Benny Lewis's Blog, page 67
November 3, 2017
44 Free Online German Language Lessons and Resources
One of the hardest aspects of learning German is understanding what is being said to you. Native speakers seem to talk a mile a minute. It may all sound like gibberish at first and can be really hard to understand.
The best way to improve is to practise. That’s why it can be helpful to take German lessons and use German resources, so you can listen to German as often as possible.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a massive list of German resources and courses, which I’ve organised into five categories:
German Lessons: With these lessons you can listen to German in a structured environment. More advanced learners can also use lessons to improve their listening skills.
German Videos: Videos will help you understand body language. The visual cues are handy when you don’t completely understand what is being said.
German Podcasts and Radio: Listening to podcasts and radio will expand your knowledge of a range of subjects, from national current affairs to the subtleties of German humour.
German Music: Music will give you an insight into the creative side of the German language.
German News: News anchors tend to speak in Standard German. Listening to the news will give you exposure to formal German, and teach you about current events affecting people in German-speaking countries. This will help enhance your conversational skills.
No matter what your level of German, you’ll find a German resource that works for you!
Free German Lessons Online
There are plenty of German video lessons to choose from. Some are very structured and others take a more humorous approach. All are excellent resources for improving your listening skills. Here are my favourites:
Easy German: This is a series of interviews with native German speakers, conducted out and about on the streets. The channel has videos in other languages that follow the same format.
German in Three Minutes: This is an eight part series that teaches you the basics of manners in German.
Deutsch für Euch: Katja is from southern Germany and wants to put the joy back into learning a language. These are great lessons for beginners, with a backlog spanning two years. Katja covers topics from greetings and sentence structure, to swearing in German! Each episode is presented in English.
Get Germanized: “Meister Lehnsherr” uploads punchy, humorous and beautifully crafted videos every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There is a range of topics to choose from. In addition to German for Beginners, there are videos of German poems, fairy tales and slang. Meister Lehnsherr also creates videos of personal rants, such as denouncing trolls and footage from his travels abroad. Videos are either a mix of German and English, or filmed entirely in German.
smarterGerman: Tutor Michael Schmitz believes you have the ability to learn basic German in thirty days. His channel features a free online video course for tackling the A1 level of German.
FluentU German: Here you’ll find German videos from all over the web, with English subtitles, organised into the one place.
German Videos, Movies and TV
German YouTube Channels and Web Series
These German YouTube channels provide an excellent cultural insight into life in Germany.
GERMAN-NESS: Known as an “alternative city guide”, this web show strives to discover the beauty and uniqueness of each German city. The series started in 2015, with a new video uploaded every week.
Jojo sucht das Glück: “Jojo Seeks Happiness” is as ongoing web series created specifically for language learners by the German television company Deutsche Welle. The show follows a Brazilian girl named Jojo as she settles into life in Cologne. There are three series currently available on YouTube.
Bravo 5: This is an 11 episode series from 2012. The show follows the plight of three German Special Forces soldiers who are summoned to face an inquiry into a failed mission in Afghanistan, which left seventeen civilians dead.
Life Swap: This is an animated web series that follows the lives of two twenty-seven year old men – one German and one New Zealander, who swap lives for a year. This series is a mix of German and English, best suited for beginners.
Live Video Chatting in German
I recommend that you start speaking German as soon as possible - ideally from your first day learning the language.
You can use any one of these programs to have conversations with native German speakers, from anywhere in the world.
Some great resources for video chatting are:
Skype: This is the go-to application for making video calls online. If you download eCamm’s Skype Call Recorder for Mac, or Pamela on Windows, you can record your conversations to review later on.
Periscope: This is a streaming video service that anyone can use to broadcast live videos to their followers. You can search for videos from around the world, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Search for “polyglot” to find yours truly on Periscope!
Apple FaceTime: If both you and your conversation partner have Apple devices, you can call for free using the FaceTime software.
Google Hangouts: Of course Google have a video and voice calling system, which you can use to chat to a friend…or broadcast yourself live on the Internet!
You’ll need to find language partners to make the most of these resources. italki is the best place to find thousands of native German conversation partners, professional teachers and informal tutors .
How to Watch German TV Online
Many German channels are available for streaming online.
Das Erste: Das Erste is Germany’s first public broadcaster. It features a range of shows online – news, sports and even soap operas!
3sat: 3sat is another public broadcaster and broadcasts cultural documentaries. The programming is in standard German or Austrian standard German, depending on what you’re watching. A great resource if you’re interested in gaining a better understanding of the different dialects across German speaking countries. You may need a VPN to watch this channel if you are outside of Central Europe.
Sesamstrasse: This is an interactive learning resource, which features classic videos from the German version of Sesame Street. Learn the German Alphabet, count apples with GrafZahl or sing along to ‘Magst du mich?’ with Ernie and Bert.
Verbotene Liebe: Verbotene Liebe or “Forbidden Love” is a German soap opera that began airing in the mid-1990s. The show is set around Düsseldorf and Cologne and focuses on two families: the well to do Anstetten family and middle-class Brandner family. The storylines range from humorous to downright bizarre. It was unfortunately cancelled a little while ago due to a dip in ratings, but over 4000 episodes aired during its twenty-year span – more than enough material for any German language learner!
Streema: Streema features links for live-streamed German TV channels around the web. Try searching for Austrian and German-Swiss channels as well.
Watch German Movies
Watching German movies is one way to pick up on slang and colloquialisms that wouldn’t always be available in your phrase book.
Here are some websites I use to watch German films:
The Vore: This page links to a selection of legally viewable films in German.
SBS: SBS is Australia’s multicultural and multilingual broadcasting channel, which streams movies in many different languages.
XMovies8: XMovies8 features German speaking films that have been posted on sites such as YouTube.
German Resources: News
News anchors and journalists usually have clear pronunciation, which makes news channels an excellent resource for improving your listening skills. It will also keep you up to date on both national and international topics.
Deutsche Welle: This channel is Germany’s international news broadcaster and streams TV in many languages, including German. They feature run-of-the-mill news coverage as well as programmes.
Slowly Spoken News: Deutsche Welle also provides a Monday-Friday podcast of news in German, spoken slowly and clearly. Each recording comes with a transcript that you can read as you listen to the audio recording.
B5 Aktuell: B5 Aktuell is a news based radio station that you can stream online.
Deutschlandfunk: This is a public broadcasting news radio station with an emphasis on cultural affairs.
NDR: A German broadcaster set in the north. Perfect to listen to if you are interesting in gaining a scope over a wide range of German news.
German Radio
No matter what your interests – sport, comedy, a specific genre of music, there is almost certainly a German radio station out there that will have a show dedicated to that topic.
Radio varies quite a lot from city to city. This will give you a good sampling of the wide variety of accents across each German-speaking country.
Deutschland.fm: An online directory for radio stations all over Germany.
Listenlive.eu Listenlive.eu has a list of online radio from around Germany, with additional notes on the type of music each station tends to favour.
Deutsche Welle: Deutsche Welle is a name that keeps coming up on this list! This company has a gigantic online media library. With cultural programs, music, language learning podcasts and news, there is something there for any language learner.
FluxFM: A radio station for all the die-hard indie fans out there.
Klassik Radio: If contemporary music isn’t your thing, this radio station offers a range of classical music.
German Music
Where words fail, music speaks. – Hans Christian Andersen
Across countries and cultures, people turn to music to help them express the words that they often have trouble saying.
A go-to German music playlist would not only improve your listening skills – it will give you a unique insight into the culture and views of the native speakers of this language.
Use these resources to find German music for free online:
Last.fm German: This site recommends popular German music and allows you to download mp3 files.
Surf Music: Surf Music is a German online radio directory. It has a list of stations all over Germany as well as across the globe.
TuneIn Germany: Click on your German city of choice to see available radio stations based there.
Spotify: Use Spotify to look up the German Top 100 Single Charts, which features a mix of English and German songs.
8tracks German Playlist: A site where people can create German playlists to upload.
German Podcasts
Podcasts are an excellent resource for language learners. This is because they force you to improve your listening skills, since there are no visual cues to rely on as with television.
The following podcasts are directed towards German language learners.
GermanPod101: Comprehensive German lessons for all skill levels.
Coffee Break German: Learn German through short podcast episodes about the length of a coffee break.
Slow German Podcast: Annik Rubens is the pseudonym of a journalist living in Munich. This is a podcast about day-to-day life in Germany that she created as a hobby. Slow German has videos for beginners presented in English, with explanations about important German phrases and words. She also narrates episodes in German, but at a slow enough pace so that intermediate learners will understand.
Deutsch – Warum Nicht?: This audio course tells the story of a journalism student called Andreas, who works at a hotel. The course is structured to cover A1-B1 of the CEFRL, making it perfect for both beginners and the more advanced.
Survival Phrases German: This podcast is designed to provide a basic level of German to those travelling to German speaking countries. Although the lifetime membership is not free, joining gets you access to ten free lessons.
Radio D: “Radio D” reporters Paula and Philipp travel across Germany to investigate strange cases. Each episode is a lot of fun, featuring the two German-speaking detectives, an English narrator and plenty of amusing sound effects.
hr3: German humour can appear quite confusing at first glance. Listening to hr3’s comedy podcast will provide you with a better understanding of how to tickle a German funny bone.
What German Courses and Tools Do You Use?
Using these resources give you more exposure to German and help improve your comprehension and fluency in the language.
Are there any other resources you use to improve your German? Additional suggestions are more than welcome. I’ll see you in the comments!
The post 44 Free Online German Language Lessons and Resources appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 30, 2017
Yoyo Chinese Review: Learn Conversational Chinese
Yoyo Chinese has grown a lot since I first discovered it three years ago, but the important element - how the language is taught - has remained the same.
Before writing this review, I went back to Yoyo Chinese and worked through the Yoyo Chinese Beginner and Intermediate courses as well as the Character course.
I’d like to share my thoughts having used Yoyo Chinese as a beginner to the language, and then having revisited the course as an advanced Chinese speaker (I’m somewhere between HSK5 and HSK6 in terms of level).
What is Yoyo Chinese?
Yoyo Chinese is an online education company that teaches Chinese through a combination of video lessons, audio supplements, flashcard reviews and quizzes. It was started in 2007 by Yangyang Cheng and has since become a platform used by over 300,000 students.
Getting Started with Yoyo Chinese
It’s simple to get started with Yoyo Chinese. Once you’ve signed up for their course, you can access it from your account dashboard. Unfortunately, at this time, they don’t have an app. You can, however, access the platform from the browser on your phone and it works just as well.
