Benny Lewis's Blog, page 74

Can You Learn a Language by Watching the News?

"I'd like to read the news in my new language" is a goal I often hear when I ask people what fluency would mean for them.

Perhaps you dream of reading Le Monde in a quirky cafe in Paris. Or maybe you'd to open up the Spiegel Online app while travelling on the S-Bahn in Berlin.

Even if reading the news isn't your end goal, it's still a great way to learn a language.

When I learn a new language though, I do it because I want to connect with people.

I don’t want to stop once I’ve learned how to order food or ask for directions. These are important to know, but they’re just one step in language learning. I wish to truly get to know people. That way, I can get an inside view of their country, culture, ideals and beliefs.

Plus, once you get to know people, you’ll likely start talking about common topics of conversation: current events, sports, celebrities, business. Maybe even politics, religion and life goals.

This is one reason - among many - why I recommend that language students watch the news. Doing this gives you insight into your target language that’s rarely available through other learning tools.

You won’t only be learning about current affairs. Watching the news can teach you new words and phrases and educate you in proper pronunciation. Reading the news will increase your vocabulary and improve your grammar skills. And that’s not all...

The Benefits of Using the News to Learn a Foreign Language

I recommend the news as a language tool for students for many reasons.


The news is a never-ending resource. Most news sites are updated throughout the day. TV news runs around the clock. And so do talk radio stations. You’ll never run out of fresh content, which you can continually use to build upon your learning.
Journalists are required to write in a standardised way. With the news there’s no slang or colloquialisms. You get the topics of the day, delivered straight, in language you can easily understand.
TV news is read in standard dialect. This is particularly important for beginners, who need to know they’re learning the correct form of the language.
Anchors and journalists tend to enunciate clearly, which is ideal for both beginners and intermediate students. Similarly, print news tends to be well-written, with appropriate and correct use of grammar.
The news enriches your mind culturally. As you learn the language, you’re also learning important details about the countries in which the language is spoken. From current affairs, to entertainment, economy and sport, your knowledge of this particular culture is only going to broaden.
As news is available via many resources, you can use it to strengthen your reading, listening and speaking skills. That’s a triple win.
The news is easily accessible. Thanks to the Internet, you can access the news from wherever you are, in whichever country of your choice. All it takes is a few clicks of your mouse and you have hours of language learning material at your disposal.


Keeping all this in mind, it’s pretty easy to see how anyone learning a language would benefit from incorporating the news into their study tools.

Yet before we move on, there’s one more question that needs answering.

How can you ensure that you’re using news to learn a language… and not falling into the black hole of passive learning ?

The Wrong Way to Watch the News

You can’t expect to sit in front of your computer and find you’re fluent in German after watching one half-hour news broadcast, even if you did that every day for months or years.

I mean, good luck to you, but I’d be pretty surprised if that actually worked!

As with using movies for language learning, you can’t switch off when watching the news. You need to be alert, you need to be present and you must be in study mode.

Let’s look at how to make sure you do that.

How to Use News as a Language Learning Tool (5 Steps)

1. Select a News Site that Works For Your Level

Your first task is to find a news source that matches your current learning level. For example, if you’re a beginner learning Mandarin Chinese, and you’re still learning the script, you won’t benefit from attempting to read a newspaper written entirely using Chinese characters. You’d be better off listening to a podcast or live-streaming a television news channel, ideally one suited to learners of the language.

To take another example, tabloid newspapers tend to be written in simpler language than broadsheets.

The resource you pick should also cater to the skills you wish to target. News is a predominantly helpful tool for those wanting to improve either their listening or reading skills (or both!). Decide which skill has higher priority and go from there.

There are also news sites specifically designed for language learners. More on those in a moment.

2. Pay Attention

When you’re listening to the news, you can just sit there letting the words wash over you. This will help you get familiar with the sounds of the language. As there’s a nonstop supply of news, this is worth doing from time to time.

However, you’ll learn faster (and find the stories you’re reading or listening to more interesting) if you focus on what’s being said. Sure, you might not understand everything, but you will be able to pick out words. The more you practise this, the better you’ll get.

3. Keep it Small and Simple

If you’re a beginner, don’t overwhelm yourself with a half-hour news programme. Instead, listen to the news in bite-sized pieces. Focus on one story at a time, making sure you fully understand every aspect of the story and any new vocabulary. Look up any words that are new to you, and if you want to add them to your vocabulary, create flashcards for those word.

Only then should you move onto the next news story.

4. Don’t Beat Yourself Up - the News Can be Complex

If there are news stories you struggle to understand, give yourself a break. Move onto another story. The news can be complicated, and when you’re starting out it’s best to get easy wins.

5. Become a “News Lyrebird”

A Lyrebird is an Australian animal that is famous for being able to mimic the sounds of other birds.

When you watch the news, I recommend you be a News Lyrebird. Mimic what the newscaster says. This will help the sounds of the language feel familiar in your mouth.

News Resources: Where to Find the News in Your Target Language

Itching to get started? Never fear – I’ve collected some of the best news websites for French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

French News Websites


News in Slow French is the perfect resource for beginner and intermediate learners. The news is read out slowly and clearly, making it easy to follow along.
Radio France International (RFI) offers a daily world news digest in simplified written French, which is perfect for students wishing to practise their reading skills.
France 24 is, as the name suggests, a 24-hour news channel, which streams much of its content online. Compare French segments to English equivalents to test your knowledge of the language and your listening skills.
20 minutes is a newspaper that is distributed around France via Metro stops and train stations, country-wide. The newspapers are designed to be read across an average commute and the stories tend to be short and in a lot of cases, sensationalised. The website features plenty of articles, making it a good resource for students both in and outside of France.


German News Websites


Das Erste is Germany’s public news channel, and streams news and current affairs shows online.
Slowly Spoken News is an audio programme from the German television channel Deutsche Welle. You can download an mp3 audio file of DW’s news, with an accompanying script to read as you listen. It’s freshly updated each afternoon from Monday to Saturday.
Deutschlandfunk is a news radio station, which streams content online.
News Easily publishes the most important content from the past week every Friday afternoon, in the plainest language possible. This makes it perfect for beginners.
Der Spiegel is Germany’s most widely circulated news magazine, which posts many articles on its online site.


Spanish News Websites


News in Slow Spanish features news broadcasts you can download, where the newscasters speak slowly and clearly. There are two programmes offered: Spanish as spoken in Spain, and Spanish as spoken in Latin America.
SBS has a useful list of Spanish news broadcasters.
About.com has a directory of Spanish news sources. These include Spanish audio and print news.
RTVE. Spain’s national public broadcaster has a big selection of news broadcasts that can be downloaded as podcasts.
Spanish News Bites has small chunks of news in Spanish. Perfect for beginners.
Spanish newspapers, as compiled by M.I.T. This list is sure to have something to your taste.


Mandarin Chinese News Websites


The Chairman’s Boa is a simplified Chinese newspaper, designed for Mandarin learners. There are news stories on many topics, such as sports and business. On top of that, you can select your learning level, so it’s easy to find articles that match your abilities.
The Taipei Times is bilingual, with articles in English and Traditional Chinese side by side. It covers stories in Taiwan and beyond.
CNTV is a Chinese news station that streams its shows online. The website is in Mandarin, so if you’re not yet all that advanced, you can use the English channel to find a program to watch.
BBC中文网播客 is a BBC news podcast, delivered in Chinese.


How Will You Use the News in Your Language Learning?

Remember to approach the news as you would any other language learning resource. It can be an exceptionally handy tool for study, as long as that is exactly what you do: take the time and effort to study these resources.

Don’t lose heart and don’t give up. As your knowledge of the language grows, your ability to understand what is being said will develop with it. And you’ll become even more informed about this world we inhabit along the way.

How do you use the news in your language learning? Let me know in the comments.

The post Can You Learn a Language by Watching the News? appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

10 Good Reasons to Learn Spanish

Want to learn Spanish? You're in good company. By one estimate, nearly 100 million people worldwide speak some level of Spanish as a second language, and that number is growing fast.

Spanish is the language that got me started on this whole language-learning adventure over a decade ago, so it's definitely a language that has had an enormous impact on my life!

With so many possible languages you could learn, why learn Spanish?

Here are some ideas that I hope will appeal, whether you're a seasoned polyglot looking to add another notch to your belt or a language newbie thinking about dipping your toes in the agua:

1. Become More Expressive

Does this make any sense to you:

Spanish is eaten bread! But sometimes when I'm talking to someone who doesn't have any hairs on their tongue, I wonder if they're just playing the Swede. Maybe they have more wool than a lamb and feel like throwing the house through the window, but maybe they're just being like a goat and pulling my hair.

That probably looked like nonsense! But if you learn a bit of Spanish you'll see that these are just a few of that language's many colourful idioms which aren’t directly translated into English. There are countless other examples, and as you learn them you'll find all kinds of interesting new phrases and perspectives that you'll wish you could also use in English... if only English speakers would understand them.

So unless you have "bad milk" (mala leche) or a "mood of dogs" (humor de perros), if you learn Spanish you definitely won't be "throwing water into the sea" (echar agua al mar). ;)

2. Join a HUGE Family

How big is your family? What if I told you that you actually have millions of nephews? Or at least if you spend time in Spain you might feel that way, since people will keep calling you tía or tío, which literally mean "aunt" and "uncle". These words are commonly used in Spain as a term of endearment and a greeting, like "dude/chick" or (for the Brits and Aussies) "mate".

Practically every Spanish-speaking country has its own version (or versions) of tío, like the Colombian guevón, the Mexican vato or morro, the Chilean weón and more. As they say in Spanish, ¡qué rico! - how rich! With some Spanish under your belt you'll never run out of fun ways to address people. Just be careful with the word marica, which in some places (such as Venezuela) can mean "dude", but in other places is a derogatory term for a gay person.

Talking of a big family...

3. Have Double the Fun

By number of native speakers (there's over 400 million of them), Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the world, as well the official language of 21 countries. That's about 5% of the world's population and 10% of its countries currently not truly accessible to you if you haven’t learned the language yet! I've been to a few of those countries and met many of those people, and I assure you, you're missing out.

What... were you thinking about travelling to those countries and meeting those people through English? I suppose you could try, but why watch a black-and-white movie on your phone when you could go to the Imax cinema and see it in 3D? As I've said again and again, travelling with English alone is an extremely limiting experience, and it's hard to appreciate this until you've broken out of the anglophone bubble and seen it for yourself.

Learn a bit of Spanish and your world map will double in size. All kinds of new adventures, friends, and fond memories are awaiting you - all you have to do is say sí.

4. You’ll Find it Easy to Get Help

As much as I try to avoid categorising languages by how "easy" or "hard" they are, I have to give Spanish some credit. Even before you consider the intrinsic aspects of the language itself (which aren't the hardest), Spanish is made considerably easier by its popularity.

The sheer number of wannabe Spanish speakers out there means that there's a lot of money to be made in this space, and the market has responded: there's an ENORMOUS amount of Spanish learning material out there. Whatever your specific learning style or language goals, you're very unlikely to have any trouble finding the exact product, course or resource to meet your needs. Plus it's never hard to find another speaker to practise with!

Compare this to a language like Egyptian Arabic. As I've said before, despite having more than 80 million speakers, possibly the hardest thing about this language was not the language itself, but the difficulty of finding good teaching materials (since the courses tend to favour Modern Standard Arabic, which isn’t actually spoken in Egypt). If only there were as many good Arabic dialect resources as there are Spanish ones, my life would have been much easier.

5. Unleash Your Inner Party Animal!

The Spanish know how to party, and apparently they exported this tendency with them when they were colonising the world. Get to know the Hispanosphere and you'll be introduced to a montón of new celebrations that'll keep you up all night and dancing all day.

There's Día de los Reyes Magos in January, Carnaval (it's not just a Brazilian thing) in March, and San Juan in June. You can celebrate the Feast of El Salvador del Mundo in (you guessed it) El Salvador in August, Grito de Lares in Puerto Rico in September, the infamous San Fermín (running of the bulls) in Spain in July, Señor de los Milagros in Peru in October, or Día de los Muertos in Mexico in November, and the list goes on. (I told you that you're missing out.)

Whew! I'm exhausted just reading that list.

