Benny Lewis's Blog, page 60
July 9, 2018
The French Alphabet: Why it’s Easier than You Think
As a result of the Norman invasion, the French language began its own invasion of the English language (called Anglo-Saxon or Old English). That’s one of the reasons why English and French have so much in common, even though they don’t belong to the same language branch.
French Alphabet 101
French and English share the same, 26-letter Latin alphabet. But the letters make different sounds in each language. I’ll get into that in detail below, but first, here’s how to say the names of each of the letters of the French alphabet:
A, similar to the vowel in “cat”.
B, pronounced like “bay” without the y sound.
C, pronounced like “say” without the y sound.
D, pronounced like “day” without the y sound.
E, similar to the English word “a”, or that “euh” or “er” sound you make when trying to think of what to say. If you want to sound more French, round your lips and move your tongue a little bit more forward.
F, pronounced exactly like the English letter F
G, pronounced like the last syllable in “negligée” or “protegé” (both loanwords from French, as a matter of fact!).
H, similar to ash.
I, sounds like the “ee” in “bee”.
J, sounds like the “gi” in “regime” (also a French loanword).
K, similar to the “ca” in the word “cat”.
L, sounds just like the English letter L.
M, sounds like the English letter M.
N, exactly like the English N.
O, much like the English O, but round your lips more.
P, pronounced like “pay” without the y sound.
Q, a K sound followed by the French vowel u (see the letter U for more information).
R, ah yes, the infamous French r! It’s pronounced a lot like the word “air” but with the French r sound at the end. If you struggle with this sound, the best piece of advice I can give you in just a line or two is to practise hawking. You know the disgusting sound someone makes when clearing phlegm from their throat? Try doing that! Practise a little every day, and eventually you’ll get to a French r.
S, sounds just like the English S.
T, like “tay” but without the y sound.
U, this one is tricky. Start by saying “ee” as in “bee”. Then round your lips as if to say an “ooh” sound, without moving your tongue. That’s the French letter U.
V, sounds like the final syllable in “convey”, but without the y sound.
W, literally double V. In French, it sounds like doo -bluh vay.
X, like “weeks” without the w.
Y, in French (and most other Romance languages) is called “Greek i”. It’s pronounced “ee-grec” in French. Don’t forget to pronounce grec with the French r sound!
Z, exactly like the English letter Z – if you’re not American, that is! Sorry, my American readers, this letter is pronounced zed, not zee, in French.
If you want to learn the French alphabet like French kids learn it, listen to the French alphabet song:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85f0dS003jI
As you can see, the letters of the French alphabet are exactly the same as those of the English alphabet. But it’s also clear that not all the letters produce the same sounds as their English counterparts. That’s why a word like “jury”, which is spelled the same way and means the same thing in both French and English, sounds so different in each language.
The good news is, most of the letters in the French alphabet make the same sound as their English equivalents. Here are the ones that sound different:
French Consonants
G and J
First, the easy rule: a hard G sounds identical in French and English. So in the English word “garden” and the French word garçon, the G sounds the same.
A soft G, on the other hand, is a bit different. In English, a soft G, as in “giant”, sounds just like an English J. And in French, a soft G, as in genre, sounds just like a French J, as in jambon.
But an English soft G (or J) sound is different to a French soft G (or J). Not much different, though!
I used the French word genre in my example of a soft French G above because it’s also a word in English - loaned from French, of course - so you probably already know how to pronounce it. You can also find this sound in many English words that end in -sion, like “vision” or “intrusion”. That’s what the French soft G, and J, sound like. Easy, right?
H
There’s not much to say about this one. In English words, the H is sometimes pronounced, as in “Harry”, and sometimes it’s silent, as in “honour”. But in French, it’s always silent. Don’t you love rules that have no exceptions?
R
As I mentioned earlier, the French R is definitely different to the English R! Practise really exaggerating that French guttural R sound in the back of your mouth, and soon you’ll be able to pronounce it with very little effort (and without sounding like you’re getting over a bout of pneumonia). Hang in there!
French Vowels
U
In English, the U can make three different sounds. It can sound like “yoo”, as in the word “cute”, “uh” like in the word “cut”, or “oo”, like in “flute” (for the sake of argument, let’s ignore the other sounds it can make when followed by certain letters, such as in the word “urge”). In French, it only makes one sound. As I mentioned earlier, that sound doesn’t exist in English. It’s a lot like making the “ee” sound while your lips are formed into an O shape.
Other French Vowels
Just like in English, there are a lot of different ways that French vowels can be pronounced. Most of the sounds that French vowels can make (except the pesky U, above) have a similar or identical sound in English, so it’s really not so hard. I’ll get into that a bit later.
And that’s it! Those are the only letters in the French alphabet that sound different to the same letters in English. I told you the French alphabet was easier than you think!
However, there’s a little bit more to French letters than you’ll see in the 26 letters of the alphabet...
The Unique Features of Written French
The letters of the French alphabet can have a few unique features: vowel accent marks, a symbol named the cédille (which changes a “c” to a ç), and then there are the joint letters æ and œ which aren’t even listed in the alphabet.
There are four different types of accents in the French alphabet:
L’accent aigu, found only on the letter e: é.
L’accent grave, which can go on the vowels a, e, and u: à, è, and ù.
L’accent circonflexe – sometimes called le chapeau (“the hat”) in French – which can be found on all five vowels: â, ê, î, ô, and û.
Le tréma, sometimes called les deux points (“the two dots”) in French. You’ll find it on the vowels e, i, and u: ë, ï, and ü. (You’ll occasionally see it on a few other letters in loanwords from other languages - ä, ö, and ÿ.)
More on all these accent markers, plus the cédille and the letters æ and œ, below.
French Pronunciation: It’s Not Always What it Seems
You may already know that French is not a phonetic language. What you read is not necessarily what you say. There are a lot of silent letters in French words. Sometimes accents give you clues about the pronunciation, and sometimes they don’t.
Check out our in-depth guide to French pronunciation for a look at some of the finer nuances of pronouncing words like a French speaker.
L’Accent Aigu
This is the easiest of the French accents. It can only go on one letter: e. And it sounds the same every time.
The sound that the é makes is pretty easy for English speakers to say. It sounds close to the -ay sound in the English word “clay”, but without the “y” sound at the end. The “y” in “clay” adds this extra “ee” sound to the word, so it ends up sounding like “cleh-ee” when you say it. If you drop the “ee” and just say “cleh”, that’s the French word clé (“key”)!
Any time you see an é in any French word, it will always be pronounced like this.
L’Accent Grave
L’accent grave is the most frequent accent in French after l’accent aigu. Three letters can wear it: a, e and u.
L’accent grave on the letter a is most often used to distinguish different words, such as:
a, as in il a (“he has”), and à (“at”),
la (“the” for feminine nouns) and là (“here” or “there”).
On the letter e, an accent grave changes the pronunciation to a short “e” sound, as in the English words “elf” or “let”. It’s often needed in certain verb forms, to denote the proper pronunciation. For example:
acheter (“to buy”) in the je form becomes j’achète. Without that è, it would sound more like “j’ashte”, and that just sounds wrong.
L’accent grave on the letter u is found in only one word in the whole French language! The word où (“where”) is the only word with the letter ù. Ou, without accent, means “or”. The pronunciation of ou and où is exactly the same (“oo”).
L’Accent Circonflexe
This accent serves a few purposes. In many words, it’s a remnant of Old French, where l’accent circonflexe began to replace the S in certain words - and that S usually still exists in the corresponding English word today. Think of the words hôpital (“hospital”), arrêt (“arrest” or “stop”), prêtre (“priest”) or forêt (“forest”)
In other cases, l’accent circonflexe on an A, E or O slightly changes the pronunciation of the word. An â becomes more “open”, to give an “aww” sound. An ô sounds more “closed”, to give an “oh” sound. The difference is subtle though, so there’s no need to worry too much about it.
Finally, like with l’accent grave, l’accent circonflexe can be used to distinguish the spelling of some words that would otherwise look identical. For example:
du (“some”) and dû (“due” or “owed”)
sur (“on”) and sûr (“sure”)
croit (“believes”) and croît (“grows”)
There was a reform of French spelling in 1990. L’Académie française (the French Academy, the institution in charge of the rules regarding the French language) decided to forget l’accent circonflexe in most words where its presence didn’t change the meaning of the word.
Le Tréma
I think you’ll like le tréma. You’ll find it in a few words to remind you to pronounce a certain vowel following another vowel or a consonant (instead of the sound created by these two letters put together).
English used to have a tréma. Until pretty recently, we spelled “cooperate” as “coöperate” and “reenter” as “reënter”, so we’d remember not to pronounce them like “coo perate” and “reen ter”. You still see it occasionally words like “naïve” or the name “Zoë”, but it’s pretty much fallen out of use.
Unfortunately, it’s mostly fallen out of use in French, too. A pity, since it’s such a great clue to pronunciation! Only a very few frequent words have a tréma. Because of the 1990 reform, some words that had a tréma now wear l’accent circonflexe instead.
A few examples of words with un tréma:
maïs (“corn”). The tréma is needed here to tell it apart from mais, which means “but”. Mais is pronounced /mɛ/ (something like “meh”), and maïs is pronounced /mais/ (something like “ma-ees”). The word maïs should receive an award for being one of the only French words where you pronounce all the letters, including the final S!
ambiguïté (“ambiguity”), pronounced fairly close to the English. Without le tréma, it would sound like “ambi-gee-té” (where the G is a hard G).
You can also find le tréma in loanwords from Germanic languages. For example: maelström (“maelstrom” in English). But the spelling maelstrom is also accepted. You might have guessed, this kind of word isn’t very common in French.
La Cédille
Here’s another useful symbol: la cédille (“the cedilla” in English). It’s like a hook that you put under the letter c to get the letter c cédille: ç.
I say “useful” because its pronunciation is always the same. You pronounce the letter ç exactly like the letter s. And that’s all you need to know about this nice letter. No sneaky pronunciation trap à la française.
A few words with la cédille:
ça is the short form of cela, which is French for this or that. You almost never hear cela in spoken French.
déçu (“disappointed”)
un aperçu (“a glimpse”)
The Rare Joint Letters æ and œ
There are two more symbols in written French that we haven’t seen yet: æ and œ.
Æ (that’s the upper case version of æ) has almost disappeared from the written language. You pronounce it like un e accent aigu (é). You can find it in words like ex æquo (“joint”, “tie”, “equally ranked”), et cætera (“et cetera”), or curriculum vitæ (“résumé” or “curriculum vitae” - the æ has mostly been replaced with “ae” these days in English).
The æ is also falling out of use these days in French. The spelling ex aequo and et cetera are more frequent. And very few people will use the whole word curriculum vitæ. The abbreviation CV is much more common, as in English.
Œ (the upper case version of œ) is still pretty common in French. has the same pronunciation as the French letter e or the letters eu - it sort of sounds like the “oo” in “book”. You can find it in words such as:
œuf - egg
œil - eye
bœuf - beef, bull, steer
sœur - sister
cœur - heart
Note that it’s common to write œ as the separate letters oe. But thanks to autocorrect, I don’t think you’ll see œuf written as oeuf online very often.
If you’re wondering what the names of these joint letters are, I doubt most native French speakers could give you an answer! It’s frequent to say “O E collés” (“O E glued”) for œ. And nothing for æ, since it’s almost nonexistent.
Now you know all the symbols of the French alphabet. You just need to get used to the strange French punctuation before you can write Les Misérables better than Victor Hugo.
French Punctuation
So you thought you knew everything about the French language’s weirdness? Think again!
OK, this isn’t strictly part of the French alphabet, but French punctuation is a bit different from English. Even after you master French spelling, there are a few rules you’ll need for your written French to be sans défaut (“flawless”).
France is one of the only countries to use a space before the punctuation marks ?, ! and :. Not even Quebec French has this rule.
The French also write their numbers differently. In English, we generally use commas to separate three-digit groups of numbers. Sometimes we use a space. For example, the number twenty-three thousand would look like this:
23,000 or
23000
In French, there would never be a comma in the above number. There would either be a space, or nothing:
23 000 or
23000
Why no comma, you ask? Because in France (and many other countries) the comma is used before the decimal part of the number. In English, we always put a period in that part of the number. For example, the number 3.5 (“three point five”) in English would look like 3,5 (trois virgule cinq - “three comma five”) in French. Keep this in mind when looking at prices in France!
