Benny Lewis's Blog, page 71
June 23, 2017
Foreign to Familiar: How to “Language Proof” Your Immediate Environment
You end up looking at words and noting that you’ve seen them before but still not bothering to figure out what they mean.
These ignored words remain foreign – and blocking your eyes and ears in this way means you’ll never become fluent.
If you continue this way, you run the risk of ending up with what we’ll call language fatigue.
What can you do about it?
The obvious solution: make the foreign familiar and do it as ‘soon as you land’.
What Causes Language Fatigue?
So many people live overseas, are effectively “immersed” in the local language, yet they can only speak a handful of words.
How does this happen?
Learning a new language is as much about mindset as anything else. If you fall into the trap of language fatigue, you hone a mindset that’s resistant to learning.
And the more of a beginner you are, the more you’re likely to feel overwhelmed by how much you don’t know. Beginners are most likely to suffer with this kind of ‘language resistance’, which is why it can be so tricky to break through the beginner bubble.
You have to be wilful about taking on the challenge of a new language. When trying to learn a new language by immersion, it’s easy to underestimate yourself and think “I’m just a beginner.” This defence makes you okay with not knowing certain things. However, if you don’t move past this mindset, you will always be a beginner, an outsider.
The same thing can happen for intermediate learners too… though it’s easier for them to make a breakthrough as more things are familiar.
Wherever you’re at, if you put it just a bit of effort it’s surprising how looking close to how can make a huge difference in making the foreign familiar.
Step 1: Decide to Break the Loop
The moment you get stuck in the habit of blocking out what’s around you you stand to fail at your language learning goals.
If you are blocking, it’s time to dive back in. If you’ve just arrived in a country with a new language, start to soak up the written words around you now.
Step 2: Start Language Proofing in Manageable Doses
It’s obvious you can’t learn everything at once, so you have to be both clever and patient. This means starting with manageable doses of new words. Ideally, these should be words you see every day. You want to work close to home. That’s the key trick in gaining familiarity in a new place.
In fact, start in your dwelling first. You want to focus on words you see often.
I call this process language proofing.
Perhaps there are mystery words on something in your house? Food packages you buy? Or a sign near your front door you pass frequently?
Stop walking past. Translate them, whether by yourself or by asking a native speaker.
It’s easy enough to start: Take 30 minutes and log everything in your house and the immediate environment around your home.
For example, if you live in an apartment building, this might be looking at the words on the elevator or the communal mailboxes or the instructions for using the laundry room.
No matter how rare they are in “everyday” use, the fact is that you see these words every day and you should know what they mean. It won’t take long to figure them out and you’ll have taken a big step in your mission of turning foreign into familiar.
Language proofing your environment in this way has a couple of effects.
First, it builds your confidence. As you language proof your environment, you’ll start to recognise every word you see in your day-to-day life. If you routinely walk past unknown words it keeps your brain set on ‘outsider mode’. Language proofing switches your mind to ‘insider’. It’s a huge mindset shift. And you’ll realise that you can learn a language!
Second, you are actively telling your brain you are ready and willing to absorb the language you see. It opens your mind to taking up yet more words by reinforcing a sense of linguistic familiarity.
Doing this language reconnaissance, as early as possible after you arrive in a new country, will have a huge pay off.
When you walk out your door, you’ll understand all the words you pass as they’ll all be in your recognition vocabulary. This will give you a notion of fluency in your target language, even if it’s just ‘around home’. When you’re new to a language, any fluency counts big time.
What you are building is your recognition vocabulary and it’s a key part of accepting a language as your own.
Step 3: Get Your Camera Out and Go on a Word Hunt!
You’ve got yourself into the language proofer’s mindset, and you’ve language proofed your immediate environment. Now stay on your word hunt! Keep seeking out new words.
My favourite way of doing this is with my camera as it lets me refer back to these words and track my progress.
Scour your surroundings and take photos of all the words you encounter.
You can translate the words in your images using your smartphone and Google Translate. Google Translate will store your translations so you can export them to a word log or flashcard deck. Alternatively, as you hunt down words, have your dictionary on hand. Even better, walk your route with a native speaker who’s willing to help you.
Step 4: Learn from Context
The best part of building a recognition vocabulary is that it’s often highly contextual. It’s context that builds familiarity, along with use.
What’s more, context can help you work out the meaning of new words for yourself. This is what helps the words stick in your memory.
Can you read the sign in this image:
This sign is found on the door of a room in the basement of an apartment building in Sweden. You probably have a guess from the form of the words you see, but especially from the pictures and when you open the door you see it’s a storage room for people’s bikes. Plus the adjoining room has all the recycling bins and trash dumpster.
You can probably easily guess that the top word has to do with trash and the second with bikes. Since it’s Swedish, a Germanic language like English with lots of similar words, you might guess correctly that rum is “room”. Sopor is “garbage” in Swedish, so soprum is the “trash room”. Cykel is “bike”, so cykelrum is the “bike room”.
Once you know the meaning, you’ll look at the sign differently. Every time you enter this room to get your bike or sort the recycling you are reactivating your Swedish vocabulary.
At risk of labouring the point: There’s no excuse for not learning the meaning of this sign if you are going to pass through this door on a regular basis. Do this for all the words in your vicinity.
Step 5: Look Out for Online Ads
Another space you can language proof is social media and the internet, by translating ads as they appear. For example the sponsored ads in your Facebook newsfeed.
Consumerism is not the point here! Rather, see it as an opportunity to create another safe space of language familiarity.
At first, it will seem easy to ignore ads. We’ve all trained ourselves to do this. So untrain yourself. Stop for a moment when you first log onto social media to take in those “pesky” ads.
Ads are actually great for language learning. They’re short and sweet, contain lots of repetition, and feature real life things that are helpful for you to know. Whether it’s shoes, food, or dating, this is a core working vocabulary for functioning in the world.
Facebook will even translate the text for you, and while you have to take these translations with a (big) pinch of salt, you’ll certainly get the gist and learn new words.
Plus if you copy ads into the Google Translate app on your smartphone, you can ‘star’ any of them you want to come back to. This builds up a running list of memorable words ready to review any time.
Increasingly, you’ll build an ad-recognition vocabulary. You’ll be reading ads all around you as you would in your native language. It’s a great feeling when you can decipher many of these without any help.
As with signs, ads contain contextual clues that aid in understanding them. Sometimes you’ll learn vocabulary from the picture. Other times, you might be able to make out the words because you’ve already seen the exact same ad in English.
Ads are also particularly easy because we know innately what ‘ad language’ looks and sounds like. They are trying to compel you to buy something. When you know the focus of a passage of text from the outset, it’s far easier to hone in on the meaning.
Look at these two ads:
You can probably guess from the first ad that klackar are “heels”. This “guessing” is how we naturally learn our native language, through context. No one explains what a cat or dog is to us when we are small. They just point to one and say the word and we figure it out.
Reading ads is also good for judging how different the word order and usage of verbs and other parts of language are from English. The literal translation of this ad is: “4 tips for to get style with heels”. Notice the word order “for to get”, which is very Swedish.
In addition to seeing images that you can match to words, you might even have seen the ad in English before and therefore it’s perfect for reading in your target language. The second ad is running in English and Swedish and literally means: “This here App can teach you a language in only 3 weeks”. Notice the ‘this here’, which is very Swedish. Again, somewhat different in structure than English.
Step 6: Rigorously Apply the Twice Seen Rule
In time, you can increase the size of your language-proofed zone, going beyond your immediate environment to your wider world. This builds an ever-growing corridor of familiarity - the places you can go where you understand the words that are all around you.
If you ride the tram every day, take pictures and translate all the words you see on the ticket machine. If you often eat at the same restaurant, take a photo of the menu, then translate it when you’re back at home -- or ask the wait staff for help. It’s a great conversation starter, and you’ll feel more like a local the next time you are there.
But how do you know which words to language proof next?
If it’s in your path, snap it and learn it. In general, the trick is to live by the ‘twice seen’ rule: if you’ve seen a word twice, you’ll be sure it see it many more times. Learn it.
Step 7: Become a Language Proofing Pro
What are the big draws for visiting or living in a foreign place? For many people, these are novelty, fresh perspectives and the chance to learn. The problem: too much ‘foreignness’ can get in the way of learning. You can end up blocking the ‘foreign’ out because you can’t make sense of it.
That’s why it’s important to keep language proofing your environment. You have a lot to gain by doing so, especially once you start reading the ads around you. Here the vocabulary starts to overlap with keywords you’ll want to use in conversation as well.
Also, remember that in language proofing your environment, you’re building your recognition vocabulary rather than your active vocabulary.
Remember that recognition vocabulary is just that – recognition only. It goes to building familiarity, and minimizing the ‘foreign’ trigger that reduces your motivation to absorb new words.
Later, you can start working on embedding your language proofed words into your speech.
Your Turn: Share your Experiences of Language Proofing
Being familiar with the language of your surroundings will help you fit right in, just like you do at home.
That’s why I recommend that you learn the words you encounter frequently. Once you do, and see them again and again as a natural part of your day, you are well on your way to making the foreign familiar.
What techniques have you used to language proof your environment? Let me know in the comments.
The post Foreign to Familiar: How to “Language Proof” Your Immediate Environment appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 22, 2017
Conversation Exchange: How an Online Language Buddy Took Me from Fear of Speaking to Confident Conversations
My heart was pounding when I received the call.
Would they be offering me a job in the Middle East?
Yes! I’d done it! I danced around my room in excitement. I’d be moving from Spain where I was living at the time to Abu Dhabi in just a few weeks. Time to get packed.
