Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

5 Tips for Restarting a Foreign Language Out-of-School

school-bus - Gamesforlanguage.com How many of the subjects you learned in school are now on your to-do list again?
Not that many, right?

But it's not uncommon that out-of-school adults go back to relearning a foreign language that they took in school. Interest in traveling, foreign friends, trips for work overseas, curiosity about one's heritage, or even just a broader outlook on the world - all these can be reasons for unpacking a language you had mentally stashed away.

However, resurrecting a language that you started in school and building on it needs a little planning. Here are five tips for easing yourself back into a foreign language.

1. Develop a new mindsetchange your mindset - Gamesforlanguage.com

When you're no longer in school, time has a way of becoming scarce. Work and/or family life tend to fill our your schedule. Going to evening or lunch-hour classes may be out of the question. All that makes learning from your home using resources on the Internet a good option.

However, learning from home requires a new mindset. You're now your own boss and in charge of your own learning. It may also be time to reassess your goals. Rather than being anxious about grades and not making a fool of yourself in front on your classmates, you can direct your attention to acquiring practical language skills.

For example, perhaps you never really learned to speak the foreign language when you were in school. That's no surprise given class size and the importance of reading and of written tests.

But now, by choosing the right resources, you can easily take your understanding and speaking to a new level. Give thought to how you learn best. There are many options to consider as you'll see below.

2. Find a fun way to re-enter into the language

fun in autumn - Gamesforlanguage.comInstead of worrying about homework and test scores, you can now focus on what you enjoy and find interesting. It can be anything you like: listening to music, scanning news headlines on your tablet, watching a tv soap, reading an easy ebook, playing language games, etc.

In school, fun is usually not a big factor. But believe it or not, learning a language can be hugely fun. A new language gives you the tools to break out of your routine, to meet new people, to experience a new culture, to engage with locals when you travel.

If you've ever searched the Internet for anything language related, you may have seen that there are lots of language-learning groups, language-exchange sites, Polyglot events and conferences, multi-language forums, just to name a few. Most of the members of these groups and communities love languages and and pursue one or more languages - just for fun.

3. Start putting together your resource list

Everyone's list of resources for learning a language looks different, and yours should too. At best, the list reflects your personality, your learning habits, your language skills, your interests, etc.

Take some time to read reviews of different language programs and apps, try out free demos, look at online courses, or consider online tutors, etc. While many of your resources will probably be online, a well-rounded resource list also contains some hands-on paper grammar books, phrase books, dictionaries, novels, stories, magazines, etc.

Here are some categories of online resources you may want to explore:
- Flashcard programs and apps
- Programs that use and adapt web texts
- Programs that use internet video content
- Comprehensive language programs with apps
- Game-based programs and apps
- Online dictionaries
- Online sites for practicing writing
- Ebooks

Don't let “experts” or friends talk you into using (or even buying) programs, especially, if they have not used them successfully themselves. Try them out yourself and work with the ones you like. Stay with those that keep you interested and motivated.

(We, personally, like and use GamesforLanguage and the programs and apps of our Partners. However, it's up to you to try out and find the learning tools that motivate and engage you, ideally with daily practice!)

Remember: The "best" program won't help you learn and practice, if you don't use it!                           

4. Set your most important goal

Do something Goals - Gamesforlanguage.comyour foreign language (almost) every day.

This is the one goal you should start out with: daily engagement with the language. Just think: A goal of just learning 10 new words a day, for 300 days, will amount to 3,000 words, sufficient for many conversations!

The amount of time you spend is less important than the daily routine. Try to apply the 20-minute rule. (i.e. Doing something for 20 minutes is manageable for almost everyone.) It works for many people.

If you weren't a big procrastinator in school, this is one school habit that could be helpful now. And, if you were – now is the time you can acquire a new habit quite easily.

Even though progress may seem slow at times, the benefits of daily practice will also become obvious: things are starting to click; you'll hear sound differences; you'll remember words and phrases; grammar rules begin to make more sense, etc.

Language learning is not a linear process. Think of it more in terms of “weaving a rope” that consists of many strands. This is an image for language learning suggested by Michael Erard, author of Babel no More and a topic of one of our recent posts: Are You Weaving Your “Language Rope?

Learning to do something regularly is an important habit. If you can learn to use the 20-minute rule for your language, you can apply it to other tasks as well. Not a bad habit to have.

5. Find a native speaker to talk with

native speaker? - Gamesforlanguage.comAs soon as you can, find someone to converse with. Be it a language-exchange partner in an online community or an occasional tutor on Skype. It could even be someone in your own neighborhood who is eager to speak his or her own language with you.

Your language course in school was probably not an ideal place for learning to speak in a foreign language. You had to compete for “air time” in class and deal with fears about speaking up.

Learning to freely converse with others in a language you formerly struggled with in school is both a huge achievement and a special pleasure. So, don't delay. Take charge of your own learning and take advantage of the resources available on the Internet. It's really worth it.

How do I know?

Language have always been part of my life. I'm both a language learner and a language teacher. Once out of school, I continued learning languages on my own; I really enjoy “language hacking”, I enjoy learning languages quickly and efficiently.

It's been exciting to see the Internet start providing fantastic tools and resources for learning languages.Benny Lewis, the “Irish Polyglot”, may be on to something, when he invites you to get you started with a FREE week-long email course: Speak in a Week.

Will you become fluent in a week? In ten days? Clearly not, but changing your School mindset and getting into a daily learning habit with materials that interest you and you have fun with, will get you into “language hacking” in no time...

Disclosure: Certain links above are to partners' programs with revenue sharing, should you decide to subscribe or purchase.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

How to Overcome Your Foreign Language Anxiety

anxious woman - Gamesforlanguage.com                  

Do you ever get a little anxious when speaking a foreign language? Foreign language anxiety knows no age and can bubble up in anyone.

It doesn't matter whether you're speaking formally in the classroom or office, on the telephone with someone you don't know, or informally "on the street."
 
So, why do some of us get anxious when speaking to someone in a foreign language?  Well, we sometimes imagine all kinds of mishaps. The thoughts are all in our head but the fears feel very real.

We worry about:
- making a fool of ourselves
- saying an utterly wrong thing
- being badly misunderstood
- making mistakes
- being embarrassed

On top of that, our anxiety itself may have all kinds of effects on us:
- we blank out in the middle of what we're saying
- we forget words and phrases that we thought we knew well
- we start to stutter or get visibly flustered
- we start to feel nauseous or otherwise physically uncomfortable

Worst case scenario: As a result, we avoid situations in which we could use our foreign language. Ultimately, we find it hard to continue learning the language.

But it doesn't have to go that way! A second or third language is a huge personal and professional asset. If you want to make that new language your own, it's totally worth dealing with your anxieties.

Below are 3 situations in which the fear of speaking in a foreign language often pops up, even in people who are outgoing and used to being assertive.

SPEAKING UP OR PRESENTING IN CLASS, or in another formal context

Holding your own in a foreign language when you're being evaluated by a teacher, a superior, or even peers can be particularly anxiety-provoking. Before and during your speech, all kinds of additional emotions may come up, including jitters about standing in front of a group.

