Posted on by Peter Rettig

FREE 6-day Trial with Learn & Earn in MAY

During the month of May, GamesforLanguage players can register for a FREE 6-day trial subscription. (Players who registered previously and have less than 300 points can still participate and can so indicate via contact.)

All can participate in our Learn & Earn challenge which continues into June. As further explained in our FAQs, users can earn additional free months, if they exceed score goals of 5,000 and 10,000 points respectively.

GamesforLanguage currently offers four languages: French 1, German 1, Italian 1, and Spanish 1. Easy games let players understand, read, write, and speak the story of a young traveler who visits the four European countries. With a story that continues through all 36 lessons of the program, players learn relevant and practical everyday vocabulary. Each player will also receive the mp3 audio of "The Story" at the start of each level to download.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Learning a Second Language Like a Child?

appleWe call this "an apple" in English, "una manzana" in Spanish, "une pomme" in French, and "una mela" in Italian. If you were a child, learning one of these languages, you would likely know this well before your second birthday!

Many language courses promote their method of learning a new foreign language with slogans such as "Learn a new language like child!". While there are obviously many aspects of "learning" that children and adults share, there are also significant differences. In fact, "learning like a child" really tries to create the image for you of a young child learning his or her first language, seemingly effortlessly. And who wouldn't also want to learn in a similar way?

A recent blog we published on GEOS Language Plus : LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LIKE A CHILD (sorry, we noticed that the link does not work any longer! explains why there are major differences between a young child learning his/her first language and an adult learning his/her second (or third) language.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Play n' Learn Spanish with a Conversation in an Airplane

La Sagrada FamiliaAnybody who plans to travel to a Spanish-speaking country can benefit from our Spanish travel story. The story begins in an airplane as our young traveler David flies from Boston to Barcelona. His neighbor in the airplane starts a conversation with him. If you you don't quite understand it at the beginning just follow this YouTube clip and you will at the end. The clip shows only a few of the games that let you understand, read, speak, and write the words and phrases of this travel story - but you can try out our demos to see and hear fro yourself.   

Posted on by Peter Rettig

Why did Mark Twain like Heidelberg?

HeidelbergAnybody who plans to travel to a German-speaking country can benefit from our German travel story.

While in Heidelberg our young "hero" Michael discovers why Mark Twain may have liked the name of the town.

And - if you can understand the dialogue in this short YouTube clip - you may discover this as well - and even surprise your German friends or acquaintances... 

Our FREE Blog posts, Quick Games and Podcasts can be accessed without registration, by just clicking on the links.

If you have ever been bored by unrelated phrases and grammar drills of other language programs these travel stories and interactive games will both entertain and teach you.

We believe that mid- to high beginners will especially benefit from our courses. They are completely FREE to use and you won't find any annoying Google advertisements either.

We only ask you to register for the courses so that you can continue where you left off.

Maybe you are only planning a short trip to Germany or a German-speaking country like Austria and Switzerland. The you'll want at the very least learn and practice the 11+ essential German words and phrases such as greetings and polite phrases.

On our sister site Lingo-Late.com you can learn and practice such essentials and also record yourself easily.

 

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Foreign Language Learning with Games and a Travel Story

RomeAnybody who plans to travel and wants to boost his/her language skills in French, German, Spanish, and Italian can benefit from our Travel Story.

A short YouTube video shows how you can PLAY and PRACTICE.

If you have ever been bored by unrelated phrases and grammar drills of other language programs these travel stories and interactive games will both entertain and teach you.

We believe that mid- to high beginners will especially benefit from our courses. They are completely FREE to use and you won't find any annoying Google advertisements either.

We only ask you to register for the courses so that you can continue where you left off.

Blog posts, Quick Games and Podcasts can be accessed without registration, by just clicking on the links.

 

 

Posted on by Peter Rettig

GamesforLanguage works on iOS6 devices

iPadFinally!

GamesforLanguage works on iOS6 mobile devices!

Now you can access our four(4) language programs (German1, French1, Spanish1, and Italian1) not only on your desktop or laptop, but also on your iOS6 mobile devices. 

This means you don't need to go through the Apple store to use GamesforLanguage.com. You would want to have a good Wi-Fi connection; just open your Safari browser, login to our site and start playing and learning. While in our opinion the screen on the iPhone is too small for certain games, Memory Game, Snap Clouds, Shootout and others may still work for some users. We prefer the regular iPad and iPad mini.

