Is 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.
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.
Traditionally, 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.At 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
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!
As readers of a previous post know, I am currently learning Dutch, while continuing to improve and practice my Spanish.
As German is my native language, Dutch shouldn't be that difficult for me. And indeed, the many similarities between both languages make it much easier both to listen/understand and even to read Dutch.
However, speaking and writing continue to be quite challenging. There are several sounds that don't exist in German and that I have difficulties in reproducing. Then there are words that sound similar to German but are spelled quite differently in Dutch.
My Spanish is better and more fluent than my Dutch and that has led me to use different learning tools for each.
My Tools for Learning and Practicing
For Dutch, I am currently using Duolingo and Babbel (with a 3-month subscription). For about a month, I did two Duolingo lessons per day. Now I am down to one Duolingo lesson per day, plus 1 to 2 daily Babbel lessons.
For Spanish, I am currently using our Gamesforlanguage Spanish 1 course and Quick Games, Duolingo, Babbel (with a 1-year subscription), and the Drops app.
In the evening, I reread a couple of pages of Isabelle Allende's original Spanish edition of “Zorro.” Last year when I first read the Spanish edition of Zorro, I used the English translation along with the Spanish original. I reported about my experience in this post.
In addition, my wife and I listen to Spanish news and, once or twice a week, we watch a soap or movie in Spanish.
For Dutch, I'll practice speaking with my wife (who is fluent in Dutch), but I still need to increase my vocabulary for a real conversation. Right now, short sentences about daily life is all I can manage.
My 5 Language Learning Tips
Maximizing your exposure to the language you are learning is clearly key for making progress. If you observe how much time young children spend daily on listening, repeating, and trying out their first language, you realize that for an adult 1 to 2 hours per week of learning a new language will not be enough.
The trick is to find ways to build language learning into your daily life, in the morning, on your commute, during a lunch or coffee break at work, or in the evening at home. There are so many ways you can do that and for each person it will be somewhat different. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting a little creative.
Here are the five learning tips that are working for me:
1. Limit the number of NEW Foreign Words per Day
I have found that I can't handle more than about 20 NEW words per day. The key here is “new.” It's very tempting, once you are on “a roll,” to do several lessons a day with an online course. This is especially the case when you did well in a particular lesson.
However, rather than continuing with new lessons, I have found it more effective to redo a previous lessons or to review my errors. With Duolingo, after 2 to 3 lessons (with 3 to 8 new words per lesson), I reach my limit and then choose to “Practice Weak Skills.”
Similarly, with Babbel (where you learn 3 to 6 new words per lesson), you can review your errors or redo a previous lesson. With Gamesforlanguage (which teaches 16 to 18 new words per lesson), you can redo any of the games, starting with the ones in which you score less than 100%.
I'm using the new iOS app “Drops” for Spanish every day. Five minutes are free, and while I know many of the words, I like the fun app. It provides a great way to recall words.
2. Don't be Afraid of Making Mistakes
I have found that making mistakes helps me remember better. Duolingo has recently changed the “penalty” for mistakes. You do not have to redo a lesson if you make more than three mistakes. You just have to get 20 correct answers. Sentences in which you made mistakes, reappear later in the lesson so that you can get it right.
Babbel's Review Manager lets you review your vocabulary with writing, speaking, or with flashcards. In the PC version, you can also replay the errors of your lesson (but not in the iPad app). With Gamesforlanguage, you can just replay each game, until you get a perfect score.
3. Repeat Words and Sentences Aloud
With all three online programs, I often find myself forgetting to repeat a word or sentence aloud. Trying to emulate the native speaker is essential both for pronunciation and intonation. So, it's worth making the effort.
GamesforLanguage has a “Say it” game, in which the learner is asked to repeat a word or phrase before it appears. With Duolingo you really have to remember to repeat sentences aloud. Babbel, on the other hand, has a “Listening and Speaking” section in the full Spanish course, which lets you practice both skills.
(A "Listening and Speaking" section is not yet available in the Dutch Beginner's course.) When reading Zorro, or now my Dutch reader, I read aloud whenever I can.
I find the voice recognition option of both Duolingo and Babbel often more frustrating than helpful. When after a third or fourth attempt my voice still gets rejected, I turn it off.
4. Learn and Practice Daily
This may be the hardest task to accomplish in our busy everyday lives. However, if practicing becomes a daily routine like brushing your teeth, you've got it made!
I have to give credit to Duolingo for keeping me motivated with its “streak” concept. I am now on a 214-day streak for Spanish and Dutch. And, as I hate losing my streak, I am likely to continue practicing every day until I've aced the programs.
I know that the prospect of losing my streak motivated me several times to complete at least one Duolingo lesson late at night. You obviously can set yourself reminders on your phone or tablet. With Babbel you have the option for daily progress reminders.
Yes, my goal for September - to understand Dutch conversations during a family reunion in The Netherlands - is a motivator as well. However, it would not be enough to keep me practicing daily. The threat of losing my “Streak” however, does! (With Duolingo you can also choose to compete with others for a weekly point score, but my competitive spirit has not gotten excited about this one.)
