Shannon L. Kennedy's Blog: http://eurolinguiste.com/feed/, page 14

German Uncovered Review: Take Your German to the Next Level

German and I had fallen out of love. 

At least, that’s what I told myself after graduating university. It helped me feel better about the fact I was giving it up. Doing so gave me more time with the languages that I loved–namely, Chinese and Croatian.

I was sure that German and I were never, ever, ever getting back together. But then, something came up with my music work, and suddenly I needed to reconnect with the language I had lost. 

I turned to my good friend, Kerstin Cable, for help. And as it turns out, the timing couldn’t have been any better. She had just finished putting together German Uncovered with Olly Richards of I Will Teach You a Language, and that meant that I had the perfect course to help me get started.

What is German Uncovered?

German Uncovered is a course that uses stories to help you learn the German language. There are 20 modules that each include a story, and audio recording, a cognates video lesson, a vocabulary video lesson, a grammar video lesson, a pronunciation lesson, a speaking exercise, and a quiz to test your knowledge.

Each of the video lessons is about 20 minutes in length, so there is a lot of material to work through. It’s presented in a way that is easy to work through, and you pick up German grammar more naturally than you would by memorizing a bunch of grammar rules.

When you first start German Uncovered, you’re given a set of instructions on how to best use the material in the course:

“1. Start by listening to the audiobook recording of the chapter: It’s a good idea to do this before you read the text or the translation. Focus on listening and see how much you can pick up. (You can also download this audio file at the bottom of the lesson in case you want to listen again offline).

2. Read the text in German: After listening to the chapter, read through the text in German. It’s a good idea to do this a couple of times and listen along to the audio as you do so. Try and see how much you can figure out from the German before looking at the English translation.

3. Watch the Cognates video lesson: Watch the cognates lesson to uncover the German of the story and understand large chunks of it easily.

4. Check Your Comprehension: Once you’ve completed the steps above, complete the short comprehension quiz. This is a quiz which will check how much you’ve understood. Don’t worry if this is difficult. This is the very first lesson. In time, you’ll find that you can work out more and more of the story.

5. Download the English translation: Finally, download and read through the English translation. See how much you understood and notice any words or phrases that are similar in German and English.6. Complete the other lessons and worksheets for this chapter: Work through the video lessons and worksheets for this chapter.”

If you complete the course as instructed, it promises that you’ll attain “(B1 on the CEFR), and be a confident German speaker.”

My Experience Using German Uncovered

It’s been more than ten years since I last touched the German language, and I was worried about just how much I may have lost. I quit because the grammar got me down and I couldn’t push past it or find a better way to approach the language. What I had been taught to do in school was too ingrained and I couldn’t break free from grammar drills. Then I enrolled in German Uncovered.

I just finished the introduction videos and felt so motivated to dive in and get started. The course wasn’t anything like my experience at university where I was drowning in German grammar.

After completing just one module in the course, I was able to revive much of my lost German (and perhaps more!). I booked my first lesson with a tutor and flew through all the material, keeping the lesson almost entirely in German!

I made mistakes, yes, but I was already making huge strides with the language.

To demonstrate, here’s where I was at with German before I completed the first module in German Uncovered:

And here’s where I was at shortly after the fourth module:

Each of the lessons is taught by Kerstin, a native German speaker. This means that you get lots of insight into the language, it’s culture, and you learn the language it’s really used day-to-day.

German Uncovered: The Good

Kerstin is an excellent and outgoing course instructor. She keeps your attention through the lessons. Her love of the German language really shows, and it’s contagious. She does a great job keeping you motivated to continue through the modules.

And as you continue through the modules, completing the work as suggested, you see real progress with your German. Because the course focuses on teaching you cognates and shows you how to make the most of the similarities between German and English, you progress quickly.

German Uncovered is very logically organized and as you work through each lesson, you’re taught just the right amount of new material, building on what you learned in the previous lessons. 

German Uncovered: What Could Be Better

There were some issues with the audio on some of the videos, but nothing that was too distracting. For example, the volume of the pronunciation videos was lower than the other video lessons and on a couple of the videos, the audio had delay.

Seeing an example of the speaking lessons would also be extremely helpful. The instructions for these sections are written so that you can hand your tutor or practice partner the worksheet, but seeing how this would work in practice would definitely help students feel more confident taking this step.

In Conclusion

Would I recommend German Uncovered? Absolutely. It helped me rebuild a foundation in German and gain confidence using the language. It offers students a way to build their listening skills, reading skills, and vocabulary and gives them everything they need to take things further with an instructor.

If you’re still not sure if German Uncovered is right for you, you can try out the course and get a feel for Kerstin’s teaching style through German Stories, a free mini course. If you’re ready to dive in and start learning with German Uncovered, you can sign up here.

The post German Uncovered Review: Take Your German to the Next Level appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Learn to Speak German

The following article is a guest post.

If you’re thinking seriously about studying German but still have some doubts about it, this detailed article may help you discover the key benefits of studying this language.

