Play these 4 fun Italian Language Games a few times before you travel to Italy or to a region where Italian is widely spoken.
The four games in this post are just a taste of Italian, of course. It takes more to become fluent in Italian, but they're a start. And we hope that they'll inspire you to learn more.
For us, knowing at least some everyday vocabulary, essential travel phrases, and the numbers 1-100 has been a must for our travels in countries where we don't speak the language.
Some Simple Tips
• Always say the words and phrases aloud. The more you do this, the better you'll remember them. It will also greatly improve your pronunciation over time.
• Focus on practicing any expressions as "chunks" and try not to think about them as individual words. Like that, you'll directly link sound to meaning.
• Whenever you can, associate words and expressions with an image in your mind. That way you'll remember them better.
• It's essential to repeat words and phrases many times. Hearing or saying something just once or even twice doesn't cut it.
• Speaking involves using various mouth muscles to produce the right sounds. The term "muscle memory" well describes how we learn to produce sounds that are not in our native language. And ultimately, our brain has to attach the correct meaning to a particular sound sequence.
• Whatever your preferred method for learning may be - saying the Italian out loud and writing words and phrases out by hand helps you to internalize the language.
1. Basic Everyday Italian Phrases
Learning greetings and pleasantries in a language is a start, especially if you practice them so you can say them spontaneously and with good pronunciation.
There are lots of situations you can use them throughout the day - when getting your morning coffee in a café; visiting the local market; browsing in a store; having lunch or dinner; hanging out in a bar; socializing with new friends, etc.
Click on Basic Phrases or the screenshot right to play this Italian Quick Language Game. "What is it?" may be a question you can ask the waiter when a menu item is unfamiliar to you.
2. Italian Question Words
Quick questions help you to orient yourself in a city; to get information about when shops and museums are open; to ask for the price at markets; to start conversations with people you've just met, etc.
Common English questions words - with the exception of "how" - begin with a "wh-" sound (which, where, when, why, what, who, whom).
Italian interrogatives have greater variety of sound and form. There are contractions, such as: dov'è (of dove + è = where is). Chi (who/whom) combines with the prepositions a, di, con, and per - which go before. There are three ways to ask "what?": che cosa?, che?, cosa? - which are mostly interchangeable.
Here is a Game to practice the 8 Italian question words. ( Or click on the "Memory game" screen shot, above left.)
3. Practice Numbers with these Italian Language Games
Mastering the numbers gives you a great tool for dealing with dailytasks in another language. But you need to practice them enough to understand them easily and to say them automatically.
Numbers come in handy for setting appointments, paying in stores or restaurants, making reservations, purchasing tickets, etc.
The Italian numbers from 1 to 20 can be easily memorized. And, once you know the round numbers 20, 30, 40, to 90, you won't have any trouble with the numbers from 21 to 100.
One thing to remember is that from 21 on, you contract the compound number slightly when the second number starts with a vowel, which is the case with "uno" (one) and "otto" (eight). So you say "ventuno" and "ventotto" in contrast to "ventitré" or "ventinove." This is consistent right through 99: "novantuno" and "novantotto" versus "novantatré" or "novantanove."
Here's a game to practice the numbers 21 and beyond in a fun way. (Or click on the "Word Invaders" screen shot, above right.)
4. Making a Phone Call in Italian
It's quite a challenge to make a call in a foreign language. But hey, if you do it often, it'll become routine and give you quite a boost in confidence.
When we were staying in Rome, I was the one who regularly called in to make a tennis court reservation at a local club where we played. At first I was nervous and read off what I was going to say. Even then I made mistakes.
After a couple of weeks, though, it became automatic and I actually enjoyed doing the call. It also prepared me for making other and more difficult calls later.
Every call you make is going to be a little different. But with a little practice, you learn how to prepare and how to deliver what you want to say.
Here's a Game to learn and practice how to ask for someone on the phone, and possible responses. "Non c'è" is a common phrase meaning that someone isn't there. Click on Pronto or the screen shot of the listening game above left.
Free Italian with Gamesforlanguage
If you enjoy our approach and these games, look for more Quick Games for French, Italian, Spanish, and Inglés on our site.
Or why not try our FREE Italian 1 travel-story course: Marco in Italia.With its 36 fifteen-minute lessons you'll learn close to 750 new words in the context of useful situations and as part of sentences.
But, even more importantly, you'll practice the phrases and sentences of a travel story – useful, real life language that you'll be able to put to use when visiting Italy, or a country or region where Italian is widely spoken.
These include the canton of Ticino (Switzerland), the peninsula of Istria (Croatia), the island of Malta, the state of Monaco, and the micro-state of San Marino. Any of these would make fascinating travels, by the way!
And, just maybe, you'll also get enchanted by Italian songs such as by one of our Italian favorites: “Dimmi Quando...”. This early 60s song, first performed by Tony Renis – who also wrote the music – was translated into many languages and later sung by Pat Boone, Connie Francis, and others. You can learn more about this song and the lyrics with their typical Italian constructions, by clicking on the above blog post link.
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.
Do you think you need a language learning time-out? It's something that many language learners need at some point. There all kinds of reasons:
• The initial enthusiasm for learning a new language wanes. • The app or program that was fun and interesting becomes boring. • You don't reach your daily goal of learning X new words. • You start skipping your language class, etc.
Setbacks happen, and the reasons are legion. But getting back on track doesn't have to be hard.
So, how can you rekindle your enthusiasm? Here's what has worked for me:
Take a Time-out
Put the books and the dictionary away. Turn off any reminders you may be getting from your online courses. This could be a few days or a couple of weeks.
Become aware of your thoughts about your original language “project.” • What made you want to learn your new language in the first place? • Has anything changed? • Are you still looking to study or work abroad? • Do you still want to converse with foreign language friends or family members in their language? •Are you still planning a trip to the country or a region where the language is spoken?
If the main reason you started learning the foreign language is still valid, then it's time to look at your study goals.
Review and Adjust Your Practice Goal
Did you set yourself a too ambitious practice goal? Did language learning consume too much of your spare time? How much daily study time is enough?It's a good question that only you can answer for yourself.
Forcing yourself to cram a lot of new foreign vocabulary every day is not only tiresome, it's also not very effective. That's especially true if you're preparing for a test or exam. Various studies have shown that a relaxed mind can learn languages faster.
You could try a more modest and attainable short-term goal, for example 15 minutes a day for 21 days. See how that works. Then set a new goal.
Rather than just studying and practicing, you should plan to include other language-related activities, e.g. watching a foreign movie or video, reading a foreign newspaper article online, reading comics, children's books, etc.
