69. Still	70. Such
71. (I) tell	72. Thank you	73. That	74. The	75. Their
76. Them	77. Then	78. There is	79. They	80. Thing
81. (I) think	82. This	83. Time	84. To	85. Under
86. Up	87. Us	88. (I) use	89. Very	90. We
91. What	92. When	93. Where	94. Which	95. Who
96. Why	97. With	98. Yes	99. You	100. Your

(Extract reproduced from Use Your Memory by Tony Buzan with the permission of BBC Worldwide Limited, © Tony Buzan)

Summary

The three approaches to learning foreign languages shown here can be very effective. They help to point out:

The most important words to learn
Show how to link words in your own language to words in a foreign language, and
Show how to structure recall of the language through use of the town mnemonic.

You can learn 600 similar skills elsewhere on this site. Click here to see our full toolkit. If you like our approach, you can subscribe to our free newsletter, or become a member for just US$1.

Source: Mindtools

Language Learning: Difficult and easy languages

2011-01-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

Language Tree

What language is the hardest to learn? What language is just the easiest? of a language is difficult or easy to learn depends not only on your native language, but also on other factors. They experience Chinese and Japanese are generally considered very difficult, and Arabic, Hungarian, Finnish and Russian are also some ambitious. English and German are harder than they seem, and for non-native Dutch is very difficult. A challenge that is very feasible, is learning Swedish.

Learning second language

The world has about six thousand languages, of which about one hundred have been mapped. Learning a second language depends on the mother tongue. For that reason, it makes little sense to an inclusive, ranking based on difficulty to make. So it is easier for Germans to learn Dutch than for someone from Japan. Somebody from Spain will learns witch much less effort Portuguese then a Chinese. In general, the closer the second-native language is, the easier it will learn. This includes the relationship between the two vocabularies, sound, syntax, culture and other factors. In America they prepared a list with the average time required for reasonable learning a second language. The result was that for English speaking Arabic (written from right to left), Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean languages the most difficult are to learn. These languages require at least almost ninety teaching weeks, longer than other languages.

Mother tongue and flair for languages

For learning a foreign language are many factors that determine its success. Of someone picks up another language quickly, is also linked to motivation and circumstances of the language been learned. When a person for professional reasons have to learn a language he learned it generally faster than when he learns the language only for using it with holidays. Of course intelligence also plays a role, a "feel " for language or even a talent (the gift for languages), memory and listening skills. Practice makes perfect. The mother language is learned naturally, Those who learn another language, will find that the first five years of human life really determines everything turned out. Later in life language learning requires a great effort.

More challenging ...

Many people it seems impossible to learn Chinese, probably by the very different system of writing, and very difficult pronunciation. as was consistently found that Japanese who are already accustomed to a similar script, writing Chinese is easier than for speakers of a language using the Roman alphabet. Yet another is a script language is not necessarily difficult, it's just more challenging for those who try to learn. That’s why we see the Greek and Russian (Cyrillic alphabet) very difficult. But also the Hungarian appears to be very problematic. This is mainly because of the complex grammatical structure, while the Hungarians have the same script as we know!

Sense of language

What languages are difficult for English speakers? Chinese and Japanese are extremely complex, and except for those two also Finnish. Because of the extraordinary Finnish grammar. What is also very difficult are Thai, Polish, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Icelandic, Slavic languages, Czech, Hungarian, Basque and Romance languages like French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese are seen as average. These languages are known for the same properties, because they are all descended of Latin (the language of the Romans). It is very common for someone who knows one of these languages, without much trouble can continue the learning of other languages.

Why are Japanese and Chinese so hard?

Thousands of symbols

In Chinese, each word representing a symbol, which means you literally have to learn thousands of symbols will you be able to read Chinese. Moreover, the symbols are not phonetic, So you have no idea how they should be pronounced. This in contrast to learning a language that uses our familiar alphabet. Even if you don’t know Spanish, when you read a word you know roughly how it should be pronounced. Look at a Chinese word and you're completely lost. When you don’t know the symbol, you don’t know what it says.

Tone Languages

In Chinese, tones are very important. In the pronunciation of a word, the tone go up or just down. When your pronouncing is wrong you say something completely different. This is very difficult for someone who is not used to a tonal language.

To refer to the same Japanese makes subtle use of different words, depending to who you speak: your brother, a stranger, your boss or the president ...Japanese have a lot pitfalls.

The most difficult languages

The click-clack languages from southern Africa are really beyond our caps. Some of us have heard of Xhosa, but! xoo (the TAA) in Botswana is still a degree worse. This language has five different types of head-clicks, next seventeen several sub-clicks. Much more than lesson 1 most will not come from our region. Which is maybe better, because speakers of these languages have all developed a tumor on their larynx.

Why English is surprisingly difficult

Particularly through the Internet and the influence of the media, it seems as though English has become the world language, English grammar is very extensive and the vocabulary is huge. The vocabulary of English is greater than that of any other language and consists of more than 500,000 words. So happens that for a single Dutch word there are many English, all with a slight difference in meaning. Because this lack of knowledge of nuances a English speaking always hear it’s not your native language.

Learn Arabic

Besides going from right to left writing and the many details, there are many things that makes Arabic difficult. There are male and female verbal forms and sometimes there are no vowels in the alphabet. In addition, characters have a slightly different form depending on the position in the word. In addition, Arabic is written in a flowing line. Individual letters are therefore difficult to distinguish. The Arabic alphabet is seen as more difficult than the Greek or Russian, but less complicated than the Chinese or Japanese. The Arabic grammar differs in many respects from that of most Western languages. The grammar is very extensive and there are many structures and sequences that are a Semitic language characteristics.

Why Learning Chinese is a Smart Business Move

2011-01-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

Learn Chinese

Why Learn Chinese? Top 10 Reasons

Like most Westerners, just a few years ago you might not have been thinking very much about China. However, these days China is all over the news. You, like more and more people, may be wondering, “Should I be learning Chinese?” The answer is a resounding "Yes". Or you may wonder “Why learn Chinese?” The following top 10 reasons to learn Chinese explain why learning to speak Chinese is a smart business and career move.

1. Because the world is changing

You've heard it before. Globalization. Outsourcing. Opening of free trade. The US, while still important, must now share the stage with other countries, primarily China. With China's admittance to the WTO, a large trade balance in its favor, and its booming economy, the need to interact with China is apparent.

2. Because everyone else is doing it

OK, so not everyone else is learning Chinese. But did you know that Chinese is the fastest-growing language studied in the US? Enrollment in college Chinese language courses is at an all-time high. Recently a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress to provide Chinese language classes even for high school students. Other countries are even more advanced in this regard.

3. To stay competitive

In a few short years, these myriads of workers fresh out of college will be hitting the work force with Chinese speaking skills. By learning Chinese now, you set yourself apart as a proactive person. Not only will you position yourself to compete with the new entrants, you can also take advantage of increased opportunities that arise as trade with China grows.

