Culture File: Mexico #13 - The Serenades

Learn essential Mexican cultural information with SpanishPod101.com! In this 25-lesson English-language series, you’ll hear about cultural topics ranging from important economical activities and tourist destinations to history, influential figures, and traditions in Mexico. You’ll know more about Mexico than the locals in no time! In this lesson, you’ll learn about The Serenades, while building your Spanish [...]

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Language Hacking Italian: 10 Smarter Ways to Learn Italian

Mamma mia, it’s finally hee-a! From 27th September, my new book Language Hacking Italian is available in bookstores all around the world. What’s so special about this new Italian course? Language hacking is all about looking for the faster, smarter ways to learn languages. I’ve been sharing and developing my ideas on language hacking ever since I launched Fluent in 3 Months in 2009. Now, for the first time, I’ve developed Language Hacking into a series of beginner courses for language learners, published with Teach Yourself. To put it simply, Language Hacking: Italian is for beginners who want to have actual conversations in Italian. With this course, you’ll be speaking Italian right from day one. That’s how Language Hacking Italian came about. Rather than go in-depth on how language hacking works (you can read more about that here), I thought I’d give you a sneak peek inside the new course, so you can try out some of the Italian hacks for yourself. I’ve included that page numbers so when you get your own copy of the course (order here) you can look them up for yourself. Here are my top Italian language hacks:

1. Get a Head-start with Italian Words you Already Know (page 10)

How do you say “Italy” in Italian? Italia, of course! This is easy to remember. But did you know that many words that end in -y in English end in -ia or -io in Italian, and are otherwise identical? Here are some other examples:

• Biologia (biology)
• Storia (story/history)
• Matrimonio (matrimony)
• Anomalia (anomaly)

But it doesn’t stop there. Both English and Italian have thousands of words in common, since both languages are heavily influenced by Latin. Try to guess the meanings of the following Italian words:

• Film
• Telefono
• Situazione
• Cultura
• Letteratura
• Moderno

After a short time studying Italian, you’ll really start to get a feel for which words are likely to be similar to English. Then you can just guess at the Italian pronunciation, and there’s a good chance you’ll be right.

2. Learn Italian Vocab Faster with Mnemonics (page 28)

Do you remember the phrase “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas” for remembering the order of the planets at school? I’m guessing it’s different these days now that Pluto is no longer a planet! Anyway, that’s a memory hook, also known as a mnemonic. You’re never too old to use memory hooks to help you learn new things. For learning Italian, mnemonics are very useful for remembering vocabulary. All you have to do is think of a way an Italian word can be linked to an English word, and then make up an image or a story to cement the link in your memory. For example, the Italian word for “light” is “la luce”. Luce sounds somewhat similar to “Lucy”, so think of the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, and how much light shines through the diamonds. The Italian word for “the store” or “the shop” is “il negozio”. This sounds like “negotiate” in English. So picture yourself strolling down a street in an old Italian marketplace and hearing all the shoppers negotiating at every stall.

3. Power-learn Italian Genders with this Word-endings Trick (page 62)

I’ve heard some language learners argue in the past that the “best” way to learn noun genders in Italian is to just memorize the gender of each word as you learn it. Learn the genders by “brute force”, they say. I strongly disagree. No one would ever suggest you learn to pronounce Italian words by memorizing each pronunciation as you go. You just learn a few pronunciation rules, then pronounce almost any new word you see. So why should you waste time learning the genders of Italian words the “brute force” way? Just learn a few rules, based on word endings, and you can instantly guess the gender of any new noun you hear, and have a pretty good chance of being right. If the word has one of the following endings, you can be fairly certain it’s a feminine word:

• -ione (tradizione, televisione, etc)
• -a or -à (unless it ends in -ma) (la cultura, la differenza)
• -tudine (l’altitudine, etc)

If it has one of the following endings, it’s probably a masculine word:

• -o (il mondo, il pollo, etc)
• -ma (il programma, etc)
• -tore/-ore (l’autore, il cursore, etc)
• loan words from other languages not ending in -a (il film, il software, etc)

4. Say More in Italian with These Four Booster Verbs (page 82)

Present tense verb conjugation in Italian is a bit tougher than it is in English. In English, most verbs have only two different present tense conjugations: the third person singular (e.g. “she reads”, and everything else (“I read”, “you read”, “we read”, “they read”). But Italian has a different conjugation for each of these. This can feel overwhelming. So, I recommended using four simple “booster verbs” to avoid those messy conjugations for now. These booster verbs can be used with other verbs in their dictionary form, so you can say what you want to right now instead of waiting until you’ve learned all of the different verb forms.

Me piace (I like)

For interests and hobbies, there’s no need to try to remember the “io” verb form of every activity you do. For example, instead of saying “I go out every weekend” or “I collect stamps”, say “I like to go out every weekend” (“Mi piace uscire ogni weekend”) or “I like to collect stamps” (“Mi piace collezionare francobolli”).

Voglio (I want/intend)

This is a great verb to use when talking about the future, and about general wants and desires. You can talk about the future in Italian using the present tense (e.g. “I’m seeing the movie tomorrow”), but if you don’t know how to conjugate a verb like vedere (“to see”), then rephrase your sentence to “I want to see the movie tomorrow” (“Voglio vedere il film domani”). Now “vedere” is in its dictionary form.

Devo (I should, I must)

Here’s another handy verb to make certain sentences easier to say. If you’re not sure how to conjugate “to go” but you want to say, “I’m going out now”, then change it to “Devo uscire ora” (“I have to go out now”) instead. Or change a phrase like “I’m working tomorrow” to “Devo lavorare domani” (“I have to work tomorrow”) to avoid conjugating “to work”.

Posso (I can)

Use this verb to clarify that you ‘can’ or ‘are able to’ do something. For instance, if you don’t remember how to say ‘I tell’ (dico), you could say ‘I can tell’: “Ti posso dire la password, se vuoi?” (“I can tell you the password if you want?”)

5. Use Context to Work Out What’s Being Said (page 96)

Sometimes, even in your native language, you find yourself in a situation where you didn’t catch every word of a sentence. Maybe you’re on the phone and the connection is bad, or possibly you weren’t paying attention to what someone was saying to you. And yet, you can often figure out what the person said without having to ask them to repeat it. I call that using context. With a bit of practice, you can do this in Italian as well. For example, if you catch just a few key words, then you can deduce the rest of the sentence. Here are a couple of examples:

• Dove...smartphone (where...smartphone)
• Venerdì...cinema (Friday...cinema)

If you don’t understand any words, you still might be able to understand the other person’s meaning based on visual clues, including your surroundings or the gestures of the other person. For example, if you’re talking loudly in the library and the librarian comes over and whispers something to you while frowning, they probably didn’t say, “Psst! What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?”

6. Keep Yourself Talking with Conversation Connectors (page 130)

Conversation Connectors are super useful to help keep your conversations flowing, and to sound more natural in your speech. Here are a few you can use to help your conversations sound more smooth:

• francamente (frankly speaking)
• secondo me (in my opinion)
• se ho capito bene (if I understand correctly)
• a proposito (by the way)
• è perché (that’s because)

You’ll find plenty more conversational connectors inside Language Hacking Italian.

7. Time Travel – Talk About the Past and Future Using the Present Tense (page 156)

A lot of people tell stories in the present tense, even in their mother tongue. It’s just a natural way to share anecdotes - and it makes them more vivid. You can do exactly the same thing with your stories in Italian too - which means you can tell stories before you’ve learned the past tense. Just set up the scene (“So the other day, there I am, minding my own business…”) and then tell your story as if it’s happening in the present. Along the same lines, you can talk about your future plans using the present form, if you add a time indicator to the sentence. For example:

• “Fra un mese, parlo molto italiano!” (In a month, I will speak a lot of Italian!)
• “Chiamo i miei genitori fra due ore.” (I’m calling my parents in two hours.)

When in doubt, embrace your inner Tarzan! If you can’t remember how to conjugate the verb you need to talk about the past or future, you can use the dictionary form. It won’t sound all that elegant, but it will get you by in a pinch!

8. The Rephrasing Technique for Talking your Way Through Complicated Sentences (page 180)

As a beginner in Italian you won’t be able to express yourself like a native speaker right away. Don’t let this discourage you. You’re learning Italian to communicate with Italian speakers, not to write the sequel to Il nome della rosa. When you’re starting out, focus on saying what you want/need to say, and when you get more advanced, then you can worry about how eloquent and nuanced you sound. For example, if you’d like to approach someone to ask if they’ll speak some Italian with you, don’t worry about saying something complex like “Excuse me...I’m sorry...I just overheard you speaking Italian...I’ve actually been studying it for a while...do you mind if I practise a few phrases with you?...I hope I’m not bothering you…”. The main idea is simply: “You speak Italian? Me too! Let’s talk.” So say that instead. You can do this in all kinds of situations. “Would you like to dance with me?” could become “Balla con me!” (“Dance with me!”). “I should avoid eating fish as much as possible because of a medical condition” could become “No pesce” (“No fish”). With a little practice, you’ll be able to do this without a second thought.