Yet when I arrived, the reality wasn’t as I’d dreamed. The job was good, but I had several colleagues who didn’t speak English.
Honestly, I even felt lonely at times. I wanted to connect with my colleagues and feel like I could fit in.
I wanted to speak Arabic, I really did. I picked up an Arabic phrasebook and tried to learn what I could.
I Was Going Nowhere Fast
After three months I’d learned a few pleasantries from my phrasebook. But I was getting nowhere fast and I knew it.
Most of my colleagues had already studied English at school so they were delighted to practise their English skills with me, never giving a thought to the idea that I would be interested in learning Arabic, even though I told them repeatedly. I think they just didn’t believe me.
A few older colleagues had missed out on ‘English-as-a-second language at school’ and spoke no English at all, so I was very excited thinking I would be able to learn some language from them.
Could I Break the Ice?
I thought that if I could break the ice with them by learning a few basic phrases in Arabic I could show them I was willing to get to know them. They would then be more willing to accept me and this would enable me to have a small window to peek into their culture.
But that brought its own complications…
“Ooh, a Foreigner!”
I can only assume they were a little nervous about me and uncomfortable themselves when I was around, as I was unable to speak or understand a word of what was going on!
I knew how they felt, I really did, because I felt just the same at being around them. The feeling was mutual!
My older colleagues had not travelled abroad much, if at all, and some had not met any foreigners before. This clearly made them a little wary of this new-comer who couldn’t even speak a word in their language.
I Was Terrified...
But it wasn’t just them… It was me!
It didn’t help that I was totally embarrassed to utter the few words I had learned from my phrase book; I hadn’t even used these words or phrases on another human being. I was afraid in case the phrases wouldn’t work.
And so the doubts started queuing up inside my mind, like little dwarves with pick-axes, ready to ‘mine’ my confidence:
What if the phrases didn’t work and the phrase book was a scam?
What if they didn’t understand me?
What if they laughed at me?
And then the worst fear…
What if they said something back to me, thinking I would understand?
Once these fears entered my mind, my confidence took a nosedive and I would be linguistically paralysed for the days at a time.
I was too frightened to open my mouth thinking I would make a fool of myself. Meanwhile my colleagues were scared off me by my inability to even make an effort in Arabic.
I was scared, no… terrified!
“Are You Avoiding Me?”
Looking back now I can see these colleagues just plain avoided me. No matter how hard I tried to sneak up on them in a coffee break or join them at their table for lunch, it was a no-go situation, a perfect vicious circle - the more I wanted to speak with them, the more they avoided me.
There was no doubt that I needed to practise my skills on real people to overcome the fear I had of being laughed at or worse.
But how would I do this?
A Language Buddy
Everything changed through a recommendation from an American couple living in the apartment next-door. They were more internet-savvy than me and the husband, Joe, had been directed to a website by his company to learn Arabic fast through conversation exchange. They were both using this service to talk to real people online.
The people they chatted with online were ‘language buddies’ - or online language partners. This was a free service, matching up those people who ‘swapped’ their native language skills with others; a conversation exchange service.
Those were the days when Skype was just becoming popular and almost the first video calling internet service around.
Oh yes, you were really cool and up-to-date if you had Skype then!
My New Friend Saeed
The whole idea of a ‘language buddy’ was innovative and completely new to me. I signed up that very next day. Well, to be honest, Joe had to lend me a hand and walk me through how to set up a Skype account and register with the programme.
Shortly after, I was paired up, online, with a gentleman from Egypt. And that’s how I met Saeed. He became my language buddy!
Saeed was married with two children, teaching history in a local school and had signed up to the conversation exchange in order to improve his English. We were a perfect linguistic match.
I must apologise to Saeed now, if he’s reading this, (which I doubt very much) because I spoke more Arabic and learned more than he did, only due to the fact he was so kind and gracious helping me out and patiently waiting for me to repeat the phrases he had prepared for me.
I committed to ten sessions with him and by the end of session five I was talking to his children in Arabic, asking their names, how old they were, if they liked school, and so on. Just about my level, right? But that was fine for me!
How cool was that?
I Helped With Saeed’s English Too
After thirty or forty minutes it was Saeed’s turn to practise English. We concentrated on his pronunciation mostly because he knew a lot of conversational English but his strong Arabic accent made him difficult to understand.
This ‘language buddy’ system was a perfect platform for me needing to practise Arabic with a real-life Arabic speaker and then for me to repay the service with conversational English practice.
I went from no-go situation to a win-win situation in a matter of weeks, literally!
The fact that Saeed could understand my simple utterances and that even his kids could too, gave me butterflies in my stomach. It was a wonderful feeling to know I was making a breakthrough and that I was approaching the day I would say something Arabic to my colleagues.
Just the mere fact that I was able to communicate with a native speaker of Arabic and be understood without them bursting into derisory laughter was an amazing achievement for me and I knew it was exactly what I needed.
Don’t get me wrong…the phrase books and the lists had helped, of course they did. I had a basic knowledge of the language, but the books and lists couldn’t really prepare me for the real world and real communication which was what I really needed then.
Did I Get What I Really Wanted?
All I had wanted to do was communicate, on even the most basic level, with my colleagues. I wanted to ask how they were, if they had children, where they lived, if they had any pets, if they enjoyed their job….
I wanted to show that I respected them enough to make efforts and learn their language.
What I hadn’t been able to do was get over the fear of seeming ridiculous in their eyes.
Speaking to Saeed was real and that’s what made the ‘real’ difference to my language learning then.
That’s what a conversation exchange is all about: Real communication, human, face-to-face, in context, for only as long as you both agree to.
With my newfound confidence and a few well-practised phrases under my belt, I was prepared to go into battle…
But the battle gear wasn’t necessary, at all.
Back to Work!
Back at work, it only took a few light-hearted sentences that I had practised with Saeed, before we were all laughing; me included this time, at my simple questions, at my British accent, at not finding the right word or not pronouncing things correctly.
What fun we all had and it was a truly empowering experience for me.
We were communicating, on a very basic level, but it was still communicating between languages, countries… and cultures. We were communicating as intelligent human beings, all with a basic desire to be seen, to be heard, to be respected but most of all, to have fun!
I just love languages!
To think I had been too scared to attempt to say anything when I first arrived at that job.
Had I been too embarrassed and paranoid about my own language ability?
Yes, I certainly had!
But I’d overcome that, and that’s something I’m really proud of.
The post Conversation Exchange: How an Online Language Buddy Took Me from Fear of Speaking to Confident Conversations appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 19, 2017
Is “Learning from Mistakes” Really a Thing? Here’s What the Science Says…
That’s the question I was asking myself as I was chatting to my future Italian mother-in-law over dinner.
I had meant to say è palese, “it’s obvious”, but I actually said è palloso, which means “it’s effing boring”.
If you’ve been learning a language for long enough, you’ve probably made your fair share of gaffes like these.
Most seasoned language learners have come to accept the idea of learning from mistakes. After all, you can’t learn a language without practising speaking, and you can’t practise speaking without dropping a few clangers along the way.
Language learners often see mistakes as a necessary evil: something they’d rather avoid, but can learn to live with if they really have to. A bit like Italian mother-in-laws.
But what if this is backwards? A look at the science of learning reveals there’s nothing evil about mistakes. Au contraire. Studies show that mistakes actually help us learn faster. It turns out that hazarding a guess significantly increases your chances of remembering something next time, even if you get it wrong.
The question to ask, then, is not “how can I stop making mistakes?” but “how can I make more mistakes?”
So let’s take a look at the science of mistakes and how they can boost our long-term memory. You’ll also learn how to make more mistakes so you can speed up your language learning.
But first…
Why Are Language Learners So Afraid of Mistakes?
Remember that feeling of getting your school work back from your teacher, covered in red pen markings?
If you feel anxious about making mistakes, you’re not alone. Right from our school days, most of us had it drilled into us that mistakes are bad and should be avoided at all costs. Many children learn to feel embarrassed about getting things wrong and carry this fear with them into their adult lives. Maybe this is you too?
It’s human nature to interpret situations that test our abilities as black and white: if you get it right, it means you’re good at something and you feel pleased with yourself. If you make a mistake, it means you’re bad at something, and you feel ashamed.
This is why language learning causes so much anxiety in adults. Many of us prefer to avoid situations where we risk getting things wrong: learning a language, where mistakes are part of the process, can make us feel like a complete idiot, or worse, a complete failure.
I’ve come across so many language learners who dislike doing things that put our knowledge to the test, like talking to native speakers. When you speak with a native speaker, you’ll almost certainly make mistakes. But is it really better to keep your mouth shut to avoid embarrassment?
This feeling of shame about mistakes is something I can relate to - and maybe you can too. But if you avoid situations where you know you’ll make mistakes, you’re missing out on a key strategy that’ll speed up your language learning.
The Science of Mistakes - and Why They Matter
Scientists have known for years that being tested on what you’ve been learning boosts long-term memory. Tons of studies show that people who test themselves remember information better compared to people who spend the same amount of time simply learning stuff.
This effect, known as the testing effect, shows that trying to retrieve something you’ve learned - that feeling of racking your brain for a word or an answer - helps you commit it to long-term memory.
In one study, a group who got tested on what they’d learned remembered 21% more than a group who simply read the same information lots of times. This difference occurred despite the fact that the reading group had seen the information over four times more than the group who were tested: the readers had seen the information 14.2 times, while the testers had only seen it 3.4 times. This means that by putting yourself in situations where you have to try and bring to mind what you’ve learned, you can dramatically reduce the number of times you need to repeat something before it sinks in.