4. Global supply chains

But your company has its factories in the US, you say. But will it always have? What about the subcomponents or raw materials? Even US-based manufacturing firms are discovering that to maintain competitive cost structures, they often must deal with global supply chains and sourcing. Of course, the largest provider of the subcomponents and raw materials is China.

5. Manufacturing

China has 1.3 billion people, a workforce that is good at labor-intensive jobs, and lower costs. Enough said. But these factories often have foreign management, consultants, accountants, etc. And these factories also have to deal with the other end of the global supply chain. By learning to speak Chinese, you can help provide the links between these factories and American companies.

6. Because the Chinese market is the largest consumer market in the world

It's not just about manufacturing and outsourcing any more. Today, Western companies are looking at the Chinese economy as potentially the most profitable market in the world. According to the Department of Commerce, more than 16,000 American companies sell products in China. The China of today is not the China of yesterday. In China, urban teenagers are seen walking with an MP3 player in one hand and a cell phone in the other, just as in America. The Chinese are hungry for consumer goods -- foreign goods to boot. Western companies need professionals with Chinese speaking skills to build links with Chinese companies, form partnerships with Chinese companies, and market, brand, and sell products to the Chinese.

7. Because your career may depend on it

So we already know that a) outsourcing to China is growing and b) there are already many young professionals in the pipeline learning Chinese. Suppose you are a manager having to make the unfortunate decision about whose job to cut: what are you going to do? Are you going to cut the person with the keys to potentially the most lucrative market in the world, the one who showed foresight and proactivity by going to learn how to speak Chinese to begin with? No, I don't think so. That person is too valuable. Learning Chinese can only help your career and give you more options.

8. Because 1.2 billion people speak Chinese

That's right, 1.2 billion! Talk about having access to a greater social and professional network! Can you think of one other activity that could possibly open up more doors than learning Chinese?

9. Beijing 2008 Olympics

The Turin Olympics just closed. The next day headlines touted China's preparation for 2008. China’s government realizes (as do most of the people in the know) that this is the “coming-of-age party” for China. Beijing 2008 is not only symbolic of China's emergence onto the world stage of economic power but also pragmatic, as it helps Beijing showcase its flourishing economy and to deepen ties with Western companies. By learning Chinese, you can be ready for this historic event and take part in it.

10. Because it’s not as hard as you think

That's right. Learning to speak Chinese is not as hard as you think. Unfortunately, many Chinese schools in China and Chinese learning materials have given students the opposite impression. However, modern technology can aid in the learning process dramatically. Furthermore, most professionals will find that learning to speak Chinese will be enough without learning to write Chinese characters (which is what really takes up the most time). In the modern age, the computer can help you type anyway. At our Chinese school, we follow an approach that focuses only on the most necessary communications and practical applications. The Chinese language has a surprisingly straightforward set of rules regarding speaking and grammar. With the correct approach people can learn to speak Chinese within a short period of time. So by learning Chinese you can take part in an activity that has huge benefits for your career and your résumé but takes less time than getting a second degree or learning other skills.

About Matthew Worley:
This Chinese learning article, “Why Learn Chinese” , and more articles about learning Chinese, study abroad in China, and doing business in China are located at our China articles page here:articles.1monthchinese.com/ Learn Chinese in China with The 1-Month Mandarin™ program at the Chinese Language Institute of Beijing. CLIB is a private, accredited Mandarin Chinese school in Beijing for students interested in learning basic oral Chinese: www.1monthchinese.com

How long will I need to learn a foreign language?

2011-01-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

second language learning

A couple of years ago, a Spanish girl, about 20 years old, answered one of my ads for English classes. She had a very low level of English, but had decided that she now wanted to learn it once and for all. During our initial conversation, she asked me straight out: "¿Cuánto tiempo necesito para aprender inglés?" - "How long will it take me to learn English?"

   I admit that I was speechless for a second (and this doesn't happen very often!). I replied: "Well, if you have a photographic memory, an excellent and refined sense of hearing, a profound knowledge of the grammar in your own language, an IQ of at least 150, and if you are willing to work on it for no less than 8 hours a day, you'll be speaking fluently in less than a month!"

   That "less than a month" part was probably what put the delighted smile on her face, but then, looking more serious, she asked: "And if I don't have all those qualities?" I answered: "Then you're probably looking at a few years, that is, unless you decide to spend this summer in England or America, in which case you'll progress more quickly."

   Obviously, mastering a foreign language has much to do with our natural talents. Years ago, I read an article about the German Grand Master of Chess, Robert Hübner. It seems that he had to go to Hungary for a tournament, but unfortunately, didn't speak the language. No problem! He bought himself a good book, boarded the train, and when he arrived in Budapest after an eight-hour journey, he could speak Hungarian more than well enough to get by. Of course, Herr Hübner almost no doubt does have a photographic memory, an extremely high IQ, and so on.

   I myself have nowhere near the mental brilliance of a Robert Hübner (if my accomplishments, years ago, on my college chess team are any measure of this), though I am certainly not without talent as far as language learning is concerned.

   The truth is, I think most people can pick up another language in a year, as I did with Spanish, if they go about it the right way (see the article in this book: "The absolute best way to learn a language quickly"). Not that it can't be done in less time, for I feel it can, especially if you are willing to spend more time in a foreign country. On the other hand, if you are unwilling, or unable to spend any time at all in a country where your target language is spoken, it will probably be very difficult indeed to reach fluency within a year (unless, of course, you have the opportunity to converse frequently with native speakers of that language while staying in your own country - something most of us would find either very difficult, or very expensive, to arrange).

   A key concept here is "commitment". Have you really committed yourself to learning aforeign language fluently? If so, you will take the necessary steps, including making a financial investment, to reach that goal. While living in Spain, I knew more people than I can count who said they really wanted to learn English, but who then did not "walk the walk": they skipped classes, stopped learning completely whenever the holidays came around, didn't take the time to memorize new
vocabulary words, and so on. Personally, I would rather not even start than try to progress like this, for it's a sure path to frustration, and perhaps even eventual failure.

   Of course, in many of these cases, those people only wanted to learn English because they thought it would help them get ahead at their job (or find a job, should they have been unemployed at the time); what they were lacking is passion, so it's only natural that they didn't make a serious commitment to their supposed "goal". When such people ask for my advice on how to proceed, I will often tell them to forget it - that is, until they are seriously willing to do what it takes to learn. If not, why waste time fooling yourself into thinking you are really progressing, when in fact your lack of dedication is slowing down progress almost to a halt? If the day comes when they feel that now, they not only think they "should" learn English, but are truly enthusiastic about doing so, it would then be theright time to start, with all the zeal at their disposal. That's when progress will not only be rapid, but will seem practically effortless. That's when they will be able to learn more English, in a single year, than they had in the previous five or ten years, while they were engaged ina half-hearted, and therefore nearly futile, effort to learn.

