[Updated: 11/2022] Learning Italian? Check out "Ripeti con me!", the conversational Italian audio course that gets you to Think in Italian.
For a 50% discount of your first month click HERE, scroll down to the form I WANT TO LEARN*, and enter your email. Your subscription includes "Ripeti con me" (250 audio lessons from Beginners to Advanced), "Leggi con me" (600+ short readings with audio and translation), plus a host of complementary materials. All the material is available online on a Monthly or Yearly subscription plan or as a One-off Lifetime Membership Plan.
Note: We originally reviewed Stefano Lodola's "Ripeti con me" Italian audio course in 11/ 2018. More recently, in 11/ 2020, we wrote an update of this course, which had been expanded and moved online as part of Stefano new site "Think in Italian".
When Stefano wrote to ask us about reviewing his audio course "Ripeti con me!" for learning Italian, we were happy to try it out.
Stefano is an Italian Polyglot, language teacher and translator who speaks twelve languages. He's also an opera singer, and as you'll hear on the audio, he has a clear and pleasant voice.
The description of the "Ripeti con me!" audio course and the method behind it intrigued me.
I've always enjoyed learning a language with good audio lessons. Before our 5-month stay in Italy several years ago - my husband and I completed the 3 Pimsleur Italian audio-only courses (no text), a total of 90 lessons.
We were by no means fluent when we arrived in Rome, but we felt confident enough to use our Italian on a daily basis as we explored the city, shopped at the market, went to various bars and restaurants, etc. Learning with the Pimsleur audio courses sharpened our pronunciation and gave us a good core vocabulary that we easily built on. (For full disclosure: before 2011, I was an author and development editor at Pimsleur for several of their courses.)
I've been learning Italian for a few years now and I've been looking for an Italian course to refresh and boost my Italian speaking skills. So, I am not only quite familiar with audio courses but also definitely motivated to try out a new approach and new materials.
Stefano gave us access to 15 downloadable Lessons of "Ripeti con me!", so I could review his method and the course format.
THE COURSE BASICS
In 11/ 2018,"Ripeti con me"had 60 Lessons in audio format that you could download. Now, in 11/ 2022, "Ripeti con me!" has 250 lessons. The format of the lessons has stayed the same.
• Each Lesson is made up of 30 basic sentences, spoken at a natural pace. • For each audio Lesson there are three files, Part A, Part B and Part C, to be done in sequence. • The three files have you practice the same 30 sentences in three different ways. • The sentences contain useful, conversational vocabulary and common, idiomatic grammar patterns. • Spaced Repetition of vocabulary and grammar patterns is built into the course. • Sentences come up again and again, but each time with small changes that show how the language works. • The course is for Total Beginners (A0) to Advanced Learners (C1) who want to improve their speaking skills. • In his Introduction, Stefano has detailed instructions on how to learn with his course.
I love learning with audio. I agree with Stefano that spoken and written language are processed differently by the brain.
When you just listen, your brain connects directly to the sound without needing to decode the letters.
When I do a lesson for the first time, it's really effective to just sit with eyes closed while repeating and "shadowing" (i.e. speaking along with the speaker, or a split second behind him). That way I can also pay attention to the small but meaningful sounds that connect the sentence: prepositions, negatives, endings, agreements, etc.
With Audio, you can easily take the course with you and listen and repeat on the go, while walking, jogging, cooking, waiting for a bus, etc.
PDF DOWNLOAD
The sentences and their translations can all be downloaded in PDF. Reviewing the text is optional.
Still, I've found it very useful to look at the written sentences after doing the Audio. The sentences and their translations can all be downloaded in PDF. Reviewing the text is optional.
That's because living in a world of the printed word, I automatically make up my own mental spelling of any unfamiliar word I hear or see, no matter what the language. I might as well learn the correct form.
Besides, I love to read. For any language that I learn, it's my goal to learn to read fluently (online news, blog posts, articles, stories, novels).
Reading is one of the most powerful ways to learn additional vocabulary and grammar patterns, and stay interested in the language.
SENTENCES AND SPACED REPETITION
In "Ripeti con me!", sentences (not individual words) are the basic building blocks. You learn and practice all vocabulary in the context of everyday, useful sentences.
By listening and repeating many sentences that use and reshuffle basic vocabulary, you become more and more familiar with typical phrases and idioms.
The application of Spaced Repetition in "Ripeti con me!" is very good. As you constantly learn to construct new, slightly changed sentences, you automatically internalize Italian vocabulary and grammar patterns.
The English translations, because they are often not literal, help you to think in Italian. For example:
Come sto con gli occhiali? - How do I look in my glasses? (literally: How am I with the glasses?)
Come fai senza macchina? - How can you live without a car? (literally: How do you make it without car?)
THREE TYPES OF PRACTICE
Practicing the same 30 sentences of the lesson in three ways is quite effective, especially if you repeat/say the Italian out loud. Part A: After the English cue, listen and repeat/shadow the Italian sentence. (For meaning, pronunciation of words, correct intonation.) Part B: After the English cue, say the sentence in Italian in the pause that follows. (To produce the Italian and check if you're correct.) Part C: Shadow each of the Italian sentences. (No English. To mimic the speaker and learn to think in Italian.)
I like the technique of shadowing when I'm learning a language. I use it often when listening to audio books or going over sentences in a course.
As mentioned, shadowing means speaking along with the speaker, or a split second behind. It takes a little practice. But once you've got the knack, you'll improve the rhythm, intonation, and pronunciation of your Italian.
Don't be afraid to talk over the native speaker's voice, you'll find that you can listen and talk at the same time.
GRAMMAR PATTERNS
I don't really know if my brain is wired for grammar, but it's definitely wired for language patterns.
Listening and repeating many sentences that have small shifts in pattern works really well for me.
I noticed that as I practiced, more and more phrases and idioms became familiar again and I would start using them automatically. (As Italian is not a new language for me, it's also likely that I notice these patterns more than a beginner.)
Each lesson focuses on a specific grammar point, built into the sentences. (The specific grammar items are in bold on the PDF.) Here are some examples of grammar points:
In Lesson 1, there are many sentences with present forms of the verb "essere" (to be).
In Lesson 2, the sentences focus of the present forms of "avere" (to have), including common idioms with "avere".
In Lesson 3, you practice number agreement (un gelato-due gelati), and adjective-noun agreement. (see photo in PDF section)
In Lesson 6, the sentences highlight the indefinite article forms: "un', un, una".
In Lesson 13, you practice sentences with "piacere": "mi piace/mi piacciono" (I like), "ti piace" (you like), "a Giulia non piace" (Giulia doesn't like), "a voi piace" (you-all like), etc.
A WELL-PACED COURSE
It's recommended that you do a full Lesson a day. Because you're often reusing familiar vocabulary for new sentences, even a beginner can follow the pace. Still, if you don't feel ready to move on, you can easily repeat that Lesson the next day.
My spoken Italian is probably at a Low Intermediate level (while my listening comprehension and reading skills are quite a bit better). With "Ripeti con me!", I found I can really focus on practicing to speak in Italian. I'm happy with the improvement I've noticed.
PRICING
Think in Italian offers two types of lessons:
1. The audio course "Ripeti con me!", which has 250 Lessons. 2. Various Readings with audio, consisting of 600+ brief stories, conversations, news pieces, jokes, songs.
All the material is available online on a Monthly or Yearly subscription plan or as a One-off Lifetime Membership Plan. Click HERE, scroll down to the I WANT TO LEARN* form, and enter your email. You'll receive Stefano's best offers, plus a 50% discount on the first month through us.
Stefano's courses are more expensive than most language apps, but they are clearly worthwhile for motivated learners who want results.To try the lessons out for yourself, make use of Stefano's free 7-day Trial.
FURTHER THOUGHTS
No program will teach you everything you want to achieve in a language. And a program can certainly not replace speaking regularly with native speakers, a trained tutor, or good conversation partners.
A real conversation is so much more than listening and repeating. You have to understand what the other person is saying, which includes all the non-verbal signals that are part of effective communication. Plus, as you're listening and decoding what's being said, your brain is also working on an answer.
Still, good programs offer you the chance to practice specific foreign language skills. The 15 Lessons of Fluent Simple, which I did according to instructions, have clearly boosted my basic speaking fluency.
Beyond that, one can always find more ways to learn with a good program. "Ripeti con me" is no exception. Once you've gone through the course, you can go back and do other things with it. It keeps the material fresh.
MEMORIZE
For some people memorizing works. Once you've gone through the course as suggested, you can take ten sentences, for example, and just keep them in your head for the day.
Say them to yourself from time to time, as you walk to work, take a break, or take the bus home. It's a good way to become totally familiar with certain sentence patterns.
DICTATION
I've always enjoyed dictation and have used it a lot in my language teaching and learning. In "Ripeti con me!", Part C of each Lesson is perfect for this. Write down the sentence as you hear it, and stop the audio if you need to.
At the end, you can check what you've written against the correct sentences on the PDF file. For one, dictation strengthens the sound-letter correlation. Plus for me, writing something down by hand helps me remember.
WRITING
Journal writing for learning a language has become very popular. Even as a beginner, keep a daily journal by using the sentences that you've learned. Or you can even try out new variations of some of sentences.
Do this just from your head, without looking up anything. Because of the many-sentence structure of the course, you'll have lots of possible sentences ready. It's a great start for beginning to write.
Italian is a wonderful language to learn, and you can do it at any age. Think about Italian culture and history, Italy's historic cities, villages, and beautiful countryside. And there's Italian music, and the world of Italian food, fashion and movies.
Besides, learning a language is good for your brain and learning Italian may inspire you to visit. Go for 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 below!
Disclosure: We added "Think in Italian" to our Partners' list. Should you decide to purchase through our link above, Gamesforlanguage will receive a small commission - at no cost to you - which will help us keep our own site ad-free.
Whatever little sightseeing my travel friend and I had done on the preceding day - Charles Bridge, the Castle (see picture), Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square - was eclipsed by the chaotic events of that night and the next day, when Warsaw Pact and Soviet tanks rolled into the city.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 was followed in January 1993 by the split of Czechoslovakia into two countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia, both parliamentary republics.
Since that time, Prague has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe. It was high time for me to go back and see what I had missed 50 years ago. We rented an apartment for a week in the New Town (Nové M?sto).
