Learning a language – our top 10 tips
We all know learning a language is a great idea, but sometimes it can be hard to get motivated or to find the right way to learn. Here are our top 10 tips to help you get started.
1. Tell everyone you know that you’re learning a language.
This way, when you’re tempted to give up or chicken out, you might think twice knowing they’re all expecting great things from you. I call this ‘the biscuit tin method’; if you tell everyone you’re giving up biscuits, you’re a lot less likely to cave, just in case you get caught with your hand in the tin. It worked for me – I haven’t had a biscuit in years. Well, not out of the tin, anyway.
2. Start with the basics.
We know you might be learning French for an important business meeting, but you may not get a chance to show off the fact that you know how to say ‘Sales in the retail sector are growing steadily’, if you’ve not yet learnt how to say ‘hello’.
3. Don’t be scared to talk to people.
You might get it wrong sometimes, but if you don’t try, you’ll never get it right, either. In the immortal words of Richard Branson, ‘You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and falling over.’ Learning on paper is all well and good, but talking to people and making mistakes is the best way to pick new things up. And you’re more likely to get it right next time, because you’ll remember the situation you were in as well as just the word or phrase.
(This works both ways, actually – if you know someone who’s learning your language and they say something incorrectly, let them know about it. Not in a mean way, but in a helpful, constructive way so they understand where they went wrong and can get it right next time. And you’ll probably find it helps you understand your own language better, too.)
4. Don’t worry too much about grammar to begin with.
Yes, it’s important, but if you’re making the effort to talk to someone in their own language, as long as you can make yourself understood, they probably won’t mind if you get your verb ending wrong. So get your basic vocab and some stock phrases down first, then you can start learning some basic grammar to help you create your own sentences and take your study of the language further.
5. Make yourself some flashcards.
Or use a computer program or mobile app. (We hear uTalk‘s quite good…) Introducing an element of competition can be a good motivator, so see if you can team up with someone else who’s learning the same language and test each other, or compare your online scores. If you don’t have time to sit down and make flashcards, you could try labelling things around your house or workspace, so you see them all the time and the vocabulary will start to sink in without you even realising.
6. Find someone to talk to.
If you’re learning for a trip, then this is easy; there’ll be loads of people to chat to when you get there. But if you’re just learning for fun, try and find someone to practise with. A lot of the world is so multicultural now that it’s possible to find a native speaker of just about any language living just down the road. But even if you can’t, there are loads of websites where you can find someone to Skype with, even if they live on the other side of the world. For instance, italki is free and lets you connect with language teachers and native speakers around the world. The best part is, you might make a new friend, which can only mean one thing – cheap holidays…
7. Read, watch and listen to anything you can find.
If you’re at home, this could be newspapers, books, movies, music or websites. Or if you’re travelling, look at signs, menus or product packaging. If there are words you don’t understand, make a note of them and look them up later, or ask someone. You’ll probably be surprised how much you can piece together on your own, and that’s a great confidence boost.
8. Go to the country.
Even if you’re just learning for fun, there’s no better way to learn a language than to immerse yourself in it. Plan a holiday – if nothing else it’ll give you something to look forward to and will motivate you to keep learning. Visiting a country also means that you’ll learn the ‘real’ way of saying things – you might have learnt the correct way but when you arrive, you’ll find nobody actually talks that way.
9. Don’t give up.
It’s not easy to learn a language, but we all have the ability. There really is no such thing as someone who’s bad at languages. So if you’re finding it difficult, hang in there; it’ll be worth it in the end. And keep practising, because you may find all that vocab you spent ages learning will drift away if you don’t. Which seems like a shame.
10. Enjoy it.
We all remember our school days, studying French verbs and monotonously repeating meaningless sentences about your cats on tables. But learning a language can open up a world full of opportunities, new friends and different ways of seeing the world around us. So why make it a chore? Be creative – everyone’s different so do whatever works for you. You could try singing, for example. Or blogging about your learning journey. Try different things and see what works. And then tell us about it – we’d love to hear from you 🙂
Good luck!
Liz (with contributions from Alex and Nat)
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8 bizarre superstitions from around the world
This month, we’ve been having a look at interesting superstitions from different countries. There are literally thousands of examples – here are just a few. We suggest they should be taken with a pinch of salt…
If you’re in Malta, don’t rely on the church clock to tell you the right time. Churches are sometimes fitted with two clocks that tell different times to confuse the Devil about the time of the service.
Approach toilets with caution in Morocco – there might be a genie living in the u-bend… They don’t give wishes and they certainly don’t like to be disturbed. If you need to go, just say the words ‘Rukhsa, ya Mubariqin’ (With your permission, O Blessed Ones). Also beware of going to the toilet at night, where you might run into a beast called ‘Maezt Dar L’Oudou’, the ‘Goat of the Lavatories’.