You may feel anxious about:
- looking foolish
- not being prepared
- suddenly losing concentration
- feeling self-conscious and shy
- feeling unable to explain your ideas
- getting stuck and/or losing your thread
- going completely blank

Dealing with anxiety about speaking in front of a group starts the moment that you know you'll be doing it. But curious as it may seem, you have quite a bit of control over such an event.

Because you're anxious, it's easy to avoid thinking about the presentation. Thinking about it also means worrying about it. However, the key is to start early and not to procrastinate.

A Few Tips For Acing That Speech

- Put your speech or presentation together as soon as you can, and don't try to make it perfect.
- Practice your speech out loud, in front of a mirror, and if you can, before a partner or friend.
- Practice again and again until you have your speech pretty well memorized.
- Write down a few key words, and practice your speech again, this time talking more freely.
- Look up and write down a few phrases that you'll need when you should lose your thread during your presentation, phrases such as: "what I meant to say ...", "okay, that's not right", "let's go back", etc.
- Practice your speech, this time "blanking out" a couple of times. Use your phrases to get back on track. Don't forget to chuckle at yourself as you do this.
- During your presentation, focus on the here and now.
- Find a kind-looking face in the middle or back of the room and from time to time use that person as a focus.

SPEAKING WITH SOMEONE ON THE TELEPHONE, or Skype, camera off

If you cannot see the other person, you don't get important visual clues from the other person. So, you have to focus exclusively on the person's voice. This makes a telephone call in a foreign language with someone you don't know or don't know well, particularly difficult and anxiety-provoking.

In such a situation, you may be be concerned about:
- misunderstanding what the other person is saying
- not being able to formulate what you want to say
- sounding scared rather than confident
- saying something stupid
- starting to stutter
- having the other person hang up in exasperation

As with a presentation, preparing yourself is crucial. Even if your language learning goal has been only to "speak" in the foreign language, it's worth mastering some writing skills.

The good thing about speaking with someone on the telephone, is that you can have your "cheat sheet" right in front of you to help you along. If you're polite, relaxed, and smile as you talk, you'll be just fine.

A Few Tips For Dealing With Telephone Anxiety

- Write out a couple of typical phrases for greeting someone on the telephone, and for starting and concluding a conversation.
- List the items of information that you want to ask or to communicate.
- Write down how to ask questions politely and how to confirm, "yes, that's it."
- Learn typical phrases to help you get through the conversation, such as "Sorry I didn't understand," or "Could you repeat that, please?" or, "Did I get that right?"
- Practice your phrases out loud, several times.
- On the telephone, always repeat the information the other person gave you, just to make sure you fully understood.

SPEAKING WITH SOMEONE IN PERSON, or on FaceTime, or Skype, Camera on

Let's say you're lucky enough to know native speakers you can chat with in person. Or, also nice, you're in the country or in a region where your new language is spoken. All I can say is, go for it!

While having a real conversation may seem a little scary, you have the huge advantage of getting immediate feedback beyond the other person's responses and tone of voice. You also get lots of visual clues: gestures, body language, and his or her facial expressions - especially the eyes.

When talking with native speakers you know or meet, you would typically talk about yourself, your interests, things that you do, and ask about the other person.
If, however, you are visiting or living in a country where the language is spoken, you're lucky.

Daily opportunities for practicing your new language:
- buying something at an outdoor market
- asking for directions
- ordering in a restaurant
- asking for the check
- purchasing a train ticket
- looking for a specific item in a store
- resolving an ATM issue in a bank (see our experience in Seville)
- starting up a conversation while waiting in a line
- making small talk at a social gathering

These kinds of language interactions are not quite as limited in scope as the others. Still, they are a great way to confront your foreign language anxiety in relative safety. As a starter, you could preface any of these encounters by saying that you are just learning the language and that you're eager to put it into practice.

A Few Tips for Conversations

- Prepare by writing down some of the words and phrases that you'll need, be it forskyping - Gamesforlanguage.combe the task you'll undertake or the kind of conversation you're expecting.
- Memorize and practice these aloud.
- Write down questions you want ask, and phrases to help the conversion along, such as: "I didn't understand," "Can you repeat that," "What does X mean?", etc.
- Take a piece of paper with you with a list of words. It can't hurt.
- When you're in a conversation, pay attention to the filler words or sounds, "uhm", "hmm", "eh," etc. Use them, but cautiously at first. Used correctly, they can help you sound more like a native.
- Be aware of the cultural context in which you find yourself. Become alert to what is appropriate, what is not. This is often learned through conversation, by asking questions, and yes, also by making mistakes.

When speaking a foreign language, the cultural context is highly important. In her timely talk - based on her book, The Anxious Language Learner: A Saudi Woman's Story - which Taghreed Al-Saraj gave at the 3rd Polyglot Conference in New York (October 10-11, 2015), she stressed how important a role culture plays in communication and behavior.

It also means that the person learning a language is adopting "a new identity ... (and) is learning a new way of doing things. ... What's normal in one culture differs from what's normal in another culture."

Should you indeed say something silly or make a cultural faux pas - you'll probably know this from the other person's immediate, verbal and/or non-verbal responses. When it happens, it's best to learn how to laugh at yourself, say you're truly sorry, and chalk it up to language-learning experience.

Just remember, a little specific preparation can make it easier to speak up in the foreign language you're learning. It's been proven that practice reduces anxiety. Then, when you are involved in a conversation, know in your mind that it's okay to make mistakes and to feel somewhat uncomfortable. With time and practice, you'll gradually learn to deal with your fears.

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.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Are You Weaving Your “Language Skill Rope”?

language skill rope - Michael ErardAre you learning a language and weaving your "Language Skill Rope"?

In mid-October 2015, we attended the 3rd international Polyglot Conference in New York City. It was great! More than 400 language aficionados were there to mingle with. There were also a number of interesting talks on a wide range of language-related topics.

One talk I enjoyed a lot was by Michael Erard, the author of Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners and other books about language and learning. He spoke about “A New Metaphor for Language Learning.”

According to Erard, a metaphor can shape the way you think and talk about a set of skills. For example, it can be helpful to:

• explain abstract or complex concepts
• conceive solutions to problems
• foster communication
• create familiarity
• trigger emotions

I also did not know that metaphors can actually be “designed.” It was fascinating to hear Erard talk about his five-year experience as a full-time metaphor designer at the FrameWorks Institute, a Washington think tank. Curious about that, and how the skill-rope metaphor was developed? You can find out more: Frameworks Research Report “Weaving Skill Ropes”

According to Erard, the metaphor of “weaving ropes” works well for learning language skills, specifically.

While the idea of a language learning metaphor did not resonate with me initially, I've since warmed up to it. I now find the “rope” metaphor actually quite useful. It's put my language skills into a new light. It also helps me understand how my awareness of language learning has changed since my childhood.

Language Learning from Child to Adult

kids playing - Gamesforlanguage.comAt different stages of life, we learn language differently - and also think about language learning differently.

As children, we typically learn to speak our first (or second) language “naturally,” just by imitating our parents, caregivers, and friends and getting corrected by them. Watching my own and other children, it's obvious to me that they don't think much about what and how they're learning.