   Make a commitment to your goal, and follow through on it with enthusiasm, even obsession: that's the surest ticket to learning a foreign language in record time!

source: http://www.language-learning-tips.com/

Learn a Foreign Language by Experiencing it Abroad

2011-01-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Do you want to learn a new foreign language?
Would you like to study it abroad?

It has been proved that cultural immersion is the fastest and most effective way to learn a new foreign language. To study a language in her corresponding Mother tongue country is the only way to learn speaking it fluently, while having the opportunity to learn deeply about different cultures and creating interesting connections with different people who have similar viewpoints and interests.
In addition, the learning of a language may appear difficult when trying by yourself in a classroom or at home, but it can be a fun, memorable and exciting experience if lived abroad.
But, sometimes to find the right and useful information is not so easy: it could be a hard work to find the school able to suit your personal needs, cause there are several language institutes displaced all over Europe.

Learn Languages Abroad is a full website selecting and gathering complete information on how and where to study the language and culture you have choosen to get in touch with.
You can choose to study, Italian in Italy, French in France, German in Austria, Spanish in Spain or Russian in Russia, by just having a look at the schools we have carefully selected for you.
We provide high quality institutes (certified by national and world wide organizations such as ASILS, SOUFFLE, AEEA and CAMPUS AUSTRIA) that directly give American University credits while helping you find an accomodation during your permanence abroad. We offer you top standards of language tuition combined with attractive leisure programmes and a wide choice of accomodation . We provide schools from several cities in Europe and Russia while giving the possibility to look among different programs, which include also intensive language programs and summer programs to any level (from beginner to advanced) and for students of any age.
We provide information about language courses in France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Russia. All featured schools organize courses all around year about different topics: from cultural to professional courses.
Each school has several solutions for accomodation and for your free time!

Study a language in the country where it is spoken is the best and fastest way to really learn and understand it, and Europe is a small cultural niche where people have the possibility to interact with a large variety of cultures and traditions, sometimes really different one another. It is an exciting, interesting and different way to increase oneself knowledge and experience.

New pricelist and dates for courses are available on Learn Languages Abroad.
Browse our pages today, choose a destination and ask us a brochure for free.

For more information contact us at:
marketing@learn-languages-abroad.co.uk

www.learn-languages-abroad.co.u

(ArticlesBase SC #196651)

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/

Working With Translation Companies

2011-01-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

Translation company

It is not necessary that you have to work with freelance translators. This is because a couple of translation companies are coming up to help in translating legal documents, company handbooks, marketing materials and scientific reports among others.

To this end, keep in mind that there are a number of benefits that come about as a result of working with companies, which offer the services under discussion. For starters, you will discover that these firms will offer you services of a better quality as compared to some freelance translators.

They will also be more likely to charge you lower rates since there are more than enough players when you consider the industry that deals in translating documents between languages. The competition has led to reduced rates that you will be sure to gain from.

Similarly, you will get translation quotes in an instance when you work with companies as opposed to working with freelancers. This is because they can offer such quotes automatically via telephone or through the internet.

These firms also have a higher likelihood of completing your projects on time. This will come about as a result of such companies having the manpower to engage teams of people on projects that are proving to be hectic. People will work at different steps and the ultimate result will be that less time will be spent on any one project. This will help to reduce the amount of time you have to wait for your translation to be complete.

Finally, you can hope for and gain from customer support when you work with such firms. They will keep good track of your project's progress. In the same way, any changes you need to be included into the project will be looked to. You will get to work with personnel in the customer support department to streamline your translation so that it comes out perfectly.

Translation service provide language translation in over 130 languages. No matter whether you need technical, medical, business or general translation, we are well versed in providing accurate and high quality translation services.

By Kyler Robinson

How to use Flash Cards to Improve your Vocabulary

2011-01-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

flash cards

What is a flash card ?

A flash card is a little piece of paper, the size of a business card, which has on one side a new word in a language you're learning, and on the other side a word in your mother tongue.

How do I make a flash card ?

Take little cards or better, make them out of thin paper (so that that you can pile up more, durability is of no importance here). Always have a blank stack with your language method, dictionnary, radio, or whatever tool you use to learn your language. Whenever a new interesting word appears, write it down on a blank flash card, find out its meaning and write it on the other side. At the end of the gathering session, you make a little decks with your flashcards, and put them in a little plastic pocket.
Alternatively, you can use my free flash card software if you have Access.

Where can I get ready-to-use flash cards ?

If you need to build a general vocabulary, buying a stack of printed flash cards is an attractive alternative. They are stronger, clearer and save you a lots of time. The best general publisher of flash cards I know is Visual Education. Their typical package contains 100 flash cards with one word and its derivative on each, for at total of over 3'000 words. I used the russian stack with great success, and friends told me great things about the italian one. A good buy for 10$.

How is it used ?

Whenever you have time (see below) you take a deck and begin with one side for (example, french to english) and try to discover the word on the other side. If you guessed correctly, you move the flash card to another deck, if not you put it at the end of the original deck.
Then drill you skills in the other direction (english to french) in the second deck. The words you successfully guessed go to a third deck. After a week you can take this third deck and go again from french to english, and so on until you know each word perfectly, or just decide you know it and then put the terminated flash card in a cup over your fireplace.

When is it used ?

The best part of this method is that you don't need to allow any special time to learn your flash cards. Just have your decks on you at all times during the day, and whenever a small moment appears, take your decks out and drill a few cards. Such hidden moments include :
Waiting for an elevator and inside it

Waiting in line at some desk, museum or cinema

Commuting in public transports

Waiting on the phone

Waiting at the restaurant

Why is this method superior ?

It's free, versatile and easy to use

You don't need any specific time to drill your new vocabulary, all the time it takes is already here, hidden in your day

It's far better than word lists, because you can break it up in any minute and then group the words by their difficulty, they don't stay in the order you wrote them down

The moment you find a new word you'd like to learn, all it takes is to write it down once, and that's it ! You're ready to drill it until you know it, and you cannot "forget" about it. It will always come back on your deck until you learn it to get rid of it!

source: how-to-learn-any-language

Word of the Day

2011-01-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

Topic: Phrasal Verb/Communication

Today's word/phrase is: quiet down

quiet down: be quiet, or cause to be quiet
We had a huge party last night, so the neighbors told us to quiet down or they would call the police.
Please get your students to quiet down. We are taking a test in the next classroom.