6. Get a Head Start on Other Languages

Do you want to be a polyglot? If you want to learn another Romance language once you're done with Spanish, you'll find you’ll have a big head start.

In fact, several big Romance languages are so similar to Spanish that they're largely mutually intelligible - a Spaniard and an Italian who have never studied each other's languages could still just about communicate with a bit of effort. Learn Spanish and you'll find you can understand large chunks of Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, and (to a lesser extent) French, especially in their written forms, without having ever even studied them. Is that cheating? I prefer to think of it as "more bang for your buck".

(A common next destination after Spanish is Brazilian Portuguese - if you want to go down that route, you might enjoy this article where I explain the basic differences.)

7. Learn Some New Tricks with Your Tongue

Many learners of Spanish are intimidated by its rolled R sound, which isn't unique to Spanish by any stretch of the imagination but still is very foreign to most English-speaking tongues. (Pro tip: the single "tapped" R as in pero is not only much more common than the double "rolled" R, as in perro but much easier to pronounce).

But fear not! While some people convince themselves that they simply can't learn the rolled R and will never learn, the truth is that it's not that difficult, it just takes practice. And once you figure it out, you might find that trilling your tongue is a bit addictive. It feels so satisfying to finally nail this skill after all that practice!

8. Feed Your Language Brain

Spanish developed from the dialect of "Vulgar Latin" that was originally spoken in the kingdom of Castile, part of modern-day Spain. (This is why Spanish, español, is actually called Castilian, or castellano in the language itself in Spain, Argentina and several other countries). In the journey from veni, vidi, vici to vine, vi, vencí, Spanish mixed and mingled with a whole host of other languages and cultures, giving it some very distinctive features and vocabulary.

For example, over 4000 Spanish words have their roots not in Latin but in Arabic, thanks to the Arabic-speaking Moors who ruled what's now Spain for a whopping seven centuries. Perhaps the most famous of these words is the hard-to-translate exclamation ¡ojalá!, which roughly means "let's hope so!" or "I hope to God!" - alá, of course, being the Spanish way of writing the Arabic word "Allah".

In fact, as Spanish was spreading to the western hemisphere during colonial times, some indigenous American words managed to make it back east: such as cancha (football field) and carpa (marquee), which both come from the native South American language Quechua.

The point is that, if you're a history or an etymology nerd, Spanish is an extremely rich language, and there's a lot to geek out on.

9. Vulgarity!

Spanish is descended from Vulgar Latin, and if vulgarity is your thing, Spanish can certainly help. You can start with the ubiquitous joder, which means "fuck", and, like its English equivalent, has zillions of different uses and translations, but be sure to move on quickly, there's much more.

Again, it varies from country to country. A very common expletive in Spain is ¡hostia!, which literally means "host", as in the communion wafer that Catholics eat at mass, and can roughly be used in the same way that a blasphemous English speaker would exclaim "Christ!" or "Jesus!". (Cristo and Jesús aren't used this way in Spanish, although someone might say Jesús! to you when you sneeze, similar to the English "Bless you!"). If you darle la hostia (give someone the host), that roughly translates as "beat the crap out of somebody", but if you simply say something es la hostia ("it's the host"), that means it's very good.

But that's just the tip of the obscenity iceberg. Spanish is chock-full of ways to indulge your potty mouth. ¡Joder!

10. La Tierra de la Libertad...

In all my travels, there's one Spanish-speaking country that stands out as very, well, distinctive. Spanish isn't even the official language, yet in large chunks of the country you hear it everywhere. And it's a weird dialect they have there - kind of a mix, and you'll often find people who have completely different accents even though they grew up in the same area! Maybe it's because this country is so huge and has such a rich heritage; a total melting pot of all kinds of different cultures, not just Latin ones. Whatever the case, it's an exception to point #3 above - you can get by in this country without Spanish. But if you do learn it, you'll find that it can give you a whole new perspective on this country and open many new doors.

I'm talking, of course, about the United States of America - which has over 40 million native Spanish speakers, making it the 2nd biggest Spanish-speaking country in the world, behind only Mexico - and it's likely to overtake Mexico and clinch the number one spot within our lifetimes! Who knows what the future has in store for the Spanish language, but clearly its influence is spreading fast and wide beyond its "official" borders. Maybe in the future you just won't be able to avoid it.

Spanish is so prominent in the Estados Unidos that I actually spent a whole month almost exclusively speaking it when I lived in south San Francisco city, and I use it very often here in New York.

One thing's for sure: I've heard many people say that they wish they spoke Spanish, but I've never heard anyone say that they wish they hadn't learned it. If I've inspired you to give Spanish a try, go ahead and check out this list of resources.

What’s your big reason for learning Spanish? Let me know in the comments.

The post 10 Good Reasons to Learn Spanish appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

Portuguese in 3 Months Mission: 2 Month Update

This is an update to Holly’s Portuguese in 3 Months mission.

In my last update, I filled you in on the first month of my Portuguese in 3 months mission. During that month, I discovered quite a few listening resources, had several talks with native speakers, and adjusted some of my personal expectations along the way.

In this update, I’ll discuss my second month, how it differed from month one, and how I overcame some of the challenges I was faced with.

I’ll also share the my two-month video.

Let’s get started!

New Portuguese Study Resources

A LOT of my time throughout my mission was spent researching and trying out different Portuguese resources. I don’t know if I’m just picky, but quite a few resources just didn’t work for me, so I abandoned them and tried again.

PortuguesePod101 was my top go-to course for most of my mission. However, I actually took a two-week break from it this month because I started to get sick of the repetitiveness after binging on so many lessons in such a short time (In my first five weeks, I burned through all the lessons in lower beginner and upper beginner seasons 1 and 2). This isn’t a knock against the product; it’s just a side-effect of depending too much on a single resource.

The Portuguese Language Resources I Used in Month 2

So I branched out more this month to find other ways to improve my Portuguese:

Practice Portuguese

Practice Portuguese is a free European Portuguese podcast for upper-beginner and intermediate students.

I fell in love with the format after listening to a few episodes. It’s presented in 100% Portuguese, so there’s no time wasted listening to English (though I discovered later that some of their most recent episodes do feature some English, to help lower-beginner Portuguese students).

There are different types of episodes: “artigo” (article), “atualidade” (news), “diálogo” (dialogue) and more. The host speaks very slowly and clearly, which is especially useful if you’re not familiar with the European Portuguese accent. The “artigo” episodes are my favourite, because they’re always read twice: once slowly, and once quickly. I also like that there are no vocab lists dictated, and no grammar drills in any of the episodes. You just get to listen to natural spoken Portuguese for a small chunk of time – not too much to be overwhelming.

Semantica Portuguese

Semantica Portuguese is a video course in Brazilian Portuguese.

It has 25 free episodes on iTunes. They’re meant to be watched in order because they follow a storyline, the way a TV series does. This keeps you coming back because you’ll want to know what happens next. I could definitely see the potential of this course, but ultimately I decided not to go forward with a subscription.

Most of my Portuguese studying has been done away from a screen (such as through audio lessons, podcasts and Portuguese music), and I wanted to keep it that way. But if you prefer a visual approach from time to time, definitely give this course a try.

The Conta-me Tudo (“Tell Me Everything”) Podcast

I wanted the Conta-me Tudo (“Tell Me Everything”) podcast to work out for me, I really did.

The premise is fascinating: in each episode, an ordinary person gives a talk to a live audience about an incredible, funny, scary, or life-changing story that happened to them. The topics are extremely varied, from improbable love stories to travel disasters.

Every episode summary looked so interesting that I wanted to listen to it just for the story, never mind improving my Portuguese! But I listened to five episodes, and try as I might, I couldn’t pick out enough words to get the gist of any of the stories. But this podcast was super motivational to me. My new long-term goal in the language is to reach a good-enough level to be able to understand this podcast. Once I do, I’m coming straight back to listen to every episode!

More TV Shows

I watched several episodes of Got Talent Brazil, but I kept coming back to Got Talent Portugal, probably because I know that show better and am used to the judges. I also found an episode of the kids’ show Caillou in Portuguese!

Audio Flashcards

I’ll share a little more on these in a moment.

How Editing My Portuguese Mission Videos Helped My Language Learning

Editing and adding subtitles to my videos was a surprisingly big help.

As I played and replayed sections of my month-one video to hear the dialogue, I noticed many of my mistakes for the first time. For example, I pronounced the word “frequently” as “frequemente” instead of “frequentemente” several times. (I blame my French knowledge for this mistake – in French, the word is “fréquemment”, NOT “fréquentement”.) I wasn’t aware I was doing it until I listened to myself speaking Portuguese.

After hearing that and my other mistakes from the video – over and over in painfully clear slow motion as I typed out the subtitles – I can assure you I never made those mistakes again!

I highly recommend to anyone studying a foreign language to watch yourself speaking the language on video.

When you’re speaking in the moment, you don’t notice all of your mistakes, but you’ll easily catch them when you listen to yourself on tape. It’s a very useful exercise. Don’t worry, you’ll get over the cringe factor pretty quickly.

Was it a Mistake to Avoid Reading and Writing?

A key part of my Portuguese mission is learning through listening and speaking. As far as possible, I’ve avoided resources that involve reading and writing.

When I found good Portuguese audio or video resources to study, it was very motivating. But searching for good resources sometimes took so long that it became frustrating.

Hunting for fun and motivating things to listen to wasn’t easy. Sometimes it was a big waste of time. Especially with music.

I listened to hours of music by Legião Urbana, Mariza, Titãs and more, trying to find songs that I liked enough to memorize. That’s where my motivation slipped the most, because none of the music really clicked with me. However, I did eventually find a few fun songs this month. I memorized one of them: “Balada do Desajeitado” (Ballad of clumsiness/awkwardness/ungainliness…the word doesn’t translate very well) by D.A.M.A.:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcfSEeovjcE

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Memorizing this song was hard! It goes fast, and a lot of syllables are eaten up for the sake of rhythm. But I feel that learning this song improved my speaking skills quite a bit. I started to feel comfortable “glossing over” certain words and pronouncing them more naturally, much like an English language student might learn to say “gonna” instead of “going to”.

My Feelings at the Halfway Point of My Portuguese Mission

Around the six-week mark of my mission, I sat down to reflect on my progress so far. Certainly, I was very happy with my progress to date.

Here are some of my thoughts:

Does No-Reading-or-Writing Really Work?

Honestly, when I first started this mission, I had no idea if a no-reading-or-writing approach would work at all!

It was a big experiment for me. But I was happy to see that I was making more progress than I had in all of my other language attempts in the previous 15 years. For the first time, I wasn’t treating listening comprehension as an afterthought – and it was working.

I Did Have One Achilles Heel…

There was one area that I could tell I was weak in. It’s yet another area that I’ve always had trouble with in every language I’ve studied: vocabulary. See, I’m kind of a grammar nerd, and grammar rules tend to come naturally to me. Vocabulary has always been a bigger struggle. And my listening-only approach to learning Portuguese didn’t offer any new solutions to this problem. TV shows and podcasts exposed me to vast amounts of new vocabulary, but didn’t do much to reinforce the words so I could reproduce them later.

Knowing French was definitely a big help when it came to guessing new words in Portuguese conversation, but that would only take me so far. I realized that if I wanted to memorize new words, and not just French cognates, I’d better put some more effort into vocabulary. But how to do this without making long vocab lists to read and drill until I memorized them?

That’s when I discovered audio flashcards…

Audio Flashcards – My New Superpower!

I’d considered creating audio flashcards at the beginning of my mission, but I hadn’t yet gotten around to it. It seemed like too much work!

But now that I could see that vocabulary was a sticking point in my progress, I was finally motivated to do it.

Here’s what I did:

A good flashcard app will let you record sound to go with your text flashcards. Anki is a great app for this purpose if you use Android or a personal computer for your flashcards. For iOS, Anki is a little pricey for some people, so Flashcards Deluxe is a good substitute.

There are some online guides for how to load mp3 files into your Anki decks. With this method, you can take clips of words and phrases spoken by a native speaker or an audio dictionary so you’ll be sure they’re pronounced correctly. I took the simpler route of using the app’s built-in record button to record my own voice speaking the English, Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese translations for each card (yes, you can make three-sided cards in both Anki and Flashcards Deluxe!). This proved to be the quickest and easiest way for me – I was up and using my first set of audio flashcards within half an hour.

