This is our 200th blog post. Every January, we'll publish our 10 most popular blogs of the previous year.
2014 has been a wonderful year at GamesForLanguage, not just because we've grown our number of followers on Facebook and Twitter, but - as of December 2014 - our blog has gotten over 36,000 views.
Thanks for your interest and support! That's what fuels us - as well as the thousands of monthly visitors that come to our free language learning site.
We started GamesForLanguage 4 years ago as an experiment combining (fun) games and (serious) language learning for adults - and enlisted native speakers of French, Italian, and Spanish to our team.
Yes, language games are very popular with kids, but we've been delighted by the positive and constructive feedback that teens and adults have given us about our approach. We always want to hear from you, and we'll get back to you quickly.
We look forward to another great year. It'll include creating new courses and lots of new Quick Games.
Last but not least, we're both going for a spurt to fluency in Spanish and for a fresh start with a new language - Swedish for Ulrike and Dutch for Peter. It's a good way to stay sharp and humble, language learning wise.
While several of the posts date back to previous years, it's surprising that #10 "Not enough time? Really? Language Learning and Setting Priorities" made it on the list, as it was only published on December 17, 2014. Apparently this post hit a nerve.
The La Paloma post has been a front runner since it was published in June 2013. Learning a language via well-known songs is clearly compelling. There are several other websites using this idea.
We recently published a post on French Social Media terms and are interested to see how it does this year. Social Media sites continue to be great places to practice and improve a language and being familiar with social media language is a good tool.
We welcome your comments and suggestions for new blog post topics! Wishing you an excellent and fun new language learning year!
P.M. Tools for Language Learning? - updated 2-11-2017
Many language projects seem to fail because of Lack of motivation and Poor Time Management.
This is consistent with the unattributed survey graph we discussed in our previous post, Not enough time? Really? Language Learning and setting Priorities, although the graph had the order reversed: 24% of the respondents had voted for “Not enough time” and 16% for “Keeping up motivation” as their main difficulty when learning a new language.
(We had also speculated that the “not enough time” response may hide other reasons, so the discrepancy matters little.)
Lack of Motivation or Waning Motivation?
Maybe “lack” of motivation is not the right term. Most adult language learners are quite motivated when they start learning a new foreign language.
The strongest reasons are typically related to immigration, a new lover or family member, travel to or work in a foreign country, job or study requirements, and similar clear needs to be able to communicate in the foreign language.
There are other reasons, such as getting in touch with your family/language roots, religious interests, challenging yourself, or even just a passion for language learning. There is, however, an obvious correlation: The stronger the NEED, the stronger the motivation.
Even if motivation was strong at the start, it can easily weaken as the magnitude of the language project becomes clear.
This is especially true for those learners that get caught by slick marketing slogans and ads. And, motivation may also wane for those who have not learned to manage the essentials of what is really a long-term project. They will discover that learning a foreign language as an adult is not difficult per se, but that they will have to commit time to learn and practice.
My father often quoted a (German) saying: “Vor den Erfolg haben die Götter den Schweiß gesetzt” which translates as “The gods have set sweat (hard work) as a condition for success.”
Well, learning a foreign language does not involve sweat, but it does require sustained effort. And those who indeed approach language learning as a long-term project could benefit from applying some of the Project Management tools they may already be using in their professional life.
What is a Language Learning “Project”?
While not all elements typically found in Project Management handbooks are present in a foreign language learning project, important ones are: Projects follow a plan and organized approach; they have a beginning and an end and thus need a time schedule; they need resources; they have an end result or achieve a goal.
What is, however, quite different from the typical “project,” which often involves many people, is that YOU alone are all of these in one: the Project itself, its main participant, the Project Manager, both a resource and a resource consumer, the judge of success, etc.
Which P.M. Tools should you then apply?
Schedule – There are really two parts to this: (1) How long you have, and (2) How much time you can commit. Both are obviously closely related.
If you have only, say, three months to become proficient, you'll have to commit lots of time, take an immersion course, or find a tutor, etc.
(See also our post: 10,000 Hours for Foreign Language Mastery? We state there, for example, that for languages in Group I, Language Testing International (LTI) estimates that it takes a person with “Average Aptitude” 240 hours of training “under the supervision of an instructor and with 1-4 students per class” to reach “Intermediate Mid” proficiency.)