9. Use Hidden Minutes to Get Italian Immersion for the Long-term (page 203)

Rather than thinking about how many months or years it may take to learn Italian, a more effective learning strategy is to focus instead on the minutes that it takes. For most of the languages I’ve learned - including Italian - I had to schedule my study time around a full-time job. If I had kept delaying my study sessions until I could set aside several hours in a row, I never would have learned any Italian. Instead, I took advantage of spare minutes I had free throughout the day. No matter how busy you are, you’ll always find yourself with short periods of idle time. Waiting for the elevator, walking your dog, attending to (ahem) nature’s call...these are all perfect moments to squeeze some Italian studying in. Break out your Anki flashcard deck (for iOS or Android) and build your Italian vocabulary while you’re riding the bus. Or listen to an episode of Coffee Break Italian during your, well, coffee break.

10. Develop a Cheat Sheet to Go Into ‘Autopilot’ During Your First Conversation (page 210)

If you used to study languages the old-fashioned way in school, then the concept of a cheat sheet might seem like, well, cheating. After all, in school, you had to memorize everything you thought you’d possibly need for your language exam, and then regurgitate it all up in the allotted time period. No cheat sheets allowed! Language hacking couldn’t be further from this out-dated scenario. As a language hacker, you focus on real-life conversations in real-world scenarios. There’s no time limit and no right or wrong answers. There’s just you, practising words and phrases with a native Italian speaker. A cheat sheet will help you with your Italian conversation in two ways. One, it will take some of the pressure off you so you’re not too nervous to speak in Italian. Two, it will make sure that you actually get to practise the words and phrases you’ve been preparing. How often has it happened to you that you’re planning to ask your friend a question next time you see them, and then when the time comes, you forget? A cheat sheet will ensure you don’t forget. You can put whatever you want on your cheat sheet. I like to divide mine up into four sections:

• Essentials: “Hello”, “How are you?”, “I’m well, thank you”, “Goodbye”, as well as typical introductory questions like “Where do you work?”, “Where are you from?”, etc.
• Survival phrases: I’m sorry, I don’t understand”, “Could you please repeat that?”, “Could you type that out?” etc.
• Questions you plan to ask: “What do you do in your free time?”, “What’s your city like?”, etc.
• Any material that you want to practise saying: for example, “me-specific” phrases like your hobbies, your job, or any upcoming plans you have.

Keep the cheat sheet handy during your conversation. Refer to it as often as you need to, and Hey Presto! You’ve just had your first real-life conversation with a native Italian speaker!

Want to Speak Italian - the Faster Way?

I hope you found these Italian hacks useful. Language Hacking Italian takes you step-by-step through learning Italian with language hacks. From the day you pick up the course, you’ll learn how to speak Italian in real life situations. Order your copy of Language Hacking Italian today.

The post Language Hacking Italian: 10 Smarter Ways to Learn Italian appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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Top 400 Activities: Daily Routines in Spanish #3 - Computers and Computing

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Being able to talk about daily life is a great way to improve your Japanese. In this new series of ten lessons, you’ll learn practical Spanish phrases for over four hundred daily activities including going to work and hanging out with friends. Your Spanish will improve in no time with these [...]

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Episodio 231: El cambio climático

Today you will learn Spanish learning about global warming and climate change. We talked about these two topics, learn Spanish while you learn about the causes, the consecuences and how we can fight against it. Transcript available: "Hola a todos y bienvenidos a un nuevo episodio de SpanishPodcast.net Hoy vamos a hablar sobre un tema que afecta a todos los habitantes del planeta: el cambio climático. ¿Por qué hablamos de este tema? Bueno, es un tema de actualidad, sobre el que se habla bastante en los medios de comunicación y que a veces causa polémica ... "

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Language Hacking German: 10 Hacks to Learn German Faster

It’s heeeeeeere! Ja, baby! From 27th September, my new book Language Hacking German is available in bookstores all around the world. So, what’s the fuss all about? Language hacking is all about looking for the faster, smarter ways to learn languages. I’ve been sharing and developing my ideas on language hacking ever since I launched Fluent in 3 Months in 2009. In short, language hacking is about learning a language through speaking it from day one. Now, for the first time, I’ve developed Language Hacking into a series of beginner courses for language learners, published with Teach Yourself. That’s how Language Hacking German came about. And it’s all about learning German by speaking German. Rather than go in-depth on how language hacking works (you can read more about that here), I thought I’d give you a sneak peek inside the new course, so you can try out some of the German hacks for yourself. I’ve included that page numbers so when you get your own copy of the course (order here) you can look them up for yourself. Let’s get started!

1. Get a Head Start Learning German with Words You Already Know (page 10)

As an English speaker learning German, you’re in luck. Your English will give you the oberhand (upper hand). English is a Germanic language, so both English and German have a lot in common. Some of the spellings and pronunciations have diverged over the centuries, but there are still thousands of words that are very similar. Here are some examples:

• The letters v and f in English sometimes change to b in German: e.g. half → halb, seven → sieben, silver → Silber
• A d in English sometimes changes to a t in German: e.g. bread → Brot, old → alt, hundred → hundert, good → gut
• The k in English sometimes changes to ch in German: e.g. milk → Milch, book → Buch, week → Woche
• Sh in English sometimes changes to sch in German: e.g. English → Englisch, fish → Fisch, sheer → schier

2. Learn German Vocab Faster with Memory Hooks (page 29)

I used to struggle with learning new vocabulary, until I discovered memory hooks. Memory hooks, also known as mnemonics cement new words into your brain, making it super easy to remember them on a moment’s notice. Here’s an example of how to use mnemonics in your German studies. Suppose you want to remember that the word “reisen” means “to travel”. This word sounds nothing like “travel” in English, so what can you do? Easy: think of an English word that “reisen” does sound like, and link that to an image in your mind that you associate with traveling. Reisen sounds a lot like the English word “rising”. So imagine yourself rising early in the morning to go on a journey. Now, anytime you need to say “travel” in your German conversations, this image will come to mind and you’ll instantly remember that it’s “reisen”.

3. Power-learn German Genders with the Word-endings Trick (page 61)

Suppose you’ve never seen the English word “diversify” before. Even if you have no idea what it means, you can still guess instantly that it’s a verb. How? Because of the “-ify” ending. It’s a dead giveaway. You can add -ify to all sorts of English words in order to, well, verbify them ;-) You can use a similar technique for German. Word endings can help you guess noun genders without memorizing the gender of each and every word. Whenever you’re in conversation and want to use a word whose gender you’re not sure of, look at the ending of the word for clues:

• If a word ends in -er, -ich, -ig, -ling, -us, -ismus, it’s probably masculine.

Examples: der Bäcker (the baker), der Teppich (the carpet), der König (the king), der Feigling (the coward), der Campus (the campus), der Tourismus (the tourism)

• If a word ends in -e, -ie, -ei, -heit, -keit, -tät, -ung, -ur or -schaft in its singular form, it’s probably feminine.

Examples: die Seite (the page), die Familie (the family), die Partei (the (political) party), die Freiheit (the freedom), die Möglichkeit (the possibility), die Universität (the university), die Übung (the exercise), die Kultur (the culture), die Gesellschaft (the company)

• If a word ends in -chen, -lein, -ment, -um or -en (a verb used as a noun) it’s probably neutral.

Examples: das Mädchen (the girl), das Brüderlein (baby brother), das Element (the element), das Museum, das Essen (food – from the verb essen = to eat) You won’t be correct 100% of the time, but you’re not trying to be perfect isn’t the goal. I encourage language hackers to make lots of mistakes and learn as they go.

4. Say Exponentially More in German with These Five Booster Verbs (page 88)

If you wait until you can conjugate every German verb perfectly before you start speaking German, you’ll be waiting an awfully long time. Instead, learn just five verbs and their conjugations, and you can use them along with any other verb in its dictionary form to express thousands of ideas without getting buried in conjugations. Whenever you’re struggling in conversation to conjugate a verb on the fly, see if you can rephrase your sentence using one of these verbs:

Ich möchte (I want, I would like)

Anytime you want, plan or intend to do something, try phrasing it with ich möchte, even if that’s not quite how you would express it in English. This will let you use the dictionary form of the main verb of the sentence. Want to tell your friend that you’re planning to run a marathon but can’t remember how to conjugate planen (“to plan”)? Say “Ich möchte einen Marathon laufen” (“I want to run a marathon”) instead. Heading to the grocery store and you hope they’re not out of Landjäger? Instead of trying to remember the verb “to hope”, just say “Ich möchte Landjäger kaufen” (“I want to buy Landjäger”).

Ich sollte (I should)

In English, the words “I should”, “I’m supposed to”, or “I ought to” all mean pretty much the same thing. In German, you can use just one phrase to express this: “Ich sollte”. Use “Ich sollte” plus another verb’s dictionary form to express what you “should” or “are supposed to” do. For example: “Ich sollte mehr Gemüse essen” (“I should eat more vegetables”).

Ich muss (I must)

This one is pretty straightforward, especially since it sounds so close to “I must” in English. You can use “Ich muss” to express any type of action that you have to do. That action will be a verb in its dictionary form. For example: “Ich muss morgen arbeiten” (“I have to work tomorrow”).

