Why You’re Stuck At Intermediate Spanish … And How To Break Through The Plateau

Is your progress in Spanish slowly grinding to a halt? Did you breeze through your beginner lessons, only to run into a brick wall as you approach intermediate Spanish? If so, grab a pen and paper, and clear your schedule for the next 5 minutes… I’m going to show you the following:

• Why your progress in Spanish seems to be slowing
• The “intermediate plateau” – and why it’s important
• The problem with your current study method
• 10 ways to use the “whole language” to get unstuck and bring fluency in Spanish one step closer

Getting stuck at intermediate level in a language is a well-documented phenomenon, and you’re not alone! I’ve squared up to this predictable roadblock in all the 8 languages I speak, and come out on top most of the time! Once you understand what’s going on, and commit to studying in a new, exciting way, you can shake off the cobwebs and breathe a new lease of life into your Spanish overnight.

The Honeymoon Period of Beginner’s Spanish

I began learning Spanish by myself, many years ago, in a grey, asphalt corner of London, England. During the first few months, I felt like I was learning quickly. I had some native speaker friends around me, and they taught me a lot of cool phrases, such as colloquial ways of greeting people: ¿Cómo estamos? ¿Qúe pasó, tío? And some cool replies: ¡No tan bien como tú! My first conversations didn’t amount to much, but I was so excited to be really communicating in Spanish! (What I didn’t know at the time is that when you’re a beginner people have a tendency to humour you, and make you feel like you’re a much better speaker than you actually are!) I gained vocabulary. I learnt some basic verb conjugations. Before long, I could start making up my own sentences, not just repeating the same things I learnt in my books. Every day, after practicing with my fiends, I would go home feeling great, and thinking: "I'll be fluent in Spanish in no time!" I remember even starting to flip ahead in my textbook, excited about the next lesson.

The Roadblock Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks

Sure enough, the honeymoon period came to an end. It happened to me in Spanish, and it’s happened in every language ever since… At first, it's easy and fun. Then something changes. You're not sure why. You may not know exactly when. You can't quite put your finger on what happened. Yet, at some point, you stop feeling like you're really learning. Things start to become frustrating. Maybe it's a grammar point that you just can’t get right: choosing between the infamous ser and estar, for example. Or conjugating your –ir and –er verbs in different tenses. No matter how long you go over the rules, you still make mistakes. No matter how many times you conjugate verbs on paper, it still takes you ten minutes to utter a decent sentence. You wonder if you're not meant for language learning. Maybe you blame your teacher. Maybe you start looking into French classes, convinced that Spanish just isn't your cup of tea. Well, I can’t vouch for your teacher, but I can tell you this… Hitting this language roadblock is totally normal. In fact, it even has a name. It's called the “intermediate plateau”.

The Intermediate Plateau in Language Learning (and Why It Matters)

When you start learning a new language, your progress has a positive gradient. Your knowledge builds quickly, and that makes the process fun! Every word you learn seems immediately useful…

• Verbs like: comer, beber, entender or gustar
• Nouns like: bebida, teléfono, casa
• Adjectives like: rápido, inteligente, bueno

Eventually, your learning levels out to a plateau. By this stage, you already know the most common words in Spanish. Your speaking may lack finesse, but you can hold a conversation in Spanish, and get your point across. From this point on, everything you’re learning now seems less and less useful in conversation:

• Verbs like: mascullar (to mumble) , engrapar (to staple), or apoderar (to empower)
• Nouns like: herramientas (tools), estantería (bookshelf), huerta (orchard)
• Adjectives like: tibio (warm), hervido (boiled), and so on…

Not only do you not need this vocabulary right away, you might go for weeks or months without using these words even once. Because your new vocabulary is harder to use, you have the impression that you’re not progressing as quickly as before. But this is just an illusion. In fact, you’re still learning just as much as before – it just doesn’t feel that way!

Finer Shades Of Meaning Are Harder To Get Right

This feeling of diminishing returns isn’t limited to vocabulary. It also extends to Spanish grammar. When you start learning Spanish, you begin with the present tense. Next, you learn the preterit to discuss things in the past, and perhaps one of the future constructions to talk about future plans. These tenses are great for explaining immediate needs and telling simple stories. When your Spanish reaches intermediate level, though, you begin to encounter other forms of grammar that are used to convey finer shades of meaning, such as other forms of the past tense, the conditional and the subjunctive “Why do we need all these tenses?” you might catch yourself thinking! Consider the different ways you might ask a colleague to go to the bank – using the subjunctive:

• Quiero que vayas al banco
• Me gustaría que fueras al banco
• Me gustaría que fueses al banco

Now, you might spend months studying how to use the subjunctive accurately, but it doesn’t make a great deal of difference to your ability to communicate – you can get your point across with a rudimentary: Vas al banco, por favor (and a smile). Once again, it feels like a lot of study, for not much return.

A Strategy For Breaking Through The Intermediate Plateau In Spanish

Essentially, what we’ve been talking about up until now is a growing disconnect between what you’re studying, and what you need in order to communicate. The more your learn, the more abstract it becomes. The key to progressing past the intermediate plateau in Spanish is to make everything you're learning feel relevant and useful. Only once your learning appears relevant and useful will your brain work hard to retain it. In order to make more advanced Spanish feel useful, you need to go beyond the textbook and study the whole language. “Whole language” is the opposite of grammar exercises and word lists in your textbook. It means spending time with Spanish in context - as it is used in real life. You study the whole language when you do two things:

1. Connect with Spanish regularly through self-study and personal interest
2. Make Spanish part of your daily life (not just an activity for study time or weekends)

The best way to learn Spanish on your own involves speaking with others and interacting with the language beyond the classroom, especially by doing things that you enjoy. When you learn Spanish this way, new words and phrases automatically have meaning from the context you find them in – even if they’re less frequent. Not only that, but learning with the “whole language” massively increase your exposure to the Spanish language, resulting in exponential opportunities to learn. (Oh, and doing things this way is also a lot more fun!) Let’s talk about practical ways to do this:

10 Ways To Beat The Intermediate Plateau

1. Read. Listen and read. Listen Becoming fluent in Spanish requires you to spend a lot of time in the company of the language. The easiest way to do this is by listening and reading to things you enjoy. However, material intended for native speakers can be difficult to understand. The most effective way to learn with real Spanish is to find listening material that comes with the transcript (Or books that come with the audio). When you can read what you hear (or vice versa), you have far more chance of learning and retaining the information. Your listening skills also improve, as you can find clues in the text that you might not be able to hear by yourself. Here's how to do it:

• Find audio (podcasts, music, or audio recordings of books) that also has a written transcript
• Listen multiple times without stopping the recording
• Focus on pushing your ear to pick up as much it can by itself
• Then, add the transcript and look up any difficult vocabulary
• Continue to listen and read, trying to increase your understanding each time
• When you’re confident of understanding the text, hide the transcript and see if you can understand everything just by listening