5. Use Different programs and Tools
I find it very important to use various modes to learn and practice. Different online courses teach different words and sentences. Or, the same words appear in different contexts. All of this goes to reinforce your understanding and retention.
There are lots of language apps to add to your toolbox, such as the new iOS app “Drops” that I mentioned above. Others that have been around for a while are Mindsnacks, Word Dive, or Memrise. Old or new, use these apps to add fun and variety to your practice. Recently, I've been hooked on a fun Android app called “Spanish Injection.”
Once you've got a basic understanding of your new language, start to read things you enjoy, such as stories, novels, news articles, blogs, Twitter or Facebook feeds. For reading online articles, a browser extension is an excellent tool.
And obviously, listening to radio and watching TV not only helps your listening skills, but can keep you learning while hearing things that interest you.
To become fluent in any language you have to start speaking it. If a friend or lover cannot give you foreign language practice, or if a teacher or tutor is not in your budget - then language exchange sites provide another free or low-cost alternative.
In any event, before you're really able to participate in a conversation in your new language, you'll have to start learning and practicing. There are many online and offline opportunities to do that. By using those that work best for you and by heeding the Nike slogan "Just do it" - you can DO IT as well!
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, including Duolingo, except GamesforLanguage's founders are learning several languages with its free courses. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further details.
When learning Germanic and Romance languages, English speakers are fortunate to find many “friends” or true cognates. These make memorization certainly a much easier task.
On the other hand, there are also “false friends,” or words or expressions that look (and maybe sound) alike, but mean something else.
When the meanings are quite different, they can put you on a wrong track entirely. However, this very fact - once you realize your mistake - will also help you recall them better later on.
The “false friends” that sound alike in German as in English (even if spelled somewhat differently) pose a particular problem during conversations. You don't have much time to figure out their meaning from the context. When you read a text, on the other hand, you can look up the meaning at your leisure.
If you're traveling to Germany or meeting up with German-speaking friends or business partners, a quick look through the list beforehand may prevent some misunderstandings. There are quite a number of inexpensive “false friends” books on Amazon, just in case you'd like to discover more.
Here are twenty common German words and their English counterparts:
Identical Spelling – Different meaning
You'll notice that some words are pronounced exactly, or nearly, the same in English and in German - gift, mist, handy, spot, chef, rock - while others are spelled the same, but are pronounced differently - taste, rat, bad, etc.
das Gift (poison) - gift (das Geschenk) Die Polizei fand Gift im Wandschrank. (The police found poison in the wall cupboard.)
der Mist (dung, junk) - mist (der Nebel) Räum doch gefälligst deinen Mist auf. (If you don't mind, clean up your junk.)
das Handy (cell phone) - handy (adj, praktisch) Hast du mein Handy gesehen? (Have you seen my cell phone?)
der Spot (TV ad, spotlight) - spot (der Fleck, der Ort) Hast du den neuen Spot von Apple gesehen? (Did you see the new Apple TV ad?)
der Chef (boss) - chef (der Küchenchef) Heute war unser Chef gar nicht im Büro. (Today our boss wasn't in the office.)
der Rock (skirt) - rock (der Fels) Meine Tochter hat sich einen neuen Rock gekauft. (My daughter bought a new skirt for herself.)
die Taste (key [piano/computer]) - taste (der Geschmack) Du musst diese Taste drücken. (You have to hit this key.)
der Rat (advice, council) - rat (die Ratte) Ich brauche deinen Rat. (I need your advice.)
die Wand (wall) - wand (der Zauberstab) Stell doch den Stuhl gegen die Wand.) (Go ahead and put the chair against the wall.)
das Bad (bath) - bad (schlecht) ein Zimmer mit Bad (a room with bath)
der Stock (stick, floor level) - stock (der Vorrat) Ich wohne im vierten Stock. (I live on the fourth level.)
herb (dry, tart) - herb (das Kraut) Das ist ein richtig herber Wein! (That's a really dry wine!)
Modified Spelling – Changed Meaning
Even with different spelling, but similar sound, some German words can put you on the wrong track. The first one (“eventuell”) has definitely tripped up plenty of English and German speakers alike and caused confusion and misunderstandings.
And if you are trying to practice your best German by asking: “Das Menü, bitte,” you may just wonder why the waiter suddenly brings you the daily special and not the menu!
eventuell (maybe) - eventually (endlich) Ja gut, das werden wir eventuell machen. (Fine, maybe we'll do that.)
das Menü (daily special) - menu (die Speisekarte, das Menü [computer]) Zweimal das Menü, bitte. (Two daily specials, please.)
aktuell (current, topical) - actual (wirklich) aktuelle Nachrichten (current news)
groß (big, tall) – gross (ekelhaft, grob) Die Frau dort drüben ist sehr groß! (The woman over there is very tall)
brav (well-behaved) - brave (tapfer) Die Kinder waren heute sehr brav. (The children were very well-behaved today.)
das Lokal (pub, bistro) - local (einheimisch) Warst du schon mal in dem Lokal dort drüben? (Have you been to that pub over there?)
das Gymnasium (high school) - gym (die Turnhalle) Mein Sohn geht ins Gymnasium. (My son attends high school.) die Rente (pension) - rent (die Miete) Mein Vater geht in Rente. (My dad's retiring.)