If you want to write French online, we’ve got you covered.
French Keyboards: How to Type the French Alphabet
The French keyboard has several peculiar characteristics:
It’s one of the only AZERTY keyboards in the world.
There’s a key for l’accent grave `, even though there are also keys for the letters è, à and ù.
There’s a key with ù even though this letter appears in only one word in the whole French language: où (“where”).
If you ever need to type in French, here are two ways:
You can set up your keyboard as a French keyboard. Look into the language or keyboard settings of your computer or smartphone.
Or you can use a website that gives you the special characters, such as Lexilogos. You just have to type the character(s) you need, and then copy and paste.
The French Alphabet is Perfect for Making Lots of Mistakes
French is infamous for the number of silent letters in its words. And while this can easily seem discouraging for any language learner, you needn’t worry. French spelling can be mastered with a little extra effort! Learning the French alphabet is the perfect place to start, because once you realise that it’s easier than you thought, French spelling becomes easier too.
Sure, you’ll make mistakes along the way, but you know me: the more mistakes you make, the better (I aim for 200 mistakes a day when I’m learning a language). So don’t be afraid to write French and make mistakes.
The post The French Alphabet: Why it’s Easier than You Think appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
July 6, 2018
Japanese Video Games: 10 Awesome Games to Make Learning Japanese Easy
It's totally possible to level up your Japanese from video games! Learning Japanese from games will engage your mind in a whole new way.
In a moment I’ll show you some of the best Japanese video games for language learners (these are some of my favorites!). But first, how should you go about using video games to learn a language?
How to Use Video Games for Learning Japanese
Keep Your Brain Switched to “On”
When you're playing video games in Japanese, it's all too easy to switch your brain off. You'll ignore the Japanese because you know what to do, or rely on subtitles. Don't fall into this trap of passive learning!
While it can be frustrating to play and not understand, you won't learn unless you stick with it in Japanese. And as you get going and start to spot common words and patterns, it becomes more and more rewarding.
Look Up Words and Patterns You Don't Know
As you play, keep a notebook handy. Write down any words or grammar patterns you don't know or understand as they come up. Once you're done playing, look up their meaning and add them to your Anki deck or study notes. That way, you can have fun going through the game without constant pauses. And you'll still learn and remember the things you need to work on.
Of course, if you get hung up on what to do in the game, look it up as you go. But for one or two words, write it down and keep it fun.
Practice Speaking the Words You’ve Picked Up
Once you've picked up new words from playing video games, use them! Try building sentences with what you learned. And don't forget to practice speaking them out loud with a language partner – a good tip here is to find a language exchange partner who loves video games as much as you do, and enjoys talking about them.
If you can't slip your new vocabulary into natural speech, practice describing the game and how you learned it. You'll be sharing something you love with your language partner, and they may have advice or more knowledge about the words or grammar.
Practice Kanji for Reading
US video games often have three options: Japanese audio, text in kana, or kanji without furigana (the kana reading written in small characters next to the kanji). If you aren't focused on reading and writing right now, then focus on games with audio only. But if you want reading practice, you need to know some kanji or be ready to pick apart kana sentences.
Kanji can be a crutch – you may not know enough kanji to read everything, but you rely on it to get the gist even if you can't pronounce it. This is because kanji translates as a word, not a sound, so you know the word and get the idea. But if you don't know enough kanji, games only in kanji without furigana will be a huge challenge to read through. Practice kanji to prepare. Anki has excellent Japanese kanji decks to help you learn fast.
If the game has a kana-only option, that presents another challenge. Using kanji helps break up words and particles in a sentence when reading. So unless you know a lot of vocabulary, it can be difficult to tell where a word begins and ends. But this is how Japanese children first learn to read, so it's still doable.
Use What You’ve Learned Even When You’re Not Playing
Just because you're playing a video game doesn't mean you get off easy with your speaking practice. To make full use and actually learn while you play, you need to keep up your practice outside the game. Video games are great as supplementary learning, but won't teach you everything. Make sure to use what you learn by communicating with others.
Try Out Shadowing
If your game has Japanese audio, turn this on while playing. Then listen to the dialogue and shadow it.
Shadowing is a technique to learn how to speak and sound like a native. All you do is follow along with the speaker and copy what they say, either at the same time or right after. It helps you catch each word and remember it. It also helps you pick up the cadence of the language, if you have trouble sounding like a native.
10 Awesome Japanese Video Games to Learn Japanese
Here are some amazing Japanese video games you can use to learn Japanese.
1. The Tales Series
The Tales series is a fantasy and action RPG game. You journey with a cast of characters in a mystical world inspired by real-world conflict. The latest game in the series, Tales of Berseria, has you exploring the world as a young woman trying to overcome trauma. She joins a crew of pirates in the kingdom of Midgand. The games feature emotional and epic storytelling as you fight your way through.
Tales features Japanese language audio with English subtitles. So you don't fall back on the subs, try looking at the characters and listen to the dialogue first before reading along. Get ready for action-packed vocab, including pirate speak. Arrrrr, matey!
2. Disgaea
Disgaea is one of the mainstay video games in Japan. It's a tactical RPG that takes place in the Netherworld. Morals are the opposite of the human world and you defeat enemies with chess-style strategy. The game features a wide range of characters, personalities, and extremes. Disgaea is a cult favorite because of its insanely high levels (it's over 9000!), exploding penguins, and witty banter. In the latest game, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance, you lead the main character on a rebellion of revenge.
Disgaea features Japanese audio with English subtitles – so practice that shadowing technique and speak along. Keep an ear out for Japanese-style humour, and how speech patterns change between gender, age, and status.
3. Pokémon
One of the most famous Japanese video games of all time, chances are you know this one well. A light-hearted catch-em-all RPG, Pokémon is one of the easiest Japanese video games to learn from. When you start a new game, it gives you the option to choose your language. Once you do that, the game has two settings for reading: kana only, or kanji (without furigana).
While the name changes of the most Pokémon may throw you a bit, the game includes a lot of English loan words. You'll learn onomatopoeia, and words repeat often enough to memorize them. And because you probably know the game as well as Pikachu knows Ash, it will be easy to pick up from context.
Plus, you can play Pokémon Go in Japanese, too. Take your Japanese studies on the go, and switch your phone's language to Japanese. Once you do that, your apps – including Pokémon Go – will switch to Japanese. Go on, Catch 'Em All!
4. Persona 5
Insanely popular, Persona is a turn-based RPG set in a Tokyo high school. Persona has fun music, a unique storyline, and detailed connections between characters. The game is so in-depth, that exploring Tokyo in-game is a near mirror image of the streets in real life. You'll play as young high school characters, so you'll hear tons of slang speech. With the new maid feature in Persona 5, you'll also get exposed to keigo (respectful speech).
Persona 5 has the option for Japanese audio with English subtitles. Pay attention to grammar, new vocabulary, and rich conversation exchanges between characters.
5. Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate is a visual novel video game, so it has less gameplay and focuses on the story and text. It'll certainly put your Japanese to the test. Play as a self-proclaimed mad scientist who accidentally invents a time machine – with his microwave. The story follows the consequences of time travel, and allows you to make decisions altering the course of events.
The audio is only in Japanese, with English text. Because it focuses on time travel, you'll learn science-related words and verb tenses.
6. Fire Emblem Warriors
The legendary Fire Emblem series now has a Japanese-language download pack. Take command of a legion of new and old favorite characters, battling against armies and monsters to save your kingdom. Each map has missions you must beat, and you order the characters according to your strategy.
Fire Emblem features a lot of complex grammar and vocabulary. It ranges from some older, warrior style language to military and magical terms. You'll also get the chance to hear keigo, commands, and humble speech.
7. Ni no Kuni
Featuring artwork by Studio Ghibli, who wouldn't want to play this game? Ni no Kuni is a beautiful RPG featuring a young boy's adventures in an alternate universe. Follow his journey as he tries to bring back his mom from the dead. Magical visuals and storytelling draw you in and keep you engaged with the dialogue.
Ni no Kuni has the options for both Japanese audio and subtitles. All the main characters are young, so you'll hear how kids speak and different usages of words.
8. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Of course you'll want to play Legend of Zelda in Japanese! In the latest game, Link awakens from a century-long slumber to prevent the destruction of Hyrule from Ganon. The game is open-world, meaning you get to go at your own pace and make your own choices. Zelda is rich with detail and imagery, with many options for side journeys and stories.
You can download the Japanese audio pack, and practice your listening skills.
9. Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland
A fun shoujo game featuring a princess who becomes fascinated by the art of alchemy. After convincing her father, she becomes an alchemist to better her world. Develop your kingdom by completing missions and defeating monsters. Try synthesizing and scoring more XP to move the story forward.
The game allows you to have Japanese audio. It has lots of cutesy speech patterns like Japanese-style nicknames and feminine speech.
10. Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles is an action-role-playing odyssey with an open-world design. You play as Rex, a young scavenger who wields the living blade Pyra. You visit different Titans, large beings that make up the landmasses in an endless sea of clouds. Each Titan has a distinct culture, so you'll learn various dialects and vocabulary.
Download the Japanese audio and listen to the action-packed dialogue. Don't forget to write down words you don't know, especially from regional dialects.
Check Your Favorite Games for a Japanese Language Setting
This Japanese video game list includes some of the most popular games. But many Japanese video game companies are including the original Japanese as an option now. So check your new games! Many of the latest games and consoles are region-free. You can order Japanese games online from Japan for both Japanese audio and text, and be able to play them on your US console. Most new games have a Japanese language pack you can download as well.
Keep in mind older systems or handhelds, like the Nintendo 3DS, are still region-locked. So you can only play US games or download the language pack.
What are Your Favorite Japanese Video Games?
What games have I missed that you love? Do you import your games, or download the language packs? Do you have a tip for learning while playing your games? Let's hear your thoughts and leave us a comment.
The post Japanese Video Games: 10 Awesome Games to Make Learning Japanese Easy appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
July 2, 2018
25 Essential French Phrases for Travelers and Tourists
Regular readers of this site will know my answer: of course not!
Even if you'll only be spending a short time in the country, learning a few basic French phrases can be very rewarding and make a big difference to your trip.
Or maybe you'll be spending a long time in France, and want to learn the language well. You could start by studying grammar, and that's the approach that many language books and classes take. I'm not a fan of this approach, however.
My favourite type of book when I'm learning a new language is a phrasebook. I've long advocated that set phrases are the best thing for beginners to learn when starting out. After all, isn't the goal of language learning to communicate? How do you expect to communicate with anybody if the only thing you've learned so far is a verb table?
So whether you're planning to travel to Paris for a week or move to Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! for the rest of your life, here are 25 of the most important and useful French phrases for travel that you should learn A.S.A.P.:
1. Bonjour - “Hello”
There are many ways in French to say "hello", but bonjour is undoubtedly the most well-known. It's universally polite and friendly, whether the situation is formal or informal.
Bonjour is a combination of the words bon ("good") and jour ("day"). In the evening, you could also say bonsoir ("good evening"). A more casual way to greet people is salut, which can mean either "hi!" or "bye!".
2. S'il vous plaît / s'il te plaît - “Please”
As a tourist, the last thing you want to be is rude. So when in France, remember what your mother taught you, and say s'il vous plaît ("please") when making a request.
You can also say s'il te plaît. What's the difference? It's all about "you":
In French there are two ways of saying "you". Tu is what you'd use when addressing a friend. Vous is a more polite and formal version, best used when talking to a stranger or older person.
(Vous is also what you should use when addressing a group of people in any situation, similar to saying "you guys" or "you all" in English).
So s'il vous plaît and s'il te plaît both mean "please" (literally, “if it pleases you”), but s'il vous plait is the more polite version. If in doubt, use s'il vous plaît.
(Why is it s'il te plait and not s'il tu plait? It's a grammatical thing that you don't need to worry about as a beginner. Just learn the phrase as a whole for now, and things will become clear later.)
