Digital Dialects is a free to use site with beginning to low-intermediate online games for 60 languages - from Afrikaans to Zazaki.
The various, colorful games use the Macromedia Flash Player. Updates to any of the sections are regularly announced and there is a "links" page for more learning materials that are mostly free, such as online newspapers, etc. The look of the site is uncluttered and appealing.
I tried out Swedish (see above), which is one of the languages I'm learning at the moment. For Swedish, there are six games (without audio), typically set up so that you can first memorize a list, then play a game to practice what you memorized.
There's a matching game for "phrases and greetings," three math games for "numbers," a game to learn "colors," and one to learn the words for "fruits and vegetables."
Russian, a language that I'll start next year, has 11 games (with audio), most of whichinclude versions in Cyrillic script and in transliteration.The "animals" game has you click on an image after you hear the Russian word.
The "fruits and vegetables" game (see right) can be played as audio, or in Cyrillic. You pick the correct items out of a bowl until the bowl is empty. The "numbers" games have Cyrillic versions that allow for "slow," "medium," or "fast" speed.
I'm guessing that these games will provide me with an easy, unhurried entry into the world of Cyrillic letters and of Russian pronunciation.
Persian (listed as Farsi) - a language I'm dabbling in right now - has nine games. The writing system of Persian is based on the Arabic script. So far, the games (numbers, fruits and vegetables, animals, various vocabulary groups) are in transliteration only, and there is no audio. Still, it's a start, and the games are an enjoyable way to memorize basics.
Some of the other languages have many more games and full audio. You'll just have to check and see for whatever language(s) you're interested in.
Digital Dialects is a popular site, in part because it gives beginning learners easy and fun access to many languages. Where else can you learn 1-10 in 60 languages at one place?
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com and I have no business relationship with Digital Dialects other than learning and practicing Swedish, Russian, and Persian with its free online games.
On our hike down from the village of Schönried to the picturesque resort town of Gstaad, we enjoyed our friend Ursel's Swiss German Language Lessons. She also told us about the surprising revival of Swiss German in written form through SMS/Texting and Social Media.
Ursel is from Bern, and it was fun to practice with her some Swiss German words in the her dialect of Bärndütsch. [see also our previous blog post: Language Lessons in Gstaad (1)]
Once in Gstaad, we do a little window shopping and people ogling, on the pedestrian way called Promenade.
From there we also have a great view of the famous Palace Hotel (picture). And, walking towards the ice rink (which, in the spring, converts back to tennis courts for the Gstaad Open in June each year), we end up at Charly's Gstaad, a "Konditorei and Confiseri" for coffee and delicious pastries.
While observing the young and old skaters as they make their rounds, we learn and practice in Berndeutsch, various greetings, the words excuse me and thanks, as well as the terms for meal times and snack breaks.
1. Greetings, Excuse Me, Thanks
• Grüessdi (Grüß dich - informal Hello, singular) • Grüessech (Grüß euch - informal Hello, plural) • Grüessi mitenand (Hello - all of you) • Exgüsee (Entschuldigung - excuse me) • Uf Widerluege (Auf Wiedersehen - Good-bye) • Adiemerssi (Danke und auf Wiedersehen - Thanks and good-bye, said by shopkeepers)
2. Meal and Snack Times
The Swiss day is nicely organized around meal times and snack breaks: • Zmorge (Frühstück - breakfast) • Znüni (Imbiss am Vormittag - midmorning snack, usually around 9 a.m.) • Zmittag (Mittagessen - lunch) • Zvieri (Imbiss am Nachmittag - mid-afternoon snack, usually around 4 p.m.) • Znacht (Abendessen - dinner, supper)
Kindergardners bring their mid-morning snack to school, it's called "Znünitaschl" (nine o'clock bag). They also bring along "Finken" (slippers) to wear inside.
Even though we're always on the lookout, we did not recognize any famous people on our visit to Gstaadt this time. But we certainly had fun learning about Bärndütsch expressions and pronunciation from Ursel, a native of Bern.
(Updated February 2, 2017) During our recent stay in Fribourg, Switzerland, we were again amazed by the mixture of languages we heard spoken in this small Swiss town of about 40,000.