Upon enrolling in a course, you’re taken to the home screen where you can see your study statistics and where you left off after your last learning session. As a new student, you’ll see the first lesson from your course. You can click ‘start’ to dive in, or if you prefer to browse the course materials, you can click ‘courses’ up at the top, select your course and navigate through the materials that way.
As you navigate to the different parts of the course, helpful dialogue boxes pop up, explaining how to get the most out of that particular feature of the course.
From there, it’s up to you to decide how you want to work through the course. But if at any point you ever have any doubts, each of the Yoyo Chinese courses has a detailed study plan available to you in the resource section.
When studying with Yoyo Chinese, you have the option of several courses including:
Beginner Conversational Course
Chinese Character Course
Intermediate Conversational Course
Chinese Grammar Video Series
Chinese Learning Tips Video Series
While I wasn’t able to complete the material from all of these courses for this review, I did work through sections of each and the quality is impressive.
Studying Chinese with Yoyo Chinese
After you’ve signed up, I recommend diving right into the lessons. There are a few reasons for doing this (namely the fact that you’ll start learning usable phrases), but it’s also only after you’ve completed a lesson that vocabulary is added to your flashcards. If you’d like to be able to do a bit a review, you have to work through the material first.
From there, you can check out the bonus resources which include an interactive pinyin chart; reference videos for different grammar points, additional tips, and live Google Hangout videos; and the download center where you can access Anki flashcards, PDF worksheets, audio files, and sample study schedules for each of the courses in which you’re enrolled.
Yoyo Chinese Review: The Good
There’s a lot to say here, especially since Yangyang, the founder of Yoyo Chinese, is one of the leading experts when it comes to breaking down how to use the Chinese language. I’ve worked through a number of courses and materials trying to figure out Chinese grammar and her lessons almost always ended up being my first choice for explanations. If you struggle with Chinese word order, this is definitely one of the best courses you can take.
The focus of Yoyo Chinese is on spoken Chinese, which fits well with the Speak from Day One approach to language learning. Each of the video lessons is under ten minutes, so you don’t have to find a huge chunk of time to sit down and study. Plus, you can download the audio review sections and work offline. As long as you complete the quiz, your progress is saved so you never have to worry about where you left off.
The courses are mapped out in a way that is easy to follow and everything is designed to keep you engaged. I love the dashboard display where you can see your study stats and where you left off after your previous session.
With each lesson, you start off with a video where the new material is presented through lectures from Yangyang, video clips of Chinese being used ‘out in the wild’, and blackboard breakdowns to explain grammar rules and vocabulary. You are then given access to an audio lesson, a review, and finally, a quiz.
Yoyo Chinese is great if you’re looking to learn the language on your own. As far as courses aimed at independent learners go, there’s nothing more comprehensive than Yoyo Chinese. The material is as basic (the beginner course) or as challenging (the intermediate and soon-to-come upper intermediate courses) as you could want. You can learn characters, conversational Chinese, or even just focus on vocabulary by working with the flashcards.
I found the course useful because the language that you learn is a lot less “stale” than other methods. I especially like that Yoyo Chinese works to incorporate dialogues and lessons with speakers who are not actors so that you can learn the language the way that it’s actually spoken.
For example, in one of the lessons, the host asks people what they usually do on the weekend.
Host: Excuse me, how do you usually spend your weekend?
Yangyang then uses that same sentence structure to teach you to ask how someone usually spends Spring Festival, showing you that you can recycle the majority of the phrase you learned to be practical in different situations.
Response: I usually just accompany my girlfriend to do a little shopping. Or I stay at home and go online, or something.
She then breaks down the reply into useful language “chunks” and explains the grammar with easy to understand examples.
Each unit includes a Lesson Notes PDF that you can download to review later on. These were very detailed and incredibly helpful and probably my favorite part of the course (aside from the video content).
Within the quizzes, each individual question was the right level in terms of challenge. Rather than offer you a variety of diverse answers that make it easy to use the process of elimination to work out the right answer, you’re given options that are often quite similar. You’re really tested on how well you know the material because “close enough” won’t cut it.
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Yoyo Chinese Review: What Could Be Better?
Yoyo Chinese don’t yet have an advanced course, so for me as an advanced learner a lot of the material (even in the intermediate course) was review. Review can be helpful, but I would love to see either an advanced conversation or advanced character course. They have an intermediate-advanced course in the works, but until that is released, Yoyo Chinese isn’t the best choice for upper intermediate or advanced learners.
Related to this, I found that in the intermediate course there was a little too much repetition in the quiz content. At the intermediate stage, I’d like the quizzes to be more challenging and diverse rather than posing the same question three different ways.
I’m a big fan of studying through flashcards and spaced repetition, so I really like that Yoyo Chinese has a flashcard tool:
httpvh://youtu.be/QjlPs52QBvM
That said, I find it frustrating that you can only see flashcards for words you’ve already studied. Essentially you need to “unlock” flashcards by completing lessons Also, you can only study flashcards once they come up review (this is determined by spaced-repetition), so there’s no option to work through cards independently.
They have downloadable Anki flashcards for the lessons, but I’m not an Anki user (#memriseforlife), so this wasn’t useful for me. I’d really like to have the option to customize the flashcard review section so that I could use it however I felt I needed.
Finally, I wish that there was a way to skip directly from the quiz from the main lesson page. Or at the very least, a way to manually mark the lesson as complete. The way that it is setup now, you need to select ‘Start Practice’ from the main page, then ‘Next’ from the audio page, and then ‘Skip to Quiz’ from the review page. Sometimes I like to be able to take the quiz first to see just how much of the content I already know before spending time on the lesson. And to be completely upfront with you, I also am a bit of a completionist so I like to be able to mark everything as done.
Overall, however, these are tiny complaints against how amazing Yoyo Chinese is!
YoYo Chinese Review: The Bottom Line
Would I recommend Yoyo Chinese?
当然. Of course.
Overall, the attention to detail and the thoroughness of the program is impressive. They’ve even gone as far as designing the course avatars to be the Chinese Zodiac animals! All of these fun little elements make the environment a fun place to study without taking away or distracting from the learning experience.
If you’re a beginning Chinese student, or even intermediate, no one teaches and presents Chinese better than Yangyang. The course is perfect for those who want to work at their own pace. It’s incredibly thorough in scope and I just love the way the material is broken down for you.
Want to try it out for yourself? You can sign up for Yoyo Chinese here.
The post Yoyo Chinese Review: Learn Conversational Chinese appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 27, 2017
International Pig Latin: 7 Funny Word Games from Languages Around the World
It's probably the best known example of a language game in English, sometimes called a "ludling" or "argot".
So, how does it work?
How to Play Pig Latin
In case you grew up under an ock-ray, here's how Pig Latin works:
If a word starts with a consonant (or group of consonants), you move it to the end and add -ay. So e.g. "three" becomes "ee-thray".
If a word starts with a vowel, you simply add -ay. So "and" becomes "and-ay".
So the name of the game itself becomes ig-pay atin-lay, and the name of this website is uent-flay in-ay ee-thray onths-may.
We don't know who invented Pig Latin, but there are historical references to it dating back to the 19th century!
Unsurprisingly, similar word games exist in many other languages. Sometimes people use them because they don't want to be understood, although it doesn't always work, as seen in an episode of The Simpsons:
Bart: Why don't you let us watch T.V. and get her a Roofie CD?
Lisa: (in pig latin) Don't tell mum Roofie has CD's!
Bart: (in pig latin) Why not? What could go wrong?
Lisa: (in pig latin) She'll buy them, stupid!
Marge: (in pig latin) You know, I was young once too!
Bart/Lisa: Ap-cray!
Other times, people use these games just because they're silly. Here are some examples of silly, Pig Latin style word games in a few different languages:
1. Spanish Word Game: Jeringonza (“Gibberish”)
The name of this game translates roughly as "jargon" or "gibberish". Sometimes known as jeringozo, jerigonza, or jerigoncio, it's played by children all across the Spanish-speaking world.
In jeringonza, you double every vowel sound and add a "p" in a the middle. For example, if a syllable contains an a, you'd replace it with "apa".
The word español becomes "epes-papa-ñopol", and the name of the game itself becomes "jepe-riping-opon-zapa".
There are several different versions of jeringonza, depending on where you live in the Spanish speaking world. In some places, it might be more common to use "chi" or "f" instead of "p". It's also found in very similar forms in other languages, as we'll see.
2. Portuguese Word Game: Lingua do Pê (“P-Language”)
Lingua do Pê means "P-Language", and it's essentially the same as jeringonza. It just has a different name in Portuguese. (Although in some Spanish-speaking areas you might hear jeringonza being called idioma de la Pe).
Brasil in Lingua do Pê would be "Brapa-sipil." Lingua becomes "lipi-guapua".
3. Italian Word Game: Alfabeto Farfallino (“Little Butterfly Alphabet”)
Italian children play a game that's very similar to jeringonza or lingua do pê. Instead of inserting a "p" between vowels, they use "f". This results in words like "cafa-safa" (casa, house) and "stefe-llafa" (stella, star).
Italians call this game alfabeto farfallino - "little butterfly alphabet". This is because all those extra "f"s create words that sound like farfalla, meaning "butterfly".
4. German Word Game: Löffelsprache (“Spoon Language”)
Löffelsprache means "spoon language". Like jeringonza or alfabeto farfallino, you duplicate the vowel in each syllable. This time, instead of adding a "p" in the middle, you add "lew," "lef" or "lev".
Take JFK's famous pronouncement "ich bin ein Berliner!". Despite the persistent myth that America’s 35th president told a Berlin crowd “I am a doughnut”, this phrase simply means “I am a Berliner (i.e. a citizen of Berlin)”.
But what if JFK had been speaking Löffelsprache? Then it would have been "ilewich bilewin eilewein Belewerlilewinelewer!". Like a tasty Berliner doughnut, that's somewhat of a mouthful.
As you can see, Löffelsprache results in some very long words - and this is in a language that's already famous for having long words.
Imagine driving down an Autobahn (Aulewautolewobahlewahn?) and seeing a sign that says Geleweschwilewindilewigkeileweitsbelewegrelewenzulewung. That's Löffelsprache for "Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung", which means "speed limit". So much for German efficiency...
5. French Word Game: Verlan (“Back-to-Front”)
Many, many slang words in French come from verlan. This is a phenomenon where people create new words by saying existing words backwards, or swapping their syllables. So français becomes céfran and merci becomes cimer.
The name verlan comes from of l'invers - "the inverse" or "back-to-front". Swap the syllables of l'invers and you get ver-lan. So the word verlan is itself verlan!