In fact, when asking for something in French - e.g. asking a stranger for directions or asking to see a menu in a restaurant, you should start with "Bonjour. S'il vous plaît..." It literally means "Hello, please...", which would sound a bit strange in English, but it's the normal way to start a polite request in French.
3. Comment vous appelez-vous? / Comment t'appelles-tu? - “What’s your name?”
When meeting anyone, one of the first things you'll want to know is their name. In French, you can find it out by asking "Comment vous appelez-vous?" (formal) or "Comment t'appelles-tu?" (informal).
Literally, these questions mean "what do you call yourself?". You could also ask "c'est quoi ton nom?" - which is a more literal translation of "what's your name?"
If you're on the receiving end of this question, answer with "Je m'appelle..." ("my name is", literally "I call myself") or a simple "Je suis..." ("I am...").
4. Oui/Non/Si - “Yes/No”
Two essential words to learn in any language are "yes" and "no". In French, "yes" is oui and "no" is non.
Informally, it's also common to say ouais or ouaip instead of oui - like saying "yeah" or "yep" in English.
Then you have si. This is a handy little word that has no direct equivalent in English. Use it to say "yes" when someone asks you a negatively phrased question.
To illustrate what I mean, imagine that someone asks you, in English, "haven't you been to Paris?"
If you reply "yes", it's not exactly clear what you're saying. Do you mean "yes, I have been to Paris - contrary to your assertion" or "yes, you're correct: I haven't been to Paris"?
French avoids this confusion with the word si. It means "yes", but more specifically it contradicts the assertion in the question. In the above example, if you say si, it clearly conveys that you have, in fact, been to Paris.
Si is one of many linguistic features that I sorely miss when I speak English.
5. Comment allez-vous? - “How are you?”
This is the polite way of saying "how are you?" in French. Note the use of the polite vous rather than the informal tu.
Another, more informal way to say "how are you?" is ça va? This phrase is extremely common - when in France you'll likely hear it several times per day.
If someone asks you "ça va?", you can respond with a simple "ça va bien" - "it's going well".
6. Je voudrais parler français - “I would like to speak French”
The French are famously protective of their language. Sometimes they can be a bit impatient with us anglophones, and reply in English to your imperfect French questions.
It's frustrating when this happens, but if you ever want to make progress in a foreign language, you absolutely must stop speaking English! Be polite but firm when someone tries to speak English with you - tell them "Je voudrais parler français" - "I'd like to speak French."
Note that, unlike in English, names of languages are not written with a capital letter in French.
7. Excusez-moi - “Excuse me”
To get someone's attention, whether they're a waiter in a restaurant or a stranger on the street, say "excusez-moi", "excuse me".
This is also the polite way to ask someone to get out of your way. For example, if you're trying to exit a crowded train, a soft "excusez-moi" should (hopefully) be enough to make people step aside.
8. Pardon - “Sorry”
Once you've escaped that crowded train, be careful you don't bump into anyone as you walk through the crowded metro station. But if a collision does occur, it's fine. Just say pardon, "sorry", and all will be forgiven.
"Pardon?" is also how you'd ask someone to repeat themselves if you didn't hear or understand what they said. In this case, you should say it with a rising tone to indicate that it's a question.
Another way to say this is "pourriez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît?" - "could you repeat, please?"
9. Je ne comprends pas - “I don’t understand”
Sometimes pardon doesn't quite cut it. If you really can't figure out what the other person is saying, try telling them "je ne comprends pas" - "I don't understand."
There's no shame in being a beginner! Just remember not to fall back to English when the going gets tough. If you don't understand something, persevere in French anyway - it's the only way you'll learn.
10. Que veut dire ça? - “What does that mean?”
Maybe the reason you didn't understand is because there was a specific word you didn't recognise. If that's the case, say "que veut dire X?" - "What does X mean?"
You can also phrase this as "ça veut dire quoi?" - "what does that mean?"
11. Plus lentement - “More slowly”
Sometimes, vocabulary isn’t the problem. You’d know the words if you could make them out, but you can't because the other person is talking too damn fast!
In this case, try saying plus lentement - "more slowly". Better yet, say a full sentence: "Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement, s’il vous plaît?" - "Can you speak more slowly, please?"
12. Comment dit-on __ en français? - “How do you say __ in French?”
What if you need to say something in French, but the exact word escapes you? Just fill in the blank in the above sentence: "Comment dit-on X en français?" means "how do you say X in French"?
A side note: the pronoun on, seen above, is an interesting one. It’s a colloquial alternative to nous (“we”). However, on is also used to refer to an unspecified person or people in general, like the word "one" is sometimes used in formal English. (If you speak German, note that on in this sense is like the German word man.)
One doesn't use the word "one" very much in modern English - one finds it rather old-timey and stuffy. These days you normally use "you" when you're talking about people in general.
13. Comment ça s'écrit? - “How do you spell that?”
If you learn a new French word using the phrase above, you might want to write it down before you forget it.
Unfortunately, French spelling isn't the easiest. The relationship between spelling and pronunciation is very complicated. Generally, it's easier to figure out a word's pronunciation from its spelling than it is to know its spelling from its pronunciation.
So if you're not sure, ask someone "comment ça s'ecrit?" - "how do you spell that", literally "how does that write itself?"
Or if you don't trust your own transcription abilities, try asking them to write it for you: say est-ce que vous pouvez l'écrire? - "can you write it (down)?"
14. Où est…? - “Where is…?”
Struggling to find your way around? Not to worry. Just get a stranger's attention (remember, what phrase would you use to do this?) and ask "où est X" - "where is X?"
"X" could be many things: la Tour Eiffel, le Louvre, Notre Dame... or perhaps something less exotic, like le metro or un restaurant.
15. Où se trouve la station de métro la plus proche? - “Where is the closest metro station?”
Another way of saying "where is it?" is où se trouve, literally "where is (it) found". Here's an example of où se trouve combined with another handy phrase to know: la station de métro la plus proche means "the closest metro station".
One more piece of useful vocabulary: once you're in the the metro station, you might want to ask someone "où est le guichet?" = "Where is the ticket window?"
16. Je voudrais acheter un billet - “I would like to buy a ticket”
Now that you've found the guichet, you probably want to buy a billet - a ticket. But what type of ticket do you want?
un billet aller simple - a one-way ticket
un billet aller retour - a round-trip ticket
Make your decision, and tell the assistant "je voudrais un billet aller simple/retour pour X" - "I would like to buy a one-way/round-trip ticket to X", where X is your destination.
17. C'est combien? - “How much is it?”
France isn't the cheapest of countries - so whether you're at the guichet or elsewhere, it doesn't hurt to be price-conscious.
To ask how much something costs, say "c'est combien?" - "how much is it?" You can also say "Combien ça coûte?" - literally, "how much does it cost?"
18. Où sont les toilettes? - “Where are the toilets?”
It's worth learning this phrase, because you might need it in a hurry! Où sont les toilettes means "where are the toilets?"
Although if you want to use a public toilet, you could be searching for a long time. They aren't very common in France - and if you do find one, you'll probably have to pay to use it. You're probably better off buying something in a café and using their toilets instead.
(Why is it "où sont", when previously we used "où est"? Easy: sont means “are” while est means “is”. Since toilettes is plural, you must use sont, not est - "where are the toilets?", rather than “where is the toilets”, which wouldn’t make sense.)
19. À quelle heure est-ce qu’il faut régler la note? - “What time is check out?”
If you're checking into a hotel in a French-speaking country, one useful thing to know the checkout time. One way to find this out is to ask "à quelle heure est-ce qu’il faut régler la note?" - "What time must we check out?"
Another equivalent expression is: "quelle est l'heure limite d'occupation?"
20. La carte/le menu, s’il vous plaît. - “The menu, please.”
France is famous for its food, so while you're there, you'll probably want to dine in a restaurant or two!
When dining out in any language, there are usually a few subtleties around how to order. Here I'll explain one of the more important things to know in French: the words for "menu".
I say "words" because there are two main ways to say "menu" in French.
The general word is carte, which you may recognise from the expression à la carte.
A carte is what you typically think of when you hear the word "menu". It's a list of individually-priced options; you pick and choose what you want, then add up the prices to get your total bill.
But you can also ask for a menu, which is usually called a "fixed-price menu" in English. When ordering from a menu, you pick an option for each course (starter, main course, etc.) and pay the same, fixed price no matter what you selected.
Whichever option you choose, inform the serveur/serveuse (waiter/waitress) by saying "la carte/le menu, s’il vous plaît" - "the menu/fixed-price menu, please."
21. Je ne peux pas manger… - “I can’t eat…”
This doesn't apply to everybody, but for those to whom it does apply, it's very important: informing the waiter about your dietary restrictions.
The simplest way to do this is to say "je ne peux pas manger X" - "I can't eat X". Here are some of the more common ways to fill in the blank:
les cacahuètes - peanuts
les noix - nuts
le gluten - gluten
les fruits de mer - shell fish
les œufs - eggs
le poisson - fish
les produits laitiers - dairy products
le soja - soy
la viande - meat
If you're vegetarian, say so with "je suis végétarien" (for men) or "végétarienne" (for women.)
A vegan is a "végétalien(ne)", although végan/végane is sometimes used too. You could also explain "je ne consomme pas de produits animaux." - "I don't consume animal products"
22. Nous voudrions commander maintenant. - “We would like to place an order now.”
To "order" in French is commander, when you're talking about ordering something in a restaurant. Don't confuse this with ordonner, which is used in the sense of "to order a person to do something", such as in the military.
After receiving the carte or the menu, and perhaps informing the waiter of your dietary restrictions, you may be given some time to make a decision. When you're ready, say "nous voudrions commander maintenant" - "we'd like to order now." It’s also acceptable in nearly any restaurant to use on instead of nous for we, as I mentioned earlier: On voudrait commander maintenant.
Or if you're by yourself, say je voudrais (I'd like) instead of nous voudrions (we'd like).
Bon appétit!
23. L’addition, s’il vous plaît. - “The bill, please”
One final bit of restaurant-related vocabulary - the bill (or "check" if you're American) is l'addition. So when you're ready to leave, say l’addition, s’il vous plaît - "the bill, please".
You’ll often hear la facture used in Quebec instead of l’addition - however both are perfectly understandable to waitstaff.
24. Merci beaucoup - “Thanks a lot”
And of course, don't forget to thank the waiter - or anyone else who deserves it, for that matter! The French word for "thank you" is merci - or you can make it stronger by saying merci beaucoup - "thanks very much".
Use merci in all the same situations you'd say "thank you" in English.
25. Je t'aime - “I love you”
Finally, lets talk about love. They say that French is a romantic language, so maybe in your travels you'll find love on the road? Or maybe after you get home you'll want use your newfound French skills to woo that special someone.
So how do you say "I love you" in French?
The French word for "to love" is adorer - but you generally only use this word when talking about things rather than people, for example to say that you love a place, book, or song.
When talking to a person, say je t'aime. Aimer usually means "like", but in this context it means "love" in the most romantic of senses. Use it wisely!
Over to You
Can you think of any other useful French phrases for tourists? What are the most important words and phrases for beginners to know? Let us know in the comments.
The post 25 Essential French Phrases for Travelers and Tourists appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 29, 2018
Make the World Your Home: 7 Ways Language Learning Gives You a Global Mindset
Language is intertwined with almost every aspect of our daily lives. No matter where we live, language is the means by which we formulate and express our sentiments, wishes, thoughts, ideas and questions to the world and those around us.
The challenge in this highly globalized world is that there is now a strong demand for people who can facilitate clear communication with those who speak a different native language to their own. After all, with global educational opportunities and the advent of global workspaces, no human can ever be an island; more so, language-wise.
Now, before you start complaining that learning another language is "just too hard", keep in mind that the majority of people who inhabit this planet are multilingual. So there is no reason that you can't be as well. All you have to do is commit to the time and effort that is required.
What is a Global Mindset -- and Why Do You Need One?
The Financial Times defines a global mindset as "one that combines an openness to and awareness of diversity across cultures and markets with a propensity and ability to see common patterns across countries and markets."
In other words, having a global mindset entails an ability to think as if the whole world were your home.
As the world continues to grow smaller and more intertwined, a global mindset is a necessary professional trait. Only professionals who can think in this manner can assist firms in operating efficiently across countries and cultures.