Getting ready for a trip is always fun and interesting. My husband Peter and I like to read up on the history of a country and its language. (For anyone who'd like to learn more about the history of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, I can only recommend Mary Heimann's “Czechoslovakia: The State That Failed”.)
For our Prague trip, we were also bent on learning some Czech language basics. In fact, I was particularly motivated to learn some Czech because my grandfather was born in Bohemia in 1880, when the region was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He was born in the village of Netrebice (near Cesky Krumlov).He spoke only Czech as a child before being sent to live with an uncle in the neighboring, German-speaking region of Styria, Austria. He was five at that time. And that's how my father's family came to Austria.
WHY LEARN SOME CZECH
In our past travels, we've often found that English has its limits, that learning some of the local language has huge benefits. For Czech, we spent fifteen minutes or so a day for three months learning to say and understand basic phrases and to practice pronunciation.
In Prague, we noticed that older people - those not in the tourist industry - often did not speak any English. That was quite understandable because during the Soviet era, Russian was the compulsory foreign language taught in all schools in Czechoslovakia.
We also noticed that younger people did tend to speak English. But, if they weren't working in the tourist industry, it sometimes had its limits.
This became clear the first night when we tried to buy some breakfast items at a small neighborhood market. The young man at the cash register was able to say in English how much we owed. But he did not understand the English words jam/marmalade, butter, cereal, etc. Nor could he explain to me what the word “polotucne” on the milk carton meant. (I wanted to make sure I wasn't buying skim milk. In fact, it means “half fat” or “part skim.”)
In all though, we got by very well with English and, occasionally with German.
Still, learning some Czech before the trip was worth every minute. People would greet us automatically in Czech and only switched when we spoke English. By using greetings and polite phrases in Czech, we were making an effort that was clearly appreciated.
I can well imagine, that locals in Prague are sometimes overwhelmed by the hordes of tourists constantly present in their city, and by the barrage of English that often confronts them.
Don't we expect visitors to the US to greet and address us in English and not in German, French, Czech, Danish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, etc.?
Prague well deserves its popularity as a travel destination. There is lots to do and to discover.
In addition to the exhibits, museums, and public art works that we saw – the Caltrava and Kupka exhibitions, the Mucha, Kafka, and (new) National Museum, the often controversial David Cerny sculptures, – here are six (6) more highlights of our stay.
1. A WALKING TOUR
Walking is a great way to get to know a city. Peter's sister, who had joined us in Prague, speaks German and French. So we arranged for a German-speaking guide for a four-hour walking tour the first day of our stay. (see photo on Charles Bridge)
Vaclav, whose Austrian-tinged German was delightful, took us first through the Lesser Town of Prague. With him we discovered special places we may not have found on our own.
He showed us Wallenstein's Garden, the Kampa Island, the Maltese and Grand Priory Squares, etc., and entertained and educated us with many historical facts (the fate of the Templars, the Hussites, etc.) and stories, some of them quite personal.
Vaclav The John Lennon wall (see photo) had very special memories for him:Vaclav related to us how scared he (and his parents) were when they were visited one evening by a policeman. Together with some classmates Vaclav had been part of a demonstration at the Lennon Wall during the “Prague Spring” and had not realized that they were all being filmed or photographed. He was a fourteen-year-old school boy at that time. The policeman's “advice” was easy to understand: If Vaclav wanted to finish school – he should stay away from demonstrations!
After the tour of the Lesser Town, we went over the Charles Bridge, to the Jewish Quarter, and finally to Old Town Square (see photo). We waited for the famous Astronomical clock to ring at 6 PM, but in vain – it was still being repaired.
Since there were just three of us taking the tour and Vaclav's approach was quite casual, it felt like we were just having a conversation with him, not getting a tour lecture. Such a very personal introduction to Prague at the beginning of our seven-day stay was wonderful.
2. TOUR OF PRAGUE CASTLE
With Prague's Castle complex towers high over the river Vltava, the original building dating back to the 9th century, the Castle area was built and rebuilt over the centuries. It now holds several palaces, three churches, a monastery, defense towers, and gardens.
It was fascinating to walk around the Castle complex. Its buildings combine architectural styles from several historical periods: Romanesque, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Mannerism and Neo-classic. For art lovers, the Castle's Picture Gallery and the collections in the Lobkowicz Palace are a special treat.
St.Vitus Cathedral - whose spires give the castle its distinct presence is not to be missed. Begun in 1344, the stunning Gothic/Neo-Gothic cathedral was finally finished in 1929. The work by the early architects, Peter Parler and his sons, Wenzel and Johannes Parler, is particularly interesting. The so-called Parler vaults (or net-vaults) are said to have heavily influenced Gothic architecture in Slovenia, Austria, and Croatia. And, art historians speculate: Did St. Vitus Cathedral influence English Gothic, or was it the other way around?
The gorgeous stained glass windows of St. Vitus Cathedral were created by Czech artists of the early 20th century. A sweet discovery was the new window in the north nave, designed by the famous Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha. (It was installed in 1931.)
The way out of the Castle area took us past the Golden Lane, a narrow street with small colorful houses. Built in the late 16th century in the Mannerism style, they housed the families of Castle guards. Somehow it seemed fitting to me that Kafka lived in one of them for a year (number 22).
3. A TRAM RIDE TO VYSEHRAD
We made extensive use of Prague's public transportation system. With all three of us having passed the 70 year milestone, we could use it entirely for FREE! (We could first not believe it when we wanted to buy a ticket!) Vysehrad was only a short tram ride away along the scenic Vltava River.
Originally an 11th century fortress, Vysehrad has great historical significance for Prague. Legend has it that the fort was the first seat of Czech dukes. It stands on a hill surrounded by a large park. From the walls of the fortress, you have a fantastic view of Prague and the Vltava River. The Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is part of the Vysehrad complex.
Inside, besides more traditional art, you'll find amazing Art Nouveau frescoes covering the walls. They are by the painter Frantisek Urban and his wife Marie Urbanova-Zahradnicka (done in the early 1900s). We toured the cemetery, where many Czech luminaries are buried, including the composers Smetana and Dvorak. (By the way, Dvorak's name is a good example of how the Czech “accented-r” is pronounced: it's “r-zh”, that is r + zh, as in “measure”. Sorry, but my font doesn't support Czech accents.)
On the way back down to the tram stop, we had lunch at a small bistro that was obviously a favorite with locals.
4. DAY TRIP TO PILSEN
On one of the days, we took a train to Pilsen, home of the famous Pilsner Urquell. The town is located about 90 kilometers (56 miles) southwest of Prague. Trains go every hour and it takes about 90 minutes to get there.
At the Pilsen train station, we looked for a tram to take us to the center of town. We didn't see a ticket dispenser, so we tried to buy tickets from the driver as we got on. There was clearly a problem. It turned out that she had run out of tickets, so we rode free again.
We've been to plenty of breweries before, so we skipped the one in Pilsen. Instead, we took a 2-hour walking tour through the historical center of town. Tatjana, our guide, started us out on Republic Square. In its center stands the Gothic Cathedral of St. Bartholomew with ist high spire. (The cathedral is currently undergoing extensive renovations.)
Around the square are buildings from varying periods, including an impressive Renaissance Town Hall. A curious contrast to the historical buildings are the three modern gilded fountains (built 2010) standing at three corners of the square. They symbolize three motifs from the Pilsen coat of arms (Camel, Greyhound, and Angel), and have caused plenty of controversy. (The one on the picture is the Greyhound.)
Pilsen, with 178,000 inhabitants is the Czech Republic's fourth largest city, and capital of the Pilsen region. After the hustle and bustle of several days in Prague (1.4 million), we enjoyed the more relaxed and quiet day in Pilsen. Our tour was also quite “private”, as it only included a young couple from Germany besides us.
5.VIDEO EXHIBITION: INVAZE 68 (Invasion 68)
Invasion An exhibition of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact Invasion of 1968 at the Fair Trade Palace was just being held as we were in Prague. The exhibition marked the invasion's 50th anniversary. The show included a videoinstallation based on photographs by the Czech-French photographer Josef Koudelka, together with authentic sound recordings.
Jan Archival footage of the 1968 invation, by the classic filmmaker Jan Nemec was also part of the exhibit. The powerful images of burning tanks and trucks together with the sound recordings of gunfire brought back to me how chaotic those days were.
And how lucky my travel friend and I were to be able to get out of Prague in time.
6. WALK UP TO PETRIN PARK
There On the last day of our one-week stay in Prague, we walked up to the Petrin Park to take a last look at the city from above. There is a Funicular Railway to the top of Petrin Hill, built for the national Jubilee Exhibition of 1891. We passed up the ride, however, for a leisurely but invigorating walk.
The path led us up through woods, past several open spaces and along the “Hunger Wall”. The story behind the name of the wall (of which about 1,300 yards remain) goes back to 1360 when Charles IV began its construction during a period of famin. At the top of the hill stands the Petrin Lookout Tower, a small version of the Eiffel Tower.
The Petrin Tower was built as part of the 1891 Exhibition, only two years after the completion of the original. At 200 feet high, this famous Prague landmark is about one-fifth of the height of the real Eiffel Tower.
We took the lift up the tower, though you can also walk up via 299 stairs.
The view from the lookout platform was magnificent. We had hit a clear day and could see far and wide beyond Prague into the verdant region of Bohemia.
OTHER THOUGHTS
I was glad to have visited Prague again. My memories of tanks, people running, long lines of shoppers in front of dark facades and buildings in disrepair have been replaced.
What I remember now is a modern city, with modern architecture, side by side with well-restored Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque buildings and the charm of times passed.
The Czech Republic was only born in January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. However, this year the country also celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the formation of Czechoslovakia, the initial multi-cultural state that formed in 1918 after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
We heard that relations between Czechs and Slovaks are better now than during the 75 years when they both were part of one country.
For anyone visiting Prague, we can only recommend staying in New Town. There are fewer tourists, and you can walk and use public transport to wherever you want to go.
And, if you are a beer lover, you'll like both Czech beers and their prices.