If the word “test” brings to mind dusty grammar books or stressful language exams, know that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Think about the process of learning a language for a moment. It provides tons of natural opportunities to test yourself. The most important - for the majority of us - is speaking. When you practise speaking, you’re constantly trying to recall what you’ve learned. Every time you rack your brain for a word, or a bit of grammar, the act of trying to bring it to mind will help you remember it better next time.
But what happens when you get it wrong? Turns out you get a memory boost for mistakes. A study by Potts and Shanks (2014) shows that when people hazard a guess, make a mistake and get feedback on the right answer, they’re significantly more likely to remember the information compared to when they don’t guess.
And what about those times when you literally have no idea? This is where it gets interesting. The same study showed that even if you make a random guess that you know is wrong, you still remember the right answer better next time.
This means that learning by making mistakes, right from the beginning, can help you remember more. It doesn’t matter if you get it right or wrong. If you want to speed up learning, all you have to do is give it a go.
Why “Feel the Burn!” is Good Advice
Even more surprising is that people don’t realise how much they’re learning from their mistakes. Studies show that the people who learned by reading information several times felt more confident about their knowledge, compared to the people who were tested on what they’d learned.
In other words, mistakes can make you feel like you're learning less, when you're actually learning more.
Which leads to a funny paradox: avoid situations where you’re likely to make mistakes, and you’ll feel more confident but perform worse. By contrast, put yourself out there and risk screwing up, and you’ll feel less confident, but perform better in the long run.
Most language learners want to study more before they have real conversations. That way, they believe, they won’t make as many mistakes. But science shows us that the best way to stop making mistakes is to get out there and make more of them.
Learning from Mistakes: How to Make More Mistakes - and Feel Good About Them
I hope you’re feeling ready to dive in and start learning from mistakes. Here’s a step-by-step process you can follow to do that, and have fun at the same time.
Step 1: Change Your Goal
Most of us judge our success with the question: “how much am I doing right?”
But the key to learning doesn’t lie in getting stuff right, it lies in giving it a go. So change your goal. Stop asking yourself “did I get that right?” and instead ask yourself “did I give it a go?” If your answer to the latter question is yes, you’ve just learned something and taken another small step towards fluency.
You’ve already won, whether you got it right or not.
Step 2: Aim to Fail
America’s youngest self-made female billionaire, Sara Blakely explains how over dinner, her father would ask “what did you fail at today?”. By encouraging failure, her father helped her associate a lack of mistakes with a lack of trying: if you’re always getting it right, you’re not pushing yourself enough.
Start asking yourself “did I make enough mistakes today?”.
If you aim to make as many mistakes as possible, you’ll appreciate them for what they are: a sign that you’re pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and making progress. By framing mistakes in a positive way, you’ll stop being afraid of them.
When you’re no longer afraid of mistakes, you’ll be unstoppable.
Step 3: Start Guessing!
When you’re not 100% sure about a word or a grammatical structure, do you guess anyway? You should! You’ll be right (or very close) more often than you think.
When it comes to talking to native speakers, you might worry that it could confuse matters if you just start throwing out stuff that you’re not sure about. To keep communication running smoothly, I find it handy to learn a “disclaimer phrase” like: I’m not sure if you say it like this but…. Then you can get feedback by asking: Is that right? Do you say it like that?”
Step 4: Ask Native Speakers to Correct You
Native speakers usually prefer not to correct your mistakes as they’re worried about seeming rude. But if you’re going to make mistakes, it’s important to get feedback from native speakers so that you can learn from them.
Ask natives to correct you, and do everything you can to make sure they feel comfortable doing so. Show them you appreciate it: smile, say thank you, and keep telling them how useful their corrections are so they don’t have to worry about offending you.
Step 5: Bring Your Mistakes Home
Embracing failure doesn’t just apply when you’re speaking. It applies to studying at home too.
When you’re writing something or answering questions in apps/textbooks/audio courses, it’s easy to worry about getting it wrong. But remember why you’re doing these activities in the first place. It’s not to prove that you’re awesome by getting everything right. The idea is to learn from your mistakes. If you’re not making enough, it means the activities you’re choosing are way too easy.
Instead of getting down on yourself, see each mistake as a little win. You just found a gap in your knowledge, and you’re now more likely to get it right next time.
Step 6: Don’t Be Afraid to Laugh!
So you like the idea of seeing mistakes in a positive light, but you’re still scared of making a fool of yourself with native speakers.
The truth is, sometimes you will make silly mistakes and people will laugh. But 99% of people are laughing with you, not at you. And no one will think you’re an idiot because of it! The other 1% aren’t worth your time anyway.
Think about it, when you speak to a non-native speaker in your own language, how do you feel when they make a mistake? You might find it funny or endearing, but do you judge them because of it?
Of course not.
You understand that it’s all part of the learning process. On the flip side, when it’s you who’s the learner, others will understand that too.
I've brightened up a lot of people's days with some brilliant mistakes over the years. Here are a couple of my favourites:
While talking to Italian friends about British food, I tried to explain "mushy peas" - a sort of pea puree that we Brits eat with fish and chips. But I accidentally said "penis purée" (purè di pisello) instead of "pea purée" (purè di piselli). We all laughed until we cried.
When a French guy - a friend of a friend I'd just met - asked me where I was from, I tried to say "I was born in London" (je suis née à Londres), but what I actually said was "I am naked in London" (je suis nue à Londres). Despite my initial embarrassment, it turned out to be a brilliant ice-breaker. We had a good laugh about it and carried on chatting.
When you can laugh at yourself, mistakes are a great opportunity to have fun with native speakers. And having fun with native speakers is always good for your language skills. Even when you say the f-word to your mother-in-law.
Your Turn
What's the most embarrassing mistake you've made in your language learning? Let me know in the comments.
The post Is “Learning from Mistakes” Really a Thing? Here’s What the Science Says… appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 12, 2017
35 Free Online Korean Language Classes and Resources
There are countless resources online that teach you Korean. The only problem is how do you know which are good quality, without wasting hours weeding through them?
The good news is that I’ve put this post together just so you won’t have to waste your study time researching resources. While doing my Korean language project, I had the chance to find and test many of them and the result is this list of Korean learning tools that won’t cost you a single 원 won.
So, let’s take a look at these free online Korean language classes and resources.
Free Online Audio & Podcasts to Help You Learn Korean
Listen to Korean audio in either bite-sized podcasts, as sound-bites, or even dive straight into native-speaking radio stations.
Here’s where to start with Korean language audio:
KoreanClass101: The Innovative Language podcasts, including KoreanClass101, are free to sign up for and have an impressive amount of content available at a variety of levels.
Talk to Me In Korean: The Talk to Me In Korean podcast has free lessons and entertaining video shows that teach colloquial phrases and words. They even have episodes that feature popular K-drama expressions so that you can really get into your favourite series.
TuneIn North Korea or South Korea: You can listen to radio from either North or South Korea on TuneIn. Test out a few stations, see what catches your attention and enjoy.
Forvo: If you come across a new word, especially with Korean that has rules related to changes in pronunciation, Forvo is a great place to listen to words spoken by a native speaker. It has a large database and is a good reference for pronunciation.
YouTube: Free Video Korean Lessons
YouTube is an excellent place to find free Korean language classes and resources. The following channels give you hours of Korean lessons in an engaging medium. Plus, video has the added benefits of letting you see facial expressions, body language and other non-verbal aspects of the Korean language.
KoreanClass101: In addition to their free podcast lessons, KoreanClass101 also has an excellent YouTube channel with hours of free content.
TalktoMeInKorean: Talk to Me In Korean also has a YouTube channel with loads of free videos.
Easy Languages: I love the Easy Languages channel because it offers you a lot of local culture and context. In the Easy Language series, the hosts go out into the streets of Korea and interview the people they meet there. It’s a great way to hear the way people really speak the language, pick up useful conversational language, and practise your listening comprehension.
Seemile: You may have seen one of the viral videos from this channel. It’s the one where a teacher poorly pronounces the phrase “Please give me coke” in order to teach students how to ask for Coca-Cola in Korean. This aside, this channel offers short grammar lessons that are really helpful.
Sweet and Tasty TV: This YouTube channel features a little bit of everything. From vlogs that showcase trips to the Korean market to short but sweet Korean lessons, Sweet and Tasty TV is a great way to learn about Korean culture and the Korean language.
Weekly Korean: This channel is great for Korean language learners because it’s presented from the perspective of a fellow learner rather than that of a native speaker. The host, Margarita, went through the process of learning Korean so she’s able to offer an angle on learning the language that’s different from some of the other channels out there.
Learn Korean with Go! Billy Korean: Go! Billy Korean is another channel with Korean lessons taught by a fellow learner. He uses everything from games to travel to teach the language.
Conversational Korean: Conversational Korean has several lessons that range from dialogs to conversational phrases to grammar lessons. The majority of the lessons are three minutes or less, so they’re great when you’re pressed for time.
Free Online Korean Courses and Systems
If you’re interested in guided lessons, there is an exceptional selection of free online Korean courses and systems available. Here are just a few websites that offer online Korean lessons at no cost:
How to Study Korean: This was one of my go-to resources for Korean grammar questions when I was learning Korean and it is one of the best free resources I found for the language. It is essentially a free digital course book with incredibly thorough lessons.
Learn Korean on Coursera: The online learning portal Coursera has a free Korean language course from Yonsei University called First Step Korean. It has several free video lessons taught by one of their university instructors.
Dom + Hyo: Dom + Hyo are illustrators who use their design talents to create beautiful infographics that teach the Korean language and give their subscribers fun facts about Korean culture.