To keep with my no-reading-or-writing goal, I didn’t want to have any Portuguese or English writing in my flashcard deck. I didn’t want to associate the audio with any visual reference in my mind.

I know from experience that long after I become fluent in a foreign language, I still find myself imagining words written down before I say them, and having to picture the words that native speakers say before they “click” for me in conversation. I didn’t want to have this obstacle in Portuguese. So instead of a standard three-sided flashcard, which might look, for example, like this:

Side 1: “Did you like it?”
Side 2: “Tu gostaste?”
Side 3: “Você gostou?”

My flashcards all looked exactly the same:

Side 1: “English”
Side 2: “European Portuguese”
Side 3: “Brazilian Portuguese”

To know what was on each card, I would have to press Play to hear the audio. I couldn’t “cheat” and see the written words. I had no choice but to rely on my ears only. This worked wonderfully for me.

In fact, there was only one drawback to the way I created my flashcards, though really it was more of an advantage. Before pressing record for each phrase I wanted to learn, I practised the line several times so I would say it right (I did read the written Portuguese for this part, to be sure I was saying it correctly). Well, after all that work of practising each line and recording it, I sat down to use my flashcards and found I had already memorized about two thirds of the deck! Oops, I guess? So the next day I made a new deck and recorded longer, harder phrases to learn.

No matter which type of flashcards you make – audio, written, or even image-based – when you’re studying, always say the target words and phrases out loud before flipping over the card to see/hear the answer.

Portuguese in 3 Months: My Two-Month Update Video

Finally, here’s the video that I made with my Portuguese teacher, Tatiana, at the end of month 2 (click CC to see the English subtitles):

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPzLAzAiNdo

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Tatiana asked me the previous week to think of a movie to discuss during our chat. Naturally, I picked Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is the best movie I’ve seen in the past year.

I found a European Portuguese podcast all about movies, called Arena dos filmes. They had one episode from early 2016 devoted entirely to the latest Star Wars movie. I listened to it three times in preparation for our chat.

I didn’t feel as good about this conversation as I did about my month 1 update video. I wanted the conversation to be completely spontaneous, so I didn’t prepare any specific material, or even study any vocabulary. I just listened to the podcast and tried to absorb Star Wars-related Portuguese that way. I did remember a couple key phrases, such as “o lado negro da força” (“the dark side of The Force” – no discussion of Star Wars is complete without this!), but not enough to easily describe the plot.

This is where I feel that my natural, somewhat unstructured approach to Portuguese faltered the most. Specialised vocabulary sometimes just has to be memorised, “brute force” style.

In hindsight, I should have created some audio flashcards containing the main ideas of the movie plot and studied those instead of listening to the podcast that third time.

On the plus side, the video does give a pretty good picture of how my Portuguese sounds when I’m truly on the spot. Tatiana mentioned afterwards that she would’ve liked to have helped me a bit more with plot points and vocab, but she had never seen any Star Wars films before (!) so it was up to me to explain the storyline. I’m hoping to find a Portuguese-dubbed version of The Empire Strikes Back so I can watch it and tell her about the best Star Wars movie of all

10+ Free Online English Language Lessons

So you want to improve your English and you’re looking for English language lessons online? Good call!

By number of speakers (either native or as a second language), English is by far the most widely spoken language in the world.

That’s why the English language is so popular with language learners. Speaking English opens up a world of opportunities in travel, study and work. No matter how you look at it, English is essential to most international communication. This includes business, education and tourism.

With that in mind, I’ve searched far and wide to find high-quality free English language lessons online. These include:


Audio and video English lessons to help with your listening comprehension
English speaking courses to improve your pronunciation
Reading and writing lessons since written English is often very different from spoken


Let’s take a look at the different ways you can study the English language for free online. Here are my top 10 free English courses, plus a few bonus courses!

Free English Language Lessons Online: My Top Choices

Here are my favourite websites for helping you learn English. They’re really useful because they help strengthen your English skills in the four main areas of language learning: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Innovative Language: EnglishClass101

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Innovative Language’s approach to teaching languages. Right from lesson one, no matter which language you’re learning, you get to hear native speakers use natural speech that’s relevant to everyday life.

EnglishClass101 has lessons for all skill levels, including lessons for beginners. Not all of the episodes are free, but all are excellent, and there are several free lessons at each level. They include a combination of video and audio lessons with energetic teachers who are experienced in developing English curriculum for adults.

It’s worth giving it a try and - and if it’s a good fit for your learning style - investing in the paid version.

In addition, each lesson comes with written notes about what you’ll learn, to help with your English reading comprehension. There’s also a community forum where you can practise reading and writing by communicating with other EnglishClass101 learners.

A premium membership lets you access the full power of the website. This includes SRS flashcards, quizzes on each lesson, and a feature that lets you record yourself saying lines of dialogue and comparing your pronunciation to a native speaker’s.

USA Learns

USA Learns is a popular, comprehensive, free English course for adults. It has a combination of reading, listening, writing and speaking lessons. It also includes quizzes so you can check your progress.

The course was created with funding from the United States government, which is why it’s available free of charge. It’s also why some of the course content feels geared toward newcomers to the United States. For example, one lesson covers vocabulary related to paying taxes in the US. However, even this vocabulary will be relevant to many English learners, not just those in the US. Every lesson teaches a valuable grammar point as well.

The lessons go from lower beginner to intermediate. If you’re an advanced speaker, USA Learns will still be useful to you, but more as a tool for review.

Free English Language Lessons Online: Speaking Lessons

If you’re at all familiar with Fluent in 3 Months (Fi3M), you’ll know that I believe the best way to learn a language is to speak it. Here’s where you can get started speaking English.

Speak in a Week

Speak in a Week is a free email course from Fi3M that gets you speaking in a new language in just seven days.

If you’ve been learning English for a while and can read it to intermediate level (or with the help of Google Translate), I recommend that you check it out. Next week, you’ll be speaking in English!

Find out more about Speak in a Week here.

italki

If you’re serious about improving your English speaking skills, then you’ll need to have real conversations with native English speakers.

How can you find native English speakers to talk with? Find English speakers who want to learn your language, then offer a language exchange.

My favourite website for finding a language exchange partner is italki.

Creating an italki account and finding language partners is completely free. All you have to do is create your profile and select English as your target language. Then you can search for English speakers whose target language is your native language.

Once you find some people, contact them to arrange a Skype language exchange at a time that works for both of you. During your language exchange, you’ll take turns talking for a little while in English so that you can practise, and then a little while in your native language so your partner can practise.

Not interested in spending half of your time teaching another person about your native language? You can also search for fellow English learners on italki. This way, you can spend your entire conversation speaking in English. The drawback here, though, is that you won’t know for sure whether you’re speaking correctly unless your conversation partner is an advanced speaker.

You can also find professional English teachers on italki to give you spoken English lessons. These lessons do cost money, but prices are often very reasonable, and are well worth the investment.

Free English Language Lessons Online: Video Lessons

When you use English in real life situations, you will of course be face-to-face with other English speakers. And that’s a good thing as an English learner. Speaking face-to-face with real people like this will give you a lot of visual clues (from their body language) about what they’re saying, even if you don’t understand every single word.

Watching English videos is a perfect way to have a similar experience - but from the comfort of your own computer or smartphone. You can listen to the people talking on the video, while also watching their body language and their surroundings for a better understanding of what they’re saying.

Learn English with Let’s Talk

Let’s Talk is an amazing in-depth collection of bite-sized English video lessons, all available for free on YouTube.

There are hundreds of videos about every aspect of the English language. For example, you’ll find videos about phrasal verbs, words for expressing boredom, words you might hear on the radio, and all sorts of idiomatic expressions.

Each Let’s Talk video is about ten minutes long - perfect to watch during your morning coffee break. They aim to teach a neutral, international English, though some lessons focus on specific dialects.

English Lessons by EngVid

Sometimes it’s difficult to find English video lessons that you really enjoy. It’s not because the material is bad, it’s that you just don’t “click” with the teacher. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could try out several teachers of an English course to find the one that you like most?

Enter EngVid. Eleven English teachers have made a series of over a thousand video lessons for English learners of every level. The lessons are sorted by proficiency level, topic, and (of course) by teacher. There’s bound to be at least one teacher on here that you connect with.

Watch a few lessons by each teacher to find the one that you enjoy learning from the most. Then settle in and have fun improving your English skills.

Sesame Street

Long before the Internet, countless kids (and adults!) learned English by watching Sesame Street.

This timeless TV show is still going strong, and you can watch hours of clips for free on YouTube’s official Sesame Street channel.

Sesame Street strives to appeal to viewers of all ages. Many episodes feature celebrities that adults will recognize, while the content remains appropriate for the show’s younger audience.

Free English Language Lessons Online: Audio Lessons

For English audio lessons that you can listen to anywhere, anytime, podcasts are the perfect choice.

You can listen to podcasts on your computer or mobile device, and many episodes are only a few minutes long. This is perfect for when you’re driving to work, walking your dog, or when your bus pulls away exactly one minute before you arrive at the bus stop. Moments like these are the perfect time to squeeze in some studying to help you reach fluency faster.

Here is a small sample of some of the better podcasts for teaching English as a foreign language.

Innovative Language: EnglishClass101

I’ve already mentioned Innovative Language’s EnglishClass101 podcast as one of my favourite English classes online - and that’s why I’m giving it a second mention.

Whatever your current level of English, you’ll find fun and effective lessons to improve your English skills. With over 1000 lessons you can access from your smartphone or computer, and new lessons added all the time, you’ll never run out of material to learn.

There are plenty of free episodes to get you started, and if you like what you hear, I recommend signing up for the paid version that includes flashcards, quizzes, and access to all the lessons.

ESL Pod

With over 1200 episodes, ESL Pod is one of the biggest English learning podcasts out there. The lessons cover a mind-boggling variety of real-life situations. The speaking speed is nice and slow, yet the vocabulary and grammar range from beginner to advanced.

Because of the slow, steady speaking pace, this podcast is good for students who want to expand their knowledge of English but whose listening comprehension skills aren’t yet at an advanced level.

Go Natural English Podcast

Do you like to mix things up? The Go Natural English Podcast from my friend Gabby (we made a video together here) includes lessons on vocabulary and grammar, as well as super useful language study tips. Whether you’re looking for idiomatic expressions, interviews with successful English learners, or info on what NOT to do when memorising English vocabulary, this podcast has something for you.

There are at least three new episodes released per week. So even if you blast through all 100+ episodes in one crazy binge-session, the fun isn’t over yet. Keep checking back every week for new episodes.

Free English Language Lessons Online: Reading and Writing Lessons

The Internet is bursting with written English, from Wikipedia to news websites, to countless blogs around the world. These are great for intermediate and advanced learners, but not so helpful for beginners.

English reading and writing lessons offer a structured approach. That way, you can learn the basics of English reading and writing, before moving onto the more complex rules of written English.

So instead of drowning in the sea of English websites filling the Internet, try the following resources geared specifically to English learners.

Duolingo

Currently, Duolingo has English courses for speakers of the following languages:


Arabic
Chinese
Czech
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Spanish
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese


If you speak any of these languages at at least an intermediate level, you can use Duolingo to learn English grammar and vocabulary through reading, writing and some speaking exercises. If you don’t speak any of those languages, don’t worry. Duolingo has many more courses in the works for speakers of other languages who want to learn English, so check their website often for release dates.

ReadTheory

ReadTheory is a reading comprehension website for upper beginners and higher. You need to register, but once you’ve done that it’s completely free. With ReadTheory you practise reading passages of English text, then take quizzes about them to see how well you understood.

English For Everyone Writing Practice Worksheets

If you want to practise writing in English but aren’t sure what to write about, take a look at English for Everyone.

Here you’ll find dozens of English writing worksheets for all skill levels. Each worksheet begins with a prompt to guide you about what to write. Some of them begin with part of a story, and it’s up to you to complete the story yourself. Others focus on real-life experiences such as sending a letter to a friend or coworker. There are even a few worksheets that will help you write persuasively.

