Read the article 5 Tricks to
Learn Spanish (or any other language) from 2 People who Speak 11 at https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/tips-learn-spanish?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=CON&utm_campaign=cd_engall_gen_ceu_spanishtips&utm_term=ibtimes and present your ways of learning/improving foreign
languages.
My 5 tricks are simple and can be applied in everyday life, in their spare time.
ReplyDeleteMy 5 ways to learn/improving a language:
1:
Watch movies without a teacher , with subtitles.
Listening to what the actor says in English , we see polishtranslation in our language .This method helps to correct pronunciation of words in natural communication in real life and at the same time we see the translation .
2:
A computer program which are operating in everyday life,
change this language to English.In practice, we will know the words translation that accompany us during the day (
for example Photoshop pl.Pedzel - Ang.Brush)
3:
Find a friend on the internet who speaks English . Talk with him regularly on various topics.
With regular talks in English , filing sentences will become easier.
4:
Listen to your favorite songs in English , then check the translation in Polish .
( At the same time turn on the song and translation ) and follow the lyrics. Thanks also can learn words in English . ( Sometimes you scare , as our favorite artist sings ... :) )
5.
You should bet with your friend about a cool gift that month will speak only in English. Everyone will depend on the prize , so each party will try to constantly speak English. In the end, it becomes commonplace and ceases to be a language barrier between you.
I agree with @Sylwia that good way to learn new language is to find a friend who is speaking language we want to learn. We can speak and write to him, so this way we will know how to pronounce correctly foreign words and what words and sentences are used in everyday speech, because when we learn language from books and vocabulary there are often very official sentences, which are not used in „normal” conversation. A second adventage is that we can get to know grammar rules. On the Internet there are many websites, where we can meet „virtual friend”, who want to help to learn his language (by the written and spoken conversations) in exchange for help to learn our language.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few examples of such websites:
- http://language-exchange.gregloby.com/
- http://www.language-exchanges.org/
- http://www.gettandem.com/
- http://www.lang-8.com/
- http://www.italki.com/
Way to learn a foreign language I can recommend is also reading books in a foreign language. Just like reading polish books develops, enriches vocabulary, improve spelling, reading in a foreign language greatly expanding language skills. Very important in this method of learning language is choose the book. Book reading should be a pleasure, so we cannot take a random book, only because it is in a foreign language. We should chose a book that does not discourage us. In this case very useful are books called “readers” – kind of simplified books. They occur on several levels of advancement. Unfortunately, not for all languages “readers” are available, so If we want read a book, which does not occur as a “reader” we should chose the book with lighter topic or the book which is interested for us, which might be interested for us. We can also chose the book, which we already read in polish – If we do not understand something, we can easily guess the meaning, we know the characters, events, everything is familiar – excellent for the first time.
Everything depends on the person, everyone has their own ways to learn the language. One method is easy to use by someone, but it can be wrong for others.
Thanks Klaudia! This is heavy! I dont know this links and these are awsome!
DeleteYou have right learning should be fun and curious. Should inspire and if its posible there should be something new meeting. Have frient how try to learn similar things for example language is important. Talking about problems, finding that some other peoples have similar problem helps a lot.
About learning language I have only one rule. Use it everyday. Even if I dont undertand all of words, sometimes I need to read twice to get the point. Usage of language is most important.
ReplyDeleteI try to use it eveyrday. I watch movies with subtitles. I try to watch youtube films about cooking, tv series, sports, normal day opinions or even about trips. On yout there is a lot of short movies that show new point of view, expands horizonts. I try to comment and answer to there peoples questions. Event if I make some grammar errors I know they will point out this and help me to fix it next time.
I like TED conferences and local TEDx short movies. This is simply awsome and Im suprised that there are many of high quality content that will inspire peoples to do big things. for me this is way for touch things that I propably never see on my eyes.
I totally agree with you. Most important thing is to use language regularly.
DeleteWhen we just go to language school for example twice a week, what gives us about 3 hours of contact with this language per week then we will have problems with remembering everything.
During watching movies or TV shows which you really like, you will learn new words and grammar much faster.