Here's an example of this approach in practice: httpvh://youtu.be/_hJPsaaZXBg It’s important not to use material that’s too far above your level. If you're not sure where to get good material for this, check out the Fluent Spanish Academy. 2. Listen to music or podcasts during your commute Do you commute to work or school? If so, then try listening to music or podcasts in Spanish in the car or on public transportation. Podcasts usually employ clear, well-articulated speech, making it easy for learners to listen. You can even find podcasts specifically for learners. Listening to music without the help of transcripts is a less effective study method than the "Listen. Read. Listen and read. Listen." method described above. However, it may be easier to fit into your daily routine and you might decide to look up lyrics for favourite songs later, after hearing them a couple of times. 3. Read a novel in Spanish If you’ve never tackled a book in Spanish before, start with a translated book that you've already read in English. That way, you'll already know the plot and will have a “scaffold” to help you handle new vocabulary, thereby spending less time with a dictionary. When you're ready for a real challenge, grab a novel originally written in Spanish. If you don't know any authors, look for something by Isabel Allende. She's a Chilean author with tons of classic titles that can easily be found both online and in bookstores. I also like Gabriel García Márquez, the late Colombian novelist. 4. Create Regular Opportunities To Speak Spanish Readers of Fluent in 3 Months hardly need reminding of the need to speak their target language. However, one thing is knowing it, another is doing it. It’s easy to fall into the habit of studying Spanish and never getting into the habit of speaking it – because speaking Spanish regularly requires you to get off the sofa and haul yourself out to language events…or at least to your computer! Speaking is so fundamental to breaking through the intermediate plateau that you must make sure you’re speaking at least 2-3 times a week before you worry about anything else. Doing this will throw all kinds of unexpected situations at you, and give you the option to put into practice everything you’re learning. There are tonnes of ways to meet native speakers, but with iTalki.com (online) and Meetup.com (real world) you’re covered. 5. Do online searches in Spanish How many times a day do you search for information online? Is there anything stopping you doing your searches in Spanish? No. Product reviews, recipes, destination guides… they’re all great ways to get meaningful Spanish practice, and learn a lot of incidental language while you’re at it. 6. Use your phone in Spanish Go into your settings and set your phone's language to Spanish. About 90% of the time you probably navigate your phone using mostly icons anyways, so you won't get too lost or frustrated. However, you will give yourself constant, daily interactions with Spanish. 7. Watch TV shows in Spanish If you like watching TV, switch out your English shows for Spanish language ones, like El Príncipe. Don’t go anywhere near the English subtitles – put on the Spanish ones instead! If you usually watch with English-speaking friends, bilingual shows like Narcos can stimulate your Spanish without leaving your friends in the dust. 8. Get your news in Spanish Reading the news is a daily activity for most of us. Getting your news in Spanish is a great way to add purposeful language time into your day, related to your own interests. BBC Mundo has a widget that you can download for the home screen of your Android phone. You can also check out paper and online versions of newspapers from whatever country or city most interests you. 9. Read blogs, comics & other online material in Spanish Often, one of the best ways to find stimulating material in a foreign language is to simply ask yourself the question: “What do I do for fun in my own language?” Run through a list of things you typically look up online, and you ought to be able to find something similar in Spanish. 10. Take general-interest classes run in Spanish If you live in an urban area, you may be able to find classes run in Spanish. I searched “españoles en londres” and found this site which is a wealth of opportunities for meeting Spanish speaking people in my hometown. Even if you take classes in English that have a Spanish connection, such as Salsa classes, you’re putting yourself in a great position to meet native speakers at some point down the line.

Conclusion: The Secret To Fluent Spanish

What I want you to notice from all these ideas is this: You can’t keep studying the way you used to. Simple lessons and grammar exercises may have helped you get started in Spanish, but it doesn’t cut it beyond the beginner stage. Breaking through the intermediate plateau in Spanish means immersing yourself in the “whole language” with activities that you are personally invested in. By making Spanish part of your lifestyle, and not waiting until the day when you feel “ready”, you will not only improve faster, but have a lot more fun!

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Spanish Vocab Builder #56 - The Top 20 Words For Positive Emotions

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 The Top 20 Words For Positive Emotions. Click here to make your [...]

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Episodio 270: Llegar y besar el santo

What's the meaning of llegar y besar el santo? In this Spanish lesson you will learn it's meaning and you will practice pronunciation and conjugation. Aprende español real, aprende el español que se usa de verdad. Memoriza el contenido a largo plazo y practica la conjugación y la pronunciación con nosotros. Transcripción disponible: Llegar y besar el santo - Meaning

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A 5-Step Method to Improve Your Listening Skills

Let’s talk listening skills. Do you remember how you felt the first time you heard someone speak your target language? Bamboozled? Personally, I’ve always found listening to be the most difficult language learning skill. Maybe you feel the same way? In this post, we’ll look at the key to improving your listening and I’ll share the method I use to work on my listening skills. One the reasons I used to struggle with listening is that I didn’t really know how to practice it. Should you read along while you listen or should you listen without a text? What should you listen to? Do you need to translate every single word? I had many failed experiments when I first started learning Spanish and it took me a long time to figure out the best methods to practice my listening skills. In fact, it was only when I moved to Argentina that I finally realised what I needed to do to improve my listening and I discovered it somewhat by accident! Before I arrived in Buenos Aires, I thought my Spanish was pretty good. Then I landed and I couldn’t understand anything! It was a bit of a baptism of fire! On the bus, in the supermarket, no matter where I went I found myself smiling, nodding and desperately trying to work out what people were saying to me. [caption id="attachment_20964" align="aligncenter" width="774"] The author James in Buenos Aires.[/caption] However, over the coming weeks and months my listening skills began to significantly improve and this taught me a very valuable lesson: To improve your listening skills, you have to truly listen. You have to listen with focus and attentiveness. Passively listening to things you don’t understand is never going to work. I was forced to do this because I’d moved to a new country where most people don’t speak English very well and I had to figure out how to get by. But the same concept applies whether you’re travelling abroad or learning the language from home. Active listening, not passive listening, is what will give you results.

Passive vs. Active Listening: What’s the Difference?

Why Passive Listening Doesn’t Work

What is passive listening? Passive listening is when you listen to something without giving it your full attention. For example, you put on French radio in the background while you’re working, or listen to Spanish music without really paying attention to the lyrics. Passive listening doesn’t work because basically … you’re not really listening! You’re doing something else - it could be working, sleeping or daydreaming - rather than actually listening to the sounds. When you listen this way, you can’t just expect to suddenly understand everything you’re hearing. Think about it. Even in English, we don’t remember things or understand them unless we actually pay attention to them. For example, lots of people like to have the radio on in their kitchen while cooking or in the morning while having breakfast. Maybe you do this too. But how much of what you hear do you actually remember? If you’re being honest, very little because you weren’t really listening. You might remember a particular song you like or something important that was mentioned on the news but unless you actually try to focus on what you’re listening to, most of it goes in one ear and out the other. Since that’s what happens with our native language, why do we think doing the same thing in another language will give us different results? The idea of passive learning is appealing because it promises results without much work. But the truth is that it just doesn’t deliver on those promises. If you’re spending time passively listening as part of your core language learning, it’s time to stop and start practicing more efficiently instead. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no harm surrounding yourself in the language by having music or radio playing in the background while you’re in the kitchen or while you’re reading a book. You’ll still pick some things every now and again when a particular word or phrase catches your attention. Just don’t let passive listening become the foundation of your how you work on your listening skills. To really see predictable, sustainable results you need to practice listening in a more focused way.