If you’re visiting Britain, you’ll probably find you need an umbrella with depressing regularity. But whatever you do, don’t open it till you get outdoors; it’s very bad luck to open your umbrella inside.
Elves are alive and well in Iceland. In a 2006 survey only 35% of Icelanders said that they thought the existence of elves was either impossible or very unlikely and local elves still take an active role in shaping modern Iceland: roads and building projects sometimes have to be changed to avoid destroying known elf homes.
In Japan, if you walk by a graveyard or a hearse passes you, you must tuck your thumbs inside your fists. This is because the Japanese word for thumb (‘oya yubi’) literally translates as ‘parent-finger’ and so by hiding them you protect your parents from death.
Ready to go? Have a seat. In Russia, if you’re going on a journey you have to sit down for a minute just before leaving the house, to reflect on the coming trip and make sure you’ve got everything you need. It’s also bad luck to say goodbyes over the threshold, so you should always say your farewells before you leave.
If you find yourself in Spain on New Year’s Eve, don’t be surprised if, when the clock strikes midnight, you notice everyone around you eating grapes. This has been a tradition since the early 20th century; eating one grape for each bell strike is believed to bring twelve months of good luck.
And finally, when in China, never leave rice on your plate at the end of a meal – for each grain left at the end of a meal, your future husband or wife will have that many pockmarks on their face.
We’d love to hear any more examples, so please do share them in the comments below. And good luck out there…
London – a magic city
Now I have lived for more than two months in London. And one thing that struck me, is that I see little objects from the Harry Potter movies. I think it makes a difference if you live in England and see the movie, or you live in Germany, like me.
In Germany we don’t have double-decker buses and in one scene, there is a double-decker bus that changes its width. The first time I saw a double-decker bus driving in the city, I remembered this scene. The bus driver in Harry Potter was crazy (drove against the traffic!) and drove very fast through the streets. I know it’s only a movie, but… So I was thinking: “Should I get in? I need this bus, because it will take me to my language school. It is only a bus!” I had no choice but to take a deep breath and get on with it. The bus drove off and thank god, nothing special happened.
I see the architecture in London too. Some areas are similar to the area where Harry Potter lived with his adoptive parents, the Dursleys. I sometimes have the feeling that I have dipped into a different world when I walk around.
Also a typical accessory is the umbrella! As an Englander you need it, because you don’t know when it will start to rain. It is every day a new surprise. And Hagrid, one of the characters, uses it to get in the magic world where the magicians live. He taps the bricks and suddenly the wall opens like a door. Most people always have a umbrella here. Then there is the questions from the perspective of a German, are the people with an umbrella maybe magician? Is the story of Harry Potter true?
An undercover magician with a stylish look. Don’t be deceived! They’re everywhere…
Sometimes when I go home, I see lots of people running, running, running! I think, why they always so hectic? They can take the next train. Or? But now I have the answer why! Because they don’t take the train. That is too boring for people here and that do only ‘normal’ people. Here in London you are running, because they do it like Harry Potter and all the other magicians! I think in London everywhere are distributed lots of similar platforms like the platform 9 ¾ at the Kings Cross Station. And instead of catching the Hogwarts Express, they catch the Home Express! Yes, I am sure that is the answer!
Also, when I saw the first time all the children with the beautiful school uniform (in Germany we don’t have uniform) that reminds me of the movie. Everyone here has a different logo from the school they go to. It is like the four houses in Harry Potter: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. And after the school they get out their Nimbus 2000 and start searching for the Golden Snitch? Yes, here in London nothing can surprise me any more! They all look like little magicians! I thought, Lorena, you are in a magic city.
Lorena
Toddler Talk: How to Encourage Your Little One to Learn Language
Today’s post was written by guest blogger, Eve Pearce.
For most parents, a child’s first word is a huge milestone – the first step in learning communication, language and the beginning of a whole lot of chattering. After the initial ‘mamas’ and ‘dadas,’ a string of other words usually start to flow but this isn’t always the case. Up to 6 million children in the United States suffer from some sort of speech or language disorder which can affect their ability to talk. Others may not have a disorder but simply take longer to develop their speech and language skills. Despite experts suggesting that toddlers will be at least three years old before being able to form short sentences, there are things that you can start doing much earlier on to encourage your child to talk. Here are some tips to help encourage your little one to learn language and what to do if your child won’t talk.
What if my child won’t talk?
It’s important to remember that children develop at different rates so comparing them to their peers isn’t always helpful. Sometimes there are simple reasons why a child doesn’t speak much. For example younger siblings can sometimes be quieter because they allow their older siblings to talk for them. Other times children may develop in physical areas such as crawling, walking and climbing more quickly and this detracts attention away from their interest in talking. But if you feel that your child has reached an age where they should be speaking more than they are of if you are generally concerned about a lack of response to your attempts to interact with them it could be worth seeking advice from a paediatrician or speech therapist. Unfortunately developmental delays in children do exist and conditions such as Apraxia, Dysfluency and ADHD are relatively common and all affect speech and language skills. Getting these diagnosed will help you get the professional advice you need in order to help your child move forward with their language.