Generally, converting a word to verlan doesn’t change its meaning; it’s just a humourous way of saying the same thing. Sometimes, however, a piece of verlan becomes so common that it takes on a life of its own.
One of the best examples of this is meuf, an inversion of femme (woman or wife). Meuf is so well-established in French that its meaning has shifted slightly. If a French man says ma meuf, this would be understood as "my girlfriend", whereas ma femme would mean his wife.
In fact, meuf is so commonplace that you'll even hear French people "verlanising" the word a second time to create feumeu. This “double-verlanisation” process is sometimes called verlan au carré - verlan squared. Another example of this is rebeu, which comes from beur, which comes from arabe - "Arab".
6. Nordic Word Game: Rövarspråket (“Robber Language”)
"Rövarspråket" is Swedish for "robber language". To speak it, you double every consonant and add an "o" in the middle.)
Hur är läget is Swedish for "how's it going?". In rövarspråket it becomes hohuror äror lolägogetot? What a mouthful. The name of the language itself would be röpövaparspråpåkepet.
Rövarspråket was made famous in Sweden by the children's author Astrid Lindgren, best known to English-speaking audiences as the creator of Pippi Longstocking. In Lindgren's hugely successful series of books about boy detective Kalle Blomkvist ("Bill Bergson" in English translations), the children use rövarspråket as a code when solving crimes.
The same game exists in Norwegian, where it's called røverspråk, and Icelandic, where it's known as goggamál.
7. British Word Game: Cockney Rhyming Slang
In the 19th century, the word "Cockney" referred to somebody from the East End of London, particularly a member of the working classes. Historically there was a very distinctive "Cockney accent", although it's less prominent these days.
Perhaps the most famous on-screen depiction of a Cockney accent is Dick Van Dyke's character in Mary Poppins. This is a shame, because Van Dyke's accent in that movie is atrocious. He sounds nothing like a real Londoner.
Cockney English is internationally famous for its "rhyming slang". The basic idea is that you replace a word with a two-word rhyme, and drop the second word. So "stairs" becomes "apples and pears", which gets simplified to "apples". Someone might then say "up the apples" to mean "up the stairs."
If I had a pound for every time an American has asked me about "Cockney rhyming slang", I'd have a lot of bees. ("Bees" = "bees and honey" = "money"... geddit?). Except almost no-one in the U.K. would understand me if I used "bees" like this. Cockney rhyming slang isn't nearly as prominent in British English as Americans seem to think it is.
Still, some rhyming slang terms are more well-known than others. If you're not sure of something, you could say that you "haven't got a Scooby", i.e. you haven't got a "Scooby Doo" - a clue.
You might also call someone a "berk", which is slang for "idiot". While "berk" itself isn't particularly offensive, it was originally rhyming slang for "Berkeley Hunt", which comes from... well, use your imagination.
Do you know any other language games? Does your native language have a well-known game like Pig Latin? Let us know in the comments.
The post International Pig Latin: 7 Funny Word Games from Languages Around the World appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 23, 2017
10 Terrible Language Learning Tips (Don’t Follow These)
I'd also got frustrated with people asking me what the “secret” is to learning a new language, yet never seeming satisfied with my answer of "There is no secret; you need to work hard, speak often and early with people, make many mistakes and use it for real."
So I put together a light-hearted article of really, really bad language learning advice.
Anyway, I recently asked the Fluent in 3 Months community about the worst language learning tips they've ever received.
And I got some fantastic answers. Here's what you told me.
1. "Old Parrots Can't Learn to Speak"
Lidys Garcia shared the Spanish phrase "Loro viejo no aprende a hablar" - "old parrots can't learn to speak". The English equivalent is "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
Scott Willett said he's heard similar bad advice:
You're getting started too late in life. You'll never be able to perfect an accent if starting to learn a language as an adult. - Scott Willett
And Thames Loris said he's been told:
If you are past early teens, there's no point in learning languages, that you'll never be fluent.
I know this advice is bogus. Until I was in my early 20's, I only speak English. In my view, adults can be better language learners than kids.
If you're struggling with the idea of "I'm too old to learn a language," you may find this article from Lisa Hoashi helpful: How Getting Older (and Wiser) Improved My Language Learning Skills. Lisa started travelling and language learning in her 30's.
2. Only Adults Can Learn a Second Language
David C. Maness said the worst advice he's heard is:
You need to wait until 9th grade before you'll be ready to start a foreign language.
This advice is totally ridiculous. It's so silly I'm not even going to comment.
If you'd like to know more about raising bilingual children, check out these Fluent in 3 Months articles:
How monolingual parents can raise a bilingual child
Bilingual Baby: How to Teach Your Baby Two Languages
3. School is the Only Place to Learn a Language
Elenaria Gydemo Östbom said the worst language advice she's heard is:
You must go to school to learn a language. You need to study languages at school, how're you supposed to learn otherwise?
I've heard this one a lot. It's a common myth -- there are plenty of people in the world who believe you have to go to school to learn a new skill.
My take is that while school can be helpful for some language learners, it's not right for everyone. The first foreign language I learned was Spanish. And I really struggled taking Spanish classes - it was only when I put myself out there and started speaking Spanish in the real world that my language skills really took off.
School is also really expensive. There are much more cost effective ways to learn a new language. I'd always recommend that you start by speaking a language.
4. Just Watch Movies
Just watch the TV or movies.
Jonross Swaby explains why this is bad advice: "Maybe you'll learn something from that, but it's going to take a REALLY long time to get anywhere in the language without doing any actual study."
In my view, watching movies can be a good way of learning a language, as long as it's not the only thing you do, and if you go about it the right way - which I explain here.
5. Choose an "Easy" Language
Nikko Nolasco, who is learning Mandarin, has been told:
That language is too difficult! Study an easier one like Spanish.
My view is that all languages (including Chinese) can be easy - it's more about your mindset than your language.
The easiest language to learn is the one that you want to learn. Staying motivated is the key to learning a language - not whether the language has complicated grammar, tricky pronunciation or a different alphabet.
6. Start With Grammar
Here's the bad language learning tip J. D. Nedge shared:
Start with grammar.
J. D. says: "I love grammar, I'd say it's one of my favourite aspects about a language. But that's just cruel advice."
How is it cruel? Because it's frustrating to learn about grammar when you have no vocabulary you can apply the grammar too.
From my point of view, grammar is best for intermediate learners. Start by getting confident at using the language in real world situations (even if you're making a lot of mistakes). Then polish up your grammar later.
When you study grammar after you've been learning a language for a while, it makes a lot more sense.
7. Memorise Word Lists
Linda Noman says the advice she's heard (which is "so bad") is:
Pick some words randomly and memorise them.
Linda points out that this is often what happens at school. You're given a word list and expected to memorise every word on that list. Even if you're never likely to use that word in a real world situation.
Here's my take: Focus on learning vocabulary you'll actually use. That way, you're more interested in learning it, so it's more likely to stick in your mind.
8. There's No Logic to Grammar
David Peder Willumsen gave the following as an example of the bad language advice he's received:
There are no patterns or reasons for a lot of the grammar, you just need to learn it.
David adds: "This was advice given many times by people when I asked questions. But as I learnt, and suspected, there are many many familiar rules and patterns that can help you to hack and expedite your languages learning!"
This is so true. In most languages there are simple hacks you can use to get your head around the language and pick it up much faster.
9. Immersion is the ONLY Way to Learn a Language
Shawntelle-Juwarriyya Azzouz says the worst language advice is:
You will never ever learn your target language, without packing up and going to the place it is spoken and learn it there.
I know from experience that travel and immersion can be helpful. But I've also learned Arabic by speaking in Brasil.
The truth is, there's plenty you can do to immerse yourself in a language without leaving the comfort of your own home.
10. Get "Perfect" At a Language Before You Speak It
Dominick O'Dierno shared the following example of bad language advice:
"It's better to speak slowly and perfectly than to speak quickly and let a few mistakes slip through".
I've written a lot about the dangers of perfection here, here and here. My approach when learning a language is to make as many mistakes as possible - 200 mistakes a day is my aim.
And I've learned from experience that the best way to learn a language is to speak from the very first day you start learning.
Bonus: Learning a Language is Pointless
This isn't so much bad language advice as pure discouragement -- but lots of people brought it up as something they hear from others when they mention they're learning a language.
Debs Bensaul she says people give her "incredulous" looks and "laugh" at her for learning a language. She adds: "Sometimes I get the 'why on earth do you bother' comment."
Maria Padilha said people ask her: "But when are you ever going to use THAT?"
I'll only say this: If you've got the spark inside you to learn a language, then go ahead and learn a language. Don't let the naysayers hold you back!
The post 10 Terrible Language Learning Tips (Don’t Follow These) appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 20, 2017
How to Learn the Spanish Subjunctive: A Simpler Approach
What's the difference between comemos and comamos? Don't they both mean "we eat"? Why does Spanish have two words where English has only one?
It's not just learners of Spanish who struggle here. The subjunctive - sometimes called the "conjunctive" - is found in many European languages - French, Portuguese, Italian, German, and even Welsh, to name just a few. English speakers often struggle to learn it.
The subjunctive is a mood, not a tense. It contrasts with the indicative mood, which is just a fancy word for the "normal" verb forms that are used much more often.
Believe it or not, the Spanish subjunctive doesn't have to be intimidating or difficult.
Most Spanish grammar books explain how to use the subjunctive, but do a bad job of explaining what it actually is. My aim in this article is to give you what the grammar books don't. I want to give you some "a-has" that make you see the subjunctive in a new light, and hopefully make it easier to learn.
My focus will be on the Spanish subjunctive, but the principles I explain should help with the subjunctive in any language.
This article is not:
A guide to subjunctive verb forms - i.e. the subjunctive endings for hablar, comer, partir etc.. If that's what you're after, I recommended this resource.
A detailed explanation of the subjunctive's every last subtlety and intricacy. Such explanations are helpful, but starting with them would be like building a house from the roof downwards. My aim here is to give you a foundation.
But first, let's look at the wrong way to learn the subjunctive, otherwise known as "how most people do it".
How Not to Learn The Subjunctive Mood
My first brush with the subjunctive was in French, not Spanish. My lessons could be a case study in what not to do:
1. Make the Subjunctive Feel Mysterious and Intimidating
I studied French for about ten years in school. The subjunctive was introduced about halfway through. Yep, that's right: it took five years to get there.
Never mind that French/Spanish/etc. children all use the subjunctive with ease. To them, it's just another part of the language - nothing particularly interesting or special about it.