Why Listening Needs to be Active

Your brain needs you to bring attention to things to remember them. By paying close attention to something and repeating it multiple times, you send a clear message to your brain that something is important and needs to be remembered. This obviously applies to things like learning vocabulary but it’s also true when it comes to the other parts of listening, including sounds, accents, intonation or phrasing. You need to bring attention to them. That’s why it’s important to listen actively rather than passively when you practice. Another reason to practice active listening is to get used to differences between how words sound on their own and how they sound in context. Native speakers often 'smash’ words together when they speak. We do this ourselves in English. For example, in American English the phrase ‘what’s up?’ often sounds more like ‘wassup?’ or in Hiberno-English a greeting like ‘how’s it going?’ often becomes ‘howsagoin?’ These are things we take for granted in our native languages but when you hear such transformations in a foreign language, they can leave you totally lost! That’s why sometimes you might know a word but not recognise it when you hear it because the sounds mutate when they're spoken together rapidly by native speakers. This is one of the many reasons why focused listening practice is important. Just learning individual words isn’t enough. You need to hear how these words sound and appear in context and that’s not something you can pick up passively. Learning new words but never hearing them isn't sufficient when it comes to high level, real-life conversation. So how can you go about practicing your listening skills in a more active way and what kind of materials should you practice with?

The Tools You Need to Improve Your Listening Skills

I suggest using a language resource that contains both audio and a text transcript. The main reason for this is so that you can check your comprehension when you listen to something new. It’s always good to listen without a text first to really test yourself, but it’s very useful to have a text or transcription so you can check your understanding afterwards. Here are some ideas for materials you could use to practice with:

• A scene from a movie or tv show (+ the subtitles)
• A podcast episode you have a transcript for
• A video on Euronews or another news site
• A YouTube video with a transcription
• A book in print and audiobook format
• Dialogues and their transcription
• An Assimil course
• LingQ
• Textbook audio and text

[caption id="attachment_20965" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] LingQ[/caption] When practicing your listening skills, I would always suggest working with a short audio clip of no more than three or four minutes. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, unless you’re at an advanced level, long clips are exhausting! Secondly, as you’ll see, repetition is an important part of the learning process. Working with short clips means you can easily listen to them multiple times. Besides, there’s much more value in working with a short clip and learning it well than working with a longer one and not examining it in any real depth. If you spend half an hour working with a single three minute clip, you’ll be able to listen to it multiple times, look up what you don’t understand and repeatedly hear the new words and phrases you come across. On the other hand, if you work for half an hour with a 15 or 20 minute audio clip, you won’t have time to repeat the audio, and you may only hear each new word once or twice. You can’t really do this and expect to remember very much of what you learned a few days later. Finally, I strongly suggest that you think carefully about the content of the materials you choose and find things that cover topics that are important to you. [Fluency doesn’t require you to know every word in the dictionary] (http://ift.tt/2seG7HG). It just requires you to know the words you’re going to need in the conversations you’re going to have. Think about the kind of things you’re actually going to want to or need to talk about in your target language and choose your materials accordingly. That way you can ensure that you’re learning vocabulary that directly improves your ability to use the language. Now that’s the groundwork explained, here’s my five step method to improve your listening skills.

A 5-Step Method to Improve Your Listening Skills

Step 1: Listen to the Audio - No Reading!

The first step in this method is to simply listen to the audio alone. Don’t read the text in advance and don’t follow along with it as you listen. The point here is to focus solely on your aural skills and see how much you can understand without any visual aid. Of course, unless you’re already at a very high level, this can be very difficult. Rather than trying to understand every single word, it’s better to focus on trying to understand the ‘gist’ of what’s being said. See if you can pick out some key words or phrases that might give you an idea of what’s being said and note them down. Find anything at all that you can cling on to and you’ll be able to use this as starting point to learn more from the context.

Step 2: Repeat!

It’s not time to look at the text just yet. Many learners make the mistake of turning to the text too quickly. However, the point here is to practice your listening skills so just stay focused on listening for the time being. On the first listen, you’ll probably have identified one or two key words or ideas. As you repeat the audio, listen carefully and see if you can pick out and words or phrases you may have missed the first time. By now you may already have some idea what this piece of audio is about, so use the context to your advantage. If you can’t figure out exactly what’s going on, don’t worry. Just note down any keywords you do understand or words that seem important. At this stage, I’d suggest listening at least three more times. With each listen, you can add a little more to your comprehension. Your goal should be to try and use all of your current knowledge in the language to understand as much as possible from the audio before you read the text. When you feel you’ve reached a point where there’s nothing more you can take from the recording, it’s time to move onto the next step.

Step 3: Get Reading

Now it’s time to look at the text. Read through it and check how much you understood from your listening. Did you get the ‘gist’ of it? As you read through the text, identify any new words you come across. See if you can guess the meaning of the words from their context; otherwise, look them up in a dictionary. If there are any new words that you think will be particularly useful for you in conversation, write them down and add them to your list of new vocabulary to learn. As well as new words you haven’t seen before, you’ll also likely find words in the text that you already know but didn’t understand! Some words can sound quite different when spoken together and at native level speed. Pay careful attention to these words and be sure to listen out for them when you repeat the audio.

Step 4: Listen With the Text

Once you’ve read through the text a few times and looked up any words you didn’t understand, you should be confident about its meaning. Next, I suggest listening again a couple of more times while you read along with the text. This is the one time during the process that you’re using aural and visual stimuli together, so take advantage of it. Try to connect the written words to the sounds and pay special attention to phrases or groups of words and how they’re pronounced. If there were a lot of new words in the text you’re working on, trying breaking the audio down into smaller chunks as you continue to repeat it. Rather than repeating the whole recording at once, you can work through paragraph by paragraph if you prefer. I tend to repeat this step at least twice to help build connections between the written and spoken words.

Step 5: Listen Again Without the Text

Finally, go back and listen again a few more times without the text. By this point, you should be able to understand almost everything quite well even without the visual aid of the text. Over the next few days, it’s good to listen back to the clip again whenever you have a chance. Download the recording to your phone so you can have a quick listen any time you get a few free minutes. With each extra repetition your comfort level will grow. Because you’re now able to understand the words and phrases you studied without any visual aid, you’ll also find it easier to recognise this vocabulary when it comes up conversations or in other recordings you listen to.

In Conclusion: There’s no Quick Fix for Listening Skills

Whether you’re learning a language or any other skill, there’s no magic solution. Improving your listening skills takes time and a lot of focused listening but if you work at it in the right way you can actually make significant improvements faster than you might think.