On the other hand, if you have much more than three months, you have many more choices and decisions to make. Such a schedule or timeline does not have to be complicated and is not difficult to create. For my timeline, I use an Excel-type spreadsheet; below, I show my current plan for improving my Spanish and learning Dutch. (More about my reasons for learning Dutch below.)
Resources – Here, money, teaching materials, and human resources come into play. Again, how long you have and available resources are important.
From free to pricey online courses, library materials, books, CDs, audios and DVDs, adult education/community college/university courses, to immersion courses in your country or abroad – the choices and decisions are yours.
The question of “What is best for me?” or “What is the best value for me?” is difficult to answer in general, but, if you google such questions, you can find many blog posts and reviews (including ours) for opinions and recommendations. One note of caution: There is no single “best” program or approach. Money alone does not buy you proficiency in a foreign language.
Nobody can do it FOR you. You have to do the learning YOURSELF! There may be approaches and methods that fit the way you learn better than others. Do some research and try out some approaches.
Most importantly, find the course(s) – in whatever medium – YOU ARE MOST LIKELY TO STICK WITH. But once you have decided on one or, even better, several teaching resources, you should show these and your practice/attendance on a simple timeline. (see below)
A schedule then serves several purposes: It documents your plan visually, you can add, modify or delete activities, it shows key milestones: reading an article; understanding a conversation, an audio, a video; participating in a conversation; writing emails, texts, a journal; proficiency tests, etc.
Accomplishment/Goal – Here, language learning deviates from the typical “project completion” celebration as learning a foreign language as an adult is often a life-long project.
Take my case: I've been in the the U.S. for many years, but have never been able to completely eliminate my German accent – it's not as noticeable as Henry Kissinger's, but it's still there. I took “accent reduction” classes and have to be conscious of how to pronounce “Ws” and “Vs.” I also occasionally find words that I have not heard before.
On the other hand, I read German newspapers to keep up with German as well. As with all languages, German is constantly evolving alongside new social developments. However, by setting certain milestones and targeting your learning to achieve these milestones, you can celebrate your accomplishments and then set yourself the next one.
If your goal is acing a proficiency test you need to take for college or work, it's an obvious one. But as you can see from my schedule example below, I also have a very specific goal for learning Dutch.
Why Learn Dutch?
Dutch is not a language one would learn without a very good reason. (A Google search surprised me, though: There are over 23 million people speaking Dutch, the majority living in The Netherlands (16 million) and the Flemish part of Belgium (6 million).
Islands in the Caribbean (Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, St. Maarten), Suriname (South America), and elderly Dutch speakers in Canada and Indonesia make up the balance.
In addition, Afrikaans, one of 11 official languages used in South Africa, is based on Dutch, and Afrikaans and Dutch speakers mutually understand each other. (This adds another 7 million.)
Now the reason I want to learn to UNDERSTAND Dutch is this: Every couple of years, my wife and I attend a family reunion in The Netherlands. My wife understands and speaks Dutch fluently and with my German background, I sometimes can make out a little.
But that's not enough to really be part of a conversation – even if I were to answer in English or German.
You may know that the Dutch probably speak better English than most of their European neighbors and our relatives are no exception. But when joining a table where everybody speaks Dutch, I often found that making all switch to English seemed like an imposition.
My goal therefore is quite simple: I just want to UNDERSTAND the conversations of our Dutch relatives. This way, when I am sitting at a table where Dutch is spoken, I can participate in the conversation and not force the whole table to switch to German or English. My longer-term goal is obviously to also speak Dutch, but I'll be happy with an interim step by September.
My Plan for Spanish and Dutch
The timeline below shows my current plan.
My focus is on completing the Spanish Duolingo course, as well as our GamesforLanguageSpanish 1 course (for the second time), before we head to Sevilla in the spring.
During our stay in Seville, we plan to hire a tutor for regular daily practice. My wife and I will make every effort to converse in Spanish and obviously take every opportunity to practice our Spanish while shopping, sightseeing, etc. We'll evaluate ourselves on our Spanish fluency at the end of our stay.
After our return in the spring, I'll increase my Dutch learning efforts, complete the Dutch Duolingo course, and subscribe to one or more online courses, most likely, Babbel and LingQ. My goal is to understand Dutch conversations during our stay in the Netherlands.
