Benny Lewis's Blog, page 49
June 30, 2019
Add1 Stories: How Heather Learned Italian in 90 Days
Every time I lead an Add1, it gives me a thrill of excitement to see our students achieve a 15-minute conversation at the end of Add1.
One Add1 student whose results really stuck in my mind was Heather Snodgrass, who joined Add1 because she wanted to commit to learning Italian, and actually use the language in real conversations.
I met up with Heather (over a video call) and asked her to share her Add1 journey. She was incredibly open in what she shared, and she told me:
How she found an inner drive to learn Italian (it all started with a short film)
The language learning strategies Heather applied to reach a 21-minute conversation in Italian after 90 days
The exact tools Heather used to develop her Italian skills
What Heather loved about creating videos for Add1 (plus what she found difficult about making the videos)
How Heather dealt with difficult life situations that came up while she was learning Italian with Add1
Heather’s biggest takeaway from completing Add1, plus her advice for new Add1 students.
You can watch the video below. First here’s what Heather achieved with Add1:
Heather’s Progress from Day 0 to Day 90 in Add1
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMfYYeqWHv0
Heather’s Add1 Story
You can hear Heather’s story in her own words here [edited transcript below]:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWpH860Zw4U
Shannon Kennedy: Heather, why don't you take a moment to introduce yourself, let us know what language you studied as a part of the Add1Challenge, and why you picked that language.
Heather Snodgrass: My name is Heather Snodgrass. I'm 38 years old, I'm from the United States. For the Add1Challenge I studied Italian... I just remember a few years ago for an Indigogo campaign there was a short film which in English was “The Night Shift Belongs to the Stars.” It was partly in Italian, partly in English, and I met the director, Edoardo Ponti, and some of the producers. And at the time, I knew maybe two words in Italian. And one of the producers jokingly says "You have to learn Italian now." Challenge accepted. That was several years ago, so I decided to make good on that.
How Heather Succeeded in Learning Italian in 90 Days With Add1
SK: When you started doing the challenge, what was your approach? What were you expecting to do and how did you think you were going to participate in the challenge?
HS: Originally, when I did it, I thought okay, I could find some sources. I can go through the material. I can speak when I need to. Wrong. Doesn't work like that. Speaking is the number one thing in this challenge. You really do have to speak a little bit each day. You can't just say "I'll do it tomorrow, I'll do it tomorrow." No. You have to do it now because when it comes time to do that 15-minute conversation, you need to be able to speak. You can't just sit there and “uh and um” for 15 minutes. Ninety days... that's plenty of time to be able to find someone to have a conversation with, and maybe you wanna decide a certain topic to talk about instead of just sitting there talking about the weather and other mundane things.
The Exact Tools Heather Used to Improve Her Italian During Add1
SK: What were some of the things that you did in the challenge that you thought worked really well?
HS: I took lessons twice a week. I went on italki . Toward the end, I picked up a little bit. Beyond that, I didn't really do anything different than I would normally do. I just wrote in a journal, I found some songs I really like to be able to hear the language, I looked for different podcasts. There was one thing called Coffee Break Italian, which is a little different than other podcasts because you have a teacher, you have a native speaker, and then you have somebody who's learning along with you. That person makes mistakes at times, so it's not totally scripted. It was really nice.
Finding the time to do it was no problem. It was finding the commitment to do it.
How Heather Dealt with Stage Fright When Making Videos in Italian
Note: For Add1, students create videos of themselves speaking their target language on Day 0, 30, 60 and 90. The Day 90 video is a recording of them having a 15-minute conversation with a native speaker.
SK: Let's talk about creating videos. How did you feel before creating them, and then after you had created them, and then as far as your progress between zero to 30, 30 to 60, and 60 to 90?
HS: Well, the hardest video is the first one, I think, especially if you're not used to doing videos.
There is that bit of stage fright. I have to just kinda soldier through that, but after the first video, it can get addicting. You do a benchmark video and then you kind of want to do other little sub-videos. Maybe where you're counting, or you maybe I don't know, have a grocery list and you want to read it out loud, so you just to put it out there and people can listen to it.
The Emotional Challenges of Add1
SK: You had mentioned that you went on a trip during the Add1Challenge, but as far as other hurdles that might have affected your study and your progress what did you face? And what did you do to overcome them?
HS: My oldest cat actually died right in the middle of the challenge and so that was very rough. I'd had that cat since just before I turned 17. I'm 38 now. With that, I had to kind of step back for a couple of days, and deal with that… I can't really remember what I did. I know that it happened on a Thursday, and for a while Thursday was kind of like a designated break day. I might just do five minutes of Duolingo, just to do something.
Heather’s Day 90 Video (The 21-Minute Conversation in Italian)
SK: Let's talk about your day 90 video in particular. Tell me a little bit about what you were expecting going into it, and how it actually went, and some of the things that you talked about in your video.
HS: My day 90 video, I was stressing about that probably from day one, as you do. I ended up recording the video with my tutor which was the best option because we'd worked together for most of that time, so we could feed off of each other. We were talking about what I could do and have a real topic that I could talk about so she could ask questions and what not. Originally, there was one topic I was going to do. I won't mention it because I'll probably do it for a later challenge. Then I got to looking it and I was like "I think this might be a bit too big right now." So I put it on the back burner and I decided to talk about my trip. London, in general, and the delays... there were so many delays on that trip it's even not funny. I could laugh about it now, but at the time, no.
I talked about my trip, what I did, and things like that. Before I knew it when I cut the camera off, it was 21 minutes long. So I'm like "No way, no way that was 21 minutes." I purposely didn’t look at the counter.
Biggest Takeaway: “If You Don’t Use It, You Lose It”
SK: What would you say your biggest challenge is after the Add1Challenge? What was your biggest takeaway?
HS: The biggest takeaway ... if you don't use it you lose it. That's with really anything in life. At the present moment, I'm still taking lessons once a week to keep up the language there, and learn a little bit. I do plan to do the next challenge coming up. I haven't decided if I'm going to do Italian again or not, or if I'm going to do something else, just to give myself a little bit of a break. You don't do the challenge and go "Whoop, I'm done with that" and then not do it again and expect to retain the knowledge. It doesn't work like that.
Heather’s Top Tips for Add1 Students
SK: What would your advice be to someone who's just starting the Add1Challenge?
HS: Speak every day, even if it's just five minutes to yourself. A lot of times I did because, for example, our third mini challenge was to log total speaking time. I use music a lot because that was kinda the focus of my lessons, which paid off for me. That's really it, is to go all in. It's going to be a lot of work with the mini-challenges, but try your best to do them.
Be involved in the community. Just get to know your people. It's not a race, it's not a contest. It's okay to have friendly competition, which I did.
If you have a big fail one day, that's okay. Just pick yourself up and try again tomorrow. You have to put in the time.
Embrace the suck, because that's how it's gonna be. You're going to be terrible at the beginning. That's just how it is. There are days that I will forget how to English, as I say. There will be a lot of times that you'll just say something, then looking back you say, "What? That doesn't make any sense," even though it did at the time. But that's part of it. Learning from your mistakes.
See Rapid Results with Add1
Heather’s story is impressive, and she’s just one of the thousands of students who’ve reached their language goals with Add1. The community is brimming with passionate language learners encouraging one another to reach that 15-minute conversation in 90 days.
Are you ready to have a victory story of your own to share? Don’t wait any longer to finally have a conversation in your target language like Heather did. Find out more about Add1 here .
The post Add1 Stories: How Heather Learned Italian in 90 Days appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 27, 2019
Chinese Characters: They’re Not as Hard as You Think
To put it squarely, trying to learn Chinese without learning the characters is generally not a good idea. The good news is, you have no reason to be afraid of learning Chinese characters! In this article, I’ll explain:
Why you need to learn Chinese characters
Why learning characters isn’t as difficult as you think
Yes, You Really Do Need to Learn Chinese Characters
You might already know that Chinese has a phonetic system, “Pinyin”, that uses the Latin alphabet to elicit the pronunciation of a word. However, Pinyin is in no way a system used for communication -- it’s only used for language learning, and won’t be found anywhere outside of a textbook or dictionary.
Want to order from a Chinese menu? Sorry, no Pinyin there.
Read a map? Nope.
Get off at the right bus stop? Better bring a Chinese friend!
And if you’re chatting with that cute Chinese girl/guy on Wechat, there’s a chance they’ll understand your Pinyin messages, but they’re most likely going to be confused most of the time. You’re probably the only person that’s ever tried to use Pinyin to talk with them. Imagine if someone messaged you in English using the dictionary’s phonology system instead of the actual words!
Characters also play a key role in learning Chinese vocabulary. For example, you’ll learn that jiào shī and jiào shì mean classroom and teacher. But which is which?!
If you were looking at the characters instead of the Pinyin, it would be a lot more obvious.
Not only will characters help you distinguish words, they’ll also help you memorize them. Attaching words to an image is an excellent way to store the memory of that word in your mind. When you see that character used again, you’ll be able to draw that memory back up. That process would be a lot less efficient if all you know is “shi.”
Why Chinese Characters Seem Impossible to Learn
If characters scare you, you might relate to one of the following statements:
“Each character looks like a small painting, how could I ever memorize thousands of paintings?!”
“I don’t know how I would look up the meaning of a character in a dictionary, especially if I don’t even know how it’s pronounced.”
“Even if I learned how to read characters, I would never be able to remember how to write them.”
“I know more than 30,000 English words, doesn’t that mean I’ll have to learn 30,000 Chinese characters?!”
Don’t jump ship yet. The journey to Chinese fluency isn’t a cake walk, but it’s not nearly as hard as these statements make them seem. This is because:
Chinese characters are not like paintings
It’s simple to look up a Chinese character in a dictionary
You don’t need to remember how to write all the Chinese characters from memory
There are much fewer Chinese characters than there are English words
Chinese Characters Are Not Like Paintings
A painting can be made with any number of brush strokes, in any direction, in any combination. A simplified Chinese character, on the other hand, is made with only eight different types of strokes.