Upper Town And Lower Town
Fribourg, (in German, called “Freiburg im Uechtland” to distinguish it from its German Black Forest cousin “Freiburg im Breisgau“) is the capital of the Canton Fribourg and located on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland. (see above picture of upper and lower town)
In the past, the language lines were drawn rather clearly: In the lower town, people spoke mostly a Swiss German dialect, in the upper town mostly French.
And while German was the prevailing language until around 1800, French gradually became more influential. By the year 2000 nearly 64% spoke French, only 21% German as their first language (Italian was third with about 4%).
An Impression: More Bilingual German Than French Speakers
In restaurants, cafes, and shops, etc. you hear a mixture of French, Swiss German, “Schriftdeutsch” (see also our previous blog post: Language Lessons in Gstaad), and other languages.
Swiss German children start to learn “Schriftdeutsch” in first grade, and French a couple of years later. That's about the same time that French children learn “Schriftdeutsch” as a second language. (We also understand that in many schools English is taught already in fourth grade.)
From discussions with acquaintances, friends, and relatives 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.
This is due to the fact that French speakers are now the majority in Fribourg, or whether learning French as a third language (after “Schriftdeutsch) is “easier” for Swiss German speakers, or whether Swiss Germans feel a more personal or economic need to be bilingual than their French speaking compatriots, we just don't know.
A visit of the local market provided a (not representative) sample, as most of the Swiss German speaking farmers did easily switch to French, while the French speaking bakers and butchers had more difficulty in speaking German (see picture above).
Language still a divisive issue
While the casual observer may be pleasantly surprised by the 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 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.
It certainly seems that in a small country like Switzerland (about 8 million inhabitants) being bilingual, or at least fluent, in two of the major languages, German and French, should have great professional and personal benefits.
Postscript
Just as we were leaving Fribourg, the local Newspaper, 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.
Brilliant mountain weather in the Berner Oberland. It's a perfect day for Swiss German Language Lessons while on a 50-minute hike down from the village of Schönried to the town of Gstaad.
Our teacher is our Swiss German friend, Ursel, who comes from the city of Bern.
The "Wanderweg" (hiking path) takes us over snow-covered fields, past chalets of many famous folks, and alongside farm houses.
At a small stand along the way, we serve ourselves some hot cider. You can also purchase local cheese and sausage -"Bio" (organic), of course, and all on the honor system.
We chat about this and that, in "Schriftdütsch" (Standard German). "Bärndütsch" (Berndeutsch) is the Swiss German dialect spoken in the Swiss capital city of Bern and in some of the surrounding Canton Bern. Ursel translates a few words I ask her about.
It has always struck me as curious that Swiss Germans would ask me: "Redä Si Schriftdütsch?" (Do you speak written German?) to find out whether I can also understand "Dialäkt" (dialect).
Ursel points out that Swiss German does not have an official written form. Newspapers and books are done in Standard German, as well as all formal and most informal writing.
However, dialect dictionaries are popping up on the Internet, and SMS/Texting and Social Media are popularizing various forms or written dialect, as this Newly Swissed blog explains.
Ursel says that, typically, Bärndütsch loves to shorten verbs. Here are a few examples.
2. Verbs in Berndeutsch
• ga (gehen - to go) • ha (haben - to have) • la (lassen - to let) • gä (geben - to give) • nä (nehmen - to take) • sy ( sind/sein - (are/to be)
Some of the words in Berndeutsch overlap with those of other Swiss German dialects, and some are distinct for the region of Bern.
But, in any case, each region has a distinct sound system and accent. Most Swiss Germans can usually pinpoint what region an accent is from.
To get a sense of the sound of Bärndütsch, here's a short YouTube video ad for alcohol-free Feldschlösschen beer. How much can you understand or guess?
A great way to practice vocabulary with flashcards is Quizlet.com. It's a free site for users who can choose from a large number of free flashcard classes in different languages.
You can also add your own vocabulary that you want to practice. Other study modes besides Flashcards are Speller, Learn, and Test, plus the games Scatter and Space Race.
You can find the gamesforlanguage flashcards for the first lesson of each of our languages (in basic and expanded format) just by entering gamesforlanguage in the search window.