10 Great Reasons to Study the German Language

If you’re reading an article about learning German, then you’re likely interested in this language. Of course, German has a reputation of not being a “beautiful” sounding language, but that’s only a matter of personal preference. As an example, in our everyday lives, we hear a lot of good German songs on the radio, and we like them a lot! If you’re seriously thinking considering attending online German classes, read this article to help motivate you to take the plunge! Here are 10 wonderful reasons to study this language:

Reason #1: German is a Popular Language

In our world, there are almost 80 million people who are native German speakers. It is the second most popular language in Europe. If you’ve already learned English (or it’s your mother tongue), then it can be interesting for you to study German. It will be useful if you enjoy traveling. The next time you’ll plan a trip to Europe, you can easily communicate with people there. You’ll definitely feel more comfortable in another country when you understand everyone around.

Reason #2: Create Business Opportunities in German

Create wonderful opportunities for your own business. German takes third place in the world economy, so needless to say, any kind of business here can get more chances for success and development. Knowing the German language can help you build a fantastic career. For example, if you cooperate with German companies, you will need to sign contracts and make communication. Of course, you can use translators or interpreters for everything, but this will not save you from various misunderstandings, plus you will have to pay for your translators. Learning German will help you to integrate into business deeply and contact with your partners and customers easily.

Nowadays, many top-rated corporations have an affiliation with Germany. Also, famous German companies like Adidas, Lufthansa, BMW, and Volkswagen are established in many other countries. Every year, thousands of applicants all over the world send their CVs to these companies. Of course, your experience and personal characteristics are very important but knowing German will be a great plus to stand you out of the crowd of others. In general, in our modern world, employers turn attention to candidates who know more than one language. For example, speaking English and German is a perfect match for many trustworthy and well-known companies.

Reason #3: It’s Easy to Learn German

For English speakers, it’s easy to learn German. The secret is both these languages are from the same branch of the language family tree – the Germanic branch. These languages have many similar words, so if you are a native English speaker, you are lucky because you have a big advantage. It means that learning will take less time and you will start to speak German fluently without a huge effort.

Of course, it is still important to study regularly and learn new words and expressions every day to make good progress. It is never late to improve yourself, whether you are 18 or 88, you can start learning German.

Reason #4: Discover a New World–In German!

You can discover a new world online in German. There are a lot of German websites and blogs on the Internet. As an example, .de is one of the most popular German domains (it actually takes fifth place in the entire world). This means many new opportunities for your development, business, and personal growth. For many people, this is a great opportunity in many ways without limitations. Of course, you can start learning German just because you like this language or to keep yourself busy but you never know where it may go. Maybe just in several years, you will open your own business, and the key moment of your success is speaking German.

Reason #5: Education

There are a lot of famous universities in German, and studying there will cost you just $0,00! Several universities take fees from students but they are not expensive at all! In fact, this is a great motivation to start learning German and save money on studying at the university. In many other countries, fees for studying are exorbitant.

According to the statistics, some German universities are in the top 100 in the world. The quality and level of education are excellent. Whether a student is a native citizen in German or people came from a foreign country to study, universities don’t charge foreign students. Pay your attention that most of the courses are taught in German. Before a student will enter the university, they must prove they speak the language.

Reason #6: Read the Works of Innovators in the Original Language

Many famous inventors and innovators were born in Germany. This is a country of talented genius like Kafka, Goethe, Denker, etc. It has a lot of great people, including writers, politics, musicians, art leaders, scientists, etc. For anyone interested in any of these spheres, it may be exciting to learn and understand much more about such famous people like Mozart, Beethoven, or Freud. You can read various books, articles, and publications in German to absorb some from genius. It’s a great chance when you can read a book in original without translation written by the famous person. This is a reason that will make you feel proud that you can speak German.

If you like to read, then you must know that every 10th book in the world is written in German. Of course, you can find the same book translated into English but why do that if you are able to read the original? The same with German movies and theater plays. By learning this language, you can discover a new, interesting culture, improve your pronunciation, learn new words, and understand the writer better.

Reason #7: The Startup Scene

Berlin is a great town for innovations and startups. Make your dreams come true! If you have a good idea for a startup, then you can try it in Berlin. In fact, many successful startups are conceived there every single day. Learning a new language can be quite interesting, it will help to develop your brain, improve memory, increase your own chances for reaching something new.

Reason #8: Germany is a Great Place to Live

If you are thinking about relocating to Europe, Germany is a good country to live in. According to statistics, it is the fifth most popular country people move to. Of course, immigration is a complex and long process but the result is worth the wait! Needless to say, you should learn German (at least the basics). If you are going to live in a foreign country, it’s better for you to speak with and understand people there. This will also increase your chances of getting a job, making new friends and business partners.

Reason #9: Travel

If you like to travel, knowing the German language will be a big plus. As said before, it’s an oft-spoken language. Many people in various countries speak German, and you can too! Knowing this language will help you a lot during traveling. Whether you have to ask someone on the street where to find a good restaurant or want to explain to the taxi driver where you’d like to go, knowing the language–even a bit–can go a long way.

Reason #10: Discover a New Culture

A new language will help you to discover a new culture. Many German events, brands, and food are adopted by many countries. For example, people in various countries like sausages, beer, and famous BMWs. And these are historically German things. When you are learning a new language, earlier or later you become a part of this county culture.