Ich kann (I can)

Once you learn this verb - which should be easy given how much it sounds like “I can” - you’ll be able to describe yourself with a lot more flair. “I play chess” isn’t as descriptive as “Ich kann gut Schach spielen” (“I can play chess well”). A phrase like “I drive” would do you in a pinch, but what you probably want to say is “Ich kann fahren” (“I can drive”). When stated this way, these phrases have the added bonus of not requiring you to conjugate the verbs “spielen” and “fahren”.

Ich werde (I will)

Even though you can use the present tense to talk about the future in German (“I’m having some people over tomorrow night”), it can be easier to use “Ich werde” plus the dictionary form of the main verb of the sentence. For example: “Ich werde im Sommer nach Frankreich fahren” (“I will go to France in the summer”).

5. Use Clues and Context to Understand More German than You Think You Can (page 112)

Contextese is my favourite “non-language” language. Becoming “fluent” in Contextese is one of the best ways to start having more interesting conversations in German, right away. Conversations always go a lot more smoothly when you can work out what other people are saying rather than stop every few sentences to ask the speaker to repeat themselves. If you already know the subject of the conversation (which is pretty likely unless you’ve been accosted by a stranger in the street), then try to pick out key words that will tell you the gist of what the other person is saying. If you ask someone, “Do you like to jog?”, and they reply with enthusiasm, but all you catch from their reply is the phrase “every day!”, you can make a pretty educated guess that they’re no Couch-Kartoffel! You can also use visual markers (the speaker’s body language, facial expression, and your surroundings) to work out what’s being said. If you’re in a restaurant and have just drunk the last of your water, and the waiter comes around with a pitcher of water and asks you a question while holding out the pitcher, you can be pretty sure he didn’t just ask you to rumba dance! Connector words can also be a great help when you understand only part of a long sentence. For example, if you ask someone to do you a favour, and all you understand from their reply is “I’d love to help you, but…”, then you don’t really need to understand the rest of the phrase to catch the meaning, do you? Common connecter words include aber (but), wenn (if) and weil (because).

6. Sound More Fluent with Conversation Connectors (page 134)

When you only give one word answers in a conversation, it quickly becomes awkward. If you want to say more, but can’t figure out how to expand on your ideas, use conversation connectors. These are “filler phrases” that make you sound more like a native speaker. Here are a few to get you started:

• um ehrlich zu sein (to tell the truth)
• meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion)
• leider (unfortunately)
• zum Beispiel (for example)
• übrigens (by the way)

You’ll find plenty more conversational connectors inside Language Hacking German.

7. Time Travel – Talk About the Past and Future Using the Present (page 158)

If you have a funny or interesting story to tell, but are afraid you’ll get stuck trying to conjugate every single verb of your story into the past tense, don’t worry. Just tell your story in the present tense! People do this in English all the time, and you can do it in German too. You can also use the present tense to talk about the future. All you have to do is add a time indicator. For example: “In einem Monat spreche ich gut Deutsch!” (“In a month I speak German well”). No need to try to remember how to say “I’m going to” or “I will”.

8. The Rephrasing Technique for Talking Your Way Through Complicated Sentences (page 187)

As a beginner German speaker, you just aren’t going to be able to speak in as eloquent and nuanced a way as you can in English. This is something that you have to accept from the beginning. Luckily, there’s a simple technique you can use to express your thoughts more painlessly: pare down your ideas to the core concept, and state that instead. You might have some experience with this already. Have you ever had one of those English exams where you have to read an article then summarise the main idea? You probably groaned about it at the time. But this is an indispensable skill when you’re still a beginner in German and you can’t express complex ideas yet. As an example, suppose you hear someone speaking German, and you want to approach them to see if they’d be willing to speak with you for a bit. In your native language, you might say something like, “I’m sorry...I just overheard you speaking German...do you mind if I practise a few phrases with you? ...I hope I’m not bothering you…”. But if your German isn’t quite at that level yet, think of the main idea. This would be something like, “Sprichst du Deutsch? Ich auch! Sprechen wir!” (“You speak German? Me too! Let’s talk!”)

9. Use Hidden Moments to get German Immersion for the Long-term (page 212)

No matter how manic your life is, you can always find time to learn another language. Next time you’re out and about during the day, pay attention to how much idle time you have. Waiting at a street corner for the pedestrian walk signal, staring out the window on a long bus ride, standing in line at the supermarket trying to make it seem like you’re not looking at the tabloid magazine covers...these are all precious moments that can be spent learning German. Pull out your phone and do some Anki flashcards. Go onto italki and type in a question about German that’s been nagging at you. Or get out your headphones and listen to a short podcast such as One-Minute German

10. Develop a Cheat Sheet and go into ‘Autopilot’ During Your First Conversation (page 220)

If you’ve never had a conversation with a native German speaker before, you’ll likely feel anxious before your conversation. Because of your nerves, words and phrases that you’re sure you know will escape your mind.. If that happens, you won’t get a chance to practise all the material that you spent time learning. You can prevent this by preparing a cheat sheet of the most important phrases you’ll need for your conversation. This can include:

• Essentials: “Hello”, “How are you?”, “I’m well, thank you”, “Goodbye”, as well as typical introductory questions like “Where do you work?”, “Where are you from?”, etc.
• Survival phrases: I’m sorry, I don’t understand”, “Could you please repeat that?”, “Could you type that out?” etc.
• Questions you plan to ask: “What do you do in your free time?”, “What’s your city like?”, etc.
• Any material that you want to practise saying: for example, “me-specific” phrases like your hobbies, your job, or any upcoming plans you have.

Want to Speak German - the Faster Way?

Did you find these German hacks helpful? Language Hacking German takes you step-by-step through learning German with language hacks. Right from the start, you’ll learn how to speak German in real life situations. Pick up your copy of Language Hacking German today.

The post Language Hacking German: 10 Hacks to Learn German Faster appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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Language Hacking French: How to Learn French, the Faster Way

Yay! From 27th September, my new book Language Hacking French is available in bookstores all around the world. Get your copy tout de suite! What’s the deal with language hacking? Language hacking is all about looking for the faster, smarter ways to learn languages. I’ve been sharing and developing my ideas on language hacking ever since I launched Fluent in 3 Months in 2009 Now, for the first time, I’ve developed Language Hacking into a series of beginner courses for language learners, published with Teach Yourself. Language Hacking: French is a conversation course that starts at ground zero, and helps you speak from day 1. In other words, it’s all about learning French by speaking French. Rather than go in-depth on how language hacking works (you can read more about that here), I thought I’d give you a sneak peek inside the new course, so you can try out some French hacks for yourself. I’ve included that page numbers so when you get your own copy of the course (order here) you can look them up for yourself. Read on for a sneak preview of ten key language hacks from Language Hacking: French.

1. Get a Head-start With Words You Already Know (page 10)

French and English share thousands of words in common. In fact, linguists estimate that up to one third of the English language is directly influenced by French. Thanks, Norman Conquest! (Too soon?) Words that have identical or near-identical spelling, and the same meaning in two languages are called cognates. There’s not enough room here to list all the words that English and French have in common. But here are a few simple rules to help you figure out how to determine which English words are likely to have a cognate in French:

• English words ending in -tion: Most English -tion words have the same spelling and meaning in French. For example: admiration, association, instruction, option, etc.
• English words ending in -tude, -or, -ist, -nce and -ty: These words usually have the same meaning in French, and nearly the same spelling. Examples: altitude, acteur, optimiste, arrogance, université.

2. Learn French Vocab Faster with Memory Hooks (page 24)

Memory hooks are all about linking new vocabulary to powerful images, ideas or even sounds. That way you can memorize a lot of new words in a very short time. Here’s an example. Back in university, a friend of mine overheard some economics students studying for an exam. One student said to the other, “Know how to remember the four types of unemployment? Just imagine a guy throwing up on the wall of a building on a hot day. He’s vomiting, so his food is being recycled, so that’s ‘cyclical’. It’s a hot day, so that’s ‘seasonal’. He threw up on a building, so that’s ‘structural’. And the vomit sticks to the wall, so that’s ‘frictional’. And there you have it, all four types of unemployment!” If this image sounds kind of gross, it’s supposed to. Because this student used such shocking imagery, my friend never forgot this story, and it happened years ago! You can use the same technique to memorize French vocab. An easy way of doing this is to look for an English word that sounds like the French word you’re trying to learn. For example, suppose you want to learn that sur means “on” in French. Are there any English words that sound like “sur”. What about “syrup”? And where do you usually put your syrup bottle when you’re having pancakes? On the table. So to remember that “sur” means “on”, picture a bottle of syrup on the table. Memory hooks work best when you create them yourself. Try to come up with a funny, shocking, or dramatic sound or image to connect a new French word to its meaning. It might sound like hard work at first, but it’s really not. Soon it will become second nature. Then you won’t have to worry anymore about hearing a French word that you know you’ve heard before, but can’t quite remember.

3, Learn French Word Genders with this Simple Trick (page 59)

Learn just two rules about word endings in French, and you can guess the gender of new words and have a pretty good chance of being right.

• Words ending in a consonant (except -ion) are probably masculine. E.g. “le poulet”, “le mur”, etc.
• Words ending in -e and -ion are probably feminine. E.g. “la rue”, “la différence”, “une université”, etc.