By having a global mindset, you will be in a position to leverage everything you know about culture in general, your own culture and the cultures of other people, enabling you to think outside the box and to respond to circumstances in the most appropriate and productive ways.
How does language learning shape your worldview and prepare you for the future? Here are seven ways language learning equips you for the global here and now, and the even more globalized future.
Learning a language:
1. Sharpens Your Cultural Intelligence
Cultural intelligence is defined as "an individual's capacity to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity."
Think of it as something similar to emotional intelligence, but a more enhanced, encompassing version.
When you get together with old friends who grew up in the same town as you — as long as you are an emotionally intelligent person — there is a high probability that you’ll understand them and can interpret their sense of humor, social cues, and speech patterns.
Being culturally intelligent extends your understanding (or at least your attempt to understand) to those with a different culture, coming from a background dissimilar to yours.
How does learning a foreign language tie into this?
Well, language extends beyond being merely a means of communication and is also a system by which we create the reality in which we live.
When you learn a foreign language, you are gaining an insider's picture of how people's thoughts from that region are structured. Put it this way: if you want to understand how the Chinese view the world, then you need to take some elementary Mandarin.
Studying abroad is a fantastic way to increase cultural intelligence (more about that later on), but even acquiring basic conversational skills in another language can considerably boost your capacity.
2. Opens Up a World of Opportunity
Language learning is one of the most feasible ways to access overseas opportunities and experiences.
In this global age, many high school and university students have the option to spend some time overseas to focus on their language skills. Scholarships and grants are available for this type of program, and immersion is undoubtedly one of the fastest ways to become fluent in a language.
That being said, just because you are in another country doesn't mean you are automatically going to become fluent in the local language. You have to maintain an inquiring mind, and put in the work. Consider listening to songs, watching movies, and hanging out with locals to hone your language skills and boost your cultural intelligence.
Why should you face your fears and go overseas?
A lot of the joy of learning a language comes from living the language. It is the conduit through which you discover a people, culture, set of beliefs and value systems different from your own. Overseas opportunities and experiences give you the chance to try new cuisines and see how people all around the globe live, work, and play.
3. Develops Your International Awareness
As you become more involved in your chosen language and the people that speak it, you are inevitably going to become more aware of international affairs and events.
Thorough language instruction should always include classes and segments on history and art, and as you progress in the language, you may begin to read classic novels and watch groundbreaking films from the country or region you are learning about.
Maybe you opt to read the newspaper in your new language each morning while studying abroad, or perhaps you just keep up with national politics online. Whatever you decide, there is no denying that your engagement with the language and the culture will pique your interest in the international affairs and events of the region.
Let's not forget — not only will being interested in the world make you more knowledgeable, but it will also make you far more interesting.
4. Gives You Broader Choices for Education -- Plus an Edge During College Applications
Ask the best admissions consultant; it isn't just firms that want global thinking employees. Universities also aim to fill their classrooms with global-thinking students.
By learning a language before applying to an overseas university, you are showing admissions officers that you understand how essential language acquisition is in this day in age. You are affirming your commitment to being a global citizen and proving that you are hardworking, goal-oriented, and willing to push beyond your comfort zone and be open to new ways of thinking.
Additionally, few people believe that learning a new language is easy, so you are also demonstrating that you are a diligent hard worker who continues on with projects and objectives even when things get challenging.
5. Opens Up More Job Opportunities
In our globalized world, learning a second language opens up a lot of career opportunities. As more and more firms do business in various countries, their demand for globally-minded people who can speak at least one foreign language is growing.
These firms know that if they are going to create an enduring, constant international business relationship, they need to communicate in the other party’s native language. If you have the skills to make this happen, you’d best believe your application is going to be placed ahead of your peers’.
One day you may even find yourself acing a job interview in a non-native language!
Even if you are looking to work for a smaller local company, the fact that you can speak a second language will still make you stand out from other applicants and will demonstrate your cultural intelligence.
And if you were to ask any hiring manager what is the best skill to gain to provide extra job security and better access to openings in an unpredictable economy, the ability to speak a foreign language would be the answer.
6. Develops Your Mental Agility for a Fast-Changing World
Recent research shows that the process of learning a new language has an immediate and positive impact on your mental agility. This is important because mental agility enhances your focus, productivity and your ability to remain calm, cool, and collected. Unfortunately, it is also one of the first brain functions to fade as you age.
Therefore, no matter what your age, speaking two or more languages can have a positive effect on your brain, including a longer attention span, a reduced risk of age-related cognitive decline, and a stronger memory.
7. Builds You a Global Network
There is something uniquely distinctive about a friendship that is made while speaking a second language. Usually, you remember it distinctively as a relationship that was formed while you were conversing in your non-native language, and the recipient recognizes you as someone who was trying extra hard to learn and appreciate their way of viewing the world.
If you choose to learn another language and spend some time abroad, you are almost always guaranteed to form some of the most important relationships of your life.
Even if you don't meet your BFF or future partner-in-crime, you are still expanding your global network — which is indispensable in the modern-day workforce. Language acquisition enables you to make friends all around the world, just as though you had stayed in your own neighborhood, but with a lot more interesting perspectives!
That being said, you don't necessarily have to travel across the world to learn a new language and develop a global network. Even in some of the smallest towns in the world, there are local restaurants and hangouts full of expats — some of whom would love to assist you in learning their language if you choose to try.
Conclusion: You Can Be a Global Citizen with a Global Mindset
Learning a new language isn't just about vocabulary lessons and chanting grammar sets. Instead, it is about developing a global mindset, pushing yourself, and learning to appreciate the way other people see the world. All of these aspects help you become a well-prepared global citizen in an increasingly multicultural work and social environment.
The post Make the World Your Home: 7 Ways Language Learning Gives You a Global Mindset appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 25, 2018
Influent Review: Learn a New Language Inside a 3D Dictionary
One such app is Influent, an indie videogame that can help you learn vocabulary. It’s currently available for over 15 languages, and they’re planning to add even more languages soon.
So how does Influent work, and is it any good?
What is Influent?
The idea of Influent is simple: you walk around a virtual apartment full of common household items, and click on each item to learn its name in your target language. Every word that you discover is saved to a list for reference; later on, you can test your memory against this list.
Influent is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, and can be purchased from Steam. At the time of writing, there are versions in 18 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Italian, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Bulgarian, Hindi, and even Latin. The first language will cost you $9.99 (£7.99 on UK Steam); extra languages are available as expansion packs for $4.99 (£3.99).
Textbooks are boring; instead of learning new words from a list on the page, Influent can “show” you those words in a (sort of) real-world context. Hopefully, the extra stimulation will make it easier to remember the vocabulary - and also be more fun!
Learn 420 New Words in a Game?
It may be a bit generous to call Influent a “game”. There’s no progression, no story, and no real objective except “learn these words”. The original Kickstarter campaign describes the app as a “3D Dictionary”, which may be a better label.
Influent isn't, and doesn't claim to be, a comprehensive language-learning solution. It won't improve your speaking skills or grammar; at best, it's an interesting and novel way to learn 420 new words for the kind of everyday items you might have around your house - words like "bed" or "scissors".
How I Tried Out Influent
To try the game out, I opted for Russian, a language that I don’t speak at all. I quickly realised that this was a bad choice – learning random words like “fridge” and “lightswitch” is a terrible way to start a new language – so I switched to Brazilian Portuguese. I already speak Portuguese reasonably well, but I figured that Influent would be an interesting way to plug the holes in my vocabulary, of which there are many.
Welcome to the Apartment of Andrew Cross
The game starts with an animated introduction in which we meet the protagonist, Andrew Cross.
Cross is the inventor of the “SanjigenJiten”, a high-tech gadget that can tell you the name of any object in a foreign language. Unfortunately, someone stole Cross’s designs, so now he’s running a campaign on "Firestarter" in order to... I'm not sure. The introduction makes no sense, but it doesn’t matter, as it’s the last you’ll hear of the game’s confusing “story”.
Anyway, you now control Andrew, and can move around his apartment scanning objects with the SanjigenJiten.
The building is small, but there’s a lot of detail, i.e. a lot of words to learn. Every drawer and cupboard can be opened to discover new objects (and thus new vocabulary) inside.
It’s clear that the game’s designers have made a lot of effort to include everything that you would expect to find in your own apartment…well, at least if you’re male. Cross lives alone and apparently is single, so Influent won’t teach you words like “skirt” or “makeup”.
You can click on an object to see and hear its name, then press Space to add the new word to your Vocab list.
Test Yourself on the Vocab You’ve Learned
When you get bored of finding new items, you can play a simple game called “Time Attack” to test yourself on the words you’ve already discovered. Words flash on your screen, and you have to remember what they mean and find the object in question within the apartment. Get a word right three times in a row, and it will be considered “mastered”.
This will only teach you nouns, but Influent also includes some common adjectives and verbs, each of which is associated with a particular item in the house.
By mastering words, and completing other simple challenges, you earn “stars” which can be spent to discover these extra words. For example, while inspecting a book with the SanjigenJiten, you can spend your hard-earned stars to learn the words for “read” and “interesting”.
What About Different Writing Systems?
One thing I did notice in the Russian version of Influent is that it has the option to switch between the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets when learning words. So if your target language uses a different writing system, you should be covered whether or not you can read that system yet.
Is Influent Suitable for Beginners?
Influent’s vocabulary list isn’t suitable for absolute beginners, but it’s still fairly basic.
Here’s a quick test: if you’re at home, look around the room and ask yourself how many of the items you see can you name in your target language. Can you say “window”, “wall”, “table”, “chair”, or “light”? What about “pen”, “headphones”, “shoes”, and “guitar”, or the different types of food in your fridge and toiletries in your bathroom?
Influent is best suited for learners in the “upper beginner” or “lower intermediate” stages of their language-learning journey. That’s when these kinds of words make the most sense to learn.
What’s Not so Great About Influent?
Influent’s graphics are cute, cartoony, and visually appealing. Unfortunately, other aspects of the game aren’t nearly as well-designed. The controls are clunky and cumbersome; moving Andrew around his apartment never felt like a smooth experience, especially in third-person mode (you can switch between a first- and third-person viewpoint).
Another frustration for me was the lack of good in-game instructions. At the start, you’re given a brief explanation of the controls and main game mechanics, but it’s not enough. For example, the first time I played Time Attack, it didn’t seem to work; I’d found the correct object and was clicking on it, but nothing was happening. That was before I realised I had to double-click on the object in question, which hadn’t been made clear at all. A minor annoyance, yes, but there were many more like it.
More worryingly, I found several mistakes in Influent’s Brazilian Portuguese version. After spotting a few questionable translations that aroused my suspicion, I recruited my wife, who is Brazilian, to cast an expert eye on the game. Within just a few minutes of playing together, we’d found an alarming amount of errors.
These ranged from minor typos (auto-falante instead of alto-falante, barinjela instead of berinjela) to outright mistranslations: “toilet” is given as banheiro, but that word means “bathroom”; it should be privada. “Chopstick” is given as palito, but Brazilians actually use the Japanese loanword hashi.
Other mistakes were more subtle. For example, “videogame console” is given as console, and this isn’t strictly wrong, but my wife assures me that no-one in Brazil ever really says this. A much better translation is videogame, pronounced “vee-jee-yo-GAY-mee” (confusingly, Brazilians use the English word “videogame” to refer to the console itself, not the games that you play on it).
Those are just a few of the issues we noticed in a very brief review of Influent’s vocabulary list. Of course, most other words were fine - but even one mistake is too many. If I spot sloppy mistakes like this in the words I know, how can I trust Influent’s translations of the words I don’t yet know?
Verdict: Flawed, Fun and Engaging -- with Limitless Possibilities
Influent is not available in Polish, but what it really lacks is polish.
With that being said, its flaws aren’t fatal. If you can overlook its many minor frustrations - and double-check some of the translations it gives you - it has potential to be a fun and engaging little language-learning tool. It may be particularly suitable for children, who will no doubt find it more entertaining than the crackly audio cassettes that my French teacher used to play in class when I was ten.