I do not know yet what I will do after getting back home. I'll probably start reading some Dutch books, maybe watch some Dutch YouTube clips, and, yes, start talking more in Dutch with my wife.
As for Spanish, assuming our fluency has further improved, we'll look for conversation partners among our friends and on online language exchanges, continue reading Spanish books and newspapers online, and watch Spanish movies and videos - because we know: "If you don't use it, you'll lose it!"
Postscript: At the time of the family reunion I had achieved my goal of being able to follow conversations. I am continuing my Dutch practice using both LearnwithOliver's and Lingohut's free Dutch lessons.
Language learning and setting priorities go together.
Last month I a saw on the Google+ page of Finverbus an unattributed graph titled Main difficulty experienced when learning a new language. I don't know whose research produced the graph, nor the sample size or the demographics of those questioned, but I did not find the results surprising.
Of the 8 reasons listed, I thought I could certainly identify with the first two of them: #1: “Not Enough Time” and #2 “To keep up Motivation.”
I've just started to learn Dutch. We are planning a trip to the Netherlands later next year and I will keep a log of how I am doing regarding these two challenges.
Motivation for Language Learning
“To keep up Motivation” is listed as excuse #2 with 16% in the above referenced chart. Ads on TV or radio of happy people communicating in foreign countries or promoting how easy it is to learn a new language may even induce you to give language learning a try.
But it's well known in the language teaching community that a real need to communicate is the strongest and probably the most effective motivator.
How does my desire to learn Dutch rank on such a need scale? Probably not very high. Do I have to know Dutch for visiting the Netherlands? Not really. The relatives and friends we are visiting all speak English, German, or French, all languages I speak fluently. So there is no real “need” for me to communicate in Dutch.
So why am I learning Dutch? Really for three main reasons:
(1) as a test of how much I can learn with Duolingo, the program I am currently using, which I'll follow up with another online program later on. (Gamesforlanguage.com does not yet have a Dutch program.)
(2) whether I can use my wife's fluency in Dutch to augment my Dutch skills by the time we travel, and
(3) to record how my motivation holds up and what conclusions I can draw.
My goal is to establish a learning routine of initially 15 minutes a day – to get into the habit – then increase it to an average of one hour a day.
Not Enough Time
“Not enough time” is listed as excuse #1 by 24% of respondents. As an answer to a survey question this appears quite plausible: Learning a foreign language as an adult takes time – in fact more time than most learners (and most marketers) want to admit.
It is always good to remember how long it takes a child to learn his or her first language. It takes them a few years to learn to speak with some sophistication and several more years to fully master reading and writing.
And spending even an hour a day, 7 hours per week, 30 hours per month, or 365 hours during a year may be more time an adult is able or willing to commit.
But who hasn't heard the saying: “If you want to get something done, find a busy person.” Are busy persons just better at organizing and scheduling their time? Is “not enough time” maybe a convenient excuse, when the real reason, and not listed on the chart, could be: “Not able to manage my time effectively” or “Not able to set priorities”?
And that's also why I don't quite believe the results of the survey regarding the "not enough time" excuse.
It is a very convenient excuse, which may serve as an umbrella for all kinds of other reasons.
Setting Priorities for Language Learning
I'm as guilty as anyone of having used the excuse of “not enough time”for language learning, often and in various circumstances. However, when I am honest with myself, this excuse typically hides other reasons.
They may include preferring other activities that are, at the moment, more urgent or important, or maybe more fun or entertaining. In fact, throughout the day, we usually reset our priorities of what is urgent and important to accomplish.
To the extent that you have a job, a family, friends, and commitments, a good part of your day is already planned for. But most of us also have some “discretionary” time, or idle time, maybe during commuting, waiting, early in the morning, or later in the evening.
And it is here, in setting daily priorities, where motivation plays a major role: If your motivation is strong, you'll plan your day and re-arrange your priorities to make time to learn. (Our post 8 Zen Habits for Language Learning looks at how we can do this.)
But motivation can also fade over time. Learning Dutch seemed such a great idea, just a few weeks ago. But I'll watch out for MY excuses when I don't put in the daily 15 minutes (or the 1 hour later on). So far, I am still on a 20-day streak with Duolingo.
