Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

4 Other Useful italki Features for Language Learning

italki logo (updated 8/11/2016) I'm a latecomer to italki. There's been a lot of buzz about italki these past couple of years.

On various social media channels, I kept hearing that italki was the next best thing to having a native-speaker friend. Italki is about talking in the language you're learning.

I've been learning Spanish on my own for some time now. Most recently, I reported on my progress in Reaching Language Fluency – My Experience With Spanish (so far). And while I can understand and read Spanish quite well, I can't speak it as fluently as I would like.

It was my niece who finally convinced me to take the plunge. She told me how much she enjoyed the various options italki provides. Even more importantly, she was happy about how quickly her fluency in Spanish was improving. She'll be using Spanish in her work, for counseling families and conducting interviews.

For me, becoming conversationally fluent is a personal goal, though one that I take very seriously. So, a few weeks ago, I decided to try out italki.

The italki site is easy to navigate. When you start looking around, you'll find various free options and features that can enhance your experience on the site, besides, or in addition to taking (paid) lessons.

On your Dashboard you can see all your activity at one glance, including your schedule, your teachers, your friends, your community activities, a recommended article, as well as your “wallet.”

At the footer of your Dashboard page is the heading “Browse.” From there you can jump to any of the sections listed below. Once you're there, sort by language and specific options.

The Main Stay: Lessons for Speaking

italki teacher screenLearning to talk fluently in a foreign language and building conversational skills are the main goals for many language learners. One-on-one sessions with a skilled language teacher - be it from home, or when living where the language is spoken - are doubtless the best way to get there.

Skype or Facetime lessons are italki's mainstay. There are lots of options for everyone. You can choose between “professional teachers” (who are certified and experienced) and “community tutors” (native or near-native speakers who do informal tutoring).

For Browsing through a list for available teachers or tutors, you can set the language, the country where the teacher is from, a rate, tags (such as: beginners, children, teenagers, business, test preparation), native speaker, trial lesson, audio & video, available times (instant tutoring, or time of day, days of the week). To find the section, simply click on “Language Teachers.”

italki encourages you to try out different teachers and offers three (3) 30-minutes, discounted trial sessions for their teachers and tutors. (The discounts are set by each teacher and tutor, and therefore vary.)

Four More Features

1. Informal Conversational Practice

italki - language partnersFor casual practice, you can add Language-Exchange sessions, which are free. You can set up as many as you want, and with time you'll probably find some good partners and ways to make the language exchanges run smoothly.

In this section you can get free language practice by exchanging time teaching your native language, for time learning a foreign language. You can sort by language you're learning, gender, place your partner is from, and native speaker.

To get there, just click on “Language Partners.” Some of the language partners are also teachers on italki. Above the profile picture, you can “Switch to Teacher Profile.”

In some cases, time differences and a partner's availability make language-exchange sessions somewhat more difficult to schedule than sessions with teachers. This is a problem that many language-exchange sites share.

2. Reading

italki - reading screenThe best way to grow your (passive) vocabulary is to read as much as in your target language, and on a variety of subjects.

Italki has a free section where teachers and tutors post articles they've written. They come in a variety of languages and are mostly about learning a language, specific language topics, or cultural themes.

These articles are conversational in nature. I recommend reading the ones that are in your target language. For a learner, they are a great way to start internalizing informal language beyond basic phrases such as “how are you?” “where are you from?” “are you a student?” “what kind of work do you do?” “do you have any brothers and sisters?”

To get there, click on “Articles.” Sort by language and scroll down. You'll see articles in your native and in your target language.

I find, though, that I may have a huge (reading) vocabulary in a foreign language, but still find myself tongue-tied when speaking it. So, you need to find ways to use your words and phrases in real conversations, by speaking!

3. Writing

italki - NotebookNow that there are lots of Forums, Facebook community pages, Chat options, etc. in various languages, learning to write well enough in your target language seems a good skill to shoot for.

In the “Notebook”section, on italki, you can write short journal-like entries in the language you're learning about topics that interests you or something that's on your mind.

These notebook entries are then corrected by others who are native speakers or proficient in the language. You'll sometimes get several corrections and comments. In turn, you are encouraged to correct the notebook entries of others, written in your native language or one you're highly proficient in.

This option is free and you can use it even if you haven't taken any lessons. Under Browse, click on “Notebook,” sort by language.

4. Grammar and Usage

Not many language learners approach a language by just learning grammar rules and memorizing conjugation tables.

italki answersHowever, when you're beyond the beginner level, figuring out some of the grammar points is actually fun.

You can do that in the “Answers” section. There you can add specific questions about the language you're learning (translation, correct usage, etc.) and answer questions about a language that you speak.