Beyond the basic free site, there is an upgrade, for-pay option which allows for image uploading, voice recording, ad-free studying, unlimited classes, etc. Occasionally the site has experienced some technical problems; these are usually announced on their Twitter account.
By the way: Quizlet can also be used for studying other topics that lend themselves to flash card type learning.
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com has no business relationship with Quizlet.com other than having established and paid for a “Teacher” account. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further details.
The friendly Owl reminds you to practice! If you've been reluctant to learn a new language, this is your chance to make a fun and easy start. Duolingo is a 100% free digital language learning site, gamified, with apps for iPad, iPhone, Android.
LANGUAGES OFFERED
Currently the following languages are offered: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian – for English speakers; and English - for Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Hungarian, Polish, and Dutch speakers. In October 2013, the Duolingo Language Incubator was launched to crowd-source the creation of courses in "all combination of languages." [Duolingo has continued to add languages, and has added "stories" for some of the languages."
GAMIFICATION FEATURES
• Mini-tasks: Each lesson has a bar that tracks 20 bite-sized tasks. You advance by completing these mini-tasks. • Losing hearts: On the app, when you make a mistake, you lose a heart. If you lose all 3, you have to redo the lesson. • Skill points: You track your progress with skill points and badges. Drumrolls and fanfares crown your achievements. • Your progress: A "Leaderboard" shows the progress of friends you are following and who follow you.
This review focuses on the first 7 lessons (out of 71) of Brazilian Portuguese. Some of the features may change over time, as Duolingo continues to develop its program.
Brazilian Portuguese - LESSONS 1 to 7
• New words: Each lesson introduces around 7 new words and builds on what you've learned before. • Context: You learn and practice new words in the context of a sentence and as part of a general topic (basic phrases, food, animals, etc.) In some cases, new words are linked to pictures. • Check the meaning: To check the meaning and basic grammar of a new word, you hover over it. Whenever appropriate, you are given multiple meanings in a "pull-down." For example, "salada" means "salad," but also "jumble, mishmash." • Learning Tasks: The kind of tasks you do vary within a lesson (Translate into English, Translate into Portuguese, Type what you hear, Match word to image, Mark all correct translations, etc.). • Audio Button: Click on the audio button to hear a word or sentence again, with an option of "normal speed" or "slow." • Feed-back: Check to see if your answer is correct and to get feedback. If you've made a mistake you're given the correction, plus what type of mistake you made. • Writing: Plenty of writing is involved in the lessons, which is great for remembering words, and with Portuguese, for learning the spelling of words with accented letters.
TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OF DUOLINGO
• Daily reminders: It goes without saying that regular practice is a must, and Duolingo's Owl will send you daily reminders with the tag: "Keep the Owl happy! Language learning requires practice every day!" • Say everything aloud: Even though the sound (computer voice) is not always clear, say each word, phrase, or sentence ALOUD. • The "slow" button: Take advantage of the "slow" button to hear words that are not clear. Do this especially for sentences that include short words, such as the articles "o, a, um," the pronouns, "ela, ele," the verb "é," etc. Make yourself a note about the sound of the vowels. For example, "ela come salada" sounds like "ele comi salade." • Ask questions: From time to time you may have a question. Each mini-task displays a button "Report a problem." There also is a button "Discuss sentence" which takes you to a the specific forum for that item. You can learn from the discussions and add your own question. Often these discussions are quite amusing. • Use a notebook: Write our any difficult words by hand into a small notebook. The act of writing the words by hand helps you to remember them. And, you can carry the notebook with you and glance at your vocabulary when you have some spare time.
Since it was launched, Duolingo has had a great impact on getting more adults and teens interested in learning languages with games and gamified sites. Because it's an online program, Duolingo is continually making improvements to the overall program as well as to the individual lessons.
I especially like the fact that the vocabulary is used in sentences that provide a specific context – which is important for truly understanding how a language works. Some of the sentences are not at all useful, though. I especially don't need to learn all the animal names and silly things that these animals do.
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com and I have no business relationship with Duolingo other than having created an account and learning and practicing Portuguese and Italian with its online courses. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further details.