As you can see, learning the German language gives you many great opportunities for business, development, and personal growth. It’s never late for studying, especially nowadays, when you can learn any foreign language at home with your laptop. Never stop to develop, reach your goals and make new wishes for the future!

This post was contributed by Preply.

The post Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Learn to Speak German appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | April

Oh hi, long time no see! I missed the last two months of updating for #clearthelist, but I’m back to share what I’ve been working on, where I’ve been and what’s coming up!

On to #clearthelist …

If you’re new around these parts, #clearthelist is a linkup where we share our monthly goals, and by we, I mean myself, and Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages.

We’d absolutely love for you to a part of our community. You can join us by adding a link to your own goal post below.

So let’s get started, sharing our goals and motivating one another to #clearthelist!

Please feel free to tag your posts or photos with either #clearthelist on your favorite social media channels!

Last Month’s Highlights on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shannon Kennedy (@eurolinguiste) on Mar 26, 2019 at 4:26pm PDT

What’s Been Going On

Since January, a lot has happened. To start, in January, I started learning Hindi as a part of a new Add1Challenge. I’m learning it for my music work. and it’s been a lot of fun. For the most part, I’m using Pimsleur, Drops, and I have a wonderful tutor on italki. Here’s my most recent video:

I also started learning German (again). It was a language that I had given up, but for music, I needed to pick it up again. Here’s my Day 0 video:

I also went to Iceland, and en route, I did a mini language mission, seeing how much Icelandic I could pick up while traveling to the country. I’ll share more about that project soon.

Finally, I started working on a new album. This has nothing to do with language, unless you count music as a language, but it’s something I’m pretty proud of and have been hard at work on. The first single is actually already on itunes, and you can check it out here:

And now you’re caught up!

Last Clear the List Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // We read together every night, so I’m always learning new words. We also attend a Mommy & Me class regularly.

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // I’m behind announcing next year’s reading challenge, so I’ll do that soon.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // I am up to 1,300 videos in my queue! I am working through it though, but right now, I only do as many lessons as I add per week.

Add1Challenge // Yup! I’m also late uploading these videos, but those that aren’t yet up are coming.

This Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // A permanent item on my monthly list. 

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // Once I announce this year’s challenge, I plan to start reading right away!

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Slow and steady…

Add1Challenge // I’m currently learning Hindi in one challenge and German in another, so my goal is to work on these languages until I’m confident giving presentations on music in both of them.

Resources I Used This Month

A quick recap of the materials I am using.

What I Am Using to Learn Chinese

LingQ – my favorite tooliTalki Lessons – I have weekly Chinese lessonsMemrise – I do 18,000 points minimum per day Drops – they have a new character tool that is fantastic

What I’m Using to Brush Up/Improve My French:

LingQListening to French radio/podcastsSpeak Easy sessions as a part of Language Study Club

What I am Using to Learn Russian:

LingQPerfectionnement RusseiTalki LessonsDropsPimsleur

What I am Using to Learn Korean:

LingQDropsiTalki LessonsPimsleurGlossika

What I am Using to Learn Spanish:

LingQ

What I am Using to Learn Italian:

LingQ

What I’m Using to Learn Japanese:

LingualiftDropsiTalki LessonsPimsleurGlossika

What I’m Using to Learn Croatian:

iTalki Lessons

What I’m Using to Learn Hungarian:

iTalki LessonsDrops

What I’m Using to Learn Hindi:

iTalki LessonsDropsPimsleur

What I’m Using to Learn German:

iTalki LessonsDropsLingQ

What I’m Using for Little Linguist

Lots of booksDay-to-day interactionMommy and Me weekly classes

Resources That Aren’t Language Specific

Add1Challenge



The Biggest Lesson I Am Taking Away from This Month

That accountability is so, so important. The Add1Challenge really helps me stay on track with my studies. Right after I started learning Hindi, some things happened that meant that I stepped away for the language and I had a lot of consecutive days that I didn’t touch the language (or any language for that matter). But I didn’t want to fail the challenge and felt some responsibility to stay on track, so I ended up getting back into it and picking my language learning habit back up. If it weren’t for checking in daily, and seeing all of those red-colored “nays” logged into the sheet, I might still be struggling.

Don’t forget that I would love to hear all about your goals for this month! Please join us by adding your post to the linkup below! 

Clear The List Linkup Rules:

1. Share your goal post whether it includes your aspirations for the month or year. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this post. You can use our button if you wish.

3. Follow the hosts: Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages and Shannon from Eurolinguiste.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the linkup.

5. Share on social media using #ClearTheList

Inlinkz Link Party

The post Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | April appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

7 Ways to Fire Up Your Language Learning at Women in Language

Next week is the second ever Women in Language event. It’s an online conference hosted by Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages, Kerstin Cable of FluentLanguage.co.uk and yours truly. At the event, we have more than 30 incredible speakers, two panel discussions, lightning talks, live chat, and the chance to win more than $3,000 in prizes through our raffle.

Attending an event like Women in Language is a wonderful experience–you get to listen to inspiring talks, get to know other learners around the world who share your passions, and have the opportunity to get your language learning questions answered by experts.