There is no functionality to grade you on your writing ability on this website. To get feedback, I recommend you read what you’ve written to a native speaker during your next English lesson or language exchange.

What are your favourite free English language lessons online? Let me know about them in the comments.

The post 10+ Free Online English Language Lessons appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

How to Create a Language Hacker’s Cheat Sheet

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. - Benjamin Franklin

Can you feel confident during your first conversation in another language?

I believe you can. Don’t get me wrong - feeling nervous is normal. But you can overcome this fear.

How?

A key factor is being prepared. In this post, I’m going to show you how to create a cheat sheet to help you prepare for your first conversation in a new language.

Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

You’ve found a conversation partner or language tutor for your new language. And you’ve scheduled your first conversation.

What’s next? It’s time to prepare.

Being prepared will mean you can take full advantage of your time with your conversation partner.

Preparing starts a snowball effect. When you’re prepared, you speak with more confidence. And when you speak with confidence, you’ll have a more productive conversation. Which leads to your confidence growing even more!

See that positive snowball growing?

With good preparation, you can have your first conversation soon after you’ve started learning a new language. Maybe even within a few hours.

Will you speak perfectly? Probably not. But I’ve always found that having that first conversation early on helps me get a little more of a feel for the language and breaks some kind of invisible barrier.

While it might not necessary to speak so soon, I’ve always found it to be a good way to get the ball rolling and get me excited about learning more. Besides, most of us learn a language in order to speak it, right? Well, why not get into the fun of conversation from the very beginning?

Why I Use a Cheat Sheet to Prepare for Conversations in a New Language

When I’m preparing for that first conversation, I like to create a ‘cheat sheet’ I can study from to learn some basic introductory words and phrases. I do this because it means I can:


Gather all the information I need in one place
Keep the cheat sheet on hand in case I get stuck in my conversation!
Use the template again and again to learn the basics in any language


So how do you prepare a cheat sheet for your conversations? Read on to find out what you need to learn and where you can find this information.

What Should You Learn Before Your First Conversation?

When choosing what words to learn, you need to think about the kind of conversation you want to have.

If this is your first conversation in your target language, you’re likely to focus on introducing yourself and on asking introductory questions to your conversation partner. That’s the conversation we’re going prepare in this article, but obviously the techniques that I write about could be applied equally well to conversations on any subject. I’ve used the same methods to prepare for conversations about subjects as varied as food and technology, so talk about what you like talking about!

So, let’s assume this is your first conversation. What’re the first things you usually talk about when you meet somebody new? Most of us talk a little bit about ourselves and ask a little bit about the other person. No matter what language you’re speaking, you’ll find yourself having some form of this conversation over and over again.

So let’s consider what phrases you need to learn for this kind of conversation.

Run through the conversation in your mind in English and note down what information you want to be able to share and ask for. Why not grab a pen and paper and jot some ideas down now? Here are some of the main things I always have at the top of my list:


Hello
How are you?
My name
My profession
Where I’m from
Where I live
My interests
Why I’m learning [target language]
How to ask about the other person their name, profession, nationality and interests
This is my first conversation in …. [language].


Already you can see how we could start to form a short four or five minute conversation from this material!

The Must-Ask Questions for Your Cheat Sheet

Conversations are a two-way street! As well as talking about yourself, you’ll need to ask questions.

Make sure that if you learn how to say something about yourself, you also learn how to ask your partner the same thing. This helps extend the conversation, and makes the conversation more like one you’d have in your native tongue.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember all of the questions you need; in most languages a simple ‘and you?’ will work perfectly when you’re stuck. For example, you might say something like ‘I’m from Ireland. And you?’ This little catch-all phrase is super useful and it sounds really natural too. And in most languages it’s as simple as learning two or three little words!

Your “Get Out of Jail Free” Phrases

I also like to have another section on my cheat sheet for what I call the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ phrases!

These are the phrases I use when I need to say that I don’t understand something or ask the other person to repeat a word.

These phrases will get you out of tricky situations over and over again. They keep you in control of the conversation even if you can’t remember or don’t understand something. Here are some of the main ones I always learn:


How do you say …. in [target language]?
I don’t understand
Can you repeat that please?
Can you speak more slowly please.
Can you type that for me please? (If you’re talking on Skype)


Where Can You Find the Words and Phrases for Your Cheat Sheet?

Once you’ve thought about your script in English, the next step is to actually find out how to say these things in your target language!

There are lots of different sources you can use and which one you choose doesn’t really matter. Just make sure you get your translations from a source you trust and that you know has been checked by native or proficient speakers of the language.

For this reason, Google Translate is not something I would suggest relying on! It’s really useful as a quick tool for checking words and phrases, but it’s not something to depend too much on because the translations are provided by a computer, with contributions from users who may not always know what they’re doing.

Most of us work with some kind of textbook or self-study book when we begin learning a new language, so if you have one of these it’s a great starting point for looking up these phrases. I’ve used both Teach Yourself and Colloquial books as sources for looking up words and phrases for past conversations. I know they’ve been double and triple checked by editors and native speakers so I can steal introductory phrases from them without having to worry!

Another source that I use every time I’m preparing one of these cheat sheets is Omniglot. This amazing site is an online encyclopedia of languages and it has a great section on useful phrases that you can use to look up what you need.



On Omniglot there are about 250 languages to choose from so you’ll almost certainly find what you need for the language you’re learning! Best of all, Omniglot also contains audio for a lot of the phrases so you can hear how they sound.

What if You Can’t Find a Phrase that You Need?

What should you do when you need to use a sentence that you can’t find in a book or on a site like Omniglot? There’s a good chance this will happen. A phrase like ‘I’m learning Russian because I’m interested in Russian history’ probably isn’t going to be in your book or on Omniglot.

Every language is different, which is why you can’t just look up words and piece them together using Google Translate. This is where you need to recruit the help of a native speaker.

The first thing I’ll do is look up the words I need myself and try my best to piece together a version of the sentence I want to learn. Once I’ve done this, I’ll try to get it corrected by a native speaker. There are lots of places you can get help with this, but my favourites are italki and Facebook because you normally get a quick response!

On italki, just go to the ‘notebook’ section of your account and write a short entry with the phrases you want to get corrected. Normally, you’ll start to receive a couple of corrections from natives, teachers and advanced learners within a couple of hours!

Facebook can also be a good option for rapid corrections. There are so many great groups for language learners and in most of them people will be very happy to help you out. Search for a group for learners/teachers of your target language and leave a short post asking if anyone can help you correct your phrases. If you’ve posted in an active group, you’ll be amazed by how many helpful people will be happy to respond!

I normally start by noting down the words and phrases I want to learn in a notebook. As I add more phrases, I start to create dialogues using these phrases to help get an idea of how the conversation might go.

[caption id="attachment_20224" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] My German cheat sheet, written out by hand.[/caption]

Once I’ve drawn up this ‘paper’ version, I’ll get it checked by a native speaker using the resources I discussed above. Finally, I like to create a digital cheat sheet that I can print out and keep beside me during my conversation.

[caption id="attachment_20227" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] My printed cheat sheet.[/caption]

Note: I’ve included a free PDF cheat sheet template you can download at the end of this article that you can fill out in advance of your first conversation.

The reason I write out my notes on paper first is that is helps me bring extra attention to the words I’m learning and get them to stick in my memory.

It’s also very useful to write out your dialogues in advance so that you begin to get a feel for the likely structure of the conversations you’re going to have. Seeing the phrases as building blocks in the context of a conversation makes them easier to learn.

Get Your Pronunciation Right With This Simple Trick

Learning a new language doesn’t just mean learning new words and grammar. It also means learning a new sound system and sometimes even a new alphabet! Before you start memorising the words from your cheat sheet it’s essential that you know how they sound. You don’t want to waste your time learning how to say them the wrong way!

If you used Omniglot to look up your phrases, you’ll be able to access audio recordings simply by clicking on the phrases on the website.

But what do you do if you can’t find the audio you need there? My favourite pronunciation tool is Forvo. This amazing website is, quite simply, a pronunciation dictionary. Want to know how a word is pronounced? Just type it into Forvo and you’ll be given a list of recordings made by native speakers that you can listen to!



How to Memorise New Words and Phrases

One of the biggest challenges many of us face when learning a language is memorising new vocabulary. There are just so many new words to learn and sometimes it can seem completely overwhelming.

There are so many different (and effective) approaches you can use to learn new words, but for the purposes of this post, I’m going to focus on on mnemonics.

What are mnemonics? Mnemonics are words, associations or images that you use to memorise things. These images can be as simple or as complex as you like but the most important thing is that they help you remember three key elements of a word:


The word itself
Its meaning
Its sound.


Here’s a recent mnemonic I created to help me remember the Russian word Брони́ровать (Branerovat), which means ‘to book’:

Emperor Nero eating Bran flakes from a giant vat (like a huge cauldron) while booking a room for his holidays in on his laptop.

[caption id="attachment_20226" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Emperor Nero, without the bran flakes.[/caption]

The word itself and its sounds come from 3 different words or elements that I’ve included in my mnemonic: Nero, bran and vat; the meaning comes from the action that Nero is taking.

Is it a ridiculous image? Of course. But the more ridiculous and vivid your mnemonics are, the more likely you are to remember them and the words they represent. Don’t be afraid to make your mnemonics a little crude or violent - it makes them stick in your mind even more. I’ve found Looney Tunes-style cartoon violence (ACME anvils and dynamite galore!) to be particularly effective for making my mnemonics vivid.

The “Talk to Yourself” Technique for Practising Conversations

A great way to get comfortable with what you’re learning is to practise the conversations with yourself. I like to create conversations in an ‘ask and answer’ format from the material in my cheat sheet. Once I’ve written out the conversation, I’ll practise it with myself in my mind.

This may sound silly but it’s actually incredibly effective!

By visualising yourself having the conversation you’re not only repeating the new vocabulary, but you’re preparing yourself mentally for the conversation. If you can visualise yourself speaking confidently, you’re going to have more confidence when it comes time to have the conversation for real!

You can also practise your pronunciation in advance by recording yourself on your phone. Listen to some audio of the words you want to pronounce and then recorded yourself copying these words.

Doing this will not only help you pronounce words more correctly, but it will help you sound more natural too. The reason we sometimes struggle to say words correctly when we speak foreign languages is that they use a different variety of sounds to our own.

As an example, this is why the French ‘R’, the uvular consonant, is difficult for English speakers. This sound doesn’t exist in our language so it takes us time to actually build up the muscle memory to be able to produce it correctly. Copying the pronunciation of native speakers and recording yourself is a good way to get used to sounds like this and iron out any major mistakes you’re making in your speech.

Time to Speak! Get Ready to Use Your Cheat Sheet

Now that you have your cheat sheet ready and you know how to say the phrases on it, it’s time to schedule your first conversation.

There are plenty of ways and places to do this but I generally prefer to hire a ‘community tutor’ on italki for my first few conversations. Community tutors are native speakers, normally with no formal teaching qualifications, who offer you the opportunity to speak with them and receive correction and help for a small fee.

If you don’t want to pay or are not in a position to do so, you can try setting up a language exchange instead, but I do feel that working with community tutors is the best option. I have two main reason for this:


You spend all of your time speaking in your target language, whereas in an exchange you only get to practise for half of the time.
Community tutors normally give you more feedback and correction than a language exchange partner but they’re cheaper than professional teachers.


To find community tutors on italki, just open the main website and click ‘Find a Teacher’ at the top and then enter any specifications you want to include in the search. You’ll notice that the list of results has three tabs - ‘All’, ‘Professional Teacher’ and ‘Community Tutor’. You can use this to filter between the different types of teacher and find someone you want to work with!

I like to contact a few tutors to explain why I’m learning the language and how I want to approach it. Then when they get back to me, I’ll choose the one who best matches my needs and learning style and book that first session!

Stop Trying to be Perfect - Communicate!

Communication is more important than perfection.

Don’t get me wrong, we all want to speak as fluently and correctly as possible, but in reality languages are about communication, not perfection. In fact, I’d go as far as to argue that perfect fluency in a language doesn’t even exist. Languages are living breathing mediums that are evolving constantly.

You’ve created your cheat sheet and learned the phrases you need. The next step is to simply take action and have a conversation in your target language - perfect or imperfect. After all, the only way to get better is by making a few mistakes along the way. And besides, you can always keep your cheat sheet on hand in case you get stuck!