When we start with reading and writing in school, it becomes clear that we have to put in some effort to learn these skills. Besides, it begins to dawn on us that there are others who can speak, read, and write better (or worse) than we do. Whether it's a chore, a pleasure, and/or a competition with others, we have to learn how to read and write in our own language. It's essential to function socially.

Once we're teenagers or young adults and have added a foreign language to the skills we want to acquire, things really change. We think about why we learn another language. We may even have some kind of learning-metaphor in mind. We also become keenly aware that learning another language means focusing on the individual skills of listening/understanding, reading, speaking, and writing. And, to get “proficient” in one or all of the four skills, we have to work at it and practice a lot.

We also now know that there are reasons why, as adults, we cannot learn a foreign language the way a child does. For one, our ability to hear (and reproduce) certain sounds decreases in our teenage years. (See my earlier post Beyond 'Learning a Language Like a Child')

One popular metaphor for language learning is “long-distance running” (in contrast to a “quick sprint”). But the long-distance metaphor only speaks to the time span required to become proficient in another language. It does not, for example, address how we acquire or develop the four skills, how the skills are related, etc.

The Skill Rope of Language Learning

blue ropeIn his post Language Learning is Weaving a Rope published on Schwa Fire, his former online magazine on “language and life,” Erard explained why the metaphor of “learning skills as weaving ropes” works well for language learning:

"Ropes, as everybody knows, are made up of multiple strands, and language skills, like other skills, are made up of cognitive, social, and emotional components.
Learners have to have those strands modeled, and they also have to be given opportunities to practice weaving those strands together.
Some of the cognitive strands are given because you’re born with them (and they include working-memory capacity, brain processing speed, and general plasticity factors), while others are more plastic and can be enhanced.
The social and emotional strands involve activities like dealing with boredom, staying focused on tasks, doing fun things, dealing with errors, social anxieties, and seeking out opportunities to use a new language.
All these strands are related to each other, and the rope as a whole needs all these strands to be as strong as they can be."


Thus, we can think of each language that we speak, as a separate rope consisting of, say, three main strands, our cognitive, social, and emotional skills. We may all differ in such skills. But by weaving a strong “language rope,” we can take advantage of the reality that we can compensate for the weaker skills.

Keeping the “Skill Rope” in Mind

One may ask how learners can benefit from the skill rope metaphor or image. I believe that keeping the rope-weaving metaphor in mind has several benefits:
1. Weaving means “doing” something active. - Yes, we have to memorize vocabulary, try out unfamiliar sounds by saying them, learn certain idioms and phrases, pay attention to grammar rules, find others to speak with, and many other tasks we have to organize and do. Only by being engaged with the new language as much as possible and in many different ways, will we progress.

2. Weaving combines strands to increase the strength of the rope. - You may already know how you learn best. If memorizing vocabulary is your Achilles heel, find ways to compensate – try Mnemonics, use vocabulary apps or flash cards. If you're a very social person, you may weave your skill rope more successfully in a class with peers than alone at home with an online course.

3, Weaving takes patience. – Making a strong skill rope of different strands takes time. There are ups and downs in how we learn. Sometimes we stop learning/weaving for a time, but we can always take up our learning again. Just imagine: the rope is still there and you can just pick up the strands again and continue learning/weaving.

Language Skill Ropes of Different Strengths

The skill-rope metaphor makes it easy to imagine one's own proficiency in a language. Even the most accomplished polyglots at the conference – and we met quite a few in New York - will acknowledge that they don't speak every language equally well.three ropes - Gamesforlanguage.com

I have started to imagine that each of the three major strands - cognitive, social, and emotional - contain “sub-strands” of all or parts of the four language skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing.

My own language skills I therefore now see in this way: My German and English skill ropes are quite strong, my French one a little weaker (while I speak French fluently, my grammar and writing skills need work).

Italian and Spanish I imagine as still thinner ropes that need more weaving.

My “Dutch” probably is still the weakest rope. But I continue weaving on my Dutch by doing LearnwithOliver's Daily Dutch Exercise and speaking Dutch with my wife from time to time. 

Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.

Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com has no business relationship with LearnwithOliver.com other than having received a free 3-month Premium account for Dutch. See our Privacy Policy and  Terms of Use for further details.

Posted on by Paul Mains

7 Reasons why Language Learners Love Games

Languages signpost - Gamesforlanguage.comThough the rewards of mastering multiple tongues are immeasurable, nobody says that learning a foreign language is easy.

From memorizing new vocabulary to making sense of unfamiliar grammatical structures, the language-learning process is fraught with challenges.

And the difficulties that language learners face go beyond the language itself. From lack of time to lack of money to lack of motivation, the realities of everyday life often prove to be a more significant roadblock on the path to fluency than the complexities of vocabulary and grammar.

Luckily for the modern language learner, there’s a simple and effective way to overcome these common obstacles that life throws at us: playing games.

No, language games can’t simplify the grammar of a foreign language: they can’t take away the subjunctive in Spanish, or reduce the number of cases in Russian from six to two. But they can and do provide a host of other benefits for learners – even those of us who are busy, shy, or unmotivated.

Here’s how language games address common problems that learners face.

1. Games are fun.

The problem: It’s undeniably chic to be able to switch your language at the drop of a hat, Boy and girl having fun but the process of getting there isn’t always so glamorous. Indeed, there are some aspects of foreign-language grammar that will prove dense or even outright boring.

How language games help: There comes a point in time when we simply can’t look at lists of irregular verbs anymore without falling asleep. But when we turn these lists into a game, we’re suddenly awake, involved, and perhaps even enjoying ourselves.

Free games like this Spanish verbs race maintain our interest and attention when we’re reviewing topics that can often induce boredom.

2. Games are low-pressure.

The problem: Nobody likes making mistakes, and this goes double for language learners. There are few experiences as uniquely frustrating as making grammatical errors when trying your hardest to communicate well in a foreign language. When interacting with native speakers, this can be a highly anxiety-inducing experience.

Our fear of making mistakes can prove debilitating when it discourages us from conversing – and thus improving – in our language of study.

How language games help: Games constitute a perfect casual setting where we can make mistakes freely and without judgment. In conversations with native speakers, a forgotten article or misused verb tense can be embarrassing, but when we’re playing a game like Kloo, we can more easily just laugh it off – after all, it’s only a game!

Gamer at work - Gamesforlanguage.com

3. Games aren’t work.

The problem: You’ve just finished a long day at work or school (or both!), and the last thing you want to do is MORE work.

Although every language learner dreams of being able to devote their entire day to learning new words and phrases, the realities of school and work get in the way of this.

We already have jobs, classes, and responsibilities, and learning a new language can seem like yet another item on our endless to-do list.

How language games help: If you’ve already spent all day in class, you’re not going to want to study even more at home. But what about playing a game?

That doesn’t sound so bad! Language games help us view language learning not as work, but as something fun and relaxing. This way, we can look forward to the time we spend learning a language, even after a long day in the office.

4. Games are motivating.

The problem: Even the most diligent language learner will experience a dip in their motivation at some point. Indeed, motivation ebbs and flows, and sometimes we simply just don’t have the drive to stare at the same verb conjugation tables for the hundredth time.