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Essential every day Spanish idioms

Essential every day Spanish idioms: To better speak Spanish and to speak Spanish like a native you need to know how to use some idioms and expressions. Learn Spanish listening. Hoy te explicamos 5 expresiones imprescindibles para hablar de forma más parecida a como lo hacen los nativos. Subtitles available: Essential every day Spanish idioms

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Spanish Vocab Builder #102 - In The Classroom

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

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Foreign to Familiar: How to “Language Proof” Your Immediate Environment

Sometimes, when you’re surrounded by a new language it can overwhelm your capacity to pick up new things. It’s almost too much newness, and you just draw a line. Everything from the toothpaste to the billboards to the TV is filled by the unrecognizable. You end up looking at words and noting that you’ve seen them before but still not bothering to figure out what they mean. These ignored words remain foreign – and blocking your eyes and ears in this way means you’ll never become fluent. If you continue this way, you run the risk of ending up with what we’ll call language fatigue. What can you do about it? The obvious solution: make the foreign familiar and do it as ‘soon as you land’.

What Causes Language Fatigue?

So many people live overseas, are effectively “immersed” in the local language, yet they can only speak a handful of words. How does this happen? Learning a new language is as much about mindset as anything else. If you fall into the trap of language fatigue, you hone a mindset that’s resistant to learning. And the more of a beginner you are, the more you’re likely to feel overwhelmed by how much you don’t know. Beginners are most likely to suffer with this kind of ‘language resistance’, which is why it can be so tricky to break through the beginner bubble. You have to be wilful about taking on the challenge of a new language. When trying to learn a new language by immersion, it’s easy to underestimate yourself and think “I’m just a beginner.” This defence makes you okay with not knowing certain things. However, if you don’t move past this mindset, you will always be a beginner, an outsider. The same thing can happen for intermediate learners too… though it’s easier for them to make a breakthrough as more things are familiar. Wherever you’re at, if you put it just a bit of effort it’s surprising how looking close to how can make a huge difference in making the foreign familiar.

Step 1: Decide to Break the Loop

The moment you get stuck in the habit of blocking out what’s around you you stand to fail at your language learning goals. If you are blocking, it’s time to dive back in. If you’ve just arrived in a country with a new language, start to soak up the written words around you now.

Step 2: Start Language Proofing in Manageable Doses

It’s obvious you can’t learn everything at once, so you have to be both clever and patient. This means starting with manageable doses of new words. Ideally, these should be words you see every day. You want to work close to home. That’s the key trick in gaining familiarity in a new place. In fact, start in your dwelling first. You want to focus on words you see often. I call this process language proofing. Perhaps there are mystery words on something in your house? Food packages you buy? Or a sign near your front door you pass frequently? Stop walking past. Translate them, whether by yourself or by asking a native speaker. It’s easy enough to start: Take 30 minutes and log everything in your house and the immediate environment around your home. For example, if you live in an apartment building, this might be looking at the words on the elevator or the communal mailboxes or the instructions for using the laundry room. No matter how rare they are in “everyday” use, the fact is that you see these words every day and you should know what they mean. It won’t take long to figure them out and you’ll have taken a big step in your mission of turning foreign into familiar. Language proofing your environment in this way has a couple of effects. First, it builds your confidence. As you language proof your environment, you’ll start to recognise every word you see in your day-to-day life. If you routinely walk past unknown words it keeps your brain set on ‘outsider mode’. Language proofing switches your mind to ‘insider’. It’s a huge mindset shift. And you’ll realise that you can learn a language! Second, you are actively telling your brain you are ready and willing to absorb the language you see. It opens your mind to taking up yet more words by reinforcing a sense of linguistic familiarity. Doing this language reconnaissance, as early as possible after you arrive in a new country, will have a huge pay off. When you walk out your door, you’ll understand all the words you pass as they’ll all be in your recognition vocabulary. This will give you a notion of fluency in your target language, even if it’s just ‘around home’. When you’re new to a language, any fluency counts big time. What you are building is your recognition vocabulary and it’s a key part of accepting a language as your own.

Step 3: Get Your Camera Out and Go on a Word Hunt!

You’ve got yourself into the language proofer’s mindset, and you’ve language proofed your immediate environment. Now stay on your word hunt! Keep seeking out new words. My favourite way of doing this is with my camera as it lets me refer back to these words and track my progress. Scour your surroundings and take photos of all the words you encounter. You can translate the words in your images using your smartphone and Google Translate. Google Translate will store your translations so you can export them to a word log or flashcard deck. Alternatively, as you hunt down words, have your dictionary on hand. Even better, walk your route with a native speaker who’s willing to help you.

Step 4: Learn from Context

The best part of building a recognition vocabulary is that it’s often highly contextual. It’s context that builds familiarity, along with use. What’s more, context can help you work out the meaning of new words for yourself. This is what helps the words stick in your memory. Can you read the sign in this image: This sign is found on the door of a room in the basement of an apartment building in Sweden. You probably have a guess from the form of the words you see, but especially from the pictures and when you open the door you see it’s a storage room for people’s bikes. Plus the adjoining room has all the recycling bins and trash dumpster. You can probably easily guess that the top word has to do with trash and the second with bikes. Since it’s Swedish, a Germanic language like English with lots of similar words, you might guess correctly that rum is “room”. Sopor is “garbage” in Swedish, so soprum is the “trash room”. Cykel is “bike”, so cykelrum is the “bike room”. Once you know the meaning, you’ll look at the sign differently. Every time you enter this room to get your bike or sort the recycling you are reactivating your Swedish vocabulary. At risk of labouring the point: There’s no excuse for not learning the meaning of this sign if you are going to pass through this door on a regular basis. Do this for all the words in your vicinity.

Step 5: Look Out for Online Ads

Another space you can language proof is social media and the internet, by translating ads as they appear. For example the sponsored ads in your Facebook newsfeed. Consumerism is not the point here! Rather, see it as an opportunity to create another safe space of language familiarity. At first, it will seem easy to ignore ads. We’ve all trained ourselves to do this. So untrain yourself. Stop for a moment when you first log onto social media to take in those “pesky” ads. Ads are actually great for language learning. They’re short and sweet, contain lots of repetition, and feature real life things that are helpful for you to know. Whether it’s shoes, food, or dating, this is a core working vocabulary for functioning in the world. Facebook will even translate the text for you, and while you have to take these translations with a (big) pinch of salt, you’ll certainly get the gist and learn new words. Plus if you copy ads into the Google Translate app on your smartphone, you can ‘star’ any of them you want to come back to. This builds up a running list of memorable words ready to review any time. Increasingly, you’ll build an ad-recognition vocabulary. You’ll be reading ads all around you as you would in your native language. It’s a great feeling when you can decipher many of these without any help. As with signs, ads contain contextual clues that aid in understanding them. Sometimes you’ll learn vocabulary from the picture. Other times, you might be able to make out the words because you’ve already seen the exact same ad in English. Ads are also particularly easy because we know innately what ‘ad language’ looks and sounds like. They are trying to compel you to buy something. When you know the focus of a passage of text from the outset, it’s far easier to hone in on the meaning. Look at these two ads: You can probably guess from the first ad that klackar are “heels”. This “guessing” is how we naturally learn our native language, through context. No one explains what a cat or dog is to us when we are small. They just point to one and say the word and we figure it out. Reading ads is also good for judging how different the word order and usage of verbs and other parts of language are from English. The literal translation of this ad is: “4 tips for to get style with heels”. Notice the word order “for to get”, which is very Swedish. In addition to seeing images that you can match to words, you might even have seen the ad in English before and therefore it’s perfect for reading in your target language. The second ad is running in English and Swedish and literally means: “This here App can teach you a language in only 3 weeks”. Notice the ‘this here’, which is very Swedish. Again, somewhat different in structure than English.