But in addition to these events being fun social events and a chance to learn, they’re also a great chance to fire up your language learning and give your motivation a boost. Here are seven ways you can do just that at this year’s Women in Language:

1. Attend a talk that you’d normally skip

At events, there are always a few talks that may, on paper, seem like they’re not the best fit for you. Normally, I’d fully recommend skipping talks that don’t seem like they’d interest you and use that time to catch up on other tasks or chat with other attendees. But just because a talk doesn’t sound like something you’d go to doesn’t mean that you should skip it.

For example, if someone’s giving a talk on raising bilingual children but you’re years off from having kids, there are still things you could takeaway:

Ideas for activities you can do when learning with someone elseEasy, entry-level resources that you may not have heard ofTime management tips

As another example, someone may be giving a talk on a language you don’t intend to learn. Why should you attend?

You learn more about our world’s linguistic diversityYou may learn techniques that are used to approach that particular language that can be applied to yoursYou may discover a love for a new language (even if you choose not to study it later)You learn about resources that may also be available in your language

This Women in Language event, I challenge you to attend at least one talk you’d normally skip. You never know what you may learn!

2. Get to know some of the members of our amazing language community

Language learning can be lonely. You spend a lot of time with your head buried in resources doing this whole thing on your own. Language events a great opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals who get you and share your love of languages. And who knows, you may find a study buddy or exchange partner at an event. At the very least, you’ll certainly make new friends.

3. Ask questions

At events, it’s easy to sit in the background and just observe. There’s already a lot to take in. But if you don’t ask questions, you’re missing out on a valuable chance to have any doubts or concerns you may have answered.

You may have questions that can’t be answered by a certain speaker, but even if you ask them, there’s a good chance that someone else participating in the chat will be able to help you out. Take advantage of the fact you’ll be hanging out with learners and experts at different stages in the game than you.

4. Apply to give a lightning talk

Lightning talks are short 5-10 minutes talks (depending on how many applicants we have) where you can share something cool you’ve learned about your language, teaching languages, learning languages, or anything else language related.

If you’re looking for a little extra challenge, I highly recommend applying to give a lightning talk. You have until next Wednesday (the day before the event to do so) if you’re an attendee!

5. Participate in the Women in Language Facebook group

Leading up to, during, and following the event, attendees are invited to participate in the Women in Language Facebook group. It’s a supportive community where you can share takeaways from the talks you attend, get to know the other attendees, share your successes and struggles in your language, and more.

If you’re struggling with motivation, the community is a great place to get the support you need to pick things back up.

6. Get excited about the raffle!

When you purchase a ticket to the Women in Language event, you are immediately entered into the raffle. There are no extra steps required.

This year we have more than $3,000 worth of prizes that will be fairly split up amongst three raffle winners. These prizes include language learning tools and resources from Drops, Fluent in 3 Months, I Will Teach You a Language, LingQ, Lindsay Does Languages, Fluentlanguage.co.uk, Eurolinguiste, and more.

Getting new language swag is a great way to boost your motivation and by buying a ticket, you’re automatically entered to win.

7. Support another language learner

This year we decided to do something new. In addition to giving 10% of all profits to Wikitongues to support their work with languages around the world (last year we donated to Kiva), we’re also helping fund scholarship tickets to attendees who may not be able to afford a ticket to the Women in Language event.

After buying your ticket, you have the option to help fund another learner’s ticket by making a donation (of any amount). Any money leftover in this pool once all the scholarship tickets are redeemed will also be donated to Wikitongues.

So there you have it. Just seven of the ways you can fire up your language learning at the Women in Language event–there are plenty more!

If you haven’t yet got your ticket, you can sign up here.

And if you have questions about the event, feel free to share them in the comments below. I look forward to seeing you there!

The post 7 Ways to Fire Up Your Language Learning at Women in Language appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Language Learning Reading Challenge 2019

I am excited to share the fourth annual Language Learning Reading Challenge with you.

Starting January 2019, we’ll tackle one book per month covering a topic related to language and share our experiences as a group. Please feel free to join us. You can participate by commenting on the posts here at Eurolinguiste or by joining the group on Facebook.

As part of the challenge, we will be read books that cover everything from culture, language learning, general learning techniques, history, and more. Plus, we’ll be reading both in our native languages and target languages.

If you’re at a more advanced level in your target language, feel free to read any or all of the books (not just the ones indicated as target language only) in the language that you’re learning. If you’re still just getting started, that’s okay, too! You can read along in your native language, discovering more about the cultures and histories tied to the language(s) that you’re learning, opting for lower level or graded readers for books in your target language.

Please note that you don’t have to pick just one language for this challenge. If you’re learning multiple languages, feel free to mix and match. The challenge is pretty flexible. I’ve planned it this way so you can get the most learning possible out of it over this next year.