Of course, staying motivated is a key aspect of the language-learning process, and it can be difficult to make progress when our motivation is low.

How language games help: Games are goal-based, and are designed to be motivating. Whether the purpose of the game is to solve a puzzle, beat out our competitors, or get a new high score, playing language games is fun and exciting.

Even when we’re running out of steam, it’s much easier to muster up the energy to play some games than it is to forge through a new chapter of our coursebooks.

Family Playing Video Games

5. Games are social.

Games are great for learners of all ages. (Image via Pixabay)

The problem: Especially if you live in an area where there aren’t many native speakers of the language you’re studying, it can be hard to find people to talk to. Indeed, language learning can be quite a solitary activity for many learners among us.

But given that language is an inherently social thing – the purpose of learning a language is to communicate, after all – this lack of social interaction can be a hindrance in the language-learning process.

How language games help: Language learning is best done with friends, and a game is a perfect activity to share with others. If you can connect with native speakers, playing games with them will not only strengthen foreign language skills, but can also strengthen your friendships.

And even if you don’t have any native speakers at your disposal, you can set up a friendly competition and challenge your fellow language-learners.

6. Games are quick.

The problem: You’re busy. Unfortunately, for most of us, learning a language is not our only responsibility. When we’re constantly on the move and running errands, it can be hard to squeeze in time for language practice – let alone find the time to devote to language classes every week.

How language games help: If you’ve got just five minutes to spare, it won’t do you much good to try hurriedly getting through half a page of your course book. But just a few minutes is all you need to play quick a quick game like these ones, which help you practice various aspects of French pronunciation and grammar.

Games are a great way to fill those scarce moments of downtime in our hectic day-to-day lives.

Free Online Games - Gamesforlanguage.com7. Games are (quite often) free.

The problem: Between classes, course books, audio CDs, and other supplementary materials, learning a language can take a toll on our wallets.

Nobody likes spending money, and for many of us, buying expensive courses and materials is simply not feasible.

How language games help: With the ever-growing prevalence of the internet, there are more and more opportunities to play language games – completely free of charge!

All of the offerings from Games for Language are totally free, giving anyone with an internet connection the chance to improve their language skills and have fun while doing so.

Indeed, from being nervous to being exhausted to simply being bored, there are plenty of things in our daily lives that can prevent us from studying a foreign language and advancing our skills.

But fortunately, taking advantage of language-learning games can help us combat these challenges – despite our social, monetary, and schedule restrictions.

Games are a great way for us to stay regularly connected with our foreign language, and can help solidify language learning as a part of our daily routine we look forward to.

Readers: what are your favorite language-learning games? What other benefits does playing games offer us? Let us know in a comment on GamesforLanguage's contact or its Facebook Page!

Bio: The above post is from Paul Mains, an English teacher who lives in Argentina. Paul writes on behalf of Listen & Learn, a language teaching service which offers foreign-language level tests as well as other free language-learning resources on their website. Check out their Facebook page or send an email to paul@listenandlearn.org for more information

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

How to gain confidence in speaking and writing a foreign language.

Confidence Sign - GamesforLanguage.comIt is no secret that the key to learning a new foreign language is maximizing your exposure to it. That's how children learn their first (or second) language. And, that's why immersion programs - ideally in the country where the language is spoken - are the fastest way for adults to learn a new foreign language.

Yes, for some, total immersion can be stressful, especially at the beginning. But, once you get over the shock of not understanding and not being understood, you'll progress fast.

On the other hand, not everybody has the time or resources to spend several weeks in an immersion course. Besides, once you are out of an immersion situation, you still have to continue to learn and practice your new language by using it as much as possible. Here also applies, as with all learned skills: “If you don't use it, you'll lose it.”

Active vs Passive sign - Gamesforlanguage.comActive vs. Passive – Output vs. Input

Reading and listening, so-called "passive" skills, are very important. They provide you with essential language "input."

So yes, at the beginning you should take courses, online or in-person, learn vocabulary, read in your foreign language, and listen to native speakers as much as you can. This includes audios and podcasts, and films and television programs.

Creating a web-browsing habit, for example, with a Chrome-extension and regularly watching a soap or series on your computer or television are great ways to absorb a language passively. But, you also need to "do" something with all that input.

In my experience, you'll make the most dramatic progress and gain confidence, if you create and maintain a few effective speaking and writing habits. At different stages of your language journey, you'll want different activities.

Here are three suggestions each, for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners.

Beginner - Karate - Gamesforlanguage.comBeginner

1. Learning the numbers, at least to a hundred, gives you a terrific tool for regular practice. Not only are numbers useful for shopping, giving phone numbers to friends or business contacts, paying in a café or restaurant, etc., they are a handy way to practice pronunciation.

(You can get started with these number games French, German, Italian, and Spanish)

Use Numbers for anything countable during your day: count out loud as you do your morning exercises; count as you cut the fruit for your cereal; say telephone numbers in your foreign language before dialing. You can probably think of a dozen more ways yourself.

2. Subscribe to a Newsletter or Blog in the language you're learning, or keep an easy-reader book handy. Several times during the day, take a short break to read a few sentences aloud.

Saying phrases and sentences instead of reading them silently makes a big difference. I read a lot in French, but that doesn't make my spoken French particularly smooth. And although I can speak French quite fluently, reading aloud still works for me now:

A couple of months ago, when visiting family in French Switzerland, I read a bed-time story in French to our nephew's 6 year-old daughter. At first I felt (and sounded) awkward and Céline kept correcting my pronunciation. But after five minutes or so, I got into it. The next day, I noticed that I felt much more relaxed speaking French. The practice I had gotten with reading aloud had boosted my confidence.

3. Copy down phrases that you want to learn. Then, at various times during the day, write these phrases again from memory on a sheet of paper and check against the original for any mistakes.

When we write in a foreign language, we tend to translate first in our head. One way to break this habit, is to practice with idiomatic phrases that don't translate literally. For example:
- German: "Das ist mir Wurst!" (literal: 'That's sausage to me!', but meaning: That doesn't matter to me!);
- French: "faire la grasse matinée" (literal: 'to make the fat morning', but meaning: to sleep in);
- Spanish: "¡A otro perro con ese hueso! " (literal: 'To another dog with that bone!', but meaning: You're kidding me!);
- Italian: "In bocca al lupo!" (literal: 'In the wolf's mouth”, but meaning: Good luck!).

(A reader also pointed out the following: "The idiom has a rejoinder namely 'Crepi!', which means 'May [or 'Let'] the wolf drop dead.' It's a typical foreigner's mistake to respond to 'In bocca al lupo' by saying 'Grazie'.")

Karate on the beach - Gamesforlanguage.comIntermediate

1. Whether at home or walking around outside, say (aloud) the name of any items that you can see. This seems to be an exercise for beginners, but you'll be surprised how many names of things or actions you can't remember just off the top of your head.

If you have a place where you can put words into flashcards (such as Quizlet.com or Anki), write them in and practice them. Otherwise print or write them out and hang the page on your fridge! Needless to say, whenever you practice, say the words aloud.