The 90-day rule – How to learn a language in 90 days

2011-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

90 days course

Have your ever heard about the 90-Day Rule? Basically it means whatever you are doing right now, today, will affect your life in 90 days. Start working on it today and the results will come 90 days from now. Are you wondering why you still can understand German newspapers or Japanese Anime? If so, ask yourself what were you doing 90 day ago. Were you practicing you German, Japanese, or whatever language you’re learning? Did you practice it from 90 day ago until today, every day? Probably if you did it you must have improved a lot, didn’t you? If you didn’t, you will most likely realize that you simply don’t understand the German newspaper or the Japanese Anime because you were not working on it, you were doing other “important” things.
Start working on something, be it language or whatever, and keep working on it for 90 days. I guarantee you the results will come up and you will be amazed of how “easy” it was. In fact, becoming good at something doesn’t require a tremendous amount of effort, it requires regularity, patience and discipline. One can sit down and study Chinese for 4 hours, but can you do these same 4 hours in 15 minutes a day for 16 days? Even though you’re going to spend only 15 minutes a day, it will still take 16 days, which is a lot a time. If you sit down and study for 4 hours straight, it will be just one day and you’re done, it’s over. Unfortunately, we tend to learn more through regularity than through intensity.
Getting into languages, you can easily learn a good amount of any language (or improve a language you already know) by working on it during 90 days. 90 days isn’t a long amount of time, but also isn’t a short amount time. Devote one hour of your day to learn a language, do it for 90 days and see what comes out of it. Let’s say for example you want to learn Spanish from scratch in 90 days, what you can do?
You can use Michel Thomas and Pimsleur. Curiously, Pimsleur is divided in 90 lesson, so you can do one lesson a day. Or you can use methods like Assimil and set up a plan to finish it in 90 days. Or you can even just read and listen to content on the Internet. Whatever you do, do it regularly for these 90 days. The results will come for certain. Maybe if you take a difficult language they will not be big results, but they still will be good results. If you take an easy language for you (like Spanish for me) you could end up learning a good amount of the language in just 3 months. One thing I can guarantee, you are going to learn much more than those guys at the language school. Just make sure you are doing it every day, at least one hour a day.
Take for instance this blog. I set up this blog for two main reasons: 1) to improve my English, 2) to blog (because I like blogging). The first post published dates December 15th, which means I have been working on the blog for less than a month. Let’s see what it will look like and March 15th, 90 days after the first post. Surely it will be better than now, as long as I keep working on it everyday.
And you, what language do you want to learn? Start working on it today and stick with it for 90 days. After that come here again and tell me the results!
See you all later!
View the original article here

Baby Einstein Language Learning Educational Gift Set - Shower or Christmas Holiday Gift Idea for Newborns

2011-01-05T23:53:00.000-08:00

baby einstein

What a great way to teach baby about language. This wagon is filled with educational and developmental products and toys for the new little one. Through rhymes, songs and counting, children are introduced to seven different languages. Because we know that babies are stimulated by bright colors, we made sure that this wagon was stuffed with bright and wonderful things for the new baby. The gift is finished off with matching ribbon!
Price: $149.99
Click here to buy from Amazon

New Year-New Language-New Benefits For Your Child

2011-01-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

language learning

Remember those language learning labs in junior high school? Those labs with headsets, the classrooms with written workbooks full of verb conjugation and a teacher who followed a curriculum vs. her students' capabilities combined to create absolutely the worst (and least) effective method used to teach a second language. That is why those of us who took languages back in the days of middle school being called junior high school remember just a few choice words (and probably pronounce them incorrectly!).
Today, as parents and as educators, we know the importance of raising our children to be bilingual. We see and experience this ever-shrinking world of ours and encounter endless opportunities to test our own bilingual skills. We know from recent research and the barrage of studies thrown at us that the secret to success is introducing the new language early in life. Why, even TIME and NEWSWEEK Magazines ran feature articles on the window of opportunity to introduce a new language is between birth and around the age of ten to twelve.
What most of us do not know, however, is how to bring this language learning into our homes and our daily life. We struggle with the question of how to find a language program designed for very young children, will we need to have teaching experience or command of the new language in order to make the learning successful in our home or our classroom, and how can we incorporate the second language learning into our daily routines?
As parents we need convenience in this new language program (we cannot even find time to read a book some days so make this one fit our daily life routine please!). Do not give us a manual that we have to read through in order to help our child (we cannot even get the Sunday paper read!). We desire a language program created by someone who really knows children and really knows language learning (we really want something that provides results and will not drop to the bottom of the toy box!). And could someone please make it so we do not have to make monthly installment payments to pay for the language learning program (we all know how much we spend in the first year of life!).
Parents and educators use the internet more and more to research many things prior to buying. Try this approach when looking for a language program for your child. Use your favorite search engine prompting keywords you might find in the title of this future learning tool for your child (teach Spanish to child, bilingual DVD, French music CD for child). Then look for language programs that include visual learning (68% of the population learns visually), learning with music (what child do you know who does not love music!), beginning reading in the new language (subtitles in the DVD, language cards or board books are great tools) and some type of verbal exchange (even if it involves prompting the child to speak back to the TV on occasion).
Make certain you are allowed to sample the components of the new language program on the internet. Most programs allow you to see video clips and/or hear parts of their songs. Look for a true bilingual method of teaching for any child who falls between the ages of birth through ten. Seamless transition from the native language to the new language is crucial during the first five years of life. Many experts agree that while the child is still acquiring skills in his native language you should be introducing the new language alongside the native one. Hearing only the new, targeted language for a long period of time with no point of reference will not work as well with children before the age of five.
Make sure the language learning program is affordable and is truly integrated with several components (not just a video you play over and over or one CD you listen to time and again). The program should create a multi-media classroom for your child for his certain ways of learning, moods and methods of acquiring new information. Look for bright colors, captivating scenes, easy-to-understand lyrics in the songs and a simple, engaging presentation that brings the two languages together for your little one.
Does the company offer support services? Is there a toll free number to call with live people who really know the language program (or is it just a call center)? Do they value their customers by offering things such as a resource newsletter, access to additional teaching ideas via their web site and follow-up contact? Have families tried these products, and what testimonials are provided to hear their feedback? How long has the company been offering these language learning tools, and how are the creators/owners professionally connected with the early childhood education field?
All of the factors mentioned in this article combine to provide a great start to what could prove to be a lifetime of language skills for your child. Remember, even if you choose Spanish today for your child and she chooses French later in life, you have given her the head start on connecting the neural pathways for language learning. Resolving to give your baby, toddler or preschooler a head start this year on becoming bilingual should be top on your list of New Year's Resolutions for both you and your family.

About the Author: Beth Butler is the creator of the BOCA BETH Language Learning Series for young children. Find out how fun and easy it can be to raise a bilingual child. Sample the BOCA BETH bilingual music and movies for free at http://www.bocabeth.com Call toll free 1.877.825.2622 or 1.813.244.1432

Slang of the Day

2011-01-05T09:56:00.001-08:00

bombed

bombed: intoxicated
He got bombed every night last week. He should really be careful or he will make a habit of drinking.

