1.) The entire New York telephone book
2.) A small nursery rhyme

If you picked #1, please go away!

Scientific studies have shown that we learn best by absorbing small morsels of information, applying them in a practical manner, then building on what we know. As we add more chunks of information our minds correlate, collate, and link everything, referring back to previously learned facts to form a comprehensive sphere of knowledge.

What does this mean to you?

Don’t tackle a huge book of foreign language grammar or prose as an early learning project. Begin with smaller projects.

For example, you could start with a few paragraphs of a novel – memorizing the vocabulary – and proceeding to the next few paragraphs.

Why not choose the most widely published book in the world?

Even if you’re not a Christian, the Bible can be an invaluable tool for learning the foreign language of your choice. It is published in more languages than any other book, and there is a plethora of internet resources with complete texts available for FREE download.

Many foreign language Bible sites have FREE audio clips as well.

‘But the Bible is full of ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ and outdated language that nobody uses any longer.’

You’re right! The King James version would NOT be a good learning tool for anyone trying to learn English. However, there are many translations in modern English – and that is also the case with foreign languages.

Use your favorite search engine to do searches like ‘modern Bible translation French’, ‘modern Bible translation German’, or ‘modern Bible translation Spanish’. Do your research and find out what is available for the language you are learning.

Start with some of the smaller chapters and work up to the larger ones.

Make up a vocabulary list and memorize a few words at a time. If you need help with some difficult phrases, find an online foreign language forum and post a question. Most forums are full of helpful native speakers who will do their utmost to help you understand subtle nuances and connotations.

Download the audio clips, save them to your hard drive, and listen to them repeatedly – either on your computer’s sound system or a portable audio player. Repeat the words softly as you listen, paying meticulous attention to pronunciation. Progress slowly to speaking in a normal voice along with the narrator.

A good method is to start with the Psalms and Proverbs. Each chapter is a standalone piece of prose. Begin with the smallest and work through to the larger pieces.

There is a link at the end of this article to a page that has the chapters of both books listed in order – from smallest to largest. The same page also points to a couple of Bible servers on the internet, as well as a Wiki page with information and background on translations in several languages.

The second link is to a useful search engine page that has several search engines listed.

Remember: baby steps first – and repetition – repetition – repetition. That’s the way babies learn. As adults it’s still the best way for us to learn.

Good luck with your foreign language education. It can be as much fun as you want to make it!

No – SMALLER is Better! is a post from: Reference Education Center

Stephen Krashen, a professor at the University of Southern California and a linguistics expert, has developed a hypothesis to explain how this is possible. He used his Input Hypothesis to design what he calls a “natural approach” to learning a language.

Krashen uses “input” in this context to describe the words and sentences that you read and listen to. If you understand these sentences, they are stored in your brain. More specifically, they are stored in the part of your brain that is responsible for language.

Krashen uses his hypothesis to explain how a child learns his or her native language. The child listens to his or her parents and other people. As the child’s brain collects these words and sentences, he or she gets better and better at producing sentences on his or her own. By age 5, the child can already speak quite fluently.

According to Krashen’s theory, the way to learn and improve is to feed your brain with a lot of input – correct and understandable sentences, written or spoken.

Some cognitive scientists say that watching movies is one of the most natural methods of improving your language skills at any age. Learning English by watching movies is an example of “learning by input.”

ReadEnt Reading Movies from SFK Media Specially For Kids Corp. apply this natural method of learning with an innovative tool called “Action Captions.” As a child or adult watches the movie, each spoken word appears on the screen as text directly from the person’s mouth as it is spoken.

“From the point of view of children and adults learning to read English fluently, especially if it’s not their native language, these movies feed the brain with a lot of input,” said Len Anthony Smith, chief executive officer of SFK Media. “They learn how to say these words and sentences naturally and, therefore, improve their pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and comprehension quickly and easily.”

ReadEnt’s Reading Movies are available as interactive DVD programs for use on the TV, computer, video-game console or portable DVD player. They include such classics as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Tales of Gulliver’s Travels” and “The Trojan Horse.” They also come with interactive quizzes and games to make the learning experience even more enjoyable for children from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Movies: The Natural Way To Learn a Language is a post from: Reference Education Center

Bertha Cuascut, a literacy coach at The Jean Nuzzi School, a public middle school, agreed to take part in a pilot program called Read-A-Movie. The program was created by SFK Media Specially for Kids Corp. and is part of the company’s suite of courses that aim to improve reading-readiness and skills.

The program revolves around SFK Media’s Reading Movies, which combine reading with entertaining movies in a technique the company says can help teach vocabulary and improve comprehension.