The Materials that make up the 2019 Language Reading Challenge

1 January // A tutorial, recipe, or lesson in your target language (if you’re up for a bigger challenge, read an entire book on the subject)

2. February // A book on learning strategies (any learning strategy, not just language related, but it can be about language learning if you prefer)

3. March // A book written in your target language (this can be a translation from your native language or a book originally written in your target language)

4. April // Read something humor-related in your language to get a sense of comedy and what’s funny in your language 

5. May // Read an introduction to your language – if you’re an advanced learner, find an article or chapter in your coursebook that explains something that you’re struggling with in particular

6. June // History of the region, culture, or language that you are studying

7. July // Read something about a language you’re not learning (it can be an article, an introduction to the language, or an entire book)

8. August // A book written by a language blogger (you can find books by bloggers such as Steve Kaufmann, Anthony Metivier, Kerstin Cable, Benny Lewis, Barbara Oakley, yours truly, and more)

9. September // A book about a language, a family of languages, a writing system, or something related to linguistics

10. October // Read a Wikipedia article in your target language

11. November // A book written in your target language (originally, not a translation)

12. December // Read a book about your native language

A Few Notes Regarding the Challenge:

The challenge doesn’t have to focus on one language, if you are studying multiple languages (or have an interest in languages you’re not studying), feel free to go for books in or about those languages.

You are absolutely welcome to read books of any level. Graded readers, children’s books, academic books or any other genre are acceptable for the challenges that require you to read in your target language(s).

You do not need to participate every month to be a part of this challenge. You can choose the months that align with your interests.

If you do not complete the book you take up in any one month of the challenge, that’s okay! You can still join in the conversation and share some of what you’ve learnt from the sections of the book you were able to get through.

Language Reading Challenge Linkup Rules:

1. Share your post discussing the book that you’ve read this month. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted. You can share in the comments or use the link below to join us on Facebook.

2. Follow the host: Shannon from Eurolinguiste.

3. OPTIONAL: Join us on Facebook.

The post Language Learning Reading Challenge 2019 appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | January

In December, with the holidays, I enjoyed time with family at home. I continued to study Hungarian, but also returned to several of my previous languages. 

On to #clearthelist …

If you’re new around these parts, #clearthelist is a linkup where we share our monthly goals, and by we, I mean myself, and Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages.

We’d absolutely love for you to a part of our community. You can join us by adding a link to your own goal post below.

So let’s get started, sharing our goals and motivating one another to #clearthelist!

Please feel free to tag your posts or photos with either #clearthelist on your favorite social media channels!

Last Month’s Highlights on Instagram

 

 

A post shared by Shannon Kennedy (@eurolinguiste) on Aug 29, 2018 at 11:01am PDT

Last Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // We read together every night, so I’m always learning new words. 

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // In December, we read a book about a language that we’re not learning. I went through my Tuttle phrasebook for Arabic once more to relearn a few basic phrases.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Did this!

Add1Challenge // I studied Hungarian each day as a part of the Add1Challenge. I also published my Day 60 video (though I had recorded it early in Budapest.

This Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // A permanent item on my monthly list. 

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // I’m announcing next year’s reading challenge soon, so I’ll soon share what we’re reading in January.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // I still have several hundred videos to watch.

Add1Challenge // It’s the last few weeks of my current Add1Challenge and the first two weeks of my next Add1Challenge.

Resources I Used This Month

A quick recap of the materials I am using.

What I Am Using to Learn Chinese

LingQ – my favorite tool
iTalki Lessons – I have weekly Chinese lessons
Memrise – I do 18,000 points minimum per day 
Drops – they have a new character tool that is fantastic

What I’m Using to Brush Up/Improve My French:

LingQ
Listening to French radio/podcasts

What I am Using to Learn Russian:

LingQ
Perfectionnement Russe
iTalki Lessons
Drops
Pimsleur

What I am Using to Learn Korean:

LingQ
Drops
iTalki Lessons
Pimsleur
Glossika

What I am Using to Learn Spanish:

LingQ

What I am Using to Learn Italian:

LingQ

What I’m Using to Learn Japanese:

Lingualift
Drops
iTalki Lessons
Pimsleur
Glossika

What I’m Using to Learn Croatian:

iTalki Lessons

What I’m Using to Learn Hungarian:

iTalki Lessons
Drops

What I’m Using for Little Linguist

Lots of books
Day-to-day interaction
Mommy and Me weekly classes

Resources That Aren’t Language Specific

Add1Challenge

The Biggest Lesson I Am Taking Away from This Month

I’ve mentioned it in a few of my interviews and live videos lately, but haven’t yet shared my big takeaway here. The last few months, my biggest takeaway has really been that my language learning habit isn’t the task, but the language itself. 

Before I used the built-in streak tracking for many of the language learning apps I use and worked to maintain them. Because of this, my habit was using those apps. Lately, however, I’ve started exploring diversifyng my study methods and so now, my habit is spending time with each of my languages in some way as often as possible. The habit is time with the language, not a specific tool. 

But because I like stats and keeping track, I still use something to monitor how frequently I’m studying. I discovered an app called Streaks that I use to track how often I study each of my languages. I really find it effective and enjoy it.

Don’t forget that I would love to hear all about your goals for this month! Please join us by adding your post to the linkup below! 

Clear The List Linkup Rules:

1. Share your goal post whether it includes your aspirations for the month or year. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this post. You can use our button if you wish.

3. Follow the hosts: Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages and Shannon from Eurolinguiste.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the linkup.

5. Share on social media using #ClearTheList

Inlinkz Link Party

The post Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | January appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

New Language Project: Learning Hungarian

Over the last couple months, I’ve been learning a language in secret. I recently revealed that language was Hungarian and now, I’m excited to share more details about this language project – the how, the what, and they why.