Update
I followed my schedule pretty much as planned - until we got to our Dutch family reunion in the fall. Then, with the urgency gone, I now typically re-start my Dutch practice again a few months before our annual trip to the Netherlands. (Did you you read the previous post: How P.M. Tools can help your language learning ?) And due to Covid-19 we missed our dutch family reunion in 2020 - but I have continued my Duolingo Dutch course daily, and can read Dutch now quite well! From time to time, Ulrike who speaks Dutch quite fluently, will test me a bit during our walks. My priorities for learning and practicing Dutch change with the seasons...
You had started learning your foreign language in school, but never got very good at it (okay, you even hated it!) But now - a new boyfriend or girlfriend, an exciting travel destination, a foreign job opportunity – suddenly got you interested again.
Maybe you also saw some slick advertisements by Rosetta Stone, heard about the free Duolingo, GamesforLanguage and other language courses. So, how do you get back?
The simple answer is: You first have to find a way to develop a daily habit, even it it's just a few minutes a day.
3 ESSENTIAL TIPS
1. Set a modest, attainable short term goal, for example 15 minutes a day for 21 days. Then set a new goal.
2. Schedule a daily reminder on your PDA, Phone, Laptop, Mac/PC for a time when you can actually spend those 15 minutes.
3. Identify the skills you need to work on especially, and focus on these. Learning a foreign language means that you are working on several skills at the same time.
You are training your ear to distinguish between sounds that may be foreign to you; you are intuitively processing grammar structures; you are training your mouth to produce sounds that may be unfamiliar; you are learning a new spelling; you are challenging your brain to make new associations between sound and meaning, etc.
But, as important as finding the “perfect" language learning program for improving your language skills, remember this: No matter what you want to become proficient in: math, reading, yoga, karate,football. basketball shooting, writing, meditation ... the key seems to be - any way you goggle it: "Daily, Steady Practice."
And once you have gotten into the habit of learning and practicing again, there are many ways to keep going. You'll find a few ideas for "non-beginners" in Part 2.
But you won't make much progress, until you develop a daily habit with your new language - whether looking up a grammar question in a book, doing a lesson online, reading a foreign newspaper article, or a chapter of a book, watch a foreign movie or video, participate in an online community, or best: listen to and talk with somebody in the foreign language.
As lifelong language learners - by necessity and passion - we've used different methods for learning a new language. - English and French classes during in school - Assimil records, tapes and books - Immersion French courses in France - Pimsleur CDs to learn Italian and Chinese - Various Online courses for difference languages
We've also lived and stayed in various countries, sometimes for an extended time. It gave us the chance to use and practice the language in daily life. We also took courses there, and learned with local tutors and language exchange partners.
Classroom courses also involved reading novels and newspaper articles (activities that online add-ons can now also make more accessible for more advanced learners.) And for us, a story or interesting text made language learning both relevant and effective.
Overcoming Boring and Frustrating Beginnings
But beginning to learn a new language with CDs or online was often boring and frustrating. Many courses start out by teaching vocabulary and word combinations that seem useless and nonsensical. (Even Duolingo, a program we like a lot ourselves, started out with strange sentences, but is now constantly improving!)
While various grammar points, word order, etc. can obviously be practiced with out-of-context sentences, it's been our experience, that we recall vocabulary much better, if (a) we learn vocabulary in context and (b) we learn useful, everyday language.
With our Gamesforlanguage courses we are using a travel story right from the start. The vocabulary grows from a few simple words in an airplane to phrases and sentences that describe a young man's experiences as he travels through various European cities.
A Mystery Story for Non-Beginners
For our German 2 course, ( the full 76-lesson course is online and can be played for Free with simple registration), we are using a mystery story.
Michael, the young traveler from our German 1 course, returns to Berlin. The young woman who sits beside him in the airplane gives him a book, “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” which she does not want to finish. Without giving away too much, let's just say that this book plays a key role in the story.
Each lesson is built around 4-8 dialog or story sentences, which are broken up into words and phrases - then heard, read, practiced and, re-assembled again, and finally recorded by the learner.
German 2 will add another 700 NEW words to the 700 words of German 1, many of which will be recalled in various games of German 2. Learners will again have to exceed certain point thresholds with each lesson, before they can unlock the next one.