Postscript: After our stay in Prague we continued to Hungary, where we stayed in Budapest for a few days. As we did not learn any Hungarian words and phrases beforehand, we felt quite handicapped not even knowing the basic greetings and "essentials", such as yes, no, thank you, please, etc. In Duolingo and many other apps and online programs it often takes a while before you can get to or even find such language "essentials". We therefore started Lingo-Late.com and plan to add - over the weeks and months - 50-100 essential words and phrases for most of the European languages. Initially, each lesson post will have 10-15 words and phrases, with translation, audio and voice recording feature. Later-on we we may add some simple dialogues and games. We'll start with French, German, Italian and Spanish, add Portuguese, Icelandic, then Dutch etc.
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 below!
Going through my late father's belongings, I came across a newspaper clip from September 1968. He had published excerpts from my (German) letter to my parents in the “Canada Kurier”, a German newspaper in Winnipeg, Canada under the title: “Erlebnisse und Eindrücke eines Besuches in Prag”. (Experiences and Impressions of a visit to Prague)
In the letter, I wrote how I was experiencing the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968, while in Prague. (I also found a few of my old photographs.) It was a scary situation.
As an Austrian immigrant to Canada, I still remembered the Russian occupation of Vienna after the War. And the Iron Curtain was still a real and psychological barrier for many Europeans at that time.
How I Got to Prague
A student from Canada, I was spending a couple of years as an exchange teacher for English in Freiburg, Germany. I was off for the summer and in my old Volkswagen Beetle, my American friend Harris and I drove from the Black Forest, through Bavaria into Austria.On our way to Vienna, we decided to take a detour to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to see what the "Prague Spring" was actually like.
On Monday August 19th, 1968, we arrived in Prague. We had heard that Alexander Dubcek, First secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, had started a reform program to establish "communism with a human face". The period of political liberalization got to be known as the "Prague Spring".
Dubcek had vehemently reassured Moscow that Czechoslovakia had no intention of leaving the Warsaw Pact (a political alliance between the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries, established in May 1955).
We arrived in Prague late afternoon on that Monday, August 19th, 1968 and got accommodations at a student residence. There they rented rooms over the summer to tourists. [I don't know if that particular building still exists, but it was located about 4.5 km from the city center.]
The Published Excerpts From My Letter (Freely translated and edited)
Tuesday [August 20th], we toured the city: the Town Hall with its old astronomical clock, the Synagogue, the Castle, Kafka's house, the Charles Bridge.
On the bridge, hippies drew modern religious images and Dubcek slogans with chalk onto the sidewalks. Some of the young people were singing folk songs.
In the evening, before returning to the student residence, we strolled by the Vltava river and chatted [in German] with one of the locals. He painted us a rosy picture of growing freedom in his country.
That night I dreamt of grey airplanes in my room but I didn't sleep badly. The next morning [Wednesday, August 21st], as I was in the women's washroom for a shower, a man rushed in and looked for his wife. He was Italian and kept shouting "russi, russi".
Later, at the reception, we were told that Soviet troops had unexpectedly entered the city with tanks and armored vehicles. It was to be a full fledged occupation.
Our first thought: Let's get out of here. We checked out of the student residence and tried to find gas for the car. But that seemed like a hopeless undertaking. We were told that all gas stations had been out fuel for hours. So we drove to the train station to call the Canadian and American embassies. But there we encountered Soviet tanks and troops.
We didn't want to leave the car on the street. For now, it seemed best to stay calm, get a place to stay and to wait and see. We drove back to the student residenceand were lucky to get beds again for the night. We left the car there and walked back into the city center.
In front of the grocery stores, we saw long lines of people hoping to stock up on food. An open truck drove down our street. On it people were waving flags. A bystander told us that they were chanting "long live Dubcek".
As we got closer to Wenceslas Square, we heard shots. But when we got there, things had calmed down. A large crowd of people had gathered on the square in passive demonstration.
A little farther on, we saw that the National Museum was riddled with bullets. When we asked a passerby why that building, he said: "Why, yes, why? They are Russians and they don't need a reason. Today, the 21st of August is a historic day for us".
Right then, a huge cloud of smoke rose up and we could smell rubber and gasoline. At the same time we heard the noise of automatic rifles and tank guns. Our passerby told us: "Oh, that's Radio Prague being blown up". Armored tanks thundered by. The soldiers on them shot periodically into the air. All around, people shouted and cursed, refusing to be intimidated.
Finding the Embassies
When things calmed down again, we took a side street and walked in the direction of the Canadian and American embassies. It seemed like a good idea to register with them. But the embassies weren't that close. And to get there, we had to cross the Vltava River.
The bridges were all guarded by soldiers in tanks. As pedestrians we could still move around freely, but traffic was at a standstill. We were afraid that once across the Vltava River, we would be cut off from our student residence.
Besides, a large part of the occupying forces were located around the Prague Castle, where Svoboda and Dubcek were being "isolated". The embassies were just around the corner from there. [Ludvic Svoboda was president of Czechoslovakia from 1968 to 1975. He achieved great popularity by resisting the Soviet Union's demands during and after its invasion of August 1968. (Brittanica)]
Still, we continued on and crossed the Vltava River over the Charles Bridge. Just like the local pedestrians, we zigzagged our way through the rows of armored vehicles that stood guard there.
A group of soldiers called something to a young woman. She swore back at them. They cursed in return. The woman lifted her fist and shouted. Swastikas had been chalked on some of the walls and we even saw one on the inner side of a tank wheel.
Local Czechs clustered around armored vehicles and spoke with the soldiers. Some even handed out flyers to the troops.
Later, we met an Englishman who told us the following: His girlfriend, who was Russian, had spoken with some of the soldiers. They told her that many of the occupying Soviet or Warsaw Pact soldiers were surprised to be in Prague and not in Poland. Others only knew that they were fighting a "counter revolution". Still others only shook their head and said: "We don't know anything, we only follow orders."
We finally reached both the American and the Canadian embassies and left our names there. By now it was three in the afternoon and it seemed wise to return to the student residence. After all, we had a long walk in front of us and who knew what problems we would still encounter. Luckily, going back over the Charles Bridge went without a hitch.
But now all bridges were being guarded even more heavily. On all larger streets stood rows of armored vehicles. On the public squares you could see an increased number of soldiers, each with an automatic rifle. It seemed to me, though, that their uniforms looked a little ragged and not really adequate for an occupying force.
Food and Gasoline
The lines in front of the grocery stores had not gotten shorter. We needed bread, but couldn't find any. All we could get was a package of crackers and beer.
A few people carrying flags were still walking around or driving back and forth in small cars. Some of the flags were torn and spattered with blood. We heard shouts of "Dubcek, Svoboda". But in general, people were passive. Once we arrived at the student residence, we knew we were in for a long evening.
Upstairs while we ate, we discussed our "gas problem". We knew we had enough gas for about 40 km. But the nearest border crossing was at Gmünd into Austria, and that was about 175 km away. Other border crossings were even farther and we feared running into a blockade or being forced to take detours.
An East German man from Leipzig explained to us how utterly hopeless the situation was. But he mentioned that the only station that still sold gas was only about a kilometer away. We hopped into the car and drove there. A long line and a long wait, just to get 10 liters of gas. It was not enough to reach the border, but it was something.
Information and Rumors
In the hall of the student residence, the radio brought the news, always the same bad news. Everything seems so unreal. Waking up in the morning of Thursday, August 22 we heard no airplanes, only the constant noise of Soviet trucks bringing supplies, cannons, and new troops.
In the women's washroom - the place where we got our first information of the day - one rumor had it that it was impossible to leave the country by car. Nor were there any trains back to the east block countries or to the west.
There were also other rumors: • All border crossings were blocked, except the crossing at Gmünd to Austria; • or, the best way to leave was via Hungary; • or, the only crossing that was open was the one at Waidhaus in the direction of Pilsen; • or, the Vtlava River was blocked everywhere, no chance to cross it; • or, some tourists had tried to leave the country and were sent back, etc.
People like us were beginning to feel a little desperate. It was impossible to call either of our embassies, all telephone connections were cut off. A man who spoke both Czech and German said that the Austrian embassy advised all tourists to leave the country as soon as they could. We knew we had to act.
Being Lucky
We lined up once more at the gas station. With an extra note, we bribed the attendant to go over the usual ration and fill our tank. An American student, who had no hope of leaving Prague by train, asked to join us. Together with him, we discussed how to proceed: either via Budweis to Freistadt or to Gmünd, depending on the information we could get.
With some difficulty we got through the city by car. We had to avoid the heavily guarded areas. And even though locals kindly tried to help us, they were too upset to think clearly. Outside of the cities, we saw confusing road signs. Some of them were obviously turned the wrong way and pointed north to Moskau. Others had different place names written over them.
In the villages along the road people gave us fliers. In one town they tossed flowers to us as we drove by. In many places, the names Dubcek and Svoboda were written in chalk on the road. About an hour before the border, we came across another gas station and could fill up again.
A woman said we definitely needed to drive to the Gmünd border crossing. On our way there we caught up twice to a convoy of tanks. It was easy to recognize the Soviet tanks. They had a thick white stripe on their frame.
At the border, there was only a normal line of cars waiting to cross. We didn't see any Soviet vehicles. Later we heard that Gmünd really had been the only open border crossing at that time. A man we talked to had first tried crossing at three other places and but was turned back by Soviet soldiers.
We also heard that Soviet tanks were supposed to arrive at Budweis at 5 o'clock. Half of them would continue on in the direction of Gmünd to close the border there. I guess we'd been really lucky. In Viennese, you'd say we had "a Masl".
Postscript: I only learned later how lucky we indeed had been: There were over 100 people killed during the invasion. We never saw any of the battles, especially those around the radio station (about which we only heard rumors and sporadic gunfire).
If you're interested to learn more about the Prague Spring or Czechoslovakia, I'd suggest Mary Heimann's book "Czechoslovakia: The State That Failed". We are currently reading it in preparation for our visit to Prague later this year. It provides an excellent account of the birth of the multinational state of Czechoslovakia in 1918, its tribulations before and during the Hitler years, the period of Communist rule, and its dissolution on December 31, 1992.
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 below! (And if you'd like to read the original German version, just send us a note to contact.)
Maybe you're an adventure traveler who likes to explore a country on your own. But traveling to a country where you don't understand the language can be intimidating.