But first, if you’re interested in following this project along, be sure to subscribe to the Drops blog! It’s where I’m sharing all my updates.

Getting Started with the Hungarian Language

Just over two months ago, I decided that I wanted to learn Hungarian.

Why?

Because I wanted to surprise my colleagues at Drops on our team trip. In November, we all met up in Budapest, Hungary and it seemed like the perfect occasion. Not only would I be in the country that speaks the language, but I’d also get to surprise the founders of Drops with their native language.

I signed up for the Add1Challenge for motivation, keeping the details of my language a secret, saving my videos and updates for after the big reveal.

In many ways, this project was different from anything I’ve done before. To start, it was a secret, so I was limited to how many people I could reach out to for help. Luckily, Benny Lewis over at Fluent in 3 Months completed a similar project – Hungarian in 3 Months. He and I chatted about language projects and learning Hungarian, and he offered me tips for filming the reveal in Budapest.

Limitations Offer a Creative Environment

One of the other things I really wanted to do with this project was change my approach. Lately, I’ve found a lot of success in the conversational approach and because of this, I’ve stuck to it for my last several projects. Getting too comfortable with a system or routine can cause learning plateaus and with a short-term project, that can be dangerous. 

Rather than use all the resources, processes and methods I typically use when I start a new language (or refresh an old one), I did something different. 

First, I limited myself to two resources – Drops and italki. I had originally planned to use three (a coursebook being the third), but ended up not using it. Doing this meant that I really needed to maximize my experience with the two resources I was using.

I had to get creative.

And that creativity not only led to several breakthroughs, but helped keep me from burning out during the time I spent studying.

Second, I cut grammar out almost completely. During that time, I did not learn a single grammar rule. Instead, I studied tons of vocabulary and practiced the language with my tutor. In doing these two things, I learned some grammar through context without ever having to sit down and learn how to conjugate or use cases.

Third, I took an almost month-long break in the middle of a two-month project. A few weeks before our trip to Budapest, I also had a trip to Shanghai, China for music. As a part of that trip, I needed to focus on preparing presentations in Mandarin and Japanese, so I had to step away from Hungarian until after I got back.

Despite this break, I still successfully completed this project.

Finally, I decided on every milestone I wanted to reach as a part of this project. There were eight in total. You can read about them more in-depth here, but here’s a quick summary:

Learn 50 words in the first 3 days // This would get me access to the  Drops  Tough Words Dojo so that I could review challenging new material.Find a conversation partner // Having a date on the calendar would help keep me focused and on-track.Write my first script // This would help me navigate that first conversation. It included phrases and questions that I might need.Have a Hungarian lesson // I found a fantastic tutor on italki and ended up taking several lessons the week before the trip.Have an unscripted chat in Hungarian // Before I went to Hungary, I wanted to try to make my way through a conversation in Hungarian without the help of my script.Learn all the words in Drops // There were about 2,500 words in Drops while I worked on this project.Use Hungarian around Budapest // To get some practice in before the big surprise.Surprise the founders of  Drops  // The project conclusion!

You can watch my project introduction video for more context:

To Sum Up

I plan on sharing updates for each of the milestones over on the Drops blog so you can follow along with my progress. Each post will include videos of where I’m at with the language as well as the exact steps I took to achieve each milestone.

In the meantime, if you have any tips for me as a new Hungarian language learner or if you have any resource recommendations that you couldn’t have lived without, please let me know in the comments below.

I look forward to hearing from you!

The post New Language Project: Learning Hungarian appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | December

With November came an amazing trip to Budapest, Hungary with the rest of the Drops team. It was the first time I had the chance to meet everyone and it was an inspiring week.

It was also the big reveal for my project so I can finally let you know what language I’ve been working on for the last month or two. It’s… Hungarian! 

The founders of Drops are Hungarian and because it was my first trip with the team and it happened to be in Hungary, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try Hungarian and surprise them with it. I’ll share more about the project soon, so keep an eye out for more posts in the next few weeks.

On to #clearthelist …

If you’re new around these parts, #clearthelist is a linkup where we share our monthly goals, and by we, I mean myself, and Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages.

We’d absolutely love for you to a part of our community. You can join us by adding a link to your own goal post below.

So let’s get started, sharing our goals and motivating one another to #clearthelist!

Please feel free to tag your posts or photos with either #clearthelist on your favorite social media channels!

Last Month’s Highlights on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shannon Kennedy (@eurolinguiste) on Aug 29, 2018 at 11:01am PDT

Last Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // This month, I didn’t work on this as much as I would have liked. Definitely to change in the next month.

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // In November, we read a book originally written in a language that we’re learning. I read through some of the Croatian articles that I found about the Croatian and Serbian languages.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // I ended up having a two day cram session and got through a lot of my lesson videos. 

Add1Challenge // Made it through the first month and a half of the challenge and caught up sharing my updates once my project was revealed.

Secret Language Project // Yay, Hungarian!

This Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // A permanent item on my monthly list. 

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // In December, we’re reading something about a language you’re not learning (it can be an article, an introduction to the language, or an entire book). I haven’t yet selected what I’ll read, but I’m looking forward to this months’ theme.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Will be working on this one for a while.