Learn with Oliver: Learn with Oliver is an online flashcard tool that allows you to learn words or phrases with several ways to test yourself on the content. I personally love their email newsletters and look forward to seeing them in my inbox every day.
Learn Langs: This free Korean course for beginners was created by Judith Meyer.
Free Korean Language Apps
Apps are an outstanding way to learn a new language. Especially for those who don’t have the time to sit down and study or who like to study on the go.
Eggbun: Eggbun is available for both iOS and Android. It is based on the freemium model, so only a limited set of lessons are available for free. It was how I finally learnt to type in Korean and I picked up quite a few useful Korean words using their system.
Pop Popping Korean: Pop Popping Korean is an app that teaches you how to read Hangeul through interactive games. It is free for Android and iOS.
TenguGo Hangul: TenguGo has apps for a variety of languages, but its Korean Alphabet and Vocabulary apps are popular amongst Korean language learners. They are free for Android and iOS.
S-TOPIK: For those interested in taking the TOPIK exam or for using it as a frame of reference, the S-TOPIK app is a great choice. It’s free for Android and iOS.
Dongsa: If you’re struggling with Korean grammar, Dongsa is an app that can help you with conjugation. It is only available on Android devices.
Memrise or Anki: Anki(for iOS, for Android, and for everyone else) and Memrise are flashcard systems that you can use to create your own Korean vocabulary decks or download those already created by other users. The desktop version of Anki is free as are both the app and browser versions of Memrise.
Free Online Korean Language Resources for Advanced Korean Learners
Watch Korean Vloggers on YouTube
If you’re looking for native and relevant material for your Korean language learning, YouTubers are a great source. Korean vloggers cover everything from comedy to beauty to food, so you’re sure to find a YouTube personality who covers a topic that you’re interested in.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Goteng: Goteng is a comedy blogger with a variety of videos and skits on his channel. The videos are in Korean, but you can watch them with English subtitles.
데이브 The World of Dave: Dave is another comedy blogger who shares videos in Korean as a non-native speaker. Many of his videos are culture-related, so it’s a great source for those of you interested in learning more about the language and Korean culture.
The World of Erina: I discovered The World of Erina through The World of Dave. She is a Japanese vlogger who posts videos in Korean. She even teaches Japanese to Korean speakers so her channel is great if you’re interested in language laddering.
신별 ShinByul: If you’re a foodie, ShinByul is the perfect channel for you. In her videos, she tries out different Korean foods and snacks and comments on them.
WhitneyBae: WhitneyBae is another Korean learner who vlogs in the language. Her videos are self-defined as ‘goofy’ and she often talks about what it’s like to live in Korea as a foreigner.
영국남자 Korean Englishman: Korean Englishman is a pair of Englishmen, Josh and Ollie, who make videos in Korean and English. Their videos are often comedic in nature and always entertaining.
GabieKook: GabieKook is a travel and food vlogger who shares delicious and visually appealing recipes in Korean with English subtitles. I love the narrative of her videos - they’re more like stories than plain recipe videos.
Stimboy: Stimboy is a popular Korean vlogger who is really varied in the content he puts out. He does a lot of product reviews and mukbang videos.
HeoPop: HeoPop is a comedy vlogger from South Korea. His videos are available in Korean with English subtitles.
Free Korean Language Reading Materials
Korean uses its own unique writing system so reading practice is an important part of your learning journey. Finding material appropriate for your level in the language can be a challenge. Thankfully, there’s a decent selection of Korean reading resources available to you as a learner online for free.
Wikipedia: Use Wikipedia to read short articles in Korean. You can switch back to your native language to check your comprehension.
Lingq: Lingq is a popular online learning system that helps you acquire new vocabulary through its reading interface. It is only free in part - you need to help other learners in order to earn points to use the system for free.
Korean Comics: Korean Comics is a webcomic created by a Korean language learner to provide a way for them to practise writing in Korean. The site also has a vocabulary section so that other Korean learners can view translations of the words used in each episode.
What Free Online Korean Classes and Resources Do You Use?
It’s incredible how many excellent resources are available to learn Korean at no cost online. Though I’ve featured 35 places you can learn Korean for free, I’m sure there are many more. Is there anything you feel that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments!
Want More? Check out Benny's favourite Korean Resources.
The post 35 Free Online Korean Language Classes and Resources appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 9, 2017
16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes
You’ve come to the right place!
I’ve searched far and wide to find a variety of quality, fun, and free resources to boost your Portuguese skills.
Learning European Portuguese? Overwhelmed by the number of Brazilian Portuguese resources out there? I didn’t forget you. I’ve collected free resources for both dialects.
Whichever dialect you’re studying, don’t be afraid to try out other dialects. It’s always OK to experiment with different accents.
So let’s get to it! Here are the best free Portuguese learning materials for all levels:
Portuguese Language Lessons for Beginners
A lot of beginners think you need to learn vocabulary and grammar before you start speaking Portuguese, and listening to other people speak Portuguese.
In my view, it’s actually better to speak and listen to Portuguese from the first day you start learning.
I recommend that you use self-study methods like flash cards and structured audio lessons to build your vocabulary, plus kids’ TV shows to get exposure to natural spoken Portuguese. I’d also recommend that you practise talking to native Portuguese speakers!
Try the following resources whether you’re just starting out, or have reached an advanced level.
Beginner Resources for European Portuguese
Memrise is one of my first stops when I’m just starting out in a language. It has tons of free courses for European Portuguese (and Brazilian, too). It’s a great way to get introduced to common phrases and vocabulary in the language.
RTP Zigzag. RTP is Portugal’s public broadcasting network, and Zigzag is its section devoted to kids’ videos. Most are educational, covering geography, history, and general fun facts. Each video is short enough to watch in a few minutes during a coffee break.
italki is where you find native Portuguese speakers to talk with, and it is a must, right from the first day you start learning Portuguese. It’s NEVER too early to start talking with native Portuguese speakers. When I say you should speak from day one, I mean that literally. So get onto italki and find some Portuguese speakers to chat with. They can be language exchange partners, community tutors or professional teachers. Professional lessons cost money but the prices are very reasonable. Finding a conversation exchange partner is free. You can search for Portuguese speakers based on home country, so search for people from Portugal to practise your European Portuguese.
Learn Portuguese with Rafa. Rafa’s website is focused on European Portuguese for beginners, but it also explains some key differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese. Here, you’ll find detailed info on nearly every feature of European Portuguese grammar, including verb moods, conjunctions, general everyday phrases and even swear words.
Beginner Resources for Brazilian Portuguese
PortuguesePod101. I recommend Innovative Language’s courses to all language learners, and PortuguesePod101 is one of the best places to start your Brazilian Portuguese journey. It has lessons for absolute beginners right through to advanced learners. Each episode comes with a PDF summary of the dialogue for you to follow along with while you listen. A second PDF with complete lesson notes is available to premium members. You can access many of the lessons with a free account, but you do need a paid membership to access every lesson.
BrazilianPodClass. For extra structure in your lessons, try out this in-depth podcast that covers all of the major grammar points and tons of vocabulary in Portuguese. It’s not one of those repeat-after-me audio learning methods, but it shows you how to use what you learn in each lesson to make new phrases in Portuguese.
Semantica is a video course formatted like a TV show. Each episode contains one scene of a story. You’ll keep coming back to learn more because you want to know what happens next in the story.
Duolingo is an alternative to flash cards for building your Portuguese vocabulary and learning grammar. It’s perfect for beginners, and is completely free.
italki. I already mentioned italki for European Portuguese, but of course, it’s just as important to speak with native speakers if you’re learning Brazilian Portuguese. It’s not always easy to get on Skype and chat with a native speaker when you’re new to a language, but you can bet you’ll learn a lot more this way than you ever will from self-study.
Intermediate Portuguese Podcasts, Videos and Other Resources
These intermediate Portuguese learning resources (including podcasts and videos) will take your Portuguese skills beyond the basics. I made sure to choose material that’s designed to be engaging. You’re more likely to study when you find learning fun.
When listening to spoken Portuguese with the resources below, don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand everything you hear. The more you listen, the better you’ll get at picking out the words you know. You’ll also get pretty good at catching the gist of a story without knowing every single word.
Podcasts, Videos and Other Resources to Learn Intermediate European Portuguese
Practice Portuguese is geared toward Portuguese learners who have an intermediate level of reading comprehension, but still have trouble with listening comprehension. The speaker’s voice is slow and clear, which is perfect for listeners who are still getting used to spoken Portuguese. Also, if you’ve been studying Brazilian Portuguese and want to get an introduction to the European dialect, this is a great place to start.
Portuguêses no Mundo. This captivating free podcast is about a topic that many language learners love: world travel. In each episode, the host interviews a Portuguese person who’s living in another country. Hear their stories about what it’s like to move away from Portugal and start a new life overseas, from Japan to Oman to Angola and beyond. This podcast is useful for Portuguese learners because each episode follows the same structure. The host asks the same questions to each guest (“Why did you move to that country?”, “What surprised you the most about living there?”, “What do you miss most about Portugal?”, etc.). However, the responses of the guests are very diverse, keeping this podcast fascinating.
Visiokids: Ciência para Crianças (Science for Kids). Learn fun science facts from this interesting children’s program while practising your Portuguese listening comprehension.
Camões Instituto da Cooperação e da Lingua Portugal. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, this website is an incredible treasure trove of material for learning all facets of the language. Under “A Ler” (“reading”) there’s an assortment of books including story books (with accompanying audio!), mini biographies (with accompanying quizzes!) and a reference guide for everyday situations. Check out “A Falar” (“speaking”) for videos about spoken Portuguese, “A Ouvir” (“listening”) for a variety of audio exercises, and “A Brincar” (“playing”) for some games. The site is entirely in Portuguese, but some sections contain translations into English and French. Some of the links may seem broken, but don’t worry, the pages are still there. Do a Google search for the section you’re looking for and it should be the first hit, and will take you to the right page.