Moreover, these eight different strokes aren’t just made in random combinations. They’re composed into a limited number of radicals, or character “segments.” Thousands of Chinese characters are all made up of only 214 different radicals. Learning these 214 radicals will allow you to quickly memorize the thousands of Chinese characters. Use the image below for reference:
If you looked at the “character” in the above image, you could view it for two seconds then look away and easily draw it from memory. Why? Because it’s a combination of four shapes that are very familiar to you. You didn’t have to memorize how to draw each shape. You already know how to draw them. You only needed to memorize the order of the shapes.
In the same way, most Chinese characters are made up of a combination of “shapes,” or radicals. The character on the right of the image is made of three radicals. You’ll see these radicals reused throughout many different characters that you learn, simply placed in different orders. Over time, the radicals will become as familiar as the shapes you learned as a child. When you learn a new character, it will become as simple as memorizing “arrow, two triangles, circle, and heart.”
How do I Look Up a Chinese Character in a Dictionary?
If you know how the character is pronounced, simply look it up according to its Pinyin.
If you don’t know how to pronounce it, you have two options:
Take a picture of it using an app.
Draw it using an app.
Electronic dictionaries now have features that can automatically detect a character when you take a photo of it, showing you the dictionary profile for the character. Some apps can even show you the live translation as you wave your phone over the character.
There are also apps that allow you to draw the character with your finger. This is known as “stroke input.”
Do I Need to Remember How to Write Every Chinese Character From Memory?
No. For everyday use, this isn’t necessary.
Unless your profession is directly related to handwriting, the only frequent handwriting you’ll do is writing your Chinese name. Otherwise, you’ll likely be communicating through email, text messaging, Wechat, etc.
When typing in Chinese, a Pinyin input system is used. You’ll simply enter the Pinyin of the characters you want and select the corresponding characters.
To say “classroom,” you’ll simply type “jiao shi:”
Then select number 1. This is why reading ability is important. There is more than one “jiao shi” and you’ll need to choose the correct one. Writing from memory, in this case, isn’t as necessary.
However, this isn’t to say writing ability altogether is unneeded. You will occasionally encounter situations such as needing to write your address on a form. For this, you’ll likely be able to look at the address on your phone while copying it down by hand. In this case, you will need to know how to write, just not from memory. Having a foundation in writing radicals and stroke order should be sufficient for this kind of situation.
How Many Chinese Characters Are There?
Although there are over 50,000 characters, modern dictionaries usually list less than 20,000. You’ll only need to know 2,633 characters to achieve fluency.
Fluency in Mandarin is generally measured by passing level 6 of the HSK standardized Mandarin test. The HSK 6 requires a learner to know 2,633 characters and 5,000 words.
Individual characters have their own meanings, and can even act as a word by themselves, but most words are made up of two or more characters. Characters are reused through many different words, so when you learn a new word, it doesn’t always mean you’ll need to learn new characters.
For example, maybe you’ve learned one of the words for teacher: 教师
教 means “teach” and 师 can mean “specialist.” A “teaching specialist” is a teacher. Now that you’ve learned 师，you’ll already recognize it when you learn these words:
律师 – “law specialist” – lawyer
工程师 – “engineering specialist” – engineer
会计师 – “accounting specialist” – accountant
And, since you already learned 教, you’ll also recognize it when learning:
教育 – education
教案 – lesson plan
教材 – teaching material
When an English learner studies a new word, they have to remember a unique spelling for each word. But Chinese learners often only need to remember which characters are used, and the characters may already be familiar to them. This makes learning and memorizing new vocabulary a much more efficient process.
Others Have Mastered Chinese Characters, You Can Too!
Thousands of non-native Mandarin learners pass the HSK 6 each year. When they first began learning, they probably had the same fears about Chinese characters that you do now. If they can do it, there’s no reason that you can’t!
To be fair, Chinese isn’t one of the easiest foreign languages to learn, but in no way is it impossible. If you plan to take on the challenge, don’t skip the characters! They’ll be one of your closest allies in the learning process.
The post Chinese Characters: They’re Not as Hard as You Think appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 23, 2019
The 10 Best Russian Movies for Learning Russian
You get to practice so many important things: listening skills, real-world vocabulary, and cultural insights. But the most important thing? Time spent practicing. If you're anything like me, sitting down with a dictionary or textbook is a great way to fall asleep. But movies? You can spend entire nights just watching films while putting your language skills into practice!
The following Russian films will give you many entertaining hours of viewing pleasure and practice. I've divided them into older Soviet movies and modern films. You can look at Russian life through the window of the past - or modern through a modern lens.
Let's start with 5 Soviet movies!
Бриллиантовая рука (The Diamond Arm)
Released: 1968
Directed by: Leonid Gaidai
Suitable for: Fans of old (slightly silly) comedies
IMDB average rating: 8.5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86%
The Story
An ordinary Soviet citizen accidentally gets caught up in an illegal jewelry smuggling operation when he goes on a relaxing trip abroad.
Notes for Russian Learners
A movie from 1968? Won't that be horrible to watch? Incorrect. It's actually a great movie to see as your first array into Russian cinematography. The Russian used at time may seem slightly archaic, but it's still perfectly understandable. And it will be free of the slang used in many modern movies.
Oh, did I mention that it's available for free on YouTube with English subtitles? In fact, you can watch it here if you want to:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvVpbNaSk6k
Bonus Tip: Check out the YouTube channel Mosfilm. You can find many Soviet movies there for free.
Иван Васильевич меняет профессию (Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future)
Released: 1973
Directed by: Leonid Gaidai
Suitable for: Those who want to know what medieval Russia might have looked like
IMDB average rating: 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
The Story
A simple Soviet building manager from the 20th century looks extremely similar to the great Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible from the 16th century. He would have never known this fact, until one day when his neighbor creates a time machine.
Notes for Russian Learners
Another great movie for those who want to learn more about Russian history. One of the main characters, Shurik, is an actor in several more movies, which are also great to watch.
Ирония судьбы (Irony of Fate)
Released: 1976
Directed by: Eldar Ryazanov
Suitable for: 'Unexpected romance' lovers
IMDB average rating: 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
The Story
Zhenya goes with his friends to the sauna for New Year’s Eve, but gets on the wrong plane home after having several drinks too many. He only finds out after he has finally arrived at his own apartment. Or has he?
Notes for Russian Learners
Just like many of us watch the Home Alone movies for Christmas, Russians watch Irony of Fate on New Year’s Eve. It's a true classic in the realest sense of the word. And if you're serious about learning Russian, it's a must see movie. It will put you instantly 'in the know' with Russians.
The film was also banned from Russian TV during the perestrojka (1985-1987), as Gorbachev found that it promoted alcohol too much.
Служебный роман (Office Romance)
Released: 1977
Directed by: Eldar Ryazanov
Suitable for: Fans of old romantic films
IMDB average rating: 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%
The Story
Life at a statistical bureau completely changes when one of the shy employees (male) falls in love with the tyrannical boss (female).
Notes for Russian Learners
Another great movie to learn about life in the USSR. Just as with the other Soviet movies on this list, you can watch it for free on YouTube. Also, many people consider it to be one of the best Russian romantic films ever made.
Москва слезам не верит (Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears)
Released: 1980
Directed by: Vladimir Menshov
Suitable for: People who want to know what life was like in the Soviet Union
IMDB average rating: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
The Story
The movie follows three girlfriends from their teen years to middle age, how they find a career and look for love 50 years ago in the capital of Soviet Russia, Moscow.
Notes for Russian Learners
The movie is pretty long, and can be somewhat boring. But if you're willing to stick it through, you'll get a perfect view of communist Moscow and the pressure that was on young girls to find and marry Mr. Right as soon as possible. (A fact still a part of the Russian mentality.)
Modern Russian Movies
Now, let's check out some modern Russian films!
Жмурки (Dead Man's Bluff)
Released: 2005
Directed by: Aleksej Balabanov
Suitable for: Those into criminal comedies
IMDB average rating: 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 79%
The Story
The movie follows two low level gangsters, Serega en Simon, in the wild 90's in Nizhniy Novgorod. They get into trouble after failing a mission for the big criminal Sergei Mikhailovich. Luckily, they get one more chance to redeem themselves by doing a large heroin deal. But will they manage?
Notes for Russian Learners
Zhmurki is great if you want to learn some Russian slang. The 90's in Russia were a very tumultuous time, and this movie gives you an overview (albeit a comedic one) of the criminal scene during that time.
If you're a fan of movies such as Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels, you'll also love Zhmurki. Other films from the same director, such as брат (Brother) are also highly recommended.
Ёлки (New Year Trees / Six Degrees of Celebration)
Released: 2010
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Suitable for: Everyone on NYE
IMDB average rating: 6.3
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 66%
The Story
Russia is the largest country on our planet, but this comedy shows us how everyone gets together for New Year’s Eve. The movie follows 11 different cities in Russia, telling the story of several characters and how their stories are all accidentally related.
Notes for Russian Learners
It's a good movie to learn what modern life in Russia is like, including the expressions people use. The movie is based on the theory of 'six handshakes', which says that every other person in the world is only six connections away from you. Also, there are five sequels, all set on New Year’s Eve. So if you like this movie, you'll have much more to look forward to.
Горько! (Kiss Them All!)
Released: 2013
Directed by: Zhora Kryzhovnikov
Suitable for: People who want to know what a Russian wedding is like
IMDB average rating: 5.5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: unavailable
The Story
Natasha and Roma dream of a modern wedding to start their married life together. Their father, a well-connected city official, has other plans. He wants the wedding to be as traditionally Russian as possible.
Notes for Russian Learners
This was one of the first Russian movies I ever saw. It made me very curious about what it would be like to be a guest at a Russian wedding. In 2017, I attended one. And I can say that this movie shows a pretty close depiction of reality. It’s a must watch if you have a Russian partner, or are invited to a Russian wedding.
I know two Russian girls that are marrying foreigners this year. Both in Russia or Ukraine. One of the grooms was inspired to have his wedding in Russia after watching this movie. In the other relationship, the girl keeps this movie a secret and doesn't want her fiance to watch it, in order not to scare him.