2. Several times during the day, talk to yourself for a few minutes in your foreign language. (Or even better, if you can, talk to a partner.) You can comment on what you're doing just then (organizing, running an errand, eating, cooking, cleaning, etc.), you can talk about what you did earlier, or about any upcoming plans.

Even just the effort of changing to another language and searching for words gets your brain going. And if you do this often enough, it will indeed become a habit.

3. At this stage, you're probably ready to participate in groups or forums to practice your writing. There are plenty of foreign language groups on Facebook, etc. that you can join. Start writing comments in the language you're learning and don't worry about making mistakes. If you ask people to correct your writing, you may get that too.

Karate experts on the beach - Gamesforlanguage.comAdvanced

1. From time to time, write and memorize a short "lecture" about something that interests you and then recite it from memory, or with the help of a card containing a few key words. Pretend that you have an audience and really make an effort to communicate, convince, or persuade.

If you're so inclined, make a video of yourself and play it back. That kind of feedback could be somewhat painful at the beginning, but also enormously helpful.

2. Suggestion #1 above could be also the preparation for speaking with an online language exchange partner or tutor. There are many to choose from. We like languageexchange.com, Italki.com etc.

3. Find a “live” partner or tutor to talk with. There's no substitute for having spontaneous conversations on various topics. This will rapidly increase your fluency, but you have to find a way to do this regularly. I certainly notice that my French fluency always gets a boost when I have my bi-weekly lunches with a French-speaking friend.

Creating a habit is not always easy right away, you have to stick with it, even when sometimes you don't feel like it. Learning to speak and write a language takes time and patience because there are no dramatic results, except for a beginning learner.

Have a look at Lifehack.org's 18 tricks on how to stick with a habit. Some of these tricks may well help you. But above all, have fun and enjoy the new confidence that you're building.

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.

Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com has no business relationship with any of the sites mentioned in the above post, except with our partner site italki. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further details.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

3 Language Learning Pitfalls to Avoid

Pitfalls - Gamesforlanguage.comIn a earlier post, Beyond Learning Language like a Child, I reviewed some of the reasons why adults can't learn a second language like a child.

Adults have to use different strategies and methods than children, but as second language learners all over the world prove: You CAN learn a second language as an adult!

A Second Language For You?

The many benefits of learning another language are well-documented. But adults also have strong reasons for deciding against becoming bi- or multilingual. The reasons English speakers most often use, include:
- I do not need to speak second language.
- I can get along with my English well enough when traveling.
- I am not good at learning a second language.
- I don't have time to learn a second language.

What about those adults who began learning a second language, or even continued with a language they had leaned in school, but then stopped? Why did they give up?

Inconclusive Data

I recently came across this question on Quora from 2012: “What is the success rate of learning a foreign language in the world?”  You can find three thought-provoking answers HERE.

I have not been able to find any other credible statistics for the U.S. or other countries than those mentioned in the answers to the above Quora question. A recent Pew Research report looked at the foreign language requirements in Europe.

While the anecdotal evidence may point to higher success rates in European countries than in the U.S., the question remains: Why do so many adults give up on learning a second or third language, even one they learned for several years during school or college? And what about the astronomical failure rates of students enrolled in language courses, including those subscribing to online programs?

I believe there are three (3) main reasons why adults give up on learning a language:

1. The “Adabei” Effect - or: No True Reason or Need

There is a wonderful expression in the Austrian/Bavarian dialect for a person who wants to be part of a peer group.
 Want vs. Need - Gamesforlanguage.com
The dialect word is “Adabei,” which in standard German means “auch dabei” (also with it). In the context of language learning, an “Adabei”would be someone who wants to speak a certain foreign language because his or her friends say it's the “in thing” to do.

A desire to be or do “like the others” can indeed be a strong initial motivator. But it may also be short-lived, once the excitement fades and it becomes clear that substantial effort is required.

Years ago, it was fashionable to learn French, which was then replaced by Russian, and more recently by Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. On the other hand, Spanish in the U.S. is certainly on the rise and may become not only an “in” language but also a very useful one to learn and speak.

By the same token, a person who lives in an immersion environment - as in a country or region where everybody else speaks another language - is not an “Adabei. ” Rather, such a person is someone who - out of necessity - quickly becomes a very motivated learner!

2. Marketing Promises and Unrealistic Expectations

guaranteed success - Gamesforlanguage.com Ubiquitous marketing promises, such as “Learn a language in 10 days,” “Learn a language like a Child,” "Guaranteed Success", etc. have raised expectations that many learners are unable to meet. Such slogans are a symptom of our new technological world, promising instant, effortless results and gratification.

We don't even need to use keystrokes on our smartphone or tablet to immediately get the most esoteric information: We can just ask Siri for it! You can buy almost anything over the phone or web. Amazon will fill your order in a day or two.

Unfortunately, our desire for immediate and effortless results also produce high expectations. For learning a second language, these expectations often lead to disappointment and a sense of failure. While nobody can learn a foreign language in 10 days, you CAN become fluent in 3 months – but only if that's your main focus during that time. (In a 2014 post we looked at estimates of how long it takes to achieve mastery in a language.)

But for most learners, the fast and easy path to fluency is an unrealistic expectation. My own experience is instructive here: I have been learning Spanish for over a year now, regularly spending 10 to 30 minutes a day with GamesforLanguage, Duolingo, and Babbel courses. I've got good basic listening comprehension and can read quite well.Since our one-month stay in Seville in March 2015, I can also participate in simple conversations (especially when I prepare for them). While I don't speak Spanish fluently yet, I know that I will get there with more conversation practice.

I've also been learning Dutch for several months now, first with Duolingo, and since early June also with Babbel, spending 20 to 30 minutes every day. I don't expect to be fluent, but hope that by the end of August, I'll have made enough progress to understand some Dutch conversations (see my earlier post). And to put things in context: I'm not a language learning beginner, but speak three languages fluently.

3. No Long-Term Plan

If you don't have a compelling NEED to learn another language, and no long-term plan that suits your lifestyle and time commitments, then your learning effort made indeed falter soon. True, classroom or online courses can be a great start for learning a second language.

But unless they are high-intensity, immersion-type courses - such as the Defense Language Institute, Concordia Language Villages, Middlebury Language Schools in the US, and many other schools worldwide offer - even a daily one-hour class, 3 to 5 days a week for several semesters won't make you fluent. Many school and college students experience that fact.

And not everybody is able to follow Benny Lewis' Fluent in 3 Months the long view - Gamesforlanguage.comtime-intensive prescriptions. However, his Speak in a Week Free language course may be just the encouragement you need to get started. (And no, you won't be speaking fluently after a week!)

“I have no time” is the excuse most frequently used. I suspect that it also hides the true reasons why someone abandons a language learning effort. Priorities change (see “Adabei” above), progress is too slow (because expectations are too high), or there's no long-term plan that integrates your learning into your daily life

Therefore, if you really want to acquire a second (or third) language, you should take a long view and first make a plan that takes into account your available time and resources: The material you learn best with, time constraints, and financial means should guide you to select from the wide offerings of free and fee-based resources: online and classroom courses, online and personal tutors, apps and podcasts, library CDs and books, etc.

