Posted on by Peter Editor

January 2013 Newsletter

GamesforLanguage works on iOS6 mobile devices!

Ipad Finally, you can access our four language programs not only on your desktop or laptop but also on your iOS6 mobile devices.

Many of our users have been frustrated that while they could access our online program perfectly well from their new iPad, the audio did not work!

With the release of iOS6 (the most recent release of the operating system on mobile Apple devices), Apple iPhones and iPads now support multi channel audio in HTML5. We have now integrated this new technology, called the Web Audio API, into our games.

This means you don't need to go through the Apple store to use GamesforLanguage.
You would want to have a good Wi-Fi connection. Just open your Safari browser and login to our site and start playing and learning.
 
While for us the screen on the iPhone is too small for certain games, Memory Game, Snap Clouds, Shootout, etc. may still work for some users. We prefer the regular iPad and iPad mini.

If you encounter any difficulties, write us! Some of the remedies are pretty simple, and it's always a good idea to first try again by reloading.

At this point we don't know yet when we can make Games4language also work on Android mobile devices. Android does not yet support the technology that now enables multi-channel audio to work on Safari in iOS.

Other Changes

Those of you who replayed some earlier Scenes may also have noticed the following changes:
- An expanded Story dialog for the first Scene of German1 (with the other languages to follow).
- All Scenes have lengthened games for more playing practice.
- “The Story” now also appears at the end of each Scene by which time it will be easily understood.
- Quick, short games teach articles, pronouns, noun genders, etc. right from the start, and in the later levels we added other fun games such as Shootout, Car Race, Moon Landing, etc. 

In fact, you will find that many of the games are even more fun to play on a tablet, as you can just touch the screen for the correct word or phrase.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

A Better Way to Travel - When Retired...

Rome ColosseumWhen I retired, my wife and I decided to head to Europe for an extended stay.

Both of us were born in Austria. My wife had childhood memories of the Italian Alps and Venice, and I enjoy remembering a trip through northern Italy with friends. I was a teenager then.

Although neither of us spoke any Italian, we decided to spend five months in Rome and take trips from there.

We prepared with Pimsleur's Italian CDs. My wife was at that time still working as a free-lance editor for Pimsleur Language Programs. (During our stay, she was able to continue her work remotely.)

We searched online and rented an apartment in Trastevere, a charming medieval neighborhood on the other side of the Tiber. We were off to Rome in September.

Rome and Surroundings

We enjoyed Rome very much, improved our Italian by taking daily Rome view from St. Peterlessons with an Italian tutor, and explored the city and its surroundings on foot, by bus, and by train.

We came to realize that staying in a foreign place for more than just a few days has many benefits.

Not only can you visit the “must see” attractions (view from St. Peter's right) at your leisure, but even more importantly, you can start to experience the “vibes” of the city: the daily bustle on the streets and in the markets; the atmosphere in the neighborhood cafés and restaurants; the conviviality of the Romans' habitual late afternoon stroll; the pleasurable local night scene: in movies, theaters, concerts, bars; the activities at neighborhood squares and parks that function as community centers.

As in most European cities, you can visit many places just using public transport. From Rome, we enjoyed easy day trips by bus or train to Castel Gandolfo, Ostia, Frascati, Tarquinia, Civitavecchia, Villa d'Este, Hadrian's Villa, and others.

Still starting from Rome, several overnight train trips - to Pompei, Naples, Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast - rounded out our Italian experience at that time.

Getting to Know a City

La Sagrada Familia, BarcelonaWe still travel by car from time to time (e.g. see our blogs posts on our recent trips to Barcelona  (w/ Gaudi's Sagrada Familia left), Southern Spain, Cornwall and London, Brussels. etc.).

However, we really like to stay in a place for at least a month, especially when we are in a larger city.

Besides our stay in Rome, we have also stayed a month each in Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona.

Recent one-week visits to Madrid and London were pleasant and filled with many activities, but they didn't allow us to absorb each city's character in a leisurely way.