Podcasts, Videos and Other Resources to Learn Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese
NHK World Radio Japão - When you’re still ramping up your Portuguese listening comprehension, it’s a good idea to listen to native speakers who are talking clearly at full speed. News programmes are really useful for this. NHK World News broadcasts a daily news program from Tokyo in dozens of languages, including Brazilian Portuguese. Get your morning news digest from this programme, then go online and read the news in your native language and check how well you understood the stories.
Cinem(ação). Everyone likes watching films, right? Cinem(ação) is one of the most popular film-related podcasts in Brazil. It airs weekly, with lively and funny hosts chatting about one or more films released that week.
Recontando. This fun Brazilian news site was made especially for children. The news stories are simplified in terms of language (it uses vocab that kids know) and content (it avoids concepts that kids are too young to understand). There are even videos of child news reporters interviewing Brazilian celebrities! Unfortunately the content has not been kept up-to-date, but there’s enough material on there that you won’t run out of stories to read and videos to watch for a long time.
Advanced Portuguese Language Lessons
Once you’ve reached an advanced stage of learning Portuguese, you’re ready to start engaging with the same media that native speakers use. You’re also able to find resources yourself, and I recommend finding those you like.
Here are a couple of my favourites to get you started.
Advanced European Portuguese
Conta-me Tudo (Tell Me Everything). This podcast is dedicated to amazing, funny and incredible stories. Each episode features a different speaker telling his or her fascinating tale to an audience. Topics are varied and include narrow escapes from death, odd ways to begin a career, and a terrible idea for a birthday present. The speakers all speak quickly, so the stories are perfect for advanced learners.
Advanced Brazilian Portuguese
CBTV Canal Brasil for iOS, Android and Roku is a completely free, live TV channel geared toward Brazilians living in the United States. It broadcasts from Florida and includes news, sports, history, health, and even pets! Because it’s intended for native Brasileiros, the content is pretty advanced.
Over to You
What are your favourite free online Portuguese courses and resources? Let me know in the comments.
The post 16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 5, 2017
How to Find a Language Exchange Partner
In this article, I’ll answer both these questions to help you understand what language exchanges can do for you, where to find language exchange partners, and how to choose the best ones for you.
Language exchange partners are a fantastic resource when you’re learning a new language.
And you can find the perfect language exchange partner, if you know what you’re doing.
I’ll start by giving a brief overview of how language exchanges work. Feel free to skip to the next section if you already know this!
What is a Language Exchange Partner?
A language exchange partner is someone who volunteers to chat with you in your target language. For example, if you’re learning Spanish, then your language exchange partner will talk with you in Spanish. Typically, this exchange partner would be a native Spanish speaker, though they may speak Spanish as a foreign language to an advanced level.
Here’s where the exchange part comes in.
In exchange for them chatting with you in your target language, you will chat with them in their target language (i.e. your native language).
To continue our example, if your native language is English, then you’d spend time chatting with your Spanish exchange partner in English as well as Spanish. You do this because they want help learning English.
Typically, you’d give equal time to each language. So if you booked a 30-minute session with your Spanish exchange partner, you’d spend 15 minutes chatting in English and 15 minutes chatting in Spanish.
How to Find a Language Exchange Partner
I use the website italki to find language exchange partners to video chat with. You’ll find exchange partners for all major languages, and many lesser-spoken ones, on italki. I recommend it!
That said, finding the right partner for a language exchange isn’t always easy.
I know this from experience, because when I first started doing language exchanges, I had no idea what I was doing.
I thought it was as simple as blasting out messages to other users on italki who spoke my target language and were learning my native language, then chatting with them for an hour.
But after a few failed exchanges, I realised that I was going about it all wrong.
I needed to spend more time up front finding a partner who was a good match so that I’d save time and have more effective online language exchanges.
Here are my top tips - learned from my own experience - to boost the odds of you finding your ideal language exchange partner.
Be Up Front About What You Want From the Language Exchange
When you’re looking to regularly connect with someone for a tandem exchange, it’s important to clearly state what you’re expecting up front. Here are a few things to consider:
Are you at the level where you want your half of the exchange to only be in your target language? Or will you need to revert to your native language sometimes, for example to discuss grammar?
How long do you want the exchange to be? How long can you stay focused?
How often do you want your exchange partner to correct you? And how do you want to receive those corrections? Do you want them to correct every mistake or just the ones you make repeatedly? Should they correct you immediately, or tell you all of your mistakes at the end?
Do you have common interests? This can either be a pro or con. Having common interests gives you something to talk about. At the same time, not having common interests gives you the opportunity to introduce the things you enjoy to another person.
You need to know what you want in order to get it. Time spent thinking about what you need from a language exchange is time well invested. Be sure to share what you need with any exchange partner you consider speaking with. If they don’t agree, then they aren’t the right partner for you.
Don’t Click With Your Language Exchange Partner? Don’t Sweat It
There may be a variety of reasons you and your exchange partner aren’t a good match:
They are at a much higher level than you and tend to keep the conversation in your native language.
You have nothing in common.
You just don’t get along with them.
They aren’t able to help you the way you need.
They cut you off to correct you far too often even after you asked them not to.
Trying to force an exchange that just isn’t working is in no way worth it. It’s not only a waste of time for you, but for your partner as well. Your time is better spent finding someone who you click with.
Look for Exchange Partners Who Can Keep the Conversation Rolling
Doing your part when you’re new to a language can be tough. If you commit to a 30 minute exchange, that’s an entire 15 minutes that you need to talk in or listen to your target language. And it can be exhausting or even overwhelming.
If your exchange partner isn’t good at helping you keep the conversation rolling in your target language, then you probably don’t have a good match. Look for someone who asks you questions or prompts you in some way to keep going. Don’t settle for someone who lets the conversation fall flat when you run out things to say.
Avoid Language Partners Who Hog the Limelight
There are exchange partners that tend to take over the exchange and completely forget that they’re supposed to help you, too. And if you find that you enjoy the company of that person, it can be difficult to keep things on track and push them to give you your equal time because you don’t want to put that strain on the relationship.
No matter how well you may get along with someone, remember that part of the reason you’re chatting with them is to get language practice. If they aren’t giving you your fair share, it might be time to find a new partner and just switch your status with that person to ‘friend’ rather than ‘exchange partner’.
Language exchanges might not be a monetary investment, but they are definitely a time investment and your time is valuable. Don’t waste it. You can always chat with your new friend when it isn’t your study time.
Need a Teacher? Then Invest in a Tutor Rather than a Language Exchange Partner
Exchange partners are very rarely, if ever, able to teach their native language. Looking for a lesson? Then you’re better off investing in a tutor. Language exchange partners are for conversing. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to explain grammar points or rules to you. A language teacher can.
This is when saving your time and investing money becomes the better option.
Make Sure Your Language Levels are Compatible
You want a language exchange partner whose language level is compatible with yours. This doesn’t mean you each need to be at the same level in your target languages. In fact, if you’re both complete beginners, you may have a rough time of it. On the other hand, if one person is far more advanced than the other, you may find that the exchange stays in the language of the more advanced person and the exchange becomes unfair.
Try to find an exchange partner whose level compliments your own so that you’re more fairly matched with them.
Remember the Key Attributes to Look for: Reliable, Focused, Engaging
I’ve had my fair share of language exchange partners who showed up to our meetings late, unprepared, and distracted. It’s never fun and it makes the exchange a drag. It ends up being a poor use of my time.
If your exchange partner is late or distracted once, it isn’t a big deal. If they’re unprepared or late repeatedly, it becomes a big deal. When this happens, it’s time to look for a new exchange partner.
How to BE the Perfect Language Exchange Partner
It’s easy to write off a language exchange, claiming it’s the other person’s fault that it didn’t work out. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you’re at fault for a less-than-perfect exchange. There are a ton of ways that you can mess up your exchanges on Skype, so it’s important to do what you can to avoid making mistakes as an exchange partner.
Here are a few tips for how you can be the perfect language exchange partner so that when you find the person that’s perfect for you, they’ll also want continue chatting.
Plan Out Conversation Topics in Advance
One of the best ways to waste your language exchange is by failing to plan ahead. If you don’t prepare topics in advance, you risk not having anything to talk about during your exchange.
Plan out conversation topics in advance, and check to see if they interest your partner. Also, study and prepare phrases or questions that are appropriate to the topic in advance.
You could even consider writing a script to read in full or use as a prompt if you feel stuck during the actual exchange.
Be Committed
Once you’ve found a solid language exchange partner, commit to them.
Before language exchanges, commit to preparing.
When you’re in a language exchange, commit to staying focused.
By being committed, you’ll find you get much more out of your language exchanges - and your exchange partner will too.
Give People a Second Chance
Sometimes the first session won’t go the way you hoped. Remember that you’re getting to know a new person and explore how you best work together. It might take time for you to “click”.
If you feel like the first session had a few hiccups, but that your exchange partner had potential, give them another chance.
Take Notes During Your Language Exchange Sessions
Take notes during your sessions (or immediately after). I recommend having a document open on your computer for this.
That way you can note down any new vocabulary and phrases you learned. And you can plan out things you can ask your exchange partner when you next converse.
Did they tell you about an upcoming interview or exam? Make a note to ask them (in your target language) how it went. Did they mention they have brothers or sisters? The next time you chat, ask how their siblings are doing.