But before you re-start your learning program, you could learn from other language learners.
Get inspired by Blog Posts, Books, Ted Talks, YouTube Videos, etc.
A little extra inspiration can never hurt. Learning foreign languages is a topic that is generating many blog posts and books.
Polyglot Benny Lewis is well known for his “Fluent in 3 months” Blog and book. Or watch his Tedx Talk Hacking language learning where he talks about how he learned 10 languages after the age of 21. He claims that adults are better language learners than children.
Or have a look at Gabriel Wyner's book, Fluent Forever, which is already a classic.
A YouTube video that's fun to watch is the interview of Alex Rawlings on the program BBC Breakfast (see picture left). At 20, he won a national competition to find the UK's most multi-lingual student.
And if you google “foreign language learning” or join a Reddit language group for your target language, you'll discover many inspiring ideas and tips.
Or, if you have done all of this BEFORE you started on your language learning journey, read some of the posts or books again. You're sure to discover new insights that you may have missed earlier!
Then, armed with these new insights, take a fresh look at your learning and practice tools.
Try out Different Apps, Online Programs, or Tutors
This is key: To get your enthusiasm back, you need to find resources that engage your interest and motivate you to continue learning and practicing.
If you're so inclined, you could use some of your time-out to get a taste of other apps or online programs. You could even schedule a couple of trial lessons with new tutors.
What works for me is using a number of different online programs just for variety.
Recently we discovered LanguageZen (click on the link for our review), and I have been using it a lot for translating sentences.
In the evening, just before going to sleep, I often read a few pages of a Spanish novel.
And no, I don't use ALL of them every day, but at least ONE of them every day.
I always find that when trying out a new online program - as I'm currently doing with LanguageZen - it rekindles my enthusiasm for the language I'm learning.
And sometimes when you change your online tutor - as my wife did recently with iTalki - it provides a new impetus.
When you have reviewed, maybe adjusted your goals, got inspired by the experiences from other learners, settled on your learning and practice tools, it's time to continue with your language learning project again.
The Daily Habit
No matter what you want to become proficient in: math, reading, yoga, karate, basketball shooting, writing, meditation - the key seems to be, any way you google it: “daily, steady practice.”
I recently came across a great Twitter post: "It's literally impossible to do no progress in a language if you practice regularly. Just because you can't always measure the progress, doesn't mean it's not there." (Kévin Abroad | Youtube, Portuguese/French teacher and plyglot YouTuber.)
Keeping Your Enthusiasm Alive
Daily language “practice” – and I don't mean only lessons, but any activity which engages you with your target language - will improve your proficiency a little every day.
Eventually that will show up big time, when you are able to read a foreign novel, understand the dialogues in a foreign movie, or participate in a conversation in your target language.
Steady practice will strengthen your self esteem. It'll help you develop the discipline that could easily spill over into some of your other activities as well.
A time-out is the perfect opportunity to decide and plan which language habits to incorporate into your daily life.
While these habits may be different for every learner, they will be essential for making steady progress in your target language.
And feeling that you are making progress will keep your enthusiasm alive.
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.
Disclosure: Several links above are to sites with revenue-sharing arrangements should you decide to buy or subscribe.
Are you planning to travel to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or another country where you can use German? (Image left: Neuschwanstein castle, Bavaria, Germany)
Then practicing your German with these German language games may be for you!
In our travels we have found that knowing question words, some basic vocabulary, common travel phrases, and the numbers 1-100 has been very useful in countries where we don't speak the language.
You won't speak German fluently, of course, after reading this post and playing the four games. But you're sure to remember some of the words and phrases, and how to pronounce and use them correctly.
A Few Simple Tips
Say the words out loud: Always say the words and phrases aloud, or if you're on a bus or standing in line, mouth them silently to yourself. Then when you're on your own, say them OUT LOUD from memory. Practice chunks: A good way to learn phrases and expressions is to practice them as "chunks" not as a series of individual words. Practice idiomatic phrases: These often have a meaning that's quite different from the sum of the individual words in it. Practice idioms as whole phrases and attach a mental image to them. Repeat and recall: Repetition is essential. We rarely learn something just by hearing and saying it once or twice. Practice the sounds: To pronounce foreign words, we have to learn which mouth muscles to use for the right sounds. Each particular combination of sounds has to get lodged in our brain. And, our brain has to connect sound to meaning. Write out the words: No matter how you like to learn German, speaking words and phrases out loud and writing them out by hand will help you remember them.
1. Question Words
Interrogatives are a basic tool for giving and getting information, either in casual conversations or when you're shopping, asking for directions, or inquiring about opening and closing times, train schedules, local events, etc.
In English, common question words - with the exception of "how" - tend start with "wh-" (when, where, why, who, what, which). Common German question words begin with a "v" sound, which is how you pronounce a German "w."
English and German have look-alikes that have different meanings. For example, English "who" is German "wer"; English "where" is German "wo." Also, German has individual words for "where," "where to," and "where from."
Here is a Game to practice German question words. (Click also on "Snap Cloud" screen, above left.)
2. Basic Everyday Phrases
The basic phrases in our game include greetings and pleasantries that you would use often and in many situations - in a café, at a bar, at a party, in a store, online, on Skype, etc.
(Click on "Deal no Deal" screen shot, right)When you learn conversational phrases and expressions in context, you're focusing on communication. You don't have to think about grammar.
Going by train in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland is one of the pleasures of traveling there. (Click on "Dialogue" screen shot, left)
The network of train and bus connections is huge and with it you can reach many towns and villages that are off the beaten track.
Knowing a few specific terms is very helpful because outside of the cities not everyone is fluent in English. You'll definitely want to understand and say the German for such terms as "ticket," "one-way," "return trip," "change," and other terms involved with buying a ticket.
When you travel to another country, knowing the numbers is a good skill to have. But you need to be able to understand them as well as to say them. Numbers come in handy for talking about schedules, shopping, paying in a café, buying tickets, making hotel reservations, etc.
Knowing the numbers 1-100 is a good start. German numbers up to twenty are easy for English speakers. Then, you have to remember that the numbers from 21 to 99 are turned around.
In German you say "one and twenty", "two and twentey", right through to "nine and ninety". It's a matter of saying them enough so they become automatic.
Here's the Numbers 1-20 game to practice the numbers in a fun way. (Click on "Word Invaders" screen shot, above left)
Even if you don't have the time or motivation to learn a language to fluency before traveling, knowing some key vocabulary and phrases will go a long way to making your trip more enjoyable. It will also be quite helpful in many circumstances, and who knows, perhaps get you out of some tricky situations.