Add1Challenge // This month is when the Day 60 video is up, so I plan to prepare for that.

Resources I Used This Month

A quick recap of the materials I am using.

What I Am Using to Learn Chinese

LingQ – my favorite tool
iTalki Lessons – I have weekly Chinese lessons
Memrise – I do 18,000 points minimum per day 
Drops – they have a new character tool that is fantastic

What I’m Using to Brush Up/Improve My French:

LingQ
Immersion (we speak franglais at home)
Listening to French radio/podcasts
Lingoci

What I am Using to Learn Russian:

LingQ
Perfectionnement Russe
iTalki Lessons
Drops
Pimsleur

What I am Using to Learn Korean:

LingQ
Drops
iTalki Lessons
Pimsleur
Glossika

What I am Using to Learn Spanish:

LingQ

What I am Using to Learn Italian:

LingQ

What I’m Using to Learn Japanese:

Lingualift
Drops
iTalki Lessons
Pimsleur
Glossika

What I’m Using to Learn Croatian:

iTalki Lessons

What I’m Using to Learn Hungarian:

iTalki Lessons
Drops

What I’m Using for Little Linguist

Lots of books (I picked up several in both Singapore and Shanghai)
Day-to-day interaction
Mommy and Me weekly classes

Resources That Aren’t Language Specific

Add1Challenge

The Biggest Lesson I Am Taking Away from This Month

The first week and a half of November are when I really buckled down and started to study Hungarian. I wanted to speak well enough to really surprise the Drops founders and though I was nervous, I was pretty happy with what I was able to accomplish in that time. I am sure I still made mistakes, but I was able to use Hungarian in a variety of situations while I was in Budapest and it made my time there that much more enjoyable. 

So the lesson?

Learning a bit of the language before you travel somewhere definitely makes your time there that much more enjoyable. 

Don’t forget that I would love to hear all about your goals for this month! Please join us by adding your post to the linkup below! 

Clear The List Linkup Rules:

1. Share your goal post whether it includes your aspirations for the month or year. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this post. You can use our button if you wish.

3. Follow the hosts: Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages and Shannon from Eurolinguiste.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the linkup.

5. Share on social media using #ClearTheList

An InLinkz Link-up

The post Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | December appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Black Friday Deals for Language Learners 2018

You’ve worked hard this last year at your language studies, and what better way to celebrate your progress than by rewarding yourself with an early holiday gift? 

By investing in your studies, you’re also preparing yourself for the new year with new resources so that you have a place to start when all of the craziness of the holiday season is through. Or, you can always get a little something for your language learning friend!

As a part of Black Friday, I’m really excited to offer an incredible selection of discounts on my courses this year. 

Language Learning Accelerator

With four jobs, a toddler, a blog, and eight languages under my belt, I’ve had a lot of experience developing time management and energy management skills. I created this course to share them with you. If you ever feel too busy to learn a language, or too tired, Language Learning Accelerator has all the tools you need to work through it and finally find the time to learn your language.

Get 50% off Language Learning Accelerator $48.50 (normally $97)

The Courage to Speak

In partnership with Fluent in 3 Months, I put together a course to help you build the confidence to start speaking your language and connecting with others. Each module includes a video lesson, a worksheet, and exercises that put you on the path towards becoming a confident speaker of your target language. As a part of the course, you’re also given access to Say Goodbye to Shy.

Get 34% off The Courage to Speak 

Get By In Croatian

I recently launched a Croatian language course and you can get all of the bonus materials for the first season for 50% off. There will be 20 total lessons and for each you have a video lesson, the audio, bonus audio, and a PDF worksheet. 

Get 50% off Get By In Croatian $43.50 (normally $87)

Language Study Club with Lindsay Dow

Lindsay and I recently launched a new monthly subscription hub and study club under the radar. It’s a fun new platform where Lindsay and I alternate each month, providing tons of tips, video lessons, and actionable advice around different themes. To start, Lindsay tackled motivation in the first month and I covered building your personal script in the second. You’ll have access to all of the archive months in with your purchase of a membership.

Get $9 off each month of Language Study Club

I’ve also partnered up with Fluent in 3 Months to offer you some amazing deals this year as a part of their Black Friday promotion. 

Of course, they have an incredible package put together. In it, you can get:

Benny’s Bootcamp Live // A 3-month language hacking program with live video webinars every week.
Fi3M Premium // This is their cornerstone product and a long-term learning portal. It’s a great place to start planning your routine for the new year. Plus, they recently brought it over to Teachable, so it has a much nicer user experience. 
Conversation Countdown // Their 7-week email course that helps you prepare for your first conversation in your new language.
Why X is Easy // 6 eBooks that break down the tough language stuff (like word gender and conjugations) for German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, French and English.

The value of all of this is over $899 but Fi3M is offering it to you at just $197.

They’re also offering an incredible discount on several other courses. You can learn more about them here.

As a quick recap, here are all of the links:

50% off Language Learning Accelerator
34% off The Courage to Speak (with Say Goodbye to Shy free)
50% off Get By in Croatian
30% off Language Study Club
75% off Fluent in 3 Months’ Premium Package

Other Great Deals Across the Web

Drops // You can get 50% a Premium subscription to Drops, my favorite vocabulary learning app. The offer expires on Monday. This offer is only available through their web payment and isn’t offered within the app itself. Get 50% a Premium Drops Subscription.