Yes, you can tell yourself, everyone speaks English. But actually not everyone does, and certainly not in areas that are off the beaten track. Or in areas that don't care that much about speaking English.
That last point was driven home to us during our one-month stay in Seville, Spain. One night when we tried to withdraw money from an ATM, the machine went on the blink during the withdrawal.
Our card was withheld, and "for technical reasons" the machine was unable to issue us the cash we had requested (though, as we found out the next day, the money had been withdrawn from our account after all – see for the full story: 5 Tips For Dealing With ATM Troubles Abroad - And At Home).
To our surprise, our several conversations with the bank manager (to get our card and our cash back) had to be done in Spanish. He proudly told us that he "did not speak English". The one employee of the bank who supposedly spoke English, didn't really.
Our Spanish turned out to be much better than his English. Still, using Spanish banking language proved to be quite a challenge and we had to brush up on it quickly.
That kind of experience has taught us a few things about preparing for our trips to foreign countries.
To prepare for our "slow travel" adventures - they include unhurried stays in Rome, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam - we made sure to learn some language basics and to find out about cultural differences.
1. Practice the Phrases You Might Use
To prepare for speaking the local language on your travels, you need to practice. But you need to especially practice words, phrases and sentences that you are likely to use.
Greetings, please and thank you, numbers, question words, asking for directions, language for shopping, - all these are helpful, especially if you go outside of larger cities.
Obviously, you can't prepare for all occasions and emergencies, as we found out in Seville. But it didn't take us long to learn some of the key banking terminology either.
A good part of your language practice can be done on your own. To do that, nothing beats online sites that have audio and text, and which teach you the practical vocabulary you need.
You can pace yourself, you don't have to worry about making mistakes, and you can practice until the phrases you want to learn become automatic.
Words and Phrases
As I'm learning basics in a new language right now - Czech - in preparation for a week's stay in Prague, I'm experiencing the challenge of learning totally unfamiliar words and sounds.
I find that it takes persistent practice to learn new words and their spelling with the goal to get them into my long-term memory. Not only do I repeat the words often, and practice them in a kind of "spaced repetition", I also make sure I recall them frequently.
Learning vocabulary in "chunks" (meaningful phrases) is better than just learning individual words. Once you have a set phrase, such as asking "Where is ...? or "How much is ...?" or requesting "I'd like ..." or "Please give me ...", you can put in other words to suit different situations.
Numbers
We discovered during trips to Japan and China that the most useful vocabulary we learned were the numbers. The need to understand and say numbers came up again and again as we visited markets, paid in restaurants, requested tickets, asked for information, etc.
Listening practice
Clearly, understanding the rapid speech of native speakers is more difficult than speaking phrases and sentences that you've practiced.
So, learning to listen without translating is also really worth practicing. Especially with the kind of vocabulary that you are learning. At the very least you'll get the gist of the responses people give you.
Pronunciation
Practicing pronunciation goes hand in hand with learning the words, phrases and sentences you want to use. No doubt, it's your goal to be understood when you speak. It therefore helps to practice out loud.
To get your pronunciation good enough, listen carefully to the native speaker and repeat what you hear.
Some words and phrases may be easy to pronounce. Others might take a lot of practice because they contain sounds that are not part of your native language. Foreign sounds are a challenge because you may not hear them correctly at first.
2. Learn About Cultural Differences
Interacting with others who are from a different cultural background and speak another language is so much more pleasant when you understand some of the cultural assumptions they may have.
Yes, seeing YouTube videos about the social and cultural gaffes some people commit can be quite funny. And people are often very forgiving.
Still, understanding and respecting the values and traditions of others will help you engage positively with them. It will also make you more confident as a language learner.
Formal and familiar forms of address
English has one word for "you", but many other languages have two or more.
Because of the single "you", English speakers just doesn't have the ear for some of the situational differences that dictate a specific form. Learning when to use the formal as opposed to the familiar forms of address is a must.
Differences in age, social class, type of business, etc. impact on some of the "rules" for using the formal versus the familiar "you". Also, these rules change over time.
The Internet has added some confusion to the issue since age, profession, or social class are usually not visible for participants in group discussions. Often the familiar "you" (German "du", French "tu", Italian "tu", Spanish "tú") is automatically used by all and feels friendly.
Still, if you're in another country and walk into a shop, you'll certainly want to use the formal, polite "you".
Hand Gestures
Becoming sensitive to non-verbal clues in another culture, such as hand gestures and facial expressions, is also important. While a certain gesture may be respectful in one culture it may be rude in another.
When we travel, we often become quite aware of how close people stand to us, including strangers in public spaces.
In some countries, we may feel we are being crowded. For example, people in "contact cultures" (e.g. Southern European countries, South America, Middle East) stand closer and touch more than people in "non-contact cultures" (e.g. Northern European countries, North America, Asia). (Amanda Eriksen, Washington Post)
Just know that such differences exist and be aware of how you react to a person who handles personal space differently from you.
Sense of Time
Time is another factor where cultural differences occur. Not understanding them can cause unneeded friction even between people who are well-meaning and friendly.
Countries where public transportation and trains run on a precise schedule give you a different experience, as opposed to places where schedules slide and are unpredictably flexible.
The way we perceive and handle time also affects scheduling personal get-togethers. We all have expectations and reactions regarding punctuality and lateness.
But a people's culture isn't just levels of politeness, the experience of personal space, or the perception of social time. When you visit a country or region, it's also worthwhile to learn about its history and traditions.
No doubt, you can learn about cultural differences without learning a language. But inversely, if you acquire another language, learning about the culture that has evolved with it is a must.
3. Don't Be Afraid to Use the Language You've Learned
Once you're in the country where the language is spoken, it's up to you to find ways to engage in conversations with native speakers.
Of course, such conversations are very different from practicing alone online or even practicing with a tutor(which you obviously could also consider as part of your travel preparations.)
In a conversation so much is going on at the same time. As you listen to your conversation partner and try to understand what the flow of sounds coming at you means, your mind is also working on a possible answer.
It may sound simplistic, but it's true: You can't learn to engage in foreign language conversations unless you do it. Start with baby steps and keep building.
Insist on using the local language at the market, in restaurants and bars, at the bakery, at the supermarket, when asking for directions.
You'll certainly encounter situations when the other person would rather practice his or her English – especially when their English is better than your new language. It's easy to succumb to such an offer, but try to resist.
Such situations are especially true in countries where many speak English. But in rural areas or places off the beaten track you'll certainly have the opportunity to practice what you've learned.
I've always found that locals are very supportive of my attempts at using their language. Often it has led to further conversations about their city, about travels, about my home country, etc.
And if you are also a practitioner of "slow travel" and are staying in a city for a longer period, you may be able to engage a tutor. Or you could personally meet an online conversation partner you found via one of the many language-exchange sites.
Even knowing just the basics of the local language will enhance your travel experience. And being able to listen and participate in conversations will get you to another level.
If you're an adventure traveler who likes to explore a country on your own, learn as much of the local language as you can before you get there. You won't regret 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!
If you're traveling to Italy, you won't want to miss Florence. Exploring this romantic and historic university town will leave you with some wonderful travel memories.
Our first Italian TravelMemories post, Marco in Pisa follows the young traveler in our Italian 1 course to Pisa, where he visits his aunt and uncle.
He then takes the train to Florence. Read and listen to the Italian Language Story: Il viaggio di Marco 3 - Il viaggio in treno
In Florence he looks up a friend he had met back home. At his friend's place he meets two other students who join him on his walk through the historic center of Florence. Read and listen to the Italian Language Story: Il viaggio di Marco 4 - Firenze.
We'll follow Marco's explorations of Florence. For those of you who are doing or have done our Italian 1 course: Marco in Italia, the additional details will complement those of the course.
The travel memories blog posts tell you a few interesting facts about the cities that are featured in GamesforLanguage's travel-story courses. We typically use the cities' names of the streets, hotels, squares, restaurants, etc. and we've been to many of them ourselves.
In future blog posts, we'll provide more details of the other two Italian cities Marco visits, Venice and Rome. And we'll do the same for the cities that our other travelers visit in France, Spain, Germany and the U.S.
In our travel-story course you learn everyday conversational language. In this post, we've listed some additional basic words and phrases in Italian that you may encounter in your travels.
Brief History of Florence
The city of Florence (Firenze), considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, is the capital of Tuscany (Toscana), one of Italy's 20 regions. It lies in central Italy, about 2 1/2 hours north of Rome by train.
The most populous city in Tuscany, Florence was named a Metropolitan City (città metropolitana) in 2015. This includes the city itself and the large urban sprawl around it.
Early Florence was a Roman city, established in 59 BC by Julius Ceasar as a place to settle his veteran soldiers. Because of its position at the confluence of rivers (the Arno and its tributaries Murgone, Ema, and Greve), this outpost was first named Fluentia. But the name was later changed to Florentia ("flowering").
In the early Middle Ages, Florence was a city state. It had a flourishing textile industry and developed into an important international trade and finance center.
The Medici family held power in Florence for three centuries (from 1434 to 1737). They were bankers to the pope and great patrons of the arts. Lorenzo die Medici 1449-1492 for example, was a poet as well as a statesman, and commissioned works by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci.
From 1737 to 1859, a number of foreign powers governed Florence (the Austrian House of Lorraine, the Italian House of Bourbon-Parma, Napoleonic France). Then in 1861, Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy. For six years, Florence was its capital.
Italian Unification (or Risorgimento) was a complicated process that lasted from 1815 to 1871, when Rome finally became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. After unification, the state adopted Italian as the official language. Standard Italian is based on the Tuscan dialect, which was a literary language spoken by the upper class of Florentine society.
Florence is a beautiful city to discover on foot. Its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site containing numerous monuments, art museums and architectural treasures.
Marco's Arrival in Florence
The trip from Pisa to Florence takes Marco around an hour by train. He arrives at the Santa Maria Novella Train station in the center of Florence. (see picture)
From there, it takes him ten minutes on foot to arrive at Via Montebello 52, where his friend lives. His place is in the historic center of town (Quartiere 1).
The other four administrative boroughs (quartieri) of Florence lie in a ring around the historic center. Nearby is the Arno River, which runs through the old part of the city. The best known of the five bridges that cross the Arno is Ponte Vecchio with its gold and jewelry shops.