Of course there are exceptions, but don’t worry about those for now. You can learn them as you go. The more you speak, the more you’ll hear the exceptions, and eventually, you’ll just get a “feel” for the gender. This is how native French speakers figure out the gender of less-common words that they’re not sure of. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to figure out whether the noun the word refers to is inherently masculine or feminine. This doesn’t work. There is no relationship between the gender of the noun and the gender of the object it refers to. The gender of words can even change from country to country. For example, in France, the word “job” is “le job”, but in Quebec, it’s “la job”!

4. Five Booster Verbs so You Can Say Almost Anything (page 82)

When you’re talking in French, the last thing you want to do is pause every few words to remember how to conjugate your verbs. You can use verbs even before you learn to conjugate them by rephrasing your sentence using one of the following five “booster” verbs. You can use all of these verbs with another verb in its dictionary form - no conjugation required.

Aimer (for interests)

Instead of trying to remember the “je” form of every verb for every activity you’re interested in, just use aimer (“to like”) plus the verb in its dictionary form. For example: “I play baseball” can become “J’aime jouer au baseball” (I like to play baseball). “I go out every weekend” can become “J’aime sortir chaque weekend” (I like to go out every weekend).

Aller (for future plans)

Use aller (“to go”) to talk about what you’re doing in the near future. For example:

• “Je vais manger” (“”I’m going to eat”)
• “On va travailler” (”We’re going to work”)

Vouloir (for intentions)

Vouloir (to want) is a great verb to use when you intend to do something but can’t remember the “je” form of the activity you want to do. For example: “I’m seeing the movie tomorrow” can become “Je veux voir le film demain” (“I want to see the film tomorrow”).

Devoir (for obligations)

If the activity you want to talk about is an obligation, you can rephrase your sentence using devoir (to have to). For example: “I’m working tomorrow” can become “Je dois travailler demain” (“I have to work tomorrow”). “I’m writing this article for Friday” can become “Je dois écrire cet article pour vendredi” (“I have to write this article for Friday”).

Pouvoir (for possibilities)

Use pouvoir (to be able to) for clarifying that you ‘can’ or ‘are able to’ do something. For instance, the verb recevoir (to receive) can be quite tricky to get right, so you could say: “Je peux recevoir la lettre ici” (“I can receive the letter here”)

5. Pronounce Words You Haven’t Even Learned Yet (page 97)

All those silent letters in French that make it difficult to spell words correctly are actually good news for your pronunciation. For all regular -er verbs, the je, tu, il/elle, and ils/elles forms are pronounced exactly the same way. For example, the verb visiter in je visite, tu visites, il/elle visite, and ils/elles visitent sounds the same each time. For -ir and -re verbs, they’re pronounced the same in the je, tu and il/elle forms. Any time you hear a new regular verb in French, even if you’ve never seen it written down, you’ll already be able to pronounce at least three forms: je, tu, il/elle, and (for -er verbs) ils/elles. So when it comes to speaking French, most of the heavy lifting will already be done for you!

6. Sound More Fluent with Conversation Connectors (page 130)

Conversation connectors are words or short phrases that we all use when we want to soften what we say, elaborate on an idea, or transition smoothly between topics in a conversation. They make conversations sound more natural, and keep them from fizzling out prematurely. Learn these conversation connectors and watch how much better your French conversations flow:

• franchement (frankly speaking)
• entre nous (between us)
• j'ai l'impression que (it seems to me that)
• c'est pourquoi (and that is why)
• d'autre part (on the other hand)

You’ll find plenty more conversational connectors inside Language Hacking French.

7. Time Travel – Talk About the Past and Future Using the Present Tense (page 152)

French is well-known for its common use of the present tense even when talking about the past. Documentary films, for example, will narrate historical events using the present tense. People also do it every day when telling stories and anecdotes. You can do the same thing when talking about the past and future in your French conversations. For a story in the past, start by giving the setting (“So last week, I’m reading in the park, minding my own business…”), and then tell the rest of your story using the present tense. For the future, you can just add a time indicator to your sentence to show when the action will take place. For example:

• “J’appelle mon père dans deux heures” (“I’m calling my father in two hours”)
• “Je vais au Mexique en décembre” (“I’m going to Mexico in December”)

8. The Rephrasing Technique for Talking Your Way Through Complicated Sentences (page 178)

Even in your native language, you might struggle from time to time to express an idea precisely the right way. This is even more of a struggle in French, a language you don’t yet speak fluently. Don’t worry - the elaborate, nuanced phrases you’re used to in your native language will come eventually in French. But for now, just let it go. Communication should be your first priority. Embellishing what you say is secondary. Figure out the main idea of your sentence, and say that instead. For example, if you want to say, “I’m looking for a flatmate that speaks French and wants to rent the room for at least 12 months”, you could simplify it to “J’ai besoin d’un coloc. 12 mois. On va parler français ensemble !” (I need a flatmate. 12 months. We’ll speak French together!”).

9. Make the Most of Hidden Moments to Get French Immersion for the Long Term (page 204)

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “To establish just how much time you waste, get someone to follow you around all day and watch what you’re doing.” Instead of taking such a drastic step, simply take a good hard look at your typical day. Add up all the “idle minutes” you find yourself with. Riding the bus, waiting for a slow lift, standing in line in the supermarket, zoning out during TV commercials (and watching a lot of TV in the first place!)... These are all time-killers, and they can really add up. Take advantage of these hidden moments to squeeze in some French practice. Pull out your phone and study some French flashcards. Listen to a French song or read a page or paragraph of a French book. Are you genuinely short on time some days? Then change your browser or operating system to French. That way you’ll get exposure to the language every time you use your computer.

10. Develop a Cheat Sheet to Go into ‘Autopilot’ During Your First Conversation (page 210)

Language Hacking French is all about helping you have real life conversations with native French speakers. Too many language learners delay this step. They think: “I won’t know what to say!”, “What if the other person asks me a question I don’t understand?” and “I’m too nervous”. These feelings are all completely normal. A cheat sheet will help you with all of them. Write down the phrases that you want to use during your conversation, and you’ll always have something to say. Make a list of “survival phrases” so you can ask the other person to repeat what they just said, or to tell them that you don’t understand. Having these phrases handy will automatically make you a lot less nervous. I like to divide my cheat sheet into four sections:

• Essentials: “Hello”, “How are you?”, “I’m well, thank you”, “Goodbye”, as well as typical introductory questions like “Where do you work?”, “Where are you from?”, etc.
• Survival phrases: I’m sorry, I don’t understand”, “Could you please repeat that?”, “Could you type that out?” etc.
• Questions you plan to ask: “What do you do in your free time?”, “What’s your city like?”, etc.
• Any material that you want to practise saying: for example, “me-specific” phrases like your hobbies, your job, or any upcoming plans you have.

Keep the cheat sheet handy during your conversation. Refer to it as often as you need to, and Voilà! You’ve just had your first real-life conversation with a native French speaker!

Want to Speak French - the Faster Way?

I hope you’ve found these French hacks helpful. Language Hacking French takes you step-by-step through speaking French. From the day you pick up the course, you’ll learn how to speak French in real life situations. One early tester of Language Hacking French recently wrote:

Prior to this, my French was nonexistent when it came to speaking. I wouldn't speak French to anyone. But this book has really given me the confidence to speak French with its useful hacks and the personal scripts that you develop throughout the book

Order your copy of Language Hacking French today.

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Language Hacking Spanish: 10 Hacks to Learn Spanish Faster

Great news! Language Hacking is now a thing! From 27th September, my new book Language Hacking Spanish is available in bookstores all around the world. So, what’s the fuss all about? Language hacking is all about looking for the faster, smarter ways to learn languages. I’ve been sharing and developing my ideas on language hacking ever since I launched my blog Fluent in 3 Months in 2009. In short, language hacking is about learning a language through speaking it from day one. Now, for the first time, I’ve developed Language Hacking into a series of beginner courses for language learners, published with Teach Yourself. That’s how Language Hacking Spanish came about. And it’s all about learning Spanish by speaking Spanish. Rather than go in-depth on how language hacking works (you can read more about that here), I thought I’d give you a sneak peek inside the new course, so you can try out some of the Spanish hacks for yourself. I’ve included that page numbers so when you get your own copy of the course (order here) you can look them up for yourself. I’ve collected 10 of my best hacks for learning Spanish fast. Enjoy!

1. Discover the Spanish Words You Already Know (page 9)

Are you convinced you don’t know any Spanish at all? Think again. If you speak English, then you already know loads of Spanish words. You just don’t realise it yet. Have a look at the following Spanish words and see how easy they are to recognise:

• diferente
• moderno
• cultura
• activo
• opción

With only minor spelling differences, there are literally thousands of words that are the same between English and Spanish. You can easily figure out whether an English word is the same in Spanish by looking at the ending of the word. Here are a few examples:

• Words ending in -tion in English nearly always end in -ción in Spanish. E.g. admiración, instrucción, nación.
• English words ending in -tude, -or, -ist, -nce or -ty have slightly different endings in Spanish, but are otherwise identical. E.g. altitud, actor, optimista, arrogancia, universidad.