But this method have also a big disadvantage - you will not practice proper pronouncing. To resolve this problem you need to talk sometimes to a mirror or just find a foreign friends.
Also short holidays in country where people natively use this language will be great idea - you will be thrown in at the deep and you will have to find a way to communicate with local people.
I can recall one way of learning languages which was introduced to me some time ago by one lady from school of fast learning and reading. The rule was to take a word such as "regalo" from spanish and try to associate with something in your native tongue. I associated it with a polish word "rogal". Another step was to check what's the meaning of the word, in this particular example it means "a gift". The trick is to imagine a funny situation with a "rogal" and a gift so I imagined Donald Duck (or Donald the drake to be concise) riding a croissant packed in a gift paper. Silly it is but this is how I remember a spanish word which I learned in 10 minutes 5 years ago and I never ever tried to learn it by heart. To be honest I even neglected it but I still remember it :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! It's so extraordinary that I think it may actually work in my case. It's a real nightmare for me to learn new words, but with this method it would be no longer a problem. Thanks for sharing! And probably I will also remember that 'regalo' is a gift in Spanish :)
DeleteHello everyone,
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways to learn new languages.
Before I will share my experience and best practices I would like to mention about different learning skills.
Everyone is different and not every method is perfect.
For example I know people that watch movies in english to improve their hearing abilities or listening some lessons on mp3 devices.
I think that there is no one perfect method to learn and improve language.
I would like to share my methods of learning and improving ebglish skills with you:
1) First method is to set english language in every device. It really works because you get familiar with many new words and if you don't understand you must chech it in dictionary for instance.
2) Second perfect method for me is to write a lot. I run my own blog (mobileprogrammer.pl) for example and it really developed my writing abilities.
3) Third method that I can recommend - stay in touch with language. In my work I have contact with many clients abroad and I have to be able to speak fluently.
That really improves speaking abilities.
4) Also as @Sylwia and @Klaudia said. Try to talk to someone who is speaking in different language. That really helps. You can learn many new words and phrases.
5) Sometimes I am listening to music - after that I check the lyrics to know about what the song is.
6) Last advice from me - try to travel more - you will have chance to test your language skills.
Just to sum up - stay in touch with language that you want to learn.
All of your ideas are really great and can be found as successful tricks for learning new language but there is one thing you've forgot about: p e o p l e a r e l a z y. It's easier to download Polish subtitles than listen to native speaking actors. We feel much more confident when we use a program or the whole operating system in our native language, not in German for instance. We will read a book translated to Polish or won't read it at all. Why is that? Because we have an option. And we will always choose the most convenient one. Generally.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that may work is to put yourself in a situation when you are forced to use that language. When you have to communicate with the other person who doesn’t know your native language. You can join some multicultural team working togheter or go abroad or anything else. Just make sure that you have no other option left.
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ReplyDeleteAfter I read the article and everyone's statements I thought there is a big problem with language learning in the early parts of our "adventure" with the language. My point is that teachers in preschools, grade schools spoke Polish during english or german lessons at least in my case. The result of that learning is a lack of speaking skills. I think teachers should explain, for example grammar, in the language being tought. I hope that you know what I mean. I believe, times are better for learning languages, because teachers know how to teach language correctly.
ReplyDeleteRegarding to my language learning methods I have some tips of my own. Maybe some of them are similar to yours.
1. I watch movies in the original version without dubbing and subtitles. If I don't catch something I play that part one more time. During watching I try to understand words from context.
2. Every day I try to have some contact with the language. It's very important like @Robert noticed. I often read articles, world's news on english sites.
3. Moreover when you learn a language in an organised group I recommend to choose a native speaker as the teacher. This helps us
to get familiar with a language. Personally it helped me break my english barrier related to speaking.
4. I recommend you to travel like @Daniel said. It is worth to go abroad and for example to participate in the Erasmus program. That is a precious experience.
You can meet a lot of interesting people and additionally you can broaden your vocabulary.
5. As @Sylwia noticed it is worth setting up the language we are learning, in all of our programs being used on our computers, tablets or cell phones.