Useful Italian Vocabulary
• il tren - the train • la stazione ferroviaria - the train station • la via - the road, street • il quartiere - the district, part of town • il centro storico - the historic center • il fiume - the riveril ponte vecchio - the old bridge
Palazzo Ricasoli and James Fenimore Cooper
On a walk through the historic district, his friends show Marco the Palazzo Ricasoli, where the popular American writer, James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) lived during his nine-month stay in Florence in 1829. (The Palazzo is now a hotel right in the center of town, where you can stay, see picture.)
Fenimore Cooper's most famous novel, "The last of the Mohicans", was written in 1826. He's also known for a series of adventure stories called the Leatherstocking Tales.
Reportedly, Fenimore Cooper loved the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Florence. He met and socialized with emigrés from various countries and became a kind of celebrity with travelers on the Grand Tour and with American expatriates.
Useful Italian Vocabulary
la passeggiata - the walk il soggiorno - the stay, temporary residence il palazzo - the building, palace il scrittore - the writer il romanzo - the novel il emigrato - the emigrant il viaggiatore - the traveler
Palazzo Vecchio
Next, Marco and his friends walk past the Piazza della Signoria and the famous "PalazzoVecchio" (Old Palace). The palazzo has a long and interesting history.
Construction on the building started in 1299. During the centuries the palazzo was used for various purposes, including a prison. Since 1872 it has served as Florence's City Hall. A replica of Michelangelo's David stands near the entrance.
A tour of the Palazzio Vecchio takes you through several courtyards, Roman ruins, a Medieval fortress with secret routes, beautifully decorated Renaissance chambers, and more.
Useful Italian Vocabulary
la piazza - the square la prigione - the prison il comune - the city hall la entrata - the entrance le rovine - the ruins la fortezza - the fortress
Piazziale Michelangelo
Finally, Marco and his friends take a 15-minute bus ride to Piazziale Michelangelo, a large square in the Oltrarno (beyond the Arno) district of Florence. From that piazziale (large square) one has a stunning panoramic view of the city.
Marco's Next Stop
From Florence, Michael takes an Intercity train to Venice. There he stays in a hotel he had booked on the recommendation of his friends. To get to the hotel, he has to take the "vaporetto", or water bus. In Venice he meets up with Claudia, one of the students he met in Florence.
Have you been to Florence and want to share some of your suggestions and travel memories? It would be great to hear from you! Register, or log in again and continue with the Italian 1 course.
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!
With summer just underway and your New Year's resolutions half a year behind you, it's time to recalibrate your language learning routine and give it a quick boost.
Routines are good because they automatically shortcut any procrastination. But, switching some of your routine around can do wonders for your motivation.m
Ever heard of "interleaving"? This technique is used in various disciplines, such as sports, technology, music, medicine, maths, etc. See, The Interleaving Effect: Mixing It Up Boosts Learning (Scientific American)
Applied to learning a foreign language, interleaving means alternating between related skills, topics, methods, materials, etc. Though, the materials should always be on your level of understanding. Summer, with the warmer weather, longer days, stronger sunlight and its "school's over" feel is a perfect time for mixing things up a little.
EXERCISE MIXES WELL WITH LANGUAGE LEARNING
It's no secret, exercise is good for the brain, especially aerobic exercise. Simply stated in a Harvard Health Blog post: "Many studies have suggested that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory (the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex) have greater volume in people who exercise versus people who don't."
Even more interesting are these findings: "A new study reports that working out during language class amplifies people's ability to memorize, retain, and understand new vocabulary."
In the summer, it's wonderful to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Great favorites are walking, hiking and jogging, and these activities are perfect for listening to podcasts, audio books and audio courses.
Do you have a friend who's fluent in the language you're learning? Walking and chatting is great way to build your friendship while brushing up your language skills.
On rainy days, you can use the exercise bike, elliptical machine, or treadmill, etc. at your gym, or maybe you even have one at home. Yes, they can be boring. But your thirty minutes go by much faster if you're listening to a interesting podcast or audio book. Make it one in your target language.
MIX SOMETHING NEW INTO YOUR ROUTINE
Have You Tried Shadowing?
Done according to Alexander Arguelles' method, language "Shadowing" is a daunting discipline.
However spelled with a small "s", language "shadowing" works on many levels and in various situations. See our recent Blog post. The key is speaking a split-second behind the native speaker on the audio. It's not hard to do and can easily boost your pronunciation and intonation of a language.
Do you like music?
Find a song you like on YouTube and google the lyrics. Play the song until the tune and the words become automatic. Songs are an effective way to improve your pronunciation and intonation of another language.
Not only that, songs are a fun way to learn idiomatic phrases and grammatical patterns that are typical for the language. And, if you sing along (even silently), all the more power to you.
A sample of popular songs: • German: Revolverheld - Immer noch fühlen • French: Amir - On dirait • Spanish: Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias: El perdon • Italian: Laura Pausini - Non è detto
Do A Little Binge Watching
Take a break from memorizing vocabulary (if that's what you do). Find films, or even better, a series in your target language and get into the stories.
Watch without subtitles, if you can. If subtitles are an option, set them to your target language, or to English. In any case, the context of the story, the background music and the visual clues will all help you to get what's going on.
A sample of series or films that I enjoyed: • German: Babylon Berlin (Netflix; a period drama based on the novels of Volker Kutscher) • French: Les Aventures de Tintin (YouTube; beginners); Un gars une fille (YouTube; advanced) • Spanish: Destinos (Annenberg Learner; series created for Spanish learners) • Italian: Un posto al sole (Raiplay; soap set in Naples)
(What's offered may change, of course. You can also watch many foreign TV programs on the internet for free, especially if you use a VPN.)
SUMMER IS GREAT FOR SLOW TRAVEL
If you're heading out to discover new places abroad, try it the "slow way" - stay a few days, a week, or even longer.
Over the years we've done that in close to a dozen cities all over Europe: Amsterdam, Oslo (a few days); Stockholm, Copenhagen, London (a week); Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Seville (a month); Rome (5 months).
Staying for a time in one place takes some of the stress out of travel. Nowadays, it's easy to rent an apartment even for just a few days. (See our blog post: about short term stays). Also, it's a relief to not pack in five or more top sights per day.
One of the true pleasures of lingering in one place is that you can explore the city or neighborhood at your leisure. You also have a much better chance to meet some of the locals in your neighborhood shops, cafés, restaurants, at the open market, etc.
In each of the places we stayed, we immediately found a nearby bakery (to get fresh bread for breakfast), a kiosk (for the local newspaper), a couple of favorite bistros (for lunch or dinner), the local open market and shops (for fruit, cheese, olives, supplies, etc.)
Every occasion gave us the chance to use the local language, which we either spoke or had especially learned for the trip. The effort to use the local language whenever we could clearly made a difference, even though some of my Danish, for example, was a little shaky. In many cases, it broke the ice and people were doubly helpful.
Exploring a city or neighborhood by walking has its own charm. For many cities there are apps for self-guided tours (in English, or in your target language). But just walking the city with a couple of destinations a day is wonderful too.
Some cities offer walking tours organized by local guides. (In London, we took a Shakepeare tour; in Paris we enjoyed a walking tour through the Père Lachaise cemetery, it was called “Assassins et Assassinés”.) These tours are often quite entertaining and you learn some amazing things.
There are also easy bike rentals for those who want a change of pace from walking. And of course, short train and bus trips to nearby towns are always a fun adventure.
One last slow travel summer idea: canal boating. We did this several times in France and in the Netherlands.
Although you don't stay in one place, it's a delightful way to get to know a small part of the country. The good thing is that you take your accommodations with you as you move on. Usually bikes are on the boat so you can go off and explore as you like.
The summer is a perfect time to relax, to change gears and try out a few new things. Think outdoor cafés and long walks, bike rides, interesting audio books and films, listening to music. Sneak your language learning into things that you love to do, and have a great summer!
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
You may never have heard of the “chemins de fer du Kaeserberg”. And unless you live in Europe or are familiar with Switzerland, you may draw a blank when you hear the name Fribourg, or its German name, Freiburg (“im Uechtland”).
Perhaps you're more familiar with the city's German cousin Freiburg (“im Breisgau”), a picturesque university town located in Southern Germany's Black Forest.
Well, Fribourg is the capital of the Canton of Fribourg, (see picture above). It is located on the cultural border between German- and French-speaking Switzerland and the seat of the country's only bilingual university.
Every February, for over ten years now, Ulrike and I have visited my sister in Fribourg before heading to the Berner Oberland for some skiing. While in the city, we always make some new discoveries. This year it was the “Chemins de fer du Kaeserberg". And, we always take advantage of learning more about languages and enjoying Swiss food specialties. Our Swiss experience typically begins in Zurich after an overnight flight from Boston.
Zurich Airport to Fribourg
One of the pleasures of traveling in Switzerland is the ease of train travel. We now know that there is a direct train from Zurich Airport to Fribourg that runs every hour. We often don't have to wait long after buying our train ticket.
A few years ago though, we didn't have time to buy a train ticket. So we just boarded the train. The conductor didn't come by until after the next stop, which is Zurich Main Station. We told him that we had boarded the train without tickets at the airport. He sold us the tickets and was nice enough to waive the penalty fee.
Now you can no longer purchase tickets on the train, and penalties have increased if you're caught without a ticket. However, if you don't have time to buy a ticket at the counter or ticket machine, you can now easily purchase the tickets online with your smart phone.
Just download the free SBB Mobile app for iOS or Android devices to check time tables, purchase tickets, make seat reservations, etc.
Our 2018 Fribourg Discovery: Chemins de Fer du Kaeserberg
Over the years we have visited many of Fribourg's sights, the Cathedrale St-Nicholas, the picturesque lower town you can get down to with a Funicular, the Espace Jean Tinguely-Niki de Saint Phalle in the Musee D'Art et D'Histoire Fribourg, the Musee Gutenberg, etc.
During our visit this year,we spent a whole afternoon at theMusee des Chemins de Fer du Kaeserberg. If you're a model railway enthusiast, the railway museum is nothing short of a feast. But anyone from 4 to 90 years old will enjoy this technical marvel.