The movies use Action Captions, a patented technology that displays the dialogue on the screen as text, in real-time, without interrupting the flow of the movie. Researchers and educators indicate that these Action Captions activate the cognitive elements of the brain so that the development of both reading and spoken language skills takes place naturally.

“My students had no problem recalling the facts and explaining concepts and details,” Cuascut said. “On tests, projects and other work, students exhibited greater comprehension, improved vocabulary and an increased hunger to learn more.”

The movies are available in such classics as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Tales of Gulliver’s Travels” and “The Trojan Horse,” and come as interactive DVDs that include vocabulary practice, quizzes and other activities.

Cuascut said her students seemed to be able to identify with the child actors in the films, which she said further sparked their interest and held their attention.

“It struck me that even those students who normally would be fidgety and distracting others were instead paying close attention to what was going on in the movie,” she said.

Middle School Teacher Finds Key to Making Reading Fun is a post from: Reference Education Center

So how much vocabulary do you actually need to know before you can “get by” and actually converse in a foreign language? That depends on who you ask, as that tends to vary somewhat.

In his book, “Using Your Memory”, author Tony Buzan says that a mere 100 words comprise nearly 50% of the vocabulary used in every day conversational speech in most languages. Learning the equivalent of these words in a foreign language can help you to quickly develop essential vocabulary for everyday conversational use. But is this really enough?

Link Word Technique

Generally, you can function at the most basic level in a foreign language with a core vocabulary of around 1000 words according to Dr. Michael Gruneberg who formalized the “LinkWord” technique. He claims that, using this technique of linking a word in your own language to a word in the new language, you can acquire a core vocabulary in a foreign language in as little as 10 hours.

The LOCI Method

According to Cicero, the LOCI Method or Roman Room System is said to have originated in ancient Greece circa 500 B.C. When the building he was in collapsed, crushing all of the people inside beyond recognition, the only survivor, poet Simonides of Ceos identified the victims by name solely based on where they had been sitting at the dinner table. The technique was commonly used for centuries by Greek and Roman orators to give speeches without using notes.

The Pimsleur Method

The Pimsleur Method folks check in at 2,500 words as a minimum core vocabulary to communicate fluently in a foreign language. This is much closer to what I’ve actually found in real-world practice to be an effective depth of vocabulary.

Personally, I advocate a minimum core vocabulary in the range of 1500 to 2000 words. Sure you can “communicate” with much fewer words, as few as 500 depending on the context, but you could often sound “strained”, “artificial” or even “childish” in your speech constructions while trying to get your point across.

In addition, if you’re working in a skilled trade, vocation or profession, the minimum core vocabulary count could ramp up as much as another 300 to 500 words. So any time spent acquiring needed foreign language vocabulary is definitely time well spent. In the next article of this series we’ll consider a simple method you can use to start learning key vocabulary right away.

Memory Techniques To Boost Your Foreign Language Learning is a post from: Reference Education Center

Much Continued ESL Success,

The creator of ESL Free Lesson

Make English Friends is a post from: Reference Education Center

As a student of the Russian language, you have several alternatives by which you can learn it. If you choose to study Russian at the college level, and receive your degree in it, you will acquire an expertise in the language that can provide you with several career opportunities. With a degree in Russian, one career option for you is as a foreign language translator. Foreign language translation firms employ people who are fluent in many different languages, including Russian. Coupled with knowledge in another field (such as law or medicine), you would have the opportunity to work to bridge the gap between English-speaking and Russian-speaking business contacts by translating websites and documents for them. Another career opportunity would be as a teacher of English as a second language in a Russian-speaking country. After receiving your teaching certification, you could work for a language school in Russia teaching students how to speak, read, and write English. With a solid knowledge of Russian, you would be able to work and live alongside native Russian speakers with ease.

If you are interested in learning the Russian language for travel purposes, you can opt to enroll in an accelerated course online. You can learn basic Russian at your own pace, and you will feel more comfortable when you travel to Russian speaking countries if you know how to communicate you basic needs (such as asking for directions) to Russian residents. If you have the time and the financial resources, another option is to learn the Russian language by enrolling in an immersion program in Russia. An immersion program lasts anywhere from two to six weeks. By doing this, you will not only learn the Russian language, but you will also experience the Russian way of life. You will become part of the life and culture, and you will learn the language quickly, despite your uncertainties. Through intensive group and individual training, you will learn the conversational and colloquial styles of Russian. You will interact on a daily basis with people who are native speakers of the Russian language, and you will have no choice but to communicate with them in their native tongue. You will be captivated by the everyday life of Moscow or St. Petersburg. You will grow to understand and appreciate the Russian culture: the history, the art, the culture (the ballet!), the architecture, the food, and the people. You will attend courses in which you will learn the Russian alphabet, and learn how to read and write in Russian as well. Learning the Russian language in an immersion program is an exciting way to broaden you horizons and vacation all at the same time.

