Category: Language learning

Audio books

By Simon

At the moment I’m reading the novel Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier, and have been wondering how to pronounce Meaulnes, which is the name of one of the characters. I guessed it was something like /meyln/ or /meylnə/, and have now discovered that it’s pronounced more like /mœln/. I’ve also found a free audio book version of the story on the Internet Archive.

When reading texts in foreign languages I usually read them aloud to practise speaking those languages. Listening to recordings of texts as I’m reading, and repeating what I’m hearing, helps me improve my pronunciation and intonation, as well as my listening comprehension. I find this a useful way to improve my knowledge of languages, and also to enjoy stories and learn new things from factual texts.

The Audio Archive or that site contains thousands of audio books, podcasts and other recordings. Most are in English, but there quite a few in other languages, including Arabic, French, German and Spanish. A related resource is Audiocite.net, which contains numerous audio books and other recordings in French.

Grok

By Simon

Grok [ˈɡɹɒk] / [ɡɹ̩kʰ] is a word I came across today in an email, and though I’ve encountered it before, I wasn’t sure what it meant. I thought it had something to do with programming as I’d only seen and heard it used in that context.

According to the Oxford Dictionaries online, grok is a verb meaning:

  1. to understand (something) intuitively or by empathy
  2. to establish a rapport

The Wiktionary definition of grok is as follows:

to grok (verb, transitive, slang)

  1. To have an intuitive understanding of; to know (something) without having to think (such as knowing the number of objects in a collection without needing to count them)
  2. To fully and completely understand something in all its details and intricacies.

The American author Robert A. Heinlein originally coined the word grok and used it in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land, in which it was a Martian word with a variety of meanings such as “water”, “to drink”, “life”, or “to live”, and also had a figurative meaning that is hard for Earth people to grasp [source].

When learning languages I aim to absorb them, to know as much about them as possible, and to speak them without having to think too much, or in other words to grok them. I’m not a big fan of this word, but it fits what I’m trying to do with languages.

Are there words with similar meanings in other languages?

Remembering words

By Simon

When learning a language one challenge is to memorise the vocabulary, and to be able to use it when you need it. I’ve tried a number methods to do this: repetition, flash cards, SRS, associations and so on. A method for learning individual words that works quite well for me involves making associations between the sounds of the new words and familiar words, especially if I build mental pictures to illustrate the words and their meanings. For example, a Welsh word for field is maes, which sounds like mice, so I picture a field full of mice.

Another way to remember things that I came across the other day involves giving inanimate objects character and life. The example I found discusses using this method to remember where your keys are:

[…] imbue your keys with character and life: this is my preferred gambit. Think of your keys as a living, breathing creature, and you’ll automatically know where they are.

Our brains like living things, it seems, they have more time for them.

Specifically, I deliberately experience my keys as a needy brood of motherless koala-bears on a hoop. When I drop them somewhere, my mind quickly wonders if they’re warm and comfortable, away from predators, in need of some amusing noises from their owner.

The location they’re in thus immediately gains my interest and attention, so I remember it automatically.

After reading this I started wondering whether you could do the same for words – endowing words for inanimate objects and abstract concepts with life and character might make them more memorable. You could also give masculine or feminine characteristics to nouns as appropriate. For verbs maybe you could picture conjugations as accessories – hats, scarves, gloves, bags, etc.

Snídanĕ - Czech word for breakfast

I haven’t actually tried this yet, but will give it a go and let you know if it helps.

The image on the right is a possible way to remember the Czech word for breakfast (snídanĕ) with the breve over the e filled with breakfast cereal and milk.

Have you tried this memory trick, or similar ones?

Benefits of being bilingual

By Simon

According to a study at the University of Haifa in Israel, children who grow up bilingually are able to learn a third language more easily than monolingual children.

The study compared children who speak Russian and Hebrew with those who speak only Hebrew, and who are all learning English at school. It found that the bilingual children not only find it easy to learn English, but also that doing so raises their IQs, and that they speak Hebrew better than the Hebrew monolinguals.

The researchers believe that learning several languages at a young age bolsters one’s language skills, and as skill in language is an important cognitive function, this makes learning easier in general.