The model railway was a childhood dream of Marc Antiglio. He had taken over the family construction business as a young man and worked on his dream throughout his adult life. (I had met Marc over 40 years ago when I worked for a few years in Fribourg as a structural engineer.)
It took Marc 17 years to fully realize his dream: A model railway exhibit on three levels, in a custom-designed, multi-level, state-of-the-art building with solar collectors, a geothermal heating system. All of this was completed just a few years ago.
Built at a scale of 1:87, the model exhibit occupies an area of about 6,500 sf, with currently over 6,000 ft of rails (both H0, 16.5 mm, and H0m, 12.0 mm). The rolling stock consists of 300 locomotives and 1,650 wagons and cars, many of which are stored and can be accessed on the depot/station, the first level the visitor encounters when entering.
The attention to detail in building and landscape design is amazing. The model imagines a Swiss landscape around 1990, with villages, buildings, railway stations, cars,and people, plus circus tents, lakes and ships – so realistic - that you need to look twice to see that they are not real. Even the background photos of sky and mountains blend in seamlessly.
The introductory video for the visitors we saw was in French with German subtitles. In it, Marc Antiglio recalls how he got fascinated by trains as a little boy. He explains the many challenges he and his team of dedicated professionals and volunteers had to overcome to create the model. (Marc speaks with a slight "Fribourgois" accent. If you want to learn more watch this video on French accents and and French pronunciation.)
We had a wonderful time watching the many trains going through tunnels, over bridges, stopping at and leaving the stations. In the night mode, the changing lights created magic images.
The exhibit is open to the public at certain days during each week, and private visits can be arranged on other days. Check the website for the opening days and hours.
(If you wonder about the name “Kaeserberg” - it has nothing to do with the German word “Käse/Kaese” (cheese), but is the name of Marc Antiglio's late friend, who was instrumental in supporting Marc's passion.)
More about Fribourg
In the past, the language lines in the city of Fribourg were drawn rather clearly: In the lower town, since the city's founding in the 12th century, people spoke mostly a Swiss German dialect. In fact it was the official language until about 1800.
In fact, today the language spoken on the streets of “la basse-ville” (lower town) is a mix of Swiss German and French called “le bolze”. This swissinfo.ch article - “Nei, dasch zvüu, tu me connais!” - (No, that's too much, you know me!) not only gives some wonderful examples of typical bolze expressions, but also more details of Fribourg's linguistic history. (Sorry, the article is in French and does not solve the origin mystery of French “bolze" or German “bolz”.)
With the industrialization and the influx of French immigrants, the French population in the upper town became the majority in the 19th century. (see picture of upper and lower town). By the year 2000, nearly 64% of its 38,000 inhabitants spoke French as their first language, and only 21% German. Italian was third with about 4%.
In restaurants, cafes, and shops, etc. you hear a mixture of French, Swiss German, and Swiss standard German, which curiously is called “Schriftdeutsch” (written German). Increasingly, you also hear other languages. In 2008 nearly 32% of the population were resident foreign nationals.
The term “Schriftdeutsch” - written German - is used to distinguish Swiss standard German from the spoken Swiss German dialect. Swiss German children learn to speak Swiss German at home. They start to learn “Schriftdeutsch” in first grade and likely French a couple of years later. That's about the same time that Swiss French-speaking children learn “Schriftdeutsch” as a second language. Also, in many schools children learn English already in fourth grade.
From discussions with family, friends and acquaintances in Fribourg, we've gained the impression that there are more German speakers who are fluent in French, than French speakers who are also fluent in German.
We don't know why that would be. Maybe it's because French speakers are now the majority in Fribourg, or learning French as a third language (after “Schriftdeutsch) is “easier” for Swiss German speakers, or maybe Swiss Germans feel a more personal or economic need to be bilingual than their French speaking compatriots.
A visit to the local market provided a non-representative sample, as most of the Swiss German-speaking farmers easily switched to French, while French-speaking bakers and butchers had more difficulty speaking German.
Language can still be a divisive issue
While the casual observer may be pleasantly surprised by the city's apparent bilingualism, language in Fribourg - as in other Swiss cities and towns that are located on a language and cultural fault line - is often still a divisive issue.
Not much has changed since swissinfo.ch covered this issue in 2004, citing both Biel (where French speakers are the minority of the population, with 28 %) and Fribourg as examples. Family connections, social status, school locations, etc. all influence parents' decisions which language path their children should pursue.
In 2017 the Swiss Bilingualism Foundation awarded Rapper Greis (alias for Grégoire Vuilleumier) that year's “prize for bi- and plurilingualism”. Listen to his “Enfant des Etoiles” song which switches between Swiss German and French.
It certainly seems that in a small country like Switzerland (about 8 million inhabitants), being bilingual or at least being fluent in two of the major languages, German and French, should have great professional and personal benefits.
A couple of years ago just as we were visiting Fribourg, the localnewspaper, La Liberté, reported that local film makers had adapted Pharrell Williams' song“Happy” from the movie “Despicable Me 2” to Fribourg, similar to what other Swiss cities have done. You can watch the YouTube video which shows many images of Fribourg.
(You may recognize Ulrike in one of the video's scenes while she was at the weekly farmer's market.)
Now Our Swiss Tradition: Cheese Fondue or Raclette
Before heading to Gstaad and Schoenried (more about that in a future post), we typically will have a Cheese Fondue or Raclette with our family.
La Fondue (au fromage)
Probably the best-known dish of Switzerland is a cheese “fondue”. The word is French and comes from the verb “fondre” meaning “to melt”. Used as a noun, “fondue” is the feminine form of the past participle “fondu”. (larousse.fr)
Fondue has a lengthy history in Switzerland. The recipe “Käss mit Wein zu kochen” (cheese cooked with wine) was first mentioned in a Zurich manuscript in 1699.
“La fondue” showed up in 18th century culinary literature as “oeufs brouillés au fromage fondu”, scrambled eggs with melted cheese (as noted in the dictionary, Le petit Robert). The dish was particularly popular in the western French-speaking cantons, and there mostly among city dwellers who could afford the rich cheese.
Fondue, as we know it, dates back to around the middle of the 19th century and by 1875, it was named a Swiss national dish. In the 1930s, the Swiss Cheese Union (Schweizerische Käseunion) used the idea of a national dish for its own marketing purposes. That kind of promotion was continued after WWII. Fondue was popularized in the US in the 1960s, helped by being showcased in the Swiss Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair in New York.
The traditional fondue is served in a fondue pot (un caquelon), which is kept warm over a chafing dish (un réchaud). To make the fondue smooth, you add cornstarch to the cheese mixture as it heats. Each one of you gets a long thin fork for spearing chunks of bread (or sometimes potatoes), which you then dip into the cheese. Eating fondue is definitely a social event that also includes plenty of white wine and/or tea.
Various traditions are observed: for example, if you drop your bread into the pot, you pay a round of wine, or a pot of hot tea.
Cheese Fondue Variations
Many of the Swiss cantons have their own version of fondue, using different combinations of cheeses. For those who want to try, this Epicurious post will give you the recipe for making a perfect traditional Swiss Fondue. Being frequent travelers to Fribourg, the two fondues we know best are the Fondue Fribourgeoise, and the Fondue Moitié-Moitié.
Fondue Fribourgeoise
Fondue Fribourgeoise is prepared with 100% local Vacherin cheese.
Vacherin is a medium-firm cheese made from cow's milk, as the name - vache (cow) - implies.The cheese is melted in a few tablespoons of water over low heat. To our knowledge, this is the only cheese fondue that does not use wine. Often you dip pieces of potato instead of bread.
Fondue Moitié-Moitié
Moitié-Moitié (or half-half), as its name states, uses Gruyère and Vacherin cheese in equal parts. This fondue is made with white wine, (dry and high in acid) and for flavor a shot of kirsch is often added to the mixture. You eat it by dipping chunks of bread.
La Raclette
Our foray into the world of melted (Swiss) cheese would not be complete without mentioning the “Raclette”. The name is derived from the French “racler”, meaning “to grate or scrape” and that clearly describes the method in which it is served: The melted cheese is scraped off the roasted/heated end of a large piece, most commonly a half a wheel of cheese (as in this picture).
The Raclette Suisse site traces Raclette's origins to the 13th century. In the German-speaking cantons, convent writings mention “Bratchäs” (roasted cheese - note the Swiss spelling of “Käse”) already in 1291 as a nutritious food for mountain cow herders. Raclette cheese is made of raw milk and many variations exist. Only the “Raclette du Valais” is a protected brand under Swiss law.
The traditional method melts the half-wheel of cheese, either right at an open fire place, or in restaurants, with an electric heater. The Raclette cook/server scrapes the melted cheese off unto each customer's plate. (see photo above, courtesy of: Grcampbell-Wikipedia Commons).
The modern, self-serve version uses small pans in which toheat Raclette cheese pieces right at the table with a special gadget (as in this picture). In eithercase, “Gschwellti” - Swiss German for potatoes boiled in their skin - are served with gherkins, pickled onions, and often preceded or accompanied by dried meat, such as “Bündnerfleisch” or “viande des Grisons” or “jambon cru”.
A Raclette evening, during which the meal is served the traditional way to a large table, is a social event that can last for hours. As with cheese fondue, locals will warn you not to drink cold water. It doesn't mix well with the hot cheese. However, hot tea, a “Kirsch” (cherry), “Poire” (pear), or “Framboise” (raspberry) Schnaps come highly recommended.
Raclette and Fondue (whether the cheese or meat variety) always make for a lively, social dining experience.
Even after the taste and smells of melted cheese have faded in your memory, you'll certainly remember the fun you had with your family and friends sharing such a meal in a warm and cozy mountain hut after a hard day of skiing, snowboarding, or hiking.
The best kind of travels are those where you can linger in a place, make discoveries, learn new things, and try out new tastes. It's a kind of “slow travel” that lets you soak in some of the local language, history, and customs. You have time to explore different neighborhoods, go to various cafés, bars and restaurants, and visit local shops and markets.
And if you've learned a new language for your trip, you'll have the chance to try out what you've learned. That's one of the great pleasures of travel: Get that sense of accomplishment as you stretch your boundaries.
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.
Are you looking for ways to sharpen the language(s) you're learning? Seeing yourself getting better at reading, understanding, speaking and even writing a new language makes it all worthwhile.