You want to learn more German?
If you're having fun with our approach and these games, you'll find additional Quick Language Games for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Inglés on our site.
Or why not try our FREE German 1 travel-story course: Michael in Deutschland. With its 36 fifteen-minute lessons you'll learn over 600 new words.
But, even more importantly, you'll practice the phrases and sentences of a travel story – useful, real-life language that you'll be able to put to use when visiting Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or one of the other countries or regions where German is widely spoken, such as, South Tyrol (Italy) Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belgium.
And, just maybe, you like German songs, such as the one my husband often hums in the morning: Guten Morgen liebe Sorgen .... This song was an ear-worm in Germany in the 90s. You can learn more about it and its funny lyrics by clicking on the song title link above.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She's been 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 on our site on contact.
If you ever want to practice the Italian you have just learned and enjoy the local cuisine as well, you can combine both in this beautiful place called Venice.
“Romance” is certainly the word that came to our mind when my husband and I visited this city during a recent mini escape and collected our visual impressions in this Lingohut Travel log (click also on the image).
Venice
Venice, capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a marshy lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. Its stone palaces literally rise out of the water.
There are no cars or roadways, just canals and boats. The Canal snakes through the city, which is filled with innumerable narrow, maze-like alleys and small squares.
One of the pleasures of being in Italy is hearing and trying out the language. Spoken Italian is so melodious and expressive! You can learn and practice Italian vocabulary here.
As you can see just below, many common words can be easily recognized by English speakers. But oh, what fun to sound them out!
1. Useful Vocabulary
• il canale - the canal • la barca - the boat • l'isola - the island • la città - the city • il palazzo - the palace • la piazza - the square • la strade - the street
Osteria Ale Do'Marie
It's in Venice's old town that we discovered our favorite food during our journey through Italy. I would like to share two places with you. Let me start with the best lasagna and eggplant parmesan we have ever put in our mouths: It was at Osteria Ale Do' Marie. I had never eaten a sea food lasagna before in my life, it was decadent! This place is off the beaten path and visited mostly by locals.
We found this place by accident in the middle of the day while strolling the narrow alleys of Venice, that is when we had the pleasure of meeting Alex Barcaru, the owner. He is such a friendly charismatic young man, always making sure his customers are well taken care of.
During our visit to the restaurant we also got the honor to get to know Diana and Andrei, two very personable and knowledgeable waiters. They were so helpful in sharing what the dishes had and how they were fixed. Stick with their house wine you will not be disappointed. Buon appetito!
Taverna da Buffo
Another must stop is the Taverna da Buffo nestled in one of Venice’s many squares with a canal running alongside is an ideal romantic place to enjoy a meal with your love or a terrific spot to meet good friends.
While you sit there eating a delicious meal, from time to time a street performer will stop by and serenade you. To me it was complete ecstasy, the square was serene and charming. There is nothing better in life than to sit with the love of your life in this surreal environment.
Enough about the ambiance, let’s get to the important stuff, the food. It was out of this world. After trying many pizzas, I was thrilled to find the perfect one at Taverna da Buffo. This thin crusted wood fired oven pizza, with delicious topping and just the perfect amount of mozzarella was mind blowing. As we all know, the mozzarella in Italy can't be topped. My husband will tell you that his fish was scrumptious and one of the best he has ever had. That is saying a lot for him, since he is a fish connoisseur.
We spent three of our evenings in Venice in this quaint square having romantic dinners at Taverna da Baffo. The first night he ate the “Branzino,” a delicious sea-bass and the other evenings he enjoyed the “Rombo” turbot, a local fish. In his words “Wow.”
2. Useful Vocabulary
• osteria - pub, bar • pesce - fish • forno di legno - wood oven • frutti di mare - sea food • artista di strada - street performer
A different version of this blog post was published on LingoHut.
Bio: Kendal Knetemann is a co-founder of Lingohut, where free language lessons, activities and articles are making language learning uncomplicated. Communication is our thing! Help us grow, share us with your friends and like us on Facebook
What are the best daily habits for learning foreign languages? Everyone has some favorites, but adding a couple of new ones is always a good idea. It makes learning interesting.
There's no shortage of advice on the web about learning foreign languages. If you can just convert some of that advice into a few habits - they'd be sure to make a difference on your path to fluency.
To learn a language, you can choose from many online and offline language learning options available today. Select the one that engages you the most and has you go back again and again to learn and practice.
But ultimately, how effective any of the programs will be, may depend on how well you can incorporate some language learning habits into your daily life.
Here are my 12 best daily habits to maintain and improve my languages.
1. Have a Small Notebook Handy at All Times
I do a lot of my language learning using online programs and recources. Still, I always keep a small notebook with me, which I use in multiple ways. It's a place where I keep track of my learning. I also write down words and phrases I want review later.
When I'm in the mood, I write a short journal entry in my target language.If you do some writing, and have a mind to get corrections, you could copy and post what you've written on Lang-8, or italki. It's free. In return, your corrections of what others have written is much appreciated.
When I come across new resources, books, sites, songs, etc. I write them in my notebook.
Yes, you can do most of this on your phone. Still, I find that writing by hand engages my mind in a different way from typing or tapping. The biggest benefit is that it strengthens my memory.
2. Try to Formulate as Much as You Can in Your Target Language
During times you're free to do so, try to think and talk to yourself in your foreign language. For example, when I set the breakfast table, I say the names of any items in the room. Anything I want to look up, I'll write down in my notebook.
Likewise, you can talk to yourself about things that you're doing, going to do, or did in the past - all in your target language. As you go about your day, you can spontaneously translate common phrases you hear or think, such as: "Let's go" "That's fun" "I'm late" "What's that?" "What's up?" "I don't know" "I got a text" etc.
The more you think in your new language, the easier it will become. With time, you'll be doing it automatically.
3. Say Your Target Language Out Loud Whenever You Can
This is an important habit to get into. No matter how much you (silently) read and listen to your foreign language, you have to produce the sounds to speak with any fluency.
Real conversations with others are, of course, the best way to practice. But if you push yourself to say as much as possible aloud, your target language speaking skills will benefit enormously.
There are many ways to do this: • Read a few sentences aloud from your target language book. • Or, as you practice with an online program, repeat and say words, phrases, and sentences aloud. • Reading newspaper headlines? Read them aloud. • Listening to a song? Sing along.
4. Listen to Songs in Your Target Language
Popular songs in your target language can be a fun and effective way to learn and practice. Music opens your ears and connects you straight to the sound. There's no need to worry about grammar or pronunciation, you just go with the flow.