When you're taking part in a conversation, language seems to race by at high speed. German, especially, poses a challenge because of its word order. You're often waiting for the verb at the end of a sentence to make sense of what was just said.
(With German double-digit numbers, you also have to wait, and listen for the second digit before you know what the number is.)
In a stream of words, familiar-sounding ones always provide momentary relief. However, when a word has a vastly different meaning from what you think, then what follows may not make much sense at all.
English and German have plenty more false friends (also called “false cognates”) than the ones listed above. With time you'll get to know many of them.
A good strategy is to always pay attention to the context. You may identify a word as a false friend, if it just doesn't seem to fit the context at all. And don't hesitate to ask for the meaning of a word, when it doesn't make sense to you!
True Cognates
German and English also share a large number of “true cognates” - words that are similar in form and meaning and have the same root.
When you google “English German cognates,” you'll find lists with hundreds of items. Even when there's been a sound shift, cognates are easy to recognize, such as: • “das “Brot” (bread) • “der Kuss” (kiss) • “das Netz” (net) • “das Papier” (paper) • “der Stuhl” (stool, chair) • “das Haus” (house),
Plus most of the numbers, and many more. Paying attention to both true and false cognates can provide you with an easy tool for memorizing German vocabulary.
You Want to Practice Your German?
Our games and travel-story based courses are also a great way to practice your German.
With our German 1 and 2 courses you'll learn and practice German for FREE - with stories of a young man traveling through Germany and - its sequel - solving a "Blüten"-mystery in Berlin. "The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you are actually learning German!
And you can also listen to both Stories by clicking on German 1 or German 2 on our Podcast page
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.Others 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 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.
And, 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
Even 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 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
Starting to learn a foreign language as an adult can be somewhat difficult, and sometimes boring. Over the years, I've used various methods from books to CDs and have more recently added apps and online courses.
I've always found the early stages of learning a language somewhat frustrating. You mostly just plow through basic vocabulary and grammar.
However, once you've mastered the essentials of a language, continuing to learn becomes much more enjoyable. Things start to click. You begin to see patterns, get grammar points, understand idioms.
You can start reading articles and stories, listen to podcasts, watch videos and movies. In real life, you start having conversations that work.
As I described in a previous post, I am currently learning Dutch (from scratch) with Duolingo, while continuing with my (intermediate) Spanish with a Babbel course. This presents me with an excellent opportunity to look at and compare the two programs.
There are other reviews of both programs. The Economist did one in 2013, which - due to to the improvements of both sites - is already somewhat dated.
Another one by Angel Armstead for Fluent earlier this year, describes well both programs' different approaches, but Fluent's Kerstin Hammes was also quite critical of Duolingo in her subsequent March 2015 post.
Duolingo's Structure
I started Dutch with Duolingo just a few months ago. Also, I had used Duolingo for several months for continuing with my Spanish.
With Duolingo, you follow a nicely laid-out lesson sequence with various categories or topics: Basics, Phrases, Food, Animals, Clothing, Plurals, Possessives, Adjectives, Indefinite & Definite Pronouns, etc.
You do one lesson after another. That means, you can “unlock” the next lesson only after you've completed the previous one.
One way to move faster is to “test out” of all the lessons in a category or topic. That's only possible if you already know the words, of course. (Note that during a test, you “can't peek” at the translation.)
Duolingo's set lesson sequence has several advantages: • Beginners can build up their skills slowly but surely. • Lessons build on each other. Earlier words show up again and again to be recombined.• You don't have to make any choices about what to study until you've finished your “skill tree.”
The Duolingo Method
With the Duolingo system, you learn mostly new words by first correlating them to pictures. Some of the more abstract words, you'll guess from the context of a sentence. If you're not sure, you can always check the translation by tapping/clicking on the English.
New words are the practiced in various ways. For me, it's the variety of tasks which makes the learning engaging. There's plenty of hit or miss involved. But hey, making mistakes is all part of the learning process.
You translate the words you just learned back to English, together with other familiar words. You write what you hear and learn spelling as you do it. You fill in missing words in a sentence, or select the correct translation from three options.
There's also a sort of pronunciation check, which seems to respond more to the cadence and intonation of your voice than to correct pronunciation. (I once used the wrong language but still my voice was accepted.)
A recently added feature to the app asks you to “tap the pairs,” which are simple correlations of English and foreign words.
Early on with Duolingo you could only make 3 mistakes before you had to replay the lesson. But now, both in the app and on the PC, a mistake just sets you back a little. You can continue until you complete 20 items correctly.
At the end of the lesson, you're awarded 10 points and you can then continue to the next one. Once you've completed all the lessons of your “skill tree,” you can go back to any category or topic to “strengthen your skills.” Apparently, you can do this until you've reached Level 25!
My Frustrations with the Nonsense
While I like Duolingo very much, I often get annoyed when I have to learn Dutch words such as “schildpadden” (turtles), “eenden” (ducks), “konijnen” (rabbits) etc., all words that I'm unlikely to use in a conversation in the foreseeable future.
