More and more online language learning sites are adding games or game-like features to their course repertoire. And that is for good reason: Making language learning more entertaining can also produce better results.
All four language skills – listening/comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing - can be practiced with interactive games or lessons/exercises that have game-like features.
Some baby boomers and older learners may not (yet) be as used to learning with games as generation X, Y, Z, but it seems inevitable that the trend of learning with games will continue.
Clearly, Gamesforlanguage.com was created with the idea that learning a language with games can be fun and effective. But we have also learned that players should observe a few "rules" or practices to get the most out of our games. Here are our five (5) tips which are based on our own experience and on comments from our users. We have also incorporated them into our list of suggestions: “How to play and learn?”
1. Be mindful and pay attention to the spelling
When new foreign words first come up, take a moment to study them and memorize their typeface/appearance, especially when special foreign letters, accents, umlauts, etc. are involved. You'll have to recall the specifics later when you have to write them.
2. Limit the new vocabulary you learn daily to 15-20 words
It's easy to be carried away by easy games and just move on to the next set of new words. However, our brain is only able to handle so many words or expressions a day and move them from short-term to long-term memory. The number of new words one can learn a day may vary, but we suggest a range of 15-20.
3. Repeat the native speaker's words and phrases whenever you can
Learning to speak a new foreign language requires pronouncing the foreign words. This may feel awkward and strange at the beginning, but you have to do it as often as you can.
Some online language programs have recording features and you are asked to emulate the native speaker (see also 5. below). But don't even wait until you can record. Take every opportunity to repeat a foreign word, phrase or sentence, right from the start.
4. Play some games every day
Especially at the beginning it's important that you get into a learning habit. Set a time that fits best into your schedule. Just 15-20 minutes for 5 or 6 days in a row will be better than an hour or two once a week!
The daily practice will have you soon naming objects and activities in your new language. This way you are sure to move the new vocabulary into your long-term memory.
5. Record your voice and compare yourself to the native speaker
We have not been able to make recording your voice into a game. Some language courses are using voice recognition and voiceprint spectrograms to compare your voice to the native speaker's voice. This may be fun to watch, but can also be frustrating, especially at the beginning.
However, you can make your own game out of imitating the native speaker by acting the part with gusto. And you should really focus on listening and hearing the difference between your pronunciation and that of the native speaker. That is a sure way to improve.
Games for learning languages are evolving. There are many gaming features that can make them more challenging and exciting. Not all of them are make learning more effective, but more research will be needed to understand what the trade-offs are.
During our recent trip with the Hurtigruten Line along the Norwegian coastline from Bergen to the Northcap (picture left) and Kirkenes, on the Russian border, we had an opportunity to learn much about Norwegian language and history.
Yes, the Vikings were a frequent topic of conversation and the focus of a few excursions. Between the late 8th and the middle of the11th century, Vikings had ruled the North Sea and had even ventured into the Mediterranean Sea.
Also, there's evidence that they had reached Iceland and Greenland. Leif Erikson may well have been the first European to set foot on mainland America. But we also found the more recent history of Norway and especially the role of the Norwegian language quite interesting.
And, if you'd like to learn about the best ways to experience the Northern Lights - which we witnessed several times - click on the link!)
Nordic Languages: Danish - Norwegian - Swedish
Although friends had told us that these Nordic languages are quite similar to German, my one-month Swedish course did not yet make this obvious to me. And sitting at a dinner table with four Swedes every night, I never caught any part of their conversation - except if they switched to German or English for our benefit.
From Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes on the ship we learned that they can generally understand each other's language, but that regional dialects can pose a real problem.
In Norway, the two official forms of written Norwegian are "Bokmål" (book tongue), used by more than 86% of the people, and Nynorsk (new Norwegian), used by 7.5%. But as this Wikipedia link further explain, the language situation is quite complex.