When researching the phenomenon of language decline and death for my dissertation, I found that one common reason why languages decline is because many people believe that it’s better for their children to speak a mainstream language rather than a minority language, and that trying to speak both languages is likely to overwhelm their poor little brains and result in them speaking neither language very well. This research suggests that such beliefs are mistaken.

Thinking sdrawkcab

By Simon

Here are the words of a song we’ve been learning recently at the Bangor Community Choir:

When there is light in the soul, there is beauty in the person.
When there is beauty in the person, there is harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home, there is honour in the nation.
When there is honour in the nation, there is peace in the world.

We were told that it’s based on a Chinese proverb, so of course I searched for that proverb and found the following:

明明德於天下者，先治其國。(míngmíng dé yú tiānxià zhĕ, xiān zhì qí guó)
欲治其國者，先齊其家。(yù zhì qí guó zhĕ, xiān qí qí jiā)
欲齊其家者，先修其身。(yù qí qí jiā zhĕ, xiān xiū qí shēn)
欲修其身者，先正其心。(yù xiū qí shēn zhĕ, xiān zhēng qí xīn)

This expresses more of less same sentiments, though they are the opposite way round: it starts taking about the world, then the nation, the home, etc.

Here’s a rough translation:

Those who wish to bring light and virtue to the world, must first govern the nation.
Those who wish to govern the nation, must first organise the home.
Those who wish to organise the home, must first cultivate themselves.
Those who wish to cultivate themselves, must first correct their heart.

Does anybody know where this proverb comes from, by the way?

The way things are arranged in Chinese often seems backwards from the point of view of English speakers. For example, surnames come before personal names, and addresses start from the country or province, rather than with the name.

When speaking (Mandarin) Chinese I try to think in Chinese, but words sometimes come out in English, Welsh or French order, which doesn’t necessarily work very well. This is mainly because I haven’t been using Chinese as much as I used to, so am not as practised at constructing Chinese sentences. I can still communicate effectively in Chinese, but have to rearrange some of the utterances either in my head or after I’ve said them. More practise should help to eliminate this problem.

Study Abroad is Essential For Language Majors

By Simon

Today we have a guest post by Lindsey Wright.

Nearly everyone will take a language course in college. For some students, the course simply fills a general education requirement by giving them basic knowledge of a language, while others plan to study a language extensively in college. However, for people to truly grasp a language, it is necessary to spend time among those who speak it. Therefore, ideally, every language study course should require a student to participate in a study abroad program. Yet this is not the case for most schools. This could be due to the fact that there aren’t enough students interested in the program or that the universities simply do not have the funding. However, if you take a moment to think consider all the reasons why language students should study abroad, the case is quite compelling.

Perhaps the biggest reason to require a study abroad program is how much it can help you learn a language. There is no better way to learn a language than be immersed in it. When you travel to another country, you constantly hear the language you are studying. Before long, you will start understanding what people are saying with ease. In many situations, you will be forced to speak that language in order to get something you need. Thus, when you are studying abroad, your speaking and listening skills will improve rapidly. In addition, you experience that language in the proper cultural context. You will get a feel for the way people talk and the slang terms they use. If you are going to be a language expert, these are things you need to understand.

Another huge benefit of studying abroad is that you have the opportunity to understand a different culture. While learning slang and mannerisms is a part of experiencing another culture, there is much more to it than that. By traveling abroad, you will get an idea of every aspect of that culture. You will learn what words and motions are appropriate and which ones aren’t. You will learn how loud or soft people talk in various situations. You can’t fully grasp these things unless you spend time in that country. Learning the little things will go a long way in your career. If nothing else, understanding the culture will make your travel experience a lot easier.

Studying abroad also gets you out of the classroom, which is crucial. You can only learn so much from lectures and books. However, participating in a study abroad program will allow you to learn everything first hand. By doing so, you may find a specific aspect of the language or culture you love, that could help you figure out a career path. On the flip side, you may find that learning the language isn’t for you. Either way you are teaching yourself, which in itself will prove invaluable, as it is a different experience entirely from learning in a classroom.