Ask Them What They Need
Earlier, I recommended that you let your language exchange partner know your expectations for any conversations you have. Likewise, be sure to ask them what they expect from you. Then do your best to fulfil those expectations each time you meet. And if you’re not able to, be honest about that.
Send a Follow-Up Note after Every Conversation
A day or two after each exchange, follow up with an email to your partner to thank them for their time, and ask any questions you have. You can also offer feedback. And if you want to meet them again, have a date and time ready to suggest.
Over to You
What qualities do you feel make the perfect language exchange partner? And how do you find language learners who have those qualities? Let me know in the comments.
The post How to Find a Language Exchange Partner appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
June 2, 2017
Fluent in 3 Months: All Language Missions
You've come to the right place!
I set up Fluent in 3 Months to share language hacking tips and to tell the real, gritty stories of how language hacking works for me.
For over a decade I travelled around the world, and whenever I was in a new country for more than a few days, I set myself the mission of learning and speaking as much of the language as I could in that time.
In 2009, I began sharing these stories on my blog.
These are "case studies" in language hacking, if you like.
Later, I started sharing missions where I’d learn the language of one country while living in another country - such as learning Arabic while living in Brazil, or learning Japanese while living in Spain.
More recently, I've settled down in New York, and my new mission has been creating language courses. Meanwhile, Fluent in 3 Months has grown into a team, and other team members (including my partner, Lauren) have taken on the mantle of language missions.
Below are all my language missions - and all the Fluent in 3 Months language missions - with all the glory and all the "failure". Remember that a cornerstone of language hacking is the willingness to make mistakes - and I'm completely open about where things went well, and where they went wrong.
I’ll keep adding to this list as new missions are published on Fluent in 3 Months.
I’m sure you’ll find something in these missions to inspire your own language learning.
Here they are - enjoy! And please leave a comment to let me know about your language missions.
Benny's Czech Mission (2009)
Is it possible to become fluent in a language in 3 months?
Combining learning languages with your hobbies: My first video in Czech!
Hitting a brick wall in your language progress
Why Czech isn’t as hard to learn as you think
Benny's "Become Brazilian" Mission (2009)
My next mission: Become Brazilian in 3 months!
Summary of month 1 in the mission to become Brazilian
Summary of month 2 in mission to become Brazilian
Mission complete! Partial success – What will Benny’s next mission be?
Benny's Hungarian Mission (2010)
Mission: Conversational Hungarian in 3 months
My first weeks in Budapest: Hungarian mission update
Why Hungarian is easy
Speaking with mistakes quickly is better than speaking “perfectly” slowly
Benny's Thai Mission (2010)
Mission: Read and speak Thai in 8 weeks
Any phonetic script can be learned in just a few hours
Reading Thai and its tones isn’t as hard as you think
Don’t just stand there… Say something!
Getting along with other learners & conclusions of Thai mission
Benny's Advanced German Mission (2010)
German 3 month mission: Sit C2 exam
First Week in Germany, No English. Here’s How I Did It
First month in Berlin & 8 language 6 dialect tour of my flat
I’m Fluent in German! Exam Results and Analysis
Are Germans Rude? Killing the Stereotypes
Is it True that German is Hard to Learn?
Benny's Tagalog Mission (2011)
New Language Mission: Speak Tagalog (Filipino) in 2 months
Tagalog: a fun language to learn in the Philippines!
Challenges in the Philippines + video in Tagalog
Benny's American Sign Language Mission (2011)
Next mission: American Sign Language!
Settling in, first impressions of American Sign Language & video tour of my house
American Sign Language: It’s not all in the hands
Video in ASL: Gallaudet university, city of American Sign Language and Deaf culture
6 languages, 1 singer, 1 signer
Benny's Dutch Mission (2011)
Fluent in TWO months: The Dutch mission!
25 Speed Dates in Dutch
6 week level of Dutch
Dutch vs. German: What’s the Difference?
Benny's Klingon Mission (2011)
New mission: Speak Klingon in time for the Star Trek convention
Tour of my home… in Klingon!
Benny's Turkish Mission (2011)
New mission: Speak Turkish in two months!
First week in Istanbul, where I live & first (video) attempt at Turkish!
Getting by a few weeks into learning a language: my Turkish haircut (& ear burning) experience
Why Turkish isn’t as hard as you think!
Istanbul not Constantinople, Benny’s music video in Turkish
Benny's Mandarin Mission (2012)
Benny travels China: the real point of the mission to speak Mandarin as quickly as possible
Language Mission: Mandarin in 3 months!
Benny’s first video attempt in Mandarin: 2 weeks after starting
The only way to get far quickly is to get out of your comfort zone (my typical day learning Mandarin)
Progress report: Thoughts on one month of learning Mandarin & some FAQs
Benny’s 1 month level of Mandarin: Lantern festival interviews!
The underestimated usefulness of pre-fluency (My 2 month Mandarin video)
The simple guide to adding captions/subtitles to Youtube videos: My 2.5 month Mandarin video
Mandarin level up mission (Singapore edition)
Improving Mandarin for Singapore visit
Interview in Mandarin with TV presenter and Chinese teacher Yangyang
Benny's 10-Language Mission (2012)
My Polyglot Summer mission: Improve TEN languages to the next level (with lots of videos)
Mid-summer language mission update! (Clues of next mission coming)
Two polyglots speak a dozen languages in a mall in Ohio: Benny and Moses level up!
Fluent in 3 months: 11 language polyglot overview of the website
Benny's Arabic Mission (2012)
Learning Egyptian Arabic to fluency in 3 months… in Brazil! Benny’s new language mission!
How to start learning a language: Full account of day 1 of my #Fi3M mission
Solving specific problems rather than trying to learn everything: My first ever video in Arabic (reading)
The most important skill a traditional learning approach will never teach you (+2 month Arabic video)
How I learned to speak Arabic while living in Brazil
Standard Arabic or Local Dialect – Which Should You Learn First?
Typical day learning Arabic for the Irish polyglot
Watch Benny Speaking in Arabic
Benny's Polish in 5 Hours Mission (2013)
Mission Impossible? Polish in 5 Hours
Benny's Japanese Mission (2013)
Japanese project: Reach fluency in 3 months… in Spain [INTRO VIDEO]
English words in Japanese: Music video with Japanese learners
First month learning Japanese: How things are going so far, initial impressions of Japanese, and Burning Questions for Benny
Very quick look at Benny’s current Japanese level
Benny’s Japanese: Skype conversation over the half-way point [+ new language discussion channel]
Benny’s first time speaking Japanese in person? Not quite!
Japanese project conclusion: Wrapping up the learning part & getting ready to travel
Benny's American Accent Mission (2013)
The American Accent mission: Learning about phonetics and sentence rhythm in English to help with OTHER language projects!
The American accent mission: Singing Sinatra, and getting phonemes corrected
Brian Kwong's German Mission (2013)
3 Month Mission To Get To Know My Father-In-Law Through German: 3 Lessons Learned
Scott and Vat's "Year Without English" Mission (2013-2014)
A fluent in 3 months mission from the outside: Scott and Vat’s first week speaking only Spanish
A Year Without Speaking English
Lauren's Esperanto Mission (2014)
New language mission!
Week 1 of a monoglot’s first language learning journey (Benny coaches his girlfriend to learn Esperanto)
My girlfriend learns Esperanto: Week 2 update and spontaneous conversation!
Benny & Lauren’s plane, train & automobile travels: Week 3 of Esperanto learning
Week 4 of Lauren’s project: Chat in Esperanto
Lauren’s Esperanto project: Week 5 on Skype
6 biggest lessons from learning to speak my first non-native language [Final video]
Lauren's Russian Mission (2015)
New Mission: Russian in 2 Months
Lauren’s One Month Russian Update
What’s it like to start learning a language?: Lauren’s 6 Week Update
My system for learning the Russian cases (with examples)
Holly's Portuguese Mission (2016)
New Mission: Introducing Holly’s Portuguese in 3 Months Mission
Portuguese in 3 Months Mission: Day 0 Video
Portuguese in 3 Months Mission: 1 Month Update
Portuguese in 3 Months Mission: 2 Month Update
The post Fluent in 3 Months: All Language Missions appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
May 29, 2017
The Amazing Moment Speaking German Finally Clicked [Mission Complete!]
Yet here I am, one month later, at the end of my One Month Without English language mission. It’s a day that felt so far away but at the same time came around so quickly.
I know the question you’re dying to ask me:
Did I really make it an entire month without speaking English?
Well you’re going to have to read on to find out...
Mission Complete: One Month Without English
Okay, I’m going to be brutally honest with you here: I managed the entire month except for one day.
I had some British friends turn up for a party in Düsseldorf and they called me to ask if I wanted to go with them. I said yes and took the day off from speaking German, because why would I want to miss that?
However I consider this a success because 30 out of 31 days I spoke no English. And, as of last week, I found myself at the Cologne Carnival speaking only German and never once having to speak English:
But how much has my level of German improved?
After going for an ‘assessment’ at a language school, the teacher put me at B2/C1 level. With the direct quote being, “I teach a B2.2 class right now and you’re much more fluent than they are”. This was less than six months after I started learning German with Benny Lewis’s Language Hacking German course.
That for me is mission complete!
If you want to see my skills in action, check out this video of me and my girlfriend playing a game in German right here:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6yD29ZS-U
The Amazing Moment it Finally Clicked
One Monday evening about 22 days in, my girlfriend and I were getting ready to go and meet a friend for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other in a year and I’d never spoken German with him. But I’d made him aware that I was only allowed to speak German for the duration of the meal.