2. Try Memory Hooks to Get Spanish Words Stuck in Your Mind (page 25)

Chances are, the most vivid memories you have in life are the most unusual things that have happened to you. For example, you probably don’t remember what you did on every birthday you’ve ever had, but I bet there are a few birthdays where you did something pretty out-of-the-ordinary (don’t worry, I won’t ask for details). Those will be the memories that stand out the most. You can learn Spanish vocabulary using the same technique: link the Spanish word to some unusual, funny, or shocking image that you’re sure to remember. Since it’s words you’re learning, sound association is the easiest way to do this. Say the Spanish word you want to learn several times out loud, until you can think of an English word that sounds like it. Now think of an image that links both words in a memorable way. For example, to remember that poco means “little”, imagine a silly image of yourself hopping up and down on a little pogo stick. Or if you want to remember that tengo hambre means “I’m hungry”, imagine that you’re so hungry that you could eat ten good hamburgers.

3. Stuck with Spanish Genders? Try this Simple Trick (page 63)

In Spanish, every noun has a gender - either masculine or feminine. Many native English speakers groan at the thought of having to learn Spanish noun genders, but it’s actually a lot easier than you think. Just look at the ending of the word, and you can guess its gender and have a pretty good chance of being right. You already do this in English with people’s names. How do you know that “Roberto” is a man’s name and “Roberta” is a woman’s name? The ending, of course. Names that end in -o are usually masculine, and those ending in -a are usually feminine. It’s the same thing with Spanish nouns. If a noun ends in -o, always guess masculine. If it ends in -a, always guess feminine. But Spanish has more noun endings than just -o or -a:

• If a noun ends in -e, -ma, an accented vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú) or most consonants, guess masculine. Examples: el perfume, el sofá, el programa, el rumor.
• If a noun ends in -d, -z or -ión, guess feminine. Examples: la felicidad (happiness), la nariz (nose), la conversación (conversation).

4. Say Way More in Spanish with These Five Booster Verbs (page 88)

Spanish has many irregular verbs. You can’t use the normal rules of conjugation to guess the different forms of these verbs. It’s just a fact of the language. Instead of crying about it or miserably forcing yourself to power through the job of learning these verbs, just learn the following “booster” verbs to skirt around the issue altogether! These verbs can be used with other verbs in their dictionary form, so you can still express many ideas even before you learn a lot of irregular verb forms.

Me gusta (for interests)

To say “I go out every weekend”, you need to know the yo form of the verb “salir” (“to go out”). If you’re unsure of what it is, use “me gusta” and rephrase the sentence to be “Me gusta salir cada fin de semana” (“I like to go out every weekend”).

Voy a (for future plans)

“Voy a” means “I’m going to”, and can be followed with any verb in its dictionary form to express what you’ll be doing in the near future. For example: “Voy a comer” (“I will eat”/”I am going to eat”) or “Voy a salir” (“I will go out”/”I’m going to go out”).

Quiero (for intentions)

For talking about things that you plan to do or want to do, use “quiero” (“I want”). For example: “Quiero ver la película” (“I want to see the film”).

Tengo que (for obligations)

You can use “tengo que” (“I must”) to talk about obligations. Instead of saying “I’m coming tomorrow”, which requires you to know the yo form of “venir” (“to come”), say “Tengo que venir mañana” (“I have to come tomorrow”).

Puedo (for possibilities)

This is a versatile verb that can express abilities, possibilities and requests. For example, “Puedo conducir” (“I can drive”), “Puedo ayudar” (“I can help”), or “¿Puedo decir la respuesta?” (“Can I say the answer?”)

5. Learn these Patterns to Decipher Any New Verb and its Forms (page 107)

There are many Spanish verbs that might look irregular at first sight, but actually aren’t. For example:

• The tú form of “tener” (to have) is tienes (The ‘e’ becomes ‘ie’).
• The yo form of “recordar” (to remember) is “recuerdo” (The ‘o’ becomes ‘ue’).

This seems irregular, but there’s actually a logical pattern to it. You can predict when to change the ‘e’ to ‘ie’ and the ‘o’ to ‘ue’ in these verbs. How can you predict this? Just ask yourself this question: Does the verb end in -r or -mos? If the answer is yes, then the verb keeps the single vowel sound. For example, all verbs in their dictionary form end in -r. So you’ll know that verbs like “tener”, “entender”, “sentir”, etc, keep the ‘e’ instead of changing it to ‘ie’. And verbs like “recordar” and “almorzar” keep the ‘o’ instead of changing it to ‘ue’. Along the same lines, these verbs in the “nosotros” form end in -mos. Therefore, they will keep the single vowel in these cases too: “tenemos”, “entendemos”, “sentimos”. But: If the verb does not end in -r or -mos, then the verb often uses the two-vowel sound. For example, “querer” in its “yo” form doesn’t end in -r or -mos; it ends in -o. So it will become “yo quiero”. Same thing in its “ellos/ellas” form: “ellos tienen”. And the verb “encontrar” in its “yo” form ends in -o, so it becomes “yo encuentro”.

6. Sound More Like a Native Speaker with Conversation Connectors (page 139)

Have you ever been stuck in conversation with someone who kept giving one-word answers, no matter how hard you tried to ask open-ended questions to get them to elaborate a little? It was pretty painful, right? When you’re a beginner Spanish speaker chatting with native speakers, you might feel like you have no choice in the matter. If someone asks “¿Tienes hambre?” (“Are you hungry?”), you might think that ‘sí’ and ‘no’ are the only answers available to you. You don’t know enough phrases to keep the conversation going, so you have to give one-word answers. Right? Wrong. With a few key phrases, called conversation connectors, you can keep the conversation flowing naturally despite your limited vocabulary. For the above question (“¿Tienes hambre?”), you could reply, “Gracias por la pregunta; sí, tengo hambre, ¿y tú?” (“Thanks for asking. Yes, I’m hungry. How about you?”) This makes the conversation a lot less one-sided and a lot more interesting. Conversation connectors don’t add extra content to your sentences, but they expand on what would otherwise be a very short answer. Here are some examples of conversation connectors you can add to your phrases to sound more fluent and natural:

• en mi opinión (in my opinion)
• si entiendo bien (if I understand correctly)
• por desgracia (unfortunately)
• por cierto (by the way)
• además (besides, in addition to)
• o sea ... (so ...)

You’ll find plenty more conversational connectors inside Language Hacking Spanish.

7. Time Travel – Three Ways to Talk About the Past Using the Present (page 160)

When you’re speaking your native language, verb tenses come naturally. You don’t need to know why a sentence like “I have seen that movie two weeks ago” sounds a little ‘off’. You just know that “I saw that movie two weeks ago” sounds better. The more you study Spanish, the easier the verb tenses will become. Trust me. But for now, you can use a few tricks to avoid complex verb tenses while still sounding natural in Spanish. There are several ways that you can use the present tense to talk about the past. One way is to tell a story. To talk about something that happened to you recently, simply set up your story with a time indicator, and then tell the story as if it’s happening in the present. For example: “So, the other day, there I am, minding my own business, when someone comes up to me, and you’ll never guess what happens!” You probably already do this all the time in English to make your stories sound more fun and interesting. Another way is to use the ‘nosotros’ form of the verb. With only a few exceptions, the ‘nosotros’ form of verbs is the same in the present and past tense! So if you can find a way to pull someone else into your story and tell it from the “we” perspective, this is a very handy shortcut. Finally, when in doubt, you can always go the I Tarzan, you Jane route . Your verb tenses don’t have to be perfect for others to get the gist. Think of it this way. If someone said to you in English, “Yesterday...I eat pizza. Delicious”, you would understand what they meant. And others will understand you if you do the same thing in Spanish. So don’t sweat it!

8. Talk Your Way Through Complicated Sentences with the Rephrasing Technique (page 182)

As a beginner Spanish speaker, your phrases will sometimes sound more like a young child than a grown person. But if little toddlers can communicate their wishes through their limited language (“No peas! Yucky! Candy! CANDY!”), then so can you. It can be frustrating not to be able to elaborate fully, but at least you’re (hopefully!) old enough not to have a temper tantrum about it. Suppose you have a great sentence all lined up in English - for example, “Excuse me...I’m sorry...I just overheard you speaking Spanish...I’ve actually been studying it for a while...do you mind if I practise a few phrases with you?...I hope I’m not bothering you…”. But your Spanish isn’t advanced enough to translate this sentence. You can ask yourself, “How would a toddler, with limited language experience, say this phrase?”. Then, say it that way. For example, the above phrases could become “You speak Spanish? Me too! Let’s talk!”. Anytime you’re not sure how to say a complex sentence in Spanish, break it down into its core idea, and say that instead. You won’t sound like a native speaker (yet), but it’s infinitely better than saying nothing. Over time, you’ll learn enough to express any thought as easily in Spanish as you can in English. Be patient. It will come.

9. Immerse Yourself in Spanish All Day with Hidden Moments (page 204)

No matter how busy you are, there’s always time to learn a language - even if it’s just when you’re standing in line for groceries, commuting to work, or waiting for your coffee to percolate. These little bursts of time really do add up over the day. Don’t underestimate them when it comes to your Spanish studies. If you pulled out your phone and studied an Anki flashcard deck (for iOS or Android) every time you had a spare minute or two throughout the day, you could learn dozens of Spanish words and phrases every day without ever setting aside the time to study! If your commute to work is 15-20 minutes each way, you could listen to two SpanishPod101 episodes per day no matter how busy you are. Don’t let these hidden moments pass you by. Take advantage of them to boost the amount of Spanish study you can squeeze in per day.