And while the lessons get a little more interesting as your vocabulary expands, the ducks and turtles reappear in different variations. The often nonsensical sentences – try: “the ducks are reading the newspapers” - may sometimes be funny and teach you some grammatical points, but I find them mostly frustrating.
No doubt, the simplicity of the Duolingo approach, with its variety of tasks, keeps you engaged and on your toes. I just wish that the program would replace the random and often nonsensical sentences that I have to read, pronounce, translate, and write, with real-life dialogs or at least with more useful sentences.
Duolingo's Gamification and Metrics
The various “gamification” features of the program do provide some incentive. For example, points are added to your total with each completed lesson, and you receive “lingots” to redeem in the “lingot store.”
I find the daily “streak reminder” to be a good motivator to keep learning. I'm adamant about not breaking my ever growing streak (which currently stands at day 184).
For Spanish, which I did earlier, I see a Fluency Score (currently 47%), based on the 5900 points, and Level 13 completed to date. For Dutch, with 2,625 points and level 10, there is no Fluency level yet.
I think that I'm making progress. I've reached level 10 in Dutch so far and I continue to do 2-3 lessons every day.
Babbel's Structure
Babbel's courses are structured differently from Duolingo's. You see immediately that you're not required to proceed in sequence through all the lessons. At any point, you can choose with which lesson to begin or at what lesson to continue.
In the Spanish program, there are 6 Beginner's Courses (each with 18-22 lessons); 4 Intermediate Courses (with 19-20 lessons each); 6 Grammar Courses (with 12-21 lessons each); and 6 Listening and Speaking Lessons (with 8-10 lessons each). There are also plenty of lessons in other sections such as, Reading and Writing, Countries and Traditions, Specials (where you find such topics as False friends, True Friends, Numbers, Spanish idioms). And, the “Words and Sentences” section covers over 30 different topics.
The Babbel Method
Lesson 1 of the Beginner Course 1, called “¡Mucho gusto!Part 1,” starts with four basics: Hello!, yes, thank you, Bye!
You first hear and see both the English and the Spanish Word and a picture that expresses its meaning. You then find the Spanish translation by spelling each of the words with letters that are provided.
The next step is to practice these four words again, this time as part of a simple dialogue, which includes phrases that you'll learn in the next lesson.
As I already knew some Spanish, I jumped right to the Refresher Course 1 (called, Upper Beginner's Level). The lessons have a similar structure to those in the Beginner's Course. You're taught four words or phrases in each lesson.
At this stage, a basic knowledge of the language is required. Spelling becomes harder, as you have to use the keyboard without any hint of which letters to use. Plus, exercises for word order and specific grammar points are added.
At the end of a Refresher Course lesson, you typically insert the newly-learned Spanish words into phrases that are part of a short dialog or story around a specific topic, e.g. “At the shop,” “Daily Routine,” “Vacation,” “Leisure activities” etc.
Babbel also has a voice recognition feature. But I don't use itvery often because it's hard to get the pronunciation exactly the way it's required.
If you are indeed a beginner, you can choose to follow the sequence of the lessons and move from the “Beginner's Courses,” to the “Refresher Courses” and then on to the “Intermediate (in-depth) courses.”
Babbel's Other Options
After my Refresher Course, I stopped with Spanish for a few weeks, but then started up again. I redid a few previous lessons and tried out some other sections, for example “Other Verb Forms,” such as the “pretérito perfecto.”
I also tried “Countries and Traditions” where I selected “Spanish for Everyday Life.” This section has several short lessons, such as “Ir de compras” (shopping), “En el restaurante” (in the restaurant), etc. These lessons contain a combination of exercises. You complete sentences with missing words followed by vocabulary and word order exercises all related to a specific topic.
The many lessons in “Grammar” (at this time, 92), “Listening and Speaking” (46), “Countries and Traditions” (53), and the over 500 lessons in the sections “Specials” and “Word and Sentences” give learners loads of options.
Besides, you can review the vocabulary covered in the lessons at any time, either with Flashcards of by writing or speaking them. (in the case of my Refresher Course, these were mostly sentences.)
Babbel's Gamification and Metrics
Babbel's gamification features are straightforward. There are no badges or “lingots” as with Duolingo. You have a progress bar at the top, and your score pops up at the end of the lesson, let's say, 22 out of 29.
You have the option to review and correct the errors you made. Even if you do, the guilty sentences get added to your personal vocabulary list. You can review them then at you leisure.
In the app and on the PC you can see the current total count of the vocabulary list and the count of those still to review. (On the PC you can also see how many times you reviewed each.) It's a good way to keep track of what you're learning.
Duolingo and Babbel: A Comparison
I like the simplicity of the Duolingo approach. However, I keep getting annoyed that new words often appear and are recombined in random, unrelated, nonsensical sentences.
In contrast, new words with Babbel are typically taught as part of a useful dialogue or short scenario. The words make sense in the context in which they are set and this helps me to remember many phrases and sentences.
Once you've become familiar with the Duolingo system, you know exactly what to expect.
You also know that you'll be using quite a bit of English when you translate from the foreign language. If you type or spell quickly, you can be penalized for typos in English.