About an hour before we met an incredible nervousness came over me. I don’t know why but it was the worst yet. I couldn’t keep still and I felt like I wanted to be sick. I imagine it’s how people feel before they walk out and give a talk to 10,000 people.
He walked over to the table and I stood up. I asked him how he was in German and did my best to just say the first words that came to my head. We spoke for a little while and I was amazed: I could understand every word that he said.
For the next four hours the three of us sat and chatted and drank wine and ate and put the world to rights. We spoke about politics and restaurants and films and anything that came to mind. I never once got asked to re-explain myself. I never had to ask someone to slow down or repeat themselves.
The next morning I woke up and it felt like every song I listened to was clearer, every conversation was slower and every word that little bit clearer.
Malcolm Gladwell talks about The Tipping Point when small actions reach their peak and then momentum builds and you come downhill. I think that conversation finally took me beyond that tipping point.
Would I Recommend a Month Without English?
I’d recommend that all language learners commit to a period where they can’t use their mother tongue.
This should be a specific time where you’re not allowed to back out and revert to English. And you’re regularly having conversations and exposing yourself to the language. But I don’t think this time needs to be one month long.
I’m fortunate that my life as a freelancer allows me to be flexible, not see clients in person and completely avoid English on a day-to-day basis. I know that this isn’t an option that’s available to everyone.
If you can I’d suggest taking at least 10 days to give up all use of English. I found the first five to six days to be the most frustrating. Afterwards you find more of a groove and can begin to naturally use the language even if it’s not grammatically correct.
If you do want to take time without English here’s what I’d suggest you do to make sure nothing gets in the way.
Step 1: Notify All Immediate Friends, Family and Colleagues that You Won’t Be Speaking English
Let everyone who normally gets in touch with you know that you’re not going to be able to speak with them for the next few days or weeks. This stops people randomly calling you or getting annoyed that you haven’t returned their calls.
When you’ve made your friends and family aware of what you’re doing, there’s little temptation to give in and just have an English conversation.
Step 2: Remove All Social Media Apps from Your Phone
This was a big one for me. Removing Facebook and Twitter was important for making sure I didn’t try and escape to English entertainment.
While you can set up your Facebook account to be in your target language, you can’t control what other people are posting.
Step 3: Go to a Country Where You’ll Meet Native Speakers Every Day
I highly recommend you do this while you’re on holiday or travelling. Although you can immerse yourself at home, I wouldn’t recommend it.
To do a month without English from home, you’d essentially have to lock yourself in your house and Skype people all day to avoid using English. Meaning this wouldn’t be an enjoyable or sustainable project.
Step 4: Learn to ‘Talk Around’ Words and Topics
One of the biggest compliments I got was that I’ve developed an incredible ability to describe what I mean without using the word I want. This is a valuable skill in reaching fluency!
For example, try and explain the next three items and movies without using their actual names:
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Coffee
Tom Hanks
This technique is really helpful for describing words and themes in your target languages. When you can talk around a subject, you can lead people in the direction you want to go, even if you’ve forgotten (or not yet learned) a word.
Step 5: Stop Worrying About Grammar
Nobody ever died from using bad grammar.
For the days or weeks you’re on a No English mission, let all of your worries about grammar go out of the window. You don’t need to be perfect, you just need to speak.
If someone corrects your grammar, use it as an opportunity to learn. But you’ll have time to improve your grammar later; this is the time for talking.
Over To You…
Have you ever thought about giving up your mother tongue for a while? Or, do you fancy taking on the Month Without English challenge yourself? Is there anything else you’d like to know about my mission?
Let me know in the comments!
The post The Amazing Moment Speaking German Finally Clicked [Mission Complete!] appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
May 26, 2017
16 Must-Know Words and Phrases For Any Language
Often, native English speakers believe that everyone speaks English. So when they travel, they don’t bother learning the language of the place they’re visiting. After all, it’s fine to get by in English, right? Well, maybe. But there’s a much better way of doing things.
I’m not saying you should become fluent in the language of every place you visit (unless that’s your dream). I am saying that learning just a few words and phrases can hugely enrich your travel experience.
When you travel, you will benefit from doing a little research on your destination. Learning just a few basic phrases can be invaluable.
I’ve been travelling around the world since 2003 and during that time, have lived in 23 different countries.
My goal at first was to spend as much time as possible learning the native language of each country, before moving on. Some languages I was quick to forget. Others I’ve maintained fluency in to this day.
Along the way, there were a handful of countries I visited that I never intended to spend more than a few days in, so I didn’t try to become conversant in the native language before arrival. Yet, I’d still invest whatever time I had available in learning as much of the language as I could in advance - even if it was only enough to get by.
This is because my personal travel style is to avoid using English as much as possible.
Why? It’s really not that hard to get by in another language, and it opens you up to cultural experiences that you’d otherwise miss. Researching a place on the Internet can only get you so far. The locals know the best places to eat and shop, the stand-out sights to see, the most beautiful beaches and the most unforgettable cultural experiences.
Fail to learn any of the local language, and you’ll miss all this. You lose out on more than you probably realise.
That’s why I always learn a little bit of the local language in whatever amount of time I have available, even if it’s only hours or minutes. For instance, I made the most of a single hour, learning the basics in Polish.
Of course, you won’t want to waste your time memorising words and phrases you’ll soon forget or will never use. In my years of experience in travel and language hacking, I’ve found the following words and phrases to be the most important to learn.
So the next time you’re heading out to a foreign country where English isn’t the first language, spend a few minutes researching the following phrases in the language of the country you’re visiting.
These are the most important phrases to learn, though for some reason they’re often sprinkled throughout phrasebooks rather than being featured on the first page.
I’ve included translations for German, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Italian.
Let's get started!
1. “Thanks”
The number one word you should learn to say before visiting any country is “thanks”. It’s polite and people will appreciate the effort you’ve made to acknowledge them in their own language.
German: Danke
French: Merci
Mandarin Chinese: Xiè xie
Spanish: Gracias
Italian: Grazie
2. “I’m sorry”
For the sake of good manners, it’s good to know how to say sorry. You can say it when moving through a crowd, or when a general apology is required.
German: Es tut mir leid - “I am sorry” or Entschuldigung - “excuse me”
French: Je suis désolé (for male speakers), Je suis désolée (for female speakers) or pardon
Mandarin Chinese: Hěn bàoqiàn or duì buqĭ
Spanish: Lo siento or perdón
Italian: Mi dispiace or perdono
3. “Hello”
What’s the first thing do when initiating conversation? You greet them, like so:
German: Hallo
French: Bonjour
Mandarin Chinese: Nǐ hǎo
Spanish: Hola
Italian: Ciao
4. “Can I have…”
When you travel, chances are you’ll be eating out, spending time in bars, and buying souvenirs. This is a handy phrase to know for ordering in a restaurant, bakery, coffee shop or bar.
German: Kann ich einen Kaffee haben...? - Can I have a coffee?”
French: Je voudrais un croissant. - “I would like a croissant.”
Mandarin Chinese: Wŏ yào zhè gè “I want this.”
Spanish: ¿Me trae dos cafés, por favor? - “Please give me two coffees.”
Italian: Posso avere… “I can have…”
5. “How much does it cost?”
It helps to be savvy while travelling, as well as being mindful of whether you’re staying within your budget
German: Wieviel kostet das? - “How much is that?”
French: Combien ça coûte ?
Mandarin Chinese: Zhè shì duōshǎo qián?
Spanish: ¿Cuánto cuesta?
Italian: Quanto costa/costano? (singular/plural)
6. “Yes”
“Yes” is one of the simplest words to learn and it helps that it tends to remain constant across many Romance languages.
German: Ja
French: Oui
Mandarin Chinese: Shì (Technically there is no word for “yes” in Mandarin, but in many cases ‘it is’ works - otherwise, you’d repeat the verb of the question)
Spanish: Sí
Italian: Sì
7. “No”
Why would you learn how to say “yes” without learning the translation for “no”?
German: Nein
French: Non
Mandarin Chinese: Bú shì (Similarly to yes, as explained above, this actually means ‘it isn’t’, as there’s no single word for ‘no’ in Mandarin. If you put bù (‘not`) before the verb in question that tends to be what you need)
Spanish: No
Italian: No
8. “I am…”
“I am” is a much better phrase to learn than “My name is…”. Why? You can apply it to a range of topics – not only your name but your job, nationality and many other things. It’s the perfect phrase to use with Tarzan speak.
German: Ich bin...
French: Je suis...
Mandarin Chinese: Wǒ shì…
Spanish: Soy…
Italian: Io sono…
9. “What’s your name?”
After you’ve introduced yourself, you’ll want to know how to ask for an introduction in return.
German: Wie heißt du?
French: Comment vous appelez-vous ? (formal) or Comment tu t'appelles ? (informal)
Mandarin Chinese: Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi
Spanish: ¿Cómo se llama usted? (formal) or ¿Cómo te llamas? (informal)
Italian: Lei come si chiama? (formal) or Tu come ti chiami? (informal)
10. “How are you?”
If you find yourself in conversation with a local, it’s a mark of common decency to ask how they are. I find that people across many different cultures who work in service roles really appreciate it when you take the time to ask how they’re doing.
German: Wie geht es dir?
French: Comment allez-vous ? or the informal Ça va ?
Mandarin Chinese: Nǐ hǎo ma?
Spanish: ¿Cómo estás?
Italian: Come stai?
11. “Great!”
A quick, go-to response if someone asks how you’re doing.
German: Mir geht es großartig! - “I am great!”
French: Ça va bien ! - “I am good!”
