The end of Harry Potter
I teach languages and many people ask me what are the best books to read when learning a foreign language. Should they be books specifically to build and teach something? Should they be classics, that we should all read? Should they be something a friend has recommended? No and no. [...]
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Radio or TV for foreign language learning
What is the better choice to support your language learning though radio or TV? I prefer, radio actually. The reason is on TV there is a lot going on to distract you. While with radio, you can turn out all other distractions and focus on the words [...]
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Tags: foreign langauge TV, How to learn a language, Radio or TV for foreign language learning
How to learn grammar
How do you learn grammar? You learn by inference. This is how you learned English, when you were a child. I know what you are thinking; adults think abstractly and have the ability to use rules. This is true. This works for simple western European languages like German or French. But take [...]
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TV and language learning
“You’ve got to turn off the Spanish television set” “You’re just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster,” I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, and I’m going to get myself in trouble,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Conversely if you [...]
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Natural language ability
“Do you sometimes think that you are just not very intelligent? Maybe you believe that you are lacking in natural ability when it comes to math or music or foreign languages or creative writing or home repairs.”
I know people will not believe me when I write this but it’s true. I [...]
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Tags: How to have natural language ability, How to learn a language
Dictation as a method of language learning
A language learning technique that you can do alone or in a class is called dictation. You listen to an audio file or a native speaker and write down in a notebook what you hear. Listen to it at a slow rate and repeat it as often as [...]
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Tags: How to learn a language
metaphors and language learning
Metaphors are barbells for the mind. A seemly simple sentence uses language, imagination in both an abstract and concrete sense. Using metaphors in language learning is a simple technique that brings more of what you already knows online.
Memory problems are more often than not a recall rather than a storage [...]
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Tags: How to learn a language, learning with metaphors, metaphors and language
If you go to a foreign country to study a language there are many options. You can go to an official language school, you can go to a private language school, you can live with a host family or you can hire a private tutor. I have taught at and studied at [...]
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French language in music
A new French language CD for Celine. Celine is great. Her songs are beautiful and rich in words that having meaning. I have written this before, but if you were to take songs you like and translate them into your own language, then learn the lyrics you will learn a lot of [...]
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Tags: French, How to learn a language, music
Watch films and movies to learn languages
How to make every film, even English language films a foreign language film in your target language.
Watching films for language gives you four basic options: First, subtitles, second, lecture, third, dubbing. And fourth you can watch the film in its original language.
For language learning the best is subtitles with [...]
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Tags: films and language learning, How to learn a language, movie to learn a language
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