When I started my university studies of the Spanish language in 1996, I typically carried around a few select Spanish literature classics and a (very heavy) 4-inch-thick Spanish to English dictionary. It was very traditional learning: the professors assigned the text, we read it, looked up the words we didn't know and wrote papers on literary analysis - pretty dry stuff.
Fast forward to 2019, and I am working on learning my third language: French. My experience is completely different. Although I am supported by my private tutor who has a traditional approach with reading, writing, listening and speaking; there are so many more materials available as media to both consume and interact with so that I can practice in a modern, fun, and highly engaging way. I would like to share some of those materials with you here. First of all, according to Lydia Machova, the way to become a polyglot (one who speaks several languages fluently) you must practice four principles: enjoyment, effective method and system, and patience. I would like to focus on the first principle in this blog: enjoyment. For her complete ted talk click here. There are so many ways to practice your new language, and these are only suggestions - do what works for you - what you enjoy! At first I found the app, duolingo to be very helpful. It was like a cross between a quiz and a game and it focused on basic vocabulary which helped me get to the best start in terms of the basics. Go to duolingo.com for more info. You can download it in the App Store as well. I'm sure there are other apps so play around and see what works for you! Second, I immediately started listening to audiobooks on the audible app, available at audible.com of books I knew well in English. This helped me get used to the sound of the language, which despite my inability to understand 97% of what they were saying, was very useful as now I can recognize some of the words; but more importantly can pick out the words I don't understand them to look for them in other places. So far I have listened to about 20 hours of French audiobooks, understanding nearly nothing for the first 17 hours but recently have been able to tune into sections understanding some passages. So of course, patience is of the utmost importance when working like this. I personally prefer to clean or walk on the treadmill while listening to these audiobooks. These are great ways to multi-task and avoid mental boredom when doing tedious tasks like cleaning out the fridge! Third, I use Netflix like an addict lately. I can't get enough and I find myself returning more and more. There is a decent amount of audio available in various languages (mostly Spanish) so I use these titles to watch in the language I would like to improve and put the subtitles in English. This has been extremely useful as the visual context gives clues as to what they are talking about and also the inflection of the voice combined with the speakers with various voices and characters helps me adjust to various rates of speaking, regions of origin of accents and more. Fourth, I listen to "Learn French" podcast on Spotify that are focused on current events in Europe (real current events - not the politically divisive diatribe of most "news" stations right now). It models a conversation and explains the phrases, verb tenses and vocabulary. There are many different types of these available for English, Spanish, French, etc. Just look them up on your phone and you'll be on your way! Allez! Almost there....one more thing I love to use to learn language is media available on YouTube. There are so many different types of classes and speakers who share resources, tips and tricks that you will learn a language quite quickly if you immerse yourself in these resources. But my favorite thing about YouTube? Searching for French or Spanish music with English subtitles as well as the lyrics in the native language. This is an old trick I learned from college. I always joke that I learned 30% of my Spanish from Shakira, and it's probably not much of an exaggeration! Music is one of the most fun ways to learn! Just read the lyrics and the translation and you can have a fun way to commit it to memory! In fact, this morning I woke up dreaming of a French song and had to go play it immediately on YouTube to hear the real thing! Finally, I use language learning mp3s on audible.com in my car to practice vocabulary and learn from short stories particularly designed for language learning. These are typical "Learn Spanish for Medical Use" or "Learn French Phrases for Travelers" types of audio tracks that introduce you to a phrase in English and then introduce the phrase once or twice in the language you are learning, with time to practice pronunciation. So this method is very helpful as well! I hope this helps! I know some of you have requested this blog for use with children, but any of these methods can be adjusted by just searching for age-appropriate materials or simply using the same methods! Good Luck! Buena Suerte! Bonne Chance! -Betty Lynn
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AuthorBetty Lynn is an writer, educator, artist, illustrator and yoga teacher living in the suburbs of New York City. Archives
October 2019
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