To get there, go to “Answers” and sort by language. The following quote by a learner says it very well: “I've used italki to get answers for questions I don't have the courage to ask in the classroom as I'm very shy. I always get satisfactory answers, the community is really nice as far as I can tell.”

Even Polyglots use italki

You may never become a Polyglot like Benny Lewis. You may not even agree with him that learning your target language is easy. Or you wonder how one can Become Fluent in 3 months, as he promises in his well-known guide. But when even Benny uses italki to keep up his fluency in the many languages he speaks, you know that italki has something going for it.

I will certainly continue to use it for the languages I want to become more fluent in.

Postscript: We recently become aware of a post that summarizes well the various options for speaking practice: Find Language Partners - Language Exchange (Step 3). You will certainly find one that works best for you.

Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada and speaks German, English, Dutch, and French fluently. She intends to become as fluent in Italian, Spanish and Swedish. You can follow her on FacebookTwitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.

Disclosure: The links above to Fluent in 3 Months and italki  are to a partner's program with revenue-sharing, should you decide to purchase or subscribe.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

3 Tips to "Spark" Your Language Learning Motivation

Sparkplug spark - Gamesforlanguage.comNot surprisingly, Jeremy Dean's recent e-book, Spark - 17 Steps That Will Boost Your Motivation For Anything, has some very relevant suggestions that apply to language learning.

Learning a language takes time, focus, and a certain amount of effort. As we juggle our time, demands from work and family, and our need for rest and recreation, language learning can easily fall by the wayside.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to keep your language learning motivation on track, even when you're hitting a few obstacles.

Here are my 3 main takeaways from “Spark” for language learners :

1. Stay self-aware all the way through

The e-book Spark is set up as 17 steps and you Soccer goal - Gamesforlanguage.comare asked to stop and think at each of them. I think it's a helpful approach for looking at your language learning goal as well.

 

Choose a realistic goal for your language learning

A good way to do that is to check with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Also called the CEFR, it describes foreign language proficiency at six levels.

What is really useful is that each level gives you a description of skills (see page 35 of the PDF that you can download.) For example: a B1 (3rd level) proficiency - which is a good goal to shoot for - means the following:

I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and immediate need or on current events).

 

Know why you want to learn a foreign language

 

  • Is your wish connected to a trip you're planning?
  • Do you have friends or family you want to converse with?
  • Is learning the language job related?
  • Or are you doing it for the pure pleasure of mastering another language?

 

Know where you are on the road to your goal

 

  • Are you an absolute beginner or do you already have the basics down?
  • Are you a re-learner of a language you learned in school or college?
  • Or are you re-learning a language you knew as a child or from living in the country?

Your rate of learning and acquiring a native-like pronunciation will very likely be influenced by your language history.

As you go along, you can always adjust your goal up or down.

2. Figure out coping skills that work for you

fashion show runway - Gamesforlanguage.comOne of the steps in “Spark is called Modelling. There the author talks about a coping model.

It's pretty easy to figure out why Blogs about language learning are so popular. The good ones are written by bilinguals or multilinguals, who share their experiences and can show us how to deal with and overcome difficulties.

Learning a language has its ups and downs, and sometimes we find that we have to cope with discouragement, boredom, and a sense of failure.

We can learn a lot about coping skills from others, especially from language learners who are similar to us. (Jeremy Dean of Spark reminds us that beginner problems are different from expert problems.)

Here are a few typical struggles/challenges others can help us to cope with:

Fear of speaking in the foreign language

Just think about the times you've avoided situations in which you would need to use your new language. There are excellent coping strategies for that, as we reviewed in How to Overcome Your Foreign Language Anxiety.

Forgetting vocabulary

What about the many everyday words in your target language, which you learned and then couldn't remember in a casual conversation? Memory tricks and apps for learning and remembering vocabulary abound.

Frustration with grammar issues

Not to mention German cases and how articles and adjectives change for a case. Or remember how tricky the French subjunctive and conditional verb forms are.

When learning a foreign language, we also need to absorb how it functions, i.e. its grammar.

However, learning grammar is something you do in context, and not by rote memory. I have found this article by Mezzofanti Guild's Donovan Nagel very reassuring: You Don't Need To Study Grammar To Learn A Foreign Language.

Inability to improve our accent

Are there times you get a little nervous and suddenly start speaking with a strong native-language accent? It happens to me.

Having a foreign accent is not a terrible thing, but you'll want to be able to control it to a certain extent, simply because you want to be understood.

3. Figure out ways that keep you going

To keep your momentum, you have to do "Keep Going" sign - Gamesforlanguage.comsomething in the language you're learning. Avoidance or procrastination won't move you forward.