A recent research paper: "Daily Online Testing in Large Classes" [published on journals.plos.org] shows that taking frequent short tests - or quizzes - can significantly boost learning.
This appears to be true for subjects such as math and science, which combine rote memorization with thinking skills. It certainly can also be true for language learning, which requires the mind to absorb complex material gradually, and in steps that build on each other.
Typically in a school environment, quizzes were and still are used after students have learned their material, both to test their knowledge and give them feedback. In our new, digital trial-and-error culture, quizzing and learning often happen simultaneously.
Every Game is a Quiz
In order to advance in a game, you have to provide correct answers and are told immediately when you're wrong. This kind of immediate and regular feed-back on detail - pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, grammar points, sentence structure, etc. - is exactly what you want when you're learning a language.
Games Engage the Whole Brain
Language learning tends to be a left-brain activity, but by involving several senses, you'll be engaging both sides of the brain. One way to do this is by playing video games that involve sounds, colors, movement, and various types of interactive play.
It's well-established that multi-sensory learning helps create the kind of associations that deepen your language memory.
Games Help to Maintain Focus
By tapping into the rush of pleasurable feeling you get from achieving small successes and mastering challenges, games help you focus on each step and encourage you to stay with the language - as described in this blog bost: Games and your brain: how to use gamification to stop procrastinating.
Accumulating points and badges gives you a sense of progress and motivates you to go on. Also, games can add humor to your learning (as text, images, sounds, etc.) and with it provide an extra level of fun and entertainment.
With Games You Can Practice All Four Skills Interactively
Digital games are versatile and can be structured to help you practice all four skills: listening, writing, reading, speaking - either individually or in combination. There are games to listen and repeat, others to record your voice, or write in the correct answer. Others still for constructing sentences, or identifying idioms.
Digital games allow for as much repetition as you want. If a game is hard, you can do it several times, if it's easy, you breeze through and continue with the next.
Games Can Teach You How to Learn
If you use games for language learning on a regular basis, you're also forming good learning habits. A language is acquired gradually and step by step, so trying to cram a lot of learning into a short time doesn't work for most.
Regular quizzing with games teaches you how to pace yourself and shows you the value of frequent recall and repetition.
The sudden, huge popularity of the gamified site Duolingo has put language learning with games in the spotlight. Other sites that consist entirely of language games, such as Digitaldialects, Mindsnacks, etc., and our Gamesforlanguage, are also getting increased attention.
In turn, social networks and communities for language learning - such as Busuu, Livemocha, Mangolanguages - have started adding games to their programs.
Last but not least, educational communities such as edWeb.net have groups where educators share new games, including language games. For anyone learning a language, this is all good quizzing fun.
In an earlier blog post Heidelberg & Mark Twain, I speculated why Mark Twain had liked the name “Heidelberg,” the city where he stayed with his family for several months in 1878.
This topic had offered itself, as our German 1 traveler during his visit to Heidelberg learns the English translation of the city's name and its relevance to Mark Twain.
Twain's love-hate relationship with The Awful German Language, published as an Appendix to his “A Tramp Abroad,” makes for amusing reading for anyone grappling with the German language – and is especially hilarious to a native German speaker as he looks at German though Twain's eyes!
A Few of His Observations
"Declining a noun" may be the crabgrass on the lawn of many who are learning German. Twain uses “rain” as an example and has some funny explanations for when “der Regen” (nominative) changes to “den Regen” (accusative), “dem Regen” (dative), or “des Regens” (genitive).
If you add adjectives, it gets even worse and Twain is at his satirical best when he notes:
“When a German gets his hands on an adjective, he declines it, and keeps on declining it until the common sense is all declined out of it. It is as bad as Latin." He says, for instance:
Singular
Nominative -- Mein guter Freund, my good friend. Genitive -- Meines guten Freundes, of my good friend. Dative -- Meinem guten Freund, to my good friend. Accusative -- Meinen guten Freund, my good friend.
PLURAL
Nominative -- Meine guten Freunde, my good friends. Genitive -- Meiner guten Freunde, of my good friends. Dative -- Meinen guten Freunden, to my good friends. Accusative -- Meine guten Freunde, my good friends
"Now let the candidate for the asylum try to memorize those variations, and see how soon he will be elected.”