I am very glad that I can practice my english writing skills in the way I do.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great article, and I can put in my live some advices to improve learning my English from it. About these two polyglots in movie I have to say: they are very talented. It is the gift that not everyone has, they know how to talk in about 7 languages and they very fluently changes each one, furthermore, one of them is trying to lean Japanese now. It is a gift that I don’t have, and I envy them a little that they can so easily learn foreign languages. I think when you can talk and write in one language it will be easier to learn new languages from the same classification. Based on my experience I have to say that my first foreign language that I started to learn was German. In elementary school and then in high school I had only German language. So when I started to learn English it was easier to me to learn it. Here are my ways of learning/improving foreign languages:
1.
I think the main problem why we can’t communicate in foreign language is lack of words. The best way to fix it is to have with you flashcards. These cards have from one side polish translation of the word and from the other side for example English translation. We have a plenty of free time when we are travelling to work or school in public communication. Instead of using your phone I recommend you to learn foreign words from flashcards. I think this is a fastest way of knowing new words from basic to advanced.
2.
When we know some words we can start reading foreign newspapers or internet articles. The next way to improve your language is to use it daily. I recommend you to watch many foreign series with original sound. Personally I use also English subtitles, because sometimes is hard to hear what someone is talking, then I can read a subtitle and know a meaning of a words from context. The next aspect of improving foreign language to me is to use it at my work. The IT profession is associated with English language. When I want to know new technology I am reading documentations which are always written in English. This way I have daily contact with English.
3.
The last advice that I want to tell you is to direct contact with language. The best way to learn language is to spend a couple of month in a foreign country. There you are not able to talk to other people in your native language. Even if at the beginning you can’t say everything you need, with each passing day it will be easier to speak and understand. In my opinion this advice is most effective, and when I will only be able to go to foreign country to improve my language, I will do it.
To summarize what I said, daily contact with the language will help you learn it.
I see no reason why we should learn new languages… Just do what Russell Peters does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdEw6--gY24
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy seeing how people change the way they’re speaking, just like in movie from presentation, when they switch to another language. It’s not only about accent and pronunciation, but the pitch, melody, rhythm – it’s wonderful to observe and for some reason it makes me smile!
As for improving language skills I have slightly different approach. I hate learning by heart, so learning 400 words at once was a pain in… a big pain for me, because I knew I would remember only 40-50 of those. More cleaver solution would be to have ‘the world of a day’ and trying to use it as much as possible.
I must also agree with comments above – the more you use foreign language, the better! Change language of your web browser, mobile phone, all the applications, read news in it. In this case daily practice is the best you can do to improve your skills.
Another thing is about grammar - I think that understanding all structures, times is more important than good knowledge of vocabulary. What’s the purpose of knowing world, if you don’t know how to use it? When I used to help my friends with English, I was shocked that they didn’t know how many tenses there are, how many conditionals etc. Some of them were already in high-school or studies, after learning English for couple of years, but their “basic knowledge” was in poor condition. So strong grammar basics, are in my opinion, the key to learning new language.
I also enjoy doing crosswords and quizzes in foreign languages – personally I highly recommend Elevate! (http://elevateapp.com/#/)
And last advice if you want to learn Italian – you can simply grow a mustache! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQA07B0X6jU
And I had problems with solving ‘Learn Polish with Babbel’ quiz, so I don’t know if I’m dumb or what.
I think that the best way to improve language skills is watching TV shows in native language without reader nor dubbing. It's great idea to add subtitles in original movie-language.
ReplyDeleteAnother good way to learn is using flashcards or play language games like crosswords. I recommend quizlet website (check it at https://quizlet.com/). It's free social media website, where one can collect words with those meanings and share them with others. There are couple ways of learning - from traditional flashcards, throw writing from spelled words/phrases, to game called scatter, where one has to match words with those meaning from scattered cards, and tests. There is also awesome mobile application for iphone and android devices, so one can learn in every free minute.
