Languages LoversLanguages LoversThe best and effective way to self-study ANY foreign language! How to build vocabulary. How long it will take me to learn a new language?- What is the best method?- How to determine my learning style? How to learn fast? and much more ... Articles
ESL, How to reduce your foreign accent?
2007-11-21 20:15:00 If you are a new foreigner living in America and English is your second language, you may have already noticed that your foreign accent is really an issue ... people don't understand what you are saying even if you can speak English. And because of your accent, you may lose out job opportunities even if you have good qualifications for the job.I have good news for you! It's possible to reduce or neutralize your accent. It's require some training from you.Here some quick tips that you need to apply in a daily basis:1) When a native talks, pay attention to his intonation and the rhythm of his speech and the movement of his lips. Train yourself by watching the News on TV and quality programs and try to repeat what they say with the same intonation and the same rhythm. Duplicate the sounds... it's like that young children learn a language, they just duplicate the sounds that they hear they don't need a master degree to speak a language. You may know a word of vocabulary but if you ... More About: Foreign , Reduce
How to learn a new language using Skype
2007-11-19 21:34:00 Spyke is the most popular voice communication service in the world. Spyke has over 100 millions of users. The integration of voice and IM (instant messaging) in one application make Skype very useful. Skype offers free PC to PC service. If you use Skype to communicate from PC to PC you don't pay anything. Millions on people all over the world are using Skype ... so imagine how you is easy to use Skype to learn a foreign language.What Do You Need to Use Skype?:1) A good Internet connection.2) Good speakers or earpieces3) A microphone4) Download the free software at http://www.skype.com5) People who want to communicate with you ... they have to be Skype users too ... friends, family, other Skype users ...Why Skype can help to learn a foreign language?Like I have already said in previous posts: if you don't practice the language ... I don't care how long you are studying your target language ... 5 years ... 15 years ... or 40 years ... you won't be fluent in that language if you do... More About: Language , Learn
How to improve your listening skills?
2007-11-15 00:43:00 When attending university in France, I knew a British girl, fluent in French, but didn't know how to pronounce the French letter "u". It took me one afternoon to teach her how to pronounce correctly the letter "u". For those who don't know French, our "u" is seems to be difficult for foreigners to pronounce ... foreigners tend to pronounce like "you" ou "ou".My friend is not the only I met with this issue. When I taught my 3 years old son the letter, he was able to duplicate in one shot. Neuroscientists say that most adults have trouble distinguishing sounds. Read the related article about a child and an adult's brain.Having good listening skills is necessary to learn a new language. You have to learn and reproduce new sounds that you don't familiar with and in order to do it correctly you need to learn how to listen, how to acquire good listening skills and how to improve them.There are people who can't sing because they don't have musical ears and don't have the ability to... More About: Improve , Skills , Listening , Prove
Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One
2007-11-14 04:14:00 I want to give a very short and quick review of the book: Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One by Edward Trimnell. This book expose all the mistaken assumptions, the myth that Americans entertain about foreign languages. They assume that "everyone in the world is learning English" so they come up with the conclusion that it's not necessary to learn another language. The author expose the implications of American monolingualism in the social,commercial, politic areas. With new economic and new politics trends, Americans need to have languages skills.The second part of the book deals with learning a foreign language and contains useful tips for languages learners.A good book to read. You can find it on Amazon.comA Store For Languages Lovers Christmas is coming! See our personalized Cds for children More About: Reign
Raising multilingual children
2007-11-12 02:51:00 It's not easy to raise a bilingual or multilingual child. The parents have to be committed and comfortable with the concept and they need to educate themselves. In some countries, it may be common to see children talking several different languages and parents are very comfortable with the concept. But in some countries people are not, and parents who want to raise multilingual children don't find any support to encourage them or worst ... they find a bunch of non-sayers.It's pay to be well-prepared to the project because the parents (or one of the parents) may have a lack of support in the area, or doubts because it's a fastidious task and sometimes the children during the process may loose interest or may show more progress for a language and not for another.The two most successful language systems are One Person One Language (OPOL) and Minority Language at Home (ML@H). For the first system a parent must be committed to speak one language and the other parent the other languag... More About: Children
Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone?