Start Learning a New Language - playfully...

 

Posted on by Peter Editor

Watertown Patch: A New Year's Resolution

If you didn't read our blog, here is the short version of the what to consider, if you make learning a new foreign language your New Year's resolution...:Sorry: the Watertown Patch post cannot be found any longer, but here is the original post

Posted on by Peter Rettig

September 2012 Newsletter

If you have been wondering why you have not heard more about ourPascal's book cover mobile applications, here is the reason why: For the last few months, our CTO – who also happens to be our son – has been working on his first book, “Professional HTML5 Mobile Game Development”. Both the paperback and Kindle edition are now available on Amazon.

We are currently working with Pascal on incorporating many of the ideas and games described in his book into new games for mobile and touchscreen devices, including iPhones, Ipads, Android, and WP7.5. Players will be able to use these games independently or in connection with our currently four language courses.

Also, while we are continuing to work on a mobile application for our main courses, we will change our payment structure to a three month subscription for $10, with no automatic renewal. (There will be no change for our current customers.)

We'll keep you updated on our progress with links to our mobile games as they are being published.

The GamesforLanguage Team

Posted on by Peter Editor

July 2012 Newletter

Why we use "The Story"...

Nearly every day we receive google alerts about a new online game or app that promises to make language learning easier and more fun. Some recent ones were: “Blanca goes to School, Question It, San Jiten 3D Game, GoGoLingo, uSpeak.” Many of these language learning games are word games, and/or geared towards younger children with vocabulary appropriate to those age groups.

Language Learning Fun and Gamification

One of the more successful iPad apps for adults, “Mindsnacks,” teaches the words and phrases of a large number of topics - from numbers, colors, months, body parts, greetings, time/date etc. - with entertaining games and a good reward system. (While this is a “fun” program, the lack of a recording option does not let you check your pronunciation.)

A recent entry, “Duolingo,” is trying a new approach that combines traditional reading, translating, speaking, and writing exercises with well-thought-out gamification elements and the challenge “to help translate the web.”

Learning a Language with “The Story”

GamesforLanguage has chosen an approach that uses a narrative which gradually unfolds for the learner. It’s the story of a young “hero” who travels to the country where the language is spoken, meets friends and relatives there, and makes new friends. (To the right: La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spanish 1, Scene 2.4)

By reading, hearing, practicing, and recording the words, phrases, and sentences that are used in “The Story” in fast moving games, the learner immediately acquires a very diverse and useful vocabulary. In essence, the learner is challenged to discover “The Story.” And so, rather than focusing on specific “topics,” we teach typical phrases and sentences that you would hear and use every day during your travels. Based on our own experience, we believe that this approach is particularly effective for quickly acquiring the tools for communicating in a foreign language.

The GamesforLanguage Team

Posted on by Peter & Ulrike Rettig

Our Spain trip ends in Madrid...

Giralda, SevilleWe've arrived in Madrid for the last week of our Spain trip. In the more than seven weeks to date, we have just seen a small part of this country, but are taking many impressions with us.

After our time in Barcelona, which we enjoyed very much (and which also gave us some insights into the Catalan language and political struggle, see our blog...) we traveled south. With visits to Granada with its marvelous Alhambra, and to Sevilla with its Giralda (left), Alkazar and Torre del Oro, we followed in the steps of our Spanish 1 “hero” David - and we learned much about the long and often violent history of Spain.

We also visited Aranjuez and the summer palace oParque de Retirof Spanish kings so we could utter the words: “Die schönen Tage von Aranjuez sind nun zu Ende” - the first sentence of Schiller’s play “Don Carlos” (“The pleasant days of Aranjuez are now over”).

While in Madrid, we are also following in David‘s footsteps - indeed our apartment is in walking distance of all the places mentioned in Level 6 of Spanish 1: Parque del Retiro (see picture on the right with the monument of Alfonso XII), the Prado, and even the Plaza de España and the “Museo Chichote” (a bar frequented in earlier years by film stars and other famous folks). There are more museums in Madrid than we can visit in our time here, but we certainly are trying our best.

And equally important, our stay in Spain has given us ample opportunity to try out our Spanish and to collect new ideas both for our Spanish 1 as well as for our future Spanish 2 course...

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