The idea of a “3D dictionary” has a lot of potential, and I’m interested to see it taken further. Why stop at an apartment - how cool would it be if you could take Andrew and his SanjigenJiten around an office, a city block, a school, a park, a bar, or a zoo? The possibilities are limitless. I’m sure that we’ll see many more apps like Influent in the near future, and I’m excited to see how they develop.
The post Influent Review: Learn a New Language Inside a 3D Dictionary appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 22, 2018
Language Learners! Why Your Comfort Zone = the Danger Zone
So, I’d like to share one of most important things I’ve learned. My hope is that you can avoid the mistakes I made.
How I Hit “the Wall” in Language Learning
I speak seven languages to a high level these days (plus I’m learning two more). A few years ago, with each new language I started, I’d keep hitting a wall.
I’d start out well. I’d look up new resources that worked for me, which is one of my favourite parts of learning a language. I’d create a schedule/system that worked for me.
Then I’d rev the engine, and I’d be off!
It always started out well. I’d be picking up new words, getting my head around the grammar, and even having real conversations with native speakers.
I’d found something that worked for me, so I stuck with it.
I’d make progress every day (feeling great about it), until…
...one day I didn’t.
The system I’d put into place stopped working. I wasn’t learning anything new. And worse, I lost my mojo. The thing I loved to do just left me cold.
What Happened?
Let me share a story with you, to give a specific example.
When I first studied Mandarin, I had an ambitious goal. I wanted to pass the HSK 4 (upper intermediate) exam only a year after starting the language. I studied each day, prepared for the exam, and took regular lessons. And I passed! The system I’d set up had worked.
But here’s what happened next...
After passing the exam, I settled down into a too-comfortable routine. I did daily flashcard study, some reading aimed at language learners, and kept meeting my tutor for a weekly session. For about a year, this pattern continued. The result?
My Chinese didn’t get any worse, but it also didn’t get much better.
That’s when I realised:
My Comfort Zone is the Danger Zone
It was one of those “aha!” moments. I only wished I’d spotted it sooner.
When I realised what was happening, I began to look for new ways to stretch myself. I wanted to push outside my comfort zone, because I knew that was the only way I’d get better.
I pondered on how I could do that, and then -- in another stroke of luck -- I realized the way forward was staring me in the face.
Here’s How I Found the Next Step
To work out what I should do next, I asked myself: “What’s the most important thing to me right now, when it comes to Mandarin?”
At the time, the most important thing for me was to share the language with my infant son. So I turned to his reading material. I bought books that were slightly outside of my comfort zone and matched his interests. I found a collection of Disney bedtime stories, bought other books that featured his favourite characters, and scoured the local Chinese bookstores for new material.
I also asked my teacher to tweak our lessons to focus more on grammar and less on conversation.
The result? My Chinese was given the kickstart it needed. Boom!
I’m Guessing You’ve Read Between the Lines and Figured What was Happened to Me
By getting comfortable, I stopped trying new things. I stopped looking at the material from different angles. And when I get comfortable, I can only get so far.
And I’m not the only one. Take this post from one of the members of the Add1Challenge for instance:
This Add1 student had found a system that really worked for her at the beginning. One that helped her to build her understanding of Spanish.
But as she began to approach more difficult aspects of the language like forming sentences, she struggled. Her system failed her.
Thankfully, the Add1Challenge gave her the chance to switch things up, and nudged her outside her comfort zone and back into the realm of learning.
Only by stepping outside her comfort zone could she have a breakthrough and see the results she’d been anticipating.
How can you apply this to your own learning?
My 5 Power Moves to Climb Mt. Fluency
Here are the Power Moves that I use to get through a plateau and start making that upward climb towards improvement. They’re power moves because they will give you the boost you need to step outside your comfort zone and tackle the climb up Mt. Fluency.
Power Move #1 - SMASH Your Routine!
Sometimes our plateaus occur because we keep trying to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Routine is incredibly powerful, so this Power Move is only for you if your established routine, is starting to get stale.
If you ever feel as though your progress has slowed, one of the easiest ways to get going again is by making a change.
Normally work with a course book? Try switching to a podcast. Normally study vocabulary with flashcards? Try memory palaces or the Goldlist method.
As you saw in my example from when I hit a plateau with Chinese, I only made two small changes.
Sometimes, you only need to make one small change to see a big difference.
Power Move #2 - Aim a Camera at Yourself and Hit the “Record” Button
I actually learned this Power Move before I got into languages.
When I was a music student, one of my teachers told me that I should record every performance. These recordings would be great practice tool for me. I could go back and listen to them to see what I did well, but more importantly to see what I needed to work on.
I took the advice, though it felt super awkward to set up the recording equipment, and even worse when I first listened to myself.
I quickly saw the results, though.
Even though I was there performing and experiencing that concert in real time, my view of the concert from a performer’s perspective was quite different from my view as a spectator, watching myself on the recording.
Sometimes when I thought I did poorly, listening back proved otherwise. And, of course, other times when I thought I did well, the recording showed that it was actually just okay. Either way, it gave me a lot of material to work on. Listening to my recordings with some distance between my practice sessions and the recorded performances allowed me to be more objective and honest about where I was at with my playing and it gave me very specific things I could work on.
But that wasn’t the only thing those recordings gave me. They also gave me reference points. I can now go back to any point in my performance career and hear just how far I’ve come. So whenever I feel like I’m not making any progress, I can grab a recording, hit play and hear hard evidence of whether or not I had improved since that time.
And of course I brought this Power Move with me into language learning.
I record my language learning in two ways. The first is with a language journal.
This “journal” is where I keep all of my notes for the language that I’m studying. As I come across something that I don’t understand, I write those questions down in my notes. That way, I know what I need to go over with my teacher in my next lesson. It also means I’ve got a record of the things that have held me back in the past.
When I go over those notes at a later date, they show me just how far I’ve come. By the time I finish a notebook and go back through my notes to copy whatever I still need to work on into my new notebook, I can see just how few of those questions remain. The majority of the doubts or struggles I had are no longer challenges for me.
The second way I document my progress is with video!
When I first starting making videos of myself speaking new languages, I kept them to myself. I was too afraid to put them out in the world.
But then I did Benny’s Conversation Countdown course, and he convinced me. I decided to make the leap.
This was my first ever video in Mandarin Chinese:
httpvh://youtu.be/Lgx2fd4DeKk
My pronunciation is not great in this video, but that’s missing the point. And regardless of what anyone might think of my skill level at that stage, it got me speaking for the first time. Today, it’s one of my strongest languages.
When I look back at that video, how far I’ve come is immediately apparent. But when I’m in the middle of it, it doesn’t feel like I’m making any progress at all.
Documenting your progress, whether it’s with a language journal or with videos (or both!), is the best way to truly see the improvement you’ve made.
So, aim a camera at yourself and hit record!
(If you need an extra push with this, check out the Add1Challenge -- it’s a 90 day program where you’ll track your progress with Day 0, Day 30, Day 60 and Day 90 videos).
Power Move #3 - Do the Thing! That’s Right, the Thing You’ve Been Putting Off
This is the approach that Benny uses whenever he faces a plateau. He adjusts his language studies to approach his biggest problem.
Doing the same will get you through your plateau 100% of the time. It directly targets a huge hurdle you need to get over to keep moving forward.
No matter what level you’re at, there’s always one part of the language that you avoid and it’s often your biggest problem. Not sure what this might be?
Think for a moment. What do you do in the language that could be better? It’ll be the thing that you tell yourself is “good enough” for now and that you “have time to look at it later”. For a lot of learners, these are things like:
Noun genders: Is that word masculine, feminine or neuter? Who knows?
Cases: All those word endings make my head hurt.
Particles: Close enough!
Tenses: I’ll just add when it happened and that’ll be good enough. Forget learning the different forms.
Honorifics: I’m only learning the language, so I can get away with this being wrong.
Sentence structure: good enough.
Prepositions: Meh, people will get what I mean
Note: There are times when “good enough” is good enough, but it’s also important to recognize that at a certain point, “good enough” is no longer good enough. It’s time to do better.
By taking an honest look at where you’re at, you’ll find the Thing you need to do next.
Power Move #4 - Trust the Process
This one might sound a little woo-woo, so let me explain what I mean. I should also say that you only need to try this Power Move after you’ve worked through the previous three.
Sometimes, when things get a little stale, you just need to stick with it and keep doing the work on a regular basis.
Just do the work. Today. One day at a time. And trust that it will be enough.
Yes, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have to fit it around a busy life with work, family, friends and other hobbies. The important thing is that you do the work, and you do it every day.
If you consistently study your language, you’re going to make progress. It might not always feel like you are, but if you trust in the process and keep doing the work, you’ll come out at the other side of it more skilled in your language. Hundreds of language learners have seen this in the community I lead, the Add1Challenge .
Power Ascender #5 - Turn the Volume to SUPERLOUD
If none of the above works for you, you can always set the volume to 11. Really challenge yourself and step outside of your comfort zone. This could mean studying:
More often (e.g. daily instead of twice per week)
With greater focus (e.g. first thing in the morning when your mind is most fresh)
More intensely (e.g. one hour study sessions instead of 10 minutes)
If you’re unsure of how to do this on your own, you can take on a language challenge. My personal favourite is the community I lead -- the Add1Challenge .
The Add1Challenge is a 90-day language learning challenge that really pushes you to step outside your comfort zone. It’s designed so that whenever those lulls or plateaus hit, you’re given a new assignment or challenge. It’s intense, but a lot of fun!
And you’ll be there with a community of passionate, inspired language learners, who’ll go with you shoulder-to-shoulder on every challenge you face.
At the end of the Add1Challenge you’ll have a 15 minute conversation in your target language -- we guarantee it.
When you know exactly what you’re aiming for, it becomes easier to adjust what you do on a weekly or daily basis to get there.
Step Outside the Danger Zone with a Power Move
We all want a certain degree of comfort in our language learning. We want to know that we have systems and resources that we can rely on because we want to be confident that we’re doing the right things to make progress in our learning.
But sometimes, that comfort can be dangerous.
When you start to feel as though your progress has stagnated, rest assured that there are steps you can take to revitalize your learning. You don’t need to worry about whether or not your system is too comfortable. Anytime you feel that it’s holding you back, follow the steps above to get back on track.
Have you ever hit a plateau from being stuck in your comfort zone? What did you do to break through it?
I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
The post Language Learners! Why Your Comfort Zone = the Danger Zone appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 18, 2018
Wow! Another Fluent in 3 Months Wedding
Mandie had emailed to let me know that thanks to Fi3M, she’d found the love of her life! This is Mandie and Neil on their wedding day:
Congratulations, Mandie and Neil!
Mandie also sent this picture of herself and Neil after they’d just met in person for the first time:
Here’s the full email I received from Mandie about her wedding and how she met Neil:
Hi Benny and Team,
I don't know who reads the emails for this account but I just wanted to say thanks to Benny and the Team and share my story of using FI3M with you guys.
So, first off, thanks for changing my life and helping me find a good husband...internationally! I originally told you guys about this after I had just met my boyfriend and someone reached out and asked if they could use my comment on your website. Little did I know, 4 years later, this would turn into a much bigger change than I ever expected!
March 2014: I haphazardly came across the Fluent in Three Months website and at first site thought: "Seriously? Who can get fluent that fast?" But...my interest was piqued.
I'm from Houston, Texas and live in Phoenix, Arizona. My (unbeknownst-to-me-at-the-time-future-husband) was living in Barranquilla, Colombia (the same hometown as Shakira and Sofia Vergara!).
I somehow gathered up the courage to make my first YouTube video of myself with the tiniest bit of Spanish I could remember and introduce myself as Benny told us to do. Then I started practicing talking everyday, recording myself, and followed Benny's advice to go to italki.com and practice with native speakers.
I was terrified. How dumb would I sound to a native Spanish speaker?? I did it, anyway, at the urging of Benny and the Team. Immediately, I started talking with friendly and interesting people from all over the world through Skype. I met some of the most fascinating people in Argentina, Venezuela, El Salvador, China, Ireland, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Spain, Chile, and my favorite, Colombia!