Step 6: Rigorously Apply the Twice Seen Rule

In time, you can increase the size of your language-proofed zone, going beyond your immediate environment to your wider world. This builds an ever-growing corridor of familiarity - the places you can go where you understand the words that are all around you. If you ride the tram every day, take pictures and translate all the words you see on the ticket machine. If you often eat at the same restaurant, take a photo of the menu, then translate it when you’re back at home -- or ask the wait staff for help. It’s a great conversation starter, and you’ll feel more like a local the next time you are there. But how do you know which words to language proof next? If it’s in your path, snap it and learn it. In general, the trick is to live by the ‘twice seen’ rule: if you’ve seen a word twice, you’ll be sure it see it many more times. Learn it.

Step 7: Become a Language Proofing Pro

What are the big draws for visiting or living in a foreign place? For many people, these are novelty, fresh perspectives and the chance to learn. The problem: too much ‘foreignness’ can get in the way of learning. You can end up blocking the ‘foreign’ out because you can’t make sense of it. That’s why it’s important to keep language proofing your environment. You have a lot to gain by doing so, especially once you start reading the ads around you. Here the vocabulary starts to overlap with keywords you’ll want to use in conversation as well. Also, remember that in language proofing your environment, you’re building your recognition vocabulary rather than your active vocabulary. Remember that recognition vocabulary is just that – recognition only. It goes to building familiarity, and minimizing the ‘foreign’ trigger that reduces your motivation to absorb new words. Later, you can start working on embedding your language proofed words into your speech.

Your Turn: Share your Experiences of Language Proofing

Being familiar with the language of your surroundings will help you fit right in, just like you do at home. That’s why I recommend that you learn the words you encounter frequently. Once you do, and see them again and again as a natural part of your day, you are well on your way to making the foreign familiar. What techniques have you used to language proof your environment? Let me know in the comments.

The post Foreign to Familiar: How to “Language Proof” Your Immediate Environment appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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Video News #3 - Free Spanish Gifts of the Month - June 2017

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Conversation Exchange: How an Online Language Buddy Took Me from Fear of Speaking to Confident Conversations

This is my story of how I found an online language buddy for a conversation exchange, which took me from feeling terrified of speaking a new language to having real conversations in that language. My heart was pounding when I received the call. Would they be offering me a job in the Middle East? Yes! I’d done it! I danced around my room in excitement. I’d be moving from Spain where I was living at the time to Abu Dhabi in just a few weeks. Time to get packed. Yet when I arrived, the reality wasn’t as I’d dreamed. The job was good, but I had several colleagues who didn’t speak English. Honestly, I even felt lonely at times. I wanted to connect with my colleagues and feel like I could fit in. I wanted to speak Arabic, I really did. I picked up an Arabic phrasebook and tried to learn what I could.

I Was Going Nowhere Fast

After three months I’d learned a few pleasantries from my phrasebook. But I was getting nowhere fast and I knew it. Most of my colleagues had already studied English at school so they were delighted to practise their English skills with me, never giving a thought to the idea that I would be interested in learning Arabic, even though I told them repeatedly. I think they just didn’t believe me. A few older colleagues had missed out on ‘English-as-a-second language at school’ and spoke no English at all, so I was very excited thinking I would be able to learn some language from them.

Could I Break the Ice?

I thought that if I could break the ice with them by learning a few basic phrases in Arabic I could show them I was willing to get to know them. They would then be more willing to accept me and this would enable me to have a small window to peek into their culture. But that brought its own complications…

“Ooh, a Foreigner!”

I can only assume they were a little nervous about me and uncomfortable themselves when I was around, as I was unable to speak or understand a word of what was going on! I knew how they felt, I really did, because I felt just the same at being around them. The feeling was mutual! My older colleagues had not travelled abroad much, if at all, and some had not met any foreigners before. This clearly made them a little wary of this new-comer who couldn’t even speak a word in their language.

I Was Terrified...

But it wasn’t just them… It was me! It didn’t help that I was totally embarrassed to utter the few words I had learned from my phrase book; I hadn’t even used these words or phrases on another human being. I was afraid in case the phrases wouldn’t work. And so the doubts started queuing up inside my mind, like little dwarves with pick-axes, ready to ‘mine’ my confidence:

• What if the phrases didn’t work and the phrase book was a scam?
• What if they didn’t understand me?
• What if they laughed at me?

And then the worst fear… What if they said something back to me, thinking I would understand? Once these fears entered my mind, my confidence took a nosedive and I would be linguistically paralysed for the days at a time. I was too frightened to open my mouth thinking I would make a fool of myself. Meanwhile my colleagues were scared off me by my inability to even make an effort in Arabic. I was scared, no… terrified!

“Are You Avoiding Me?”

Looking back now I can see these colleagues just plain avoided me. No matter how hard I tried to sneak up on them in a coffee break or join them at their table for lunch, it was a no-go situation, a perfect vicious circle - the more I wanted to speak with them, the more they avoided me. There was no doubt that I needed to practise my skills on real people to overcome the fear I had of being laughed at or worse. But how would I do this?

A Language Buddy

Everything changed through a recommendation from an American couple living in the apartment next-door. They were more internet-savvy than me and the husband, Joe, had been directed to a website by his company to learn Arabic fast through conversation exchange. They were both using this service to talk to real people online. The people they chatted with online were ‘language buddies’ - or online language partners. This was a free service, matching up those people who ‘swapped’ their native language skills with others; a conversation exchange service. Those were the days when Skype was just becoming popular and almost the first video calling internet service around. Oh yes, you were really cool and up-to-date if you had Skype then!

My New Friend Saeed

The whole idea of a ‘language buddy’ was innovative and completely new to me. I signed up that very next day. Well, to be honest, Joe had to lend me a hand and walk me through how to set up a Skype account and register with the programme. Shortly after, I was paired up, online, with a gentleman from Egypt. And that’s how I met Saeed. He became my language buddy! Saeed was married with two children, teaching history in a local school and had signed up to the conversation exchange in order to improve his English. We were a perfect linguistic match. I must apologise to Saeed now, if he’s reading this, (which I doubt very much) because I spoke more Arabic and learned more than he did, only due to the fact he was so kind and gracious helping me out and patiently waiting for me to repeat the phrases he had prepared for me. I committed to ten sessions with him and by the end of session five I was talking to his children in Arabic, asking their names, how old they were, if they liked school, and so on. Just about my level, right? But that was fine for me! How cool was that?