Nynorsk – a newly created language
As we inquired further into Nynorsk, we learned that this language was created by Ivar Aasen in the middle of the 19th century from old Nordic dialects. One would ask: why create a new language? For Norway, language was a way to reinforce a distinct Norwegian identity, as the nation strove for and then acquired, in 1905, its independence from Sweden.
Some Norwegians suggested to us, however, that with Norway's affluence and growing national confidence, the movement for popularizing Nynorsk may be slowing down.
The benefits of a second national language taught in school are being questioned as other languages become ever more important. (I am leaving out of this discussion any local dialects and the distinctly different language of the Sami, the indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting the northern part of the Scandinavian peninsula.)
A little more Nordic History
After the end of the Viking era (around 1050), Norwegian tribes and communities were ruled for centuries by Danish and then by Swedish kings. Nation states as such only developed in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, often after considerable strife.
It was therefore surprising to some, when in 1905, Sweden accepted the plebiscite of the Norwegians, and agreed to release Norway from the joint kingdom of Norway and Sweden.
The story of the peaceful dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden makes interesting reading for history buffs, who also may be intrigued by the people's election (!) of the Danish (!) crown prince as their new king.
Politics, Dialects, and "standard" language
In the past, political leaders have often tried to impose new languages on their people. When the Normans won the battle of Hastings in 1066, French became the language of English nobility.
Although French certainly influenced and modified the language of English peasants and commoners, it did not replace it. (Read more in our blog post: The French Connection) French became the language at many European courts in the 18th and 19th centuries and many French words found their way into the various European languages.
In the region of Catalonia, which includes the second largest city in Spain, Barcelona, the local language is Catalan. Catalan is both a spoken and a written language. As Castilian Spanish is taught in schools, most Catalans are indeed bilingual - although traces of animosity towards Castilian seem to remain, even, surprisingly, with some younger people. (Read more in our blog post: In Barcelona Learning "Spanish" is Not Enough)
Switzerland has a somewhat different situation. Spoken "Swiss German" or "Schwyzerdütsch" is the common language in the German-speaking cantons, although there are noticeable dialect differences among them.
However, "High German" or "Schriftdeutsch" (Written German), as the Swiss call it, is taught in schools. It's the printed language of newspapers and is used by all Swiss Germans to write. With very few exceptions - see picture at right - Swiss German is not used for writing or print. (For a translation of the above sign and the French version see our post: 11 Language Clues from German and Swiss Signs.)
The Norwegian Language and National Identity
Clearly, language plays an important role in a people's identity. In the case of Norway, it will be interesting to watch whether Nynorsk will survive and prosper alongside Norway's presently more dominant language, Bokmål.
Postscript: In March 2019 the Norwegian Academy (a Norwegian language learning site) published a post on the question whether to learn Nynorsk or Bokmål. They conclude: "So it comes to your preferences and your place of living. It might be hard to learn writing Bokmål in an area where everyone uses Nynorsk." And, if you happen to be relocating to Norway, a localization service can be very helpful.
When you're learning a new language to communicate, grammar should not be your main worry.
Focus rather on understanding and speaking, and discover grammar points along the way. Grammar is best consumed gradually, in small doses, and in little steps.
My current experience with learning Swedish reinforces this notion for me again and again.
Simple Grammar Explanations
Find a book or site that gives you simple explanations, ones that you can relate directly to the vocabulary you're learning. For example, as you're practicing basic phrases and sentences, you can discover, little by little: - the gender of nouns - articles (definite & indefinite) - pronouns (including the familiar and formal "you," and when to use these) - present tense verb endings; conjunctions (and, but or) - question words (who, what, where, when, etc.) - the word order of simple statements and questions.
Reinforcement Steps
Once you've grasped a grammar point, you'll reinforce your understanding every time you see the structure again - as you're learning new words and phrases or reviewing old ones.
For example, in Swedish, I learned that the definite article is attached to the end of a noun. So now I know the difference between "torg" (square) and "torget" (the square). Whenever I see the “-et / -t" (neuter gender) or the “-en / -n” (common gender) ending, I keep this in mind for understanding the meaning of the word.