Белые ночи почтальона Алексея Тряпицына (The Postman's White Nights)
Released: 2014
Directed by: Andrei Konchalovsky
Suitable for: Those who wonder what life in a small Siberian town is like
IMDB average rating: 7.1
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 67%
The Story
An extremely sad film about people in a small town in Siberia that, despite being close to a spaceport and all the modern technologies, still live their lives as if it was the 19th century. The only connection the town has is the mail, and the film follows how Aleksey, the local mailman lives his life.
Notes for Russian Learners
Despite the fact that the movie doesn't contain a huge amount of dialogue, it's a must watch if you're interested in Russian culture. Especially if you've only traveled to Moscow or Saint Petersburg, where you haven't seen the REAL Russia. This movie shows you what life is like outside the big cities.
Защитники (Guardians)
Released: 2017
Directed by: Sarik Andreasyan
Suitable for: Fans of superhero movies
IMDB average rating: 4.0
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 24%
The Story
During the Cold War, Russia created squads of superheroes in the case of a new world war. With the threat gone, they now live quiet lives. That is, until an emergency calls them back to serve their fatherland.
Notes for Russian Learners
Don't let the 4.0 score on IMDB scare you. It's one of the funniest Russian action movies Russia has produced. What do I mean by this? How could you not love a superhero movie with an enormous man-bear that rips through enemies like a knife cuts through butter?
How to Get the Most Language Gains for Watching Russian Movies
The great thing about these movies is that it doesn't matter what your current level in Russian is. Most of them can be found with English subtitles, so even if you've just started learning, you can watch them.
Here are some good tips for learning a language by watching movies:
If you're a beginner, watch with Russian audio and English subtitles. This is great for letting your ears grow accustomed to Russian sounds.
Once you get a little better, see if you can manage Russian voice and Russian subtitles.
You'll know you're good at Russian once you can watch movies without any subtitles at all!
What's Your Favorite Russian Movie?
It's impossible to make a list of the 10 best Russian films. But the previous 10 will give you many hours of viewing pleasure. And once you're done, you can always check out more movies from the same directors (especially Leonid Gaidai, Aleksei Balabanov and Timur Bekmambetov).
If you've watched a Russian movie that's not on the list, but just as good, share it in the comments!
The post The 10 Best Russian Movies for Learning Russian appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 20, 2019
How to Learn the Korean Alphabet and Write in Korean [Step-by-Step Guide]
The Korean alphabet is often said to be one of the most logical and easy-to-learn writing systems. I agree with that assessment. I’d like to show you just how easy it can be to learn the Korean alphabet and master Korean writing.
This is Why the Korean Alphabet is So Easy to Learn (A Very Short History)
Before the present-day Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, the Korean language used Chinese characters. This changed in the 15th century when King Sejong the Great is said to have invented Hangul.
The Hangul system was created to be easy to learn, and easy to understand. That’s because it aimed to boost literacy among Korean speakers. All that’s good news for you as someone learning Korean.
The Korean Alphabet: Pronunciation
Like English, Korean has vowels and consonants. There are 19 consonants and 21 vowels in the modern Korean alphabet.
In Korean, the shape of each of the letters is a clue to how it sounds. Each of the strokes that make up a letter are said to show the position of the tongue in the mouth when pronouncing that letter. That’s pretty cool!
Let’s take a look, starting with consonants:
Korean Consonants
Many Korean consonants are similar in pronunciation to their English counterparts. That said, their position is in a word (beginning, middle, or end) can change how they’re pronounced. Here’s an overview:
ㄱ: “g” as in go (may also be pronounced as “k” when in the final position)
ㄴ: “n” as in net
ㄷ: “d” as in dog (may also be pronounced as “t” when in the final position)
ㄹ: is somewhere in between “r” and “l”
ㅁ: “m” as in mama
ㅂ: often “b” as in bed but sometimes also an aspirated “p” as in pedal
ㅅ: “s” as in soon or sh as in shingle depending on the following vowel (it may also be pronounced as “t” in the final position)
ㅇ: silent or “-ng” as in bring
ㅈ: “j” as in jokester
ㅊ: “ch” as in charge
ㅋ: “k” as in karaoke
ㅌ: “t” as in tiger
ㅍ: “p” as in pour
ㅎ: “h” as in harness
Korean Double Consonants
ㄲ: “gg” as an initial sound but “kk” as a middle sound
ㄸ: “dd” as an initial sound but “tt” as a middle sound
ㅃ: “bb” as an initial sound but “pp” as a middle sound
ㅆ: “ss”
ㅉ: “jj”
Korean Vowels
ㅣ: “i” as in bee
ㅏ: “a” as in father
ㅓ: “eo” as in son
ㅡ: “eu” as in put, said smiling
ㅜ: “u” or “oo” as in boot
ㅗ: “o” as in go
Korean Diphthongs and Other Vowels
ㅑ: “ya” as in yahoo
ㅕ: “yeo” similar to young
ㅠ: “yu” as in you
ㅛ: “yo” as in yoghurt
ㅐ: “ae” as in land
ㅒ: “yae” as in yank
ㅔ: “e” as in net
ㅖ: “ye” as in yellow
ㅘ: “wa” as in wander
ㅙ: “wae” as in wag
ㅚ: “oi” as though saying “no entry” quickly
ㅝ: “wo” as in wonder
ㅞ: “we” as in wet
ㅟ: “wi” as in week
ㅢ: “ui” as as suey
Korean Syllable Blocks
Korean letters don’t appear on their own, instead, they appear as a part of syllable blocks. Korean letters can be grouped in a number of ways but the first letter will always be a consonant (even if it’s just ㅇ functioning as a silent letter. The letter in the second position will always be a vowel. If there is a letter in the final position (this would be a third or fourth letter in a syllable block), it will also always be a consonant.
In short, at a minimum, a Korean syllable will always include a consonant (initial) followed by a vowel. It may also include one or two final consonants.
How a syllable block is formed will depend on the shape of the vowel. If it is a vertical vowel like ㅣorㅏ, the initial consonant is written on the left and the vowel on the right as in 나 or 니. When it’s a horizontal verb like ㅗ, the consonant is written above the vowel as in 노.
Here are a few of the ways Korean syllable blocks may look (C = Consonant, V = Vowel, F = Final Consonant(s)):
In Korean, a word may be made up of just one of these blocks like 저 (cheo, “I”) or several as in 음악가 (eumagga, “musician”). Like in English, Korean has a space between each word. “I am a musician” in Korean would therefore be: 저는 음악가입니다. (cheo-neun eumagga-ibnida).
Practice Makes Perfect: How to Memorize the Korean Alphabet
I’ve found that one of the best ways to learn the Korean alphabet is with spaced-repetition, using an app such as Anki. Getting regular exposure to the new letters, and then practicing reading syllable pairs (also through spaced-repetition) is one of the best ways to master reading and writing in Korean.
I also recommend doing writing practice when possible--even if it’s just writing English words using Korean letters.
In fact, there are lots of English loan words in Korean, and they make great writing practice. These are words like 케냐 (ke-nya, “Kenya”), 쇼핑 (sho-ping, “shopping”), 휴스턴 (hyu-seu-teon, “Houston”), 컴퓨터 (keom-pyu-teo, “computer”), 오랜지주스 (o-raen-ji-ju-seu, “orange juice”), and so much more. These can be great practice when you’re just getting started.
Tools to Help You Learn the Korean Alphabet
If you’re still feeling unsure about how to go about learning the Korean alphabet, there are several tools available to help you master writing in Korean. Here are just a few of the resources that I used to learn the Korean alphabet:
90 Day Korean is an incredible resource for Korean learners. Not only does it teach you the basics of Korean, but it also teaches you the alphabet, pronunciation, and several helpful mnemonic techniques to aid your memorization. Plus, you’ll pick up tons of helpful vocabulary and grammar.
Eggbun : This app is both adorable and educational. It’s also how I learned to type in Korean. With this app, you “chat” with a character who looks like an eggbun (hence the name), learning Korean bit by bit as your conversation progresses. It’s a freemium app, so the features you have access to are limited without upgrading.
Scripts : Long gone are the days where you need to waste paper to practice writing characters or letters. When I first started learning Korean, I used grid paper to practice writing each letter. Now you can use Scripts to learn to write in Korean, getting digital writing practice while learning to recognize each letter.
Anki : If you prefer the flashcard method of memorizing, Anki is a great tool. It uses spaced-repetition to teach you new information so that you’re sure to hang on to whatever you’re learning.
How to Type in Korean
Depending on the device that you’re using, there are different things you need to do to set up a Korean keyboard. You’ll likely want to get a keyboard overlay like this one for your computer, but I simply turn on the keyboard viewer on my computer and click to type.
90 Day Korean has a useful article on how to set up the Korean keyboard on your computer whether you’re using a Mac or PC.
On mobile devices, it’s simpler. You can go into your settings, add the Korean keyboard and then toggle to it when you need it to type.
And the best way to get comfortable typing? You’ve got it -- practice. It’s normal to type frustratingly slow at the beginning but stick with it. It’ll come with time and practice.
Over to You
A different writing system doesn’t have to keep you from learning a new language. Learning the Korean alphabet and how to form syllable blocks isn’t as scary as it might first seem and I know you’ve got this! The Korean alphabet is incredibly intuitive and you’ll quickly pick it up.
What about you? How are you learning the Korean alphabet? I’d love to hear about your techniques and resources for learning to read and write in Korean in the comments below.
The post How to Learn the Korean Alphabet and Write in Korean [Step-by-Step Guide] appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 18, 2019
Language Mentors #4: DamonAndJo — Vloggers in 5 Languages (for 2+ Million Followers)
“People will immediately respect you when you show up to their country and attempt to learn their language.” - Jo Franco
As a big fan of their entertaining YouTube channel, I was elated to interview Damon Dominique and Joanna (Jo) Franco for our new Language Mentors series.