View the original article here

Penpower Chinese Expert (Writing Pad Edition)

2011-01-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Penpower

Break down the barriers of communication with the Penpower Chinese Expert writing pad. With one easy learning tool, you'll have the power to write or modify Chinese text, allowing you to easily enter characters into your computer while simultaneously having access to features such as reading, writing, translating, listening, and speaking in Chinese.
The PenPower Chinese Expert writing pad recognizes any stroke order when writing a character, making it the perfect learning tool for learners. In addition, the program comes with three easy-to-use interfaces that break down Chinese text utilizing the functions of Penpower Chinese Expert Chinese-English Translation Interface, Sentence Segmentation Interface, and Phrase Database Management, making the process of learning Chinese both faster and easier. This software recognizes more than 13,000 traditional Chinese characters and 6,700 simplified Chinese characters in both horizontal and vertical alignment, and provides pronunciation and phrase structures of texts.
The Penpower Chinese Expert software utilizes intelligent syntax technology, allowing you to listen to correct pronunciation of characters or whole sentences. You can also record live pronunciations from fluent Chinese speakers for review. Reading Chinese becomes as easy as scanning text from books, newspapers, or magazines. The software will help you pinpoint unknown Chinese characters, their radicals and strokes, and their meaning in English. You'll also be able to take quick quizzes on your PC to polish up your spoken Chinese, and translate words, phrases, or sentences easily from a dual Chinese to English dictionary. The Penpower Chinese Expert pen scanner is the first step in becoming fluent. It comes backed by a one-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box
Penpower Chinese Expert handwriting pad, pen, software CD, user's manual, and registration card.
Price: $129.95

Click here to buy from Amazon

Franklin Spanish - English Speaking / Talking Pocket-Sized Electronic Dictionary / Translator

2011-01-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

speaking dictionary

This Speaking Merriam-Webster Spanish-English Dictionary is a super handheld language learning device that can help anyone improve their reading, writing and understanding of Spanish or English. Inside you will have instant access to over 5,000,000 total translations and 4,800 example phrases. Hear these words and phrases spoken at the touch of a key!

This unit also includes Franklin's phonetic spell correction feature along with grammar guides and verb conjugations so you can write or speak with confidence. Whether you're just learning Spanish or English, the Talking Spanish-English Dictionary will help you hear words and phrases clearly, pronounce them accurately and communicate effectively at school, home or work.

Dimensions: 5 1/2 x 4 3/8 x 13/16 inches

Weight: 5.8 oz
Price: $59.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

Newspaper Reading for Language Students

2011-01-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

reading

A Khmer student wrote to me on YouTube and asked me to produce videos about how to read English language newspapers.
"I'd like to ask you to make videos how to read newspaper and translate it from English to Khmer. I Khmer and I having a problem to understand English phrases." Wrote the student.
Language learners often write telling me about some area of learning or area of their lives where they are experiencing difficulties of comprehension and ask me for a trick or a guide to help them learn.
As I have said in numerous other language learning articles, there are no tricks and no hints. The more hours you invest, the better you will get. And if your goal is to read at a native speaker level, then you need to read things a native speaker reads. If you are a 22 year-old university graduate, then you need to be reading at that level in the foreign language. And you won't get there by reading textbooks ABOUT the language. You will get there by reading books, articles, and textbooks IN rather than ABOUT the language.
If we analyze this latest email, the student says he has trouble reading, and he specifically singled out newspapers.
Obviously, reading is reading. On some level, reading a newspaper is no different than reading a novel or reading a short story.
If you are reading novels and short stories, you should be able to read newspapers. If I asked this student, however, he is probably is not reading one novel per month in English. If he were, newspaper reading would just come.
Therefore, the problem is not the reading or the newspapers, per se. The problem is the lack of practice.
I never took a course called "Newspaper Reading" in English. I just started reading newspapers. And at first, I had to learn to deal with the language, structure and organization of newspaper writing, but no one taught me, or you. It just came to us. The same was true for German or Spanish newspapers which I can read almost as well as English. No one taught me, or taught Gunther or Pablo, it just came through practice.
A point, that I have made many times in articles, is that when you begin learning a foreign language, you are not an idiot. You are not starting with an empty brain. One reason it takes babies three years to learn their native tongue is because they are also learning what a language is and how language works. You know all of that, and much more. Babies don't know that there is such a thing as grammar. Every single piece of vocabulary has to be learned. A seven year old may not know the words "population, economy, government, referendum, currency" in his native tongue. So, reading a foreign newspaper would be difficult for him, because reading a newspaper in his mother tongue is difficult for him.
If you are an adult, coming from a developed country, with at least a high school or university level of education, you should already be able to read newspapers in your native tongue. At that point, reading a newspaper in a foreign tongue is simply a matter of vocabulary.
True there are different uses of language, and styles of writing. And newspapers do have style which differs from other kinds of writing. But you just read, and read and figure them out.
The problem with most learners, however, is that they aren't reading novels and short stories. Most learners need to just accept that they need practice. They need to read, and read, and stumble, and fall, and read again, until they get it.
I didn't develop a taste for reading the newspaper in English until I was in my late twenties. But, by that time I had read countless books in English, and completed 16 years of education. I only began reading newspapers because I had to read foreign newspapers at college. Then I learned to read the newspapers in English first, to help me understand the foreign newspaper.
One of the problems, specifically with Khmer learners is that there is so little written material available in Khmer. American students have had exposure to newspapers, magazines, novels, reference books, poetry, plays, encyclopedias, diaries, biographies, textbooks, comic books... Most Khmers haven't had this exposure.
If they haven't read it in their native tongue, how could they read it in a foreign language?
And, I am not just picking on Khmers. True these styles of writing are not available in Khmer language, but even in Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese education, where these many styles of writing exist, students may not have had exposure to them. For example, Taiwanese college students said that during 12 years of primary school they never wrote a single research paper.
But then they were asked to do that in English, in their ESL classes.
Currently, I have a Thai friend, named Em, who is studying in USA. He has been there for three years, studying English full time, and still can't score high enough on his TOEFL exam to enter an American community college. In Thailand he is a college graduate, but education in Thailand is way behind western education. And in the developed world, American community colleges are about the single easiest schools of higher learning to enter.
If Em finally passes the TOEFL and gets into community college, in the first two years of core requirements for an American Bachelor's Degree, he will be given assignments such as "Read George Orwell's 1984, and explain how it is an allegory for communism, and how it applies to the Homeland Security Act in the US."
When foreign students stumble on an assignment like this, they always blame their English level. But I am confident that the average graduate from most Asian countries couldn't do this assignment in his native tongue. Their curriculum just doesn't include these types of analytical book reports.
When I was teaching in Korea, there was a famous story circulating around the sober ESL community. A Korean girl, from a wealthy family, had won a national English contest. She had been tutored by expensive home teacher, almost since birth, and her English level was exceptional. The prize was a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in the Unites States, graduation from which almost guaranteed admission to an Ivy League school.
Apparently, one of the first assignments she was given at her new school in America was to read a poem and write an original analysis of it, and then give a presentation in class. When it came time for her presentation, the student stood up and dutifully recited the poem, word for word, she also regurgitated, exactly, what the lecturer had said about the poem in class. And she failed.
In Korea, her incredible memory and ability to accurately repeat what the teacher had said, had kept her at the top of her class. But in America, she was being asked to do much more than that; think, and analyze, create, present, and defend.
The majority of learners believe that their difficulty in dealing with foreign education, books, newspapers, or conversations lies in their lack of vocabulary or failings of language. But once they posses a relatively large vocabulary, the real problem is some combination of culture and practice.
Getting back to the Khmer student and his problem reading English newspapers: To understand English newspapers you also have to know all of the news and concepts in the newspaper. The best way to deal with foreign newspapers, at the beginning, is to first, read a news story in your own language. Then read the same news story in the foreign language newspaper. Also you can watch the news in your own language and then in whatever language you are studying, and compare.
Translation isn't just about knowing words. You have to know concepts. The first rule of translation is that the written text must convey the same meaning in the target language as it did in the source language. Even if the wording, in the end, is not even remotely like the original. No matter how good your foreign language skills are, you cannot convey meaning which you don't know in your native tongue.
Recently, newspapers in Asia were running stories about the Taiwan Y2K crisis.