Prepositions
With a knowledge of some essential phrases and grammar basics, you're now ready to learn a handful of prepositions, as they're used in common expressions. Some of them you may have encountered already in phrases you learned, others may be new or have a second, less obvious meaning.
Each language has its own favorites. For example, in Swedish I started with: av (of, by); från (from); hos (with, at); i (in, on, before [time]); på (on, in, at); till (to [a place]); med (with); över (over, above, across, past [time]); åt (to [a person]).
Research & Discovery
As a next step, choose a simple text that interests you, about half a printed page long. Now, using a dictionary, try to read it for meaning, or even try to translate the sentences into English.
Pay special attention to what holds the text together: the connecting words (and, but, also); negative words (not, never, no one); time markers (today, tomorrow, yesterday, soon, earlier, etc.); verb tenses. At this stage, you're beginning to understand how the language works.
Keep Notes
I'm a huge fan of keeping a small spiral (3"x5") notebook in which I write down, in pencil, phrases I want to memorize. I also list essential grammar points.
For example, for Swedish, I noted down the phrases: "en kvart över twå" (a quarter past two) and "en kvart i twå" (a quarter to two).
This phrase pair helps me recall that, in the context of time, "över" means "past the hour" and "i" means "before the hour."
In my experience, grammar is something you build from the ground up, slowly, step by step. As you're learning your new language, you become aware of and want to understand grammar points - all in the context of phrases and sentences that you are reading or hearing.
In short, grammar is not something you learn first and then apply but rather something that you discover and learn over time.
The use of the single letter "y" and its combination with forms of the verb "aller" "rester" etc. is confusing to many French beginners. However, it's really not that difficult.
(The picture on the left shows the cover of “On y va!”, a French lesson book used by Swiss high school students in the 80s and 90s.)
Recently, we listed a number of phrases with “y” in a Facebook post. "y" = here, there; about it, on it (referring to something that was mentioned). Some of these come up as part of our French 1 travel-story course.
Adverb "y" - here, there
• "J'y suis, j'y reste." - Here I am (and) here I'm staying. • "Marseille? Oui, je vais y aller." - Marseille? Yes, I'm going there. • "Le pont d'Avignon ? On ne peut plus y danser." - Avignon Bridge? You can't dance on it/there any more. • "La Tour Eiffel ? Est-ce que tu y es déjà monté ?" - The Eiffel Tower? Did you already go up on it/there? • "Allez-y !" - Go!; Go on!; Go ahead! (Lit: Go there!) • "On y va." - Let's go (Lit: We are going there.)
Pronoun "y" - about it /that, on it /that
• "Trois jours à Paris! Penses-y !" - Three days in Paris! Think about it! • "Il faut y penser. - We have to think about that. • "J'y compte." - I'm counting on it. • "Je n'y crois pas." - I don't believe it. • "Je m'y attendais." - I was expecting that. • "J'y tiens." - It matters to me. (Lit: I'm holding to it.)
The Expression "il y a" - there is, are; it's
"Il y a du monde.- There are a lot of people. /It's busy. "Il y avait du monde. - There were a lot of people. /It was busy.
"Il y a du soleil." - It's sunny. "Il y avait du soleil." - It was sunny.
"Il y a erreur." - There's a mistake. "Il y avait erreur." - There was a mistake.
The Expression "il y a" - ago
"Il y a plus de deux ans." - More than two years ago. "Il y a mille cinq cents ans." - Fifteen hundred years ago. "Il y a quelques années." - A few years ago. "Il y a longtemps." - Long ago. / Ages ago. "Il y a quelque temps." - A while ago. "Il y a peu." - Not long ago.
Moreover, you can combine various forms of the verb “aller” (to go) and “y” (there) to create commands that are commonly used in daily life.
Let us know any comments or questions you have and - keep on learning as playfully as you can. Language learning should be first and foremost enjoyable, a quest of discovery, not a chore.