If you are really serious about learning another language, you have to supplement classroom or online courses with other activities: reading books, newspapers or online articles, listening to podcasts, watching movies, and, if fluency is your goal – having conversations in your new language.

Long-term Engagement: Turning Failure Into Success

If you're wondering whether to continue learning your new language, think about a long-term view to keep you going. It's all about making a language part of your everyday life. Some questions to ask yourself:
- What could make learning more fun?
- How could you incorporate some language learning into your daily life?
- A free Duolingo, GamesforLanguage lesson or Quick Game before breakfast?
- A Mindsnack game while waiting?
- A foreign Neflix movie at night?
- Using your Chromecast to watch a foreign TV show?
- Listening to a podcast while exercising?
- Connecting up with a language partner online?

If your life is busy and you can't commit much time to learning another language now, adjusting your plan is still an option as well. By keeping a long view and calibrating your learning effort to your current situation, you'll maintain your investment and can keep building on it again later on.

Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.

Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com has no business relationship with Babbel.com other than for its founders having purchased a 1-year subscription to the Spanish course and a 3-month subscription to the Dutch course. No business relationship exists either with the other language learning apps mentioned, except for the Benny Lewis affiliate links. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further details.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

2 Strategies for Relearning a Dormant Language

young woman - Gamesforlanguage.comIs relearning a language a language hard?  Not if you have the right mindset. 

A couple of weeks ago, when buying a laptop in one of those trendy stores, we had a typical conversation with a young saleswoman. “Oh, you guys speak German,” she beamed, as she came back from helping another customer. “I thought I recognized the language, all those scratchy sounds.”

She continued: “Well, I took Spanish in school and college. I used to speak it pretty well. But, it's been a couple of years since then. I'd really like to relearn it." She added sheepishly, "Now I couldn't say anything in Spanish if my life depended on it."

That wasn't true, of course. My husband immediately tried his Spanish on her, and she responded with a couple of simple phrases. “Okay” she said, “but I would need to go to Mexico and live there for a while. I bet Spanish would come back.”

At the moment, it looked like she was busy getting her work life together. She didn't really seem focused on language learning. But she got us thinking again about how adults can get back a foreign language they once knew.

Relearning a language has to be one of the smartest decisions you can make. There are so many benefits involved. Besides adding a notable skill to your resume, you're giving your brain a fantastic workout.

Also, knowing another language makes traveling much more fun. For more benefits, read lingholic's blog post. Simply said, if you're open to the pleasure of language learning, it's always worth it.

1. Reactivating a classroom language

When you learn a language in school or college and then stop using it, you may feel after a while that it's “gone.”

But is that really so? As studies have shown (using functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, as described in this academic Sciencedirect.com article): When you learn a new language, your brain undergoes neural changes, which have short and long-term effects on language learning and cognitive control.

This Guardian article explains what happens to the brain when you learn a language in a less scholarly way.

From such studies, it becomes apparent that a second language - even when learned as an adult - retains a presence in your brain. This neurological presence gives you a head start on various aspects of the language, ones that a newcomer would have to learn from scratch.

School children in classroom - Gamesforlanguage.comTraditionally, classroom learning has tended to be somewhat heavy on textbook exercises and reading, and (necessarily) a little light on speaking practice. Classroom learners acquire reading and writing skills, and at least a basic understanding of grammar.

Therefore, reading will likely be the most effective way to reactivate a classroom language that you've put aside. Plus, if you liked the writing exercises, you can easily bring this skill to life again by first copying texts and later participating in a language community on one of the social networks.

Some have found that labeling objects in their home with Post-its will boost their vocabulary. A further step would be to try one of the interactive online language programs. In some ways, they are a perfect tool for adults who want to reactivate a language.

Many of the online programs or apps have you learn or review a language in various ways: identify a word you hear, write the translation, repeat after a native speaker, figure out grammar patterns, put together basic sentences, etc. In this way, you can practice - and relearn - the sounds, spelling, essential grammar, word order, and vocabulary of the language you want to brush up.

All of the above-mentioned ways give you an easy start, and can definitely get you going. To this you'll want to add more reading, and a lot of listening, and as much speaking as possible.

Speaking is probably the hardest skill to acquire for former classroom learners. Fortunately, there are a lot of options for practicing speaking (even if you don't have family members or friends who speak the language you're relearning). If you're the social type, you'll find plenty of free opportunities with language exchange partners, language communities on Facebook, etc.

Paid options include Skype lessons, online tutors such as italki, or courses such as Pimsleur audio programs. For the latter, I would suggest starting with Level 2 or 3, because you're not a beginner.

2. Relearning a childhood language

If you spoke a language as a young child, and then forgot it because it was gone from your life, you may take a different path for relearning the language.

My own experience is informative here:  My first language was German. When I was 9 and 10, I went to school in the Netherlands.

Then, after moving to Canada, I had to learn English and had little exposure to Dutch and German. It was only after the family had settled in and my siblings and I did well in school, that my family started using German and Dutch again at home. It was mostly just by speaking that I kept these languages alive.

Young children learn a language by hearing and speaking it, often during play. children playing - Gamesforlanguage.comAt the same time they are learning to make sense of the world around them. They discover objects and actions, become aware of emotions, and find out how to communicate their needs and wants.

The sounds of the words, which they hear and learn to say themselves, become deeply imprinted on their brain. For young children, the spoken word is paramount because it functions as a tool for discovery and survival.

So, it's especially language as sound, which imprints itself on a young child's brain and leaves a "permanent" mark, as this Guardian article explains. Thus, for adults who spoke another language as a child, reactivating native pronunciation and sentence intonation will come pretty easily. Listening to songs and stories has proven to be a good first step to relearning a “lost” childhood language.

Even more effective would be having conversations with a friend or family member. If he or she can gently correct your mistakes, all the better.

Then, there are other skills to learn. You may have to learn a new spelling and writing system from scratch, as well as essential grammar rules, if you had no formal instruction before. Though a child may have acquired a good-sized vocabulary, the adult has to learn grown-up, formal, and specialized language.

If you're interested in new discoveries about bilingualism and language acquisition, look at François Grosjean's book Bilingual: Life and Reality or check out his Psychology Today blog “Life as a Bilingual: The reality of living with two (or more) languages.”

Make a Plan and Build a Habit

language learning schedule - GamesforLanguage.com Once you've made up your mind to get a (somewhat) forgotten language back into your life, it helps to make a project out of it. Be clear in your mind why you want to relearn the language.

Then set some goals and decide on a daily schedule that you can easily stick to. One way to start is to Build a Habit with the 20 minute Rule. The “20 minute Rule” is based on the idea that you can do anything for twenty minutes, even if you find the activity hard to get into.

So, don't think too much about it. Nike's right: “Just Do It.”

Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She's 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 right here!

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Beyond “Learning a Language Like a Child”

Children playing - gamesforlanguage.com A recent YouTube video by Tom Scott “Why Can't Adults Learn Language Like Children?” had me also look at that question again. Tom gives a engaging quick overview of the various language learning theories that are popular today.

He uses the example of how difficult it is for English-speaking adults to distinguish between a “p” and a “ph” sound. Hindi language speakers apparently learn this distinction as children.