10. Develop a Cheat Sheet and Go into ‘Autopilot’ During Your First Conversation (page 212)

In real-life Spanish conversations, you won’t usually have a script or a cheatsheet to work from. But you don’t need to go into your very first Spanish conversation completely unprepared. In fact, if you use a cheatsheet in your first few conversations in Spanish, it will actually help you when it’s time for spontaneous, unscripted Spanish conversations. How? Well, think of a cheatsheet as being like training wheels for a bicycle. It will help you make the transition from studying Spanish to speaking Spanish. You’ll be less nervous, you’ll have the material you need in front of you, and you’ll be able to use it as you need it in the conversation. What kind of words and phrases should you include in your cheat sheet? I like to divide my cheat sheet into four sections:

• Essentials: “Hello”, “How are you?”, “I’m well, thank you”, “Goodbye”, as well as typical introductory questions like “Where do you work?”, “Where are you from?”, etc.
• Survival phrases: I’m sorry, I don’t understand”, “Could you please repeat that?”, “Could you type that out?” etc.
• Questions you plan to ask: “What do you do in your free time?”, “What’s your city like?”, etc.
• Any material that you want to practise saying: for example, “me-specific” phrases like your hobbies, your job, or any upcoming plans you have.

Keep the cheat sheet handy during your conversation. Refer to it as often as you need to. A few minutes into your conversation, it will hit you: I’m actually having a real, live conversation with a native Spanish speaker! YES!

Want to Speak Spanish - the Faster Way?

Did you find these Spanish hacks helpful? Language Hacking Spanish takes you step-by-step through learning Spanish with language hacks. Right from the start, you’ll learn how to speak Spanish in real life situations. One early tester of Language Hacking Spanish said:

This book does exactly what it claims to do - gets you speaking from day one! I studied Spanish over 20 years ago but not using the language made me tongue tied and lacking in confidence. This course takes you through manageable steps to enable you to speak Spanish in every day practical (and useful!) situations.

Order your copy of Language Hacking Spanish today.

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Spanish Vocab Builder #63 - Body Functions

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Our Spanish vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made them even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Spanish words and phrases from the Spanish vocabulary lists. Join us for Spanish Vocab Builder! In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases for Body Functions. Click here to make your own [...]

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Spanish Vocab Builder #16 - Winter Clothes

Learn Mexican Spanish with SpanishPod101.com ! Our Mexican Spanish vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made it even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Mexican Spanish words and phrases from the Mexican Spanish vocabulary lists. Join us for Mexican Spanish Vocab Builder! In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases about Winter Clothes. [...]

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Top 400 Activities: Daily Routines in Spanish #2 - Commuting to Work

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Being able to talk about daily life is a great way to improve your Japanese. In this new series of ten lessons, you’ll learn practical Spanish phrases for over four hundred daily activities including going to work and hanging out with friends. Your Spanish will improve in no time with these [...]

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Culture Class: Mexican Superstitions and Beliefs #5 - Umbrellas and Knocking on Wood

Learn about Mexican culture with SpanishPod101.com! Every country has its superstitions, and Mexico is no exception. Whether you believe in them or not, learning about superstitions is a great way to find out more about Mexican culture…and learn more Spanish along the way! In this lesson, you will learn about superstitions related to umbrellas, [...]

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How to Make Money as a Language Tutor

I still remember my first gig as a Spanish language tutor. I loved learning languages, and was fluent in Spanish after having studied it for a few years in university the US and abroad living in the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking country in the Caribbean. I was passionate about learning the language and invested all of my free time and quite a bit of money into it. I decided my language skills needed to start paying back everything I’d invested in them, so I got up the courage to place a tutoring ad on Craigslist. Two days later, my first client responded to the ad. I had a language teaching gig! I showed up to the cafe to meet my first student. I felt excited, but also anxious and lacking in confidence. I guess it wasn’t so bad, because he agreed to do a handful of tutoring sessions with me. I wasn’t really sure of myself though, and wish I had had a guide, a mentor, someone to show me how to go from language learner to language tutor. This small step turned out to be the beginning of an entrepreneurial language teaching journey. I eventually decided to help language learners with my native language, English, and to do it in a big way online, creating a six-figure business that supports me and allows me to live my dream lifestyle. The shift from the role of student to the role of teacher is a big one - but it has lots of benefits. You’ll be making money. You’ll be more motivated to improve your own language skills. You’ll be challenged and inspired to stay ahead of your students and find answers to questions you never even thought of asking. In short, becoming a foreign language tutor is a great way to get paid to do what you love and use your skills to help others. For the purposes of this article, I’m assuming you speak your target language at an upper-intermediate level or higher. Otherwise, your first step is to work on your language skills. Let’s take a look at what you need to take yourself from language learner to language tutor.

Step 1: Choose Which Language You’ll Teach

First, decide if you want to teach your native language or your foreign language. I taught Spanish as a foreign language for several years, but then decided to teach English as a foreign language. Many of my friends who are teachers also ended up teaching English (their second language) to speakers of their native language, because English is more in-demand and they can have a good career in their home countries teaching it. On the other hand, I also have friends from other countries who decided to stay in the US and teach their native language, for example Korean, to native English speakers. Teaching a language other than your native language can actually make you a better teacher. You know what it’s like to learn the language, and you can retrace the steps you took when you’re showing your students how to learn.

Step 2: Find Your Purpose for Being a Language Tutor

As with starting any new venture, becoming a language tutor won’t always be a smooth ride. Knowing your purpose for tutoring keeps you motivated, so you’ll keep going even when things get tough. What’s your reason for wanting to tutor? Do you want to earn money? Connect with other language learners? Become a teacher? Support your travels? Challenge yourself to continue to learn your foreign language? I was motivated by all of those reasons! I wanted to be a language tutor and teacher so that I could get paid to do something I loved: -- speak another language and help others to do the same. After I started teaching online, I was able to travel to over 20 countries in one year.

Step 3: Create Your Own Language Tutor “Internship”by Offering Free Classes

The first time I tutored English as a second language was during a volunteer gig with an Argentinian woman in an adult education program. I used my Spanish skills a little as I helped her with her English fluency. Because it was not paid, I didn’t feel under pressure - so no nerves. It was super fun, and I made a new friend. Start small by creating your own internship with volunteering gigs or with low-pressure gigs. You’ll build up your experience and skill set. I recommend asking your students to give you feedback on how you can improve. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect, but you have to be able to help your students. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer to a question as long as you follow up to answer it for them or refer them to a resource where they can find the answer. Tutoring for free is also a great way to build your confidence. Another way of boosting your confidence is to draw upon the teaching and leadership skills you already have. When I started tutoring, I had some teaching experience in other areas, including as a typing teacher, sailing instructor, and camp counselor. Having any teaching or leadership experience will help you, even if it is volunteer experience. Once you’ve built up your confidence, you can start asking your students for referrals for paid work.

Step 4: Get Your First Students

How do you get those first students? The biggest surprise I had when I started my own language teaching business was the amount of marketing work I needed to do! When you run your own tutoring business, 80% of your effort needs to go into marketing, and only 20% into teaching. If “marketing” is like a foreign word to you, don’t worry. The best marketing is often simply having conversations with your target audience in person or online via social media, a YouTube channel, podcast, or blog. Find out what their goals and challenges are, offer your help, and see if they’re ready to accept! Also, you should create appealing, informative descriptions of your tutoring services and identify the best places to advertise. One of the most helpful things you can do when you start marketing is to identify your target market. Who do you want to work with (age, nationality, interests)? What other experience do you have (business, medical, test prep)? What’s your schedule? What’s your current level in the language you’ll be teaching? Keep your target audience in mind for your marketing materials. In the beginning of my tutoring days, looking for students felt like searching for water in the desert. These days, I have hundreds of emails from potential students flooding my inbox every week and I don’t even advertise or provide a private tutoring service anymore.

Step 5: Get Organised and Build Lesson Plans

Once you have more than a couple students, you’ll feel lost if you don’t develop a system to organise your meetings and teaching materials. Use a simple spreadsheet and Google Calendar to keep track of materials or lessons covered. You can use Google Drive or Dropbox to store lesson materials in the cloud and share links to resources with your students. You’ll want to prepare learning goals and materials for your students. I’ve found that some learners like to listen and talk, while others prefer to read and write. Try providing learning opportunities using all four skills. To save time in the long-run, create materials that can be recycled from one student to another. Even if your students want to practise free conversation and ask you questions, it’s still a good idea to prepare some lesson points. A little preparation will go a long way to make the lesson run more smoothly and impress your students.

Step 6: Branch Out and Diversify Your Income

As a language tutor, there are lots of different ways to earn money. You could offer local, face-to-face tutoring. You could offer online lessons through one of many established companies, such as italki. You could tutor online independently simply using Skype. You could even create your own multi-media courses. You could grow a following online and make money from ad revenue and work with sponsors. These are all income streams that I have built and help others to build.