Languages have always been part of my life. By the time I was eleven, I was fluent in three languages because my family had moved from Austria to the Netherlands and then to Canada. As a student I chose to focus on language study and language teaching later became my work.
Now retired from formal work, I've teamed up with my husband to research and try out various approaches for learning languages. It's been exciting to explore new technologies and resources that are now available to language learners. And with many family connections and friendships abroad, languages have continued to be a big motivator for travel.
Not being monolingual continues to be a source of pleasure and provides us with opportunities to meet new people, discover new places and try out new things.
Here I'd like to share what works for me for my language learning:
EMBRACE YOUR DIFFERENT LEARNING STAGES
No doubt, our individual personalities and attitudes have an impact on the way we learn. Are you a casual learner or disciplined to the point of obsession? Do you learn on your own or are you part of a group or class? These differences all matter.
Still, you learn differently when you're just starting a new language as opposed to being an advanced beginner, or after you've reached an intermediate level. For total beginners in the language, the first words and sounds may take a lot of time to learn.
Just to remember the pronunciation and spelling of 30 new words or so might take a week and require lots of individual repetition.
That's what I'm experiencing right now. I've just started to learn Czech for a stay in Prague in the fall. Going through the early lessons of the Duolingo program has been a real challenge. I'm surprised how long it's taking me to become truly familiar with the meaning of new words and their pronunciation. But it's happening.
Advanced beginners can start building on the basics they've acquired. At this stage, you've learned to notice typical patterns in your target language and are doing well when pronouncing most words.
That's the stage I'm now at with Danish, the language I started last year to prepare for a trip to Denmark. Learning Danish pronunciation has been difficult, because words are rarely spoken the way they're written. On the other hand, certain language patterns show up again and again, and these definitely help with reading and listening. For example, having the definite article ("en"/"et") attached to the end of a noun: "drengen" (the boy), brødet (the bread).
At the intermediate level, context begins to play an important role. You're ready to read and listen to longer texts and audios. When you can start guessing the meaning of words from their context, your vocabulary increases dramatically.
For me, Spanish and Italian are at that stage. I'm doing a lot of listening and reading. And although I don't know every word, I'm getting very good at guessing the meaning of words from their context. Also, I've found that when I listen and/or read the same piece several times, things start to click.
For Spanish I have the ebook La Sombra del Viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafón on my cell phone and I can listen to the audio on Ivoox. I sharpen my Italian listening skills by regularly watching a 20-minute episode of the Italian soap "Un Posto al Sole", which is now in its 13th season.
But lots of learners get stuck on the so-called "intermediate plateau". To get beyond this intermediate stage in a foreign language, you need to adapt your learning strategies once again.
French has been a case in point for me. Last year I read all seven volumes of Harry Potter in French. Because of context I needed to look up only the occasional word. But my spoken French was definitely stuck on the "intermediate plateau".
To get unstuck, I've been doing two things: I meet bi-weekly with a French-speaking friend and we converse just in French for a couple of hours.
Secondly, I'm listening to a French Tedx lecture on YouTube and I'm using it as dictation. It may surprise you, but I find dictation a fantastic language learning tool. The lecture is quite interesting for language learners. It's about how children learn their native language: Mais comment font-ils pour apprendre une langue?
Even when you're fluent in a language, as I'm with Dutch, there may be certain skills that need a little sharpening. I learned Dutch at age nine, when I attended school in the Netherlands for two years. I've spoken Dutch all my life - with my mother, with relatives and with friends. But my writing and spelling need some attention. For that I find the Duolingo lessons quite helpful, especially when I need to write things in Dutch.
To make my Dutch vocabulary more sophisticated, I watch the 35-part Video Series called "In Europa", which is based on the book "In Europa: Reizen door de twintigste eeuw" (In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century), by the Dutch journalist and historian Geert Mak.
Last but not least, though German is my first language, I've been living in the U.S. for some years now. To stay current with German, we often travel to Germany and Austria and we watch German news and TV programs almost on a daily basis.
If you understand that each learning stage has its own challenges and ways to overcome them, you'll continue to move along nicely on your language journey.
MAKE TIME YOUR FRIEND
Life is busy. Daily commitments for work, family, friends, etc. sometimes leave little time for hobbies and special projects. How often do you run out of time in the evening and are too tired to even think about language practice?
There are two ways to easily add language learning to your days:
1. Use waiting time, travel time, any kind of in-between time.
• Look over the few words you have just learned when you started a new language. • Go through some flashcards (electronic or paper), to learn new words or recall vocabulary. • Play a free Quick Language Game,a Duolingo, or Lingohut lesson, etc. • Listen for a few minutes to a podcast, to songs, or to an audio book on your phone. • Read blog posts, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts or an ebook in your target language. • Keep a small notebook with you to write about your day in your target language. • Send yourself an email with a few sentences that you can check later.
2. Add your new language to things you do anyway.
Do you keep up with the news? Read some headlines in your target language, or even a whole article. Besides language practice, you'll get a different perspective on events.
Do you listen to music? Add a song in your target language, play it over and over and sing along. Songs have a unique way of teaching you the sounds, rhythm and intonation of a language. You'll also pick up some words and phrases, especially the ones that are repeated throughout the song.
If you have an exercise routine, or if you're a runner, listen to podcasts or an audio book. An added benefit: moving around while you're leaning strengthens your understanding and retention of new vocabulary.
Do you read before you go to sleep? Look over the new vocabulary or read a few pages in your target language. Interestingly enough, studies have shown that learning new information before falling asleep helps retention. (Foreign Language Learning While You Sleep?)
LOOK FOR LANGUAGE PATTERNS
Grammar is the way in which words are put together to form proper sentences. If you like working through grammar exercises like you did in school, good for you!
But some of us aren't grammar heroes. Many grammatical terms are abstractions. Besides, learning a grammar rule doesn't mean you'll automatically apply it when you're in the thick of a conversation.
On the other hand, becoming aware of patterns in the target language will help you internalize "the way words are put together" without getting hung up on grammar rules.
For example, here's a typical French language pattern for expressing negation. • Je ne connais pas ce livre. - I don't know this book. • Je n'ai pas faim – I'm not hungry.
Or, a typical word-order pattern in simple German and Dutch sentences. (Note the position of the verb): • Heute bin ich zu Hause. - Vandaag ben ik thuis. - Today I'm at home. • Morgen bin ich nicht zu Hause. - Morgen ben ik niet thuis. - Tomorrow I won't be at home.
Once you've noticed a pattern, you'll start seeing or hearing it again and again. Then, if you do look up the grammar rule behind it, it won't see quite as abstract any more.
DON'T AGONIZE ABOUT REMEMBERING WORDS
Anyone learning a language is on the lookout on how to best memorize words.
If you're disciplined enough, spaced repetition, or recalling words at increasing intervals, is a good way to get words into your longtime memory. It does mean you have to stick with your schedule and stay on top of the system.
Others, which includes me, just read and listen a lot to things that interest me. When words are in context, you're able to guess the meaning of many. Also, words tend to come up again and again and each time you see or hear a word or phrase, it becomes more deeply embedded in your memory. Still, whatever method you use, it's inevitable that you'll keep forgetting words.
In a talk Steve Kaufmann gave at LangFest last August (2018), he said something that I've also noticed: "Language learning is a continual process of learning, forgetting, and relearning."
Just accept that forgetting is just part of learning. It's the "relearning" that's so important. If you keep engaging with your target language - by reading, listening, watching, talking, writing - remembering the words will eventually become second nature.
BE CREATIVE
Try out new ways to use the apps, courses, texts, podcasts, etc. that you have. You can do this at whatever level you've reached in your target language.
• For example, instead of just repeating words, phrases and sentences after the speaker, try speaking them along with, or "shadow" the native speaker.
• Use audio (that matches your level) as dictation - by going back to replay sentences and writing down what you hear.
• Do you like to draw? Create images for words you're learning or cartoons for basic conversations in your target language.
• Do you play the guitar? Learn and sing songs in your target language.
We too found a fun and creative way to learn and practice languages. Our tech son built the site gamesforlanguage.com, we found native speakers to collaborate, and since then we've done some of our learning by playing our own courses and games. It's been a fun way to get to the intermediate level of Spanish and Italian.
Ask yourself what makes learning a language fun for you! Plan and go on a trip, watch films, reread a favorite book in your target language, write short anecdotes.
Another language opens up your world, gives you new ideas, a fresh point of view, the opportunity to be a world citizen.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
As our readers know, we at GamesforLanguage typically like to stay in a city for more than a few days, as we did last fall in Copenhagen. We still travel with little luggage, but now mostly with rolling carry-ons.
Recently our sons reminisced about their backpacking days, when they crisscrossed Europe during one long fall after college.
They both had backpacks. When they met their friend Chris at the airport, they were surprised however, by his large rolling suitcase. (Memories differ as to whether it was the friend or his mother who had felt that a backpack could not hold all his “essentials”.)
In any case, they all three still chuckle how Chris lugged his suitcase through the cobble-stoned streets of Munich, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, etc. being embarrassed by the noise and by not looking cool.
So when Yogi and Suchna of The Backpacker Co. suggested a post about backpacking in Europe, we thought that their experience could be helpful to our younger readers. Find out what Yogi and Suchna consider the “Essentials for Backpacking in Europe” below:
All set for your European trip?
If yes, you've probably arranged your lodgings for the first few nights and may have sipped a few “going away drinks“ with your friends. But understandably, you may still be agonizing about what to pack!
Believe me, figuring out the perfect backpacking list is a daunting task indeed, especially if you're doing it for the first time. Quite a few first-timers make the mistake of carrying too much gear and that makes their travel tiresome. It's difficult for them to keep track of their belongings and it can leave them at the mercy of thieves as well!
But don't worry! Our tips regarding essentials for backpacking in Europe will guide you through this stressful time and will help you decide what type of things you should carry and how to pack light.
1. Travel light
Our most important tip is to ensure that you travel light. Nothing will make your travels more uncomfortable than having to carry an incredibly heavy backpack along winding streets in Europe. We would recommend that you keep the weight of your backpack ideally under 10 kilos (or 22 lbs) or at the most, under 15 kilos (or 33 lbs).