We believe that getting “to the end of the story” will not only be a worthwhile incentive to learn, but will also make learning more fun AND effective.
We all marvel at the ease with which young children can learn one or even more languages. They can't read or write, but when they are immersed in a language, they learn to understand and speak it within weeks.
There are some self-teaching language programs that would like you believe that their method can make you "learn a foreign language like a child." The implication is clear but wrong: no method lets an adult learn like a child does.
Key Differences
This Op-Ed article by William Alexander in the New York Times, The Benefits of Failing at French, summarizes some of the key differences between the ways adults and young children learn languages: • "...[a 2-year old brain has] 50% more synapses - the connections between neurons - than an adult brain..." • "...adults can't help but hear the second language through the filter of the first..." • "...[we] try to get everything right from the get-go and are self-conscious about our efforts."
Train your Brain while Learning
Yes, learning a foreign language requires more effort for an adult than for a (young) child. (The learning advantage that children have over adults begins to disappear between the ages of 6 to 8, according to some psycholinguists.)
But think about it: for an adult it's a "twofer." Even while we grown-ups are struggling with learning a language, our "older" brain is gaining some huge benefits.
There are even studies that conclude that language learning is likely to be more beneficial than popular brain exercise programs such as Luminosity. (see also our post Baby Boomers and Foreign Languages.)
And as Mr. Alexander points out: "Not only is that [i.e. studying a language] a far more useful and enjoyable activity than an abstract brain game, but as a reward for your efforts, you can treat yourself to a trip abroad"...
Many adults still have bad memories from their foreign language learning days in school.
Unless they had a family connection to the foreign language they were learning, had friends who spoke it, or just had a natural curiosity about language in general, children and teenagers often saw required language classes as a necessary evil.
However, as adults they may come to see the benefits of speaking a foreign language. They may encourage their children to do so and – motivated by TV or web-based marketing campaigns – may even want to start learning a foreign again themselves.
“Wanting” to Learn
Learning a foreign language has never been easier than today. A couple of decades ago, options included traditional classes, books, records, self-teaching tapes and CDs. Now you can learn with online self-teaching courses, online personal tutors, you can skype with language partners, listen to MP3 audios, watch videos, join language community networks, etc.
But as LingQ's Steve Kaufmann, somewhat provocatively states: “Nobody can teach you a language. – You have to learn yourself.” And while this notion may be argued by some language “teachers,” most of us adult language learners also know how hard it is to stay motivated.
Radio, TV, and online marketing ads by companies such as Rosetta Stone and others make many “want” to learn a foreign language. But sustaining the efforts through the many months that it takes to become proficient or fluent in a new foreign language are much harder.
And those that are enticed by marketing slogans such as “Learn a language in 10 days” or similar ads, are the first ones who are disappointed when this proves to be just wishful thinking: “Wanting to learn” usually has to be supported and sustained by strong reasons, if the learning is not to be abandoned early.
“Needing” to Learn
In the language teaching community, it is no secret that an adult's strongest motivation for learning a second or third language is the “need to learn.” Such “need” is often caused by external circumstances: moving to another country, wanting to learn the language of one's significant other, fulfilling an educational or an employer's requirement, following a particular career path, etc.
Even when we marvel about how easily young children pick up a second language, we should not forget that they also do so most naturally when they need to be understood by their caregivers and/or playmates. (Games, play acting, etc. can also motivate them during more formal instruction!)
The “need” to be able to communicate in a foreign language is by far the strongest motivator for learning it. So what are you to do when you don't really “need” to learn but just “want” to?
Setting Goals and Staying Motivated
Even without external “needs,” we are all able to accomplish the goals that we set our mind to, i.e. goals that we “want.” In respect to learning a foreign language, this just requires that we set realistic goals and are deliberate about how to stay motivated.
But it also requires that you settle on the right learning method for yourself. This may take some time. For some, attending adult education classes may both be possible and effective; others may find the audio-only lessons work best for them; both free, as well as fee/subscription-based self-teaching courses can easily be found on the internet and often tried out before committing.
In “3 Tips...Part 1:Beginners” and “5 Top Tips...Part 2-Non-Beginners,” we suggest how you can begin and continue learning a foreign language. And when “wanting” and “needing” merge into each other, then staying motivated will be a breeze.