Verbalize their feelings
Children communicate with their parents from day one through crying. Over time parents come to recognize the different types of cries and what they mean. As your child develops they will begin communicating in other ways – smiling, gurgling, throwing tantrums and whining. These are some of the more obvious signs but even facial expressions can give away what they are thinking or feeling. If you can verbalize their expressions then they will begin to associate these words with how they are feeling and know what they mean even before they are able to say them out loud. For example if she is smiling at her dolly you say ‘you look very happy today’ or if he is becoming frustrated with something ask him ‘why are you cross?’
It sounds silly but sometimes parents simply forget to talk to their babies. Many wrongly assume that a small baby is incapable of communication and talking is therefore pointless; but actually a baby becomes attuned to their mother’s voice while they are in the womb and talking to them will reassure them, comfort them and interest them even if they can’t understand what you are saying. Alter the pitch of your voice and sing songs. This will grasp their attention. They cannot respond in words yet but you will see from their smiles, gurgles and squirming that they are enjoying the interaction.
Read, read, read
Introduce books as early as possible. Your baby will probably not start to engage with them fully until six months onwards but reading helps them to associate pictures with words, follow stories and pick up on your expression and emotion as you read. It will help them to not only learn the words but recognize the things in the world around them and develop their listening skills too. Introducing sensory books with fabrics, noises and shapes is also a great way to grasp their attention and increase their interest in books. Similarly, do not feel you have to be totally led by the book at all times. Let the child explore the book at their own pace rather than forcing them to sit still and listen while you finish it conventionally. Developing an interest and love for books means developing an interest and love for language so you need to make it fun to hold their enthusiasm.
Talk properly
The reason many people talk to their children in ‘baby speak’ is simple – words such as ‘choo choo’ and ‘woof woof’ are more pleasing for a child’s ears and easier for them to say. As young babies it is ok to use this sort of language but as they grow up it means teaching them that actually a ‘choo choo’ is a train and a ‘woof woof’ is a dog, which is double the amount of learning for them. Some child experts believe that talking authentically from the beginning is the best way to help a child develop language skills. They will notice the difference in your tone and language when you speak to other people and wonder why they are being spoken to differently. There is no need to speak to your toddler in a pitch that ten decibels higher than your normal voice just in everyday conversation – this is not natural and yet you want them to learn and mimic natural behaviour and speaking. This doesn’t mean speaking to them in the same way you would speak to an adult; obviously you need to use simpler words and talk a little slower so that they can pick up on everything you say, but do not patronize them.
If anyone has any other helpful tips, please feel free to share them in the comments below.
We’ve heard from parents that our Vocabulary Builder program for 4-12 year olds has been helpful to them in encouraging their children to talk. Even if it’s their own native language, the colourful characters and games are a fun way to build up their confidence. Vocabulary Builder is available in over 100 languages.
What language is spoken in France?
A quick quiz question for you: what language is spoken in France?
Answer: well, French of course! But did you know France is also home to several small regional languages, including Alsatian, Catalan, Breton and Occitan?
Like many other European countries, the French once spoke a wide range of regional languages and dialects. However, during the Third Republic, the French government made French the only official language, and outlawed use of regional languages such as Breton and Occitan in schools and institutions. The underlying idea of creating national and linguistic unity may have been well-intentioned, but as a result, most of these regional languages are now endangered.
Nowadays, Occitan is spoken by around 1.33% of the population (in the Occitania region in Southern France), whilst Breton is spoken in Brittany by around 0.61% of the population. These languages are recognised by the government, but not considered official languages, and therefore given minimal support and opportunity for use.
The situation is a little more encouraging in Spain, where Basque, Catalan, Valencian and Galician are recognised as co-official regional languages, and a thriving community of native speakers exists in each of these regions.
This rather cool map shows how the areas over which each of these languages is/was spoken has changed over the last 1,000 years.
Over time, due to globalisation, mass media and government drives for national unity, the national languages in Spain, France and many other countries have established dominance and pushed smaller regional languages onto the sidelines. However, there are still communities of native speakers of each of these languages, and many people are passionate about passing on the language and culture of their region to the next generation.
Regional languages are often closely tied to the culture and identity of a region: the Catalonians I know are proud Catalan speakers, and often much of an area’s history, literature, music and so on is written in the regional language. These languages may be small, but they are certainly worth learning and preserving!
In fact, we have produced our Maths, age 3-5 and 4-6 apps in both Basque and Catalan, and uTalk is currently available in Galician, Basque and Catalan. And for anyone interested in regional French languages, why not learn a few phrases for free in Occitan, Breton, Alsatian or Provencal?
Alex