Do you want to know what "On ne peut plus y danser, mais on peut encore l’admirer." mean in French? Just click HERE.
Quick German: Do you know the meaning of "Berliner"?
Actually there are two meanings:
(1) A man from Berlin, the German capital (A woman from Berlin is a "Berlinerin")
(2) A Berliner Pfannkuchen (in short called Berliner) is a traditional North German pastry similar to a doughnut (without a central hole) made from sweet yeast dough...
John F. Kennedy declared in his famous speech in Berlin on June 26, 1963:
"Ich bin ein Berliner!"
It caused German speakers (especially young teenagers, like me!) to chuckle slightly - not because they did not understand the point Kennedy was making, but because in German indefinite articles are not used in front of a person's place of origin/birth, nationality, profession, occupation, etc., e.g. "ich bin Hamburgerin"; "ich bin Deutscher"; "ich bin Arzt"; "ich bin Studentin." (Note, however, that you do use "ein/eine", when you add an adjective, e.g. "ich bin ein guter Arzt".)
(You might also chuckle, if a German were to tell you: "I'm a Hamburger", meaning that he is from Hamburg.)
Someone reminded us, however, that we should point out the following: In the context of Kennedy's speech, the use of "ein" was quite appropriate as he did not mean to define his origin, but rather his being "Berliner-like", i.e. he used "Berliner" as a predicate adjective, as in "Ich bin ein Berliner Mann".
Let us know any comments or questions you have and - keep learning.
There's nothing wrong with Flashcards, I love them for practicing vocabulary and we use them in our games as well.
But learning only with traditional flashcards - or sticking only to list learning, for that matter - is bound to keep you in the rank of beginner.
To bust through the beginner ceiling, you have to learn to use phrases and sentences as part of communication. That's where context learning comes in. Here are three simple reasons for learning German in context.
Pronouns
German consistently uses pronouns with specific verb forms (as opposed to Italian or Spanish, for example). But because some of the German pronouns are multi-functional or are part of an idiom, you need the context to understand what's going on.
A perfect example is “sie/Sie”: • Wann kommt sie? - When is she coming? [she - subject] • Wann kommen sie? - When are they coming? [they - subject] • Und kommen Sie auch? - And are you also coming? [you(formal) - subject] • Ich kann Sie nicht sehen. - I can't see you. [you(formal) - direct object] • Ich kenne sie nicht. - I don't know her/them. [her/them - direct object]
The word "sie" can also refer to a "feminine gender" object or animal: • Die Hütte dort, siehst du sie? - The hut over there, do you see it? [it(f) - direct object] • Die Katze dort, sie wartet auf ihre Milch. - The cat over there, it's waiting for its milk. [it(f) - subject]
And the German “ihr/Ihr” could mean in English: “you” [plural familiar], “her” [indirect object], “their” [possessive pronoun], “your” [formal] or also “to her” in various German idioms.
When learning the various uses of “sie/Sie” or “ihr/Ihr,” it is useful to have specific phrases or sentences in mind.
Articles and Cases
In German, articles and noun cases are matched – often in mysterious ways for beginners: • “der” is not only the masculine article, as in : [der See] Der See ist .... - The lake is .... [m – subject), • "der" can also can precede a feminine noun, as in: • [die Frau] Ich gebe der Frau ... - I give (to) the woman ... [f, indirect object] • [die Kirche] Das Tor der Kirche ist .... - The door of the church .... [f , possessive] • [die Stimme] Die Anzahl der Stimmen ... - The number of votes ... [f pl, possessive]
Similarly, “die” is not only the feminine article, "die" is also the plural form for all nouns that are a subject or a direct object, as in: • [das Haus] Die Häuser sind ... - The houses are ... [neuter, pl subject] • [der Baum] Die Bäume sind ... - The trees are ... [m, pl subject] • [die Straße] Die Straßen sind ... - The streets are ... [f, pl subject] • Ich sehe die Häuser, die Bäume, und die Straßen. - I see the houses, the trees, and the streets. [direct objects]
Idiomatic meanings
Some words change their meaning, depending on the context. For example (as shown by a post circulating on Facebook), the word “Bitte" has multiple meanings.