Words and phrases are the building blocks of a language, but you also need the know-how for putting them together.
So, the best approach for learning a new language is acquiring some language basics (useful vocabulary, an understanding of how to create sentences, essential grammar, the sounds of the language).
Once you've done that, you'll want to increase your vocabulary, right? The more vocabulary you have, the better you'll be able to express yourself.
Here are 6 proven ways to learn and practice vocabulary:
1. Use Flashcard Programs
Programs using flashcards are available for free or for a fee to anyone with a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The most popular program is probably memrise.com. But quizlet, anki, antosch-and-lin also have good features and plenty of fans.
One reason good flashcard programs work well is that they are based on the principle of spaced repetition and prompt active recall. The key is to practice often and to sneak in practice time whenever you need a break, are waiting in line, or have an extra ten minutes.
2. Label items around your house
Learning the words for items that surround you in daily life is an excellent idea. By labeling these items in the language you're learning, you'll easily build up useful vocabulary and keep the foreign words in your memory. You could even add some relevant short phrases.
Write your own post-it notes or use a program that provides labels you can download.
3. Keep a small notebook
Writing down words by hand is still the best way to embed them in your memory. Handwriting seems to activate deeper learning.
According to Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the Collège de France in Paris, in What's lost when handwriting fades: “When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated. ... [And with this] learning is made easier.”
This YouTube video gives you a few cool tips and tricks on how to keep a vocabulary notebook.
4. Create a Mind Map
A mind map is an ideal way to cluster and organize your vocabulary. Visuals, colors, diagram-links all reflect how the brain thinks and they reinforce how the brain makes associations.
The combination of words and images you create yourself activates both sides of your brain. Such mind maps are a great way to individualize the way you learn.
The following video by the creator of Mind Maps contains a host of ideas and tips.
5. Learn Songs in your new language
Music helps to activate the whole brain for learning. So it's no surprise that songs are particularly suited for immersing you in a foreign language.
There are various reasons for that: songs help with pronunciation and memory, and teach you the rhythm and flow of a new language. Also, because you can easily find songs you enjoy, you're likely to go back to them again and again.
As the popular polyglot Benny Lewis suggests in his blog post "Sing to learn languages": "A good approach is to memorize the lyrics of a song and practice them repeatedly until they've become second nature."
You can easily read news articles and other texts online with a browser extension that provides you with the translation of individual words and their pronunciation. For example, Google's "Language Immersion Chrome Extension".
A similar idea is behind Steve Kaufmann's LingQ.com site. By reading online, and tagging plus seeing the translation of the words you don't know, you can increase your vocabulary rapidly, especially if you use the linked flashcards to practice them later.
These 6 Tips aren't in any special order. Everyone has different preferences. But if you combine some of these tools in a way that works for you - and if you have fun using them - they're bound to give your vocabulary a huge boost.
Childhood memories can be strong, and if a foreign language is connected to one of those memories, they can become the seed for a choice or an experience later in life.
I still remember the riddle which my grandmother used to entertain us children and our friends: "Was ist ein piccolo viech mit quattro haxn?"
The words "piccolo" (small) and "quattro" (four) are Italian words. But "viech" (animal) and "haxn" (legs) are Austrian dialect. We children always found this funny.
This riddle became more relevant when my parents took me and my two older siblings on a trip to Venice, Italy. I was five or six. We went by car from Carinthia (southern Austria) along the Slovenian border and the Italian coast north of Venice. It's a distance of 265 kilometers, which now would take about three hours. At that time it took us closer to five.
For our drive to Venice, we left very early, at about four in the morning. I remember arriving in Venice as the morning was in full swing. The outdoor market was bustling, with vegetables and fruits heaped up at the stands. St. Mark's Square with its pigeons and small vendors was fascinating. And then there was the language. I loved the sound of Italian. It's melody was as exotic to me as the smells and sights of the city.
This early trip to Italy was an experience that lingered in my memory. When I was seventeen, my older sister and I drove to Italy, this time starting out from Vienna. We both agreed that our first stop should be Venice - to recapture the magic we had experienced twelve years earlier.
Then we slowly made our way to Rome. We stayed at camping places, sleeping in the car (an old beetle!). Armed with a phrase book, we did everything in Italian: asking for directions, ordering in a restaurant, buying fruit at the market, flirting with the guys. At the end of our three weeks, we had pretty well mastered Italian as the language for daily (tourist) living.