Damon and Jo are international badasses who have traveled the world both together and separately for the last decade. They did this all while maintaining a popular YouTube channel, blog and global media platform: Shut Up and Go. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s their “get to know ya” video.
This duo spearheads the movement of living an alternative and global lifestyle. They have cultivated a community of over two million social media subscribers. Their followers know there’s more to experience in life than just living out the status quo.
These two are not only traveling polyglot superheroes. They are also best friends which makes them super cute.
Here’s a cool video of Jo explaining her language learning background:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu71MauuNKc
Watch the video, and you’ll hear her speaking English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek and Italian. I know. Wow, right?
Let’s not forget Damon. Here’s a video of him speaking five languages:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbTtbROqw_Q
Watch this one, too. You’ll hear him speaking English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German. And his antics will crack you up while watching. The game show buzzer was my personal favorite.
Language Mentors: Learn a New Language in 90 Days
Language Mentors is our regular feature where we interview polyglots, language teachers, language learners and even folks from outside the field of language learning. We’re getting straight to the point, asking for their wisdom on language acquisition, steadfast motivation, and rapid learning.
We've asked them to give you the inside scoop on what it takes to learn a new language, fast (in as little as 90 days).
We’ve actually seen hundreds of people learn a new language to a conversational level in just 90 days. You can do it too by putting what you learn from our Language Mentors into practice.
And if you need extra support, then join us in Add1 — where you’ll make lots of new friends who share your goal of learning a new language fast (plus you’ll have a 15-minute conversation in your new language after 90 days — we guarantee it).
Read on to learn some of Damon and Jo’s language learning hacks. And get to know some fun facts about two globetrotting polyglots at the same time.
[caption id="attachment_26058" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Somewhere in the Mojave Desert[/caption]What Are the Top Three Activities You Would Advise to Have a 15-Minute Conversation in a New Language after 90 Days??
Damon:
Do what you have to do to find a language buddy. Get on Tinder Passport. Get on Instagram. Get on CouchSurfing. Your future pen pal is out there. It's just a matter of finding them.
Change your daily technology to your target language. Change your phone's language. Change your social media to a different language. You can even change the language Siri speaks and ask him/her questions.
Recite a monologue using voice dictation on your phone to see what words you need to practice.
What Are Your Top Three Favorite Cities?
“Italians are so communicative that it's never a dull moment.” - Jo
Jo:
Rome because it still feels authentically Roman. And Italians are so communicative that it's never a dull moment. Even when you're solo traveling.
The people of Athens are similar to the Italians. They love to chat up a stranger. So you pick up Greek words with every interaction without even asking for it. A polyglot's dream come true!
New Orleans. Despite being in the states, the history is so interesting. You can see it in the Spanish street signs mixed in with French ones. Creole is a culture of its own. It's worth experiencing.
What Are Your Top Three Favorite Places for Studying a New Language?
Damon:
I love studying a new language on a date. You can always play it off as “charming”.
At the club. When alcohol is involved, people are more forgiving. As are you with yourself. There are fewer inhibitions.
On the street. I always go up to random strangers and ask for directions. Even if I don’t need them. Then, I turn my initial request into asking for recommendations. Sometimes the locals will offer to take you there. And boom, you just made a new friend.
[caption id="attachment_26059" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
The Calanques of Marseille[/caption]What Are Your Top Three Pearls of Wisdom for Language Learners?
Jo:
Don't let your embarrassment of making mistakes keep you from speaking. This comes from someone who puts language videos on the internet for a living. Full of mistakes for the world to not only judge, but leave a mean comment about. You should be thanking them for correcting your mistakes. You'll be that much closer to being fluent.
Don't forget to sleep. I find that most of my "learning" actually happens overnight when I dream in a new language. You could be so intense with your studies that you don't give your brain time to process.
Repeat and write everything down. That's the way you'll most likely retain what you learned.
What Are Your Top Three Guilty Pleasures When Learning a Language?
“We create travel and language themed playlists on our Spotify.” - Damon
Damon:
Icelandic Hip Hop group Jóipé is so good. We found them on the Spotify Top 50 of Iceland when we were traveling there. We ended up spending the entire trip trying to learn their songs Sagan af okkur and Labba inn.
Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning, I’ll put on Gillian Hills, who has a yéyé-rock vibe. I just like the way she speaks French.
We create travel and language themed playlists on our Spotify. My go-to playlist nearly every night is European Rave Under a Bridge. It was something I was never into until I started learning German.
[caption id="attachment_26060" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Cross-country road trip Los Angeles to New York[/caption]What Are the Top Three Surprises That Learning a New Language Gave You?
Jo:
How much respect people give you when they find out you're "going out of your way" to learn their language. Despite racism, sexism, or any other prejudice, people will immediately respect you when you show up to their country and attempt to learn their language.
It rewires your brain. With new languages comes new expressions. They make you question how a society thinks. For instance, if someone is French, they'll likely say pas mal “not bad” to say something is good. Saying "it's not bad" is going to make someone think critically. As opposed to an American who says, "It's fine.” Which leans more towards complacency and lack of critique. It's not a foolproof science. But I totally see the correlation in how people think based on the languages they speak. And the expressions at their disposal.
The culture of your target language is more accessible. And when you boil culture down you realize we're all not that different after all.
What Are Your Top Three Favorite TV Shows for Practicing a Language?
Damon:
You have to look at your own humor. A lot of my own comedic style comes from Friends. So watching Friends in French, Portuguese, etc. is the key to learning how to set up and deliver a good punchline.
I’m not a fan of reality television. But I do think watching it can be honest way into the day-to-day language. Your favorite TV show in your home country probably has an equivalent in your target-language country.
The Voice is also a quick way into your target-language country’s culture through music. You learn what songs mean the most to people of that culture.
[caption id="attachment_26061" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
A treehouse in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand[/caption]What About You?
Which of Damon and Jo’s tips resonates most with you? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section. And to our Add1 participants, best of luck on your language adventure!
Want to learn a new language in 90 days? Come join us in Add1.
A big thank you to DamonAndJo, stars of Shut Up and Go for sharing their thoughts and winning strategies with us.
To learn more about Damon and Jo, you can visit their YouTube channel, their Instagram account or their website. What are you waiting for? Just shut up and go! See what I did there? (And sorry that I told you to shut up. I didn’t mean it. But do go. And go often.)
The post Language Mentors #4: DamonAndJo — Vloggers in 5 Languages (for 2+ Million Followers) appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 16, 2019
The “Dr. Dolittle Method”: How Pet Sitting Abroad Helps you Speak Languages like a Local
To do this you need plenty of practice, preferably while having fun and without fear of making mistakes.
Enter, the dog!
There's no better ice-breaker than walking a dog. That’s why pet sitting abroad makes sense as a great, low-cost way to exercise your language skills. We call it the “Dr. Dolittle Method”.
Your “Access All Areas” Pass to Language Learning
Walking a dog is like having an “access all areas” backstage pass to a show.
Barriers drop. Dogs draw like-minded people to them -- people you who’ll start chatting with you. With something in common you make friends fast, which means talking to locals and speaking the language.
Think about it. Experts tell us that the key to learning languages is having fun and getting practical language repetition in bite-sized chunks. This sounds a lot like what happens on a dog walk.
Dogs draw people to them like bees to a honey sandwich. Getting out and about with a fur-friend gives perfect strangers permission to approach and chat. And they will. There's nothing quite like flooding your brain with natural language to kickstart learning.
Remember, the focus is on the dog and not on you. Fellow dog lovers will laugh at the dog fooling around, not at you, taking the pressure off getting the exact pronunciation or choosing the correct word. This frees you up to try and fail, then try again without feeling foolish.
OK, great, you say. Nice idea but I'm visiting a foreign country and don't even own a dog. No problem! Pet sitting is the answer.
Pet Sitting 101: How to Get Language Immersion by Looking After Dogs!
What does pet sitting abroad involve?
Quite simply, this is staying in someone's house while they're away to look after pets in their familiar home environment. The accommodation is provided free of charge, in exchange for you taking good care of the fur-family members.
These pets may be dogs, cats, small furries, even birds or a bearded dragon.
If you want to hone your language skills, then dogs are the way ahead because they need walking. But if your aim is to experience new countries on a budget, then the species don't matter too much as their home provides you with a base abroad.
How does two weeks improving your German while staying in a cottage beside a lake in the Austrian Alps sound? Or what about two weeks in the foothills of a vineyard on the rural outskirts of Florence, Italy? Va Bene!
Equally, you could stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina or Manhattan, New York. When you know where to look, there are opportunities for pet sitting worldwide - all for the cost of the airfare.
The Benefits of Pet Sitting Abroad
Pet sitting is a whole load of fun, giving you a chance to make friends, both two and four-legged. I had an absolute blast when I was unexpectedly confronted with my doggy doppelganger. Finding a best buddy with carbon copy interests -- who just happened to be canine -- gave me an entertaining perspective on life.
Creature Comforts: Pet Sitting Means You Can Travel Comfortably, At Low Cost
Pet sitting also comes with home comforts. It's a sneaky way to live for next to nothing but without the roughing it under canvas. If you include a comfy mattress and proper plumbing amongst your basic creature comforts, then it's a tick in the box for pet sitting.
Town or Country
Another great thing is that you can be selective about the location. If you prefer city life, no problem. Look for a pet-owner living in a town center apartment. Love fresh air and beautiful scenery? Bingo, there are lakeside villas and country retreats to choose from.
Of course, staying in someone's home also means staying in a community and all the opportunities to converse that comes with it. There may be neighbours who pop in to check you're OK and the locals to make you feel welcome. Plus, dogs often have a BFF who come with owners in tow, with whom to shoot the breeze.
A Language Class with Dogs Attached
There's nothing like a dog walk for having strangers buttonhole you to say hello. It's a definite thing: walking the dog to exercise your language skills. And the thing is, no one cares about a mispronounced word or not being fluent because you have something in common in a canine companion.
Pet sitting is also a great way to unearth the local attractions. The owner usually leaves instructions for great places to walk, giving you a head start in exploring the area.