As a simple statement, “Bitte” basically means “Please”. But it can also mean “Go ahead.”; or “I don't mind”; or “You're welcome.”; or “Here you are.”; or “Not at all.” In addition, the question “Bitte?” is often used as “Pardon me?”
While “Danke” simply means “Thank you,” in a specific context, it can mean: “Yes, thank you.” or “No, thank you.”
And, the much-used word “gut” (good) can change its meaning in idioms such as: • “Gut, das machen wir.” - Okay, we'll do that. • “Mir geht's gut.” - I'm feeling great. • “Mir ist nicht gut.” - I'm not feeling well. • “Jetzt ist es aber gut.” - That'll do. • “Schon gut.” - That's enough.
Learning vocabulary is clearly necessary – and Flashcards are a great tool for that – but simply knowing groups of words is not enough to really understand and speak German. It's best to learn those words in the context of a topic that interests you.
You will better remember the words when you recall them as part of meaningful phrases and sentences. Moreover, when you use them in new sentence combinations, applying the grammar rules will be much easier.
And we certainly agree with author Andy Hunt (co-author of “Pragmatic Thinking and Learning”) whom we had quoted in My Rosetta Stone Blog - 3: “Always Consider the Context ... because it is important for understanding the world around us."
If you have been back to our site lately, you may have noticed several changes.
- Vocabulary Lists - On the Playing Page, with your completed or Scenes in progress, you can now download the vocabulary lists of the words, phrases, and sentences of such Scenes. While online learning has many benefits, many users apparently feel that having a vocabulary list available both on screen and as a hard copy is helpful.
- Mp3 audios - Once you have started the first Scene of each Level, you can now also download the mp3 audio of all six (6) Scenes of that Level (Except for Level 1, where the audio is available with Scene 2) By hearing “The Story” at the beginning of each Level you'll guess the meaning based on the context and on what you have learned so far – a valuable skill to use in "real life" when you want to understand a foreign speaker.
- Reduced Score Targets - We have reduced the score targets you need to advance to the next Scene. As iPad users can't score with "Record It" and "Recall & Record", moving to the next Scene became difficult.
- German Scene "0" - A new "Scene 0", added to our German 1 course, makes it easier for beginners to start a new language and we are inviting further comments from beginners of German.
- Memory Game Splits - We are splitting the "Memory Game" and some "Snap Clouds" into 2 parts to make it easier to navigate and replay. Users with some background in the language often skip directly to "Snap Clouds" or "Shooting Gallery" to test their memory.
- Students' Monitoring - Responding to teachers' and parents' requests we can now give them access to more detailed information about their students' or children's progress. Contact peter@gamesforlanguage.com, if you'd like to set up and start monitoring multiple accounts.
You can now connect with us on Facebook. We continuously add links, tips, and mini lessons to our Facebook page and you can easily stay in touch with our Blog posts and the latest progress in language learning.
Let us know, if you like the changes and we don't mind answering any and all of your language questions!
After you've initiated a conversation (see Part 1), you'll want to have a few topics up your sleeve to sustain it and, finally, to close your conversation in a gracious way.
(2) SUSTAINING A CONVERSATION
Know some basic information about the city and have a few phrases ready so you can introduce the topics that interest you:
Know also a few interesting historical facts about the country. This means that you should learn how to say dates. Remember that in Spanish, dates follow this format: day, month, year.
"Las olimpiadas de Barcelona se inauguraron el 25 de julio de 1992." (The Barcelona Olympics opened on July 25th 1992.)
Obviously, the old stand-by, if you did not understand:
"¡Eso ha sido un poco rápido de más!" (That was a little too fast!)
"¡Podría repetir eso por favor!" (Could you, please, repeat that!)
