Share the Joy Of Language Learning
November 27th, 2009 | by admin |
It has been said that in studying others, we learn more about ourselves. The same holds true when learning new languages. Taking up the study of a new language is one of the greatest gifts you can offer yourself. Learning in any form is wonderful and if you can do so for free, even better. Check out the many online language learning courses that teach you to speak Russian, Spanish, English, French, Japanese, or any other of many languages to choose from for no cost at all, through the use of free online language courses and books.
Through many online sources you can learn a new language for absolutely no cost at all. Through these programs you will be able to play educational games in order to improve vocabulary and memorize words and phrases in your chosen language as well as set up a foundation for the language’s grammar and spelling rules. Learning a new language and building up your vocabulary in that particular language actually helps you learn more about your own language in the process, so you could say that this is a 2-in-1 treat.
There are so many reasons for a person to expand their horizons and learn a new language, but perhaps the most rewarding reason is for self-fulfillment. Whether or not you ever get to visit the lands of the languages you learn, there is some inherent wonder at the language learning process. When you can enjoy this contentment with free online language learning courses, there really is nothing to stop you from achieving your language learning goals.
If you have friends or family that might also be interested in learning another language or about another culture, you can undergo the learning process together. Plan an evening or event where you enjoy the foods of the land (whether you cook your own or go to a restaurant) converse in the language and watch a film in the language you have studied. It’s a great way to see how much you have learned while having a great evening you would have probably never thought to experience otherwise. Learning a new language with a friend or family member has a huge advantage over learning it solo, namely the fact that it offers you the possibility to converse freely. Most people that learn a language on their own find themselves in a situation where they either have no one to practice their freshly gained skills with, or they are simply to shy to practice them to someone they don’t know because of the fear that they will make mistakes and get laughed at.
Be creative and have fun with all of your learning pursuits. You don’t have to have flashcards and play educational games in order to learn something new, but sometimes the very simple fun steps are the ones from which we gain the most knowledge and understanding. By inviting a friend to share the experience with you, you are opening doors to expand horizons even more while sharing the joy with others.
Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/share-the-joy-of-language-learning-72506.html
4 Responses to “Share the Joy Of Language Learning”
By burjubr on Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
Can anyone share good techniques they used on learning a new language?
By Diet Pepsi Max Fan on Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
Your biggest obstacle will be to distance yourself from your own language. Because a certain word, structure, preposition, etc. is used in your language does not mean the other language will be the same.
I would also suggest you take the time to learn proper pronunciation right from the start. Not for the sake of being understood, but because if you know exactly (or have a clear mental image of) how a word is pronounced, you will be a lot better at remember it.
Most people dislike grammar and avoid it. But grammar is your friend; without it, you can’t even form sentences. Attack it right from the start and learn how to structure complete sentences using all available tenses. Get a good grammar book and read it.
Finally, use it. Practice every day. Use your daily life as a source for things you need to be able to express. Books can cover things you will never talk about, but if you pay attention to what you do and say in your day, you will know what you need to learn. Spend at least some time in your day to try to tell a story, or a few sentences, about what you did, are doing, or want to do — in that language, of course. Look up everything you don’t know.
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By annely on Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
Immersion – not necessary, but incredibly helpful. Just like anything else, you want to learn a language from the pros. More often than not, native speakers fit the bill. They may not always find it easy to explain grammatical patterns and jargon, but they help a lot with pronunciation, expressions/idioms, and determining contextual and cultural meanings. Plus living in a country where the language is spoken by the majority will force you to learn and apply that language often. It also means that several top notch language resources will be available nearby.
Focus – Be steady in your studies. If you go for a long time without studying, you`ll end up forgetting everything, and having to start all over again. And you can`t learn anything well if you`re not focused.
Drive – You need to be interested in the language in order to stick to it. If you don`t like it, the learning process will be more tiring and less rewarding.
PRACTICE ! – Like I said earlier, if you don`t practice, you will forget it. I learned this the hard way. Don`t be afraid of making mistakes. If a language was too easy to learn, it wouldn`t be that much of an achievement now would it?
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By Glober on Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
Be very careful of the learning method you use. Linguists, and people with vast experience in learning languages will almost always agree on the fact that most language learning methods out there are 50-70 percent fluff! It’s pretty easy to get away with telling you that you’ll be able to speak a language when for example, someone says "hello", they’re speaking English, and it doesn’t mean they can actually communicate. Being semi-fluent means you have a functional comprehension of at least 65% in the conventional range of that language, while fluent would be anything greater than 80%. If you don’t have the time to learn a language properly, and you’re after something quick and easy, then you’re probably headed towards disappointment. The best method to getting as far as you can get in the shortest period of time is called the “3 step”. The first step is to complete a FULL Pimsleur (MUST BE PIMSLEUR) course. Listen to each lesson at least 2 times, taking notes the first time with new vocabulary and studying before listening the second time. The 2nd step is to form a list of the 3,000 most common/frequently used words/vocabulary in English, to also include the eight parts of speech (verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections), which you can search the web for. Once you’ve formed the list, you need to find accurate generic-translations, which you can apply to most common case scenarios of that language(definatley the most challenging part of all this). Once that’s done, make flash cards or whichever method works best for you in memorizing vocabulary, but try to include each word in a sentence, in addition to just the new word and it’s meaning (basically, know how to use it as correctly as possible). Repetition is the key here, so this would also be a good time to solidify your pronunciation. After you’ve memorized all that, the 3rd step is to locate 4 movies that are preferably some kind of Disney movie, or anything of a slower pace. Childrens movies seem to work best for this. Watch ONLY these same 4 movies in the language you’re trying to learn, with good, quality English subtitles, continuously, to the point where you know what’s going to be said next. Try to plan completing each step in this order, exactly as described within a time-frame of about 10-12 months. When you’re done, you should be somewhere in the range of “semi-fluency”, at the point where learning after the “3 step” is quick and easy, and being close to fluent after 2 years of using it everyday, and learning at least an additional 100 new vocabulary words a month during that time. The downside to the 3-step method, is that when you’re finished, you still may not be grammatically up to par, but will know more than enough to get there easily, which is what makes this the best and most efficient “fast” method, but not necessarily a good substitute for formal education. Either way, it can’t hurt to try! Good luck!
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