Even as you listen and imitate the melody and lyrics, you are practicing the sounds, rhythm, and various idiomatic phrases in the language you are learning.
You can find many songs with translations on YouTube. And even better, Language Zen, for example, uses songs for teaching Spanish very effectively, by breaking the lyrics up into chunks, and then building up the song again, all the while integrating the music. I'm looking for programs that do the same for other languages.
5. Set Your Phone to Get Notifications or Headlines From News Sites
If possible, set any news alerts or headlines you get in your native language into the language you're learning.
Notifications are another option. Now, with the European Soccer Championship taking place in France, I've signed up to get updates in French from the newspaper Le Monde. (Depending on your interest, you can also subscribe to different Le Monde Newsletters.)
I also stay abreast of what's happening in Switzerland with German newsflashes from "20 Minuten."
Daily emails with news headlines in your target language are another option.
I get them from Huffington Post with news from Spain, Québec and France, Italy, and Germany - each in the local language. Of course, you can do this with other newspapers and in other languages too.
6. At Breakfast or Dinner Do a Quick Practice with your Partner or Children
Involving a partner, a friend, or even your children in some fun language practice is a huge benefit.
My husband and I go over a daily list with Spanish words, at breakfast or dinner, alternating who gets asked. For that, we use my little notebook with words we want to learn, and go over hard words that I've starred in pencil. Needless to say, we laugh a lot doing that as we practice sounds, find associations, think of translations into other languages, etc.
When our sons were still living at home, we spent a few minutes at each meal telling anecdotes in German. They've often told us how much they appreciate the effort we put into helping them become bilingual. They are now busy adults, who still find time to do the same with their young children. Children are so open to learning! A friend of ours plays a little "I see, I see what you don't see" language game in French with her kids during meals. Even her two-year-old chimes in by imitating some of the words.
7. Play Language Games
There are many language game apps you can buy for a few dollars, such as Mindsnacks, Drops, Worddive, etc. You can also play the free online Gamesforlanguage Quick Games, or Quizlet games, or games on Lingohut. Many of these games you can play at various times during the day, when you have a few minutes.
Interactive games have features that can help you learn vocabulary and grammar points intuitively and painlessly. Replaying the games helps you to memorize. Games are also a great way to learn pronunciation and improve your listening comprehension.
In addition to games for individual play, there are games you can play with your friends.And, it doesn't always have to be apps or online games. For example, you can play various Kloo Games with your children and friends and improve everyone's French, Italian, Spanish (and English).
When you're having fun through a game, you're less likely to be anxious about grammar and pronunciation.
8. Record Your Voice and Play It Back
Listening to podcasts and watching TV shows is important for your pronunciation. But you become much more aware of your own speech when you record yourself.
Use your smartphone to record yourself and just chat away in your target language. Then, play your recording back. You’ll hear your own pronunciation, and become aware of what sounds you should practice. Recording your own voice and playing it back is a powerful and deliberate step towards improvement.
9. Set up Some Time With a Tutor, an Exchange Partner, a Native-Speaker Friend, etc.
Talking with native speakers is one of the most important ways to improve your fluency. Make it a habit to seek out various people to practice with.
Ways to do that is to schedule sessions with a tutor, meet friends over a cup of coffee, attend language meetups in your town, go to a local shop or market where you can use your target language, join a cultural club, etc.
The benefit of doing so is that you'll start thinking about the upcoming session. That often involves getting yourself ready, if only by practicing a few phrases and sentences in your mind.
10. When You're Cooking, Running, or Exercising, Listen to a Podcast or an online Radio Program
This gives you a choice to listen to whatever interests you. If you listen to a subject that you know something about, the context will help you guess unknown words.
Even if you're not totally focused on listening because you're also doing something else, your brain takes in more than you think: sounds, intonation, words, phrases, the rhythm of sentences, etc.
The important thing is that listening this way puts you into the environment of the language, it immerses you.
For example, for German, I use the Podcasts on the online news magazine Der Spiegel. For Dutch, I listen to Podcasts on the online newspaper NRC.
11. Watch Videos, TV Shows, and Films in your Target Language
If you like watching films, TV shows, or YouTube videos, then make a habit of watching some of them in the language you're learning.
At first, quickly spoken language may sound like gibberish. I had that experience when we lived in Rome for a few months. But after a while, I started hearing individual words and getting more and more of the meaning. The flow of the language seemed to slow down.
Foreign films are a great way to practice listening comprehension and to learn about culture. Setting the subtitles option to the same foreign language is often a big help. I prefer this to subtitles in English.
12. Go over a Few Words and Phrases Just Before You Go to Sleep
As we reported in a recent post – Foreign Language Learning While You Sleep? - Swiss researchers have found that hearing such words and phrases WHILE YOU SLEEP, could improve your memory.
Unfortunately, there is no practical way yet to replicate such test results at home. However, other research seems to confirm that reviewing foreign words and phrases BEFORE you go to sleep will also enhance your memory of them.
Apparently, your brain keeps working on what you just reviewed while you sleep and starts moving the words and phrases into your longer-term memory.
Any of these 12 habits can add some routine to your language learning. Try some of them and tell us what you think. You can always reach us via Contact
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada and speaks German, English, Dutch, and French fluently. She intends to become as fluent in Italian, Spanish and Swedish. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Disclosure: Certain links above are to a partner's program with revenue-sharing, should you decide to purchase or subscribe.
Language Zen is a language learning site that features Spanish for English speakers. Its home page promises: “Language learning without frustration. Personalized to you.”
Frustration is sometimes unavoidable when you're learning and are annoyed by your mistakes. However, learning a foreign language with a program that adapts to your learning style and skill level is clearly the way to go.
At the center of Language Zen's program is the algorithm that keeps track of what you've learned and has you redo the phrases and sentences where you made mistakes.
What you learn are the most frequently used words, which Language Zen gathers through “data mining” - analyzing thousands of TV transcripts.
A special feature of Language Zen is that you can learn with songs and use the song lyrics for learning vocabulary. The program promises: “The system gets smarter the more you use it. If you learn something through a song or a special course, it will carry over to the rest of the system.” Let's see how it works!
ASSESSMENT TEST
Once you've registered and clicked on “Start Learning,” you can do an Assessment Test to determine your level: Beginner, Beginner Plus, Intermediate, Intermediate Plus, Advanced, Advanced Plus, Fluent, Near Native.
To find your level for the test,you're asked to “Slide to the right until you don't understand one or more of the Spanish words.” [see screenshot, right]
The test is based on translation, always into the target language. For my level, I slid into Advanced Plus.