Twain also notes, correctly, that “the same sound, SIE, means YOU, and it means SHE, and it means HER, and it means IT, and it means THEY, and it means THEM.”
Ah, yes, the only way to discover the right meaning is to understand the context in which they are used.
There are a lot more funny and perceptive passages about the German way to create word-monsters, assign genders, separate verbs, etc. (Note also that there are some spelling and grammar changes that have occurred since 1876 e.g. to let, lease, hire is now spelled “vermieten” - not “vermiethen.”)
If you are learning German, his essay - as well as his 4th of July speech at the Banquet of the Anglo-American Club of Students - might amuse you.
And perhaps it also encourages you to keep practicing. Even though German has its tricky moments, it definitely can be learned!
You Want to Learn German Fast and Playfully?
With our German 1 and 2 courses you'll learn practice German for FREE - with stories of a young man traveling through Germany and - its sequel - solving a "Blüten"-mystery in Berlin.
"The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you are actually learning German!
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.
You may have heard this French song: Et si tu n'existais pas before and always wondered what the lyrics really meant. Here is your chance to learn them and brush up on your French negations and conditionals!
For anyone who likes music, songs are a versatile and surprisingly effective tool for language learning. Songs support your language learning in many ways. They help you to:
• build your vocabulary and provide context for words and phrases • improve pronunciation • boost your memory • internalize grammar structures • distinguish word boundaries (see also our blog post Gibberish or language learning)
Si tu n'existais pas (If you didn't exist)
This 1976 song by the American born, French singer-songwriter Joe Dassin has become hugely popular and is one of my favorites. Dassin (1938 - 1980) was a talented polyglot and recorded songs in Spanish, Russian, German, Greek, Italian, as well as in French and English (many of which you can find on YouTube).
Below are the French lyrics, and you can find another English translation here.
The Lyrics of "Si tu n'existais pas"
Et si tu n'existais pas, Dis-moi pourquoi j'existerais. Pour traîner dans un monde sans toi, Sans espoir et sans regrets.
Et si tu n'existais pas, J'essaierais d'inventer l'amour, Comme un peintre qui voit sous ses doigts Naître les couleurs du jour. Et qui n'en revient pas.
Et si tu n'existais pas, Dis-moi pour qui j'existerais. Des passantes endormies dans mes bras Que je n'aimerais jamais.
Et si tu n'existais pas, Je ne serais qu'un point de plus Dans ce monde qui vient et qui va, Je me sentirais perdu, J'aurais besoin de toi.
Et si tu n'existais pas, Dis-moi comment j'existerais. Je pourrais faire semblant d'être moi, Mais je ne serais pas vrai.
Et si tu n'existais pas, Je crois que je l'aurais trouvé, Le secret de la vie, le pourquoi, Simplement pour te créer Et pour te regarder.
French Nouns in the Song
In Dassin's song there are 14 nouns, here listed in the form they appear:
• un monde (a world) • sans espoir (without hope) • sans regrets (without regret) • l'amour (love) • un peintre (a painter) • ses doigts (his fingers) • les couleurs (the colors) • du jour (of the day) • des passantes (passers-by) • mes bras (my arms) • un point (a point, dot) • le secret (the secret) • de la vie (of life) • le pourquoi (the why)
Negative Structures
It's well worth internalizing the various forms of French negation, three of which appear in the song:
• Si tu n'existais pas (ne ... pas - not) • Que je n'aimerais jamais. (ne ... jamais - never) • Je ne serais qu'un point de plus. (ne ... que - only)
The Conditional "if-then" Structure
This structure is the backbone of the song. Of the 20 different verbs, 8 are used in the conditional tense. Memorizing the lyrics and singing them is a great way to internalize one of the common "if-then" (conditional) structures:
The "if-clause" (which comes up 6 times) is in the imperfect tense:
• si tu n'existais pas - if you didn't exist
The "then-claus" is in the conditional tense:
• dis-moi pourquoi j'existerais (*exister) - tell me why would I exist • j'essaierais d'inventer l'amour (*essayer) - I would try to invent love • je ne serais qu'un point de plus (*être) - I would only be one more dot • je me sentirais perdu (*se sentir) - I would feel lost • j'aurais besoin de toi (*avoir besoin) - I would need you • je pourrais faire semblant d'être moi (*pouvoir) - I could pretend to be me • je crois que je l'aurais trouvé (*trouver) - I think I would have found it
Just imagine, when you are memorizing the lyrics and singing along, you're practicing the language. How much fun is that!