To understand the newspaper stories, you would first need to understand the original, global Y2K crisis. The global Y2K issue was something that Cambodia wasn't very involved in because there were so few computers in Cambodia in the year 1999. There were probably less than one hundred or so internet connections in Cambodia at that time. Next, you would have to know and understand that Taiwan has its own calendar, based on the founding of the Republic of China in 1911. Government offices and banks in Taiwan, record events according to the Republic of China calendar, which means, if you take money out of an ATM machine today, the year will show as 99.
Once you know and understand these facts, then you would know that Taiwan is about to reach its first century, in the year 2011, and is facing a mini-Y2K crisis, because the year portion of the date in the computer only has two digits.
The bulk of my readers do not live in Asia, and may not have known anything about the history of Taiwan, or the Taiwan date. But, any person with a normal reading level should have understood my explanation. It is not necessarily a requirement that you posses prior knowledge of the exact situation you are reading about, but you can relate it to other things you know about, for example, other calendars and otherY2K problems.
If you look at the above explanation, the vocabulary is fairly simple. There are probably only a small handful of words, perhaps five or six, which an intermediate language learner wouldn't know. So, those words could be looked up in a dictionary. And for a European student, with a broad base of education and experience, that would be all of the help he would need. But for students coming from the education systems of Asia, particularly form Cambodia which is just now participating in global events such as the Olympic Games, for the first time, it would be difficult, even impossible to understand this or similar newspaper stories.
The key lies in general education, not English lessons. Students need to read constantly and simply build their general education, in their own language first, then in English, or else they will never understand English newspapers or TV shows.
By Antonio Graceffo

Antonio Graceffo is a martial arts and adventure author living in Asia. He is the author of the books, "Warrior Odyssey" and "The Monk from Brooklyn". He is the host of the web TV show, "Martial Arts Odyssey," which traces his ongoing journey through Asia, learning martial arts in various countries. Antonio studied applied linguistics and publishes articles in the fields of language acquisition, martial arts, ethnic minorities, and tribal people's in Asia. He works as a consultant for American TV networks, specializing in martial arts and Asian culture. See all of Antonio's videos on his YouTube channel, brooklynmonk1, send him a friend request or subscribe.
http://www.youtube.com/user/brooklynmonk1
Antonio is also on twitter, with the name, Brooklyn Monk. Follow his adventures and tweets. His books are available on amazon.com
Contact him: Antonio@speakingadventure.com
His website is http://www.speakingadventure.com sign up for his mailing list on the site.

Benefit of Learning English As a Second Language Online

2011-01-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

English as a 2 language

If you are moving to an English-speaking country or are going to be a foreign exchange student, you will need to acquire extensive English speaking and writing skills in order to communicate effectively. Learning English as a second language (ESL) can be easy with an online course program that lets you complete activities and exercises at your own pace, practice pronunciation and take part in in-depth learning tutorials that improve your skills. Here are some of the primary benefits of learning English as a second language online:
1. Flexible learning format. When you choose to learn English as a second language online, you can take advantage of a flexible learning format and ongoing class schedules. These allow you to work at your own pace and work through the activities and quizzes on your own schedule. Some online class formats do have a set schedule with lectures and presentations, but the majority are 'open form' classes where you can download materials and work through them on your own time.
2. Easy access to tutorials and reference materials. When you register for an English as a second language online program, you will be given access to a large library of tutorials and reference materials to supplement your education. These resources may include lesson plans, printable worksheets, PowerPoint presentations or even online videos.
3. Advanced pronunciation tutorials. While most online tutorials are designed with audio files that are embedded into the lesson plan, an English as a second language online course structure may have step by step tutorials that will help you improve your pronunciation. This goes beyond a simple audio file of a single word, and may include complete conversation and sentence pronunciation tutorials so that you can speak English just like a native speaker.
4. Reading comprehension activities. In addition to basic vocabulary building and grammar activities, an English as a second language online course program will include reading comprehension activities that allow you to understand new meanings, expressions and vocabulary words in different contexts. This is important when learning the English language because it exposes you to different uses of common words and phrases.
5. Essay writing skill development. Even though you will be completing your activities and lessons in an online environment, you can also submit essays for review and communicate directly with a native English-speaking teacher. This will give you a chance to practice your word and grammar usage and get immediate feedback on your work.
6. Video conferencing opportunities. Some online courses are offered through colleges and universities equipped with video conferencing software. This allows you to learn English as a second language with direct communication with an instructor or other students.
There are many benefits of learning English as a second language online, and with today's innovative online learning platforms, you won't be compromising the quality of your learning because of the reduced 'face-time' with an instructor. Some online courses are designed with video presentations, interactive tutorials and allow you to communicate directly with the teacher or other students so that you can learn as much as possible at a rapid rate.

Studies prove that people having adeptness with the English vocabulary make more money and do better academically than those who do not. Today, you can improve your vocabulary faster and more effectively with the assistance of a vocabulary builder, which comes in the form of software and or audio vocabulary training.

Second Language Competence Beneficial but often Misunderstood

2011-01-01T04:39:00.000-08:00

Second language

Second language learning has associated with it many types of benefits. Among them include: social, economic, intellectual and linguistic. Children who engage in second language learning typically outperform their peers in the area of vocabulary development as well as intellectual development. As important as learning a second language is, learners can be viewed as experiencing difficulties with language development when in reality they are displaying linguistic differences.
There is often a period of time when a second language learner is viewed to not speak much, this is due to their processing information in the new language and has been termed as the silent period. Additionally, speaking with an "accent" is a normal part of second language learning because the person is using the sounding system of the first language while speaking the new one. Often, help is required so that the person can enjoy positive communication interactions with others in the second language.
Children who come from homes where English is not the primary language also are at risk within the educational system of being labeled as special and deficient when in reality they have not acquired enough English to be able to succeed in school. Specialized support is often needed for children like these and is not always provided by school districts. The topic of second language acquisition is one that needs to be better understood and supported in our social, educational and business communities.
Clearly, this help is available to those who seek it out. When doing so, please make sure the professional you choose has a background in second language learning and has access to research and experience in best practices relevant to providing language support to English language learners. This can make the difference between a child receiving the help they need when they need it or being referred to a restrictive setting like special education. For accent training, it is important to look for a professional with a background in articulation, sound systems, and second language learning which will enable them best to understand your situation and tailor a program that will suit your needs.