2007-11-10 19:05:00 Which method is the best? There are so many audio language courses available and they all claim to be the best. Which method I need? Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone ?I love Dr. Pimsleur approach about languages learning. Dr Pimsleur said: "Language learned in the natural, organic, back and forth of regular conversation is not only better and more easily remembered, it's learned with context and intention that makes its quick and pliant utilization possible." Pimsleur courses are based on listening only. Rosetta Stone is slightly different - it uses interactive elements and pictures. Amazon.com WidgetsA Store For Languages Lovers Christmas is coming! See our personalized Cds for children More About: Tone
How Can I increase my vocabulary?
2007-11-08 19:08:00 The most effective way to increase your vocabulary is to read. Well ... I know, some people don't like to read. Some people read a page of the dictionary in their target language every day and are very successful at that. Well, if you are not a reader, I may have some alternatives for you, some FREE vocabulary trainers ... keep reading.I give you a quick tip: it will be easier for you to study the terminology of the environment where you are. For example, if you work in the school system with preschoolers or if you are parent of a preschooler ... read some magazines (go to the library) about parenting, day care system etc. in your target language instead of your native language. When, I was pregnant and was looking for information, instead of reading French books, or going to French forums and articles to get the information concerning pregnancy and parenting ... I read the information in others languages and I participated to forums (allowing me to exercise my writing skills) ... ... More About: Vocabulary , Bula
How to learn a new language with your Ipod
2007-11-06 19:18:00 Don't limit yourself to one kind of learning. With the new technology, you can accelerate your learning process. Learn ing a new language don't have to be boring and frustrating. Use your iPod or mp3 player for more than just listening to music. There are a lot of sites where you can download educational material like language courses, self help audiobooks and business newspapers and courses available in audio format. For example, you can download podcasts and transferring Spanish or French songs on your Ipod and listen them in your way to work, in your car, the bus etc. More than just a music player, the iPod's (3rd generation and newer) note reader feature and it's high fidelity audio makes it a great learning platform.Learning podcast online:See the Word2word 's directory.Foreign Language Lesson Podcast Collection.A Store For Languages Lovers Christmas is coming! See our personalized Cds for children More About: With You
Apply some principles and find a strategy!
2007-11-05 20:25:00 If you want to be successful in something you need to apply the correct principles. Be persistent, believe in yourself, be willing to start small, to take some little steps ... and find a strategy to implement this principles.The secret is not in the methods but in your wiliness to apply some principles. I speak 7 different languages and for any of them, I didn't wake up a Monday morning discovering that I was able to speak a new language.Learning a language requires self-discipline, patience, perseverance, a "I-can-do-it" attitude and a strategy. We all are different and a particular method may work for Suzie and not for John ... but Suzie and John have an human brain ... it's why applying the correct principles is most important than the method itself.I know several people who spend a lot of money buying expensive methods to learn a language and they don't know how to apply principles related to self-improvement ... then, they give up because they get discouraged and frustrat... More About: Strategy , Find , Principles , Some
Animated activities for language learners
2007-11-04 11:27:00 A very interested site I discovered. This site contains interactive activities for learning languages and links to resources for study. Activities are being created and updated constantly.All activities require the use of Macromedia Flash Player. Have fun!Digital Dialects.A Store For Language s Lovers More About: Animated
The baby's brain is disposed to learn language
2007-11-04 09:31:00 On of the reasons why babies learn language so much easier than adults is because the differences in the brain. The baby's brain is like a sponge, and is disposed to learn languages. Babies are born with billions of brain cells, and among this brain cells, there are millions that control language. There are a lot of interesting cells connexion that make thing easier for the learning process. Most of the brain's language connections are well established by about 10. After 10, learning a language will be more difficult.When a baby hears people talk a language, his brain makes a bond with that language, the brain strengthens connections with that language.An adult who wants to learn a new language but has never been exposed to his target language when he was a child, will try to learn new sounds, but his language connection has been already and specifically wired to understand his native language ... so it will be more difficult for him. Most adults have trouble distinguishing sounds... More About: Language , Brain , Learn
Second Language ... all in the head?
2007-11-01 21:10:00 A Store For Language s Lovers More About: Head
Acquire and Develop Self Confidence
2007-11-01 18:21:00 So many languages learners ask me how to acquire self-confidence and develop self-confidence when talking a new language. My answer is that a language learner has to have faith in in ability to speak any language.Faith brings actions. A language learner must know that making mistakes it's a part of a learning process. Fear, doubts and timidity have to be replaced by faith. A language learner MUST learn to interact and talk with natives of his target language. He has to go through the process. Unfortunately, there are a lot of languages learners who are afraid to talk. It's normal to be a little afraid to talk in another language because you think that people may not understand you but don't let that stop you.It's like driving a car ... at the beginning you made a lot of mistakes ... you wasn't spontaneous, did that stop you to learn how to drive a car? ... I learned to drive a stick shift car because generally in France, we drive stick shift cars ... oh my God! I told my instr... More About: Confidence , Acquire , Develop
Children learn language skills earlier than thouht.