Besides, if the weight of your luggage is over 10 kg (roughly, 22 lbs), you may run the risk of exceeding the weight limit set in budget airlines such as RyanAir.
• You'll surely acknowledge that your clothes make up most of the weight in your backpack. If you can, stop yourself from buying too many things as most inexperienced travelers do. Just remember that it makes little difference whether you pack for a fortnight or for a couple of months. You'll be able to do laundry almost every week of your stay in Europe.
• Think of dressing in layers rather than carrying a few bulky coats. A combo of thermal inside base, full-sleeve shirt or T-shirt, sweater or fleece jacket is a much better option. You can add or subtract layers as needed.
• As a backpacker, there will invariably be limited space in your travel bag. So, don't carry an outfit you're going to wear only once, no matter how fashionable it may look. Carry some simple clothes that will make you look good when worn together and which are appropriate for multiple uses.
2. Pack your backpack to maximize space
How you actually keep your belongings inside your backpack is another important thing to consider.
You may think of a number of techniques to maximize the space inside your bag, such as rolling your clothes, keeping undies in your shoes, stuffing your socks etc.
Backpacks with compartments or use of packing cubes is an excellent idea to remain organized and save space at the same time. These are durable yet lightweight and are good companions for any traveler.
It will take some experimentation until you find the best way to pack all that you want to take with you. And that often requires some hard choices.
3. Clothing Tips for Backpacking in Europe
Socks and Undies
• Consider carrying good quality and comfortable ones as you'll be wearing these close to your skin. • You'll probably need to do a lot of walking and thus will sweat a lot. Buy moisture–wicking socks, which will keep your feet dry and save you from blisters. • Get socks and undies that dry overnight.
Shirts /Tops
• Avoid those that need high maintenance • Get dark-colored ones, as most Europeans prefer these and thus will help you blend in well with the locals. Also, they'll hide stains better. • Choose wrinkle-free fabrics. • Go for the easily washable ones. • Pack casual yet versatile ones that would go equally well when you visit churches, cafes, museums or bars.
Pants
• Dark-colored jeans will match well with almost everything. Also, you can wear them without washing them too often. • You could opt for light-weight chinos in case you're not accustomed to wearing heavier denim. • It's not very common for European adults to wear shorts. Avoid wearing these if you want to blend in better with locals and don’t want to be pegged as a stereotypical American tourist.
Shoes
While traveling in Europe, you're bound to be on your feet quite a lot. It's thus imperative to have a sturdy, yet comfortable pair of shoes for sightseeing.
• If hiking is part of your agenda, make sure to take along hiking shoes with water-proof and all-terrain soles. • If you want to go to beaches, rubber flip flops will do the job for you. • If you're in Europe in spring and summer, a pair of sturdy walking sandals will do a world of good as you won't have sore feet even after walking all day long.
Electronics
• Europe has a lot to offer. Make sure to carry plenty of extra memory cards for your digital camera. • Have your phone unlocked to make it compatible with any European SIM cards. • Carry universal plug adapters for all European countries.
Miscellaneous
• Microfibre towels • Small first-aid kit • Wet wipes • Keychain flashlight • Small notebook • Swiss Army knife (if you don't check your backpack check with your airline)
A backpacking list for Europe never seems to be complete. We have simply tried to list the things you just cannot afford to travel without.
Enjoy your travels in Europe!
Bio: Yogi and Suchna believe in taking the road less travelled and stumbling upon some hidden gems along the way! For over a decade, they've mapped their way across various continents, sniffed out unusual routes, discovered new flavours and stayed at quirky hostels.
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com and I have no business relationship with The Backpacker Co or Yogi and Suchna other than publishing what they consider the "Essentials for Backpacking in Europe". See our Privacy Policyand Terms of Use for further details.
When I first came across the language learning technique called “Shadowing”, I was intrigued.
In crime novels "to shadow" someone means to follow closely behind the person, watch what they do, where they go. Generally speaking, the idea is to gather some kind of information about the person or activity.
I recently described my 6 Listening Practice Tips for my Seventh Language. However, with the technique of "Language Shadowing", as practiced by Alexander Argüelles, you gather information to better imitate what you hear. And that can take you to the next level of your target language.
Language Shadowing Explained
It was the linguist Alexander Argüelles who in the 1990s developed Shadowing as a systematic technique for learning and practicing a language. He first used it for German and Korean and then for a number of other languages.
Argüelles has made three videos demonstrating and explaining Shadowing. They can be viewed directly on YouTube, or via his LinkedIn profile.
Video Number 1 (2008)
This short video is just a minute long and shows Alexander Argüelles "Shadowing" Chinese while walking back and forth on a bridge. Here the three obvious features of his technique are: 1) listening and immediately repeating aloud 2) walking briskly outside at the same time 3) looking at the text intermittently
Video Number 2 (2009)
In this 13-minute video, Argüelles answers some questions viewers have asked about his first Language Shadowing video. For example:
• Does one need to walk back and forth and turn rapidly on a bridge? His answer is "no". You can do it on a treadmill, but it's more pleasant to walk outside on a trail. The basic idea is to combine exercise with learning.
• Are the speed and motion necessary? His answer: It works best for him. Moving about swiftly encourages you to say focused and maintain good posture. It's no mystery that correct posture and articulation are important for speaking well.
• Do you have to do Shadowing in public? His answer: It's actually not ideal to practice it in public because one may feel self-conscious about walking around speaking aloud. And, people do come up to ask what you're doing. Still, he suggests it's not a bad way to deal with self-consciousness.
• How is it possible to say the foreign language "at the same time" as the native speaker? His answer: You need to practice doing this. Repetition helps a lot and with time you'll get better. The goal is to listen and repeat a split second later as best as you can. (In the next video, Argüelles also calls this technique "echoing".)
Video Number 3 (2009)
In the third video, which is just under an hour long, Argüelles goes over his Shadowing technique step by step and in considerable detail. As a number of language teachers and learners have pointed out, the technique of "listening and repeating" to learn a language is not an innovation made recently.
Children do it naturally when they learn their first language.
As a technique, listening and repeating (also called "parroting") became part of language teaching decades ago, before the internet popularized it with easily accessible audio.
However, Alexander Argüelles shaped the technique of Shadowing into a formal method with specific steps that he used to achieve his language learning goals. Early in the video he explains:
"Listen to [the audio] very closely through ear phones and make the sounds that you hear as soon as you hear them. ... You have to talk on top of the voice as you hear it coming. ... This will give you feedback. ... [Shadowing] proved for me to be the best ... means of starting to learn a language, of taking a language that you don't know and planting it, literally planting it inside your brain so that it can grow there."
Below is a brief outline of the steps or stages he describes. However, to really understand his method, you should look at the video Argüelles made. To learn by using Shadowing, you need a set of recordings with no pauses and a book that is bilingual with the text on opposite pages. The lessons should be short. To prepare for any Shadowing exercise, think in the language as best as you can.
As I understand them, there are 8 Stages to learning a language with Shadowing: Stage 1: Blind Shadowing (15-20 min) of a lesson or lessons. This means repeating almost simultaneously even if you don't understand what's being said. Stage 2: Do Shadowing while looking at the text of the teaching language. Stage 3: Do Shadowing of the same text while looking back and forth between the teaching language and the target language to check the meaning. Stage 4: Do Shadowing of the text while looking at the target language only. Stage 5: Do Shadowing with brisk walking. Stage 6: Sit down, look at the lesson(s) without audio and compare the texts in the two languages. Read the text aloud. Write the text of the lesson(s) out by hand. Stage 7: Once you've finished the whole book, type out the entire text double-spaced. Read the text and fill in the meaning of words you don't know. You can do that several times. Add some grammar exercises. Stage 8: Take the audio for a walk and Shadow it from start to finish.
Argüelles is quick to say that Shadowing is not the only technique or method he uses for learning and practicing a language. He has used and uses other techniques: reading, regular listening, listening while running, grammar practice, translation.
I should add that Argüelles is not your "regular" language learner. Often, he'll study many hours a day. He says he knows around 50 languages, and is featured in Michael Erard's book: "Babel No More. The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners".
Experiences and Opinions
Looking for feed-back about Language Shadowing on the internet from other learners, I found a few voices and opinions (Several of them are in the answers to the question on Quora: "How effective is the shadowing technique to learn languages".)
Voices "For" Shadowing
• Richard deLong (on Quora) states that it helps intonation, pronunciation, and is good for "getting your mouth and brain back into the language." • Phil Crimmins (on Quora) claims that you learn to mimic the emotional content of what is being said. It's like going to the gym for training your mouth muscles. • Ivan Ottinger (on Quora) says it improves reaction speed for speaking. • Alexandra Edlinger (on Quora) suggests that you can use it effectively for preparing specific situations, such as job interviews. • A person with the name "clever clogs" (on LingQ Forum) finds that it helps to develop more natural rhythm and pace.
Voices "Against" Shadowing
• Steve Kaufmann (on LingQ Forum and YouTube video) clearly does not like the method. He says that it detracts from his enjoyment, that he doesn't like walking around briskly outside reciting what he's listening to, etc. • Judith Meyer (on Quora) doesn't use Shadowing. The technique may "burn certain words or sentence structures into your mind" but she finds it less efficient than Spaced Repetition. She even doubts that Shadowing helps at all with fluency.
My Opinion
To follow Argüelles' method exactly seems like lot of hard work and not everybody has the commitment and discipline that he has. He says himself that it takes weeks to get the method down correctly.
I have not used Language Shadowing as a daily formal technique, though I have been doing "shadowing" (lower case) to improve my fluency in French, Spanish, and Italian. Repeating what I hear almost simultaneously and at conversational speech helps me to speak more naturally.
Argüelles uses the analogy that Shadowing is similar to a "video game", where you repeat many steps many times before you get to the next level. In his words: "You listen and speak many times, and do this again and again". He also suggests that once you've got the method down, you can experiment with it, and use it in a way that it works for you.
For me, using bits and pieces of the technique is a productive way of adding variety to my language practice. It's also a way I can really push myself to speak fast and at length. I'd love to hear about your take on Language Shadowing!
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
When you just listen, your brain connects directly to the sound without needing to decode the letters. 
I don't really know if my brain is wired for grammar, but it's definitely wired for language patterns. 