To me, however, the subjunctive was an enigmatic mystery. I'd heard of it, but no-one would explain what it was. People spoke of it in awestruck whispers, like a superweapon too dangerous to handle. Clearly it was far beyond the capabilities of feeble young minds like my own.
So when we did start learning the subjunctive, it felt like a HUGE deal. I'd been conditioned to expect a scary, intimidating, impossibly difficult challenge.
This is not a mindset that's conducive to learning!
2. Treat the Subjunctive as a List of Rules To Be Memorised.
Okay, so you're not falling for the scare tactics. You've built up to the courage to tackle the subjunctive. How will it be presented to you?
Probably something like this: a long and boring list of rules. Use a subjunctive in a subordinate clause with a change of subject when the first verb is blah, blah blah... Asleep yet?
You might learn a mnemonic like "WEIRDO" to help you remember all these rules. But the focus is always on when to use a subjunctive, with too little attention paid to "why".
As well as being exceptionally boring, this is just about the most slow and ineffective way you can possibly learn the subjunctive. Native speakers don't do it like this! There's a much better way.
The Right Way to Learn the Subjunctive
An analogy: what's the difference between "do" and "make" in English? You might find it obvious, but not everyone agrees.
In Spanish there's just one word - hacer - that means both "do" and "make". Spanish speakers who learn English are often unsure which word to use.
But to a native English speaker, it barely requires thoughts. "Do" and "make" are different words! They mean different things - isn't it obvious?
You might not always be able to explain the difference (why do we "do the dishes" but "make the bed"?) but still you know what's correct. "Do" and "make" simply feel different.
This is how the subjunctive feels to native Spanish speakers.
If they need to choose between habla (indicative) and hable (subjunctive), they don't think about what the "rules" are. They simply pick the word that means what they want to say. The "WEIRDO" mnemonic doesn't factor into their reasoning.
So, if you want to use the subjunctive correctly, this is the first and most important step you must take: you must understand what it means.
Here's where I hope I can be helpful.
What Does The Subjunctive Mean?
Let's stick with the word hablar - "to speak". Ella habla español means "she speaks Spanish", while ella hable español means... "she speaks Spanish", but it's subjunctive.
When should you use each one? What's the difference in meaning?
The easiest way to see the difference is to compare some example sentences:
Indicative:
Estoy seguro de que ella habla español (I'm sure she speaks Spanish)
Es cierto que ella habla español. (It's true she speaks Spanish)
Sé que ella habla español (I know she speaks Spanish.)
Subjunctive:
Espero que ella hable español (I hope she speaks Spanish)
Dudo que ella hable español. (I doubt she speaks Spanish)
Es posible que ella hable español. (It's possible she speaks Spanish)
No hay ninguna posibilidad de que ella hable español. (There's no chance she speaks Spanish.)
Go down the list, and for each sentence ask yourself: "does she speak Spanish?".
As should be clear, in the indicative sentences, the answer is "yes" or "probably". In the subjunctive sentences, the answer is "maybe" or "no".
This is the fundamental difference between the indicative and the subjunctive.
Indicative verbs describe reality: actions, certainty, truth, the concrete.
Subjunctive verbs describe possibility: desires, doubts, wants, the ephemeral.
Now, by itself this doesn't teach you everything you need to know. Some situations don't neatly fit into either category. But grasping this "real" vs. "possible"" distinction is the key to a deep understanding of the subjunctive.
Where English Comes in Handy
At this point it's helpful to take a closer look at the English subjunctive.
Wait, what? You heard me right: English has a subjunctive. We just don't usually notice it, because it's a master of disguise.
Take a look at this sentence:
"If I had the money, I would pay you."
Think about that "had". At first glance, it appears to be the past tense of "to have". But why use the past tense? The speaker isn't talking about the past. They're saying that they don't have money now. This sentence is describing a state of affairs in the present.
It seems there's more to that "had" than meets the eye. Ladies and gentlemen, we're dealing with a subjunctive.
Compare it with the simple sentence "I had money". In this case, had is clearly referring to the past, and is a simple indicative verb. It's the addition of an "if" that shakes things up.
That's the problem: the subjunctive form of "to have" looks just the past tense. In both cases the word is "had", but the meaning is subtly different.
(Note: I often hear Americans using the the conditional perfect "if I would have" instead of the past subjunctive "if I had". For example, an American might say "If you would have told me that, I would have said something."
(I'm not going to get into an argument about prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar. I just want to note that, as a Brit, this really grates my ears. Dear America: please stop saying this. And drop "a long ways" and "on accident" while you're at it.)
The only time the English subjunctive becomes obvious is with the verb "to be". You can see this in the expression "if I were you". "I were" is subjunctive, and without an "if" it sounds ungrammatical.
Spanish, on the other hand, makes the distinction clear for all verbs:
Tenía dinero = I had money. (Tenía is indicative.)
Si tuviera dinero = If I had money. (Tuviera is subjunctive. It could also be tuviese, which means the same thing.)
As an exercise, compare these English sentences:
If I had the money, I would pay you.
If I had had the money, I would have paid you.
If I have the money, I will pay you.
For each sentence, ask yourself: is the speaker talking about the past, present, or future?
How would the meaning of "had", "had had" and "have" change if you dropped the "if" in front of it?
Also notice how the verb in the second clause changes based on the first clause - "would pay" vs. "would have paid", etc.. Can you swap this around and still have it make sense?
Now look at the Spanish translations. Can you see how they follow the same grammatical patterns as their English counterparts?
Si tuviera el dinero, te pagaría.
Si hubiera tenido el dinero, te habría pagado.
Si tenga el dinero, te pagaré.
Thinking about these examples should help you understand what the subjunctive means in both English and Spanish.
More Examples to Help You Understand What The Subjunctive Means
Don't be afraid of your grammar book. I didn't say "never study the rules", I simply recommended that you don't study them first.
That "WEIRDO" acronym isn't completely useless.
But before you get there, let's look at some more real-world uses of the subjunctive. The below examples all helped me to understand what the subjunctive means.
Creo que Benny habla chino - I think Benny speaks Chinese. (indicative)
No creo que Benny hable chino - I don't think Benny speaks Chinese. (subjunctive)
In the first sentence, the implication is that Benny does speak Spanish - as far as the speaker knows. So we use an indicative.
The second sentence introduces an element of doubt. Habla doesn't make sense anymore - we need to switch to the subjunctive hable.
Es que yo quiero bailar - "It's that I want to dance." (indicative)
No es que yo quiera bailar - "It's not that I want to dance." (subjunctive)
"Es que..." is a common Spanish filler phrase. There's no reason why the first sentence can't be indicative - the speaker wants to dance! We're talking about a real, concrete want.
In the second sentence, things are negated. Now the verb "want" is referring to an abstract non-event, so it must use a subjunctive - quiera.
Busco a alguien que tiene una barba - indicative
Busco a alguien que tenga una barba - subjunctive
This is an advanced one! Both sentences mean "I'm looking for someone who has a beard"- but there's a subtle difference.
The first sentence, with the indicative "tiene", implies that you're looking for a specific bearded person. Say your friend Gandalf has gone missing, and you're trying to figure out whether anyone has seen him. In this case you'd use "tiene", because your friend is real, and he really has a beard.
The second sentence, however, implies that you're looking for anyone with a beard - you don't care whom. So who's the subject of the verb "have"? No-one in particular - the action of "having a beard" is a theoretical, abstract possibility, not tied to anything concrete in the real world. So you need the subjunctive "tenga".
This is a great example of how the subjunctive allows for finer shades of meaning that would require extra words to translate precisely into English.
Ella me dijo que ve Juego de Tronos - "she told me that she watches Game of Thrones"
Ella me dijo que vea Juego de Tronos - "she told me to watch Game of Thrones."
This is an example of how the subjunctive is used to describe orders, requests and demands.
The "watches" in the first sentence is a bog-standard indicative. She really does watch Game of Thrones.
The second "watch" is less concrete. I'm not watching Game of Thrones yet (sadly for me). The verb refers to the abstract possibility of me watching it, therefore a subjunctive is in order.
Where To Go From Here?
The subjunctive is a big topic. There are many subtleties that I haven't covered, but I hope I've given you a solid foundation.
It's finally time to dig out your grammar book. Look at the WEIRDO example sentences, contrast with the indicative, and see if it makes sense. I recommend making flashcards to learn the sentence structure.
Just remember the golden rule: focus on the meaning, not rules.
You'll know you've mastered the subjunctive when you no longer realise that you're using it. You won't have to think about it - tenga, hable, sea etc. will come out of your mouth and it won't feel like a big deal. You won't just understand the difference, you'll feel the difference - just like a native speaker would.
Do you have any tips for learning the Spanish subjunctive, or the subjunctive in any other language? What helped you wrap your head around its meaning? Let us know in the comments.
The post How to Learn the Spanish Subjunctive: A Simpler Approach appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 16, 2017
Mimic Method Review: Will You Sound More Like a Native Speaker?
The Mimic Method is an approach developed by language trainer Idahosa Ness to teach language learners the sound system of their new language.
Idahosa has learned Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Mandarin Chinese – all as an adult – and he's found that the most effective way of learning a language is “by ear”.
The aim of the Mimic Method is to teach this “by ear” method to learning a language, so you can improve your pronunciation and accent, and sound more like a native speaker.
In Idahosa’s view, most language courses focus on vocabulary and reading, but miss out on the “sound system” of a language – and language is sound. Language is about speaking and hearing — so that means your learning should include both of these. As Idahosa puts it:
There is a reason so many of us are afraid of learning through hearing – our education system taught us to rely on learning through seeing. What’s the first thing we do when we want to learn a new skill? We find a book or article on the subject and get to consuming those little black squiggles we call “scripts” with our eyeballs.
The Mimic Method is a series of courses that involve learning languages through hearing. The courses aim to help language learners improve their pronunciation. There are Mimic Method courses available for Chinese, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
Idahosa has been mistaken for a native speaker in a number of the languages he speaks. So his”learning by hearing” methods clearly work for him.
But does the method work for anyone? Can a simple course really help with pronunciation?
I decided to try out a Mimic Method Spanish course since it’s a fairly new language for me and my Spanish pronunciation has room to grow. I wanted to make sure I gave the course a fair shot before writing my review, so I worked my way through the entire course – not just reading and watching – but doing all the exercises and homework.
How did I get on with the Mimic Method? Here’s my Mimic Method review…
Mimic Method Review: The Elemental Sounds Masterclass
For the purposes of this review, I took the Mimic Method’s Elemental Sounds of Spanish Masterclass. It’s a six hour video course focused on pronunciation skills.