For each lesson, Babbel typically introduces +/-4 new words, which you then practice. Once you've learned the words, you'll hear them as part of a dialog or brief story and write them into the provided blank spaces. You always hear the full sentence that includes the new word(s).
Most importantly, in Babbel there is no writing or spelling in English.
Both courses don't require you to use the accents (for accented letters). Duolingo allows slight misspellings of foreign words, while Babbel only accepts correct spellings.
Both Duolingo and Babbel give you the correct answer after you've made a wrong entry and both tell you where you've made the mistake.
Duolingo allows you to set goals for yourself, ranging from the “casual” learner with 10 points or 1 lesson per day, to the “insane” with 50 points or 5 lessons per day. Such daily reminders to maintain one's streak have been a good incentive for me!
There are no specific goals or targets with Babbel, but you can ask for daily reminders in Settings.
Final Thoughts
A daily Dulingo lesson or two can easily become a daily habit, especially if you care about not breaking your learning streak. Once you get going with Babbel - and pay attention to the daily reminder - the same can happen.
My frustrations with Duolingo - its nonsensical sentences, words I could do without, and lots of English sentences to type - these I don't experience with Babbel.
In fact, I like Babbel's dialogues. I enjoy the little scenes that incorporate the new words, the many Spanish sentences you hear and read, especially when you are reviewing your mistakes again.
Its many lessons, topic categories, and options make it an excellent course for learning a language.
Still, Duolingo's simplicity, also the fact that it's completely free for unlimited time, makes it a compelling choice for many learners. They may also overlook some of its shortcomings as I do.
No question, I'm continuing with Dutch on Duolingo for now, but may still subscribe to Babbel's Dutch course. I've got a Dutch family reunion to go to in the fall.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 Duolingo, except GamesforLanguage's founders are learning several languages with its free courses. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further details.
An article in the New York Times (May 16, 2015) by David Kohn Let Kids Learn Through Play pointed out that formal didactic instruction of young children should be reconsidered. He writes:
“A growing group of scientists, education researchers and educators say there is little evidence that this approach improves long-term achievement; in fact, it may have the opposite effect, potentially slowing emotional and cognitive development, causing unnecessary stress and perhaps even souring kids’ desire to learn.”
But kids love to play, in fact most, if not all their learning in the early years occurs during play. So we wonder whether “educational” games - including those on tablets and smart phones – are not a way for kids to still learn, but let them do so through self-directed play.
These games combine playing and educational topics from geography, math, spelling, science, to native and foreign languages.
WHY LANGUAGE GAMES WORK FOR KIDS
There are numerous audio, video, and other “toy based” games and apps, which children play in their native language. With these, they enhance word recognition, pronunciation, spelling, and writing, etc. And they don't have to be on a laptop or tablet either.
There are blocks with numbers or letters; there are playing cards and board games; and there are more and more battery operated toys that combine colors, movements, music, and language sounds into interactive learning centers for young children.
Kids play native or even foreign language games - not because it helps them to better communicate with their parents, siblings, and peers - but because they provide interactive fun.
Kids' language games teach basic vocabulary, often with funny pictures, cute sound effects, and “rewards” for getting it right. They feature droll or adorable characters, catchy music, bright colors, and require the young player to swipe, click, or move a word or image in order to progress.
“BRAIN GAMES” for Adults?
Games and play are not just for kids, though. Adults also learn well with games. Just think of scrabble, a game that challenges adult and children.
A well-established segment is the field of Brain Training and there are plenty of brain games/apps available.A few years ago Nintendo DS developed a series of Brain Age Games but they did not seem to catch on.
But since then, Lumosity has surged to becoming the dominant online brain game presence. There's also research being done in the area of cognitive improvement, especially related to the effect of video games on the brains of older adults. (See our blog post on Language Learning and Memory)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE GAMES for Adults?
In 2007 Nintendo DS started a series of language games (My Spanish Coach, My Japanese Coach, My French Coach, etc.) and again these did not appear to be very successful. Around the same time, Craig Gibson launched Digital Dialects, a website with simple, animated games for learning vocabulary in 30+ languages (at that time).
Also then, Word Dive, a vocabulary/spelling game appeared on the scene. Mindsnacks with its language learning app for learning and practicing vocabulary appeared in 2010 and added gamification (rewards, badges, etc.) and humor to its games.
When in 2012, Duolingo, a gamified “crowd-sourced text-translation platform” (Wikipedia) took the Internet by storm, it became clear that language learning games for adults are here to stay.
Sites that use games just for vocabulary acquisition come in various guises and continue to be popular. Word Bucket (2013) lets you save words in your “bucket” and the learn and play them in a word-playing game.
We recently discovered and like an interactive iPhone app called Drops (2015), a colorful “timed repetition” game, you can also play on an iPad.
An interesting and different site for learning vocabulary is Influent (2011), which is a “3D Language Learning Video Game” that you need to download. Once inside the game, you click/tap on objects to hear and see what they are, learn to say them and create a gamified list to further learn them.
And, many online language programs, such as Transparent Language and Babble, and language learning communities such as Busuu, Mango Languages, and Rosetta Stone's Live Mocha are now adding various language games to their lessons.