By learning to speak, read, and write the Russian language, you have the potential to one day embark on a career as a foreign language translator, providing an invaluable service to global corporations. You can live abroad and teach English to Russian students, while experiencing a new culture. Learning Russian will make you a more sophisticated traveler as well. You will be able to show more appreciation, and enjoy the Russian culture more when you can communicate with the residents. By learning the Russian language, you have the knowledge of another language, another history, another culture, and your scope of the world will be broadened just a little bit more.

Learning The Russian Language Today is a post from: Reference Education Center

As a student of the Russian language, you have several alternatives by which you can learn it. If you choose to study Russian at the college level, and receive your degree in it, you will acquire an expertise in the language that can provide you with several career opportunities. With a degree in Russian, one career option for you is as a foreign language translator. Foreign language translation firms employ people who are fluent in many different languages, including Russian. Coupled with knowledge in another field (such as law or medicine), you would have the opportunity to work to bridge the gap between English-speaking and Russian-speaking business contacts by translating websites and documents for them. Another career opportunity would be as a teacher of English as a second language in a Russian-speaking country. After receiving your teaching certification, you could work for a language school in Russia teaching students how to speak, read, and write English. With a solid knowledge of Russian, you would be able to work and live alongside native Russian speakers with ease.

If you are interested in learning the Russian language for travel purposes, you can opt to enroll in an accelerated course online. You can learn basic Russian at your own pace, and you will feel more comfortable when you travel to Russian speaking countries if you know how to communicate you basic needs (such as asking for directions) to Russian residents. If you have the time and the financial resources, another option is to learn the Russian language by enrolling in an immersion program in Russia. An immersion program lasts anywhere from two to six weeks. By doing this, you will not only learn the Russian language, but you will also experience the Russian way of life. You will become part of the life and culture, and you will learn the language quickly, despite your uncertainties. Through intensive group and individual training, you will learn the conversational and colloquial styles of Russian. You will interact on a daily basis with people who are native speakers of the Russian language, and you will have no choice but to communicate with them in their native tongue. You will be captivated by the everyday life of Moscow or St. Petersburg. You will grow to understand and appreciate the Russian culture: the history, the art, the culture (the ballet!), the architecture, the food, and the people. You will attend courses in which you will learn the Russian alphabet, and learn how to read and write in Russian as well. Learning the Russian language in an immersion program is an exciting way to broaden you horizons and vacation all at the same time.

By learning to speak, read, and write the Russian language, you have the potential to one day embark on a career as a foreign language translator, providing an invaluable service to global corporations. You can live abroad and teach English to Russian students, while experiencing a new culture. Learning Russian will make you a more sophisticated traveler as well. You will be able to show more appreciation, and enjoy the Russian culture more when you can communicate with the residents. By learning the Russian language, you have the knowledge of another language, another history, another culture, and your scope of the world will be broadened just a little bit more. Russian Language

Learning the Russian Language is a post from: Reference Education Center

If you feel that you should learn the Arabic language for academic reasons, you have options. You can attend a college or University, and earn your degree in Arabic. You could also choose to minor in the language, which will supplement your education if you earn a degree in religion, history, archaeology, or even art history. A degree or a minor in Arabic will help you to translate ancient documents and literature, which will give you wonderful research capabilities. If you do receive your degree in Arabic, you will be highly knowledgeable in a very formal dialect of the language, both written and conversationally. Also, if you have military aspirations, knowing how to communicate in Arabic would be useful, given today’s military climate.

If you have plans to travel extensively to an Arabic speaking country such as Egypt or Morocco, consider taking accelerated foreign language courses online before you go. By learning the basics of a foreign language, you show that you are culturally sensitive and genuinely interested in the country by learning to communicate with locals in their native tongue. You won’t look touristy by carrying a book or stumbling through questions to local residents, and you will have a greater appreciation for the culture you are experiencing on your travels. Your travels will be more enjoyable, exciting, and educational.

There are several advantages to learning how to read and speak the Arabic language through an online accelerated course. You will find that doing so via the Internet is very convenient. And your studies won’t interfere with your work and personal commitments. Often, courses are completed at your own pace, with no set class times. You can study Arabic from the comforts of home. All of your work is submitted online, and you will find many opportunities to interact with qualified instructors if you have questions. You will find that the fees for enrolling in an online Arabic language course are reasonable as well.