I went into the course feeling skeptical, and unsure of whether it was really for me. Pronunciation has never been high on my priority list when I’m learning a language. I figured that as long as the things I said were comprehensible to a native speaker, that was “good enough”.
With that in mind, I’d like to share a little more about how the course works.
The Elemental Sounds Masterclass is not a traditional language courses. The course doesn’t teach grammar vocabulary. Rather, they teach you the sounds of the language. The course breaks a language down into all of its elemental sounds. For Spanish, this is 39 different sounds that you need to be fluent in Spanish. You learn how to create each of those sounds before combining them, then finally creating words and phrases.
Because of the focus on pronunciation, the Element Sounds Masterclasses are suitable for language learners of all levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. That said, Idahosa, the creator of the Mimic Method, advises taking his course as soon as possible after you start to learn a new language. In his experience, it’s easier to train your mouth to create the sounds of the new language when you’re starting out than it is to have to retrain after months or years of forming bad pronunciation habits.
I found the Elemental Sounds Masterclass structure really clear and easy to follow. There are a total of five modules:
Introduction
Fixed & Moving Vowels
Easy Consonants
Tricky Consonants
From Sounds to Syllables
The course is structured allows to give you a few relatively easy wins early on before moving onto more advanced material.
Each module includes two video lessons, a homework assignment, audio drills and a Q&A supplementary video. You also have access to a resources page where you’ll find a phoneme index, an elemental sounds checklist, and a 500 word frequency list (all of which are extremely helpful and detailed).
The majority of the course is made up of video lessons, and these are hosted online. So while you can download the homework assignments and exercises to work on offline, the actual lessons are only accessible when you’re connected to the Internet. Each of the video lessons is around 20 – 40 minutes in total, so you do need to set aside a decent block of time to work through them. The course is meant to be completed in order, as each unit builds on concepts in the previous units. According to Idahosa Ness, the course usually takes between two and four weeks to complete, depending on the student.
While the scope of the course is limited – though I feel the word ‘focused’ would be the more appropriate descriptor – it goes incredibly in-depth. Idahosa knows his stuff.
As well as learning to create the sounds of your new language, you’re taught the technical terminology for the sounds you’re creating and the movements that you’re making. You're often shown diagrams of mouth shapes, accompanied by the anatomical terms. And to top it off, you are taught words like “aspirated fricatives”, “flaps” and “trill”. It seems intimidating at first, but when Idahosa begins to explain how different movements and positions form different sounds, the information quickly shifts from overwhelming to clear. It’s a bit like a light switch going on in your brain, and you suddenly “get” how pronunciation works.
Idahosa even encourages you to learn the International Phonetic Alphabet (confession: I did not do this and had no interest in doing it). But he really breaks language sounds down in a way that, despite all of the jargon, makes sense.
Mimic Method Review: What Did I Learn?
As I said, when I started the Elemental Sounds course I was skeptical. I wasn’t sure I really needed to work on my pronunciation.
The biggest challenge for me when I’m learning a new language isn’t learning vocabulary or grammar. It’s not pronunciation either. It’s confidence. I’ve spent years developing my self-confidence. These days, I know that even when I feel terrified inside about speaking a new language (which I sometimes still do), I have the power to just get on and do it.
But anything that helps me build my confidence is a good thing.
And I found that working on my pronunciation gave me a big confidence boost. That was a surprise win!
Yet the confidence boost wasn’t even the biggest win I got from the course.
The most important thing that I took away from the course is that working on pronunciation didn’t just improve my speaking skills. I found that the Mimic Method is an incredible way to really boost listening comprehension — and listening is one of the biggest challenges for languages learners.
At the end of the course, after working through all 39 elemental sounds of Spanish, I was able to understand what I heard much more clearly.
This improved ability to understand also helped me to approach conversations with native speakers with more confidence.
The Mimic Method: What’s Not So Great?
At times, I found it frustrating that the course videos are only available online, when you have an Internet connection. I would have liked an option to download the videos so I could watch them on the go.
I’d also say this. The approach you learn in the Mimic Method aligns – in part – with the [Speak from Day One] approach we advocate at Fluent in 3 Months. But they’re not a perfect match.
With the Mimic Method, you focus is on individual sounds and pronunciation, rather than communicating. Ultimately, however, both lead you to the same goal – confident speaking.
Mimic Method Review: The Verdict
I found the Elemental Sounds Masterclass to be a high quality course from the Mimic Method.
The material in the course flows nicely, and leads you towards impressive results at the close of module five.
I enjoyed that you can download the homework assignments and practice material. I was glad that I didn’t have to stay glued to my computer to work on the important stuff, the actual implementation. And because I spend so much time commuting, being able to load the audio to my phone allowed me to use my most valuable study time to work on the course.
The questions in the homework really make you think about the content of the course. It reminded me of a university-quality course, as it requires you to make sure you really understand what you’ve learned. This isn’t a course where you can just go through the motions.
Would I use the Mimic Method again? That is to say either of Idahosa’s courses, whether it’s the Elemental Sounds courses or the Flow program?
Yes, but not just to work on my pronunciation.
I found that having practised the sounds of Spanish, and the ways these sounds can be put I feel more confident in my ability to speak Spanish. I’ve noticed that I’m less likely to get tongue-tied when I’m speaking Spanish. And I no longer feel anxious ahead of Spanish conversation that I won’t understand.
In other words, the Mimic Method is a great way to build your confidence in speaking and understanding a language.
I also learned more about the physical process of speaking a language than I thought I was capable of understanding. It was certainly a nice #win as a language learner.
All in all, the Mimic Method is an excellent course.
If getting better at speaking or discerning the sounds of your language is something you’d like to work at, so you can sound more like a native speaker, and be more confident at speaking a language, then Idahosa Ness and the Mimic Method are the perfect guides.
How to Get a Free Mimic Method Course
You can check out Idahosa Ness’s Mimic Method courses here.
You can also sign up for free introductory Mimic Method courses for specific languages at the following links:
Free Spanish Mimic Method course – sign up here
Free French Mimic Method course – sign up here
Free German Mimic Method course – sign up here
Free Portuguese Mimic Method course – sign up here
The post Mimic Method Review: Will You Sound More Like a Native Speaker? appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 13, 2017
25 Perfect French Idioms that Sound Weird in English
Below I'll share some weird and wonderful examples of widespread French idioms. They should be handy if you want to understand what French people are saying - just try not to think about them too literally.
1. “Il fait un temps de chien!”
Imagine you're walking around Paris with a friend and it starts to rain heavily. Your friend curses, and exclaims il fait un temps de chien! - literally, "it's dog weather!". This is a French way of saying that the weather is very bad - similar to the English expression "it's raining cats and dogs!".
2. “Ta gueule!”
French has two words for "mouth". There's bouche, which means the mouth of a human, and gueule, which is used for the mouth of other animals. (Gueule might also be translated as "muzzle" or "maw".)
So "ferme ta gueule!" in French - often shortened to just "ta gueule!" - means "shut your mouth!", i.e. "shut up!' or "be quiet!", but it has an extra layer of meaning that's hard to convey in an English translation. Because you're saying "gueule" instead of "bouche", you're implying that the person you're talking to is an animal. So it's not very polite!
3. “Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez”
This colourful expression literally means to have mustard going up your nose, and it can be translated as to lose your temper or simply to be angry.
It's easy to imagine where this expression comes from. Just imagine how you'd feel if you inhaled a big dollop of mustard!
4 . “Avoir le cafard”
A cafard is a cockroach. If you avoir le cafard you literally "have the cockroach", which means to feel sad, be depressed, have the blues or be down in the dumps. I guess the sight of a cockroach isn't typically something that cheers people up.
5. “Avoir les chevilles qui enflent”
Avoir les chevilles qui enflent means "to have ankles that swell". If a French person tells you that your ankles are swelling, it doesn't necessarily mean that you should see a doctor. The problem may in fact be your ego.
In French you say someone has swollen ankles if they're being excessively proud or arrogant. It's similar in meaning to the English expressions "to be full of yourself" or to be "big-headed".
6. “Couper les cheveux en quatre”
In English, if someone is being meticulous or pedantic, we might accuse them of splitting hairs. In France, you'd say tu coupes les cheveux en quatre - "you're cutting the hair into four pieces*. It's like the English expression, except they specify exactly how many pieces you're splitting the hairs into.
7. “Péter un plomb”
Péter un plomb literally means to break or blow a fuse. The meaning isn’t completely lost when translated - it means "to go crazy" or “to get very angry".
8. “Avoir un poil dans la main”
Avoir un poil dans la main means "to have a hair in one's hand". Idiomatically, it means "to be lazy" - so lazy that you've let a hair grow out of your palm!
9. “Avoir un chat dans la gorge”
Once you've shaved your palms, you might want to get the cat out of your mouth. Avoir un chat dans la gorge means to "have a cat in your throat". Like the English expression "to have a frog in your throat", this means that you have a sore throat or a heavy cough.
10. "Quand les poules auront des dents”
When will Asterix and Obelix surrender to the Romans? In English we might say that something so unlikely will happen "when pigs fly" or "when hell freezes over." In France you can say quand les poules auront des dents - when chickens have teeth!
Apparently the person who invented this expression was unaware that on rare occasions chickens have in fact been observed to grow teeth!
11. "Les doigts dans la nez”
In English, when something is very easy, you might say that you can do it with your eyes closed or with your hands tied behind your back. In French, you can say "Je pourrais le faire les doigts dans le nez!" - I can do it with my fingers in my nose!
12. "Sentir le sapin”
This means "to feel/sense the fir tree". Fir wood was traditionally used to make coffins, so if you can feel the fir, then you're close to death, or have one foot in the grave. Like its English counterparts, you can use this expression in a figurative sense, not just when someone or something is literally dying. E.g. a project or a campaign might be feeling the fir.
You could also exclaim "ça sent le sapin!", roughly meaning "it's all over!" or "it's the end of the road!"
13. "Manger comme quatre”
Manger comme quatre means to "eat like four" - to eat enough food for four people, which obviously isn't a healthy habit. It's a colloquial way to say that someone eats a lot or eats too much. In English it's more common to say "to eat for two", so presumably English speakers only get half as fat as French speakers.
14. "Prendre quelqu’un la main dans le sac”
Literally, this means "to catch someone with their hand in the bag". You can guess the implication: if you catch a thief while their hand is still in the bag, you've caught them red-handed.
15. "Un coup de foudre”
Foudre means "lightning", and a coup de foudre is a lightning bolt. "Avoir un coup de foudre pour quelqu'un" means to "have a lightning bolt for someone". It means that you've fallen in love with someone at first sight, or fallen head-over-heels in love with them.