Deborah Chitester MS CCC SLP is a bilingual Speech Language Pathologist who has extensive expertise with second language learners and provides accent training services as well. Her practice is Second Language Literacy and Learning Connection, LLC. She is working on a book and a tutorial to be used by teachers in schools so as to minimize the amount of second language children being referred to special education due to the presence of second language differences. She also provides supports and education to parents in order that they learn valid information concerning how to raise bilingual children.Please see our website http://www.slllc.org

ESL Teacher Job - English As a Second Language Teaching Jobs Abroad

2010-12-31T19:46:00.000-08:00

Teacher

For many people traveling abroad and seeing the world is a dream. Most people put off achieving that dream because they feel it will be too expensive, and that they cannot possibly take the necessary time off of work to do what they desire. However, you can achieve this dream and earn money at the same time. There are many opportunities to teach English as a second language or ESL as it is commonly referred to overseas.
The English speaking countries in the world dominate the economy. Because of this, many countries require students to take English lessons. Schools will often seek native English speakers to teach English courses to their students. After all, many times the best person to teach English is a person who speaks it as his or her native language? If you wish to take advantage of opportunities offered in teaching ESL, you should consider a number of factors.
Consider your educational experience: If you hold a teaching degree, securing an ESL job will be relatively easy, but if you don't, there is no need to despair. As long as you have earned at least a bachelor's degree at a college or university, you will likely be a desirable ESL teacher candidate.
Look at the different types of schools: There are a number of school types that may wish to hire ESL teachers.
* Regular schools: These make up the majority of schools internationally, and are frequently looking to hire ESL teachers. These schools are sometimes referred to as government schools and are traditionally funded by the state or local government.
* Private schools: These are schools that charge a fee to attendees and receive a smaller subsidy from the government.
* Less traditional schools: Frequently, schools that use less traditional means of educating their students are particularly interested in hiring a native English speaking ESL teacher. These include Bilingual Schools, International Schools, Montessori Schools and Language Schools. Each of these schools pride them self by providing students with a unique and specialized educational experience.
* Colleges and Universities: Many post secondary institutions in other countries make learning English a required course, which means they may be hiring ESL teachers.
Check the laws on obtaining a visa and passport: Sometimes a special permit is required for you to stay in the country past a certain length of time.
Once you have weighed the pros and cons of teaching English as a second language, it is time to get the job -- doing so doesn't have to be difficult. To optimize your success, be sure to do these three things:
* Become TESOL Certified: TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Most schools require their ESL teacher to be TESOL certified. Adding this certification to your resume can be stress free. Some programs allow you to earn the certification in as little as one week. More extensive programs require a 100-120 hour course. Whichever program you select, becoming TESOL certified will greatly increase your chances of acquiring an ESL job, so it is worth your time.
* Select a destination: What country have you always dreamed of calling your home away from home? You can teach ESL in almost any English speaking country, so don't be too hasty in making your decision. Carefully consider which country you would like to teach in and contact the embassy or consulate in the country you select. They will have information about teaching in that country. They may even have information on jobs available for an ESL teacher.
* Spread the word! If you are serious about getting a job teaching ESL, post your resume on ESL job sites and try to attract potential employers by highlighting your credentials and unique skills. By performing a simple Internet search, you can come up with many ESL sites which you can post your resume. Some schools will have websites where you can apply. You may also want to check recruiter sites for available ESL teaching positions in other countries.

Candace Davies, Owner of A+ Resumes for Teachers is a Global Career Management Professional dedicated to assisting educators worldwide leverage their strengths, accomplishments, and unique selling points to capture their dream career. Her team has successfully assisted 3500+ education professionals by transforming their talents into concise documents that secure numerous interviews. Please visit her at http://resumes-for-teachers.com or send an email to candoco@telus.net

25 tips for language learning

2010-12-31T13:16:00.000-08:00

I summarized 25 tips for language learning from Teach Yourself a Foreign Language Podcast episode six. I hope you like it!
1. When first starting out, try to just listen to your target language as much as possible without attempting to speak it. This helps you acquiring an ear for the language.
2. Develop a deep desire to learn the language. Without a desire you won’t get far.
3. Use time for you language learning which is ordinarily wasted. Standing on line, waiting for an elevator, etc., are all opportunities not to be missed.
4. Think in terms of phrases and not individual words. It’s easy to remember a phrase like “a breakfast of bread and butter” than it is to remember each word in isolation.
5. Use your imagination. Visual images can help you remember words.
6. Invent stories using as much of your new vocabulary as possible. Any words you can’t think off in your target language use your native language and then look up those words later.
7. Listen to internet radio broadcasts and podcasts as much as possible.
8. Likewise, watch videos. (http://youtube.com/)
9. Utilize the BBC for news broadcast and lessons in your target language. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/aprenda_ingles/)
10. Utilize flashcards or small notebooks to review vocabulary words and phrases.
11. Invent funny or silly mnemonic phrases to help you remember new words or concepts.
12. Use a bilingual dictionary often, not just to look up specific words, but browse through it.
13. Draw columns on paper, words in your native language on the right and target language on the left. This allows your eye to easily scan to one column to the next and it helps your brain absorbs that word.
14. Write a simple children’s book in your target language. Make it silly and utilize simple concepts as though a child was actually going to read the book.
15. Learn the past tense before learning the present tense, and save the future tense for last.
16. Practice unfamiliar sounds in your target language in the shower or in the car. Example: the English “th” sound. Say it over and over.
17. Use computer programs and free online dictionaries. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/, http://www.merriam-webster.com/)
18. When reading, read more slowly and deliberately than you do in your target language. Later, as you progress, your speed will increase to normal levels.
19. Read bilingual books or books in the target language that you are already familiar in your native language.
20. Read comics and cartons in your target language
21. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.
22. Read your grammar books.
23. Think in your target language
24. Put stickers in everyday life items until you’ve learned their names.
25. Take an occasional break or a day or two off to let your mind sort out your new vocabulary words.