It Even Looks Good on a Resume
Also, pet sitting is a great life experience and looks good on a CV. If you're travelling ahead of starting a career working with animals, then don't forget to list the trip on your resume. It gives interview panels or prospective employers an idea of the innovative and responsible person you are, making you stand out from the crowd.
The 3 Qualities You Need to Be a Good Pet Sitter
Pet sitting does take a certain sort of person. Empathy with animals is essential and experience caring for them helps. Remember, someone is going to put their precious pet into your care, so they want to know they'll be in good hands.
1. Cool in a Crisis
For your sake and that of your charges, it's best to have an idea of basic dog behaviour, training, and basic first aid.
Are you cool in a crisis or do you easily lose your head? If the latter, then perhaps pet sitting isn't for you because if something goes wrong, you need to know what to do while waiting for help to arrive.
2. A Love For Animals and The Ability to Care for Animals
Be realistic about your ability to give medications. A daily pill may be OK, but what about insulin injections? Depending on your practical experience with sick pets, it might be best to look for a placement with healthy animals.
The animal's health depends on your getting things right. If in doubt, be honest with the owner at the initial contact stage, to avoid an assignment that places you dangerously out of your comfort zone.
3. Willingness to do Light Housework
Are you open to doing other basic tasks such a grooming pets, watering plants, and light housework? This comes with the territory. If you want good feedback (in order to get more peachy placements) then you need to be willing to look after the property and leave it in good order. If you're not willing to get your hands dirty, pet sitting isn't for you.
Landing the Perfect Pet Sitting Placement
You’re a labrador-loving linguaphile and pet sitting sounds just the job. How do you find that first placement?
It's not hard. A simple internet search will reveal numerous organizations who specialize in matching sitters with owners. Some companies offer international opportunities, but with a little extra leg-work you can track down national organizations in the country you want to visit. These tend to have a greater choice of locations because of the greater awareness of their service within that country, which draws in local clients.
These sites put high-value on their sitters having a solid reputation. After all, with the value in transparency and internet reviews these days, reputation is king. The better your reviews and aptitude with animals, the wider the choice of placements will be.
For those new to pet sitting, it can be worth accepting a job in a less-than-ideal location, in order to build your profile. As the positive reviews roll in, so you can start to spread your wings with an eye to the best locations.
Competition will be high to sit in that luxury villa with a lake view. The key to success is building your pet sitting CV with great reviews that show you go the extra mile for the pets in your care.
Skills that Make you Standout
Think of applying for a pet sitting assignment like applying for a job. Present the best version of yourself possible. Think about your strengths and present these to prospective clients.
For example, don't be bashful about highlighting your love of languages. Explain that you welcome the opportunity to speak and learn the language. This may reassure someone worried that a non-native speaker might not be a good fit should something go wrong.
List your experience with animals, from pet ownership to volunteering at a shelter. Especially relevant is the ultimate desire to work with animals, such as being an aspiring vet, vet tech, dog walker, or groomer.
Show your initiative by enrolling in a pet first aid course. This provides reassurance that you take the responsibility of looking after a fur-family member seriously and are prepared for the worst.
Remember, great reviews and good recommendations will open up some amazing opportunities to pet sit abroad and practice those language skills.
A Language Lesson with Dogs!
Learning a language is best done in small bites, with plenty of repetition to make things stick. Practice is important in order to get your mouth around those unfamiliar word shapes. But this involves feeling confident enough to get out there and make mistakes. Which means it helps to make friends and chat in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
But ticking all those boxes can be tricky in an unfamiliar place where you are the stranger.
Woof!
With a fur-friend by your side, people will approach you! The dog becomes your “Access all areas” pass to the local community, with all the great opportunities this entails. So if you love dogs and want to speak the language like a local, consider pet sitting abroad. Woofs and wags to your fluent success!
The post The “Dr. Dolittle Method”: How Pet Sitting Abroad Helps you Speak Languages like a Local appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 13, 2019
Mondly Review: My Experience Using Mondly to Learn 3 Languages [In-Depth Review]
And because I’m doing so much language learning on my smartphone, I’m constantly testing different apps to see which are the most effective.
In this review, I’ll look at Mondly, one of the best-known language learning apps. Before writing this review, I used it to help one of my newer languages (German), improve one of my okay languages (Japanese) and to support one of my better languages (Croatian).
What is Mondly?
Mondly is a language learning app that claims to help you “play your way to a new language” and get you speaking “faster than anyone else.” It’s been designed by combining principles of neuroscience with cutting edge technologies.
Alex Iliescu and Tudor Iliescu founded Mondly in 2013. The company is headquartered in Brasov, Romania and the team behind the app is always growing. According to their website, they currently have over 40 million users.
The Mondly app uses a combination of course materials, augmented reality (AR), and chatbots to help learners master a new language. They currently support 33 languages that can be used in any combination. This means that you don’t necessarily need to learn from English. Instead, you can learn Russian through French, Thai through Spanish, or whatever other combination best suits your needs.
The Different Ways to Learn a Language with Mondly
Mondly offers a variety of options for learning a language:
Mondly is the primary language learning app created by the company and is what I will focus on as a part of this review.
MondlyWORKS is a version of Mondly available to businesses with bulk subscriptions and dashboards to help employers track the learning progress of their employees.
MondlyVR is Mondly’s virtual immersion tool. It’s very similar to the Chatbot in the Mondly app, but using VR technology, you’re put into a simulated situation. So if you’re practicing the “Restaurant” chat, VR puts you in a restaurant with a waitress. If you’re having the “Hotel” chat, you’re at a reception desk.
MondlyAR takes a scan of your room and then uses augmented reality (AR) technology to show a teacher and animations for the words that you’re learning. It’s very similar to a classroom lecture, but you don’t have to sit at a desk. Instead, you can interact with the animations, tapping them on your device or even getting up to walk around and get a 360 view.
MondlyKIDS is very similar to the main app, but the illustrations used are more kid-friendly and fun.
For this Mondly review, I decided to try the app with a relatively new language (German), an intermediate language (Japanese), as well as with one of my stronger languages (Croatian). I wanted to see what levels the app is most appropriate for and test the material with languages from three different language families.
Getting Started with Mondly
To start learning with Mondly, you don’t need to sign up for an account. You can just head to their website or download the app and start learning.
If you’d like to use the app across multiple devices or save your learning data, however, I would recommend setting up an account.
To sign up, you select the language you’d like to learn from (i.e. English), the language you’re learning, and your level.
You are then taken through a sequence that asks for your name:
Your email:
And to create a password:
You can also connect your account to Facebook or Google so that you can sign in that way as well.
Once you’ve signed up (or before if you choose not to sign up), you can complete a tutorial. The first half of the tutorial is a series of screens that show you the basic features of the app before prompting you to activate a paid subscription on the final screen. If you’re not ready to upgrade, you can click “Skip” up in the top right corner. If you choose to go through the tutorial, you’re then shown a sample conversation before you dive in and start learning some basic vocabulary and phrases.
This first learning sequence is short, designed to give you quick “taster” of what learning with Mondly is like. You’re given points and shown your stats for your first learning session. You can then click “continue” to keep learning.
With a free account, your options are limited. You have access to the “Hello” topic which includes seven lessons as well as a daily lesson.
The daily lessons unlock every ten hours, and if you complete an entire week of daily lessons, you unlock a more lengthy weekly test. If you miss a day, however, you don’t get access to the weekly test. Getting access to extra learning material is definitely great motivation for coming back each day and keeping up your studies!
Signing up for a paid account unlocks the remaining lessons. The categories or topics include:
Hello (this is unlocked with a free account)
Core Vocabulary
Family
Countries & Languages
Romance
Seasons & Weather
Preparing a Trip
Travel
Vacation Activities
Public Transportation
Food & Drinks
School
Sports
Introductions
Pets
Entertainment
Shopping
Around the House
Grammar 1
Grammar 2
Grammar 3
Airport 1
Airport 2
Hotel: Reservation
Hotel: In the Room
Restaurant 1
Restaurant 2
Restaurant 3
Restaurant 4
City Tour
Bank
Business
Fun
Help!
Doctor
Emergencies
Animals
Fruits & Food
Colors & Numbers
Parts of the Body
Access to all of the past daily lessons currently dating back to 2015
Chatbot
AR (only for certain languages -- it was available in German, but not Japanese or Croatian)
Even though the topics appear in a specific order, you’re free to complete them in the order you feel is best. For example, after completing “Hello”, I jumped over to “Introductions” and then to “Numbers & Colors”. You can also bounce around and try out the Chatbot or AR -- if it’s available for the language you’re learning.
When you start a lesson, you’re given three stars. If you make a mistake, the first star is removed. Same with the second. With the third star, you have a couple of chances before you lose the third star and have to repeat the lesson.
You’re awarded points based on how many stars you have left at the end of the lesson. If you would like to improve your score and earn more points, you can repeat a lesson. Why might you want more points? As you earn more points, you reach new levels in the app and rank higher on the Leaderboard. You can compare how much of your language you know with other learners by seeing where you rank on the Leaderboard. You can view your score against your friends, the country you’re in, or the world.
Your rank can be sorted by total points earned or longest learning streak, the month or all time.
My Experience Using Mondly
As I mentioned earlier, I used Mondly to study German, Japanese, and Croatian. I started with German and spent most of my time with this language because it is my current focus. I completed all of the topics relevant to me, skipping things like sports since they’re not really subjects I talk about.
For the most part, I learned a lot of new vocabulary and materials. At times, however, I struggled with some of the phrases and translations. You’re not taught how the grammar of the language you’re learning works so with languages like Croatian you see pas for dog but when it’s put into a sentence you’re working with psa. You’re never shown why this is, so if you’re a beginner in the language, this may be confusing.
With German, I ran into another issue with the translations. In one context, “I want to” was translated as Ich möchte, in another it was Ich will. I saw gern used for “like” but then other translations in other places. It made it difficult to feel confident using what I learned in the app. I couldn’t use any chunks of the language I learned outside of the exact translation of the entire phrase I was given unless those parts were something I had seen elsewhere.