Tom concludes that “categorical perception” may be one explanation for the difficulties that adults have in learning a second language.
Categorical perception (CP) was actually a new concept for me and I wanted to understand it a little better. Here is what I have learned so far about CP.

Categorical Perception

R.Goldstone and A. Hendrickson, in a 2009 paper, define “categorical perception" as “the phenomenon by which the categories possessed by an observer influences the observers perception.”

The highly technical paper notes that “cross-cultural evidence suggests that the learning of a particular language influences the pattern of discriminability between speech sounds.” In other words:

Once you have learned your native language(s) (yes, many children learn more than one), then the sound categories you have acquired as a child make it difficult for you to hear (and learn) the sound differences of other languages as an adult.

In the YouTube video linked above, Tom Scott cites the example of the “p/ph” sound difference that English speakers can barely hear. Similarly, speakers of Chinese and Japanese have difficulty hearing and pronouncing the difference between the “l” and “r” sounds.

Practically all foreign languages have certain sounds that do not exist in one's native language. Some we may be able to recognize and reproduce easily. Abstract musical instrument - Gamesforlanguage.comOthers we may never learn completely.

Color categories are another famous example. Which shades will look alike to you, or which you will perceive and name as different colors, depends on the language you speak and in which culture you have grown up.

The concept of CP suggests that as adults we have already categorized the world around us. And CP may therefore provide ONE explanation, why adults have more difficulty in learning a second language than children.

Listening and Speaking

The examples cited above relate to listening. Once we have acquired the sounds of our native language (and “categorized” them) as children, we seem to start tuning out the sounds of other languages.

Let's not forget though that it takes children more or less the first 2 years of their life with constant listening and practicing to remember and internalize these sounds. It takes them additional time before they can speak in full sentences.

Speaking and Listening - Gamesforlanguage.com Speaking requires children to both listen and imitate the sounds they hear. Once we have learned to produce the sounds of our native language as children, we find it harder as adults to reproduce the sounds of other languages.

The ability to discern different sounds and reproduce them automatically diminishes with children between the age of 8 to 10 years. Apparently, by the time they are teenagers that automatic ability all but disappears.

But with deliberate practice adults can still make progress. Attention to “mouth mechanics”  can be very helpful, as we point out in a recent post. When we understand and practice how to produce a “foreign” sound, we can often get pretty close to native pronunciation. With time, we also begin to hear the differences.

Second-Language Acquisition

When looking into the various theories of second-language acquisition, I found that they fall into either a linguistic or a psychological camp. Just check out this Amazon page and you'll see many well-known names in those fields.

While these books make interesting reading for the language aficionado, they probably help you little in learning a second language faster. There does not seem to be any general agreement on the best method by which adults can learn a second language.

languages sign - Gamesforlanguage.comAnd, because of the changes our brain goes through as we grow up - think CP - there is NO method that lets adults learn exactly like a child, whether it's languages, mathematics, science or anything else for that matter.

What is helpful, however, are descriptions by people who themselves have successfully learned foreign languages, as adults. Opera singer and polyglot Gabriel Wyner's “Fluent Forever”, for example, combines useful learning tips with explanations of how our memory works. It's an engaging and worthwhile read for serious learners.

Interestingly enough, Wyner does not seem convinced that the children's language “learning machine” disappears in adults.

He traces a child's learning advantage over an adult to his or her longer exposure to language in their early years. Adults can typically commit only limited hours when learning a second language.

Benny Lewis, "the Irish Polyglot", in Fluent in 3 Months Premium describes his own strategies and experiences in learning a dozen languages or so after he turned 21. His tips and techniques to become fluent are fun to watch and listen to. They are also a great motivator for many committed learners.

Common to both books is this: Using various strategies, methods and techniques can accelerate your learning quite a lot. Key is using them often and consistently, always remembering the Nike tag line: JUST DO IT!

The Good News for Adults

good news - Gamesforlanguage.comEven if we, as adults, cannot commit the same amount of time to language learning as children, we have other advantages: We can already read and write our native language, we can devise learning strategies, use various learning resources, see grammar patterns etc.

And if we accept findings that CP will make listening and producing new sounds more difficult, we also know that we can learn to overcome such shortcomings.

A personal experience can illustrate how important it is to listen a lot to a foreign language. When I started to learn Italian a few years ago, (even after having completed all 90 lessons of the three (3) Italian Pimsleur courses), I only seemed to hear gibberish when listening to fast-talking Italian radio or TV programs.

But after a couple of weeks of daily listening, I started to discern distinct sound clusters and words. After a while, I began to understand some of the words, then entire sentences. The same happened recently again with Spanish.

No question, Spanish and Italian sounds are easier for English speakers than those of Asian languages, but the point holds: We can learn to distinguish foreign sounds with practice and effort.

So yes: Learning a second language for adults requires time and effort. However, with the right tools and strategies, adults can make good progress and achieve a high level of understanding, and - with enough conversation practice - even fluency.

 Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on FacebookTwitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Motivation, Engagement and Timeline – My Language Learning update

Time Line - Gamesforlanguage.com In January 2015 my post, How P.M Tools can Help Your Language Learning (and my Spanish & Dutch), suggested that some simple Project Management (P.M.) tools can help your language learning.

If we consider learning a foreign language to be a “project” that needs various resources, has a schedule or timeline, and an accomplishment or goal at the end – then some of the key elements of a project are indeed present.

In the previous post I included my simple time line (above) and here is my update on the tasks and activities shown in January:

Spanish – Duolingo

I started Duolingo – Spanish in December 2014 and have continued with it for 148 days, (see screenshot). I've completed all regular lessons and am currently on Level 13 with 5643 points. I'm continuing now with 1 lesson a day. I completed 3 Duolingo tests and progressed from 2.03/5.0 to 5/5 while in Seville.

Spanish – Gamesforlanguage.com

I did not quite complete our Spanish 1 course by the time we left for Europe in February, but reached Level 5. I listened to our Podcasts, which by that time I pretty much knew by heart (we developed them, after all). Many of the phrases and expressions actually proved very useful in Seville.

(We are currently working on tests for each of the Spanish 1 course levels to be available within the next few weeks as “Quick Games.”)

Spanish – Find Tutor, Stay in Seville, Practice Speaking

La Giralda - Gamesforlanguage.com As we described in other posts, we had found three language exchange partners with whom we met repeatedly in Seville. As we described in How a Tutor Boosted our Language Fluency, we did find a tutor while we were there and found our conversations with him to be very productive.

We did not have to switch with him to English (or German), as with our language exchange partners. So, our time with our tutor proved to be very effective for improving both our listening and speaking skills.

Spanish – Watch Movies, Videos, Read, Write, Speak

Unicaja -Games for language Back in the US. I continued to exchange emails in Spanish with the Unicaja bank in Seville, which had withdrawn funds from my account without delivering them to me in a failed ATM withdrawal incident.

As we reported in our post, the money was finally returned just about 30 days later. Unicaja continues to insist that the delay was caused by Maestro (Master Charge in Europe) to whom they had returned the funds.