We know Vienna, Amsterdam, Munich, Zurich and Brussels quite well, but there are still many other European cities on our current list, such as Dublin, Prague, Budapest, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, etc.

And When You Have Time...

So, if you have time on your hand, love other cultures and languages, and can afford it - you may want to forgo the “5 countries in 7 days” kind of trip. You may rather want to choose a country or even just a city to get to know in more depth.

Regarding “affordability”: We have found that renting an apartment is not only more economical than staying in a hotel in most cases, but also gives you more space and flexibility. In our case, it often provided an opportunity to invite friends and family for a visit!

(For the more adventurous travelers, there are also apartment/house exchanges, etc).

So far, we have limited our extended stays to European countries, but we are eager to extend our reach.

Still, unless we stay in countries where we speak the local language, it would mean that we should start learning another language. And that will be another project (and another story).

Posted on by Peter Rettig

8 Zenhabits for Language Learning

why learn a language Every year starting in November, language learning companies offer numerous promotions and discounts.

While nobody knows how many such offers are regularly accepted worldwide, we can assume that there are many who make learning a new foreign language their New Year's goal.

Motivation Tips

There is no lack of research and literature that analyze and describe the challenges of achieving our goals. I recently came across a post on zenhabits.net. Here are some suggestions how this blog can be applied to language learning:

1. Start small. Many language programs overwhelm a learner with too many options and choices. We, at Gamesforlanguage.com, add 15-20 words with each lesson. The phrases of each lesson are part of an ongoing travel story. Learning these words and phrases should take about 20 minutes. If you get into a daily habit of committing those 20 minutes, you'll have made a great start. You can always add more time later.

2. One goal. Focus on one achievable and realistic goal. No, you will not speak a new foreign language fluently in a year - unless you are willing and able to commit considerable time and energy. Learning a new foreign language as an adult requires discipline and sustainedeffort. Completing the course you have purchased, subscribed to, or enrolled in may be your one realistically achievable goal.

3. Examine your motivation. Write down the reasons you want to learn a new foreign language. Maybe you plan to travel to a foreign country, you have a friend, spouse or relatives you want to communicate with, or your education or business interests motivate you.

4. You have to really, really want it. The above reasons have to be strong enough for you to commit the energy and time needed to make real progress. If you can stay excited about your choice long enough to reap some benefits, e.g. reading an article or a book, watching a foreign movie or video, chatting with a friend, etc., your feeling of success and accomplishment will then carry you along. But if you have just been “seduced” to learning a new language by an unrealistic promise such as “Speak a language in 10 days,” or other slick marketing ads, think again. You have to stay excited about your goal and continuously fuel your enthusiasm.

5. Commit publicly. Today there are many ways to do that. Many online language programs let you post your progress scores on your Facebook page. If you are into blogging, you can report your experience and progress. You can tell your friends. And, especially if you have friends that speak the language you are learning, let them know.

6. Get excited. See also 4. above. The more you learn, the more opportunities will open up for you, whether reading on-line blogs or articles, watching foreign movies or videos, linking up with online chat rooms, or preparing for your trip. You need to find your way of visualizing the benefits of achieving your goal.

7. Build anticipation. You may want to start today: Buy that CD course you saw in the mall, enroll in the Adult Ed course your local college promotes, or subscribe to an online course you saw advertised. But hold it! First do some homework: What kind of materials do you enjoy the most? Where and when can you commit the time? Before work? After hours? At home? In a class setting? At work?, e.g. during a lunch break? What is your budget? Think it through, take some time and make your choice deliberate.

8. Print it out, post it up. (Right from the blog): “Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra (Exercise 15 mins. Daily.), and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and at work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal to keep your focus and to keep your excitement going. A picture of your goal also helps,” e.g. a picture of you friend, spouse or relative, or of the foreign country you want to visit, etc.

Even if you have followed all the above tips and have carefully set your goal, you'll need to find ways to keep going when your enthusiasm starts to wane. In several of our future blogs, we'll apply the "20 ways to sustain motivation when you are struggling" to learning a foreign language.