2007-10-30 21:52:00 A Store For Language s Lovers More About: Children , Learn , Skills , Earl
Are you more right brained or left brained?
2007-10-27 18:28:00 If you want to know your learning style, you need to know your hemispheric dominance. What this?Your brain is divided in two parts called: left hemisphere and right hemisphere.In general the left and right hemispheres of your brain process information in different ways.Look at the following illustration: Look at the chart and say the color not the wordYELLOW BLUE ORANGEBLACK RED GREENPURPLE YELLOW REDORANGE GREEN BLACKBLUE RED PURPLEGREEN BLUE ORANGE Hard isn't it? Your right brain tries to say the color but your left brain insists on reading the words. So there is a conflict between both and them, this conflict slows you down.This color chart above was just an example among a lot to show you how difficult it is for the brain to process an information when the 2 hemispheres are in conflict.We have two categories of people: the right brained and the left brained. The right brained process information using mostly the right brain of his ... More About: Left
Learning a language with subliminal technology
2007-10-27 07:11:00 Some people think that subliminal technology is useless, some think that this technology is very useful in the self-growth and self-improvement area.Subliminal means "below the threshold of consciousness" - The purpose of the subliminal technology is to send messages to the subconscious mind in a way that cannot be perceived consciously, to make positive change in someone's mind, then in his life.I have never used subliminal technology to learn a language. But I believe in the power of this technology. Actually, I am using a subliminal software while I am on my computer ... I do notice that my mind becomes healthier.I don't have enough knowledge and any experience to say with conviction if subliminal technology works in the process of learning a foreign language.If you have some experiences, and success stories with the subliminal technolgy, I will appreciate if you leave a comment ... I really want to know.A Store For Language s Lovers More About: Technology , Learning , Mina , Earning
Learn a language without spending a penny
2007-10-26 20:26:00 - You can find a lot of websites that give you free materials to learn a foreign language online. For example, you can go to Transparent , they offer free downloads for a large variety of languages. Free Before You Know It? Software DownloadYou can also sign up for their word a day e-mail in Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese complete with a link to audio.- If you have a good Internet connection, Windows Media Player, DSL, a cable modem, or a LAN connection to a T1 line or greater, and have Javascript enabled ... you can view Annenberg Media programs of your choice online.Visit this websites, you will find FREE tools to learn Spanish online:www.123teachme.com http://www.spanish2go.com/http://www.stud yspanish.com/http://www.vocabulix.com/Gre at number of languages- Links to FREE resources for a great number of languages.Do you know Mango?Mango beta is an online enterprise-level language learning system freely available ... More About: Language , Spending , Learn , Penny
Polyglots and hyperpolyglots
2007-10-25 22:46:00 A polyglot is a person having a speaking, reading, or writing knowledge of several languages.A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, a trilingual three, above that the term multilingual may be used. The word hyperpolyglot for a person who can speak six or more languages fluently is rarely used.A hyperpolyglot is one who can speak six or more languages fluently. The term was coined by the linguist Richard Hudson in 2003 and derives from the word "polyglot", meaning one who can speak multiple languages.There are several theories as to why some people can easily learn many different languages, while others only ever learn one. German neuroscientists studied the brain of hyperpolyglot Emil Krebs (he understood 100 languages and learned Armenian in 9 weeks) and determined that the area of Krebs' brain ?Broca's area (govern speech) ?was organized differently than in monolingual men (The broca's area didn't have the same asymetry as most as monolingual people).On the other... More About: Poly , Hyper
Stuart Jay Raj - Polyglot Speaks over 15 Languages
2007-10-23 03:07:00 Multilingual InterpretingDreaming DictionariesThinking in MeaningsHearing in ColoursA Store For Languages Lovers More About: Stuart , Poly , Ages
The Quicktionary II - Great Time saver!