Step 7: Get Help

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from all of my experience is the importance of getting help. I would not have been able to build my own tutoring business if I hadn’t talked to other tutors. I would not have been able to build a successful business online if I hadn’t learned from people who had gone there before me. Don’t try to do everything yourself.

Now, Get Started!

Is your head spinning with all the possibilities? Then decide what you want to do, and go for it! Even if you decide your goal is to do like I did and create a YouTube channel and produce online courses, I highly suggest starting as a tutor and building on that experience. Want more tips on building a tutoring business? Feel free to reach out and connect with me.

The post How to Make Money as a Language Tutor appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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Coffee Break French Live – 19 septembre 2016

Join us for Coffee Break French Live – Q&A with Mark and Pierre-Benoît

Questions featured in this episode:

1. When do you pronounce the ‘s’ at the end of the word plus?
2. How do you know whether ‘ll’ is pronounced as an L or a Y sound?
3. Can you give me some phrases to use when I’m not sure about my opinion about something?
4. What does the ‘ce’ in est-ce que and qu’est-ce qui really mean?
5. How do you when to pronounce the ‘-re’ at the end of a word like être or quatre?
6. What other uses are there for the verb arriver other than ‘to arrive’?

Make sure you’re following us on Facebook to find out exactly when we’re broadcasting our live shows.

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Episodio 230: Más se perdió en Cuba

What does 'más se perdió en Cuba' mean? With this episode you can improve your Spanish oral comprehension while you learn something about our history. Transcript available: "Hola y bienvenido o bienvenida a un nuevo episodio de SpanishPodcast.net Después de unos días sin publicar episodios, aquí estamos de nuevo. . Estamos preparando algunas cosas que nos han tenido muy ocupados. Tal vez contemos algo sobre esto en próximos episodios. Ahora volvemos a la actividad habitual. Hoy una expresión que puede utilizarse en muchas ocasiones y en todo tipo de contextos. Esta expresión se puede utilizar en contextos formales, informales, laborales, en textos periodísticos y en cualquier libro y en cualquier conversación. Se trata de la expresión: Más se perdió en Cuba ... "

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News #215 - The Top 5 Language Learning Mistakes Most Smart People Make

Do you make these top 5 language learning mistakes? No, not minor verb mis-conjugations. Not little typos. We’re talking about the mistakes that stop most smart people dead in their tracks and stop you from learning Spanish fast. The kind that prevent you from sounding like a native speaker. What are they? Tune in to [...]

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Spanish Vocab Builder #62 - Study Tools

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Our Spanish vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made them even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Spanish words and phrases from the Spanish vocabulary lists. Join us for Spanish Vocab Builder! In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases for Study Tools. Click here to make your own [...]

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Episode 35 – Season 4 – Coffee Break Spanish

Rory and María take a trip to the village of Valldemossa and, while enjoying an ice cream, they talk about the possibilities open to them for their future plans which will undoubtedly involve a trip to Argentina where Rory hopes to continue his studies. Of course, Mark and Carmen are on hand to discuss the language used in their conversation. This episode includes a focus on the first person plural imperative form, meaning “let’s do something”.

In the preview episode available here on the Radio Lingua site, on iTunes and on Soundcloud, you’ll be able to listen to Carmen and Mark’s introduction, to the core text of this episode, and to the summary in English of what happens in the text. For a full analysis of the text and in-depth discussion of the words and phrases contained in the episode, you can subscribe to our premium version. For further information, please see below.

Accessing the Premium Version

The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 4 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your advanced studies of Spanish. The premium version includes the following elements:

• full-length audio episode: in each episode Mark and Carmen discuss the language covered in each text in depth, providing further examples and testing you on your understanding;
• transcript: a full transcript of the entire episode including notes on complex language and grammar points;
• bonus audio episode: test yourself on the key constructions included in the audio episode with this bonus audio translation exercise.

The members’ version can be accessed through our membership system. You can purchase a membership using the links below.

• Season 4: Lessons 1-40
  £89.00 GBP inc VAT / approx $109 USD ex VAT for non EU customers)

Subscribe links

Subscribe in iTunes | RSS Feed | Purchase members’ audio and transcripts | Members’ login

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Must-Know Mexican Slang Words & Phrases #23 - Expressions From the Northern States of Mexico

Learn Mexican Spanish Slang with SpanishPod101.com! Using slang is a great way to sound more natural when you’re speaking Mexican Spanish. With this series, you’ll learn slang you can use in a whole host of everyday situations in Mexico! In this lesson, you will learn how to use Expressions From the Northern States of Mexico. Visit [...]

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Absolute Beginner Questions Answered by Rosa #18 - Adjectives before nouns?

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Asking questions is a big part of learning Spanish. Every day at SpanishPod101.com, we get so many great questions from you, the listeners. And in this video series, we’ll answer those questions! Join Rosa and get some answers! In this lesson, you’ll learn the answer to the question “Adjectives before nouns?” Visit [...]

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Top 400 Activities: Daily Routines in Spanish #1 - In the Morning

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Being able to talk about daily life is a great way to improve your Japanese. In this new series of ten lessons, you’ll learn practical Spanish phrases for over four hundred daily activities including going to work and hanging out with friends. Your Spanish will improve in no time with these [...]

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Culture Class: Mexican Superstitions and Beliefs #4 - Nightmares and Red Bracelets

Learn about Mexican culture with SpanishPod101.com! Every country has its superstitions, and Mexico is no exception. Whether you believe in them or not, learning about superstitions is a great way to find out more about Mexican culture…and learn more Spanish along the way! In this lesson, you will learn about superstitions related to nightmares, [...]

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Spanish Vocab Builder #61 - Studying a Language

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Our Spanish vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made them even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Spanish words and phrases from the Spanish vocabulary lists. Join us for Spanish Vocab Builder! In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases for Studying a Language. Click here to make your [...]

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Innovative Mexican Culture for Absolute Beginners #3 - How to act while visiting an archaeological site

Learn Spanish with Spanish Pod101.com! Whether you’re moving to Mexico or just visiting, you’ll need the fundamental Spanish words and phrases we cover in this Innovative Mexican Culture Absolute Beginner video series. Featuring vibrant animated scenarios and plenty of time to practice out loud, these videos cover everything from introducing yourself and talking about [...]

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Newbie Lesson #7 - I’m Argentine. I’m American.

Learn Spanish with Spanishpod101.com! Spanish is a language spoken by over 350 Million people in the world. The people and their accents are very diverse and you might find yourself in the situation where you must as “¿de qué país eres?”. Don’t know what that means? Well, Alan and Lisy are here to let you [...]

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Absolute Beginner Questions Answered by Rosa #3 - SER or ESTAR?

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Asking questions is a big part of learning Spanish. Every day at SpanishPod101.com, we get so many great questions from you, the listeners. And in this video series, we’ll answer those questions! Join Rosa and get some answers! In this lesson, you’ll learn the answer to the question “How Do You Know [...]

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Absolute Beginner Questions Answered by Rosa #7 - When to use U instead of O?

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Asking questions is a big part of learning Spanish. Every day at SpanishPod101.com, we get so many great questions from you, the listeners. And in this video series, we’ll answer those questions! Join Rosa and get some answers! In this lesson, you’ll learn the answer to the question “When do you use [...]

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Culture Class: Mexican Superstitions and Beliefs #3 - Sweeping Feet and Ringing in your Ear

Learn about Mexican culture with SpanishPod101.com! Every country has its superstitions, and Mexico is no exception. Whether you believe in them or not, learning about superstitions is a great way to find out more about Mexican culture…and learn more Spanish along the way! In this lesson, you will learn about superstitions related to sweeping feet, and [...]

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News #214 - The Secret to Learning Spanish Faster with Every SpanishPod101 Lesson

Looking for the latest and greatest methods to help you learn faster? Here’s one that’s been sitting under your nose! You can do it with every single SpanishPod101 lesson. And it’s been helping Spanish learners – whether they’re learning with us or not – speak faster, read faster and understand more Spanish. Click here to get [...]

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Spanish Vocab Builder #61 - Labor Day in the United States

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Our Spanish vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made them even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Spanish words and phrases from the Spanish vocabulary lists. Join us for Spanish Vocab Builder! In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases for Labor Day in the United States. Click here [...]

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Inner Circle #32 - August 2016: The 3rd Person Way to Break Bad Habits And Speak More Spanish

Last time, you learned just why you should be speaking to yourself in Spanish. This time, you’ll learn another simple technique for speaking more. All it is is adding a third person to the conversation. What do I mean? How does this boost your speaking time? And why don’t most learners do it? Let’s [...]

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Spanish Reading Comprehension for Absolute Beginners #3 - Reading the Bus Schedule

Learn Mexican Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Welcome to the Mexican Spanish Reading Comprehension for Absolute Beginners series. In this series, you will start to build up your Mexican Spanish reading skills through lessons focussed on everyday activities like taking the bus or train. You’ll learn how to read tickets, notices in the station, timetables, and more. [...]

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Absolute Beginner Questions Answered by Rosa #16 - Using adjectives as nouns?

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Asking questions is a big part of learning Spanish. Every day at SpanishPod101.com, we get so many great questions from you, the listeners. And in this video series, we’ll answer those questions! Join Rosa and get some answers! In this lesson, you’ll learn the answer to the question “Using adjectives as nouns?” [...]