I was suddenly introduced to fascinating new cultures (I had never traveled outside of the United States). I was being shown normal, everyday lives of people just like me, but trying to learn English. I never thought they sounded stupid or dumb for making mistakes in English. I helped them and they helped me. The best part was...instead of memorizing boring words, I was hearing new music, talking about ideas and subjects that really interested me! I was learning about foods, beliefs, religions, and cultures that I never could have experienced the same way from a textbook. I was learning slang in other cultures and working on my best form of pronunciation. All of this started because I started at the FI3M website, and took a chance to believe in myself. This skyrocketed my confidence to boot!
Suddenly, in September 2014, I received a message from a young, gentleman asking to practice Spanish with me in exchange for practicing English. I had a few regular language-practice partners already and my schedule was pretty busy, so I didn't answer. November 2014 I finally replied back to him. This must be some fated meeting in the stars...but neither of us had any idea.
We slowly began talking a few times a week. This turned into everyday. Before we knew it, we were anticipating talking to each other throughout the day and he confessed his attraction. He told me one day he was going to marry me. I thought he was crazy. I laughed it off.
June 2015: I was on a plane to meet my boyfriend for the first time. Filled with butterflies, we met in person in Panama City, Panama (he was stationed there for work - even though he's from Colombia). We spent a week of pure bliss together and had a hard time saying goodbye.
August 2015: I was on another plane to see my boyfriend again. This time, I was supposed to spend a week and come back. On the day I was set to return, I missed my flight. The next day I called my job and let them know I wasn't able to come back...I stayed with him for 3 months. We began talking about a future together. I wrote a journal about my adventures living and working in a third-world country. My eyes were opened to a new world! I became completely fluent in Spanish and got a door-to-door sales job selling carpentry services to native speakers IN SPANISH!
September 2016: My fiance stepped his first steps on U.S. soil to begin a new life. To be honest, it was a little overwhelming at first, but since he has really become accustomed to a new life.
October 2016: We got married!
March 2018: We're starting a business together.
All I can say is: Thanks Benny and Team at Fluent In 3 Months. I have people listen to my Spanish and compliment me on my accent. I still make small mistakes sometimes but people say I sound native! I'm thinking about learning a new language.
I tell EVERYONE about FI3M and italki!
Con mucho cariño,
Mandie and Neil Alean
What a story! Here’s wishing you both many years of happiness.
One of the main Fi3M resources Mandie used to help her become fluent in Spanish was Conversation Countdown. You can find out more and read about Mandie’s experience using Conversation Countdown here.
And this is actually the second Fi3M-related wedding that we’ve heard about! The first was James’s wedding, which you can read about here.
The post Wow! Another Fluent in 3 Months Wedding appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 15, 2018
Learning Mandarin Chinese as Explained by a Peace Corps Volunteer
I went into the country blind, with no understanding of the culture, fear of eating the food, and absolutely no language skills whatsoever.
I lived hundreds of miles from the big Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong that are foreigner friendly and where it’s possible to get by in English. Peace Corps volunteers don’t serve in cosmopolitan cities, but instead live in parts of the world where there is a lack of English teachers. I was stationed in Chongqing City in central China.
A lot of people who want to learn Chinese don’t even think about going to the less traveled cities of China. Why? Because they assume that learning Mandarin is difficult already, so they would rather go to a place that uses English. In places like Beijing and Shanghai, plenty of people speak English or basic Mandarin. In the less traveled areas of China, you can struggle to find anyone who speaks English, and you run into dialects that are far from the basic Mandarin language. It’s scary! I know, because I did it.
Why am I telling you this?
Because although going into the heart of China is daunting for someone who doesn’t speak any Chinese, it’s a really effective approach to learning the language.
I went in illiterate, and I came out two years later speaking Mandarin Chinese at an intermediate level. I was able to speak, read, type, write and listen to both Mandarin and the dialect of Chongqing. So, how did I do it?
Before I get into that, you should know that there are three parts to learning Chinese:
Pronunciation (Pinyin) - The pronunciation of the words
Characters (Hanzi) - The written words or characters associated with pinyin
Tone (Shengdiao) - what volume your voice needs to be at which also matches the Pinyin and Hanzi.
How I Learned Chinese: An Authentic Learning Environment
The environment you decide to learn your language in is key to the pace at which you learn and improve your language.
I consider a true language learning environment to be the place the language is native to. Learning Chinese? Then learn in China. By doing this, you pick up speech patterns you otherwise wouldn’t in a classroom. You’ll have the ability to practice your language with strangers at a grocery store, people in restaurants, or people in China who want to talk to you or get to know you.
By being in an authentic learning environment, you will:
Pick up the language faster
Have more opportunities to practice what you know
Quickly recognize speech patterns
Use the language frequently
Use “Survival Mode” (and Bathroom Trips) to Your Advantage
Another thing I strongly suggest for people learning a new language is to throw yourself into situations where you have no choice but to use the skills you have. It forces your brain into survival mode. If you want to eat, drink, sleep, or go to the bathroom, you’ll need to use the language to let your friends, hosts or whoever know that this is what you need.
Alongside living in China, I used other approaches for learning Chinese that you can use wherever you live, including apps, textbooks, watching Chinese TV, and keeping a journal.
How I Learned Chinese: Using Apps
You don't have to learn a language alone. Whether you’re traveling through China or living there as an expat, there are tools you can use to make learning Mandarin a whole lot easier.
My top four favorite apps for learning Chinese are:
Pleco
Youdao
Anki
Pleco is the number one English-to-Chinese dictionary app on the market. It’s bursting with every single term, phrase, and word you can imagine. It works with or without WiFi, and it’s absolutely free too. I love this app because when I was practicing listening, I could pick and choose words I didn’t understand in a sentence and plug them into Pleco and get a definition fast.
My next favorite app is the Anki App (available for iPhone, for Android, and for everyone else). For a one-time purchase of $25, you can get the Anki app which allows you to create a stockpile of flashcards to help you study the language. This app is perfect for when you are traveling on a train, plane, or bus. You can review the new phrases and vocabulary you are learning during your journey.
Since Pleco is just a dictionary, you’re going to need a translator to help you decipher what people are saying. You could use Google Translate, but keep in mind, Google is banned in China. I would recommend using Youdao translator. It’s an app created by Chinese people, for Chinese people. The reason I use this is because it was made by the Chinese and not foreigners. People in China are going to have more expert knowledge of the phrases more commonly used in China than Google translate would, and whatever you translate using Youdao is more likely to be understood by locals when they read what you’re trying to say.
My last and more utilized app is WeChat. It’s a chat and social media app combined. But the reason I love this app is because it allows you to network with people you meet on your travels, which in turn will enable you to speak, type, and learn Mandarin. I love this app because it translates your texts for you if you don’t understand what they are saying. The app also allows you to send voice messages. You can practice speaking and listening to any friends you meet along the way.
The Mandarin Textbook You Should Be Using for Learning Chinese
I’m usually not a big textbook person, but in my desire to learn how to write in Chinese, I decided to pick up a book from a bookstore in China that would help me improve my spoken and written Mandarin.
I chose Boya Chinese. It comes with a textbook and workbook and teaches you the foundations of Mandarin. It’s mostly in Chinese, which forces you to figure out the Chinese rather than rely too much on English.
In my experience, here’s what textbooks do for language learners:
Provide a more structured learning method
Allow you to practice writing
Allow you to think more critically
Test your past and present knowledge
Expand your vocabulary
Chinese TV and Music: What You Should Be Watching and Listening To
Watching TV shows and listening to music is a great technique for getting extra Chinese immersion.
When you’re in China, I would avoid watching too many old shows or movies that focus on Ancient China. Those shows tend to use ancient Chinese language that’s not very useful.
My favorite show to watch in China is Running Man or Ben Pao Ba Xiong Di. It is a game/adventure show featuring some of China’s most famous celebrities. They compete in a series of games to win prizes together. Not only is it unbelievably entertaining and pleasing to watch, the celebrities speak in basic Mandarin and repeatedly use common phrases you would use on a daily basis.
For music, I suggest downloading QQ Music because it has a much larger selection of Chinese music than any other app out there (plus it has not only Chinese music but English and K-Pop too). What I love most about this app is that it provides characters for you to follow along with to help you practice your reading.
These are the benefits I found to watching Chinese TV and listening to Chinese music:
Helps you recognize mouth movements
Lets you practice your listening skills
Helps you practice your reading skills
Tests your comprehension
Helps you recognize speech patterns
Keeping a Chinese Journal to Monitor Your Progress
To see and know you’re improving, I recommend keeping a journal. Whether it be all in your native tongue, all in Chinese, or a mix of both is up to you. But it needs to be something that measures your progress.
I kept my journal in Chinese because it allowed me to see how my vocabulary and writing skills had improved.
I relied on my friends a lot to tell me if I was doing a good job at speaking and listening. Most of the time, your friends in China may tell you that you’re doing well to be polite, but in many cases, your friends will also be stunned that you have learned a great deal, especially if they are friends you see every day.
Keeping a journal:
Allows you to see tangible evidence of improvement
Gives you the ability to practice what you know each day
Measures the pace of your language learning
Gives you a lovely keepsake of your learning experience
Learning Chinese Can Be Easy
I hope you’ve found this insight into how I learned Chinese helpful.
The truth is learning Mandarin Chinese is easy. You just think it’s hard.
With the right tools and the right environment, you can learn Mandarin Chinese faster than you thought possible. It’s going to take some hard work, and it won’t happen overnight. When people asked me at what point I started to really catch on, I could recall the moment where the language just clicked for me, and the same thing will happen for you too -- it’s just impossible to know when until it happens.
All the best for your Chinese adventure!
The post Learning Mandarin Chinese as Explained by a Peace Corps Volunteer appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 11, 2018
Verbling Review: One-to-one Online Language Classes with a Native Speaker
The best kind of conversation practice is a one-on-one lesson with a qualified teacher - someone who not only speaks the language but understands it, and can explain its subtleties and intricacies in ways that not all native speakers can manage (Can you fully explain the difference between "may" and "might" in English?).
There are only two problems with one-on-one lessons:
a) they can get expensive, and
b) it can be hard to find a good teacher in your area, especially if you're learning a more obscure language.
Luckily, in the age of the Internet, the second problem is no longer relevant, and the first problem isn't what it used to be either.
Enter Verbling. In a nutshell, Verbling is a platform to help language teachers and students find each other. Whatever language you're learning, you can use Verbling to find an affordable tutor and get one-on-one lessons over video chat.
Verbling isn't the only company in this space - one notable competitor is italki, the market leader for online language tutors, which we’ve reviewed here.
How does Verbling compare to italki? To find out, I signed up and booked some Japanese lessons.
Verbling Review: What I Liked
I was impressed from the outset by Verbling's web interface. The design is smooth, modern and gorgeous, and always felt fast and easy to navigate. After filling in your profile with some basic information about yourself - including, crucially, what language(s) you want to learn! - you can search for a teacher:
Teachers write a bio and record a short video so you can decide whom to pick. You can of course also see the reviews and ratings for each teacher that have been left by their previous students. Some, but not all teachers offer a "trial lesson", giving you the first lesson at a discounted rate while you decide whether this person is the right instructor for you.
Teachers also set their own prices, which should be another factor in your decision. It's possible to buy lessons in bulk, but not every teacher offers a discount for doing so. Annoyingly, the price that you initially see isn't what you end up paying, because it doesn't include Verbling's fees (this is true on italki too). I couldn't figure out exactly how this fee is calculated, but it seems to be anything from 2.5% to 5% of the original cost of the lesson.
Once you've found a teacher that you think you'll like, you can check their calendar to see what times they're available. Verbling automatically adjusts things so that you see teachers’ calendars in your own timezone. One neat little feature I liked is that, as well as booking individual lessons at specific times, you can book a recurring lesson at the same time every week, which saves you the bother of booking a new lesson again every time.
So far, so simple. When designing a "find a teacher and book a lesson" web interface, there's really not much room for innovation. The best a website can do is get out of your way and make the experience as smooth as possible. Verbling pulls this off without a hitch, but it doesn't stand out dramatically from its competitors.
Verbling’s Standout Feature: The Lesson Interface
So what makes Verbling different? Well, you'll see once you start an actual lesson. Verbling does more than let you book and schedule lessons - it provides a platform for actually having those lessons, through Verbling's own video-chat interface (This is in contrast to some other sites which leave it to you and your teacher to find your own communication channel, typically Skype).
