How to Learn a Language Part 2 Photo (C) 2012 Carl Beuke. Part 1 of this article explains how the language learning secrets of the man who invented one of the world’s best-selling language series have been hidden for years. Unveiled in this article is the second installment of the forgotten wisdom of the man who studied Russian with a martini in his hand. Where to start Dr Pimsleur suggests starting by learning a few things that will be immediately useful, rather than with lengthy and complex grammatical theory. Underlying Dr Pimsleur’s suggested approach are some of the same key principles that are explained in more recent books on how to learn effectively (e.g. Practice recalling the information Challenge yourself to answer questions. Get immediate feedback When you self-test your recall of information, check whether you have recalled it correctly. Practice recall in many contexts Use graduated interval recall If you want to learn information for the long term, space your recall practice over time. How to learn grammar
Choosing your Vocabulary in a Foreign Language Vocabulary Size Now you have an incredibly efficient way to memorize words, you know how to teach yourself each word, and you know what each word sounds like. How do you choose which words to learn, and how many words do you need to learn? You could memorize a dictionary, but it will take you years. “The maddening thing about these numbers and statistics is that they are impossible to pin down precisely and thus they vary from source to source. Let’s set aside the 20,000 word possibility for a bit and talk about your goals. Fluency and Goal Setting The goal I like to suggest to students is C1 fluency according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Word Coverage and Frequency Lists Going back to Dr. If current planting rates are _____ with planting _____ satisfied in each _____ and the forests milled at the earliest opportunity, the _____ wood supplies could further increase to about 36 million _____ meters _____ in the _____ 2001-2015. Vocabulary Strategy
How to Learn a Language Trujillo, Peru. Photo (C) Carl Beuke 2012. Dr Paul Pimsleur was a psychologist who devised the Pimsleur ‘speak and read’ series of language lessons. He died in 1976, but lessons using his system (including some of the original recordings) remain among the best-selling language series in the world. Many people have remarked that they learnt to speak another language using the Pimsleur system, when all their previous efforts failed. In 1980, Dr Pimsleur’s book, How to Learn a Foreign Language , was published posthumously. Here are a few of the key lessons from Dr Pimsleur’s book. Why learn another language? Dr Pimsleur argues that anyone can learn a foreign language, but that for most of us it takes considerable effort and the right circumstances and support. “I think the best answer to ‘Why learn a foreign language’ is that it may make one’s life richer. How long does it take to learn another language? Which language should you learn? Huanchaco, Peru.
Menéame How to learn a language to fluency quickly and effectively If this is your first time here, start with the Lifehacker article, I Learned to Speak Four Languages in a Few Years: Here’s How. Then come back here and browse through this Methods section, grab a copy of the book and subscribe to the blog! Language learning is complex; it’s one of the reasons I love it so much. You’re dealing with four separate, yet linked skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking – which are in turn linked to thousands of separate, yet linked facts – grammar rules, vocabulary words, pronunciation rules, etc. Figuring out how to work on each of these aspects individually and as a whole has been a hobby and passion of mine for the last nine years. While a detailed discussion of each aspect of this method is quite a bit of material (hence the forthcoming book!) Start with Pronunciation The greatest challenge in learning a foreign language is the challenge of memory. So how do you do this? No Translations Use Anki for Vocabulary and Grammar Stage 4: Speech
How to Learn Spanish (using free online resources!)Learn Spanish from Music Videos: Shakira’s ‘Lo Hecho Está Hecho’ aka ‘Objection (Tango)’ This is the 6th in a series of posts I’m doing where I help you learn Spanish from music videos and show you how I do it myself (that way you don’t have to wait for me to dissect a Spanish music video, you can go out and start doing it yourself with whatever songs you want and using it to teach yourself Spanish). I’ve done five other similar posts prior to this: the last one on Juanes’ ‘Yerbatero’, the fourth one on Shakira’s ‘Te Aviso, Te Anuncio’, the third one on Shakira’s “Ojos Así”, the second one on Shakira’s “Suerte” and the first one on Shakira’s “La Tortura”. If you’ve got any suggestions as far as artists or songs go please put them in the comments, I’d love to hear them. About This Song This song was originally released in English as part of Shakira’s She Wolf album (the Spanish version of which was called Loba) and was called Did It Again. lila – A night ritual of Gnawa people of Morocco. Source: Hamsa Lila Ground Rules 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The Video The Lyrics Translation and Analysis
User:Liface/Language Learning Resources General[edit] SharedTalk - the only good thing Rosetta Stone has ever done. A surprisingly slick, free flash app that allows you to connect with native speakers in various text chats, audio chats, and private messages.Unilang - like SharedTalk, but uses IRC and has a bunch of other goodies as well, like a Wiki.LiveMocha - a RosettaStone-like online language learning platform. Offers free introductory courses in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, although access to advanced content is behind a paywall.Busuu - almost the same as LiveMocha. Some people prefer one over the other. Probably a good idea to try both and see which one you prefer.Lang-8 - a tool that allows users to submit blog posts or texts written in their target languages for correction by native speakers.OpenSubtitles - the largest connection of subtitle files on the Internet. Dutch [edit] Audio and Video[edit] Courses[edit] Dictionaries[edit] Forums and Chat[edit] Grammar[edit]
Dropping Barriers: What opera singers study, and how it can help you learn languages easier Recently there was an interesting article on Lifehacker called I learned to speak four languages in a few years. Here’s how by Gabriel Wyner. He got in touch with me and asked to guest post about his relevant experience as an Opera Singer (as you can see in the photo!) to help him learn several languages really well, and I was glad to share his thoughts here! Over to you Gabriel! If you have the chance to see a vocal studio recital at a music conservatory, you’ll often see something remarkable. In general, the students will sing pieces in various languages with varying degrees of success, and the audience will clap, and the singers will bow and this will go on for 40-60 minutes until the end, when the students usually sing pieces in their native languages. Dropping this barrier in a foreign language is a serious challenge and it comes with a serious reward – my first moment without that barrier in German was what got me addicted to both singing and language study from that point forward.
RhinoSpike : Foreign Language Audio on Demand!