A similar expression apparently also exists in Italian, as seen in The Godfather* when Al Pacino's character becomes smitten with a Sicilian girl and his friends talk about him getting "hit by the thunderbolt."
16. "Avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre”
Avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre means "to have (both) butter and butter money" - "butter money" being the money that you would earn by selling your better.
To quote the Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want. But some people can't accept this, and seem to think that they can both have their cake and eat it too - or, as a French person would describe it, keep their butter and get their butter money. Mick Jagger disapproves.
17. "Une bouchée de pain”
Une bouchée de pain is "a mouthful of bread". Bread is cheap (don't tell Marie Antoinnette), so if you buy something for a very low price, you can say je l’ai acheté pour une bouchée de pain - "I bought it for a mouthful of bread."
18. "L’habit ne fait pas le moine”
This means "the clothing doesn't make the monk". Just because someone is dressed in a monk's robes, that doesn't mean that they're actually a monk. So don't judge things based on their appearance alone - don't judge a book by its cover.
Etymological trivia: I translated "l'habit" as "clothing", but a better tradition is simply "habit", which is the traditional English word for a monk's robes. The more commonly-understood meaning of "habit", as in a repeated or customary behaviour, actually comes from the name of the robes - you learn new habits in the same way as a monk puts on his robes.
19. "Il me court sur le haricot”
If someone te court sur le haricot, that means they're "running on your bean". What on earth does that mean? Why, they're getting on your nerves, of course.
20. "Avoir la gueule de bois”
Here's the word guele again that we saw in example 2. A guele de bois is a "wooden mouth". Think about it - when does your mouth feel like wood? Perhaps when it's very dry? Maybe after a night of drinking? That's right - to have a gueule de bois is to have a hangover.
21. "Mettre son grain de sel”
Mettre son grain de sal means "to put one's grain of salt". It's similar to the American expression "to give one's two cents" - it means to give an opinion, with the implication that the person's opinion doesn't really matter, and is perhaps unsolicited or unwanted.
22. "Être dans le cirage”
Cirage means "polish" (as in the thing you put on your shoes, not the country to the east of Germany). If you're dans le cirage - "in the polish", you're groggy, drowsy, half-asleep, or maybe even out for the count, i.e. unconscious.
23. "Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs”
Idioms are an advanced topic in any language. They shouldn't be the first thing you learn; you need to get a solid grasp on the language's fundamentals first. To study French idioms before you know basic French grammar and vocabulary would be to mettre la charrue avant les bœuefs - to put the plough before the cows! (In English it's more common to talk about putting the cart before the horse.)
24. "Ne pas casser trois pattes à un canard”
Imagine a friend told you that they'd broken three legs on a duck. How on Earth did they manage that? Ducks only have two legs! If you found a third leg to break, you've done something extraordinary and newsworthy.
So if something happens that isn't particularly interesting or special, French people might say that il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard - "it doesn't break three legs on a duck". It's nothing special, nothing to write home about.
25. "Jeter l'éponge”
"To throw in the towel" is an English idiom that means to give up or surrender. It comes from boxing: when a fighter is getting badly beat, and his handlers want to forfeit the match on his behalf, they literally throw a towel into the ring to tell the referee to stop the match.
French has a similar expression, except you don't throw in a towel, you jeter l'éponge - "throw in the sponge".
Actually, I just looked that last one up, and supposedly the expression "throw in the sponge" exists in English too. I know that this doesn't break three legs on a duck, but as a Brit I've never heard this variation. I'll start using it when chickens have teeth - that's just my grain of salt.
What are Your Favourite French Idioms?
What do you think of all these French idioms? Are they so easy that you could learn them with your fingers in your nose, or have I left you feeling like you're in the polish? If it's the latter, I'm sorry: I didn't mean run on your bean or blow your fuse.
And are there any interesting or useful French idioms that you think I should have included? What are your favourite idioms in French, English, or any other language? Let us know the comments.
The post 25 Perfect French Idioms that Sound Weird in English appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 9, 2017
Por vs. Para in Spanish: The Ultimate Guide
Most (not all) of the time, both words translate to the word “for” in English. There are a few other translations, which I’ll get to later.
You might be thinking: Why does the language require so many rules just to say something that can be explained with one word in English? If we can get by in English just saying “for”, why do we need two separate words in Spanish?”
Before you start thinking that Spanish is the “weird” language of the two, have an objective look at the English word “for”. Why do we use just this one word to describe many different ideas?
Look at these three sentences:
“I bought eggs for breakfast”
“I bought eggs for €2.99”
“I bought eggs for Harry”
Try explaining to a student of English why the heck we use the word “for” in all three of these sentences! It actually makes less sense to do it this way than to use different words for different contexts. So Spanish has the right idea!
Like any “difficult” language feature, the usage of por and para just takes a bit of practice to get right.
Let’s dig into how you can learn the difference between them.
A Helpful “Por vs. Para” Hack for Right Now
Para has far fewer uses than por. This means you can employ an easy hack to get you using these words in your Spanish conversations as quickly as possible.
It’s simple: just learn the rules for para, and then you can assume that any scenario not covered by the para rules uses por instead. I’ll get to these rules in a moment. I just wanted to reassure you first that it can be relatively quick to reach a “good enough” stage in using por and para.
Is this a perfect hack? Nope! But it’s a quick one! It will get you out and using por and para, at a pretty decent level, right now.
A Longer Term “Por vs. Para” Hack
Over time, you should study all of the usage rules of each word so that you can fine-tune your skills and learn to use each word like a pro.
The best way to do this, in my experience, is to create a flash card deck. Pick an app like Anki or Flashcards Deluxe that uses a spaced repetition system to help you learn more quickly.
Gather as many sentences as you can find that use either por or para. The ones I list later in this article are a good start, but don’t stop there. The more examples you find, the faster you’ll learn how to use each word naturally and without a second thought.
Put the English sentence on one side of each card, and the Spanish translation on the other. When studying, translate each sentence into Spanish, out loud. Trust me, after a day or two of regular practice, you’ll be using por and para like a native speaker.
Por and Para: The Basic Rules
Now let’s get down to business. What are the actual rules for using each word?
Instead of explaining all of the different usage rules, I’m going to start with some examples instead. They should make the rules more clear once I do explain them.
Take a look at the following Spanish para sentences and their English translations. Don’t skim them; read each one, and its translation, carefully.
When to Use “Para”
Estoy estudiando la biología para entrar en la escuela de medicina (I’m studying biology to get into medical school)
Estoy aquí para hablar con Sam (I’m here to talk to Sam)
Ellos construyeron el nuevo puente para aliviar la congestión del tráfico (They built the new bridge in order to alleviate traffic congestion)
El autobús sale para Santiago en diez minutos (The bus leaves for Santiago in ten minutes)
Me aparto para Francia mañana (I depart for France tomorrow)
Hice una cita médica para el lunes (I made a doctor’s appointment for Monday)
Por favor, ten el artículo listo para mañana (Please have the article ready for tomorrow)
Tejí este suéter para mi madre (I knitted this sweater for my mother)
Esta canción es para ti* (This song is for you)
La música es demasiado ruidoso para mí (The music is too loud for me)
Hago ejercicio para mi salud (I exercise for my health)
Can you see a pattern in all of these sentences? They all have something in common. The word para seems to convey the same idea in each sentence, even though the context is different.
The meaning that para conveys is that of a final goal, destination or purpose. This could be a person (“Tejí este suéter para mi madre”), a deadline (“Por favor, tener el artículo listo para mañana”), or a result (“Ellos construyeron el nuevo puente para aliviar la congestión del tráfico).
One more thing: When you see para followed by an infinitive verb, it means “to” or “in order to”. For example, vine aquí para comer (“I came here to eat”) or estoy leyendo el libro para mejorar mi español (“I’m reading the book in order to improve my Spanish”.) This is one of the most common uses of para, and you can clearly see how it conveys a sense of purpose.
Quick exercise: in my three English “egg sentences” at the beginning of this article, which ones have the idea of a goal or purpose? Look at the first one. What was the purpose of the eggs? To be my breakfast. So this sentence translates into Spanish with the word para:
“Compré los huevos para el desayuno.”
That’s really all there is to it for the word para. Next time you’re chatting in Spanish and you’re not sure whether the sentence needs por or para, think back to the idea of a destination, goal or purpose. Is there a single endpoint, or an objective, in the sentence? If so, then you can be fairly confident that para is the right choice.
When to Use “Por”
Now check out these sentences that use por:
He vivido en Colombia por cinco años. (I lived in Colombia for five years)
Veo la televisión por una hora todos los días. (I watch TV for one hour every day)
Pasé el día caminando por las calles de San Francisco (I spent the day walking through the streets of San Francisco)
Hoy solamente, puedes comprar dos pizzas por $ 10 (Today only, you can buy two pizzas for $10)
Lo hice por respeto (I did it for respect, or “out of respect”)
Te pagaré el martes por una hamburguesa hoy (I’ll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today)
Mi hermano estaba enfermo, así que cuidaba a los niños por él (My brother was sick, so I babysat the children for him (instead of him))
Me encanta el esperanto por su gramática sencilla (I love Esperanto for its simple grammar)
El juego fue cancelado por la lluvia (The game was cancelled due to rain)
Alquilamos un lugar más grande por el número de personas (We rented a bigger venue because of the number of people)
No me gusta hablar por teléfono (I don’t like talking on the phone)
El autobús está lleno, pero usted puede viajar a Amsterdam por tren (The bus is full, but you can travel to Amsterdam by train)
Estoy por la libertad de expresión (I’m in favour of / I am for free speech)
El cuadro fue pintado por Picasso
What’s the pattern here? Well, there are actually several, and some of them are a bit more subtle than the para pattern.
The main idea with por is that it’s used in sentences that convey the sense of motion. This “motion” could be a duration of time, a movement through a physical place, or an exchange of some sort.
The first seven sentences above use por to convey this meaning of motion.
(Note: some of my example sentences use “por” to describe a length of time, e.g. he vivido en Colombia por cinco años.. This use of “por” is more common in Latin America than in Spain. In European Spanish it’s more common to e.g. say he vivido en Colombia durante cinco años.)
Quick quiz. Let’s go back to my eggy sentences from earlier in this post. Why do you think the second sentence, “I bought eggs for €2.99”, would use por?
In this case, the meaning conveyed is that of an exchange. The eggs cost €2.99, so I paid €2.99 in exchange for the eggs. This exchange is the “motion” being referred to in the sentence.