Want to create your own cheat sheet? Sign up below, and we’ll send you the Fluent in 3 Months cheat sheet template to get you started.

The post How to Create a Language Hacker’s Cheat Sheet appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

13 Badass German Words We Really Need in English

You know that moment when you can’t find the word to describe what’s happening. Or how you feel.

It can be a pretty frustrating, right?

Learning a new language opens the doors of communication in more ways than one. The word that describes the emotion you’re feeling may actually exist – you’re just searching for it in the wrong language.

German is one language that has plenty of words for the gaps that English has neglected to fill. Here are a few of my favourites.

Fernweh – the Feeling of Wanting to be Somewhere Else

Have you ever had a feeling that you’re not currently where you truly want to be? There’s a word to describe that: Fernweh, which indicates an acute desire to travel. Where the German word Wanderlust is used for someone who is literally lusting to travel, Fernweh means you have an overpowering desire to travel.

It means “distance-sickness”, almost the opposite of homesickness. Time not spent travelling leaves you feeling sad and lost. You don’t want to have one particular home – rather you’re content travelling the world, drifting from place to place, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures.

Fernweh is the word used to describe true nomads, those with an incurable case of “itchy feet”.

Schadenfreude – Taking Pleasure in Someone Else’s Misfortune

Is there someone in the world that you truly despise? Do you revel in happiness anytime they encounter bad luck in their life?

The Germans have coined a word for this: Schadenfreude. It refers to the pleasure gained from another’s misfortune.

There might be one person in your particular social circle who seems to have an insane amount of good luck. You normally wouldn’t care one way or another, but they make a point of rubbing these successes in your face. You pretend to feel happy for them, but there is the odd twinge of jealousy.

Then something awful happens to them. Perhaps they get made redundant for their job. They’re devastated and you pretend to sympathise, but inside you’re dancing with glee. You feel that they’ve finally got their comeuppance and you’re more than happy to gloat over it.

“Harm-joy” – that’s Schadenfreude, and anyone who’s human has probably felt it at some point in their life!

Fremdschämen – the Shame You Experience From Watching Another’s Humiliation

On the flip side, Fremdschämen is a word to describe the empathy you feel for someone else in a truly humiliating situation.

Have you ever been at a wedding when the Best Man/Maid of Honour has tried to give a speech, while being off-their-face drunk? They ended up telling embarrassing stories that no one wants to hear or cracking jokes that aren’t funny. The audience tries to laugh encouragingly, but their insides are twisting in shame for that person. That feeling is Fremdschämen.

Kummerspeck – Excess Weight Gained from Emotional Eating

Kummerspeck has a wonderful literal translation – it means “grief bacon”. The meaning behind it is less amusing.

You might find yourself in a vicious cycle of emotional eating to distract yourself from bad feelings. Kummerspeck refers to the excess flab that appears on your body as a side effect of this situation.

Torschlusspanik – the Fear of Time Running Out

Torschlusspanik translates as “gate-shut-panic”, referring to the fear of opportunities closing forever as you get older. You might wake up one day and realise that you’ve missed the boat on something you’ve always wanted to do. It’s commonly applied to women who are experiencing the “ticking of the biological clock”.

Torschlusspanik is all the more reason to get cracking on the things you wish to do in your life… such as learning a foreign language!

Weltschmerz – a Feeling of World Weariness

Weltschmerz is used to describe the feeling you get when your expectations of the world fall disappointingly short. Whether you feel disappointment at a politician you had high hopes for, or general melancholy over the state of the world, you’re experiencing Weltschmerz.

It’s a common emotion felt by anyone watching the news – and is easily solved by simply turning off your TV!

Backpfeifengesicht – a Face that Needs to be Slapped

Is there someone you know whom you find to be insufferably smug? Maybe every time they open their mouth your palm itches as you feel an uncontrollable desire to slap them silly. That’s Backpfeifengesicht.

It might be the jerk at work who steals your food out of the fridge or the person in your social circle who tells racist jokes in front of another mixed-race friend. All you want to do is sink your fist in their face and that feeling is Backpfeifengesicht.

Verschlimmbesserung – Making Things Worse than they Already Are

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve said something you regret? I know I have. You want to repair the damage and attempt to do so by trying to talk your way out of it. What you end up doing is digging a deeper hole for yourself. The German word for this situation is Verschlimmbesserung.

Verschlimmbesserung means to improve things for the worse. It’s an action that is regularly demonstrated in decisions made by governments and policymakers worldwide. An easy way to avoid verschlimmbesserung is to follow the old adage: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Waldeinsamkeit – the Feeling of Solitude

Waldeinsamkeit translates literally to “the feeling of being alone in the woods”. It’s the emotion you get when you’re feeling most peaceful, undisturbed or in the thick of nature. You’re in a truly meditative state and feel at one with the world.
If you live outside a major city, you can easily experience Waldeinsamkeit by staring up at the night sky and taking in the stars. If that isn’t peace-inducing, then I don’t know what is!

Mutterseelenallein – Absolute Abandonment

There’s loneliness, there’s desolate loneliness, and then there’s Mutterseelenallein. The word translates to “mother soul’s alone”. If you were to experience it as an emotion, you would feel completely and utterly isolated and abandoned.
It’s hopefully a feeling you will never experience in your lifetime.

Schnapsidee – A Crazy Idea

Schnapsidee refers to a mad idea that you have – usually when you’re in a state of inebriation. Breaking up the word itself gives you the literal definition: “Schnapps Idea”!

These are plans that seem fantastic in the moment they’re thought up, but are regretted soon after. The word can also refer to an idea that seems so stupid that it must have been conceived by a drunk person.

So if you’re drinking and you suddenly have an idea so brilliant you can’t believe you’ve never thought of it before – it might be best to wait until morning for re-evaluation.

Feierabend – A Cause for Celebration!

The clock ticks over to 5:30pm and you leave work, rushing home where you take off your tie, and your trousers for good measure. You crash on the couch and turn on the TV. Of course there is a German word for that specific feeling: Feierabend.

It’s something that employees around the world experience, yet there is no word for that emotion in English. Feierabend translates to “celebration evening” – which is almost certainly what you’ll be doing. Work is done, you’re home and you have the whole evening ahead of you to do as you please. Yippee!

Sprachgefühl – A Natural Talent for Language

Most appropriate for a language website, Sprachgefühl refers to a natural talent or feel for a language. I believe anyone can learn a language and anyone can develop a “natural” talent for langauges.

I began to experience something like “Sprachgefühl” after I had learned a couple of languages. The first is the hardest – but from there you have a system in place. You know which study method works for you and you can apply it over and over again. That’s how I understand sprachgefühl.

English Has Some Catching Up To Do!

So there you have it. There is a word to describe the itch in the feet of a perpetual nomad, or the feeling of bliss you get from total solitude. You just weren’t looking in the right language.

Do you know of any German words that don’t have an English translation? Which ones are your favourites? Let me know in the comments!

The post 13 Badass German Words We Really Need in English appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

Mayan Languages: How I Learned to Speak Tz’utujil in Guatemala

Have you ever wondered what ancient Mayan languages sound like?

I did.

My curiosity, in fact, led me to the indigenous town of San Juan La Laguna in Sololá, Guatemala where I volunteered my time at a health clinic and studied the language of Tz'utujil in my spare time.

[caption id="attachment_20189" align="aligncenter" width="700"] San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala.[/caption]

Six months have passed and I haven’t been able to leave. I’ve had too much fun.

What is the Tz'utujil language?

Tz'utujil is a Mayan language considerably younger than its ancestor K'iche' which predates it by thousands of years. When I first arrived in San Juan La Laguna I was pleasantly perplexed by what I heard spoken on the streets. It sounded like a peculiar form of Arabic. With a sound system characterised by glottal stops, clicks (I'm not kidding) and unorthodox consonants such as the 'j','r' and 'l' sounds, my ears had never experienced anything like it. Some say that the clicks were inspired by chickens.

The three main languages spoken along the shores of Lake Atitlan (K'iche', Kaqchikel and Tz'utujil) could be, but are not considered, dialects of one another. They are close enough to be mutually understood by many speakers, albeit with some difficulty. Another interesting feature of these languages is how easily they morph from generation to generation and even from town to town.

Guatemala’s Disappearing Mayan Languages

When the Spanish colonised Latin America, they nearly succeeded in obliterating all evidence of one of the most advanced civilisations on earth. Calendars, religious texts and descriptions of the cosmos were burned, but the living languages of the Maya survived!

They're still spoken today.

Guatemala has 22 officially recognised indigenous Mayan languages, many of which are edging closer to endangerment or extinction. With an estimated 47,000 speakers, UNESCO has classified Tz’utujil as vulnerable but not endangered.

Since the peace accords of the mid-1990s, efforts have been made to revitalise these languages with only limited success. Ultimately, the younger generations are more inclined to opt for Spanish for various reasons.

All Mayan languages are presumed to stem from one original, theoretical, proto-Mayan language. Scholars generally agree that this ancient language branched into about five or six major language groups, one of which is K’ichean which includes both the K’iche’ and Tz’utujil languages.

While many Mayan languages are closely related, others share little in common save for some grammatical and phonetic features. Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel, for example, might be considered as close to one another as Spanish and Portuguese, whereas Mam and K’iche’, both spoken in the city of Xela but belonging to different language groups, are mutually incomprehensible.

Is Learning a Mayan Language Difficult?

As I continue to study Tz'utujil, I've made up my mind that it's not difficult. Why not? Because if you say it's difficult, then of course, it becomes difficult.

[caption id="attachment_20188" align="aligncenter" width="700"] San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala.[/caption]

It’s curious how different languages reflect different decisions about how their native speakers break the world up into concepts. The presence or absence of certain expressions and grammatical features tells a story about how the world is perceived.  For example, in Tz’utujil the verb ajob’eneem can be translated as to love, to want and to accept. K’utuneem can be translated as to ask for as well as to teach. Furthermore, what English-speakers would consider to be past and future are understood in Tz’utujil in  terms of completion and potential.

Personally, understanding these subtle differences in perception constitutes a major motivating force for me in learning a language. Given that the roots of Tz’utujil date back thousands of years, it seems intuitive that the living language itself provides insights into the cosmovisión (world view) of the ancient Maya.

In this post, I'd like to share some insights I’ve gained on fruitful ways to go about learning an indigenous language. I’ll also discuss some of the challenges I’ve faced, and how I’ve overcome them. I hope you’ll find something useful in what I share, whichever language you are learning.

So, onto my seven tips on how to learn indigenous languages. Here goes:

Tip 1: Seek Out the Elderly

One of the things that blew me away when I arrived in San Juan La Laguna was seeing wide and authentic grins on the faces of the elderly, which is almost unheard of in my country, where old folks are sequestered from society in retirement homes and geriatric institutions.

There is no division here between young and old. People of all ages are well-integrated into society, but there are generational differences. In terms of language, the ancianos of San Juan, though they can understand Spanish, typically speak very little of it. Instead, they converse almost exclusively in pure, unadulterated Tz'utujil.

The reverse is true for the youngsters. Among the youth, there can be a certain vergüenza about speaking Mayan languages, a certain sentiment that they are slightly backwards, uncivilised and out of touch with modernity.

If you want to learn a Mayan language, then, it is imperative to seek out the elderly for conversational practice! Luckily, they're some of the friendliest people around.

Tip 2: Hang Out in San Pablo: The Town with No Tourism

Three kilometers north of San Juan La Laguna (Xe´ Kuku´ Aab´aj in Tz´utujil), an offbeat sister town named San Pablo La Laguna (To k´or juyu´) hides in the shadows. San Pablo is also Tz'utujil speaking, but there is virtually no tourism there. It seems to be the butt of all jokes in San Juan. If Lake Atitlan were a high school, San Pablo would be the kid that everyone makes fun of, but never to his face because they're afraid they'll get beat up.

San Pablo has a reputation for being poor, unhygienic, "tough" and just generally backwards.