WHY LANGUAGE GAMES WORK FOR ADULTS
As language games for adults become more numerous and go mainstream, they join the “learning revolution,” which Markus Witte (Founder and CEO of the language learning site Babbel) talks about in this Wire Magazine post: The Learning Revolution: It’s Not About Education.
In his words: “A new trend is initiated by a whole new breed of learning technology start-ups that set out to make learning easier for everybody.” Why not jump on this trend and play a few language games?!
In contrast to children, adults typically do have a specific plan or need for the language they are learning (be it for work, travel, friendship, personal satisfaction, etc.).
Moreover, adults not only have to develop the discipline and learning habits to keep going in the midst of their many other commitments and time constraints, but they also have to find ways to stay motivated.
Games can therefore be an effective addition to any language learning program, especially because they are interactive and fun. Being engaged while learning can be a powerful boost to a learner's motivation.
Because of their interactive nature, games are very versatile. They can easily combine humor and serious learning. (Think of the Duolingo Owl, or the Rhinos of the Mindsnacks games.) Plus, games are nonlinear and dynamic, features which help in the acquisition of language as a complex tool for communication.
When learners make a mistake or need to figure out a grammar point, they can easily replay a segment and get immediate feedback. Games can also interweave a story line - which provides context - with vocabulary and grammar practice, while keeping the learner interactively engaged (a main feature of Gamesforlanguage). Moreover, by involving multiple senses - visual, auditory, and touch - games stimulate association and sharpen memory.
Last but not least, games are relaxing because they are fun and engaging. And who would not want to learn in such a way?
A Word of Caution
As wonderful as gamified online courses and apps are for learning and staying engaged, they are also unlikely to get you to become fully fluent in a foreign language: For that, you have to start speaking and have conversations in the foreign language.
Maybe in the not-too-distant future you can have such conversations with your PC, tablet or smart phone. But until then, your best bet is to find real-life conversation partners. If these are hard to locate for the language you are learning, start speaking online with language exchange partners. Your speaking skills will greatly benefit!
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
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.
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?
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.
My husband and I spent the month of March in Seville, Spain (left: La Giralda under blue sky, seen from el Alcázar), mostly in sunny, warm weather, while our home town, Boston, USA, kept getting bombarded with relentless snowfalls.
We were lucky to be away at that time, but the main reason for our trip was to improve our Spanish through the best kind of "immersion" that we could set up.
It's not easy for adult foreigners to meet and engage with locals, so we had a plan: We set up "live" language exchanges in advance and were determined to find a local teacher for conversation lessons.
Warming up with Language Exchanges
Language Exchanges with locals are a great way to start practicing speaking in a relaxed, friendly way. We did these the two of us together, armed with questions and a few scripted, memorized sentences. (see also our recent post: 4 Tips for Improving Your Foreign Language during a One-Month Stay).
To be honest, our initial conversations were pretty halting. To be able to talk about your own experiences in a casual, spontaneous way, you need to know present and past verb forms.
For Spanish, with its different past tenses, that's quite a task. Using just the simple past gets the basic message across but often not all of the meaning. Already our first exchange conversation had us go back to our place and review the basic tenses of common verbs such as "hacer, estar, ser, ir, haber, poder, tener, etc." I wrote out the forms by hand on sheets of paper. We memorized them and practiced them in between sightseeing stints.
It wasn't just the grammar which made a normal conversation challenging. All of our exchange partners were from the Seville area and spoke the local city dialect. (Local people from Seville talk fast and drop some letters, including most occurrences of the letter 's' in the middle or end of words.) In time, though, we got used to the dropped letters.
Doing those conversations during our first two weeks was a big step forward. It felt really good to begin understanding spontaneous questions and to learn how to ask them.
The great thing about meeting with others is that your head starts preparing and practicing for the conversations in advance and processes them afterwards. It's another level of learning, quite focused and effective.
Adding a Tutor
We intended to ask our language partners if they knew any tutors for our remaining two weeks, but instead came across a notice at a nearby square. It offered: Clases de Español (see photo), and had a phone number attached. I mustered my Spanish and texted our interest in 7 tutoring sessions. We got an answer quickly and set up a first meeting for the next day.
Carlos, a licensed teacher of Spanish at a local school, spoke no other foreign languages except some Italian. That he spoke no English was a huge stroke of luck for us. It forced us to express and explain ourselves only in Spanish. He in turn, being a trained teacher, knew just when and how to correct us without interrupting the conversation too much.
A Conversation Format
You can't learn a language without speaking it, and engaging in a conversation is clearly the best way to level up your speaking skills.
On the one hand you are listening to the other speaker(s) and interpreting what is being said; on the other, you are beginning to frame an answer, but at the same time have to keep in mind grammatical points such as verb endings, tenses, pronouns, agreement, etc. Besides, your answer has to have some momentum to keep the conversation going. Stopping at every second or third word is not going to cut it.
Being in a live conversation gives you the chance to ask questions. If there's something you don't understand, you can just ask for an explanation or a clarification. Questions are also a good way to keep the conversation going and to give you a certain amount of conversational control.
Topics for Conversation
Our main intent was to practice conversation, but to keep conversations moving along you need to have interesting things to discuss. Carlos asked us for topics we'd like to focus on.