I Helped With Saeed’s English Too

After thirty or forty minutes it was Saeed’s turn to practise English. We concentrated on his pronunciation mostly because he knew a lot of conversational English but his strong Arabic accent made him difficult to understand. This ‘language buddy’ system was a perfect platform for me needing to practise Arabic with a real-life Arabic speaker and then for me to repay the service with conversational English practice. I went from no-go situation to a win-win situation in a matter of weeks, literally! The fact that Saeed could understand my simple utterances and that even his kids could too, gave me butterflies in my stomach. It was a wonderful feeling to know I was making a breakthrough and that I was approaching the day I would say something Arabic to my colleagues. Just the mere fact that I was able to communicate with a native speaker of Arabic and be understood without them bursting into derisory laughter was an amazing achievement for me and I knew it was exactly what I needed. Don’t get me wrong…the phrase books and the lists had helped, of course they did. I had a basic knowledge of the language, but the books and lists couldn’t really prepare me for the real world and real communication which was what I really needed then.

Did I Get What I Really Wanted?

All I had wanted to do was communicate, on even the most basic level, with my colleagues. I wanted to ask how they were, if they had children, where they lived, if they had any pets, if they enjoyed their job…. I wanted to show that I respected them enough to make efforts and learn their language. What I hadn’t been able to do was get over the fear of seeming ridiculous in their eyes. Speaking to Saeed was real and that’s what made the ‘real’ difference to my language learning then. That’s what a conversation exchange is all about: Real communication, human, face-to-face, in context, for only as long as you both agree to. With my newfound confidence and a few well-practised phrases under my belt, I was prepared to go into battle… But the battle gear wasn’t necessary, at all.

Back to Work!

Back at work, it only took a few light-hearted sentences that I had practised with Saeed, before we were all laughing; me included this time, at my simple questions, at my British accent, at not finding the right word or not pronouncing things correctly. What fun we all had and it was a truly empowering experience for me. We were communicating, on a very basic level, but it was still communicating between languages, countries… and cultures. We were communicating as intelligent human beings, all with a basic desire to be seen, to be heard, to be respected but most of all, to have fun! I just love languages! To think I had been too scared to attempt to say anything when I first arrived at that job. Had I been too embarrassed and paranoid about my own language ability? Yes, I certainly had! But I’d overcome that, and that’s something I’m really proud of.

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Absolute Beginner Questions Answered by Rosa #12 - What are diminutives?

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 “What are diminutives?” Visit [...]

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CBC 1.14 | Wǒ yào yí gè shuāngrénjiān

​One of the great things about learning any language is the fact that you begin to see that many constructions can be reused in different contexts. With the help of some new vocabulary in this lesson for talking about hotel rooms, reservations and room keys, you’ll see that you can use the structures you’ve already learned in this new context. You’ll learn to say you have a reservation (or that you don’t have a reservation!) and to specify the type of room you would like. By the time you’ve completed this lesson you will be able to check into a hotel in China – in Chinese!

Listen to the episode

The audio lesson is free, as are all the main audio lessons of Coffee Break Chinese. Use the audio player to listen to the lesson, or subscribe in iTunes to receive this lesson and all future lessons automatically. If the player below isn’t working, click here to access this lesson of Coffee Break Chinese.

Accessing the Premium Version

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• video flashcards: listen to each lesson and see the words and phrases covered in the lesson displayed on the screen of your computer, phone or tablet (mp4 format);
• bonus audio materials: use our review lessons to practise the language covered in the main lesson, and to pick up some useful bonus vocabulary (mp3 format);
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The members’ version can be accessed on the Coffee Break Academy

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Episodio 269: Las corridas de toros

Bullfighting - Learn Spanish while you learn about bullfighting. This is a Spanish tradition and there are two conflicting opinions about it. Learn Spanish listening while you learn about Spanish culture and current affairs. Aprende español escuchando a hablantes nativos. Transcript available:: Learn Spanish: Bullfighting

La entrada Episodio 269: Las corridas de toros se publicó primero en Spanish Podcast.

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CBG 2.10 | Review episode

In this episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be amazed when you realise how far you’ve come, as you review everything you have learned so far in Season 2. Andrea and Mark talk about the topic from this unit such as cases and adjective agreements, adverbs, using denn and weil and making sure your perfect tense really is perfect! After listening to this lesson you will be an expert on all the language points covered so far.

Listen to the episode

The audio lesson is free, as are all the main audio lessons of Coffee Break German. Use the audio player to listen to the lesson, or subscribe in iTunes to receive this lesson and all future lessons automatically. If the player below isn’t working, click here to access this lesson of Coffee Break German.

Accessing the Premium Version

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

• video flashcards: listen to each lesson and see the words and phrases covered in the lesson displayed on the screen of your computer, phone or tablet (mp4 format);
• bonus audio materials: use our review lessons to practise the language covered in the main lesson, and to pick up some useful bonus vocabulary (mp3 format);
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The members’ version can be accessed on the Coffee Break Academy

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Is “Learning from Mistakes” Really a Thing? Here’s What the Science Says…

“Did I really just say that?” That’s the question I was asking myself as I was chatting to my future Italian mother-in-law over dinner. I had meant to say è palese, “it’s obvious”, but I actually said è palloso, which means “it’s effing boring”. If you’ve been learning a language for long enough, you’ve probably made your fair share of gaffes like these. Most seasoned language learners have come to accept the idea of learning from mistakes. After all, you can’t learn a language without practising speaking, and you can’t practise speaking without dropping a few clangers along the way. Language learners often see mistakes as a necessary evil: something they’d rather avoid, but can learn to live with if they really have to. A bit like Italian mother-in-laws. But what if this is backwards? A look at the science of learning reveals there’s nothing evil about mistakes. Au contraire. Studies show that mistakes actually help us learn faster. It turns out that hazarding a guess significantly increases your chances of remembering something next time, even if you get it wrong. The question to ask, then, is not “how can I stop making mistakes?” but “how can I make more mistakes?” So let’s take a look at the science of mistakes and how they can boost our long-term memory. You’ll also learn how to make more mistakes so you can speed up your language learning. But first…

Why Are Language Learners So Afraid of Mistakes?

Remember that feeling of getting your school work back from your teacher, covered in red pen markings? If you feel anxious about making mistakes, you’re not alone. Right from our school days, most of us had it drilled into us that mistakes are bad and should be avoided at all costs. Many children learn to feel embarrassed about getting things wrong and carry this fear with them into their adult lives. Maybe this is you too? It’s human nature to interpret situations that test our abilities as black and white: if you get it right, it means you’re good at something and you feel pleased with yourself. If you make a mistake, it means you’re bad at something, and you feel ashamed. This is why language learning causes so much anxiety in adults. Many of us prefer to avoid situations where we risk getting things wrong: learning a language, where mistakes are part of the process, can make us feel like a complete idiot, or worse, a complete failure. I’ve come across so many language learners who dislike doing things that put our knowledge to the test, like talking to native speakers. When you speak with a native speaker, you’ll almost certainly make mistakes. But is it really better to keep your mouth shut to avoid embarrassment? This feeling of shame about mistakes is something I can relate to - and maybe you can too. But if you avoid situations where you know you’ll make mistakes, you’re missing out on a key strategy that’ll speed up your language learning.