This is the type of place you have to go to really learn a Mayan language. Why? Because if you walk down the streets of San Pablo, you won't hear a single person speaking Spanish. You will, however, hear plenty of hip-hop and witness a thriving evangelical community. Oddly enough, hip-hop and evangelical Christianity have something in common in that both are, in their own respects, social movements designed to spread a message and appeal to marginalised groups. Aside from these two notable exceptions, however, San Pablo has remained remarkably resistant to outside influences compared to its neighbours. In other words, it is one of the most authentic towns, and the ideal place to learn Tz'utujil.

Seek out the San Pablo of your indigenous language community and figure out a way to spend time there.

Tip 3: Talk to Tuk-tukeros and Tortilleras

When you’re learning an indigenous language, it’s a good idea to talk to whoever you can in the language.

Some of my best conversations in Tz'utujil have been in the tortillerías, the small nearly-empty rooms inhabited by only a stove, a bowl of masa and three women slapping tortillas together with Toyota Prius-like efficiency (FYI: There are no Toyota Priuses in Guatemala). While you sit on a stool and wait for your tortillas, you'll have the opportunity to practice. Everyone in there will be speaking Mayan, except for the kids. Don't be shy! Tell them what you did that day. Ask them about theirs (all they've done is make tortillas).

In my case, I fell in love with one of the tortilleras and asked her out, five times. She never really said yes or no. A wise man once said that anything other than a yes is no, but that didn’t stop me from persisting. How do you ask a girl out in Tz'utujil? La nawajo' naatij kape' wik'iin ja chuwaq (do you want to drink coffee with me tomorrow?) will work. Technically, you should ask her parents first, which I didn’t.

In the tuk-tuks, the little red go-carts that shuttle people around Guatemala at a speed of about two kilometers an hour, you'll have the opportunity to strike up dialogue with passengers and drivers. Most of them will ask you about Donald Trump.

Chicken buses, which are former US school buses that have been flamboyantly refurbished for the Guatemalan esthetic, also offer excellent speaking opportunities. They constitute the most economical (and blood-curdling) method of travel in the country. For the record, I’ve never seen a chicken on one. Locals refer to them as camionetas and in Tz’utujil the name for them is nimachijch (big metal thing). They blow a whistle that sounds like a locomotive and light up like Las Vegas at night, though it’s safer to ride them during the day. They would not pass emissions inspections in any country with any environmental standards. When you get on one, you’re in for a wild ride! You’ll either be crushed by other passengers or find yourself sliding off your seat while a reckless driver, with absolutely nothing to lose, accelerates into each turn. These buses, as I mentioned, are a fantastic place to practice your Mayan language. Be aware that the person sitting next to you may not speak the one you’re learning. For example, the bus from San Pedro La Laguna to Xela typically carries a mix of K’iche’ and Tz’utujil speaking passengers.

Tip 4: Scavenge for Educational Materials (They Can Be Hard to Find!)

During the Guatemalan civil war, in many communities indigenous people, language and culture were under attack. Following the peace accords of 1996, powerful movements were born with the aim of strengthening and revitalising Mayan languages in Guatemala, many of which were and are still dying out. If you’re interested in reading more about this, I’d recommend reading the 1998 paper Mayan Languages and the Mayan Movement in Guatemala by Ajb'ee Odilio Jimenez Sanchez.

Out of this movement, the Academy of Mayan Languages (ALMG) was born. ALMG promotes Mayan languages in Guatemala in part through its publication of educational materials for school children. Luckily, you can also purchase these materials at their offices scattered throughout the country. There is no Rosetta Stone for Tz'utujil, and online materials are scarce. However, the materials developed by ALMG are of high quality and come in a variety of media including textbooks, magazines, audio and video. There's only one caveat: you'll have to know Spanish in order to make any sense of them.

Tip 5: Be Prepared to Start from Ground Zero

If you're like me and have learned a handful of Latin languages, by learning an indigenous language you’ll enjoy the challenge of having absolutely nothing handed to you (except a Westernised alphabet).

If you already spoke Spanish and Portuguese, for example, learning how to speak Italian would be akin to learning ukulele when you already play guitar and banjo. No big deal. Now try learning the bagpipes.

Unless you already speak another Mayan language, you'll be starting from ground zero which means you have to be patient with yourself. If you're an English speaker learning a romance language, you get a lot of words for free (e.g. “composition”, “description”, “revitalisation”, etc). Not so with indigenous languages; you will have to earn every word. The
silver lining? There will be no false cognates to trip you up. Plus, you'll discover in a whole new way how another group of people choose to arbitrarily break up the world.

When I first got to San Juan, I struggled to tell the faces of my coworkers apart. Everyone looked the same until I got to know them. And it was the same with nouns and verbs in Tz'utujil (e.g. k'amooneem, k'uluuneem, k'aqooneem, k'ulub'aaneem, k'otz'ooleem, ka'muluuneem). Are you kidding me? In terms of grammar, you may struggle to make sense of directionals, ergative subject/object relationships and Mayan prepositions, which some say don't exist. Finally, you will have to learn to produce all the curiously charming sounds that characterise your chosen Mayan language, which brings me to my next tip.

Tip 6: Walk Around Making Funny Noises

I learned to roll my Spanish Rs in Jamaica Plain's Arnold Arboretum walking around like a madman saying guitarra over and over again. It worked! People looked at me strangely, but it worked.

In San Juan La Laguna, it took me a while to be able to pronounce the glottalized q' which is essentially a click from deep within the throat. One of my teachers described it as the most serious sound in Tz'utujil. For months, I couldn't find it at all. Then, maybe one out of a hundred tries I could get it. Certain words were more conducive to success. For example, I found the sound more easily with the word ruuq'a' (his arm) than with the word q'iij (day). But in the end repetition was the most important ingredient.

Whenever I went for a walk, I repeated ruuq'a' over and over until I could get it one out of fifty, twenty-five, ten, five and eventually every other time. Across many of the Mayan languages, the phonology is similar. For an English speaker, there are a few tricky sounds but nothing that can't be overcome with a little determination and locura (insanity).

Tip 7: Enjoy Making People Laugh (At You!)

This much is true: When you start speaking a Mayan language in Guatemala, you will make everyone in the room laugh, in addition to the people standing outside.

If I've learned anything about Mayan culture in the six months that I've been here, it's that these people love laughing. They value it over almost any other activity, except making money. And nothing could be funnier to an indigenous Guatemalan than a kaxlan winaq (foreigner) speaking his or her mother tongue cumbersomely.

Of all the San Juaneros with whom I spoke Tz'utujil, no one laughed harder than my coworker Elena. She didn't even try to restrain herself. Every word I uttered in Tz'utujil would send her into an uncontrollable fit of foot-stomping hysterics. I started saying things to her just to get her going.

[caption id="attachment_20190" align="aligncenter" width="279"] Author Stephen with his co-worker Elena.[/caption]

Truthfully though, although the folks in your Mayan community may (will) laugh at you, their faces will also light up, huge smiles will come across them and their eyes will grow wide when you start speaking their language. They may even thank you. For some, you will make them proud of their heritage. Don't be surprised if they start opening up to you in ways that they didn't when you spoke to them in Spanish.

Finally, expect to gain a deeper understanding of their culture beyond the usual tourist-friendly façade. The takeaway message: it all starts with you making a fool of yourself.

The post Mayan Languages: How I Learned to Speak Tz’utujil in Guatemala appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

10 Ways Language Learners Mess Up on Skype

Skype language exchanges are easy, affordable and incredibly effective.

What’s more, you can do a language exchange without ever leaving your hometown, or even your house. So no more excuses about how travel is too expensive, keeping you from practising your language with native speakers.

Here’s how a language exchange works. You sign up with an online language learning website such as italki, and then search for italki users who speak your target language and have your native language as their target language. When you’ve found these people, you drop them a line, and schedule a face-to-face language exchange. This can be done on Skype, FaceTime, or even in-person if your conversation partner lives near you.

Understandably, language exchanges can be nerve-wracking. What if you do things wrong, or offend your exchange partner? It’s actually pretty hard to mess up on a language exchange, since the point is to mess up, then learn from your mistakes.

Even so, there are a few things it’s probably good to avoid doing. Here are the mistakes you don’t want to make before or during a language exchange session.

Mistake #1: Waiting Until You Feel Ready

When it comes to language exchanges, waiting for the right time is the biggest mistake people make. Signs that you’re making this mistake include putting the exchange off for another day before you’ve even arranged to meet someone, or rescheduling because you’re too nervous to make the call.

Why is this mistake so common? Because people want to wait until they feel ready. Maybe you’re afraid your conversation partner won’t understand you at your current level. Or perhaps you worry that you’ll butcher the language so badly that your conversation partner won’t want to talk to you anymore.

Aside from having no basis in reality, this mentality is a classic catch-22. You don’t want to talk with real people until you’re ready, but you’ll never be ready unless you talk with real people!

No matter your current level in your target language, it’s never too soon to have a conversation with a native speaker. You might not be able to talk about convoluted topics like the plot of Lost, but who says you have to? The beauty of a language exchange is that you can talk about any subject you want, for as much (or as little) time as you want. In fact, I recommend that you have your first language exchange just seven days after you start learning a new language.

Mistake #2: Dominating the Conversation

A language exchange is not a free language lesson. In a language lesson, you spend the whole time learning another language, and you pay for the privilege. In an exchange, you take turns at learning and teaching. The key’s in the name: it’s an exchange. The point is that you should each benefit equally.

Sure, you might be super excited at the prospect of practising your target language. But remember that the other person is equally excited and deserves the same amount of time dedicated to practising their target language.

How can you make sure you don’t dominate the conversation? Use a timer. For instance, you can spend thirty minutes chatting in only your native language, followed by thirty minutes chatting in only the other person’s native language. This doesn’t have to be thirty consecutive minutes. I’ve heard of conversation partners who alternate the language every ten minutes! If you’re inexperienced in having extended conversations in your target language and are worried about your brain melting before the conversation is over, this is a useful way to keep up the conversation’s momentum, while still speaking your target language 50% of the time.

Mistake #3: Switching Back to Your Native Language While You Should be Speaking Your Target Language

Make a pact with your conversation partner before the talk begins that no matter what, you’ll keep the conversation in the correct language until it’s time to switch. This is especially important if the other person’s skills in your native language are better than your skills in their language.

When you know that the other person will understand perfectly what you want to say if you switch back to your native language “just for a minute”, then it’s really easy to let yourself slip back to it every time you get stuck. But you need to force yourself to power through these tough parts in your target language, otherwise how can you ever expect to reach fluency?

Mistake #4: Expecting the Other Person to Steer the Conversation

Be an active participant in your language exchange. Don’t sit back and make the other person think up all the questions and conversation topics. It’s not fair to them to have to keep coming up with interesting material to talk about.

Worried that you’ll run out of things to say? Then before the language exchange, write down a few topics of conversation, along with key vocabulary related to each topic. Whenever there’s a lull in conversation, rather than hoping that the other person finds something good to say (or worse: ending the call prematurely), change the subject to one of your prepared topics. This is also a brilliant way to boost your vocabulary!

Once you have a couple of language exchanges under your belt, you’ll get the hang of having impromptu conversations and won’t need to work so hard to find topics to chat about.

Mistake #5: Using Your Webcam Every Single Time

Listening comprehension is usually the last skill that language learners master in their target language. Most learners tend to get a false sense of confidence in their listening ability when it comes to face-to-face conversations, because they have some visual context to rely on when they don’t understand every word in a sentence. Things like facial expression and overall body language go a long way in helping you fill in the gaps when conversing in your target language.

Turn off the video during a language exchange to instantly see (or rather, hear) how good your listening comprehension really is. If you turn off video and are surprised at how much harder it is to understand the other person, then that’s a sign that you should spend more time on your listening comprehension. Start asking your conversation partners on a regular basis to spend part of the language exchange with the webcam off so you can both practise listening skills.

Mistake #6: Skyping the Same Person Over and Over

You can easily get used to one person’s speaking style in your target language, and tailor your listening comprehension toward that style. But just like your native language, your target language can sound very different depending on the speaker. If you only speak with the same person over and over, you’ll probably find it difficult to understand a new person when you chat with them in your target language.

Even if you have one or two favourite conversation partners that you really “click” with, be sure to speak regularly with new people so your ear can get accustomed to several types of speech, accents and dialects. Choose young people, old people, men, women, and people from a variety of geographic regions.