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Episode 34 – Season 4 – Coffee Break Spanish

In this episode we’re listening to Alejandro’s email. He’s continuing his travels around northern Europe before returning to Argentina, and he’s desperate to hear about all the updates from Rory and María in Mallorca. The episode contains a range of useful and interesting expressions, along with some tricky language including dudar que + subjunctive, the expression “eso de”, and the phrase “no dar tiempo”.

In the preview episode available here on the Radio Lingua site, on iTunes and on Soundcloud, you’ll be able to listen to Carmen and Mark’s introduction, to the core text of this episode, and to the summary in English of what happens in the text. For a full analysis of the text and in-depth discussion of the words and phrases contained in the episode, you can subscribe to our premium version. For further information, please see below.

Accessing the Premium Version

The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 4 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your advanced studies of Spanish. The premium version includes the following elements:

• full-length audio episode: in each episode Mark and Carmen discuss the language covered in each text in depth, providing further examples and testing you on your understanding;
• transcript: a full transcript of the entire episode including notes on complex language and grammar points;
• bonus audio episode: test yourself on the key constructions included in the audio episode with this bonus audio translation exercise.

The members’ version can be accessed through our membership system. You can purchase a membership using the links below.

• Season 4: Lessons 1-40
  £89.00 GBP inc VAT / approx $109 USD ex VAT for non EU customers)

Subscribe links

Subscribe in iTunes | RSS Feed | Purchase members’ audio and transcripts | Members’ login

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Beginner Lesson #3 - Thank you for your help!

Learn Spanish with Spanishpod101.com! You know, it’s very rude not to show appreciation. So, let us be the ones to show you how to do so in Spanish. Join Alan and Lisy as they entangle themselves in the verb “agradecer” (to appreciate) or (to be thankful for). And you know the drill by now, they [...]

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What’s it Like to Be a Language Hacker?

So, my new Language Hacking courses are on their way to bookstores around the world, and we've already had over a thousand pre-orders (if you want to make sure you get the best bonuses, pre-order the courses you want now). While the courses are en route, I've got together a group of language learners who are trying out the courses ahead of time, sharing videos from the missions, and giving me their feedback. We've got people from all around the world and of all ages in the group - from teenage language learners to people in their 80s. Here's what they're telling us so far, having finished Unit 1 of the course. Read on, and you'll pick up a few language hacks from the courses too.

"Nothing like studying at school"

There are thousands of dedicated language teachers in schools all around the world - and many, many of them do an amazing job. Even so, perhaps because of the syllabus, or the course books, not everyone has a positive experience of learning languages at school.

Just finished Unit 1 Spanish. Hurra! This is not painful at all. Nothing like studying at school or evening classes. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to follow. I am going to enjoy this experience. - Julie Englefield

  I studied German for five years at school, and even after that I still struggled with basic tasks such as ordering a meal in a restaurant. I know many other people who've had a similar experience. This happens because school courses typically focus on reading and writing a language. Language Hacking, by contrast, focuses on speaking your new language, so you can use it with real people, by interacting with them in real-world conversations, right away.

"Small tips that give big results early on"

Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? It's also called the 80-20 rule. The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto came up with the principle when he noticed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. He then noticed that 20% of the pea-pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

It's quite refreshing to see a casual but practical course like this... I do like how it eases you into it, starting with short dialogues that are explained in an everyday way. And even though we are encouraged to make mistakes, I appreciate how you point out things like "Ich bin Lehrer" is natural vs. "Ich bin ein Lehrer." Small tips that give big results early on. - Daniel

You might have noticed the Pareto Principle in one of the following ways:

• 20% of the people at your office do 80% of the work
• 20% of the websites you visit take up 80% of your internet time
• 20% of the apps on your smartphone are the ones you use 80% of the time

When I created the Language Hacking courses, I asked myself: "What's the 20% of the work that language learners can do to get 80% of the results?" I want language learners to get big results for a small amount of effort. Why? Because when you see yourself making fast progress, you're motivated to continue learning. That's why I don't teach you everything about a language in the Language Hacking courses. Instead, I teach you what you need to know to start having real conversations, today.

"I like the focus on me-specific language"

Learning me-specific language is one of my favourite language hacks. It involves learning the words and phrases that are relevant to you, right from day one. That way, you're ready to talk about yourself and dive into real-life conversations.

"I like the focus on me-specific language, as this really differentiates the course from other products. I feel pushed and hopeful that I will make progress fast. The little grammar snippets are not overwhelming... The presentation of how to guess cognates was particularly helpful." - Kevin Crisp

In the courses, I show language learners how to build me-specific scripts. I provide the foundation script (in Spanish, French, Italian or German), and you, the learner, build your own unique script on top of it. Through the course, you build more and more me-specific scripts.

"I've been revisiting my Spanish via Duolingo and it's good but I'm not sure I'll need "los elefantes beben leche" (elephants drink milk) at my stepson's wedding in Colombia next year. I shall be armed with my own personal scripts!" - Julie Englefield

  You can memorise these scripts as mini-monologues, and rely on them whenever you're asked questions. You'll be ready to manage all the most common situations you come across in your new language.

"Very practical and useful" (The Curtains Method)

One of the things we wanted to avoid with the course is making you learn unnecessary words and phrases. So many courses have long vocabulary lists in every unit. And you feel like you have to learn them because they're part of the course, right? Even if you're asking yourself: "when will I ever use this word?"

"All these sentences from the course we will use very likely when we go to a foreign country. It's like a survival kit for talking with natives in a foreign country. Very practical and useful." - Vladamir Velickovic

  That's why, when I created the Language Hacking courses, I followed The Curtains Method. I learned The Curtains Method from Joseph, a member of the Fluent in 3 Months team. When he studied Mandarin, he focused on learning the words he knew he'd use a lot, and ignored those he was sure he'd rarely or never use. He felt particularly frustrated that the word "curtains" was taught early in the course. When would he ever need to say "curtains" in an everyday conversationas a beginner? Rather than "never" learning them, words like that are best left for intermediate learners. It's simply a bad use of a beginner's time to learn such words when there are way more essential ones they should know.

"I really like the personalized approach: we can all add vocabulary that is relevant specifically to us instead of focusing on vocab we do not necessarily need in the beginning. I also like the way all content in a unit nicely builds up towards enabling students to complete the mission. It makes the material very coherent." - Magda Kasprzyk

That's how the The Curtains Method was born. In the Language Hacking courses, I only ask you to learn words and phrases that you'll actually use.

"TOTALLY embracing my inner Tarzan"

When you start learning a language, the most important thing is that you're able to communicate. That way, you can use the language in real conversations and make progress fast. Perfect grammar can wait for later. That's why I advocate embracing your "inner Tarzan".

"TOTALLY embracing my inner Tarzan right now. For YEARS, being afraid to sound like that had been the reason why I didn't attempt to speak another language." - Stacy DiGregorio

  After you embrace your inner Tarzan, you'll be willing to say things in your target language like 'I Benny. Me writer. I Ireland.’ Sure, it sounds funny. But when you don't take yourself too seriously, you learn much faster.

"Revolutionary"

I've been sharing my Language Hacking approach on Fluent in 3 Months for over five years. Together with many other language bloggers who share similar ideas to me, I've been edging towards a language learning revolution.

I'm loving the material so far. It's interesting, fun and inspires confidence. I have complete faith that this method will be revolutionary and play a key role in achieving my goal of fluent Spanish. - Dave Gardner

  With the launch of the Language Hacking courses, my approach to language learning is about to go mainstream - not just an ebook that I'd have on my site, or a viral YouTube video, but a real course with the most experienced educational publisher on earth. That's why I'm so excited about the launch.

Even More Feedback on Language Hacking

That's not all! We've had even more great feedback on the Language Hacking courses in so many other ways:

"Encourages me to describe myself"

"I especially like that the book encourages me to describe myself, to find vocabulary useful to me, bicycling, hiking, being a librarian, living near mountains, etc." - Marcia Rodney

 

"I feel like I am making great progress"

"I love the course and how it is broken down into bite sized chunks. I feel like I am making great progress and not being overloaded. I love the fact that my script is me specific. The audio is very clear so I am able to follow along well." - Darren Robinson

"I love that the book requires you to be active"

"I love that the book requires you to be active all the time. You have to listen carefully, and then find things out yourself. It's really important to be active learners, and the book doesn't allow you to get by without it." - Omer

"Already I feel much more confident"

This course so far ticks the right boxes for getting started in chatting with someone. I'm looking forward to developing my skills. Already I feel much more confident about speaking German even if I make mistakes. Who cares? They know what I'm trying to say. - M. Simpson

Start Language Hacking, Today

Inspiring feedback, right? I for one am pleased to know my courses are helping all these people. And this was just with our test group before it's released to the world in September! Are you inspired too? If you'd like to become a language hacker, then pre-order your language hacking course. Select the language you want to learn: Spanish | French | German | Italian And be sure to check out the pre-order bonuses and pre-order today . Many of the bonuses have limited availability and you can only pre-order for a week more in the UK (just slightly longer in North America), so get your pre-order in now!

The post What’s it Like to Be a Language Hacker? appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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