2007-10-19 21:09:00 When I was reading magazines and books in English, I used to use the Quicktionary I, the English to French version. This little devise that I carried in my purse, helped me a lot make reading more enjoyable. I didn't have to bring a dictionary in my purse and to look up words. This cute devise scans the words and give you the translation. I had so much fun using it and it helps me tremendously with my reading ... It eliminates the frustration that we all have when we read and we don't understand the words: Stop our reading and look up the word in the dictionary. And if you like new technology, you would like it!Now, with the Quicktionary II you can not only get the translation but also you can hear it.This pen saves a lot of time. It's one of my favorite recommendation for languages lovers.Description of Quicktionary II.The QuicktionaryII enables users to scan a single word or full line of printed text and translate or define single words, see and hear the scanned word(s) read al... More About: Time , Great
Make Learning Enjoyable
2007-10-16 04:53:00 Yesterday, I was doing some printing while my 3 years old son was counting the sheets that I had already printed. Suddenly, he came to me to get my attention: "Look mommy, look at me!" and he started jumping and counting very fast ... he found this game that he just created so funny! ... then he counted in French. At this time, he wasn't able to count above 10. "Mommy look ... un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix" and laughed loudly and added: "Your turn now!" ... well, I accepted to play this game with him planning to take advantage of this moment to teach him to count above ten. So, I jumped and counted until 11 and I said "your turn" ... then until 12 ... etc increasing the numbers. My son was so excited with this new game. You know how children are ... they don't need a lot of things to have some fun!Thanks to this little game, my son is able to count to 20 in French. I made the learning process enjoyable. Do you think that he was aware that I was teaching... More About: Learning , Make , Earning
Memory Techniques: How to learn faster
2007-10-13 05:28:00 Mnemonics is the art to memorize. Mnemonics are methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. In order to learn a foreign language, you need to have some memory techniques. Like I said in another post, you need to know your learning style. The best method for you to learn a foreign language is the method that matches with your learning style. You need to figure out, then use all the potential of your brain to reach your goal.Flash cards, colorful and pleasant pictures, videos etc. are good for visual learners .... Try to associate an image when you are learning, it will be easier for you to memorize.Auditory learners are good with their ears ... tapes, spoken words, class etc. are great for them.Are you a musical learner? ... I have a friend who learned English by listening and memorizing songs in English, after then he went to a family in England for an immersion to perfect his English. But he was verbally fluent before his immersion ... I was so ... More About: Memory , Learn , Aster
How long will I need to learn a new foreign language?
2007-10-11 18:19:00 A lot of people ask me that question and my answer is it's depend on several factors: Your abilities to memorize, your learning abilities, your ears training, the quality of your knowledge of the grammar in your own language ... and above all your motivation.If you put your mind on what you try to achieve, invest a fair amount of time and a little money to reach your goals ... you will see the results, I guarantee you.I remember, one of my friend told me a day that her new objective was to be fluent in English. I was so excited for her, so I asked her which steps she took so far to get to her goal? ... she looked at me like if I was some kind of intergalactic creature and said: Nothing! Why?Well ... wishing don't take you anywhere. I meet a lot of people who wish to be a millionaire ... they don't even try to change their mindset for that!You need to go beyond the "wishing" state and take action. Everything can be done with a great amount of motivation. With motivation, it will b... More About: Language , Foreign , Long , Learn , Reign
How To Learn Any Language...
2007-10-09 04:48:00 How YOU could speak any foreign language fluently in-less than six months-even if you have failed before or don't believe you can!If you want more info, click here.A Store For Language s Lovers More About: Learn
You can do it!
2007-10-09 00:35:00 You are not too old ... It doesn't matter if you wasn't good at school ... if you wasn't able to memorize ... Yes, you can do it without a teacher ...You can start to learn a foreign language at any age NOW. What you need is motivation, persistence, perseverance, patience, determination ...Choose a method and see if you can manage to follow it, from beginning to end. Choose the method that you think will work the best for you: There are different kind of methods (textbooks, Cds, tapes, online courses ... if you are not self-motivated enough, you can hire a teacher/tutor).No, you are not going to learn a foreign language by sleeping. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.Test different methods to see which one is the best for you.You need to figure out what kind of learner you are to make the learning process easier for you:Are you a verbal learner? a logical learner? a visual learner? an extrovert Learner? an introvert learners? a musical Learner? a physic...
Force yourself to practice with a native speaker!