View the original article here

Language Learning Quotations

2010-12-31T06:49:00.000-08:00

On the right sidebar of this blog there is a quotation by Stu Jay Raj, which says “When I get really stuck into a language though, I eat, drink, sleep, breathe the language“. Lately, I have been saving these cool quotations in a txt file, now I think it’s time to share it with you guys. Hope like it!
“Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill.” Stephen Krashen
And the thing, as I have said once or twice before, about a language ? in fact, any advanced skill ? the real key is that you don’t need to get “good” at it; you just need to get “used” to it. It needs to just become a habit, a reflex for you. Let it get inside the muscles of your hands, face and mouth. And it’s the biggest no-brainer ever, because all you have to do is expose yourself. Expose yourself to “language radiation” until you not only get temporary radiation sickness, but actually develop the “cancer” of fluency in a language. Katz
“Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.” Stephen Krashen
My dictionary became an extension of my skin, just as my headphones were of my ears. Katz
“The best methods are therefore those that supply ‘comprehensible input’ in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are ‘ready’, recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.” Stephen Krashen
“In the real world, conversations with sympathetic native speakers who are willing to help the acquirer understand are very helpful.” Stephen Krashen
My goal for this blog is to apart from infect some people out there with my enthusiasm for language, take a peek behind the curtain of language, communication, learning, history and political thought to see what’s really going on there behind the scenes when we speak – and even more importantly, when we’re not speaking! Stu Jay Raj
My grandfather used to tell me “When you’re learning a language, you want to try your best to avoid having speakers of that language complimenting you. If people are complimenting you on how well you’re speaking ‘their’ language, it means that you still haven’t arrived”. Stu Jay Raj
Perhaps it’s thanks to my grandfather’s advice that I’ve mentioned in other posts of never allowing “words to limit my thoughts ? always think LOUD”. That ‘LOUD’ for me wasn’t just loud colours, but it was anything that would stand out in my mind and have an emotional effect on me. Stu Jay Raj
I am interested in what enables a lot of people to learn languages, not in linguistic pedantry. Steve Kaufmann
If discipline is what it takes to turn dreams into goals into realities, and discipline is remembering what you want, then pretty much all you have to do to get from here to there, is remember what you want. Not remember where you are [this’ll just make you sad], not remember where you’re not [another recipe for sadness], but remember what you want. Katz
Congratulations, You just graduated the lesson. You are on your way to being a typing legend! My typing program (perhaps this isn’t direct related to language learning, but it’s still so cool)
Want to get good at reading and writing in any language? Then read more. A lot more. A lot. Katz
See you all guys,
Mairo Vergara

View the original article here

The pros and cons of working as an English teacher

2010-12-30T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have been working as an English teacher for about 2 months now. I really like my job. It’s amazing to see how the students are pleased with their progress. Students start with no knowledge whatsoever and in just one month they can follow the English-only classes without many problems. Working with a group, teaching them how to understand and using this strange language is just awesome. I really like the classes and my students. I am working like crazy, learning a lot and doing what I have always wanted to do.
But of course there are some problems. We are really, REALLY poorly paid. I get paid 6,44 reais (”reais” is the Brazilian currency) per hour (”class hour”, which is 50 minutes). It means I get 12 reais for each class (the classes have duration of an hour and a half). Working 21 hours inside the classroom (plus 10 or more hours preparing classes, correcting tests, and so on) I end up with a salary of 680 reais (around 280 dolars). Just to let you know, a cheap rent here in Brazil is about 550 reais…
Besides being absolutely poorly paid, another thing bugs me a lot. The school treats the teachers like robots that areinto the students head. It’s all about the money! If there are fewer students in a class, they just move the students to a different class, hindering both the students’ progress and the teachers’ work. It’s funny how the classes/students’ organization is made by non-teachers, who absolutely don’t understand what happens inside a classroom.
I dream about a school made by teachers for teachers, a place where they care first about the students, second about the teachers and after that about the money. Finally, I understood what people mean by “transforming education in marketing” able to magically insert the English language

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Do language classes work?

2010-12-30T14:37:00.001-08:00

Some language learner bloggers have been discussing Tim Ferriss “Why language classes don’t work” article. Street-Smart Language Learning, Aspiring Polyglot and Confessions of a Language Addict gave their opinions on the matter, so I think now it’s my turn.
I recently started teaching English here in Brazil. The school I work for has an 18 months program which aims atin the method, to be responsible for our students and to give shows instead of simple classes. Excessive grammar and translations are not allowed at all. The students should like you, like the class, like the language, and have fun! If you can do it, you’re in, if you can’t, you’re out. The school and its method (fluency in 18 months) are relatively new here. English courses usually take four or more years and aim at “language proficiency”, which I assume is much more than fluency. Without going too deep into my school’s methodology and its effectiveness, let me throw out this question: Is it possible to achieve basic fluency inside a classroom? fluency. You’re not allowed to use Portuguese inside the classroom, everything should be taught and explained in English. Sometimes it’s really difficult to explain certain words or expressions, but you just have to find a way to do it. At the initial meeting with other teachers and the school manager, we were told to believe
I would say, yes, you can achieve basic fluency inside a classroom. By basic fluency, I mean being able to understand native English and communicate at least at a daily conversational level. When students come to my school, they are amazed by the idea that in a year and a half they are going to be understanding and speaking English. “Hey dude, in June 2010 I’ll know English! Awesome!” is what mainly motivates them. I partly disagree with Tim Ferris. Classes tend not to work, because students are lazy and teachers neither know how to teach nor how to learn a language. But it does not mean classes can’t work at all. There are many people that have learned languages inside classrooms, so in some way classes must work.
In order to work, I think some requirements have to be met inside and outside the classroom…
Perhaps that’s why most classes don’t work. A good teacher isn’t easy to find. Universities don’t prepare students to be good teachers. University teachers themselves usually aren’t good teachers. They are good researchers and thinkers. But teaching is a practical, not a theoretical skill. You don’t learn how to teach by reading books or simulating classes. You learn how to teach by teaching real classes over and over again. If classrooms can work, it absolutely requires very very good teachers, who know their subject and know how to teach it properly. Remember AJATT and Outliersto teaching. 10000 hours thing? The same applies
Good material really can help. However, I think good materials are those materials that the students can use outside the classroom. Inside the classrooms, the focus should be on the teacher. Even though I just started teaching, I often find myself asking the students to close their books and pay attention to me. I want them to look at me, listen to me. I want them to understand what I am trying to say verbally and non-verbally. The good materials are going to be used at home, for self study. Perhaps a combination of motivating/fun classes with a set of very good materials for self-study could work very well!
This depends on students and teachers. Every teacher wants motivated students of course. But what to do with the unmotivated ones? Stimulate them! You can’t motivate someone else, since motivation comes from within yourself, but you can stimulate them so that they get motivated. It is easy to blame students for being unmotivated, but teachers should remember that their role is much more than simply throwing their course material at the students and expecting them to learn it. As I said before, teaching is practical and entails many different abilities.
In conclusion, I believe classrooms can work in the same way that self-study methods can work. At the same time, classrooms will fail for the same reasons that self-study methods will fail. Every one has his own manner of learning, although certain principles are universal. The hard task is to find and apply these principles, be it inside or outside the classroom.

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