In contrast, I enjoyed learning with the chatbot. While the responses available to you are limited, it gives you the chance to roleplay in a variety of situations you may find yourself in with your new language. These include: Hello, Restaurant, Hotel, Tickets, Conversation, Shopping, Appointment, and Taxi.
It’s different than other language chatbots I’ve tried because you don’t just select a reply or type it in, you record it. For the set phrases, Mondly’s voice recognition is fairly accurate. It even worked well while I had music playing in the background. If I tried to get creative, it often didn’t understand what I wanted to say.
If I stuck to the suggested answers, however, I had very little trouble getting it to recognize what I said and it was a fun way to practice German.
When setting up my preferences for Croatian, I selected “intermediate”. Doing this didn’t change what material was available to me. Instead, it made the first screen I saw a few topics down the learning path.
A lot of the material was not challenging enough for me with a more advanced language, so it made sense for me to spend more time using the app with languages like German and Japanese where I needed more support.
Mondly: The Good
Mondly teaches you very useful vocabulary and phrases. The material you learn consists of words and phrases you’re actually likely to use, in real world situations. You learn things like “I need to reschedule my appointment” and “Do you have any hobbies?” There are many helpful sentences you learn that can be used in a variety of contexts.
There are also a lot of features that help you stay motivated and coming back to learn. These include the daily lesson. You get a lot of variation in the material you learn with the daily lesson and if you miss one, you lose out on the weekly quiz (and then monthly quiz!). You also have detailed stats presented to you as a part of a beautiful and interactive illustration. You’re shown the total time you spend in the app, how many days in a row you’ve studied, your overall progress, and the number of words and phrases you’ve learned.
The quality of the audio is also great. They use real voice actors to record the audio, so you practice your listening comprehension with real speakers and not a computer-generated voice.
Additionally, Mondly supports 33 languages including some that can’t be found on competing apps such as Afrikaans, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, and Hungarian.
Mondly: What Could Be Better
The free version of Mondly is limited and you are frequently prompted to upgrade to Premium. You get one topic with seven lessons called “Hello” and one free daily lesson, though you’re not getting the same experience with the daily lesson as you would with the Premium topics.
There are much fewer interactions than there are with the Premium lessons, so your total time studying per lesson is much less. If you’d like to learn quickly, Premium is certainly a better option.
With German and Croatian -- I can’t speak for the other languages -- it doesn’t teach articles (“the”/”a”) consistently. It’s shown for some words but not others. So for “brother” in German I would just get “Brot”, not “das Brot”. But in the family section, “the uncle” had the article included but “nephew” was taught without the article. As a beginner, this can be really confusing and words really should be taught with the articles for languages that have gendered nouns like German.
Mondly also doesn’t teach grammar. This means that when you see new phrases in the exercises, they can be impossible to answer correctly because you’re not given any context or examples. That is, if you have the audio off.
If you have the audio on, however, many of the exercises are too easy because you hear the correct answer before you are required to do the exercise. This means, you don’t need to know the answer to complete the exercises correctly. Because of this, I ended up turning off the volume so that I could answer based on what I knew. But because I did that, I lost valuable listening practice because I couldn’t the audio to know how everything should be correctly pronounced. I also had to turn the volume back up for listening comprehension exercises and then turn it back down which didn’t do much for the experience of using the app.
I also found that the lesson order didn’t make a lot of sense. Many of the basics like introductions, colors, and numbers are towards the end of the learning path they designed whereas topics like romance are closer to the beginning. You can, however, complete the topics in your own order, so that’s exactly what I did.
Finally, for some languages, there are reports that the audio doesn’t match what is written. I personally didn’t experience this because I often had the audio muted, but I’ve read reviews from other users where this was the case. When you’re using a resource to learn a language, you’re trusting that what you’re being taught is correct. If you’re getting two versions of something you might not know which version is the correct version (or if perhaps both are correct). This is definitely something that needs to be addressed if it hasn’t already been fixed.
Mondly Review: Conclusion
If you’re just starting out with a language, or even starting over, Mondly offers a lot to help. It has a lot of fantastic and useful vocabulary and phrases for a beginning language learner, and even lower intermediate. It’s engaging, enjoyable to use, and has several features built-in to keep you motivated to learn. And if a resource keeps you learning and spending time with your language, then it’s a good resource to use.
That said, Mondly does have a few things that need to be addressed in order for it to be an even better app.
Would you like to try Mondly out and see if it’s a good fit for you? Try Mondly here.
The post Mondly Review: My Experience Using Mondly to Learn 3 Languages [In-Depth Review] appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 9, 2019
Hacking Grammar: How to Learn Grammar with No Exceptions
I’m a native English speaker and an English teacher in Japan. When I started teaching, I went along with what was printed in the textbooks. Grammar textbooks for ESL and EFL learners typically present a grammar point, then some examples that support this point. If you don’t give it too much thought everything seems well and good.
But as time went by, I started seeing more and more holes in the typical rules of “standard” grammar theory. Students also see these holes and ask, “Why is this being used here?” Many teachers say something like, “Oh, that’s just an exception, the rules of language only apply most of the time.”
But it made me feel like I didn’t know what I was talking about. It just didn’t add up.
As time went on, I became more aware of poorly written rules that only apply some of the time. The same rules were common in many textbooks, but I didn’t feel comfortable presenting these to students because I knew that they weren’t accurate.
I couldn’t accept that that was how English works. It’s not the way it works in my head. As an English speaker, English makes sense to me. Traditional rules were obviously lacking something.
One day, I decided that I needed to hack English grammar so I could teach it more confidently -- without the rules that didn’t match real-life usage.
When learners asked me about exceptions, I didn’t want to tell them to just accept the exceptions as the way it is. I wanted to help learners understand why a speaker would choose to use those words in that way.
I wanted learners to view each new piece of grammar they discover as a useful piece of language -- an additional tool to help them communicate more clearly.
So, I quit my job, moved back to Australia with my wife and baby, set up office in my parents’ basement and began researching and writing full-time.
To write a grammar book that presents English with no exceptions, I decided to go back to basics: People learn languages to communicate.
It’s Not About Being “Correct” -- It’s About Making Sense to Those You’re Talking To (Even If You Make Mistakes)
When I communicate naturally in English, my reason for using a grammatical form is not simply because it’s “correct”, but because it makes sense to use it. My main goal is to be meaningful.
In my head, the English language makes sense. I put words together to express myself and communicate my ideas. As a consequence, it is beautifully grammatical.
And this is consistent with the advice of many highly successful language learners. If you want to be a good communicator, simply start putting words together and talk to people. Don’t worry about making mistakes, keep trying it out and keep learning.
This is how I approach teaching English and learning Japanese, and it seems to work well.
This leads to the question:
“Do I Even Need to Study Grammar?”
As you learn a new language, you’ll keep learning words and expressions until you reach a point where you can communicate fairly well. You’ll understand a lot of what people say and you’ll be able to make yourself understood.
If you’ve reached this stage, then you’re likely aware that the way you speak is quite different from the way native speakers speak. Chances are, you sometimes sometimes have misunderstandings as you miss subtle details and nuances. You can communicate, but you want to do it better.
As Benny Lewis and others suggest, this is a good time to finally study grammar. The obvious solution is to find a good grammar book.
Good teachers and learners take the material that is available and adapt it to fit their needs. When the material is from an authoritative source, it’s easy just to trust it.
But many of these resources were written for traditional classrooms. So, they can leave you with the feeling that a traditional grammar book is not what you need.
There are different learning styles. If someone is learning by talking to people and making mistakes, it’s great if they have resources that support this method. There is more to grammar than remembering what to do and what not to do.
In my opinion, grammar resources should directly address the reasons learners feel they should tidy up their language. These typically relate back to the learners’ main goal of communication.
Many learners want to make better sentences to avoid misunderstanding and communicate their ideas more naturally.
If learners want to learn grammar because they want to speak clearly and naturally and understand the language more deeply, these are the areas that grammar resources should address.
A New Perspective: from “Starting with Correctness” to “Starting with Communication”
I found that focusing on communication, interaction and enjoying using a language worked really well for me and for my students.
As a beginner, communication is a great place to start.
Japanese learners often find it liberating when they can simply communicate and not worry too much about forming correct sentences -- which has been the main focus of English study in Japanese schooling.
But then, they want to tidy up their sentences, which means grammar. And grammar study often comes back to the correct forms and usage rules and exceptions that have bamboozled many beginners.
When you think about it, this “correct grammar” is quite a big deviation from the path my students and I have been taking in our language learning journey.
As you learn more of a language, you may feel like you need to start getting more serious about grammar. You may want to put our words together to form sentences that are more natural and clearly express your ideas. To do this, you can stick to the principle of starting with communication and build from there. When you become an advanced communicator, what you say will be naturally grammatical.
Rather than looking at “What is correct?”, the first questions to ask yourself are:
“Why is this part meaningful?” and “Why do people choose to use it?”
One of the complaints learners have about rule-based approaches and striving for grammatical correctness is that there is too much to remember. But when you start with meaning, it becomes part of the language you use because it makes sense and you understand why it is useful.
To get good at grammar, you need to learn more of what is useful and keep finding out what the different words, expressions, and other parts of the language mean.
How This Approach Removes the Exceptions
Removing exceptions really comes down to this change of perspective.
Many exceptions arise because people try to put grammatical forms and structures into neat little boxes, with each form or structure assigned to each situation. This is the way it is often presented, so many learners think this is the way it is.
Here’s what I recommend you do: look at grammar from a different point of view and think of language as something that is highly adaptive and flexible.
By studying grammar, you can develop your understanding of what each part means, how you use the same basic parts in a wide range of situations, and why.
Based on this perspective, I wrote my book Real Grammar--Understand English. Clear and Simple. I started from this perspective when writing and dove deep into the grammar of my own language. I have found it works. When I think about or explain English grammar there are no exceptions.