Verbling's lesson interface offers more than just video chat. Teachers can upload files, which you can work through together, as in the above screenshot where my teacher and I are viewing a PDF of basic Japanese greetings. You can also write messages to each other, and - coolest of all - create vocabulary flashcards together, which you can then review in your own time between lessons.
The lesson interface works great. Again, this is an area where it's hard to innovate, but the Verbling team have done a good job of packing the interface with whatever useful features might help. By itself this doesn't make for a good lesson - that's up to the individual teacher - but it makes it easier.
Verbling Review: What Could be Better?
One minor criticism I have is that I couldn't find a way to familiarise myself with Verbling's lesson interface before actually starting a lesson. My first lesson was slightly slowed down by the fact that I was still figuring out how everything works. It would be great if I could have loaded up the interface without actually starting a real lesson, just so that I knew what was coming later (Maybe this option does exist, but I couldn't find it - and if you know anything about software design, you know that if your users can't figure out how to use your app, then it's your fault, not theirs).
Still, this wasn't a huge deal. Overall, I liked Verbling's interface a lot, and definitely preferred it to Skype - which I've used extensively for language lessons in the past.
Verdict: There’s a Lot to Like about Verbling
Of course, any Verbling-like platform is only as good as its teachers. A fancy video chat UI can help a good teacher do their job better, but it can't prevent a bad teacher from sucking. I don't have any complaints about the Japanese teachers I tried out, but I obviously can't vouch for every teacher on Verbling. That’s where the teacher reviews come in handy.
Still, Verbling has thousands of teachers on its platform, and more are signing up all the time. With enough patience, you should find the right person. I will always recommend shopping around and trying as many teachers as possible until you find someone you like, and who suits your own particular learning style.
There's a lot to like about Verbling. In a crowded space with little to differentiate the competition, its polished UI and well-thought-out video interface make it stand out. I can't guarantee that you'll find the perfect teacher on Verbling, but it's a good place to start looking.
The post Verbling Review: One-to-one Online Language Classes with a Native Speaker appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 6, 2018
You CAN Learn a New Language After Age 10! Response to Steven Pinker’s Fascinating “Critical Period” Research (and Bogus News Reports)
First, I’d like to bust a few myths about the “critical window” for language learning that have popped up in the news following the publication of the research.
The study itself is really interesting (though I don’t buy into all of it). What I find frustrating is the way it’s been presented in the media. Attention-grabbing headlines aren’t always the most truthful.
I’ve done a ton of research myself about how people learn. I also have plenty of my own experience learning languages as an adult, and I’ve seen the results of thousands of learners from the Fi3M community, so I can give a pretty informed perspective about what adult learners are capable of.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.
What’s all this “Critical Period” Fuss About?
I was inspired to write this article after seeing this news report making the rounds on the internet: “Becoming fluent in another language as an adult might be impossible.” The first sentence reads: “If you haven't started learning a new language by the age of 10, you have no chance of achieving fluency.”
Wow. That must be one interesting study that has conclusively proven that it's impossible to learn a language to fluency after the age of 10!
Obviously, some of these results, and the way they’ve been reported, are misleading. That's what I want to address here. The research paper that all of the fuss has been about has to be purchased if you want to read the entire thing. I recommend you take a look at it if you’re interested in understanding the results for yourself.
I do want to emphasise that there were several interesting scientific results that have come out of this study, and there are many parts that I agree with. But there are also a couple of conclusions that I wouldn't be so confident about stating with certainty.
The main problem, however, is how the media are interpreting these results. I’ve got plenty of evidence, which I’ll lay out below, that shows that this interpretation is utter nonsense.
First of all, even if everything stated in the study is true, it's impossible to draw the conclusions that you'll see in a lot of the news reports. I'm going to try to explain how this happened, while giving you some encouragement about your language learning goals. Because despite what the media says, it’s not hopeless. Not by a long shot!
How I (Unwittingly) Contributed to the Study
This study is titled “A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from two-thirds of a million English speakers”. Believe it or not, I unknowingly contributed to this study back in 2014, by encouraging those on my email list to try out this language game, which became the basis for the study. My email list was around 100,000 strong at the time, so I probably sent quite a few readers over to participate!
This language game had you answer some English questions, and then it tried to guess which dialect of English you speak, if you were a native speaker. If you weren’t a native speaker, it would try to guess your native language. It was presented as a game, and shared a lot online, and eventually over 600,000 people participated.
“Start Before Age 10 to Reach Fluency” -- It’s Not the Truth, it’s Click-Bait
I’ve read the research study myself, and there are several results that I actually find quite encouraging. More on that in a minute. Before we get into the results themselves, let’s see how journalists interpreted them -- and by “interpreted” I mean the angle they used to create headlines. Remember, headlines are written to grab attention, to press your emotional buttons, and to be “click-bait” so you’ll read the article.
In the Guardian article I mentioned earlier, the writer begins by saying that even though fluency is impossible after the age of 10, he's going try anyway. But then the strategy he opts for is 40 minutes per day learning French and Japanese on Duolingo (20 minutes per language). That's it. That's the only thing he did for eight months. Not surprisingly, he is not very impressed with his progress.
I’m sorry, but you simply can’t reach any level of fluency by restricting yourself to a single resource that teaches you a language in one, quite narrow, way. You need a lot more varied experience in the language.
As for the statement that “if you haven’t started a new language by the age of 10, you have no chance of achieving fluency,” well, let’s go back to the actual research study.
The TRUTH: Here’s What the Results Actually Say
First of all, the words “fluency” and “fluent” never even appear in the original study. Not only that, but the researchers actually don't make any claim whatsoever about a “biological ceiling”. So the phrasing in these news articles, saying it's impossible to get fluent in a language you start learning after the age of 10…that’s just poor journalism, in my opinion. They’re implying that there is something that biologically prevents us from being able to learn a language after age 10, when the research says nothing of the sort.
Here’s what the research actually says about the term “critical period” (bold emphasis is mine): “We use the term critical period as a theory-neutral descriptor of diminished achievement by adult learners, whatever its cause.”
In other words, the researchers used the term “critical period” in their paper to simply give a name to that age window beyond which people don’t seem to learn languages as well – but they make no claims that adults are poorer learners because they’re adults, OR that adults are incapable of becoming better learners.
This is important. The research study doesn’t state why people might change their language learning abilities as they age. So there’s still no proof that there’s a biological or other insurmountable reason for why people tend to get worse at learning languages as they age.
According to the study, "The critical period cannot be attributed to neuronal death or syntactic pruning in the first years of life, nor to hormonal changes surrounding adrenarche [pre-puberty] or puberty."
To sum this up: there’s no basis whatsoever for the big scary headlines saying that no one beyond the age of 10 can ever hope to learn a language to fluency.
Add to that the fact that the research study identifies 17-18 as the age period beyond which language learning abilities start to decline – not 10 – and you start to really appreciate just how misleading all these news headlines have been.
So where did the number 10 come from? Basically, what the researchers observed is that around age 17-18, people’s language abilities would start to decline. And since reaching native-like fluency can take quite a few years, they conclude that you need to start by age 10 in order to have enough time to reach fluency before that decline.
From the study: “Both traditional, ultimate attainment analyses, and permutation analyses indicated that learners must start by 10 to 12 years of age to reach native level of proficiency. Those who begin later literally run out of time before the sharp drop in learning rate around 17 to 18 years of age.”
But a drop, even a “sharp drop”, in learning rate, is not an instant drop down to zero! So even if you start learning after age 10, all that means is you have a lower chance of reaching a native skill level. Not zero chance.
And most language learners aren’t aiming for native-like skills, anyway. So whatever the conclusions say about reaching a native level, they say nothing about reaching a very high skill level, even mastery, in the language, well beyond that “decline” that occurs at age 17-18.
Adult Learners ARE Different -- But Not for the Reasons You Might Expect
Why would there be a decline at all, though? Well, the study didn’t try to find any conclusive reasons for that. They did speculate a little, and I also have my own opinions formed from years of observing adult learners. So let’s look at the possibilities.
According to the study, the critical age identified – 17-18 years old – “coincides with a number of social changes, any one of which could diminish one's ability, opportunity or willingness to learn a language. In many cultures, this age marks the transition to the workforce, or to professional education which may diminish opportunities to learn.”
They only put forth social reasons as a possible reason for declining language learning ability, not biological ones.
I definitely agree with their suggestion that adults simply have fewer opportunities to learn. Language learning just isn’t mandatory beyond a certain age. The research study focused exclusively on English learning, and in many countries, English is a mandatory subject in school. Kids are forced to study it, often up until the age of about 17-18 (do those numbers sound familiar?). After that, they're not forced to learn it, and they have other priorities in life. So fewer people will try to learn English beyond that age. It’s just simple math. When more people are forced to study a language, more people will progress in the language. That makes sense to me.
Consider this: If it was mandatory for 25 to 35-year-olds to study English, then 25 to 35-year-olds would be the ones who learn the most English. But going that extra step to conclude that they’re naturally the best learners would be absurd. And yet, that’s what the newspapers have done with their conclusions about children being naturally the best learners.
The Quiz was Seriously Flawed
When I was researching this article, I looked at the questions that they asked participants in the study. There were some pretty weird ones! Some of them would be confusing even to native English speakers.
The level of grammar they test in some of these questions doesn’t really say anything about your fluency in the language. As I said earlier, fluency isn’t even mentioned in the study. The study really seems to measure grammar ability for a few types of grammatical construct.
In fact, some of the questions were phrased strangely enough that not even native English speakers got them right. Older native speakers tended to do better than younger ones. Generally, native-speaker participants aged 30 and up did the best. So, if someone can live exclusively in English from birth to nearly age 30, and still not get all the answers right, then the language game isn’t really a great way to test if someone has a native level in English.
Don’t get me wrong. This was still a fascinating study, and it produced a lot of results that I found very interesting - from a grammatical point of view. But a test of someone’s true level in a language needs to extend beyond a narrow set of grammar questions and focus instead on what you can do in the language.
What I Consider to be Fluency in a Language
If someone says they’re fluent in a language, I would expect them to have reached level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) (click the image to enlarge).
A level of B2 is all that you need to use a language fluently. If you can interact with people the same way that a native speaker could in most everyday situations, then you can be considered fluent.
Now suppose you go beyond B2, past C1, and all the way to C2, the highest level you can reach in the CEFR. If you reach this level, then you’ve mastered the language. Would that make you indistinguishable from a native speaker?
No, it wouldn’t. There is nothing in the CEFR that says you need to sound exactly like a native speaker once you reach the most advanced level. You just need to be able to do all the things that native speakers can do in all situations (not just everyday interactions, as in B2 level).
Unfortunately, what many news reports have done is take the reasonable suggestion that sounding exactly like a native speaker 100% of the time is difficult (if not impossible) for adult learners, and changed the message to convince readers that it’s impossible to reach any useful level of fluency beyond the cut-off age. Now, speaking as someone who has reached C2 level in Spanish, which I only began studying at age 21, I’m proof that the idea of a 10-year-old “cut-off age” as defined by these headlines is downright false.
You can learn a language to a level better than you'll ever need it, no matter how old you are when you start learning. As for reaching the point where you’ll be mistaken for a native speaker, I’d have to say it’s unlikely, but again, not impossible. There may be a “cut-off” point in your life right now where you can’t realistically invest the time you need. But there are adult learners who do succeed in that. So it clearly can’t be impossible.
Is There a Cut-off Age for Certain Parts of the Language (Accent, Pronunciation, Grammar or Hearing New Sounds)?
This is an interesting question. In this study, they’re using the concept of critical age in a very narrow context: grammatical accuracy. The conclusions have nothing to do with how many things you can do in the language, or your accent, or the mistakes you make, or whether you'd get a job if you were being interviewed in another language. It’s all about grammatical accuracy – and grammatical accuracy to quite a ridiculous degree, too, as I showed earlier.
But to answer the question, personally I don't think there is a cut-off age. This whole concept of a cut-off age only has weight in a few very specific situations.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s common sense that children tend to learn languages more often than adults. Adults just don't invest the amount of time that children invest in language learning, because it's not mandatory for adults. That's a very big, crucial difference when you're comparing how children and adults learn languages. What matters isn't whether they're children or adults, it's what they're actually doing with their time.