During our stay in Seville, general elections in Andalusia were happening and one of our sessions was a question-and-answer session about Andalusia's political history, and we explained voting processes and party structure in the U.S.
Also, at the end of our visit, the amazing festivities of "Semana Santa" (Easter week) began. (See above a picture of one of the many processions that occur every day from Palm Sunday to Easter. A future post will provide more details.)
Besides discussing some of the local traditions of Easter week with us, Carlos also told us of his memories of growing up in Seville, especially his experiences as a child during the Easter week festivities. This made the lessons quite personal and interesting.
Learning to Rephrase
When you're talking about something in a foreign language, it can often happen that you're looking for a specific word, but just cannot remember it. An excellent skill to practice is to rephrase what you're trying to say and express it in different words, rather than stop short and rack your brains.
Knowing that English would not help, we were forced to say things "in other words," again and again, and actually got pretty good at it. To be able to do this, of course, you need enough vocabulary. Reading the local newspaper every day was helpful for the topics we were talking about.
Clarifying Grammar in Context
Conversational practice is an ideal vehicle for learning grammar in context. I normally use a grammar text to look up questions that I have. I rarely start with a text book to learn grammar.
In our conversations with Carlos, we started out by talking about things we had done, i.e. we had to use Spanish past verb tenses. Since there are several to choose from and they differ in usage from English past verb tenses, our conversations were a effective way to practice the Spanish forms.
Carlos gave us a helpful, simplified guideline for which tense to use when. The "imperfect tense" (imperfecto) sets the scene that you embellish with other events. The "simple past" (pretérito) expresses an event in the past that is finished and doesn't relate to the present. The "present perfect" (pretérito perfecto) is a past, finished event that nevertheless still impacts the present moment.
Understanding which verb tense to use as we talked about past events and experiences was a great way to learn a difficult chunk of grammar.
The Local Dialect
At first, our tutor spoke a little more carefully and avoided dropping the "s" from words as he talked. But after a couple of sessions, he fell back into his dialect pronunciation. We could have asked him to use a more standard way of speaking, but found in time that we could understand him quite well. In the end, it has made our Spanish a little more versatile.
Carlos explained to us that the Spanish of Andalusia is closer to Latin American Spanish than that which is spoken in other parts of Spain and that was due to large waves of emigration from Andalusia to the Spanish colonies in the Americas.
Our Fluency Boost
Did our month in Sevillemake us fluent Spanish speakers? Not as fluent as we'd like to be. But it gave our fluency a big boost.
When we compare our initial taxi ride from the airport to Seville at the beginning of our stay, to our ride from Seville to the airport at the end of our stay, there was quite a difference.
At the beginning, we asked a few short questions or made brief comments and didn't understand a lot of what the taxi driver responded. At the end, we were chatting away with the taxi driver about our stay, the elections, Semana Santa, differences of taxi ownership and taxi colors in Spanish cities (In Seville they are all white) etc. We clearly had made noticeable progress.
Now we just have to figure out how we can give our language fluency another boost!
The promising thaw, some time ago, in the relations between Cuba and the U.S. brought to mind that La Paloma, a song that over the years has been adapted and sung in so many languages, actually originated in Cuba.
In an earlier post, La Paloma Lyrics - Learning Spanish with a Song, we focused mainly on how you can learn some typical Spanish expressions by saying or singing the song's lyrics. In addition, we gave a brief summary of the song's history: Composed around 1860 by the Basque composer Sebastián Iradier after his visit to Havana.
La Paloma - A Song for the Ages
When you google "La Paloma song," you'll find a Wikipedia entry which tells you not only details about the song's motif (the dove), dating back to 492 BC; some of its history (a favorite of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico); early translations into French and German in the 1860's, with new lyrics in different languages, interpretations by famous artists; as well as the many movies in which a version of the song occurs.
La Paloma is arguably the most frequently played song and melody in the world. I've read that in Zanzibar it's being played at the end of weddings, in Romania at the end of funerals. In Germany it's a sailor's song, made famous by Hans Albers in his movie "Grosse Freiheit #7" in 1944.
The La Paloma - Carmen Connection
When digging a little further, I discovered that there's a connection between Iradier's "La Paloma" and the "Habanera" aria in Bizet's Carmen: "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle," which is said to be very close, melodically, to "El Arreglito," another song composed by Sebastián Iradier. Both are "habaneras," the name used outside of Cuba for the Cuban "contradanza," a type of dance music that became popular in the 19th century.
Bizet originally thought El Arreglito was a folk song, only to discover that it had been written by Iradier who had died ten years earlier. Bizet then added a note to the vocal score of "Carmen" to acknowledge the source.
Cuban Music History and Future
Another Wiki entry further explains: "The Cuban 'contradanza' (also called contradanza criolla, danza, danza criolla, or habanera) was a popular dance music genre of the 19th century. ... Its origins dated back to the European 'contredanse,' which was an internationally popular form of music and dance of the late 18th century.
It was brought to Santiago de Cuba by French colonists fleeing the Haitian Revolution in the 1790's ... During the first half of the 19th century, the 'contradanza' dominated the Cuban musical scene to such an extent that nearly all Cuban composers of the time, whether composing for the concert hall or the dance hall, tried their hands at the contradanza."