This is the main usage of por, but there are several other ways to use this word:
to indicate a cause or reason for something — e.g. Me encanta el esperanto por su sencilla gramática (I love Esperanto due to its simple grammar)
to refer to a way or means of doing something — e.g. No me gusta hablar por teléfono (I don’t like talking via phone)
to express support for something — e.g. Estoy por la libertad de expresión (I am for free speech)
to say who performed an action in a passive construction - e.g. El cuadro fue pintado por Picasso (the painting was painted by Picasso)
This might be difficult to wrap your head around at first. As I said before, por is more complex than para. There are certainly quite a few more uses for por than there are for para. So make your life easier by getting comfortable with para first.
To Do Something On Someone’s Behalf
Look at my three eggy sentences again. I still haven’t covered the third one: “I bought eggs for Harry.” Do you think this should use “por” or “para”?
Arguably, this sentence conveys a sense of destination or purpose. Harry is the recipient of the eggs. I bought the eggs and gave them to Harry, so he’s the goal, or destination, in the sentence. In this case, the translation would be “Compré los huevos para Harry”.
But when you think about it, the English sentence is ambiguous. Am I really going to give the eggs to Harry? Maybe Harry asked me to buy eggs and give them to Susie. In that case, I’m still doing it “for” Harry; I’m buying them on his behalf. If this is the case, you’d use por. “Compré los huevos por Harry”.
If this isn’t clear, imagine how Harry might phrase this request: “Please buy eggs for Susie for me.” Notice how the word “for” is used twice, but means something different each time. In Spanish this sentence would be por favor, compra huevos para Susie por mí. Do you see?
This shows how the difference between por and para lets you convey more meaning in Spanish than with the English word “for”. Why do we only have one word in English again?
How to Have Por or Para on the Tip of Your Tongue
However you choose to go about learning these two words, don’t opt for the strategy of trying to memorize all of the usage rules for each word before using them in real life. It would be a waste of time. That’d be a bit like reading a book about how to knit, and then sitting down with your knitting needles a few days later and expecting to end up with a decent pair of socks. Not gonna happen!
It’s better to use the words at the same time as you’re learning the rules. Make a flash card deck using the above sentences (put both the por and para sentences into one deck, to help you practise the differences). Practise it often. Translate the sentences out loud into Spanish. When you make a mistake, then go back and check the rules.
By doing this, you’ll develop an instinctive understanding of when to use each word.
Online Quizzes to Check Your “Por vs. Para” Progress
In addition to flash cards, there are lots of online quizzes you can practise with. Here are a few:
StudySpanish.com - The best quiz for beginners. Each sentence is translated into English for students who aren’t completely comfortable reading Spanish yet.
SpanishDict Practice Quiz - This one is my favourite. For both your right and wrong answers, the quiz gives you a very clear explanation for why the answer is what it is. It gives you this feedback as you go, so your performance will improve as you continue with the test. By the last ten questions, you’ll probably be getting 100% of the answers correct!
123 Teach Me - This is a tougher test, for more advanced Spanish speakers. Instead of individual sample sentences, you read a narrative and fill in the blanks with either por or para as you go (you’ll have to write them down on paper; you can’t type them in on the page). You can check your results on the Answers page.
Expressions that Use Por or Para
Finally, for a bit of fun, take a look at this list of common Spanish expressions containing por and para, which you’ll hear a lot in Spanish.
The appearance of por and para in each of these expressions doesn’t necessary follow the rules above. Don’t sweat over them too much though! As long as you speak Spanish with real people on a regular basis, you’ll hear these expressions often enough in everyday conversation that their usage will soon start to feel natural. You’ll be able to use them without a second thought.
Have you learned the subtle differences between por and para in Spanish? What useful hacks did you use to learn the difference? Share your method in the comments!
The post Por vs. Para in Spanish: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
October 6, 2017
Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening: The 4 Basic Language Skills, and How to Practise Them
You can’t build a house without a strong foundation (well, that’s if you want the house to stay upright in all weather!). Similarly, you won’t become a well-rounded speaker of a language without building upon the four foundations of language learning.
It took me quite a while to realise this.
I studied languages for years at school - and even after school without much success. I even moved to Spain to learn Spanish. It was a lightning bolt moment that made me realise I could spend hours learning how to read or write Spanish, but I had to actually start speaking to achieve fluency.
As you continue language learning, you will probably discover that you’re stronger in some areas than others. Typically, people struggle most with listening and speaking.
How I Discovered My Achilles Heel: Listening Comprehension
Listening is the big one for me.
When I was learning German I set myself a goal of passing the advanced CEFRL exam. I passed four out of the five sections of the exam.
It was only my listening that wasn’t up to scratch.
I didn’t mind too much – I could hold confident conversations in German, after only 3 months of intensive study. That being my aim, I was happy with my result.
However, the experience helped me see that I need to focus more on listening when I’m learning a new language.
The key factor of the four basic language skills is that they complement each other. As a science nerd, I know that Newton’s third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, if you want to be a well-rounded language learner, you need to ensure that you’re giving each skill the attention that it needs.
What are the Four Basic Languages Skills?
These are the cornerstones of learning a language.
Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking
The skills work in pairs. When you’re reading or listening, you’re consuming a language.
However, when you’re writing or speaking, you’re producing a language.
Once you’ve mastered these skills, you can safely say that you’re fluent in that language.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can strengthen each individual skill, to ensure that you’re making the most out of your language practice.
How to Improve Your Reading Skills
There’s a very obvious place to start for those wishing to improve their reading skills: books!
Books not only help you learn a new language. They’re also a way to discover the culture behind the language.
Thanks to the Internet, paper books aren’t your only option for reading practice. Most languages have thousands of books available to download online - many of them free.
Here are just a few of my favourite reading resources, to get you started.
1. Picture or Comic Books
Picture books are an excellent resource for beginners. Chances are, you used picture books to help you learn to read in your native tongue. So it makes sense you’d start here with your target language too.
Once you’re beyond the absolute beginner stage, I recommend comic books. They’re fun to read, and the pictures help you follow the story even if you don’t know all the vocabulary.
2. A Good Dictionary and a Pocket Notebook
A dictionary is a language learner’s best friend. As you delve deeper into your target language, you’ll frequently come across new words. By having a dictionary on hand, you can find out what those words mean right away, and jot them down in your notebook.
I recommend investing in a pocket notebook. That way you can carry it around, add notes to it or review what you’ve already complied when you’re waiting in line or on public transport.
You can do the same thing digitally. Almost all languages these days have a dictionary available as in app form. And with a note-taking app like Evernote you can keep your notes organised into virtual notebooks - for example by topic.
3. Dual-Language Books
Reading one book in two languages concurrently is a great way to improve your language skills, and it can give you a big confidence boost as you realise how much of the language you already understand.
4. Newspapers or Online Journals
With newspapers you’ll not only improve your knowledge of a language, but you’ll also find out more about the politics, art and attitudes of the countries where the language is spoken.
Many newspapers are available to read online for free.
5. Blogs
Whatever your interests - food, fashion, fitness, or just about anything - chances are there’s a blog about them in your target language.
I can guarantee there’ll be enough material online to last you a lifetime… and then some.
How to Improve Your Writing Skills
Perhaps all this reading will get your creative juices flowing, encouraging you to sit down and do a little bit of writing!
For many language learners, writing is the first time they actively try to produce language, rather than consume the language. And even though I advocate speaking from day one, I see writing as an important part of this process. I always recommend preparing a script before your first conversation.
Here are a few other ideas to get you started with writing.
1. Write a Letter to a Pen Pal
Did you ever take a language class at school where your teacher encouraged sending a letter to a pen pal in a far-off land? Well, they were certainly onto something there.
If you’re at a beginner’s level, you can keep it to a few lines on a postcard. If you’re more advanced, set yourself the task of penning (or typing, if your handwriting is difficult to read!) a page-long letter.
It doesn’t even have to be a letter that will ever see the light of day. Address it to your Mum, a friend, or even your dog. It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re writing, that’s the key factor here.
If you’re looking for a friendly person to write to, italki is a good place to start.
2. Set Yourself a Daily Goal on Duolingo
Duolingo offers plenty of writing exercises at all skill levels so you can practise writing your target language as much as you want.
3. Start a Blog in Your Target Language
I’m consistently amazed by how many opportunities have come my way from starting Fluent in 3 Months. I’d recommend anyone who’s learning a language to start a blog. And if you’re doing that, why not write some posts in your target language?
Even before I started this blog, I used to create videos in the languages I was learning.
Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve realised is that everyone has a story that others will be interested in hearing.
You’ll find that starting a blog will have a double effect. You’ll be getting consistent practice writing in your target language, for sure. However, you may also gain a community of readers to support you along the way.
How to Improve Your Speaking Skills
Speaking: the skill of doom! Most language learners find speaking their new language a daunting prospect. I know people who’ve been studying for years and still haven’t had a conversation in their target language.
I get it. Speaking a foreign language for the first time to a native speaker is a massive task. What if you get something wrong? Will people be offended that you’ve massacred their language? Will they think you’re stupid and laugh at you?
Personally, I think speaking is the most effective thing you can do to improve your language skills. Yes, it’s scary at first. But once you’ve chatted with a few native speakers you’ll quickly build your confidence.
And in my experience, I’ve never had anyone call me stupid or laugh at me for messing up my speech. In most cases, I’m the one left laughing at any mistakes I’ve made, and the other person is just thrilled to see that I’m trying.
This is why I’ve made it my mission to help people get over their fear and start speaking in their target language from the day they start learning.
To strengthen this skill, you will of course have to find someone to practise speaking with.
Here’s how to do just that.
1. Find a Language Teacher on italki
italki is hands down my favourite tool for language learning, as it’s a quick, easy and affordable way to find people to chat with in your target language.
There are plenty of language teachers at all kinds of levels available on italki. Don’t be afraid to try a few, until you find one that’s perfect for you.
2. Find a Conversation Partner Online
If you’re just looking for someone to have a conversation with, rather than paid lessons, then try looking for a language partner instead. Italki is brimming with language learners like you who are looking for conversation partners to chat with.
Your conversation partner could be a native speaker of your target language, an advanced learner, or even someone who is at the same level of learning as you.
3. Go to Meetups in Your Area
Most cities have a community of language learners - and chances are you can find one online.
I’ve used Meetup in the past to find and connect with likeminded language learners in my city. This is an excellent way to find a potential language partner, or just make some new friends!
How to Improve Your Listening Skills
To have a conversation with someone it’s useful if you can understand what they’re saying.
I think listening is the hardest skill for language learners. I’m not just speaking from my own experience here, but also from what other language learners have told me.