Whether you are a student of ancient history, religion, or archaeology and you feel that learning the Arabic language will give you a leg up in carrying out your research, or you are making plans to travel to an Arabic speaking country like Egypt or Morocco in the near future and want to be able to ask where the bathroom is or order dinner from the menu in their language, you have options as to how to learn the language. By studying Arabic at a college or University, you will gain a complete knowledge of reading formal Arabic, which will undoubtedly assist you in your academic research. By taking an online course in Arabic, you will be able to quickly and conveniently learn the basics of the language, which will make your travels abroad less stressful, and more enjoyable. Taking the time to learn the Arabic language will allow you to immerse yourself into an interesting new culture, perhaps help to change a few stereotypes, enhance your travels, and supplement your academic pursuits.

Learning the Arabic Language is a post from: Reference Education Center

LEER ES PODER!
Learning Spanish!

How can you best learn Spanish? It depends on your particular approach to learning. Take a look at the following approaches to learning Spanish. But if you already know where you are, you can skip the following reflections and go back to see what is available for your level ( beginning, intermediate, or advanced ) in Spanish, to sort and search for your specific needs, as well as to read reviews and summaries of the books that strike your interest.

DIFFERENT STYLES

Non-Virgins: Those who studied another language should use the skills they acquired with that language. They know what a conjugation is. They know that verbs are different from nouns. Their previous study gives them some mental hooks to help with their Spanish. They should not throw away their advantage by working on Spanish in a completely conversational manner. They should try to get an overview of some commonplaces in the language. They should get an “old fashioned” grammar and lean heavily on the tables to organize their thought. This type of learner should “invent” Spanish on the basis of what they know of the other language. They will remember a little of the structure of the other language. For example, what is the relation between adverbs and adjectives in Spanish? What is the most common way to express what happened yesterday (past tense)? If the other language is a Western language, they should observe the possible similarities. If the other language is non-Western, the very differences can be their starting point to learn the counterparts in Spanish. In short, they should study “the wrong way”. This is not for everyone. The learner should know his or herself.

Brains: These folks will operate much like the Non-Virgins. They will progress better by concentrating on the little points that intrigue them such as the difference in usage between the prepositions “por” and “para” and the verbs “ser” and “estar”. To master one or two of these elements so characteristic of Spanish will help the learn build on their conquests to go on to master other things. This analytical approach will be of great utility to the persons with the cerebral learning style.

Motor Mouths: The persons who are not afraid to try out their Spanish will progress very rapidly. These folks probably have a little genetic edge over the rest of us. However, we all should try to put together the pieces as we learn them. If there is no opportunity to talk with someone else, then we can tape our attempts. There are two parts to this early talking practice: confidence and pronunciation. The most important thing is to gain confidence or to be thick-skinned enough to speak your piece, knowing that the exercise will pay dividends. However, we should not put off working on our pronunciation until it is too late and we have given up on acquiring a valid accent. There are too many people who after living years in a Spanish speaking country are perfect in their grammar but who have a typical or even stereotypical English accent. There is no need for that. Spanish is perfectly regular in its phonetics. Motor mouths should also work on their accent!

People People: Anyone who likes being with people and who has a need to communicate will progress quickly in learning a language. Many outgoing, friendly people learn language in the “motor mouth” mode. However, other people without the gifts of the motor mouths can gain valuable exposure to the language by just following their social instincts. These folks, however, should not overlook the need to speak correctly. Although they are not interested in traditional grammar in the same way the “brains” are, they must work at speaking correctly. We all know people who learned English years ago, but still say things like, “I am interested to go with you”. You don’t want to spend your life in Spanish with a similar easily corrected error. Learn it right as soon as you can. The people people have to stay curious about the language.

Learn-while-doing People: I was told once that the only way to learn French was to sleep with a French woman. The idea behind this is that we learn the expressions and words for the activities we are interested in. People who learn like this try to get their Spanish-speaking friends to accompany them as they cook or fix their car. They find that they learn better when their whole body is involved in learning the new words and phrases. For example, the person who learns the word “serrucho” while sawing a board will remember it better than the person (see the “word collector”) who just learns the vocabulary from a list.

Word Collectors: This person may be great at crossword puzzles (Crucigramas) in Spanish but rarely gets to speak it. If you find yourself learning words and not getting any further, break out of it! We once had a houseguest, a young man from Spain who came to learn English. There were times when our family would be talking Spanish, and he would echo all the Spanish words with their English equivalents. He had a great vocabulary but never got around to talking English. This kind of learner should alway make sure that they make up sentences to practice using the new words they learn. They can combine their ability with vocabulary with the “divide and conquer” tactic. They should not only invent sentences to use the new words; they should run through diferent grammatical constructions as the setting for their vocabulary.