And why stop here? Edith Piaf's "Non, je ne regrette rien" (see our previous post) is another great French song to add to your language learning repertoire.
I recently came across Sidney's post Learning through song made easy, which suggests four steps to improve both your listening and speaking (maybe even singing!) skills. It's fun AND effective and it not only works for Italian, but for French and other languages as well!
A recent article (January 12, 2014) in the Boston Globe, “The Breaking point for New Year's resolution,” reported some bad news and some good news.
“CAUSE FOR PESSIMISM: A survey suggests that nearly half of people ultimately give up on their resolutions; and nearly half (43%) of those who quit do so by the two week mark.
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: 76% of people who keep their resolutions through February 1 keep going.”
We know that most adults learn a foreign language only when they need to or have a personal reason to do so.
Therefore, it's not surprising that learning a new language is not one of the Globe's Top 10 Resolutions for 2014. (However, it could be part of #3: Improve Financial Conditions, #8: Improve Family Relationships, #9: Travel More, or #10: Become Better Educated.)
This blog post completes our December '13 and January '14 series of ways to stay motivated when learning a new language, all three based on the Zenhabits.net blog “The Ultimate Guide to Motivation – How to Achieve Any Goal,” and its “20 Ways to Sustain Motivation When You Are Struggling.”
Here are the last five (5) more ways to get you at least to February 1.
5 Practical Motivation Tips
1. Get a coach or take a class – Studying just by yourself can be hard, and for some, a class environment with both peer pressure and peer support will be the way to go. For others, a coach or tutor not only provides added motivation, but also accelerates the learning progress. While learning with a tutor can run into money, you might know a friend who will provide coaching or counseling for free.
2. Never skip two days in a row - This rule takes into account our natural tendency to miss days now and then. We are not perfect. Obviously, a skipped day here and there happens to all of us. But if you avoid skipping extra days, you'll quickly notice how much faster you progress, which in turn, encourages you to go on. (To get you started: At GamesforLanguage, learning is FREE.)
3. Use visualization – Visualize what it would mean for you to know the language you are learning. Think about a successful business meeting, a conversation with a foreign friend, chatting with locals in a foreign city – whatever the reason was that motivated you to learn a new language in the first place. Imagine that you can understand and speak it. Now here’s the next key: do it every day. For at least a few minutes each day. This is the only way to keep that motivation going over a long period of time.
4. Be aware of your urges to quit, and overcome them – With self-teaching language programs, it's mostly about finding excuses not to take out the book, not to listen to the audio, not to open the app/language program on you ipad or laptop. Zenhabits notes and recommends: "We all have urges to stop, but they are mostly unconscious. ... A good exercise is to go through the day with a little piece of paper and put a tally mark for each time you get an urge.”
Then have a plan for when those urges hit, and plan for it beforehand, and write down your plan, because once those urges hit, you will not feel like coming up with a plan. Your plan may include tricks for re-starting your enthusiasm, fun things to do (see below), or a visualization of the goal that matters to you.
5. Find pleasure again - No one can stick to something for long if they find it unpleasant, and are only rewarded after months of toil. Learning a new language can be a grind unless you can make it fun and interesting: Find a course you can truly enjoy, and once you have mastered some basics, find easy reading materials, stories, newspaper articles that really interest you, watch foreign movies, etc.
Maybe learning a new foreign language is one of your resolutions for 2014. If so, then you may find one or two of these “ways to stay motivated when you are struggling” helpful.
And, if you find some other ways, please let us and our readers know: Keeping motivated is certainly one of the key elements for successfully learning a new foreign language as an adult.
Digital Dialects is a free to use site with beginning to low-intermediate online games for 60 languages - from Afrikaans to Zazaki.
include versions in Cyrillic script and in transliteration.The "animals" game has you click on an image after you hear the Russian word. 