During the writing process, I researched each English grammar point and its uses. Although it was challenging, I now have a good general view of why we use English the way we do in any situation. Before it made sense subconsciously, but now I am deeply aware of it.
I think it is important for learners to have resources that approach grammar from a perspective that makes it clear for them. As teachers, we don’t want to confuse learners, we want to clarify the language for them.
Resources that enable learners to see how a language works can offer very useful information to help them answer questions that have been puzzling them about the language.
Language learners are bound to notice some things that just don’t seem to make sense. People with a genuine interest often naturally ask “why is that?” Sometimes these questions are ignored, but if answering this question helps you understand and gain confidence, find out why.
When you change your perspective on grammar, you can start connecting the dots in your head. You’ll see not only when people use grammatical structures, but why the structures are useful.
And this perspective allows you to hack many of the other complications of grammar study, such as rules, formulas, and linguistic terminology. You can look at simple explanations, images, and examples of each part in context to think about what it means. By understanding the meaning, the uses make a lot of sense, and there are no exceptions.
Hacking Grammar: Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions I get asked about grammar as an English teacher, and my answers now that I understand grammar differently:
Why Do You Need Grammar When Learning a Language?
You need grammar to put your words together well (which is how I define grammar) so that it is easy for people to understand you.
This can be done through trial and error and mass amounts of input, in the same way you learned your first language(s). But as adult learners, you can use language learning hacks to get what you need faster.
With grammar, you can better understand the parts of the language that puzzle you by approaching grammar from a meaning-based perspective that fits with your goal of becoming a better communicator.
What is the Best Way to Learn Grammar?
Many people have different opinions on this. Some say that it is good to get a basic foundation on grammar from the beginning, others say you should study it once you can communicate well, but I think there are many factors such as the learner and their learning style.
Over to You
I hope I’ve helped you to see that grammar can be something simple, flexible, logical, and exception-free. I’d love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment!
The post Hacking Grammar: How to Learn Grammar with No Exceptions appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 6, 2019
Man’s Best Amigo: How to Speak to Your Dog in Spanish
I've mentioned before that Lauren and I have one of our own: an adorable little Dachshund mix that we rescued. We named her Schatzi - a that means “little treasure” - but she’s a polyglot pup through and through!
I enjoy keeping up my language studies and talking about Schatzi or to her in other languages… including Spanish!
Are there benefits to talking to your dog in the Spanish language? Absolutely! The first obvious benefit is that you get more practice speaking Spanish. You’ll get a grasp on the imperative form, as well as basic commands. It can also help your dog to “tune in” better too, because your dog will learn that those Spanish words are for him. As opposed to English or other languages you may speak to others.
But first, let’s start off with the basics… How do you say dog in Spanish?
“Dog” in Spanish - Perro or Perra
If you’re going to talk to your pup in Spanish, you definitely need to know the word for dog in Spanish. That would be perro, with the Spanish rolled “r”.
What if you want to talk about your puppy in Spanish? That’s easy: puppy in Spanish is perrito, adding the cute ending of -ito which means “little” or “small”.
If you want to talk about your dog’s size, you can say “little dog” in Spanish which is perro pequeño or “big dog” in Spanish which is perro grande.
Now, those are the male forms of the words. If your dog is a girl, you can say perra or perrita for a puppy.
Dog Breeds in Spanish
What’s the Spanish word for dog breeds? To talk about the breed of your dog, you can say raza de perro (“dog breed”). Most popular dog breeds have the same name in Spanish as they do in English, so that makes it easy. A beagle is still a beagle, a boxer is a bóxer (but with an accent mark), a husky is a husky. And of course, chihuahua is chihuahua.
That said, there are a few dog breeds that are different in Spanish. Here are some notable ones:
Great Danes - Gran Danés
German Shepherd - Pastor Alemán
Poodle - Caniche
Spanish Greyhound - Galgo
Bloodhound - Sabueso
Mutt - Chucho
Purebred - Pedigrí
Dog Commands in Spanish
Teaching your dog commands in Spanish can be a rewarding way to practise your Spanish. And you’ll have a lot of fun showing off your Spanish speaking dog!
There are plenty of helpful words and phrases you can learn to teach Spanish commands to your perrito. Here are some of the most common ones:
“Good Dog” and “Bad Dog” in Spanish
When you’re training your dog, you’ll need a phrase to reward him with positive praise and affection. So when he’s done well, you can say Buen perro (“Good dog”). Or, you can tell him ¡Muy bien! for “Very good!”
But if he’s not listening or has done something wrong, you may need to use a phrase to let him know. In that case, say Perro malo (“Bad dog”) or just malo (“bad”).
“Yes” and “No” in Spanish
As with anything, you need to know your basic “yes” and “no”. And they’re very simple to remember! “Yes” is Sí. “No” is even easier: it’s No. These are easy to start practising commands with, and you can use them to reinforce what you’re saying.
If you want to say a little more, you can say No, no hagas eso, which means “No, don’t do that.” Make sure to be crisp and clear with your “no” - which is natural in Spanish anyway - to get your dog’s attention.
“Sit” and “Stay” in Spanish
The two golden commands that every dog should learn are “sit” and “stay”.
These two commands are the basics for teaching obedience and the starting point for other tricks, so it’s good to start here with Spanish dog commands. For "sit", you use the imperative form siéntate. And for "stay", you can use quieto. It translates to “quiet” or “calm” but it’s used as “stay” in Spanish.
“Roll Over” and “Lie Down” in Spanish
If you’re ready to teach your dog a few tricks, then you’d move on to “lie down” and “roll over”. Échate is the Spanish word for “lie down.” Its root form, echar, has many meanings: put, toss, throw, drop, lay. As such, you may hear echar used with the imperative meaning of “Put it down”. So as not to confuse your dog, use échate for "lie down". When you want your dog to put something down, there’s another command, which I’ll cover in a moment.
To ask your dog to roll over, use the command dese la vuelta.
“Take It” and “Drop It” in Spanish
If you’re playing with your dog, these are useful phrases to learn. You can tell your dog to “take it” by saying tómalo. You can use this in a phrase such as Toma el palo (“Take the stick”).
If you’re playing with a ball, you’ll need to tell your dog to drop it so you can throw it again. In that case, say suelta. If you’re combining it with the noun of what you want your dog to drop, add “lo” or “la”, like Suelta la bola (“Drop the ball”).
“Fetch” and “Give” in Spanish
All dogs love to fetch! If you’re throwing the bola or palo from the last example, then you can command your dog to fetch with ¡Trae! This comes from the verb traer, “to bring”.
Once he brings it back, you can use suelta to ask your dog to “drop it”, or say dáme for “give it to me”.
“Wait” and “Heel” in Spanish
After you’ve taught your dog to sit and stay, it’s time to teach patience. You might tell your dog to quieto, and he will stay for a moment, but then gets up again. If you want your dog to wait longer, the command in Spanish is espera - “wait”.
The command “heel” keeps your dog by your side. If you’re walking with him, he may try to rush forward. “Heel” tells him to stop and walk with you. In Spanish, say talón.
“Go Lie Down” in Spanish
If your dog is right under your feet (for example while cooking hot food in the kitchen) then you need to teach him a command to move away and lie down. In Spanish you can tell him, Anda, échate en tu cama (“Go, lie down on your bed”).
Before you can do this, you’ll have to teach your dog that its bed is called cama first, and have mastered the échate command.
“Come” and “Here” in Spanish
Keep these phrases close in mind when taking your dog for a walk. In Spanish-speaking countries, leashes are less common and dogs roam around. So you’ll need to remember how to call your dog back!
The irregular verb, venir, turns into ven when used as a command to say “come”. You could also say ¡Ven a mi!, “Come to me!”
For “here” say aquí. This is useful when telling your dog which direction to go, like “this way”, or to tell him to come to you or bring something to you.
“Stop” and “Quiet” in Spanish
You can use these commands to tell your dog not to do something. To teach him “stop” in Spanish, say detente. You might say, ¡Detente! No, no ladres. (“Stop! No, don’t bark.”)
Another useful phrase to quiet your dog is silencio for “quiet”. You may know that one already if you’re a fan of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World. They take the Spanish word Silencio as the magic word for their silencing charm. Works like magic for pups too!
Your dog may get into things that they shouldn’t from time to time. Besides dentente, you can say things like No comas (“Don’t eat that”), or sale as “go on” or “shoo”. If your dog has jumped up on someone, you can command them to “get down” with bájate.
“Give Me Your Paw” in Spanish
A cute little trick to teach your dog is to “shake” or “give me your paw.” You can say dame tu pata as a command to give his paw to you.
Another trick is to teach your dog to bark on command. Some people call this “speak” or “say hello”. So you could use ladrá for “speak” or “bark”, and di hola for “say hello”.
“Let’s Go” in Spanish
You’ve probably heard this common Spanish phrase plenty of times before. ¡Vamos! means “Let’s go!” and you can use it to command your dog to get moving.
You may also want to tell him to go somewhere specific, like outside to do his business. In that situation, use salir afuera for “go outside”.
“Drink” and “Eat” in Spanish
The last Spanish dog commands I’ll share with you are “drink” and “eat”. To tell your dog he needs to drink up, say Bebe tu agua. And for food, use Come tu comida.
While most dogs will quickly scoff up their food, you may need to tell your dog this as a “release” command if you told him he had to quieto y espera.
Dog Treats in Spanish
To say “dog treat” in Spanish, you would use galletas para perros for “dog biscuits”. But you can also call them premio (“prize”) or recompensa (“reward”) to your little pup.
Galletas actually means “cookies” though, and often dog treats are thought of as “dog cookies”. Like in English when you might talk to your dog in a “baby voice”, it’s common to add a cutesy touch when rewarding your dog in Spanish, too. So you could say ¿Quién es un buen chico? Aquí hay una galletita! (“Who’s a good boy? Here’s a little cookie!”) Adding -ito or -ita ending to words makes them “little” and cute.
How are Dogs Viewed in Spanish Speaking Cultures?