The Science of Mistakes - and Why They Matter

Scientists have known for years that being tested on what you’ve been learning boosts long-term memory. Tons of studies show that people who test themselves remember information better compared to people who spend the same amount of time simply learning stuff. This effect, known as the testing effect, shows that trying to retrieve something you’ve learned - that feeling of racking your brain for a word or an answer - helps you commit it to long-term memory. In one study, a group who got tested on what they’d learned remembered 21% more than a group who simply read the same information lots of times. This difference occurred despite the fact that the reading group had seen the information over four times more than the group who were tested: the readers had seen the information 14.2 times, while the testers had only seen it 3.4 times. This means that by putting yourself in situations where you have to try and bring to mind what you’ve learned, you can dramatically reduce the number of times you need to repeat something before it sinks in. If the word “test” brings to mind dusty grammar books or stressful language exams, know that it doesn’t have to be this way. Think about the process of learning a language for a moment. It provides tons of natural opportunities to test yourself. The most important - for the majority of us - is speaking. When you practise speaking, you’re constantly trying to recall what you’ve learned. Every time you rack your brain for a word, or a bit of grammar, the act of trying to bring it to mind will help you remember it better next time. But what happens when you get it wrong? Turns out you get a memory boost for mistakes. A study by Potts and Shanks (2014) shows that when people hazard a guess, make a mistake and get feedback on the right answer, they’re significantly more likely to remember the information compared to when they don’t guess. And what about those times when you literally have no idea? This is where it gets interesting. The same study showed that even if you make a random guess that you know is wrong, you still remember the right answer better next time. This means that learning by making mistakes, right from the beginning, can help you remember more. It doesn’t matter if you get it right or wrong. If you want to speed up learning, all you have to do is give it a go.

Why “Feel the Burn!” is Good Advice

Even more surprising is that people don’t realise how much they’re learning from their mistakes. Studies show that the people who learned by reading information several times felt more confident about their knowledge, compared to the people who were tested on what they’d learned. In other words, mistakes can make you feel like you're learning less, when you're actually learning more. Which leads to a funny paradox: avoid situations where you’re likely to make mistakes, and you’ll feel more confident but perform worse. By contrast, put yourself out there and risk screwing up, and you’ll feel less confident, but perform better in the long run. Most language learners want to study more before they have real conversations. That way, they believe, they won’t make as many mistakes. But science shows us that the best way to stop making mistakes is to get out there and make more of them.

Learning from Mistakes: How to Make More Mistakes - and Feel Good About Them

I hope you’re feeling ready to dive in and start learning from mistakes. Here’s a step-by-step process you can follow to do that, and have fun at the same time.

Step 1: Change Your Goal

Most of us judge our success with the question: “how much am I doing right?” But the key to learning doesn’t lie in getting stuff right, it lies in giving it a go. So change your goal. Stop asking yourself “did I get that right?” and instead ask yourself “did I give it a go?” If your answer to the latter question is yes, you’ve just learned something and taken another small step towards fluency. You’ve already won, whether you got it right or not.

Step 2: Aim to Fail

America’s youngest self-made female billionaire, Sara Blakely explains how over dinner, her father would ask “what did you fail at today?”. By encouraging failure, her father helped her associate a lack of mistakes with a lack of trying: if you’re always getting it right, you’re not pushing yourself enough. Start asking yourself “did I make enough mistakes today?”. If you aim to make as many mistakes as possible, you’ll appreciate them for what they are: a sign that you’re pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and making progress. By framing mistakes in a positive way, you’ll stop being afraid of them. When you’re no longer afraid of mistakes, you’ll be unstoppable.

Step 3: Start Guessing!

When you’re not 100% sure about a word or a grammatical structure, do you guess anyway? You should! You’ll be right (or very close) more often than you think. When it comes to talking to native speakers, you might worry that it could confuse matters if you just start throwing out stuff that you’re not sure about. To keep communication running smoothly, I find it handy to learn a “disclaimer phrase” like: I’m not sure if you say it like this but…. Then you can get feedback by asking: Is that right? Do you say it like that?”

Step 4: Ask Native Speakers to Correct You

Native speakers usually prefer not to correct your mistakes as they’re worried about seeming rude. But if you’re going to make mistakes, it’s important to get feedback from native speakers so that you can learn from them. Ask natives to correct you, and do everything you can to make sure they feel comfortable doing so. Show them you appreciate it: smile, say thank you, and keep telling them how useful their corrections are so they don’t have to worry about offending you.

Step 5: Bring Your Mistakes Home

Embracing failure doesn’t just apply when you’re speaking. It applies to studying at home too. When you’re writing something or answering questions in apps/textbooks/audio courses, it’s easy to worry about getting it wrong. But remember why you’re doing these activities in the first place. It’s not to prove that you’re awesome by getting everything right. The idea is to learn from your mistakes. If you’re not making enough, it means the activities you’re choosing are way too easy. Instead of getting down on yourself, see each mistake as a little win. You just found a gap in your knowledge, and you’re now more likely to get it right next time.

Step 6: Don’t Be Afraid to Laugh!

So you like the idea of seeing mistakes in a positive light, but you’re still scared of making a fool of yourself with native speakers. The truth is, sometimes you will make silly mistakes and people will laugh. But 99% of people are laughing with you, not at you. And no one will think you’re an idiot because of it! The other 1% aren’t worth your time anyway. Think about it, when you speak to a non-native speaker in your own language, how do you feel when they make a mistake? You might find it funny or endearing, but do you judge them because of it? Of course not. You understand that it’s all part of the learning process. On the flip side, when it’s you who’s the learner, others will understand that too. I've brightened up a lot of people's days with some brilliant mistakes over the years. Here are a couple of my favourites:

1. While talking to Italian friends about British food, I tried to explain "mushy peas" - a sort of pea puree that we Brits eat with fish and chips. But I accidentally said "penis purée" (purè di pisello) instead of "pea purée" (purè di piselli). We all laughed until we cried.
2. When a French guy - a friend of a friend I'd just met - asked me where I was from, I tried to say "I was born in London" (je suis née à Londres), but what I actually said was "I am naked in London" (je suis nue à Londres). Despite my initial embarrassment, it turned out to be a brilliant ice-breaker. We had a good laugh about it and carried on chatting.

When you can laugh at yourself, mistakes are a great opportunity to have fun with native speakers. And having fun with native speakers is always good for your language skills. Even when you say the f-word to your mother-in-law.

Your Turn

What's the most embarrassing mistake you've made in your language learning? Let me know in the comments.