(3) CLOSING A CONVERSATION
It's always important to find a way to close a conversation gracefully. Spaniards are a little more formal about getting ready to go than Americans. Have a few exit lines ready!
a) Signaling the end:
-"Muchas gracias por las recomendqaciones." (Thank you for the tips.)
-"Ha sido un placer hablar con usted." (It was nice to talk with you.)
-"¡Vaya, que tarde es! Todavía tengo que ..." (Darn, look how late it is! I still have to ...)
-"He quedado con unos amigos." (I'm meeting some friends.)
b) When you're leaving:
-"Por desgracia me tengo que ir ahora." (Unfortunatley, I have to go now.)
-"Lo dicho: muchas gracias/he estado muy bien." (Again: many thanks/it was really nice.)
-"¡Que pasen una buen tarde/noche!" (Have a nice afternoon/evening!)
-"¡Adiós!" (Goodbye!)
Practicing some of these conversational phrases and expressions ahead of time will be quite helpful and impress your Spanish speaking contact. While such phrases will obviously not be sufficient for an intensive discussion, they will boost you confidence in speaking. The next step will be to add a few more topics and strategies to your conversational skills.
Many language courses - be they books, CDs, online programs, or apps - are structured around learning particular vocabulary topics: “survival words & phrases,” such as greetings, numbers, directions, shopping, time, days, months, etc., or "categories," such as colors, food items, parts of the body, animals, objects found in the home, etc.
Clearly, these words and phrases are important to learn and know. However, if they are just introduced as a list and without context, they are difficult to retain.
That's why GamesforLanguage.com has chosen a “Story-Approach”: Each new word is introduced as part of an ongoing story – a young man traveling to the country of the foreign language that is to be learned: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the U.S, the last one for speakers of Spanish.
Will this young man use all the vocabulary contained in the various topics mentioned above? Probably not.
But the 700 words that make up the many phrases and sentences in each GamesforLanguage course will not only be more useful, but also easier to remember and apply. That is what's important to most learners: acquiring vocabulary that they can use in daily life.
For learners who already have some background in one of the four languages, GamesforLanguage provides a fun and effective way to “brush up” on their foreign language.
They can skip the “Memory Games” and immediately focus on “Snap Clouds,” “Shooting Gallery,” or “Word Hero” to test their vocabulary; practice translation and sentence building with “Word Invaders” or “Shoot Out”.
Interacting repeatedly with the elements of “The Story” - hearing, saying, writing, and recording words, phrases, and sentences in context - is an effective way to memorize, retain and learn to apply the language you're learning.
This YouTube clip for French shows how all the new words of "The Story" are playfully being learned in various easy games. Learning with a story that continues from Scene to Scene keeps up one's interest more than the often unrelated dialogues so many language programs are using!
Many programs for learning a foreign language still rely on books, records, tapes, CDs, videos, films, and are being used in classrooms and by private tutors alike. Such materials are typically purchased (or may also be obtained through your local library).
The advent of the Internet has made large numbers of language learning materials available for free. And so companies and organizations that produce such materials find themselves in a similar position as newspapers and news organizations: Provide free content to attract readers/users, but also find revenue sources that allow for the development, marketing, and distribution of such content.
There is no mystery about the revenue sources for online language programs: - Product sales or subscriptions - Sales of ads on site - Grants/philanthropy/donations - A combination of the above
Examining the PC/mobile or online language programs that exist today, one finds that English speakers have a wide range of choices. Truly free programs such as DuoLingo.com, GamesforLanguage, or MOOCs (massive open online courses), low-cost programs, “Freemium” programs, (programs with free lessons that “up-sell” and/or have ads), and high-cost programs, with Rosetta Stone being the best-known in that group.
For language learners price may be a deciding factor, but quality, effectiveness, and a fit with one's personal learning style are not always proportional to price.
More and more online language learning sites are adding games or game-like features to their course repertoire. And that is for good reason: Making language learning more entertaining can also produce better results.
"Swiss German" or "Schwyzerdütsch" is the common language in the German-speaking cantons, although there are noticeable dialect differences among them. 