At the end I would like to mention that it's important to practice speaking with colleagues and native speakers. Good method is to use years, eyes and mouth when you learn something, especially when it comes to languages.
I believe that in this days and age with such easy access to knowledge, learning a language can become something not only practical but also enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThe most important, like with learn anything is regularity.
My ways to learn a foreign language are:
1) Participation in classes at school
2) Reading so many articles in the foreign language as I can
3) Browse the Web in a foreign language
4) Watching movies, series without teacher
5) Using DUOLINGO app on my smartphone
6) Speaking in a foreign language whenever I have the opportunity.
Thanks for an article. I agree that nowadays techonological development gives us a huge opportunities to improve our languages. The nearset example is our english course :)
ReplyDeleteI used to learn english for about 7 years of my live, my second langugage
is german, and the third one is turkish. The last two I know very basically.
My experience of learning languages concerns courses and an Erasmus exhange in Turkey.
Maybe it is not surprising, but during my turkish term I was able to learn much much more language than ever before .
So, my opinion is the best conditions to learn a language you will find in homeland of that language :)
Thanks for an article. I agree that nowadays techonological development gives us a huge opportunities to improve our languages. The nearset example is our english course :)
ReplyDeleteI used to learn english for about 7 years of my live, my second langugage
is german, and the third one is turkish. The last two I know very basically.
My experience of learning languages concerns courses and an Erasmus exhange in Turkey.
Maybe it is not surprising, but during my turkish term I was able to learn much much more language than ever before .
So, my opinion is the best conditions to learn a language you will find in homeland of that language :)
That's a great article. Well written and it actually contains some helpful tips.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes down to my own ways of learning foreign languages I can especially relate to tip #1. Currently, I use English in pretty much everything I do. I actually think I might be using English more frequently than my own native language.
My operating system is in English, when I install programs on my computer they are in English as well, websites that I visit are in English, even the tv shows that I watch. But it goes even further. When I watch some shows that are in other languages than English I always download English subtitles. I'm not even sure why I do this.
Hi everyone! There are plenty of ways to learn a foreign language and plenty of tricks that make the thing easier. Many of the aforementioned were already described in the article, but it seems like one of my favourite ones is missing. The method I’d like to share with you is called “lingual immersion”. It is based on surrounding yourself with the language you want to learn at all possible times. It means you ought to listen to news, interviews or simply natives talking about stuff etc. when you cook your lunch, drive to work or take a shower and so on (unfortunately music doesn’t count ;/). The method was developed as a result of scientist wondering about what makes people learn a foreign language so much faster when they move to a country where it’s spoken. The answer lied in our brain being much more eager to memorize stuff we are “bombarded” with from the outside, since it is automatically considered by it as important and therefore our brain actually puts some effort in not throwing them out of our memory, but learning them in the most exact manner possible instead. Combining that method with utilizing any native speaker you can find can lead to outstanding results!
ReplyDeleteI think, one of the best and easiest way to improve language skills is to watch movies.
ReplyDeleteIf there is one, which I have watched, and it was good, it is a good practice, to watch it again later, with English subtitles, or even without them. Mostly Polish dubbing is bad, so it is another advantage for watching it in original version.
For me, even more effective to learn English is playing video games. I remember, that couple of years ago I’ve played many point and click games. In that kind of games, there are many riddles. So… If I wanted to solve it, I had to check some words in dictionary. I also start to think in English, when I am playing English games.
Of course there are many other tips. You can go to language school, and it is great (especially if you have to pay for it-that’s big motivation). Another way are online portals such as duolingo or eTutor. This is great, because you can use it on your mobile, and learn while commute to work/school.
I could keep on giving more examples, but the main rule is to use it every day, wherever you can.
Very cool tips for language learners. I agree with all of them. Although I admit that I do not use them as often as I would like to. I try to add at least some parts of foreign languages to my everyday life. My methods will be probably the same as 90% of people. Of course, reading articles in a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteVery useful are also radio stations, but the information one, not with music.
selection of films in English, subtitles can help if needed.
And the most important is to try as much as possible to talk to strangers or even friends. As a result, we are not the only one who get benefits from that.