By traveling abroad, you increase your chances of networking with people in that culture, which could prove handy if you enter a career in business. The more connections you have, the better your career prospects will be. You may even meet someone who can offer you a job right out of college. American companies are becoming increasingly global, and having experience in a different culture is a huge plus on your resume. If you aren’t interested in business, you will still be satisfied with making connections in a social context. No matter what you want to do in life, building relationships is essential. Making friends or contacts from another country will expand your horizons.

When you study abroad, you also enhance your education. While abroad, you will have the opportunity to take classes that aren’t offered on your regular campus. Not only is this a great way to learn something you never thought you would, but it will also look good on your transcript. One of the best ways to find unique classes is to participate in a study abroad program.

If you are interested in studying a language, you should definitely participate in a study abroad program. In the short term, the experience will enhance your college experience and education. In the long term, it will prove beneficial when it comes to pursuing a career. Given all the benefits, every language student should study abroad.

Ear training

By Simon

Most days I listen to online radio stations in a variety of languages – at the moment I listen mainly to Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Welsh, and also to French and Czech, and occasionally to Mandarin and Cantonese. This keeps these languages ticking over in my head, and helps me learn more of them. With the exception of Czech and Cantonese, I can understand them all well, or at least fairly well, and can often guess the meanings of unknown words from the context. Even with Czech and Cantonese, which I don’t know as well, I have a basic idea of what they’re talking about.

Yesterday I decided to listen to some Japanese and fired up the radio player on NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster. To my surprise what came out of the speakers was first Spanish, then Indonesian, Vietnamese and Burmese. I checked the website and discovered that they cycle through 17 different languages in their international broadcasts. In each language they have news from Japan and around the world, and it’s possible to get some idea of the stories they’re covering even in completely unfamiliar languages from the names of places, people, countries.

So if you feel in need of a good linguistic workout, have a listen to NHK World or a similar multilingual radio station. Also, after listening to languages you haven’t got round to learning yet, the ones you’re studying will seem much easier to understand.

Learning a New Language – How Easy (or Difficult) is It?

By Simon

Today with have a guest post by Abby Nelson

I have a friend who can speak four different languages; and he’s not the kind who gets by with a few strategic words and sentences, he’s fluent in them too. If at all I envy anything in him, it is this multilingual ability which I know I can never emulate. Now while eternal optimists would tell me to never say never, and offer additional advice that anything is possible if you set your mind to it, those who are more realistic understand that learning a new language involves many different variables. For example:

– Popular belief has it that children pick up a new tongue faster than adults; but that’s not really true. What’s true is that kids who learn a new language before they reach puberty speak the tongue without the accent that makes it easy to identify non-native speakers. Adults and children are equally good at picking up new languages when exposed to it on a prolonged basis.

– Learning a new language is fastest when you try your hand at the spoken lingo, and the easiest way to do this is to spend time around native speakers who don’t speak any other language. This is why most of us pick up a new tongue within a few months of settling down in a foreign country where the local language is different from the one you speak. Necessity is the biggest motivator when it comes to picking up a new language – your survival instincts kick in and you initially pick up the basics necessary for communication; and with the passage of time, you learn more of the tongue and become more fluent in the language.

– When you learn a new language by listening to and speaking it, you pick up the vernacular slang and not the grammatical version of the tongue. So while you may be a proficient speaker after a while, you may not understand other aspects of the language.

– It takes effort to learn how to read and write the native script of a language. Some languages are easier than others if you already have the foundation laid to facilitate learning the script. For example, if you know how to read and write English, it’s easier to learn how to read and write languages that use the same script. You may have some difficulty with the pronunciation, but with a fair amount of practice, you can soon pick up this aspect of the language as well. Languages with complex scripts are the hardest to master to read and write.

So in conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that the ease or difficulty with which you master a language depends on personal necessity and motivation to learn the new tongue; so what’s a breeze for you may end up becoming an uphill climb for me and vice versa.

About the writer
Abby Nelson writes on the topic of Masters in Counseling. She welcomes your comments at her email id: abby.85nelson< @>gmail< .>com

How to Learn a Foreign Language While Living Overseas

By Simon

This is a guest post by Kenji Crosland, a writer for TeachStreet. TeachStreet is a website that provides online and local classes including Foreign Language Lessons in languages like Japanese, Spanish and many others.