The test of 20 sentences that followed included various verb tenses and idiomatic ways of saying things. I did not come across any uncommon or specialized language.
For the translations, I could speak or write the answer. An option for a “literal” cue provided some help. Then, for each answer I got corrections and brief explanation. So I was already learning during the test.
After completing the test, I was indeed assessed to be Advanced Plus. But that doesn't tell me that everything I did was perfect. It simply means that I'll do my best learning in the advanced language environment.
Language Zen is a bright,uncluttered, inviting site, and easy to navigate. On the Bar on top, you see: Learn, Courses, Music, Review, Blog, Premium
LEARN (or Start Learning)
When you start, you learn at the level you've reached.
There are three types of exercises: 1. Write or speak the translation of a sentence into the target language. Once you've done that, you'll hear the right answer and get corrections. From time to time, you'll get a grammatical hint. 2. Listen to a sentence in the target language and choose the correct translation out of five. Again, you'll see and hear the correct answer so you can check. 3. Match the meanings of 5 words or phrases. At the end of each section, you'll see your progress.
COURSES (or Special Courses)
Here you have a list of 13 specific topics: Greetings, General Education, Travel Essentials, At a Restaurant, Getting Around, Telling Time, The Family, General Shopping, Watching Sports, Dating, Flirting with Girls, Flirting with Guys, and Investing in Startups.
With the 4 hours I had done in the “Learn” section, I could see the percentage of words that I knew in each of these courses (without yet doing any of the courses).
The last course “Investing in Startups” caught my eye. The Info Tab tells you: “Language Zen is starting its first raise. As a treat for our investors and potential investors, we've built a course to help you talk about investing in the next great Latin American startup.”The learning method is similar to what I've been doing in the “Learn” section.
Learning from your mistakes is part of the method:For example, I translated the sentence “I like working with VCs” with: “Me gusta trabajar con VVCC.” (Because I had previously learned that you make abbreviations plural by doubling the letter, as in EEUU (United States).
However, the correct answer is: “Me gusta trabajar con VC,” which is something I will now remember. Deeper into the course, I also learned the Spanish for VCs - “inversores de riesgo."
I really like getting the corrections, sometimes with a brief explanation of why my answer was wrong.
Recording the answer is a really cool option. When you speak your translation, it appears automatically as written. You can still correct the written form before you “check” it.
However, as with many voice recognition features, this one sometimes doesn't work that well for me.
I spoke the sentence “¿Cuánta pista tienen?” (How much runway do you have?) - and the program wrote: “autopista kennedy.”
My husband, who was listening, commented that maybe my Austrian accent in Spanish didn't go over that well. But then, who doesn't have some kind of accent when learning a foreign language?
I've noticed, though, that the program has become more accepting of my voice, with fewer strange transcriptions. That means it's learning too!
MUSIC (Learn from Music)
I love learning with songs. Because, there's lots of repetition, songs become a surprisingly effective way to learn vocabulary, idiomatic phrases, grammar structures, and the pronunciation of difficult sounds.
For many language enthusiasts learning the lyrics of a foreign song is a great way to engage both with the music and the language. (No wonder that La Paloma Lyrics - Learning Spanish With a Song, is still one of our most-read blog posts!)
For Spanish, 15 songs are listed. Next to the song titles, you see the percentage of its words that you have already learned in another context on the site. Each song has three Tabs: Info, Play, Learn
1. The Info Tab lists the Artist, Album, Genre, and Accent: Spanish (Peninsular), Dominican, Honduran, Colombian, Mexican, American, Andalusian (Peninsular), Chilean, Puerto Rican.
By the way, it's a good idea to listen to different accents and dialects in a language. Doing so, trains your ear to hear subtle differences in sound. If you do this consistently, you'll understand native speakers of your target language much better. Especially, if they aren't your standard-accent radio announcer.
2. The Play Tab takes you to the song. You can listen to it in Spanish and see each of the lines as they're sung either in Spanish or in English.
3. The Learn Tab teaches you individual phrases that occur in the song (by having you translate or pick a translation out of multiple choice). I noticed that some of the sentences from my other course lesson also showed up, scattered in between.
You can also just do a “lesson on the lyrics,”where you learn individual phrases that go to make up the lines of the song.
As you go along, you get quick grammar tips. For example: As you see the sentence (line of the song) “Lo oigo todo es tiempo” a small box opens and tells you: “When someone or something receives the action of a verb, that someone or something is known as the direct object of a sentence."
As you progress, you'll hear snippets of the song, where the words you're learning occur.
You slowly start building the sentences of the song. The short phrases are quite easy in themselves, but as you start putting them together into longer sentences, you learn colloquial structures that go beyond literal translation.
If you click on "More", on the bottom of the box, a page of explanation opens, giving you an extensive description of a direct object, including a list of pronoun objects, and a note about word order.
REVIEW (What you've learned)
Learning a language effectively depends a whole lot on how you review. Language Zen has some nice features in that department.
On “Review” you can pull down three options: Progress, Words, Facts
1. Progress:
This opens a Dashboard that tells you your status: close you're to your weekly goal in hours; what you've learned in numbers and on a graph (Words, Facts, Phrases, Meanings); your streak in days; what level you're on; how many points you've earned.
2. Words:
This lists all the words and their meanings that you've learned so far.You can sort by: Words I “Know / Don't Know” and “Need / Don't Need” to Practice that are “Of Any Type” or 11 other grammatical categories such as /Verbs /Nouns / Prepositions, etc.
When you see the letter P beside any of the words, it means you need to practice it; a puzzle piece beside it means there's a grammatical fact attached to it.
3. Facts:
Under "Facts", you'll find a list of grammatical points that are explained in the lessons, such as “Por vs para,” “Expressions with Tener,”etc.
You can sort this list the same way as in the Words section. Also, you are given the skill level for each. Clicking on any of the items gives you a brief explanation and examples.
For example, in the screenshot as on the left: “they are”, the use of the verb “estar” to express “conditions” (rather than “qualities,” for which “ser” is used) is explained.
COST
Language Zen can be used for free, with ads on the site and limited daily learning.
There are also Premium monthly subscription options. Check the Membership Feature Comparison page for the various subscription options. (An option for companies and schools includes “custom professional content” and “group usage metrics.”)