Mistake #7: Asking Grammar Questions

Language exchanges are not the place for grammar questions! Save specific grammar questions for when you’re paying a teacher. Most native speakers of any language (who aren’t teachers of their language) have never really given their language’s grammar a second thought, and probably couldn’t explain the rules to your satisfaction anyway. Plus, grammar questions can get annoying after a while.

If the other person is fascinated by grammar, then by all means, ask away. Otherwise, make brief notes during the conversation of any specific grammar questions that come up while you’re speaking and listening. Then schedule a language lesson with a teacher so you can get clarification.

Mistake #8: Keeping the Conversation in Your Comfort Zone

Even if you’ve only been speaking your target language for a short time, I bet that there are some subjects that you can already talk about with complete fluency. There are certain topics that come up over and over in conversations with new people, such as your favourite foods, what your family’s like, or what you do at your job.

These are precisely the topics that you should avoid talking about during your language exchange (Exception: when you’re just starting out). You’ve already mastered these subjects. They’re old news. Your time would be better spent talking imperfectly about a subject you’re having difficulty with than talking perfectly about a subject you know well. This is how you’ll master a greater variety of vocabulary and learn to speak fluently about nearly any topic.

Mistake #9: Asking Only Closed Questions

Nothing makes a conversation fall flat faster than a question that can only be answered with “yes” or “no”. Don’t fall into the habit of asking your conversation partner things like, “Do you like Thai food?” or “Do you enjoy your job?” These types of questions offer no opportunity for the other speaker to expand on the topic and branch out into a deeper conversation.

Instead, ask questions such as, “What are your favourite types of food?” or, “What do you enjoy most about your job?”. Then watch how the conversation continues flowing naturally after the other speaker answers your question.

Mistake #10: Making Inappropriate Jokes

When you meet with a language exchange partner, bear in mind that you’re not only exchanging languages. You’re also exchanging cultures. It’s important to do this in a way that’s mutually respectful.

Appropriate humour is is fine - and is vital to effective learning. But it should go without saying that you should avoid any jokes that could be considered offensive to your conversation partner.

Also, don’t try to be clever by using pop culture references or double entendres. This makes it difficult to follow what you’re saying, which isn’t at all fun for your language exchange partner.

Over to You

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in a language exchange session? Let us know in the comments.

The post 10 Ways Language Learners Mess Up on Skype appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

How to Say “My Love” in French (Plus 28 More Romantic French Words and Phrases)

Is Paris a romantic city? Is French a romantic language?

If you had asked me a few years ago, I would’ve answered “Nope!”

But that was then. Things have changed quite a bit for me since my first experience living in the City of Light, trying to learn la belle langue. I returned to Paris several times and finally started to see what everyone was raving about. And of course, when I visited Paris with my wife Lauren, the romantic side of the city really became apparent.

I even proposed to Lauren there!

It’s also no secret that French is widely considered to be one of the most romantic languages. Even if you don’t know what French-speakers are saying, the sound of the language is just beautiful to listen to. The pronunciation rules mean that phrases always flow smoothly from one word to the next. Even non-French speakers routinely use romantic-sounding French phrases to endear themselves to their beloved: ma chérie, je t’adore, and (not exactly “romantic” per se) voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir. ;)

So, what are some other romantic French words and phrases you can learn as you take your first steps into the language of love? Read on for a guide to the romantic side of French.

How to say “My Love” in French

There aren’t many terms of endearment more romantic than mon amour, which means “my love” in French.

Whether you’re speaking to a man or a woman, the term is the same: mon amour. Mon is usually the masculine form of “my” in French, but you also use it before any word that begins with a vowel, even feminine words.

Another term you’re sure to hear often in French-speaking countries is mon chéri (said to men) and ma chérie (said to women). This means “my dear” or “my darling”, and is a more general term than mon amour. Just like in English, it can be used for other close loved ones besides your romantic partner.

How to say “Beautiful” in French

In English, the word “beautiful” has distinctly feminine connotations. In French, both men and women can be “beautiful”.

The masculine word for “beautiful” in French is beau (or bel before a word starting with a vowel), and the feminine is belle. The masculine form is usually translated as “handsome” in English when referring to a man. In other instances, both beau and belle can translate as “beautiful”. For example, a beau pont in French would translate to English as a “beautiful” bridge, not a “handsome” bridge.

Beau and belle aren’t much use unless you put them into a sentence. Here are a few sample romantic phrases containing these words:


“You are beautiful”: Tu es beau (to a man) and Tu es belle (to a woman).
“Hello, beautiful”: Bonjour mon beau (to a man) and Bonjour ma belle (to a woman). This phrase isn’t generally as common in French-speaking countries as it is in English countries.
“Life is beautiful”: La vie est belle.


How to say “Beauty” in French

This one is easy. The English word for “beauty” comes directly from French: la beauté.

One of the most popular expressions about beauty is that it is in the eye of the beholder. The French translation of this universal phrase is La beauté est dans l’œil de celui qui regarde.

How to say “Pretty” in French

Like “beautiful”, the word “pretty” in French (joli/jolie) doesn’t have to apply only to feminine people and objects. In reference to a man or masculine-looking object, joli translates more accurately as “good-looking” or “pleasing to the eye”.

A good mnemonic for joli/jolie is to think of the very pretty actress Angelina Jolie.

How to say “Cute” in French

I don’t know why, but I find mignon/mignonne, the French word for “cute”, a really, well, cute word.

In France, you can use mignon/mignonne pretty much how you would use “cute” in English: to describe a cute animal, toy, or even a cute guy or girl you like.

In Quebec, mignon/mignonne tends to come with the connotation of small and cute, more along the lines of “adorable”. So you wouldn’t use it to describe a person you have a crush on, for example. But that’s OK, because there’s another word for “cute” in Quebec that you can use exactly like English. And that word is…

Cute!

No, really. Cute is a very popular loan word in Quebec, and you can use it just like “cute” in English.

How to say “Sexy” in French

Speaking of loan words, the French language has borrowed the English word “sexy”, and the translation is the same: sexy! You can use it exactly how you would use it in English.

How to say “Heart” in French

Just like in English, and most other languages, the heart is associated with love and romance in French.

The French word for “heart” is le cœur. It sounds totally unrelated to English at first, but many English “heart-y” words have their root in the French cœur. Courage, cardio, cordial, accord, chord, and the list goes on. Even the word “core” - the centre or essence of something - is widely believed to come from cœur. This makes quite a bit of sense when you think about it. In fact, there’s a ready-made mnemonic for you!

A popular term of endearment in English is “my heart”. In French, this translates as mon cœur or sometimes mon petit cœur (“my little heart”). But it’s not generally used as a romantic term. It’s more often used by an adult toward a young child such as a grandchild or niece/nephew. You can say it to a boy or a girl.

How to say “Party” in French

There are a couple of ways to say “party” in French.

As a noun, the “proper” way to say “party” is la fête. For example, a birthday party is une fête d’anniversaire and a Christmas party is une fête de Noël.

Informally in Quebec, you can use the English loan word le party (which itself was originally borrowed from French!). It’s pronounced differently from English though: it sounds more like the 90s slang word “partay” :D . You can use le party the same way as the English “party”.

In France, this loan word is much rarer, but if you use it, people will certainly understand you. Beware though, the pronunciation is different - “partee” - and just to make things difficult, the gender is different too: la party! Best to just stick with la fête in France.

How to say “Friends” in French

The feelings between friends can vary from a casual liking to platonic intimacy, and all the way to romantic love (consider how many people say they married their best friend). So of course a post about love in French should include the word for friends!

The French word for “a friend” is un ami (for male friends) or une amie (for female friends). The plural “friends” is les amies (for a group of female friends) and les amis (for a group of male friends or a mixture of both). What’s interesting though is that the word generally used for “a boyfriend” un copain or “a girlfriend” une copine, can also commonly mean “friend”. When you say “my” (mon/ma) before the word then it is more likely to be the more intimate version!

To say “my friend” in French, it’s mon ami or mon amie. You can’t say ma amie even if your friend is a girl, because the two words will clash on the vowels and sound awkward. And a romantic language like French must never be awkward!

How to say “Feelings” in French

The general French word for “feelings” is les sentiments (“a feeling” is un sentiment).

In English, “feelings” can be used informally to mean “affectionate” or “romantic” feelings. For example, if you tell someone, “I have feelings for you,” they can infer that it’s not just any old feelings, but a feeling of attraction.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work the same way in French. Les sentiments are just run of the mill feelings, and you have to be more specific if you want to refer to romance or attraction.

If you want to confess your feelings for someone in French, you could use one of the following phrases to give the person a pretty good hint about what you’re trying to say:


Je te trouve très bien (“You’re pretty neat”)
Je t’aime bien (“I like you”) - be sure to put “bien” at the end of the sentence, because “je t’aime” translates as “I love you”, which might not be quite what you wanted to say!
Tu me plais (“I like you” - literally, “You please me”)


How to say “Amazing” in French

Amazingly, “amazing” isn’t really a word that translates into French very well. All of the French translations of this word already have equivalents in English.

For example, “amazing” could translate as étonnant, which translates back to English as “astounding”. Incroyable and stupéfiant are also decent French translations, but they already mean “incredible” and “staggering” in English, respectively.

Don’t worry though. There are enough ways to express how amazing something is in French that the language hardly needs yet another word. Here’s a small list of French synonyms for “amazing”:


Incroyable (“incredible” - in my unscientific personal experience, this appears to be the most common way to say “amazing” in French)
Suprenant (“surprising”)
Étonnant (“astounding”)
Exceptionnel (“exceptional”)
Stupéfiant (“staggering” - I would put this down as one of the rarer translations of “amazing”)


In English, “amazing” usually has positive connotations. It doesn’t just mean surprising, it can also mean “surprisingly great” or “fantastic”. Here are few ways to express this idea in French:


Super (“super” - but much more common in French than in English. This can be an adjective (Tu es super!) or an adverb ( ”Tout est super génial!” ))
Génial (“great” - also very common)
Fantastique (“fantastic”)
Magnifique (“magnificent”)
Merveilleux (“marvelous*)
*Extraordinaire” (“extraordinary”)


How to say “Hot” in French

You’ll have guessed that “hot” is quite a slang word in English when it describes someone’s appearance. Like many slang words, “hot” doesn’t translate directly to French.

Trust me on this. Don’t ever say il/elle est chaud to describe a good-looking guy or girl. It doesn’t mean “he/she is hot”. It doesn’t even mean “he/she feels hot” when it’s a hot day outside (that would be il/elle a chaud). Rather, it’s a slang which means “he/she is sexually aroused”. You have been warned!

So, what if you want to describe someone as hot-looking in French? Well, sexy, mentioned earlier, is a pretty reliable term that expresses the same thing. But sometimes you don’t want to come right out and use the “S-word”. In France, you can also use the slang word “canon”, which applies equally to a man or a woman (il est canon or elle est canon).

How to say “Farewell” in French

There are two main ways to say “farewell” in French, and I love them both.

The first is au revoir. It’s the everyday word for “goodbye” that you’ll hear all the time in French. But it doesn’t simply mean “goodbye”; it’s much more eloquent than that. The most accurate translation of au revoir is “until we meet again”. I like this expression. It communicates hope that you’ll see each other again one day, even if you’re saying au revoir for a long time.

The other, more literary way to say farewell is adieu. It translates as “go with God” (à = “to” and Dieu = “God”), and expresses your wish for safety and good fortune upon the one who’s departing. Whether or not you believe in a deity (hmm, the word “deity” suddenly looks familiar, doesn’t it?), it’s a nice, warm sentiment to be sent off with.

And on that note, au revoir and adieu, dear reader! Until we meet again...in the comments! If you know other romantic words in French, or in another language you speak, let me know in the comments. Merci!

The post How to Say “My Love” in French (Plus 28 More Romantic French Words and Phrases) appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

How to Learn Italian: 5 Top Tips for Italian Learners (Plus 5 Great Reasons to Learn Italian)

You want to know how to learn Italian? Good job!

Italy is a wonderful country. The food, the architecture, the culture, the history, the romance. It’s one of my favourite places in the world.