The Ultimate Guide to German for Beginners // Get 50% off this excellent German course from Fluentlanguage.co.uk. The course bundle includes: The German Pronunciation and Accent Masterclass, Easy German Grammar for Beginners, and Hyper-Efficient German. $54.50 (usually $109)

Pimsleur // Get 50% off at Pimsleur by using the code “BESTDEAL”. Pimsleur is my favourite audio course. It’s a bit on the pricey side, so this is a great offer. Get 50% off Pimsleur.

Innovative Language // Innovative language is one of the most popular podcast series around. They’re offering 51% off their Basic, Premium AND Premium Plus subscriptions. Get 51% off: ChineseClass101, EnglishClass101, FrenchPod101, GermanPod101, ItalianPod101, JapanesePod101, KoreanClass101, RussianPod101 and SpanishPod101.

Don’t wait! Many of these deals will only be available until the end of Cyber Monday, Nov 26th, 2018.

The post Black Friday Deals for Language Learners 2018 appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | November

In October, I had an incredible trip to Shanghai where I had the chance to use both Mandarin and Japanese on a variety of occasions. It was a work trip, so I didn’t have much time to explore, but I was able to make one short day trip to a town near Suzhou. 

On to #clearthelist …

If you’re new around these parts, #clearthelist is a linkup where we share our monthly goals, and by we, I mean myself, and Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages.

We’d absolutely love for you to a part of our community. You can join us by adding a link to your own goal post below.

So let’s get started, sharing our goals and motivating one another to #clearthelist!

Please feel free to tag your posts or photos with either #clearthelist on your favorite social media channels!

Last Month’s Highlights on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shannon Kennedy (@eurolinguiste) on Aug 29, 2018 at 11:01am PDT

Last Month’s Blog Highlights
Language Learning

5 Reasons to Speak a New Language Even If Your Shy // On November 3rd, Lindsay Williams, Kerstin Cable and I are hosting a new Women in Language Event – WIL Camp. It’s a one-day event and each of us is giving a talk related to community. Mine is related to shyness and how to build confidence to start speaking.

Last Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // Leading up to my trip to Shanghai, I did quite a bit of Mandarin study. But after the trip, my attention shifted to my new language. Because I spent about half the month on this, I’d count it a success. 

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // In October, we’re reading a coursebook. I’ll be working with a coursebook for my new language for this challenge. In November, we read a book originally written in a language that we’re learning. I read not a book, but several academic articles published in Croatian about the Croatian language.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // I only did a few lessons from my cue this month, but I did still do a few!

Chinese and Japanese Demonstrations // Done!

Add1Challenge // I am started my next Add1Challenge though the work I’m doing is still mostly in secret because it’s with my new language.

Secret Language Project? // After I return from China, this was my main focus (hence shifting my attention away from Chinese).

This Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // A permanent item on my monthly list. 

Read the next Language Reading Challenge book on my list. // In November, we’re reading a book originally written in a language that we’re learning. I plan to continue reading the Croatian articles that I found about the Croatian language. I still have a few more left to read. 

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Still have a lot to go through!

Add1Challenge // Continue studying for the Add1Challenge.

Secret Language Project // The big reveal happens this month!

Resources I Used This Month

A quick recap of the materials I am using.

What I Am Using to Learn Chinese

LingQ – my favorite tool
iTalki Lessons – I have weekly Chinese lessons
Memrise – I do 18,000 points minimum per day 
Drops – they have a new character tool that is fantastic

What I’m Using to Brush Up/Improve My French:

LingQ
Immersion (we speak franglais at home)
Listening to French radio/podcasts
Lingoci

What I am Using to Learn Russian:

LingQ
Perfectionnement Russe
iTalki Lessons
Drops
Pimsleur

What I am Using to Learn Korean:

LingQ
Drops
iTalki Lessons
Pimsleur
Glossika

What I am Using to Learn Spanish:

LingQ

What I am Using to Learn Italian:

LingQ

What I’m Using to Learn Japanese:

Lingualift
Drops
iTalki Lessons
Pimsleur
Glossika

What I’m Using for Little Linguist

Lots of books (I picked up several in both Singapore and Shanghai)
Day-to-day interaction
Mommy and Me weekly classes

Resources That Aren’t Language Specific

Add1Challenge

The Biggest Lesson I Am Taking Away from This Month

Being able to use the languages you’re learning is really amazing. I had so much fun getting to know people in Shanghai through both Japanese and Chinese, having conversations that I wouldn’t have otherwise had. It’s incredibly rewarding and makes all of those tough moments studying worth it one hundred times over.

Don’t forget that I would love to hear all about your goals for this month! Please join us by adding your post to the linkup below! 

Clear The List Linkup Rules:

1. Share your goal post whether it includes your aspirations for the month or year. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this post. You can use our button if you wish.

3. Follow the hosts: Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages and Shannon from Eurolinguiste.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the linkup.

5. Share on social media using #ClearTheList

An InLinkz Link-up

The post Clear The List | Monthly Language Learning Strategies Update | November appeared first on Eurolinguiste.