One of the reasons for this is that it’s easy to fall into the pattern of passive learning. People seem to think that you can just watch a foreign film, or listen to some music and you’ll instantly be on your way towards mastering that language. They then get frustrated when they find they’re actually making little to no progress.
This is because you can’t just let the words flow in and out of your ears – your brain is part of the process too. You need to study what you’re listening to.
There are endless listening resources available – audiobooks, music, movies and podcasts. What we’re going to examine is how best to make these work for you… without falling into the trap of passive listening.
1. Short Bursts Are Often More Effective
There’s no rule saying you have to spend an hour a day practising your listening comprehension skills. In fact, I’d advise against it!
It’s far more effective to give yourself short five or ten minute bursts of study. That way you’ll be more likely to actually get on and do something, rather than feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of an intense language session.
2. Give the Audio Your Full Attention
You can play foreign music in the background while you’re cooking dinner or cleaning the bathroom, but it’s unlikely to improve your listening skills.
It’s much better to sit down and give the audio your full attention. Treat it like a study session, and you’ll get much more out of it.
3. Write Down Words You Don’t Recognise
When I’m studying audio, I tend to write down words I don’t recognise. After I’m done listening, I can look these up in my dictionary and add them to my vocab list for further study.
4. Listen to the Same Audio Multiple Times
Don’t just listen to the same piece of audio once. Learn it inside out, until you can recite it back to front. Once you’re completely sure of what’s being said, you can move onto the next thing.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up either. Study every resource you can get your hands on. This way you’ll keep the experience both fresh and fun.
5. Follow an Audio Course
An audio-based language course is one of the best ways I’ve found to improve my listening skills. My favourite courses the podcasts by Innovative Language. You can read more of my thoughts about them here.
Over to You
What language skill do you most struggle with? What are some effective ways you’ve found of improving that skill? Let me know in the comments.
The post Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening: The 4 Basic Language Skills, and How to Practise Them appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening: The 4 Basic Language Skills, and How to Practice Them
You can’t build a house without a strong foundation (well, that’s if you want the house to stay upright in all weather!). Similarly, you won’t become a well-rounded speaker of a language without building upon the four foundations of language learning.
It took me quite a while to realise this.
I studied languages for years at school - and even after school without much success. I even moved to Spain to learn Spanish. It was a lightning bolt moment that made me realise I could spend hours learning how to read or write Spanish, but I had to actually start speaking to achieve fluency.
As you continue language learning, you will probably discover that you’re stronger in some areas than others. Typically, people struggle most with listening and speaking.
How I Discovered My Achilles Heel: Listening Comprehension
Listening is the big one for me.
When I was learning German I set myself a goal of passing the advanced CEFRL exam. I passed four out of the five sections of the exam.
It was only my listening that wasn’t up to scratch.
I didn’t mind too much – I could hold confident conversations in German, after only 3 months of intensive study. That being my aim, I was happy with my result.
However, the experience helped me see that I need to focus more on listening when I’m learning a new language.
The key factor of the four basic language skills is that they complement each other. As a science nerd, I know that Newton’s third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, if you want to be a well-rounded language learner, you need to ensure that you’re giving each skill the attention that it needs.
What are the Four Basic Languages Skills?
These are the cornerstones of learning a language.
Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking
The skills work in pairs. When you’re reading or listening, you’re consuming a language.
However, when you’re writing or speaking, you’re producing a language.
Once you’ve mastered these skills, you can safely say that you’re fluent in that language.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can strengthen each individual skill, to ensure that you’re making the most out of your language practice.
How to Improve Your Reading Skills
There’s a very obvious place to start for those wishing to improve their reading skills: books!
Books not only help you learn a new language. They’re also a way to discover the culture behind the language.
Thanks to the Internet, paper books aren’t your only option for reading practice. Most languages have thousands of books available to download online - many of them free.
Here are just a few of my favourite reading resources, to get you started.
1. Picture or Comic Books
Picture books are an excellent resource for beginners. Chances are, you used picture books to help you learn to read in your native tongue. So it makes sense you’d start here with your target language too.
Once you’re beyond the absolute beginner stage, I recommend comic books. They’re fun to read, and the pictures help you follow the story even if you don’t know all the vocabulary.
2. A Good Dictionary and a Pocket Notebook
A dictionary is a language learner’s best friend. As you delve deeper into your target language, you’ll frequently come across new words. By having a dictionary on hand, you can find out what those words mean right away, and jot them down in your notebook.
I recommend investing in a pocket notebook. That way you can carry it around, add notes to it or review what you’ve already complied when you’re waiting in line or on public transport.
You can do the same thing digitally. Almost all languages these days have a dictionary available as in app form. And with a note-taking app like Evernote you can keep your notes organised into virtual notebooks - for example by topic.
3. Dual-Language Books
Reading one book in two languages concurrently is a great way to improve your language skills, and it can give you a big confidence boost as you realise how much of the language you already understand.
4. Newspapers or Online Journals
With newspapers you’ll not only improve your knowledge of a language, but you’ll also find out more about the politics, art and attitudes of the countries where the language is spoken.
Many newspapers are available to read online for free.
5. Blogs
Whatever your interests - food, fashion, fitness, or just about anything - chances are there’s a blog about them in your target language.
I can guarantee there’ll be enough material online to last you a lifetime… and then some.
How to Improve Your Writing Skills
Perhaps all this reading will get your creative juices flowing, encouraging you to sit down and do a little bit of writing!
For many language learners, writing is the first time they actively try to produce language, rather than consume the language. And even though I advocate speaking from day one, I see writing as an important part of this process. I always recommend preparing a script before your first conversation.
Here are a few other ideas to get you started with writing.
1. Write a Letter to a Pen Pal
Did you ever take a language class at school where your teacher encouraged sending a letter to a pen pal in a far-off land? Well, they were certainly onto something there.
If you’re at a beginner’s level, you can keep it to a few lines on a postcard. If you’re more advanced, set yourself the task of penning (or typing, if your handwriting is difficult to read!) a page-long letter.
It doesn’t even have to be a letter that will ever see the light of day. Address it to your Mum, a friend, or even your dog. It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re writing, that’s the key factor here.
If you’re looking for a friendly person to write to, italki is a good place to start.
2. Set Yourself a Daily Goal on Duolingo
Duolingo offers plenty of writing exercises at all skill levels so you can practise writing your target language as much as you want.
3. Start a Blog in Your Target Language
I’m consistently amazed by how many opportunities have come my way from starting Fluent in 3 Months. I’d recommend anyone who’s learning a language to start a blog. And if you’re doing that, why not write some posts in your target language?
Even before I started this blog, I used to create videos in the languages I was learning.
Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve realised is that everyone has a story that others will be interested in hearing.
You’ll find that starting a blog will have a double effect. You’ll be getting consistent practice writing in your target language, for sure. However, you may also gain a community of readers to support you along the way.
How to Improve Your Speaking Skills
Speaking: the skill of doom! Most language learners find speaking their new language a daunting prospect. I know people who’ve been studying for years and still haven’t had a conversation in their target language.
I get it. Speaking a foreign language for the first time to a native speaker is a massive task. What if you get something wrong? Will people be offended that you’ve massacred their language? Will they think you’re stupid and laugh at you?
Personally, I think speaking is the most effective thing you can do to improve your language skills. Yes, it’s scary at first. But once you’ve chatted with a few native speakers you’ll quickly build your confidence.
And in my experience, I’ve never had anyone call me stupid or laugh at me for messing up my speech. In most cases, I’m the one left laughing at any mistakes I’ve made, and the other person is just thrilled to see that I’m trying.
This is why I’ve made it my mission to help people get over their fear and start speaking in their target language from the day they start learning.
To strengthen this skill, you will of course have to find someone to practise speaking with.
Here’s how to do just that.
1. Find a Language Teacher on italki
italki is hands down my favourite tool for language learning, as it’s a quick, easy and affordable way to find people to chat with in your target language.
There are plenty of language teachers at all kinds of levels available on italki. Don’t be afraid to try a few, until you find one that’s perfect for you.
2. Find a Conversation Partner Online
If you’re just looking for someone to have a conversation with, rather than paid lessons, then try looking for a language partner instead. Italki is brimming with language learners like you who are looking for conversation partners to chat with.
Your conversation partner could be a native speaker of your target language, an advanced learner, or even someone who is at the same level of learning as you.
3. Go to Meetups in Your Area
Most cities have a community of language learners - and chances are you can find one online.
I’ve used Meetup in the past to find and connect with likeminded language learners in my city. This is an excellent way to find a potential language partner, or just make some new friends!
How to Improve Your Listening Skills
To have a conversation with someone it’s useful if you can understand what they’re saying.
I think listening is the hardest skill for language learners. I’m not just speaking from my own experience here, but also from what other language learners have told me.
One of the reasons for this is that it’s easy to fall into the pattern of passive learning. People seem to think that you can just watch a foreign film, or listen to some music and you’ll instantly be on your way towards mastering that language. They then get frustrated when they find they’re actually making little to no progress.
This is because you can’t just let the words flow in and out of your ears – your brain is part of the process too. You need to study what you’re listening to.
There are endless listening resources available – audiobooks, music, movies and podcasts. What we’re going to examine is how best to make these work for you… without falling into the trap of passive listening.
1. Short Bursts Are Often More Effective
There’s no rule saying you have to spend an hour a day practising your listening comprehension skills. In fact, I’d advise against it!
It’s far more effective to give yourself short five or ten minute bursts of study. That way you’ll be more likely to actually get on and do something, rather than feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of an intense language session.
2. Give the Audio Your Full Attention
You can play foreign music in the background while you’re cooking dinner or cleaning the bathroom, but it’s unlikely to improve your listening skills.
It’s much better to sit down and give the audio your full attention. Treat it like a study session, and you’ll get much more out of it.
3. Write Down Words You Don’t Recognise
When I’m studying audio, I tend to write down words I don’t recognise. After I’m done listening, I can look these up in my dictionary and add them to my vocab list for further study.
4. Listen to the Same Audio Multiple Times
Don’t just listen to the same piece of audio once. Learn it inside out, until you can recite it back to front. Once you’re completely sure of what’s being said, you can move onto the next thing.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up either. Study every resource you can get your hands on. This way you’ll keep the experience both fresh and fun.
5. Follow an Audio Course
An audio-based language course is one of the best ways I’ve found to improve my listening skills. My favourite courses the podcasts by Innovative Language. You can read more of my thoughts about them here.
Over to You
What language skill do you most struggle with? What are some effective ways you’ve found of improving that skill? Let me know in the comments.
The post Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening: The 4 Basic Language Skills, and How to Practice Them appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