For instance, a child in an immersive environment may play in the language, have friends in the language and go to school in the language. Adults don’t generally have the chance to live in such a total immersion environment. A child not in an immersion environment, simply studying the language at school, will still study it for several hours a week, whereas an adult learner may just use a language app for 10 minutes a day. In these cases, age isn’t a factor; one of them just has a better method than the other.
If you gave a child a smartphone and said, "Use this app for 10 minutes a day," then 10 years later, they're not going to be fluent in the language, are they? But the actual things children tend to do in the language make their strategies better than adults' strategies. And this doesn't mean adults can't use those strategies too. As adults, we can take inspiration from how children learn languages.
Then there’s the question of confidence. I think children tend not to be afraid of making mistakes. A child is more likely to have a perfect accent, because they're OK with getting corrected, and they're OK with saying things wrong many, many times and having native speakers push them in the right direction. Adults tend to be more fearful than children are of trying to use a language.
Adults can take inspiration from that. An adult who has a very, very good strategy can potentially improve their accent, pronunciation and other parts of the language to a native degree.
You Can Pass as a Native Speaker -- Even as an Adult
While it’s demonstrably possible to master a language to native-like ability even if you started learning it as an adult, I think it’s impossible to convince native speakers 100% of the time that you’re a native speaker.
Some of the reasons for this include the sheer difficulty of investing the necessary amount of time when you’re an adult (which I mentioned earlier), as well as all the cultural aspects outside of the language that you would have to master (which I’ll touch on a bit later).
However! It’s definitely possible to pass yourself off as a native speaker some of the time.
I did this myself once. I challenged myself in Brazil to learn to speak like a Carioca, a resident of Rio de Janeiro. I never reached the point where I could always convince everyone I was a native speaker. But for short periods, I was able to convince multiple Brazilian people that I was Brazilian. I always slipped up eventually, either with a cultural mistake or a language mistake, but until that point, I was successfully passing myself off as a native speaker.
I’ve also met polyglots around the world who have convinced me, for a time, that they were native speakers. The accent is there, even a lot of the cultural references are there, but then there’s a slip-up that tips me off that they’re not a native speaker. If you weren’t born into that culture, it’s going to happen eventually.
But you know something? This isn’t that big a deal. And you shouldn’t lose any sleep over not being a perfect replica of a native speaker. Because…
Do You Really Need to Pass Yourself Off as a Native Speaker? (You’re Not James Bond!)
This is a question overlooked by a lot of language learners. If you can reach B2 fluency in a language, or even C1-C2 mastery, why would you need to go that extra mile to try to pass yourself off as a native speaker?
Passing yourself off as a native speaker goes beyond a perfect accent and grammar. You also need to have all the cultural knowledge of that country, too. All the subtle ways people interact with each other, all the little catch phrases and cultural references that were popular there years ago, etc.
For example, I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Ireland, whereas Americans my age grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You could master an Irish accent and convince me beyond any doubt that you’ve never left Ireland...until you accidentally mention watching the Ninja Turtles as a child, which would instantly tip me off that you aren’t from Ireland.
So if you want to truly pass yourself off as a native speaker, not only do you need the perfect accent, grammar, slang and everything, but you would also have to spend months watching all the films, TV shows and even memorable commercials that were popular in that country when you were younger. That’s taking fluency to absurd levels, if you ask me. I think it’s very fair if you’re not willing to go to those lengths.
Unless you’re a secret agent like Jason Bourne or James Bond, where you need to blend into the country, infiltrate the bad guys, save the world and get the girl, then do you really need to take fluency to such lengths?
I doubt it. If you can get to a level of fluency where you can achieve anything that a native speaker can, why would you need more?
Unicorns! The Mythical “Language Gene”
Let’s go back to the research study and its findings that people older than a certain age become more limited in what they achieve in language learning. The study only reported on what the participants did achieve, not what they’re capable of achieving. Considering that many adult learners in the study did achieve native-like proficiency, you should never take anyone – like the news articles – saying "Here's what your limitations are," and believe it, unless it's an actual, measurable biological limitation.
Biologically, I have a limitation that I can't fly, because I don't have wings built into my back. That's just the way it is. But you can’t find a hard-and-fast biological rule for, say, being incapable of learning chess because you’re “too old”. What is that based on? You could try to invent some possible reasons, but it’s just hearsay. There hasn't been any good, solid reason given for why people can't learn languages (or chess!). And to be honest, there hasn't been enough research into successful language learners to see what makes them different. I think that would be a lot more interesting, because there are lots of adult language learners who fail, but until that mythical “language gene” is discovered, you can’t use their experience to deduce that these are strict limitations dictated by your biology.
The “Average Adult” in the Study Doesn’t Represent You!
Regardless of what can or can’t be proven when it comes to our limitations in learning languages as we get older, just remember that the results are always averaged out over all participants.
Two-thirds of a million people from all walks of life participated in this study. Since the average adult doesn’t spend any time in language learning, it’s safe to say that the average adult in this study also doesn’t spend any time in language learning. (Remember that the study was open to people who had studied English at any point in their life, even just for a year or two as a child in school.)
Most adults don’t have any motivation to continue with language studies after they stop being mandatory in school. So they give it up, and their skills decline, and this is reflected in their results on this language quiz.
But then there’s you.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably very interested in learning other languages. And if you’re also an adult, that makes you different to most other adults. You’re part of a very distinct portion of the population that are passionate language learners, and passionate language learners tend to do things differently.
If this study had taken passionate language learners and compared them to child learners, then things would start to get a lot more interesting. The gap in ability between adults and children would narrow quite a bit.
This is already supported by other studies, such as this one, which says (bold emphasis is mine): "Studies that compare children and adults exposed to comparable material in the lab or during the initial months of an immersion program show that adults perform better, not worse, than children (Huang, 2015; Krashen, Long, & Scarcella, 1979; Snow & Hoefnagel-Höhle, 1978), perhaps because they deploy conscious strategies and transfer what they know about their first language."
The Importance of Body Language, Personality and Other Social Cues in Passing Yourself Off as a Local (My Experiences in Spain and Egypt)
I’m going to switch gears here a little. I mentioned earlier that a perfect accent isn’t the only thing you need if you want to pass yourself off as a native speaker. You need to understand all the pop culture references as well, which is nearly impossible if you didn’t grow up in that country.
But there are other things you can do fairly easily, which won’t make you pass as a native speaker all the time, but which will definitely make you fit in better with locals so they feel more at ease around you.
The main things are body language, personality and dress. These have nothing to do with language, but they shouldn’t be overlooked when you’re travelling abroad.
When I was in Spain, I met a man from Sweden. When he spoke, I swear he sounded like a Spanish radio announcer. His Spanish accent was absolutely perfect. If I closed my eyes, I could be convinced I was talking to a native Spaniard.
I was still studying for my Spanish C2 at the time, and this guy’s level practically put mine to shame. And yet, many Spanish people actually told me that I seemed more Spanish than he did. It's in large part because of my body language. This guy kept more distance between himself and others, the way he made eye contact was a bit unusual, and he just generally put people off. No matter how good his Spanish was, his behaviour made locals treat him differently.
So if you try to talk with native speakers in your target language, and they always reply in English, don’t automatically assume it’s your skill level in the language. Take a look at your personality and body language, and ask yourself if these are playing a role.
Your clothing and outward appearance also play a role. When I first went to Egypt, I wasn't planning to make anyone believe I was an Egyptian, but I did want to practise my Arabic. Those first few days, whenever I would try to speak to someone in Arabic, even if I didn’t stumble or make mistakes, they would cut me off and say, "It's OK. We can speak in English."
My initial instinct was to think, "OK. Maybe my accent is so bad that those first few words are giving me away," but actually it's because I just completely and utterly did not look Egyptian.
To solve this problem, I actually sat down in a café with a pen and paper, and I noted everything I could see that was different about Egyptian men around my age, and I noticed I was doing everything wrong. The way I was walking, my facial hair, my shorts and t-shirt (instead of heavier clothes which are the norm), my cap, even my shoes! Everything about my screamed tourist!
So I made a few changes. And right away, people became a lot more inclined to speak Arabic with me, even though I had a strong accent and made quite a few mistakes as I spoke. How I presented myself made me seem more Egyptian, and so speaking with me in Arabic just felt more natural for locals.
In some of my language missions, I would watch TV not to hear what they're saying, but to see their facial expressions, hand gestures, clothing, personal grooming, and other behaviour like how much distance they keep between one another. And I would try to mimic that. And that made all the difference.
”Years of Experience” is a Poorly-Defined Measure of Length of Time Studying a Language
Scott Chacon published a very informative article on Medium along the same lines of what I'm trying to do here, to show you that it’s not hopeless like the headlines are saying. He thoroughly analysed the study’s data (which were released in full by the researchers) and noticed some very interesting findings.
What he found was that there were thousands of participants in the study who outperformed native speakers on the language quiz, even though they began learning after the age of 20! That’s the opposite of the conclusions reported by the press.
Keep in mind that the study’s definition of “native level” is incomplete since it’s only based on those very specific, pedantic grammar questions. But as outlandish as many of the questions were, there were still plenty of adult learners who answered them just fine.
When you take this language quiz, there are some survey questions afterwards about your native language and language-learning history. But only one question is related to how long you’ve been studying English. It asks “When did you start studying English?” and you can answer “from birth” or input the age you were. You also input your current age, and it uses those two numbers to calculate “how long” you’ve been learning the language.
This is not a precise measure at all of how long a person has been studying another language. Think of all the scenarios it fails to consider! For example, suppose you’re 30, and you studied English from age 10 to 12. The survey will wrongly think you’ve been learning for 20 years (since you started at age 10 and are now 30). It doesn’t ask if you ever stopped studying. So it can’t get a true measure of the number of years you’ve been studying.
But even if it did ask you if you ever quit studying, the calculation of your experience would still be inaccurate. “Years of experience” in a language is never a good indication of ability. In my example above, even if the survey knew that you quit studying at age 12, it would consider that to be “two years” of experience. But it would fail to look at the quality of those years.
What were you actually doing to learn the language in those years? Were you sitting in language class for two hours a week, feeling bored and doing the minimum work required? Or were you a passionate learner, spending hours of your free time every week trying to learn as much as you could?
I took German for five years in school, with very little to show for it at the end. I could barely order food or buy a train ticket in German. If I was a pessimist, I would say, “See? I’m crap at languages! I studied German for five whole years and didn’t learn anything!”
But this would be completely false. I didn’t “study” German for five years. I attended classes for two hours a week, nine months a year for five years. I could accumulate the same number of study hours in a few months if I studied for 2-3 hours per day. And the quality of those hours matters too. I spent most of my German classes with my eyes glazed over, thinking about the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. You simply can’t equate an hour of intensive, passionate language study with an hour of half-arsed, mandatory study.
When people come to me and ask, “How many years does it take to learn [insert language here],” I tell them they’re asking the wrong question. Hours – and the quality of those hours – are what matter most in your language learning.
Now, how do you find the hours you need for language learning? In my most intensive language missions, I used a few approaches:
I would work longer hours at my job as a translator to save up some money so I could then devote almost every hour of the day to my language for a while.
I would give up TV shows and any other dead time during the day that kept me from studying.
I would even sometimes give up socialising with friends in languages that I didn’t need to practise.
Add all these hours up over a 3-month mission, and I would make far more progress than I did in those “five years” of German.
Conclusion: You Can Become Fluent at Any Age!
I hope I’ve managed to convince you that the big scary headlines saying “if you haven’t started studying a language by age 10, you’ll never ever be fluent” simply don’t stand up to critical analysis, common sense, or just plain old observation of successful learners in the real world.
Always be sceptical of any news stories that state hard-and-fast rules about people’s language-learning ability. There are exceptions to every rule, so don’t let anyone else define your limitations. Prove them wrong!
Finally, I recorded a one-hour live stream about this news story and the study behind it. You can watch the video here:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGoxmRZWa4U
The post You CAN Learn a New Language After Age 10! Response to Steven Pinker’s Fascinating “Critical Period” Research (and Bogus News Reports) appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