Divide and Conquer People: Every learner of a foreign language has to learn to incorporate the learning style of dividing and conquering into their own style. If they are “brains” they should concentrate on one grammatical turn of phrase, such as conditions contrary to fact, (If my grandfather hadn’t died, he’d be alive today!) until they can handle it.
The people people should repeat in the same conversation the new expression that they just heard. The same goes for all the others. The only way to learn a language is by following the “swiss cheese” method, nibble away at the things you don’t know, and master them until they are all gone.

Lost Latinos: This person should try to remember the nursery rhymes that they might have learned in Spanish. They should run over the names of their cousins and uncles. All of this will loosen up their rusty language skills. They should listen to how others speak “spanglish” and try to figure out the proper way to say things. They should make a game of trying to spot the influence of English in the Spanish they hear at home or in the barrio. This detective work will make them more aware of correcting whatever bad habits they have picked up. However, don’t think that these persons have all the advantages. The person learning from scratch will probably spell Spanish words better than those who know a little Spanish. I’m not sure why.

What works for EVERYONE… There are two activities that will help everyone, no matter what their learning style, move forward rapidly: They are: 1. Passive Listening, and 2. Pattern Response Drills.

1. Passive Listening. Everyone should keep the Spanish radio on as much as possible. Keep the radio or TV on while you doing other things. It has to be the sea of sound that you swim in while you are beginning your study of Spanish. You don’t have to concentrate on it; you are not listening to try to understand. After a while you won’t hear it but it will be affecting you. Little by little you will begin to anticipate the rhythm of the language, even before you understand everything. You will also begin to recognize certain words. You will begin to hear “beyond” the differences in pronunciation of different people and recognize the underlying word. Once you clearly hear a word or phrase, you can look it up and progressively expand your vocabulary.

2. Pattern Response Drills. You have to run through all the permutations of the new expressions that you learn. For example, suppose you just learned to say. “Pedro tiene cuatro aos” rather than translating from the English incorrectly, “Pedro es cuatro”. Now to make this new element of the language stick with you, you should go on substituting different ages and the names of different people. You have to be able to say comfortably, “Mara tiene cuatro aos.” “Juan tiene ocho aos.” “Yo tengo treinta aos.” “Cuntos aos tienes t?” “Nosotros tenemos cuarenta aos.” This type of drill is necessary for all the different learning styles.

Do you want to return to look at beginning ; intermediate , or advanced books? Or you can check out other Books ON Spanish at: http://www.bookslibros.com/spanishbooks.php to help you out.

Or do you want to see our books IN Spanish? You will find books on health, the family, self help, literature, etc. and the possibility to search for any other topic. Check out http://www.bookslibros.com/LibrosEnEspanol.php

Kids Can Learn Spanish! Take a look at: http://www.bookslibros.com/SpanishForNinos.htm

Learning Styles And Their Effect On Language Learning is a post from: Reference Education Center

With twenty-five countries in the world speaking the language as their official or primary language, learning Spanish makes sense. While acquiring any language as a second one has many benefits, such as improving memory and problem-solving abilities, enhancing ones ability in any mother tongue and improving self-esteem, choosing a language that has huge practical applications increases the value of the study involved. With the US being the third largest Spanish speaking country in the world, and this language second only to English in the frequency it is spoken in homes, learning Spanish is a wise choice.

Whether Spanish is learned as part of a school curriculum or taken up in later life, the benefits of gaining an understanding of this language in particular are manifold. A knowledge of Spanish can afford an important edge in todays competitive job markets, particularly as an increasing number of corporations are opening offices in South America. The NAFTA treaty signed by the USA, Canada and Mexico has also increased trade and communications between these three nations, making an understanding of the Spanish language more useful than ever in the work place.

Studying Spanish is also valuable in providing enrichment at a personal level, as the countries in which the language is spoken offer a multi-layered cultural heritage that can be best explored through its native tongue. Many literary masterpieces were written by Spanish authors, and can be enjoyed to their full extent in their original language. An understanding of the Spanish language also cultivates the desire to travel to foreign lands, opening up new and fascinating worlds to the student.

Learning Spanish can open up so many avenues of exploration, from those in the business world to more personal paths of discovery. Enhance your understanding of the world around you by learning about the linguistic heritage of another culture, and see the world you live in as never before.

Learning Spanish The Benefits of Multilingualism is a post from: Reference Education Center