What we Like
• You learn most vocabulary in the context of phrases and sentences. • The vocabulary seems practical and useful. • The “Special Courses” let you learn and practice what you need or want. • Translations are always into Spanish. • When translating a English phrase you often get several Spanish options. • Choosing the “literally” translation option is often helpful. • You can select a slow voice option. • Recording your answer gives you an opportunity to speak. • The voice recorder seems to learn and adapt to your voice. • You choose the level to start (or rely on the assessment test). • The recall algorithm of words I missed, seemed to work well. • You get grammar points at times, but they are not overwhelming.
Other things to consider
• The learning and practice is translation based. • I did not find any dialogues of conversations (beyond some of the song lyrics). • The “Learn” and “Course” module translations are quite demanding; interspersing a song and just reading the lyrics can be relaxing. • Language Zen has found a very effective way of using its teaching method for song lyrics. We find the method both engaging and demanding. • It really requires you to be on your toes to get the translations correctly – one sure way you are learning! • There are no iOS or Android apps yet but we understand that an Android app is in the works, to be followed by an iOS app. • Conversations and stories, using a similar method as for the song/lyrics module, are also in development and will be added shortly.
Brief Comparison with Lingualia
In April we reviewed the Spanish program (online and apps) of our partner site Lingualia. Lingualia also uses a learning algorithm and adjusts to your skill level. Here are features in which Lingualia differs from Language Zen:
• Lingualia's exercises are all in Spanish (without any English/Spanish translations). • Definitions are in Spanish and you are often given Spanish synonyms and antonyms for words you're learning. • Each lesson starts with a rapidly spoken dialogue. You can listen to it as many times as you want. • If needed, you can click to activate Google translate for dialogues and example sentences (and have to live with the often literal and incorrect Google translations). • Grammar points are taught in the form of exercises, with explanations in Spanish. • Texts in Spanish and questions for reading comprehension are mixed in. • Both the iOS and Android Lingualia apps work well with the online account.
Both sites are good examples for how different programs can be used for developing and practicing different skills.
Which one is more effective for you, may well depend on which method and topics engage you the most. You'll want a site to which you come back again and again to learn and practice - the only sure way to progress.
If translating, special courses and vocabulary, Spanish songs and lyrics, etc. are your thing, then Language Zen will work very well for you.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of :GamesforLanguage.com. She is a life-long 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.
Disclosure: The link to Lingualia is to a partner's program with revenue-sharing, should you decide to subscribe. Gamesforlanguage had no business relationship with Language Zen when the review was written, other than having received a short free subscription for the course.
We all want to speed up our language learning, right? Lately, I have been practicing Dutch and Spanish vocabulary with LearnwithOliver.com and I noticed something interesting: When looking over the daily “Sentence of the Day” and “Words of the Day” list, I recognize most of them and understand their meaning.
However, when I later review the “Words in the Queue,” I often cannot produce the English translation for individual words. On the other hand, when I scroll down to the foreign example sentence – which includes the foreign word I can't remember – the meaning of that word becomes quite clear.
I have found that in many cases remembering words as a part of a “chunk” helps a lot (as do other mnemonic practices). A chunk is a short group of words that typically go together.
In my language learning, I've come across various types of chunks (also called “collocations”). Here are a few examples:
1. A chunk that you remember because of an association you create
Continuing with my “Words in the Queue” example from above: I've had a hard time remembering the meaning of the Spanish word “aguantar” (to put up with, hold, support, bear).
LearnwithOliver's example sentence was: ¿Puedes aguantar la respiración durante 30 segundos?
What finally helped me, was to remember the expression “aguantar la respiración” (to hold your breath).
The word “aguantar” contains (for me) the word “agua,” and I see the mental image of “holding one's breath under water.” With that image, I can now remember the individual word too, and its meaning in different contexts.
2. A short chunk containing a grammatical kernel
These can be prepositional phrases, typical verb-noun, or adjective-noun constructions, etc. Once such word combinations become automatic, they provide good building blocks for speaking.
In German, phrases “nach Hause” and “zu Hause” are better remembered in context with related verbs, such as “nach Hause kommen” (to come home) or “zu Hause sein” (to be at home).
(In Gamesforlanguage's German Stories “zu Hause” and “nach Hause” appear in different contexts, which you can find by just searching for Hause in our German Dictionary)
In Spanish, “en casa” and “a casa” are quite similar to their German equivalents, as a search for casa in our Spanish dictionary will show.
3. A chunk in which the meaning of the individual words doesn't add up to the meaning of the phrase
With the English phrase, “What's up?”, you're not really asking the question literally, right? Other languages have similar phrases.
In Spanish, you ask: “¿Qué tal?” The word “tal” alone translates as: such, that. But the greeting means: What's going on?, How about it?
Germans typically greet each other: “Wie geht's?” This is literally How does it go? How goes it?, but means: How are you?
Very similarly in Italian: “Come va?” (“va” = it goes) and in French you have: “Ça va?”, short for “Comment ça va?”
These greetings, etc. you'll remember without even thinking about grammar and the meaning of the individual words.
4. A chunk that contains an image that doesn't translate into your language
The German expression: “nichts am Hut haben” (literally: to have nothing on the hat), means: not to care a fig about something.
The French expression: “Ça a l'air bon” (literally: that has the good air), means: That looks good.
The Spanish expression: “estar por las nubes” (literally: to be for the clouds), just means that something is "very expensive.” Replacing “por” with “en”, however, changes the meaning completely: “estar en las nubes” means that somebody is in the clouds, or daydreaming.
There are many expressions in all languages that you'll not understand if you just translate the individual words.
But once you understand the expression, it also lets you remember more easily the individual words through association with the image.
How to practice chunks
A good way to practice a chunk is to copy an existing audio, or record it yourself. Then play and repeat it often. You should know it so well that you can say it automatically, without thinking about how the phrase is put together.
That's also why we encourage learners on GamesforLanguage to repeat every phrase and sentence aloud. This will not only help you with your pronunciation, but it's also a great way to remember typical expressions.
A good tool for recording a phrase you want to practice is using the free Audacity audio program which you can download both for Windows or Mac by using the above link. (We'd like to credit an earlier Mezzofanti Guild post for making this suggestion.)
Never Again Wordlists or Grammar Paradigms?
That's up to you. For some, memorization of words and endings feels like a chore. I, for one, actually like learning and reviewing vocabulary. There are plenty of programs around for doing that, a popular one being Memrise.
In any case, I prefer learning words and grammar structures that I've seen in context. That way, I'm sure of the meaning and I avoid committing “google translate” type bloopers.
From time to time, I also go to check a conjugation just to make sure I have the forms right. Wordreference has conjugation pages for many languages, where you can see the full conjugation of a verb on one page.