We have also started to watch Spanish TV and movies again; currently we are watching “Comisario Rex” (actually an Italian series, dubbed Spanish) as well as a soap “Hasta el Fin del Mundo.”

While our listening skills have increased substantially since our stay in Seville and we can guess much from the context, we still can't fully understand all of the rapidly spoken conversations. We find that adding subtitles in Spanish helps a lot.

We continue to read Spanish newspapers and articles online, often using a browser extension, which also boosts our vocabulary.

Spanish – Find Local Language Exchange Partner or Tutor

We are currently looking for a language exchange partner and/or tutor in our area. Becoming really fluent in a foreign language requires practice, and having regularly scheduled speaking sessions is quite important for not losing the progress we have made. Mylanguageexchange.com and conversationsexchange.com were the two sites that helped us find our partners in Seville.

How Fluent?

hablas español - Gamesforlanguage.com While we have not yet achieved the same fluency as in French, we are quite happy with our progress. While our topics of conversation are still limited, we have substantially increased our active vocabulary, have acquired a number of banking terms while in Seville (see our April 2015 post), can talk about Spanish elections, and quite a few other, personal or abstract topics.

Update: on April 28, 2015 I took several of the free tests which were listed on a LingQ post. These tests did not evaluate fluency, but rather vocabulary and grammar proficiency.

As I commented on the post: "I was disappointed with the Transparent Language test as it pegged me as a “Beginner”, while the Language Level Test gave me a B1, the Sprach Caffe a 50/72 , and LingQ an Advanced 3 with knowing 35,500 words. (I’ll do the Bridge test, when I’ll have more time!)" I am currently looking for a test with which I can evaluate my fluency in a more formal way.

Dutch – Duolingo

During January and the first part of February, I indeed completed 1-2 Dutch lessons each day, but stopped during our stay in Seville. In April I again took up Dutch, but found that the 6-7 week hiatus has thrown me back quite a bit.

I have now reached Level 9, with 1844 points (see screenshot above), but find that I have to go back to much earlier lessons again. I currently mostly “strengthen my skills” with 2-3 lessons per day, and will continue to do so until I feel that I have reached my previous level.

In spite of its closeness to German (my native language), I find writing Dutch especially challenging. While some words are pronounced quite similarly to German, they are often spelled differently.

Dutch: Select/Sign Up

I am considering signing-up up for Babbel's Dutch course by May 1 as shown on the time line. We had also subscribed to Babbels' Spanish course and we'll report on our experience with it in a future blog post.

Adding another online course to Duolingo seems necessary to both expand the vocabulary and get more listening and speaking practice. I also hope that once I can formulate some sentences I will be able to practice with my wife Ulrike, who is fluent in Dutch (which she had learned while attending school in the Netherlands for two years).

Motivation and Engagement

Our motivation for improving our Spanish was both related to our planned stay in Seville, and generally to learning another language when traveling to Spanish speaking countries. Cuba and various South American countries are on our list.

By reading Spanish online as well as Spanish books (currently: the Spanish translation of "Hunger Games": "Los Juegos del Hambre", and "La Sombra del Viento" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon) and watching Spanish language movies, we're confident that we'll keep our interest in Spanish alive.

Time Line

So far, I have kept quite closely to the January 2015 time line. In September I'll know whether I have achieved my goal of understanding a good part of the conversations while participating in our Dutch Family Reunion in Utrecht. With the Dutch being so fluent in German and English, I have little hope, however, that I'll be able to practice much speaking.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

2 Language Learning Essentials: Motivation and Engagement

GamesforLanguage: Motivation and Engagement Why is language learning such a challenge for many adults? People often say that they are "not good at languages" to explain why they didn't stay with a language that they started to learn.

But there may be a better answer: Adults who start a language get discouraged easily, stop much too quickly, and don't trust their own abilities enough.

How can you keep yourself from giving up too easily? As with any long-term project, you have to stay really motivated, ideally with specific interim goals in mind. But this is not enough, you also need continuous and wholehearted engagement.

Good and Bad Reasons to Get Started

For adults who set out to learn a foreign language (I am excluding school children here), there may be good or bad reasons for getting started.

Among the “bad” reasons one could include: trying to impress somebody; falling for a quick learning scheme; keeping up with the Joneses.

On the other hand, “good” reasons for learning a language are those related to work, travel, living abroad, family and heritage, friends and lovers, professional interests and study, curiosity about language and culture, just to name the most common ones.

And, for any of these, the real NEED to know the language makes the most powerful motivator.

Motivation

Motivation - Gamesforlanguage.comIt's no secret that many adults that start out learning a foreign language give up after only a short time.

Surveys show that “keeping up the motivation” and “not enough time” are the two principal difficulties that learners list when learning a foreign language.

And while the excuse that there's “not enough time” may also hide other reasons, most adult learners are usually quite motivated at the outset, only to realize that real progress is slow and takes more time and effort than they had anticipated.

Also, there clearly are different levels of motivation. The need to understand and speak a new language may be different for someone who has a new job assignment and career in a foreign country than for someone who intends to travel there for a short vacation. But “keeping up the motivation” is certainly a difficulty that cannot be underestimated.

There are very few things (if any) in life we can really learn halfheartedly. As children we seem to learn many things playfully, but it takes us quite a few years to fully acquire our first language, as well as complex skills such as playing various sports.

The motivation to learn is likely both genetic (“wired” for language, walking, running, winning, etc.) and environmental (copying, competing with, encouraged by siblings, friends, parents, teachers, etc). As adults, the goals and challenges we set ourselves arise from various sources, family, friends, jobs, as well as our own interests, desires, fears, etc.

Learning a foreign language as an adult is one activity that will show progress only if we have regular and frequent exposure to the language and use it with increasing frequency. Those learners who engage themselves with the language in many different ways will also find that they will stay motivated.

Engagement                                                                                    

What does “engagement” mean in this context? To be “engaged” in learning a foreign language implies that you do more than just attend a language class once a week, listen to a couple of CDs or online lessons once or twice per week or open a vocabulary app or a course book from time to time.

"To be engaged" means that you have been bitten by the language bug and are getting involved with the new language in many different ways. You'll be reading newspaper articles and book, watching TV and movies, regularly listening to audios and podcasts, and meeting people to talk to, either in person or online.

(Talking with native speakers is really the best way, and many believe the only way to practice speaking and to improve your fluency.) Fun Menu- Gamesforlanguage.com

You may be planning a trip to the country where the language is spoken and start learning about its culture, history and politics.

If the country's food or wine interests you, great – another entry point to learn about it and get engaged in discovery. 
Just imagine how engaged you are with any activities you consider fun.

The more you can connect the target language with those aspects of life that are fun to you or you feel passionate about, the more engaged you will be, and the more fuel you will add to your motivation.

So deciding which language class to attend or which online language course to subscribe to are only initial steps in your long-term learning project. Maybe you'll even hold off on that decision until you have thought further about what really motivates and engages you.

Once you understand and accept that learning a foreign language as an adult is a long-term, even a life-long project, you can go about making a plan for how to accomplish it. (In a previous post, P.M. Tools for Language Learning..., I had also suggested that applying certain project management tools to such a long-term project will be helpful.)

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