It's interesting that the language circle was completed when Iradier brought back the "habaneras" from his visit to Cuba, and when Bizet used "El Arreglito" for his French opera "Carmen". Many of the well-known dance styles such as rumbasalsa, mambo, chachacha, reportedly began in Cuba.
In the coming years the rediscovery of Cuban artists, which began in the 90s with the popular "Buena Vista Social Club" album and Wim Wender's 1999 movie about the band, will very likely continue.
And, if you're interested in the island's music and are maybe even considering a visit, the MyCubavisit.com website will give you some worthwhile information and insights.
Postscript:
(1) I recently came a across the post of a young Polyglot-in-the making. She suggests four simple steps for learning with songs to improve both your listening and speaking (maybe even singing!) skills. 1. Listen! 2. Sing! 3. Translate. 4. Retranslate It's fun AND effective and it works for all languages!
(2) We recently discovered a Spanish language site, Language Zen, which uses Spanish songs a their lyrics as part of their program. You won't find "La Paloma", but many contemporary songs on Language Zen. Also read our "Language Zen" - Learning Spanish - A Review
Learning from mistakes is a well-known teaching tool. And succeeding (winning!) in games is powerful motivation for us to try again and again until we have mastered them. Both aspects of learning play an important role in our Games For Language courses and Quick Games.
Gender of “the tower” in Spanish
This morning I was replaying one of our Spanish 1 Scenes. In the Writing Game, I was asked to write “the tower” in Spanish. Now, I have seen and said the correct translation quite a few times before and I knew the word “torre.” However, I did not recall a rule for nouns ending with “e.”
Because in my native language (German), “the tower” is masculine (“der Turm”), I was uncertain for a moment and started out with “e” for “el,” to be reminded immediately by the error warning that I was wrong. While I was annoyed that I got it wrong, I am quite confident that I will know it the next time.
Why? Because now I'll likely remember not only that in Spanish “tower” is feminine (“la torre”), but also that I should have recalled that it's the same word in Italian (“la torre”) and feminine as well in French (“la tour”).
Basic Spanish Gender Rules
Quite early on in Spanish, we learn a few basic rules: Words ending with “o” are often masculine, those ending in “a”, often feminine, etc. This Spanish language chart, which I discovered on the web some time ago, quite nicely summarizes the important Spanish gender rules.
There are other, very concise Spanish grammar charts that we have sent to our users. If you'd like to receive the whole set of 6 Spanish Grammar charts, just contact us. We also welcome any information in regard to its author and origin for proper attribution.
Games for Language Learning and Associations...
In the case of “the tower,” my association will be that the Spanish (or Italian and French) word has a different gender from the German one. I realize that English speakers will have other associations for memorizing genders in foreign languages that don't follow the basic rules. It may be the type or shape of the first letter ( “t” for the “l” in “la”), the sound of the word, etc. , or whatever “mnemonic” works to connect to the correct gender of a word.
Just for fun, I entered “la torre” in the online Mnemonic Generator and one of the suggestions was “Lame Thor”, just in case this helps you remember the gender and Spanish word for "tower''...
“Winning” Games
I don't like to lose games. When I make a mistake and see at the end of a game, e.g. in “Writing Clowns” or “Word Invaders” that I only got 26 of 30 possible points, I'll repeat the game again until I get 30.
This is the same motivation which drives Duolingo learners to repeat a lesson: If you make more than 3 mistakes, you lose your hearts, e.g. you are “out” and have to repeat the lesson before you can go on.
Postscript: Since we wrote this post, we've noticed that Duolingo changes its format from time to time.
Making Mistakes
Yes, we sometimes make mistakes, just by clicking on the wrong item accidentally or not taking enough time to read all options. But replaying a lesson or a Scene has benefits beyond just “winning”: With words or phrases you already know, you can focus on pronouncing (ideally aloud) before clicking through; and those you missed, you now will be able to correct and remember better next time.
In our “Word Hero” game, you have to pick the correct English translation for foreign words that cascade down. You need to concentrate and for me, once I make a mistake, it's hard to recover.
While this game requires you to focus and decide quickly, it also allows you to say the correct foreign word as it comes down, giving you the satisfaction not only of getting the word/phrase right, but also of letting you check immediately whether your pronunciation is close to that of the native speaker.
In the “Word Invaders” or Shootout” games, you have to pick the correct foreign words for the translation of an English sentence. By clicking on the wrong word, gender, or conjugation, you lose points. If you want to win 100% of those games, you'll have to correct all the mistakes you made in the first go-around.
Correcting and remembering mistakes is one of the key reasons Games are so effective for language learning.
The ultimate prize: Speaking the Language
Making mistakes and learning from them, as well as devising strategies to avoid traps, gain strength, and acquire assets, etc. are all part of the the ubiquitous video game universe that keep millions of people engaged today.
While language learning has come a long way from boring drills and verb conjugations, we still need to progress further to create a “Language Minecraft” type of game that has speaking the language as the ultimate prize!
Is relearning a language a language hard? Not if you have the right mindset. 
Traditionally, 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.
At 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. 
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. 