For me, various forms of chunks (pre-assembled phrases) are the anchors of the language I'm learning. Once they become automatic, I'm freed up to focus more on the message that I'm trying to express.
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He's 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.
(updated 8/11/2016) I'm a latecomer to italki. There's been a lot of buzz about italki these past couple of years.
On various social media channels, I kept hearing that italki was the next best thing to having a native-speaker friend. Italki is about talking in the language you're learning.
I've been learning Spanish on my own for some time now. Most recently, I reported on my progress in Reaching Language Fluency – My Experience With Spanish (so far). And while I can understand and read Spanish quite well, I can't speak it as fluently as I would like.
It was my niece who finally convinced me to take the plunge. She told me how much she enjoyed the various options italki provides. Even more importantly, she was happy about how quickly her fluency in Spanish was improving. She'll be using Spanish in her work, for counseling families and conducting interviews.
For me, becoming conversationally fluent is a personal goal, though one that I take very seriously. So, a few weeks ago, I decided to try out italki.
The italki site is easy to navigate. When you start looking around, you'll find various free options and features that can enhance your experience on the site, besides, or in addition to taking (paid) lessons.
On your Dashboard you can see all your activity at one glance, including your schedule, your teachers, your friends, your community activities, a recommended article, as well as your “wallet.”
At the footer of your Dashboard page is the heading “Browse.” From there you can jump to any of the sections listed below. Once you're there, sort by language and specific options.
The Main Stay: Lessons for Speaking
Learning to talk fluently in a foreign language and building conversational skills are the main goals for many language learners. One-on-one sessions with a skilled language teacher - be it from home, or when living where the language is spoken - are doubtless the best way to get there.
Skype or Facetime lessons are italki's mainstay. There are lots of options for everyone. You can choose between “professional teachers” (who are certified and experienced) and “community tutors” (native or near-native speakers who do informal tutoring).
For Browsing through a list for available teachers or tutors, you can set the language, the country where the teacher is from, a rate, tags (such as: beginners, children, teenagers, business, test preparation), native speaker, trial lesson, audio & video, available times (instant tutoring, or time of day, days of the week). To find the section, simply click on “Language Teachers.”
italki encourages you to try out different teachers and offers three (3) 30-minutes, discounted trial sessions for their teachers and tutors. (The discounts are set by each teacher and tutor, and therefore vary.)
Four More Features
1. Informal Conversational Practice
For casual practice, you can add Language-Exchange sessions, which are free. You can set up as many as you want, and with time you'll probably find some good partners and ways to make the language exchanges run smoothly.
In this section you can get free language practice by exchanging time teaching your native language, for time learning a foreign language. You can sort by language you're learning, gender, place your partner is from, and native speaker.
To get there, just click on “Language Partners.” Some of the language partners are also teachers on italki. Above the profile picture, you can “Switch to Teacher Profile.”
In some cases, time differences and a partner's availability make language-exchange sessions somewhat more difficult to schedule than sessions with teachers. This is a problem that many language-exchange sites share.
2. Reading
The best way to grow your (passive) vocabulary is to read as much as in your target language, and on a variety of subjects.
Italki has a free section where teachers and tutors post articles they've written. They come in a variety of languages and are mostly about learning a language, specific language topics, or cultural themes.
These articles are conversational in nature. I recommend reading the ones that are in your target language. For a learner, they are a great way to start internalizing informal language beyond basic phrases such as “how are you?” “where are you from?” “are you a student?” “what kind of work do you do?” “do you have any brothers and sisters?”
To get there, click on “Articles.” Sort by language and scroll down. You'll see articles in your native and in your target language.
I find, though, that I may have a huge (reading) vocabulary in a foreign language, but still find myself tongue-tied when speaking it. So, you need to find ways to use your words and phrases in real conversations, by speaking!
3. Writing
Now that there are lots of Forums, Facebook community pages, Chat options, etc. in various languages, learning to write well enough in your target language seems a good skill to shoot for.
In the “Notebook”section, on italki, you can write short journal-like entries in the language you're learning about topics that interests you or something that's on your mind.
These notebook entries are then corrected by others who are native speakers or proficient in the language. You'll sometimes get several corrections and comments. In turn, you are encouraged to correct the notebook entries of others, written in your native language or one you're highly proficient in.
This option is free and you can use it even if you haven't taken any lessons. Under Browse, click on “Notebook,” sort by language.
4. Grammar and Usage
Not many language learners approach a language by just learning grammar rules and memorizing conjugation tables.
However, when you're beyond the beginner level, figuring out some of the grammar points is actually fun.
You can do that in the “Answers” section. There you can add specific questions about the language you're learning (translation, correct usage, etc.) and answer questions about a language that you speak.
To get there, go to “Answers” and sort by language.The following quote by a learner says it very well: “I've used italki to get answers for questions I don't have the courage to ask in the classroom as I'm very shy. I always get satisfactory answers, the community is really nice as far as I can tell.”
Even Polyglots use italki
You may never become a Polyglot like Benny Lewis. You may not even agree with him that learning your target language is easy. Or you wonder how one can Become Fluent in 3 months, as he promises in his well-known guide. But when even Benny uses italki to keep up his fluency in the many languages he speaks, you know that italki has something going for it.
I will certainly continue to use it for the languages I want to become more fluent in.
Postscript: We recently become aware of a post that summarizes well the various options for speaking practice: Find Language Partners - Language Exchange (Step 3). You will certainly find one that works best for you.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada and speaks German, English, Dutch, and French fluently. She intends to become as fluent in Italian, Spanish and Swedish. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.
Disclosure: The links above to Fluent in 3 Months and italki are to a partner's program with revenue-sharing, should you decide to purchase or subscribe.
Learning a language takes time, focus, and a certain amount of effort. As we juggle our time, demands from work and family, and our need for rest and recreation, language learning can easily fall by the wayside.
Fortunately, there are some easy ways to keep your language learning motivation on track, even when you're hitting a few obstacles.
Here are my 3 main takeaways from “Spark” for language learners :
1. Stay self-aware all the way through
The e-book “Spark” is set up as 17 steps and you are asked to “stop and think” at each of them. I think it's a helpful approach for looking at your language learning goal as well.
Choose a realistic goal for your language learning
What is really useful is that each level gives you a description of skills (see page 35 of the PDF that you can download.) For example: a B1 (3rd level) proficiency - which is a good goal to shoot for - means the following:
“I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and immediate need or on current events).”
Know why you want to learn a foreign language
Is your wish connected to a trip you're planning?
Do you have friends or family you want to converse with?
Is learning the language job related?