These two tips come up directly in Spark.

1. Think about your last effort to motivate the next one.

In language learning terms, it means for me, for example: When I complete a lesson with few mistakes it encourages me to do the next one even better. 

2. Set up mini-goals with very specific actions.

For example, when I drink my second cup of coffee in the morning, I'll do a part of a lesson; and before I go to sleep, I'll review the last 10 words I learned during the day.

Here are a few more momentum-keeping tricks that have worked for me:

  • When you finish a lesson, tell yourself what your next step will be. Then, when you pick up the next day where you left off, you'll know exactly where to start.
  • Schedule a lesson with a tutor or a session with a language-exchange partner. Just knowing that it will be coming up, raises your level of enthusiasm and engagement. It also might prompt you to prepare a few questions and answers.
  • The bottom line is to “do something.” Maybe you don't feel like doing a full lesson, or you don't have time for one. But if, instead, you can listen to a song, read a short newspaper article, play a quick language game, etc., you've taken another step rather than stopping cold.

And all along, it's worth keeping the following in mind:

  • Becoming fluent in a language gives us a sense of competence, that we're good at something that's challenging.
  • Learning on our own gives us a sense of autonomy.
  • Having a second, or third language connects us to others who have a different take on life. It opens up our world. 

And even if  you can't emulate well-known Polyglots, such as Benny Lewis (Fluent in 3 Months), Gabriel Wyner (Fluent Forever), or Olly Richards, Alex Rawlings, Steve Kaufmann, et al, their perspective and experience will inspire you.

No one can learn a foreign language for you. You have to find your own path to do so. (See our recent post on Lingohut: Finding the Adult-Path to Language Learning.)

Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on FacebookTwitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.

Disclosure: We purchased the "Spark" e-book, and have no affiliation with it's author or with Psyblog. Several other links above are to a partners' program or an affiliate with revenue-sharing, should you decide to buy or subscribe.

 

 

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Games for German Language Learning: “Blüten in Berlin?”

Blüten in Berlin - Gamesforlanguage.com In 2014, we added a German 2 course: “Blüten in Berlin?” (Picture left: “Blüten” in front of Berlin's TV Tower). It is a continuation of our German 1 course “Michael in Deutschland.”

Readers of our 2014 post Learning German with a Story: Blüten in Berlin? will remember that “Blüten” in German means “blossoms,” but in colloquial language the word also means “funny money.”

Language Magazine 

Since adding German 2 in 2014, we made quite a few changes. But the summary, which appeared in Language Magazine's October 2014 edition, describes the course so well that we are citing it in full again below:  Due to popular demand, GamesforLanguage.com is adding a German 2 course.

In this sequel to the German 1 course, Michael Mueller, a young traveler, returns to Berlin, where he is faced with a baffling mystery. After he is caught paying with a counterfeit Euro bill ("Blüte") in German, 20 Euro note - Gamesforlanguage.comhe sets out to find the young woman who has slipped him the note on the plane from Boston to Berlin.

By playing dynamic games while following a mystery narrative, users are motivated to learn by the fun of it. To solve the mystery of the “Blüte,” they must collect enough points to move on to the next scene. They hereby learn and practice useful German phrases and sentences, which – because of the engaging story context – they'll remember.

All lessons begin with a short story dialogue. The sentences are then broken down into their component words and phrases, which layers practice in various games. Finally, players are prompted to reassemble the sentences from the dialogue.

A “Say It” sequence emphasizes the importance of repeating and speaking words and phrases. With games like “Word Invaders” or “Shootout,” players practice translations and word order.“Word Hero” and “Shooting Gallery” games help recall the vocabulary of previous lessons.

GamesforLanguage's courses (German, French, Italian, and Spanish) are all online and free. Courses and Quick Games are accessible on most tablets.

72 instead 36 Lessons

New adventures - Gamesforlanguage.com German 2 builds your mastery of idiomatic language, helps you understand and use those hard-to-pin-down filler words (ja, schon, noch, doch, denn, eigentlich, mal, etc.), and has you practicing “conversational past” and “simple past” verb forms. Returning players will notice a change in our lesson format.

Each of the six levels of German 2 now has 12 lessons or Scenes, for a total of 72. Based on user comments, we've made various changes from the German 1 course.

We're introducing only 8 new words or phrases per Scene and are combining various games to make learning and practicing even more fun and effective. Many of the German words and expressions used in both courses can also be practiced with the more than 70 German Language Games (Quick Games), which can be played without even registering.

Is German 1 a prerequisite for German 2?

German 1 is NOT a prerequisite for German 2. The course format allows anyone with basic knowledge of German to jump right in.

Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada.
You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.