Life and work happens, but I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to recapture Italian. It took some years before I could make my dream a reality: to learn Italian from the ground up, and to do this in Italy. My husband was newly retired and I was able to continue my editorial work over the Internet.
To prepare for out five months in Rome, we had gone through a series of Italian audio lessons. Once settled into our rental apartment in Trastevere, we found a tutor for daily Italian lessons. She taught us to write in Italian, discussed newspaper articles with us, explained grammar points, and helped us hone our conversational skills.
Needless to say, our stay in Rome was great, and all the more so because we were able to engage with locals in their language. And so, a child's funny puzzle and a childhood trip to Venice had provided the incentive for later language adventures.
Stephanie's Rosenbloom's insightful article in the New York Times recently - What a Great Trip! And I'm Not Even There Yet – made us recall the times we were preparing for a trip and feeling happy in anticipation.
We always thought travel “happiness” was mostly related to bringing a plan to fruition, but Stephanie's explanations focus on the powerful role that anticipation plays in travel.
Books, Films, Friends, and Language Basics
As “the most effective methods for increasing (travel) happiness,” Stephanie lists - reading and re-reading books about the country and people, watching movies, talking with friends, making an iTunes list, browsing fashion and design blogs. She also mentions learning the local language.
We do all of these, and especially enjoy focusing on the language of the country.
This is clearly easier for us for with the European languages – we already know a few of them – but we also learned some language basics prior to traveling to Japan and China.
Admittedly, our listening and speaking skills were quite rudimentary. But mastering numbers, basic greetings, and phrases for ordering food proved helpful for daily interaction and during shopping outings.
Language and the Art of Anticipation
According to Stephanie, happy anticipation is not something that just happens to you. You build it by actively doing things.
Language is deeply rooted in the culture of a place, its food and customs, its daily life. The names of local dishes, drinks, or bakery treats in the foreign language can quickly spark your imagination.
Learning a language little by little, day by day, perfectly suits the art of anticipation - be it with a course, a tutor, or a book. Add songs in the foreign language, short online news articles, YouTube videos, etc. and you'll continue to build your language skills and local knowledge about the country.
[We played "Dimmi quando..." by Tony Renis (picture above) often before our stay in Rome, Italy; see also our blog post.]
Being Social with Your New Language
Stephanie reminds us that social interaction is "a fundamental way to feel happier." In fact, you can start engaging with others in your new language long before you board your plane.
A brief internet search will turn up various Facebook groups where you can interact with natives by chatting, asking questions, writing brief comments.There are also Google hangouts, group chats, and language exchange sites where you can easily find people to practice with.
Speaking with Locals
If you arrive in a new city speaking the language, you can immediately engage with locals. A good place to start is the neighborhood market, or the small bakery up the street. (Left: Alfonso & Enrico in our neighborhood shop in Trastevere.)
While you're waiting to be served, it's easy to talk with fellow customers. A simple question or comment may easily lead to a brief conversation about their city or your home town.
Or, try out your language by ordering in a restaurant, buying souvenirs, buying tickets to a jazz concert, or a movie. Navigating the local language on your own is so much more fun than being locked into an English tour. It'll bring out your adventurous spirit.
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After your trip, you can do more than just reminisce. You'll have acquired a new language with all the benefits that go with it for your brain and personality. And, you'll have added a new skill that you can continue to use and enjoy throughout your life.
Your new language will open new windows onto the world that you can't even anticipate. Or perhaps you should try to?!!
This is our 200th blog post. Every January, we'll publish our 10 most popular blogs of the previous year. 
(Updated 3-15-2021)
Many adults still have bad memories from their foreign language learning days in school. 
Words and phrases are the building blocks of a language, but you also need the know-how for putting them together. 
Childhood memories can be strong, and if a foreign language is connected to one of those memories, they can become the seed for a choice or an experience later in life. 
Stephanie's Rosenbloom's insightful article in the New York Times recently - 
If you arrive in a new city speaking the language, you can immediately engage with locals. A good place to start is the neighborhood market, or the small bakery up the street. (Left: Alfonso & Enrico in our neighborhood shop in Trastevere.)