Or are you doing it for the pure pleasure of mastering another language?
Know where you are on the road to your goal
Are you an absolute beginner or do you already have the basics down?
Are you a re-learner of a language you learned in school or college?
Or are you re-learning a language you knew as a child or from living in the country?
Your rate of learning and acquiring a native-like pronunciation will very likely be influenced by your language history.
As you go along, you can always adjust your goal up or down.
2. Figure out coping skills that work for you
One of the steps in “Spark” is called “Modelling.” There the author talks about a “coping model.”
It's pretty easy to figure out why Blogs about language learning are so popular. The good ones are written by bilinguals or multilinguals, who share their experiences and can show us how to deal with and overcome difficulties.
Learning a language has its ups and downs, and sometimes we find that we have to cope with discouragement, boredom, and a sense of failure.
We can learn a lot about coping skills from others, especially from language learners who are similar to us. (Jeremy Dean of “Spark” reminds us that beginner problems are different from expert problems.)
Here are a few typical struggles/challenges others can help us to cope with:
Fear of speaking in the foreign language
Just think about the times you've avoided situations in which you would need to use your new language. There are excellent coping strategies for that, as we reviewed in How to Overcome Your Foreign Language Anxiety.
Forgetting vocabulary
What about the many everyday words in your target language, which you learned and then couldn't remember in a casual conversation? Memory tricks and apps for learning and remembering vocabulary abound.
Frustration with grammar issues
Not to mention German cases and how articles and adjectives change for a case. Or remember how tricky the French subjunctive and conditional verb forms are.
When learning a foreign language, we also need to absorb how it functions, i.e. its grammar.
Are there times you get a little nervous and suddenly start speaking with a strong native-language accent? It happens to me.
Having a foreign accent is not a terrible thing, but you'll want to be able to control it to a certain extent, simply because you want to be understood.
3. Figure out ways that keep you going
To keep your momentum, you have to “do”something in the language you're learning. Avoidance or procrastination won't move you forward.
These two tips come up directly in “Spark.”
1. Think about your last effort to motivate the next one.
In language learning terms, it means for me, for example: When I complete a lesson with few mistakes it encourages me to do the next one even better.
2. Set up mini-goals with very specific actions.
For example, when I drink my second cup of coffee in the morning, I'll do a part of a lesson; and before I go to sleep, I'll review the last 10 words I learned during the day.
Here are a few more momentum-keeping tricks that have worked for me:
When you finish a lesson, tell yourself what your next step will be. Then, when you pick up the next day where you left off, you'll know exactly where to start.
Schedule a lesson with a tutor or a session with a language-exchange partner. Just knowing that it will be coming up, raises your level of enthusiasm and engagement. It also might prompt you to prepare a few questions and answers.
The bottom line is to “do something.” Maybe you don't feel like doing a full lesson, or you don't have time for one. But if, instead, you can listen to a song, read a short newspaper article, play a quick language game, etc., you've taken another step rather than stopping cold.
And all along, it's worth keeping the following in mind:
Becoming fluent in a language gives us a sense of competence, that we're good at something that's challenging.
Learning on our own gives us a sense of autonomy.
Having a second, or third language connects us to others who have a different take on life. It opens up our world.
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.
Disclosure: We purchased the "Spark" e-book, and have no affiliation with it's author or with Psyblog. Several other links above are to a partners' program or an affiliate with revenue-sharing, should you decide to buy or subscribe.
In 2014, we added a German 2 course: “Blüten in Berlin?” (Picture left: “Blüten” in front of Berlin's TV Tower). It is a continuation of our German 1 course “Michael in Deutschland.”
Readers of our 2014 post Learning German with a Story: Blüten in Berlin? will remember that “Blüten” in German means “blossoms,” but in colloquial language the word also means “funny money.”
Language Magazine
Since adding German 2 in 2014, we made quite a few changes. But the summary, which appeared in Language Magazine's October 2014 edition, describes the course so well that we are citing it in full again below: Due to popular demand, GamesforLanguage.com is adding a German 2 course.
In this sequel to the German 1 course, Michael Mueller, a young traveler, returns to Berlin, where he is faced with a baffling mystery. After he is caught paying with a counterfeit Euro bill ("Blüte") in German, he sets out to find the young woman who has slipped him the note on the plane from Boston to Berlin.
By playing dynamic games while following a mystery narrative, users are motivated to learn by the fun of it. To solve the mystery of the “Blüte,” they must collect enough points to move on to the next scene. They hereby learn and practice useful German phrases and sentences, which – because of the engaging story context – they'll remember.
All lessons begin with a short story dialogue. The sentences are then broken down into their component words and phrases, which layers practice in various games. Finally, players are prompted to reassemble the sentences from the dialogue.
A “Say It” sequence emphasizes the importance of repeating and speaking words and phrases. With games like “Word Invaders” or “Shootout,” players practice translations and word order.“Word Hero” and “Shooting Gallery” games help recall the vocabulary of previous lessons.
GamesforLanguage's courses (German, French, Italian, and Spanish) are all online and free. Courses and Quick Games are accessible on most tablets.
72 instead 36 Lessons
German 2 builds your mastery of idiomatic language, helps you understand and use those hard-to-pin-down filler words (ja, schon, noch, doch, denn, eigentlich, mal, etc.), and has you practicing “conversational past” and “simple past” verb forms. Returning players will notice a change in our lesson format.
Each of the six levels of German 2 now has 12 lessons or Scenes, for a total of 72. Based on user comments, we've made various changes from the German 1 course.
We're introducing only 8 new words or phrases per Scene and are combining various games to make learning and practicing even more fun and effective. Many of the German words and expressions used in both courses can also be practiced with the more than 70 German Language Games (Quick Games), which can be played without even registering.
Is German 1 a prerequisite for German 2?
German 1 is NOT a prerequisite for German 2. The course format allows anyone with basic knowledge of German to jump right in.
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.
Play these 4 fun Italian Language Games a few times before you travel to Italy or to a region where Italian is widely spoken. 
especially if you practice them so you can say them spontaneously and with good pronunciation. 
Quick questions help you to orient yourself in a city; to get information about when shops and museums are open; to ask for the price at markets; to start conversations with people you've just met, etc. 
tasks in another language. But you need to practice them enough to understand them easily and to say them automatically. 
It's quite a challenge to make a call in a foreign language. But hey, if you do it often, it'll become routine and give you quite a boost in confidence. 
There 
Not surprisingly, Jeremy Dean's recent e-book, 
are asked to 
One of the steps in “
something in the language you're learning. Avoidance or procrastination won't move you forward.