For the most part, in Spanish speaking countries dogs viewed and treated as they are in the US. With younger generations, and especially in metropolitan areas, dogs are a part of the family. They’re loved, pampered, and dressed up in cute outfits.
But, there are a few differences. Having pets spayed or neutered isn’t as common as in the US, so there are lots of dogs. It’s much more common to see dogs roaming the streets. In some areas, animal rights aren’t seen as such a big issue, and in the rural areas dogs are often seen as working dogs - hunting or guarding - rather than as pets.
That said, as the world becomes more connected, the movement towards animal rights and treating animals as part of a family has grown in Spanish speaking countries. In many city areas, you wouldn’t notice a difference to how dogs are treated compared to the US. There are even religious holidays around pets, where families bring their pets to church for blessings!
Will You Raise Your Own Polyglot Pup?
Now you know all about dogs in Spanish, commands, and more! Will you try to raise your own polyglot pup now? Share your thoughts in the comments, and what languages you’ve taught your pets!
The post Man’s Best Amigo: How to Speak to Your Dog in Spanish appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 2, 2019
Clozemaster Review: Retro Language Learning for 50+ Languages
I should say I’ve learned 10+ languages to a conversational level. Not to boast, but to show I know what I’m talking about.
And this weird way of learning new words? It’s not really the fault of language learners. We’re all taught it at school.
We take lists of words, memorize them (often out of context because we learn them from lists or flashcard sets). Then we try to throw them back into context when it comes to using them in real conversations, or when we’re listening or reading.
When that happens, the words feel strange and out of place. That’s if we even recognize them!
All this leaves many people feeling “I’m just not good at languages” when that’s not true. It’s the way languages are taught that’s the problem.
There is a better way: learn new words in context. That way, you get a sense for how the words are used in the real world. Plus you’re more easily able to use the words yourself.
If you’re thinking “What about the Clozemaster review?” I will get to Clozemaster in a moment. Promise!
It’s just that this stuff matters, and is relevant to this review. So let me explain a little more about what I mean...
How Word Lists Make Languages Confusing
Let’s take the word “free”, for instance. If you were learning the word “free” from a list of French words, the translation you’d see is likely gratuit. So you think, “got it, gratuit means ‘free’.”
Then you try to put it into context. “C’est gratuit” or “it’s free” -- yup, that makes sense. But what about if someone asks you if you’re free to hang out on Saturday? Oui, je suis gratuit, you say. “Yes, I’m free” Oh non. In French, that kind of free isn’t the same word. It’s disponible or even libre depending on the exact context.
This is why learning new vocabulary in context is so valuable. You’ll learn how words are actually used in the real world.
So what’s a language learner to do? Enter Clozemaster!
Clozemaster Review: What is Clozemaster?
Clozemaster is a retro-themed, gamified app that teaches you vocabulary through cloze. It’s available as an app for smartphones and tablets, and as an online website.
You’re probably wondering “what’s cloze”?
Essentially, it’s fill-the-blank.
It’s easiest if I show you an example. Here’s what a cloze test might look like if you were learning English:
The ___ is chasing the ball.
Then you’d have a choice of words to fill the blank, maybe “dog”, “donut”, “car”, and “drink”.
In this case, you’ve probably worked out that the correct answer is “dog”. In short, that’s cloze.
Why are cloze tests a good way of learning? Some smart person who contributed to Wikipedia explains it:
Cloze tests require the ability to understand context and vocabulary in order to identify the correct words or type of words that belong in the deleted passages of a text.
In other words, cloze means you learn vocabulary through context. And I’ve found that’s the most effective way to learn new words, because it makes it easier for me to recall those words, and use them in real-world situations.
How Does Clozemaster Work?
Clozemaster pulls tons of sentences and translations from Tatoeba, a huge database of sentences that are designed for language learners. Then, it blanks out the least common word in the sentence. And it’s up to you to work it out.
Here’s how it looks (see what I mean about the retro theme?):
Using Clozemaster is free and you don’t even need to sign up to play. But, if you’d like your progress saved, then you can sign up for a free account.
You can also pay to upgrade to a Clozemaster Pro account. This gives you access to advanced features such as:
The option to Create Collections. Whenever there’s a sentence you want to revisit, you can add it to a collection. This means you can go back to sentence structures you’d like to cement in your memory. Basically, you choose where to focus your energy.
Grammar Challenges. These let you focus on a specific concept through a group of sentences. I find it really useful to get a natural feel for how grammar works, rather than feeling like I need to learn grammar rules.
Pro Groupings let you focus on a specific area of the language, such as verbs, adjectives, prepositions or numbers.
Cloze Listening. Instead of reading sentences to work out the context, you can listen to a sentence so you can work out the missing word.
Pro also gives you more in-depth stats on your learning so you can see what you need to work on most. You also get the ability to set your own goals and ways of playing.
I recommend trying out Clozemaster for yourself and seeing if you like it. If it’s a good fit for you, then a Clozemaster Pro account will make it even more effective. It’s very good value and gives you access to all Clozemaster languages.
Getting Started with Clozemaster
You can start using Clozemaster without signing up. All you need to do is visit their website (or download their app) to get started.
If you prefer to save your progress and get basic stats on how you’re doing, then there are just two simple, free steps you need to complete:
Complete the signup form
Confirm your email address
From the website homepage, click on the “sign up” button. You’re taken to the signup form where you select a username, enter your email and then create a password. Verify that you’re over 16, accept the terms of use, and click “sign up.”
You’ll get a confirmation email (check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox). Click the link provided in the email and your account is confirmed. That’s it, you’re in!
From there, you can select which language you’d like to learn.
One of the really cool things about Clozemaster is the number of languages available. It offers an impressive range of languages (and language combinations), many of which aren’t covered by other popular language learning platforms. You can choose languages like Breton, Welsh, Croatian, Amharic, Estonian, Guarani, Yiddish or even Piedmontese as well as the more common choices like French, Spanish, Italian, or Mandarin.
Certain languages have “groups” of sentences you can study. For example, there’s a list of sentences in Mandarin to help you pass the HSK test. And many languages have what’s called a Fluency Fast Track.
You can also use the speaking practice tool to check your pronunciation.
The sentences you practice are randomly selected, but you can favorite specific sentences for additional practice or review where you’ll see all the sentences that you studied in the past that are due for review. When you choose to review, you’re shown sentences you’ve already learned via spaced-repetition. These intervals are determined by how often you correctly answer, with the spacing increasing with each correct answer.
My Experience Using Clozemaster: The Good
Before writing this Clozemaster review, I used Clozemaster on a regular basis for more than a year. I love using Clozemaster because they offer so many of the languages I’m learning. This includes languages I often have trouble finding resources for such as Breton and Croatian. I also like that I can practice the languages and learn new words through context. Figuring out vocabulary as a part of a sentence rather than on its own creates more connections with the material you’re learning, making it more memorable.
Plus, you can study the languages they offer through any language you know, so if I want to study Russian through Croatian or Korean through Japanese, I can. This means I can strengthen one of my stronger languages while improving a newer language, basically getting double the reward for the time I spend studying.
I found that just a couple of rounds of Clozemaster each day for the languages I was focused on helped me keep contact with them in an enjoyable way. I could squeeze it in before bed, while I had a few minutes of downtime, or even during the commercial breaks if I was watching something on TV.
One of the best things about Clozemaster is that you don’t have grammar rules hovering over your shoulder. Instead, you get to see how grammar works in a more natural setting. You can intuit how grammar functions rather than have to memorize a set of rules. Plus, as you level up, you’re treated to fun gifs and inspirational pop-ups.
My Experience Using Clozemaster: What Could Be Better
If you’re completely new to a language, you might have trouble using Clozemaster. Some of the sentences can be complex, and even if they’re just two words, you may not be able to determine the answer if you don’t yet have an entry point to the language. Even with decent experience in Croatian, I struggled with some of the sentences if I wasn’t familiar with the missing word.
I also found the record/speaking practice feature didn’t work as intended. I tried to use it for Hungarian and it didn’t seem to transcribe what I was saying accurately. For example, when saying the word történt (“happened”), it transcribed “tracker” or “thirty” and when saying nos (“well”), I got “nav”, “north”, and “nas” but not nos. This was a little troublesome, so I ended up not using this feature, choosing to study the vocabulary without the speaking practice.
I think that the learner’s experience using Clozemaster could greatly benefit from a review screen at the end of each session where they can copy and paste the sentences they learned into their notes or elsewhere. Or even just see the phrases they learned again. Unless you remember to favorite sentences you find useful, there’s no way to see the words or sentences you worked on after you complete a session.
Finally, because the sentences are from Tatoeba, a crowd-sourced platform, there are sometimes errors. You’re able to report them within the app, but this means that you’d need to be at a level where you’d notice the errors otherwise you may learn an incorrect phrase without realizing it. If you’re putting what you’re learning to use with a tutor or exchange partner, however, these mistakes won’t have the chance to fossilize because you’ll get helpful feedback and corrections before that happens.
One other criticism I’ve heard about Clozemaster is that the sentences aren’t always particularly formal. I actually see this as an advantage, because it teaches you how you’re most likely to use the language.
Clozemaster Review: Final Thoughts
Will I continue to use Clozemaster? Absolutely. It’s one of the few resources that offers Croatian and Breton and I love that I get more context for the vocabulary I’m learning. Plus, I get to pick up useful expressions and sentences along the way.
It’s a great addition to some of the other resources I’m using, and it offers an engaging way to improve many of the languages I’m learning. Of course, it won’t teach you a language on its own -- no single language learning resource can do this. But if you use Clozemaster regularly, you’ll certainly learn lots of useful material in your new language.
The monthly and annual subscription options to Clozemaster Pro is very reasonable and it gives you more variation in how you can study with Clozemaster.
It’s free to use the basic version, so if you’re thinking of joining Pro I recommend you try it out and see if it’s a good fit for you.
I hope you’ve found this Clozemaster review helpful. Let me know what you think in the comments!
The post Clozemaster Review: Retro Language Learning for 50+ Languages appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