2007-10-07 07:06:00 I used to live a few months in some Caribbean islands. At this time, I didn't speak English fluently. When I was in Saint-Lucia and Dominica, I had the option to communicate in Creole with the natives since I am fluent in Creole because in Saint-Lucia and Dominica they speak English and Creole. When I was in St- Marteen, I was in the French territory so I spoke French. But when I was in Barbados ... well, I didn't have any other options. In Barbados, they don't speak French and Creole but only English.There is an expression in Italian: Quando l'acqua tocca il culo, tutti imparano a nuotare. The translation is: When water hits your behind, you learn to swim.My only alternative in Barbados was to force myself to speak English. By interacting with the people, I started to improve very fast. It was so amazing. I was scared at the beginning ... but I became more comfortable because my self-confidence increased by practising. Don't let's fear holds you back!My advice is you should f... More About: Speaker , Force , Practice , Native
Be fluent in a language FAST: Be able to speak, write, and read it !
2007-10-07 06:35:00 I speak 7 different languages. Actually I am fully fluent in 4 ... I say fully fluent I mean that I can speak, write and read these languages: including my two native languages plus English and Spanish.You are fluent in a language when you can write it, speak it, understand it, read it at almost the same degree than your native language.The best way to arrive to this point is to learn how to listen to someone. When I first came in America, I could read, write, speak a little English but I couldn't understand the English spoken by some Americans people.I have been taught the British English, even it was the same language, I couldn't understand because the accent was different.So, I had to learn first, to be familiar with the different types of accents and the TV helped me a lot. Beside the language itself, the accent may be an obstacle that you can overcome by training your ears.It was the same for Spanish. I have been taught the Spanish from Spain. So I did some adjustments with m... More About: Write , Read , Language , Speak , Fast
If You are watching TV in a foreign language but you don't understand ...
2007-10-07 06:23:00 Keep watching ... don't stop watching TV even if you don't understand ... Even if you know the vocabulary, your ears need to be used with the accent too ... When I first came in America, I knew the British English but I didn't understand anything on the phone or on TV because American people are less articulate than the British, they don't take the time to talk properly. But I keep trying to understand ... I watched different TV shows with different people accents (The accent from New York is different from the accent from people from the South for example) ... I did the same with my Spanish ... I have been taught the Spanish from Spain so it took me a little while to be be familiar with accent from people from Mexico. You are not going to understand the first time but don't be discouraged you have to keep watching. Your brain need time to process ... When you watch a DVD, watch it in the language you wish to learn and put the subtitle in your native language. You can do that a... More About: Language , Foreign , Watching , Understand , Reign
Tools for French and foreign languages learners
2007-10-07 06:05:00 Useful Websites:http://www.jump-gate.com/languag es/french/french1.htmlhttp://french.about .com/library/begin/bl_alphabet.htmhttp:// www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/lj/http:// french.speak7.com/- Learn French pronunciationhttp://phonetique.free.fr/in dexgb.htm- Online French dictionarieshttp://www.wordreference.com/ fr/index.htmhttp://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e fts/ARTFL/projects/dicos/ACADEMIE/http:// atilf.atilf.fr/- Online French verb conjugatorhttp://www.tatsuto.com/conjuin/ http://www.la-conjugaison.fr/http://www.l econjugueur.com/Watch this youtube video :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYO5aw4wP HEhttp://livemocha.com/http://podcasts.ya hoo.com/http://www.podcastalley.com/ (search 'Learn french' podcasts for your mp3 device)http://librivox.org/ (free audiobooks)http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/ Gutenberg:The_Audio_Books_Project (Gutenburg Audio books to listen in on)http://www.loecsen.com/travel/index.ph p?lang=en (A handy little flash device, a native speaker pronounce for you)http://www.byki.co... More About: Tools , Languages , Foreign , Reign
And what about the multi-lingual children?
More articles from this author:2007-10-06 01:29:00 My 3 years old son is mostly fluent in french and in English (the two languages we speak at home) ... I have plenty of time to teach him the colors, shapes, ABC, numbers, songs etc. He masters all that already so now I am teaching him Spanish. He is such a fast learner! and I love to teach.At his age, his brain is like a sponge, he can absorb everything. I try different methods to see his learning style. He's a visual learner, so I read a lot of books with plenty of images. His ears need to be trained so I use a lot of audios. I have plenty of songs and stories in an audio format. I speak French to him. You need to awake, stimulate all his senses. Children learn through songs. I have a lot of personalized music at home. Children like to hear their names in the music, they become more attentive to the words of the songs expecting to hear their name.Since, I teach him Spanish, I bought personalized CDs for him in both version (English and Spanish) so it will be easier for him to know... More About: Multi 1, 2, 3 |
 |
|
 |