When I moved to Tokyo five years ago I expected to learn the language quickly. After all, it’s often been said that the best way to learn a foreign language is to live in a country where they speak it. What I didn’t realize, however, was despite the fact that you’re surrounded by the language every day, you could live in a foreign country for ten years and not learn much more than the most rudimentary phrases. Living there certainly helps, but unless you put forth the effort to study, speak and practice you won’t get very far.

Crutches that keep Expats From Learning the Language

As an expat in Tokyo, I’ve found that learning the language will make life much easier and much more interesting than if I only knew a few words out of a guidebook. Despite this, however, I found that there were many crutches which expats rely upon to get by without learning anything. If you want to get anywhere with your language study abroad, be sure to be wary of these crutches:

The Internet
The Internet can be a huge crutch for expats who want to learn a foreign language. Instead of trying to understand local television or visiting websites in a foreign language, you’ll probably spend most of the time browsing English language sites or downloading English TV shows.

That said, I don’t want to discount the Internet altogether. Because I was lucky to make many Japanese friends while I was living there, I did spend a lot of my time on mixi.jp , which is basically the MySpace of Japan and the country’s most popular social networking site. On mixi most of my friends were Japanese, and I spent a lot of time reading their mini-blog entries and writing some of my own. Also, I attended many parties and events through mixi where I was able to meet many new Japanese friends and also practice my Japanese with them.

Expat Friends
Believe it or not, many expats I had known in Tokyo had more non-Japanese friends than Japanese friends. And the Japanese people they befriended often spoke English so well that whenever these groups went on some social outing, the predominant language spoken was English. Even if the native Japanese people outnumbered the English speakers, the former mostly spoke English for the latter’s benefit.

It’s always nice to make expat friends, as it can help stave off homesickness, but if your goal is to learn the language, you should take the time to make friends with people who speak no English whatsoever. In Japan, I’ve found one of the best places to make new friends is in an Izakaya, (a Japanese version of a pub). Unlike an expat bar, an Izakaya will probably have very few English speakers. If you’re sheepish about going into the Izakaya alone, ask one of your Japanese friends to take you and introduce you to some of the locals.

The language “comfort zone”
If you avoid spending too much time on English web sites and endeavor to make more non-expat friends, you’ll eventually reach a level of comfort with the language. At this level you’ll probably be good at small talk and you’ll probably have no problem ordering in a restaurant or asking for directions. If you want to have a lively, in-depth conversation that goes beyond simple topics like food and the weather, however, you might find yourself at a loss for words.

Most people feel comfortable at this level because they have learned all the practical aspects of the language and may not feel motivated to learn more. When you reach this point, I highly recommend taking formal lessons. I personally had taken formal Japanese lessons once a week from a volunteer at the community center. For each lesson, we read a difficult article or essay in Japanese, wrote an essay about it in Japanese, and then we discussed it in the class. When I left the class, I often discussed what I was learning with my Japanese friends, which was excellent practice for me. By my fourth year in Tokyo, I was able to watch films, read comics, magazines and some novels, and talk about basically anything I wanted in Japanese.

If I had made the mistakes of spending too much time on the Internet, and too much time with English speaking friends, however, I probably wouldn’t have learned much more than when I had arrived in the country.

So remember, just moving to another country doesn’t magically make you proficient in the language. It certainly is a great help, but you must make the effort to learn while you are there.

Double dutch and lost dragons

By Simon

I’ve been playing with Xtranormal today and have made a couple of new films:

Double Dutch (in Dutch and English)

Where’s my dragon? (In Mandarin and English)

When you use Mandarin the system refuses to accept some of the characters you type in, including some common ones like 谢 (thanks). I tried substituting pinyin for the problematic characters, but found that this only works in some cases. Then I came up with the idea of substituting other characters with the same sounds, and it works well. For example 谢谢 becomes 泄泄 (泄 [xiè = to leak) and 话 (huà) – language, becomes 画 (huà) – picture. It’s not ideal, but it works and I’ve learnt some new characters, or re-learnt ones I should already know.

If I can work out how to add subtitles, I might do so, but it should be possible to work out most of the non-English bits from the English bits.

I’ve also posted these films on YouTube.