Mandarin Chinese: Wǒ hěn hǎo!
Spanish: Bien
Italian: Buona!
12. “Again, please”
A beginner in any language will have trouble understanding what a native speaker is saying, as they will talk at a fast pace. Don’t panic – just ask them to repeat what they said. If you’re new to the language, you don’t have to memorise how to say “Sorry, can you repeat that” - a quick “again, please” will usually do the trick.
German: Bitte wiederholen Sie - “Please repeat”.
French: Répétez s'il vous plaît - “Repeat, please”.
Mandarin Chinese: Máfán nǐ zài shuō yībiān - “Please say that again”
Spanish: ¿Disculpa? - ¿Perdón? or ¿Cómo? - “How?”
Italian: Vuole ripetere, per favore? - “Could you repeat that please?”
13. “More slowly, please”
This is another phrase you can use when natives speak really fast. It reduces the risk of them repeating themselves at the same pace.
German: Langsamer, bitte
French: Plus lentement s'il vous plaît
Mandarin Chinese: Gèng màn, qǐng
Spanish: Más despacio por favor
Italian: Più lentamente per favore
14. “Sorry, I Don’t Understand”
If you’re having issues communicating with a native speaker - tell them!
German: Entschuldigung, das verstehe ich nicht.
French: Je suis désolé, je ne comprends pas. (for male speaker) Je suis désolée, je ne comprends pas. (for female speakers)
Mandarin Chinese: Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
Spanish: Lo siento, no entiendo.
Italian: Mi dispiace, non capisco.
15. “Where is (the)...?”
You’re navigating a new country. Chances are, you’ll get lost now and again. Don’t be afraid to ask a local for directions. Even if you can’t follow their directions, you can get them to show you your destination on a map.
German: Wo ist (der/die/das)...?
French: Où est (le/la)...
Mandarin Chinese: Zài nǎlǐ...?
Spanish: Dónde está (el/la)...
Italian: Dov'è (il/la)...
16. Goodbye
Another phrase that’s really good to know.
German: Auf Wiedersehen (formal) or Tschüss (informal)
French: Au revoir
Mandarin Chinese: Zàijiàn
Spanish: Adiós
Italian: Arrivederla/ci
With these words and phrases in your pocket, you’ll endear yourself to the locals, and you’ll have a more authentic experience.
Speaking even a tiny bit of a foreign language makes you feel more thoughtful, widens your world view, gives you buckets of self confidence… and it’s addictive. Once you’ve had a taste of talking with someone in a language that isn’t your own, it can be really hard to stop!
Are there any words or phrases that you try to learn before travelling? Is there one particular go-to phrase that you think should be on this list? Let me know in the comments.
The post 16 Must-Know Words and Phrases For Any Language appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
May 22, 2017
Cultural Immersion: How Learning 20 Basic Phrases Transformed My Travel Experience
I really enjoyed reading about Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny Lewis’s experience getting by with limited Turkish at a barber shop in Istanbul.
But it wasn’t until a recent trip to Burma with my friend that I got to experience firsthand how powerful this can be.
The 20 Phrases I Learned to Prepare for My Trip
Before the trip, I took only two hours of Burmese lessons with Cherry, an excellent Burmese tutor on italki. She taught me the following basic phrases:
Hello (with the polite particles)
Elder/younger sister, elder/younger brother (polite way to address people)
How are you? I’m fine
Excuse me
Sorry
Thank you (formal and informal)
You’re welcome
Beautiful
Good
My name is Holly. This is [my friend] Ashley.
Goodbye (formal and informal)
Can you speak English? Yes, I can speak it/No, I can’t.
Do you understand? Yes, I understand/No, I don’t understand.
Give me this please [pointing to a menu item]
How much does it cost?
Numbers from 1 to 99.
Vegetarian-related phrases: I’m vegetarian. I don’t eat meat or fish. Is it vegetarian? Please make it vegetarian. Could you give me this but vegetarian?
I practised pronunciation with my teacher over and over during my two lessons. Once I was sure I was saying the words correctly, I made up a transliteration system to help me remember the pronunciation - reading Burmese was definitely not part of this micro mission! - and I put all the words onto flash cards on my phone. I practised the cards on the long flight to Asia.
Arriving in Burma
When my friend Ashley and I arrived in Mandalay, the first thing we did was hop on the bus for a five-hour ride to Bagan (pronounced “b’gan). We arrived in Bagan just in time to get to bed and wake up at 5:30 a.m. to watch the famous sunrise over the old town. And what a beautiful sunrise it was!
We were short on time, only having about 52 hours in Burma, so after a morning spent touring the temples of old Bagan, it was back on the bus for the five-hour trip back to Mandalay.
Culturally Immersed: Using My New Phrases
As it would turn out, that bus trip ended up being the most memorable part of my visit.
The bus stopped for 20 minutes at a small outdoor rest stop in a really rural area. We had been in Burma 24 hours by this point but I had barely had a chance to use the Burmese I had learned, except for “hello”, “goodbye”, “thank you” and “how much?” at restaurants and such. But at the rest stop, when I got out to stretch my legs, I saw a lady selling some grilled meat near our bus. I wanted to take a picture but I didn’t want to be rude by doing it without asking. But I hadn’t learned the phrase “May I take a photo?” I thought back to my phrase list, and I remembered the verb "can”, and the yes/no question particle, from the phrase “Can you speak English?” So I mustered up my courage, approached the lady, and said in Burmese, “Excuse me, elder sister”, then pointed to my camera and asked "Can I?” She nodded. Success!
“Kaung dè (good)!!!"
I took a picture and said “thank you”, then gestured to her tray of meat said apologetically, "I'm vegetarian." Another lady selling some flat cakes heard me. She came over and pointed to her tray, saying "Vegetarian!" So I bought one and tried it, and said "Good!" in Burmese.
[caption id="attachment_20755" align="aligncenter" width="768"]
“Kaung dè (good)!!!"[/caption]She pointed at the cakes again and said another word that I didn't know, so I said "Sorry, I don't understand". She then said, “Name," followed by the word again. I recognised the word “name” from the phrase “My name is Holly” that I had already learned. "Ohhh, name!" I replied. She was telling me the name of the food! (Side note: I wish I remember what the name was. It was yummy, and googling the description of the food has been unsuccessful.)
Getting Taught New Vocabulary
I was curious about what kind of meat the first lady was selling. I hadn’t learned how to say “What is that?” but I had just been reminded that I knew the Burmese word for “name”, so I just pointed to her tray and said "Name?" She told me what kind of meat it was, but of course I didn't understand the word. An English-speaking Burmese man was passing by and told me it was rabbit. I wanted to hear the name again in Burmese. I knew how to say “in [language]” since I had learned the phase “Can you speak [in] English?” So I said, “In Burmese…?” and the lady repeated the word for rabbit (which of course I already forget! But that’s slightly easier to look up.)
Another lady heard us talking and came over, so now there were three ladies standing around me. I was gaining an audience with my clumsy attempts to speak Burmese. It encouraged me to keep going. I said, "My name is Holly," then looked questioningly at the lady selling the rabbit (because I didn't know how to ask "What is your name?”). She said her name, as did the other two women.
Learning How to Tell Jokes in Burmese
I was running out of things to say because I had learned so little. But I suddenly realised I could say my age. I couldn’t say "years old", but I did know the numbers up to 99, so I pointed to myself and said "Thirty-five." They understood. The lady selling the rabbit pointed to herself and said “Fifty-five.” She really didn’t look that age, so I replied "Fifty-five! Beautiful!" and she smiled. My Burmese teacher taught me that smiling is a common substitute for words in Burma. People often smile to say hello or thank you.
The lady then pointed to the woman standing closest to me, who looked about my age, and said "Sixty!" with a perfect deadpan expression, before she broke it with a laugh. There’s no way the woman next to me was sixty. The lady selling the rabbit was teasing her! And she wasn’t done yet. She then pointed to the other girl, who couldn't have been older than twenty, and said "Eighty!", again with that mock-serious expression, and we all shared a hearty laugh at that. I wished that there had been a child around so I could have pointed and said, “Ninety??” to keep the joke going!
Our 20-minute pit stop was almost over, but I still had a couple minutes left. The lady selling the vegetarian cakes said "[something something] three." I couldn’t tell what she was referring to, so I replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” She mimed rocking a baby, and I knew she was telling me she had three kids. "Oh! I understand!" I replied.
I didn’t get a chance to tell her how many kids I have (and I hadn’t learned the word for “zero” anyway :) ), because suddenly it was time to get back on the bus. I had just enough time to say "Thank you, goodbye!" and wave at my new friends before boarding the bus. We kept waving to each other through the window as the bus pulled away.
A Magical Experience
It’s hard to express what a magical experience it was to have this short conversation with such a friendly group of Burmese women. I kept thinking back to it with a smile over the next several days as Ashley and I made our way back to Thailand for the rest of our trip. I ended up using nearly every one of the few phrases I had learned, and it improved the trip more than I ever would’ve expected.
After that experience, I made a promise to myself to never travel to another country again without learning at least a few sentences in the local language. I want to make the most out of my trips, and that doesn’t just mean seeing the sights. It also (or rather, especially) means interacting and connecting with the people who live there, even if only briefly. In other words, real cultural immersion.
I absolutely love hearing about similar experiences of unexpected connections during people’s travels. Have you ever scraped by in a conversation with just a few words and phrases? Please tell me about it in the comments!
Kyay zuu! (Thanks!)
Photo credit: Ashley Meredith.
The post Cultural Immersion: How Learning 20 Basic Phrases Transformed My Travel Experience appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.