When you can parlare italiano, Italy opens up to you in a whole new way.

Over at the Add1Challenge, we reached out to some of the most popular Italian YouTubers and teachers. We asked them for the best reasons to learn Italian - and their top tips for people who want to speak Italian, just like you.



One more thing: We’re opening up a whole new way for you to learn Italian, with native Italian speakers. So make sure you read to the end.

Enter the Italian experts...

5 Great Reasons to Learn Italian

Reasons to Learn Italian #1: Connect with the History, Heart and Soul of Italy

Manu from Italy made Easy says:

Italy is the country with the largest number of Cultural Sites protected by Unesco. What this means is that, if you like pretty things… you’ll end up visiting Italy sooner or later!

You can probably name a few amazing destinations or attractions yourself. And there are plenty more to discover and explore. From the remains of the Roman Empire to the stunning works of art of the Renaissance, from the natural beauties of the Cinque Terre and the 7,500 kilometers (4,460 miles) of coastline to the canals of Venice, from the churches of Rome to the Vatican museums.

Manu continues:

You’ll never run out of places to visit and things to see in Italy. And while this is true for every country on earth, Italy has a very unique taste and characteristic that can only be felt in Italy which is why people love Italy so much!

Being able to speak and understand Italian is the only way to experience all of this to its fullest potential. This is because Italy is not just art and buildings. Italy is a palette of colorful cultures, vibrant people, old traditions mixed with a modern society, all of which is not accessible without knowing the local language.

It is only by knowing Italian that you’ll be able to experience the real Italy, the Italy you’ve been dreaming about!

And… good news… Italian is one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers! So go ahead and start speaking Italiano!

Reasons to Learn Italian #2: Italian is the Language of Music

Mark from Coffee Break Italian says:

It's often said that music itself is an international language, but if ever there was a language of music it must surely be Italian.

You may wish to make sense of the "mezzoforte" or "andantino" on a piece of sheet music and Italian is "la chiave", the key which opens the door to a greater appreciation of music. This stems from the fact that musical notation as we know it nowadays was born in Renaissance Italy and it made sense for composers to write notes on the music indicating how it should be played.

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Alternatively, you may prefer to savour the sublime arias of Puccini, Verdi, Rossini or even Mozart, an Austrian composer, who chose to write the libretti of many of his operas in Italian. Perché? Mozart wrote in Italian because of the beauty of the language, the rhythm of the Italian words and the lyrical way in which "le belle parole italiane" are strung together into passionate declarations of love!

So, whether it's opera performed by Pavarotti or the latest track released by Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti or Umberto Tozzi, a knowledge of Italian will help you sing along - and know what you're saying!

Reasons to Learn Italian #3: A Beautiful Language that is Overlooked

Lucrezia from Learn Italian with Lucrezia says:

There could be many reasons for someone to learn Italian, ranging from wanting to speak the mother tongue of their grandparents to wanting to satisfy a simple and pure love for all things Italian. Whether you are learning Italian for one or another reason, the one thing I can assure you is that if you are not passionate about wanting to learn la bella lingua, you will find it difficult to succeed. This is true for any language, really.

However, there is a reason I could win you over with. Very few people in the world know how to speak Italian, compared to the thousands and thousands of people learning to speaking English, Spanish or Chinese everyday. So, it is something that not everyone can do and that’s what makes it special!

Reasons to Learn Italian #4: The Italian Secret to Life

Katie and Matteo from Joy of Languages say:

One great reasons to learn Italian (apart from ice cream) is the people. The Italians have a saying “il dolce far niente”, which means the sweetness of doing nothing.

Italian people know what’s important in life: they’re not constantly running from one thing to the next and they always have time for you. This is a huge plus when it comes to practicing the lingo with the locals.

They continue:

When you give Italian a go (even it’s only a few words at first) most Italians are patient, warm and happy to help. Also, many Italians feel more comfortable speaking their own language than English. This gives you a real reason to use your Italian, which helps you learn faster.

Reasons to Learn Italian #5: Enjoy Italy Without Breaking the Bank

Benny Lewis, founder of Fluent in 3 Months (this website!) says:

Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world by tourists, so it's very easy to find English speaking hotels, restaurants with translated menus & guides to show you around in your own tongue. But these come at a price - the "English speaking tax".

These costs can add up quickly, to decide ultimately how long you'll be in the country, but if you explore off any tourist paths and whimsically find a nice restaurant that hasn't translated their menus, or get advice from locals of where to eat, then you can appreciate the vastness of the menus beyond the simple pizzas and pastas you may be used to.

In my own case, my travel plans fell through once when I was in Italy during the incredibly busy Easter period and in Rome to make matters worse! Finding last minute accommodation would have been pricey, and eating out could have been far too busy in most places non-Italian speakers would go, but because I had local friends and spoke the language, one amico was very happy to invite me to his home and eat with four generations of his family.

An absolutely priceless experience, that ended up costing me nothing!

5 Top Tips on How to Learn Italian

Learn Italian Tip 1: Start with Italian Pronunciation

Manu from Italy made Easy says:

The Italian language has a very simple phonetic system with just a few tricky sounds and a very predictable and consistent way of pronouncing vowels, consonants and sequences of sounds. Basically, it’s particularly easy to sound good when speaking Italian!

A very smart approach to learning Italian is to start with the pronunciation. You’ll master it in no time and it will give you the best “value for money”. You can have the broadest vocabulary and the most impeccable grammar, but if Italians can’t understand you when you speak, all of that goodness will go to waste.

Focusing on pronunciation is fun and it will give you incredibly fast results.

Here’s the three step process Manu recommends for getting to grips with Italian pronunciation:


Start by mastering the 5 vowels (A, E, I, O, U). Italian vowels are always pronounced clearly and openly and they always sound the same.
Then move on to syllables (BA, BE, BI, BO, BU), words (BROCCOLI, FINITO, etc) and entire phrases.
Start “shadowing”.


Manu explains shadowing like this:

“Shadowing” is a great and very effective technique to improve and master your Italian pronunciation. Find a video (with Italian subtitles) of a single Italian native speaker speaking clearly. Your goal is to imitate the Italian speaker by copying their speed, intonation, pitch and overall melody. It’s not an easy exercise, with it will do wonders for your Italian pronunciation!

Learn Italian Tip 2: Make the Most of Shower and Pillow Time

Mark from Coffee Break Italian says:

One of the best ways to improve your Italian is by getting into a habit of spending some time in the morning and evening talking to yourself. That may sound a bit crazy, but you'll be amazed at how helpful this easy technique can be.

In the morning, start with a statement about what you're going to do that day. You can use a simple present tense, e.g. "oggi vado al cinema" (today I'm going to the cinema). If you know more Italian you can start to add in more information, for example when you're going, who else is going, or what you're doing before and after the cinema.

Then, in the evening, it's time to think back over what you've done in the day. Just use present tenses again if you prefer, but if you feel comfortable using a past tense you can talk about what you did (using the perfect), how you felt or what the weather was like (using the imperfect), and perhaps even thinking ahead to tomorrow (using a future tense).

For best results, do your morning Italian session in the shower - you can even speak aloud there as no-one will hear you! Then you can complete your evening session as you lay your head on the pillow to go to sleep.

Learn Italian Tip 3: Listen to Native Speakers

Lucrezia from Learn Italian with Lucrezia says:

One tip I would give to all of you interested in learning Italian is to listen to native speakers talking. Even if you are an absolute beginner. Spontaneous conversation, which is produced by native speakers, is the best way to get started.

Conversation is in itself very spontaneous and immediate, so native speakers are pressured to produce language in the easiest way they know how. This means that following easy conversation between native speakers will motivate you to act, in this case speak, like them. The emulation game starts!

It goes without saying that, if you are just starting out, it is preferable for you to choose very basic conversations or situational language, for example: at the supermarket, breakfast with friends, a discussion about favourite film, etc.

After listening to a recorded conversation of your choice, try to repeat what they say on screen or audio. Stop and play as many times as you like, up until you feel confident enough to record yourself and listen to your recorded voice speaking Italian. This should help you avoid the initial block beginners often feel towards the active part of learning a language, that is speaking.

Learn Italian Tip 4: Discover the Italian You Already Know

Katie and Matteo from Joy of Languages say:

We’ll let you in on a secret - Italian is easier than you think. Let’s try a little experiment. How do you say the word “fantastic” in Italian? Wave your hands around like an Italian and do your best Italian accent.

Did you guess fantastico?

If you did, bravo, your guess was corretto!

Around 58% of English words come from Latin or Romance languages. This means that that 1000s of English words are simile to Italian words. These words are called cognates, and they’re easy to learn and remember.

Start by learning a few basic rules about how to transform English words into their Italian counterparts. For example, many words that end in al, like “formal”, become Italian by adding an -e on the end and pronouncing the ending slightly differently. So the Italian word for “formal” is formale, pronounced form-ah-leh and the Italian word for “general” is generale, pronounced gener-ah-leh. Google “Italian Cognates” and you’ll find loads more.

Now when you start talking, you’ll already have thousands of words that you can use in conversation!

Learn Italian Tip 5: Try this Easy Approach to Spoken Practice

Benny Lewis of Fluent in 3 Months says:

Italian was one of the very first languages that I learned, while I was still very self conscious of making mistakes and worried that I'd be frustrating people. Gli italiani were crucial in giving me the confidence I needed to truly progress in language learning.

It was because they are so pleased to hear a foreigner try to learn their language, that they'll very patiently hear you out, and encourage you to keep going. And yet, they'll naturally get back into their bubbly personality of speaking with passion that will keep you on your toes. It's the right balance of easing you in, but still making sure you have to keep trying.

As a learner, and as someone travelling in Italy by himself, I found it incredibly easy to make new friends and loved how curious they were to hear from this traveller.

Bonus Tip: Take Action to Learn Italian, Today

You can have the most amazing Italian hacks, the most comprehensive Italian materials and the most effective Italian learning methods in the world but it’s completely useless if you don’t put them into a consistent learning routine in your everyday life.

If we all know this, why don’t we do it?

Because most of us scare ourselves to death by imagining how many mountains of hours and hours and hours we need to put in BEFORE we can have a conversation in Italian.

But…

What if we break down the hours of learning Italian to just 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 90 days?

This is exactly what Nina did in the Add1Challenge, you can see her result with learning Italian from scratch in the follow videos.

Nina’s Day 0 Italian Video

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Nina’s Day 90 Italian Video:

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Could You Do the Same in 90 Days?

Most people are surprised by this result, including Nina herself.

Yet Tina (Day 0 / Day 90), Alex (Day 0 / Day 90) and many, many other language learners who took part in the Add1Challenge got similar results.

After helping thousands of language learners speaking their target language in holding at least a 15 minute conversations with a native speaker in 90 day, what we found is...

We often underestimate the power of consistency, because we have never been consistent for a long enough to allow the result to reveal itself, especially in learning to speak a language.

A routine of just 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 90 days is what we found the minimum sweet spot if you want to be able to have a 15 minute conversation with an Italian in just 90 days.

Learning Italian is not so intimidating anymore right? :)

You can now implement these hacks into your learning routine on your own.

Better yet, apply for the Add1Challenge and begin this 90 day journey together with other Italian learners around the world, with a new twist :)

A Brand New Add1Challenge - Are You In?



On February 13th 2017, the Add1Challenge is launching something NEW:

A brand new “Italian | English Add1Challenge” exclusively for English speakers learning Italian AND Italian speakers learning English!

This 90 days Italian | English Add1Challenge will keep you motivated, accountable and empower you to incorporate an Italian or English learning routine into your everyday life.

Not only that, since there will be Italians learning English in the same Add1Challenge together with you, this means you can practice speaking Italian with Italians (!) and make Italian friends who are on the same language learning journey together with you in the next 90 days.

And the cherry on top:

One Add1Challenge finalist will have the chance to win a round trip flight-ticket to Italy, or contribution to their ticket (max value $500).

(We have been giving away a flight to one participant of every Add1Challenge since April 2015)

We will be opening for application very soon so if you’d like to join the Add1Challenge to finally speak Italian with Italians in 90 days, you can join us here.

See you inside!

The post How to Learn Italian: 5 Top Tips for Italian Learners (Plus 5 Great Reasons to Learn Italian) appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.