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Must-Know Spanish Sentence Structures #25 - Using Conditionals

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! The Sentence Patterns series brings you a great new way to learn Spanish! With this series, you’ll build on your conversation skills by learning the most common and useful sentence patterns in Spanish. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the sentence pattern “If…” Visit us at SpanishPod101.com, where you [...]

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Strange things about Spaniards – Learn Spanish

Strange things about Spaniards: Learn Spanish listening to this lesson and using the subtitles. This is a list of strange things, from the point of view of a foreigner, on the behavior of the Spaniards. Transcript and subtitles available: Strange things about Spaniards - Learn Spanish

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News #234 - How to Master Spanish Speaking, Reading, Writing & Listening with 1 Tool!

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Spanish Vocab Builder #101 - Animals

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

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Announcing En Route avec Coffee Break French

In this special edition of Coffee Break French, Mark announces the new series in which you can join the Coffee Break French team, “en route”. Listen to a sneak preview of some of the many interviews with native speakers and learn more about the forthcoming series. This episode is the first of two special announcements from Coffee Break French. Stay tuned for the next announcement, coming soon.

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Must-Know Spanish Social Media Phrases #5 - At a Concert

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Have you ever wanted to combine your love of learning language with your love of using social media? This series allows you to do just that! You’ll learn more Spanish so you can chat to your Mexican friends online about topics like shopping, going out to dinner, and being on vacation. [...]

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Find your own way – Learn Spanish: Encuentra tu propio camino

Learn Spanish and discover how to teach Spanish yourself listening to native speakers. Today I will tell you a personal story about education. Aprende español escuchando este episodio en el que te cuento una historia personal. Hoy hablo sobre aprendizaje, sobre educación y sobre la sociedad. Hay algo muy importante que debes hacer para llevar tu aprendizaje a un nivel extraordinario. Transcripción completa: Learn Spanish: Find your own way

La entrada Find your own way – Learn Spanish: Encuentra tu propio camino se publicó primero en Spanish Podcast.

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Cool Spanish and A Secret Page

A great sign I saw this morning – Watch out! Wild boars! Slow down!

Queridos amigos,

It’s time for some more real Spanish for you (and a secret page at the bottom of this post!)

I was walking to my car this morning in a small village near Madrid where I like to come and work some days, when a man approached me and said, ‘Caballero, ¿dónde puedo comprar una baraja?’

I saw his wife packing a picnic in the back of their car and so thought he had asked where he could buy ‘una navaja’ – a pocket knife. So, unsure, I said ‘¿Perdón?’

‘Una baraja’ he repeated, and made the sign of shuffling a deck of cards with his hands.

‘¡Ah!’ I said, ‘Aquí a la derecha hay una papelería’ – Here on the right there is a stationary shop.

‘¡Gracias!’ he said and off he went.

This encounter made me happy for two real-Spanish-related reasons. First of all, I love it how the Spanish will often start an encounter with a complete (male) stranger with ‘Caballero…’ which can be translated as gentlemen, honorable man, or knight!

And I loved the fact that he reminded me of the word ‘baraja’ for a deck of cards. There’s something satisfying about that word! It reminded me too of the verb, barajar, to shuffle, and the phrase ‘barajar varias posibilidades’ – to consider various options.

For example, ’Después de barajar varias posibilidades, acabamos reservando una mesa en La Taberna Miranda’ – After considering various possibilities we ended up reserving a table at La Taberna Miranda.

Summer comes early, and a secret page for keen learners!

It’s mid-June, and it’s 38 degrees celsius here in Madrid! That’s 100 degrees fahrenheit! And it’s set to be like that all week! Goodness knows what the rest of the summer has in store for us!

The heat, combined with the summer holidays, means that pretty much everyone’s productivity levels are about to grind to a halt! Before we swoon in the heat I’d like to share a secret with anyone that is somewhere cooler and still has the energy to study – which hopefully is you! Get going with your Spanish! Summer is a Spanish time if ever there was one! ‘¡Hace calor! ¡Estupendo! ¡Cuánto más mejor!’ – The more the better!

If you’re feeling motivated, love our podcasts, and want to enhance your Real Spanish learning experience with our worksheets, then shhhh, look here… a secret page I hid a while ago for astute Googlers!

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben y Marina

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35 Free Online Korean Language Classes and Resources

Learning Korean doesn’t have to empty your pockets. But it can be tricky to find the right resources that work for you on a budget. There are countless resources online that teach you Korean. The only problem is how do you know which are good quality, without wasting hours weeding through them? The good news is that I’ve put this post together just so you won’t have to waste your study time researching resources. While doing my Korean language project, I had the chance to find and test many of them and the result is this list of Korean learning tools that won’t cost you a single 원 won. So, let’s take a look at these free online Korean language classes and resources.

Free Online Audio & Podcasts to Help You Learn Korean

Listen to Korean audio in either bite-sized podcasts, as sound-bites, or even dive straight into native-speaking radio stations. Here’s where to start with Korean language audio:

• KoreanClass101: The Innovative Language podcasts, including KoreanClass101, are free to sign up for and have an impressive amount of content available at a variety of levels.
• Talk to Me In Korean: The Talk to Me In Korean podcast has free lessons and entertaining video shows that teach colloquial phrases and words. They even have episodes that feature popular K-drama expressions so that you can really get into your favourite series.
• TuneIn North Korea or South Korea: You can listen to radio from either North or South Korea on TuneIn. Test out a few stations, see what catches your attention and enjoy.
• Forvo: If you come across a new word, especially with Korean that has rules related to changes in pronunciation, Forvo is a great place to listen to words spoken by a native speaker. It has a large database and is a good reference for pronunciation.

YouTube: Free Video Korean Lessons

YouTube is an excellent place to find free Korean language classes and resources. The following channels give you hours of Korean lessons in an engaging medium. Plus, video has the added benefits of letting you see facial expressions, body language and other non-verbal aspects of the Korean language.

• KoreanClass101: In addition to their free podcast lessons, KoreanClass101 also has an excellent YouTube channel with hours of free content.
• TalktoMeInKorean: Talk to Me In Korean also has a YouTube channel with loads of free videos.
• Easy Languages: I love the Easy Languages channel because it offers you a lot of local culture and context. In the Easy Language series, the hosts go out into the streets of Korea and interview the people they meet there. It’s a great way to hear the way people really speak the language, pick up useful conversational language, and practise your listening comprehension.
• Seemile: You may have seen one of the viral videos from this channel. It’s the one where a teacher poorly pronounces the phrase “Please give me coke” in order to teach students how to ask for Coca-Cola in Korean. This aside, this channel offers short grammar lessons that are really helpful.
• Sweet and Tasty TV: This YouTube channel features a little bit of everything. From vlogs that showcase trips to the Korean market to short but sweet Korean lessons, Sweet and Tasty TV is a great way to learn about Korean culture and the Korean language.
• Weekly Korean: This channel is great for Korean language learners because it’s presented from the perspective of a fellow learner rather than that of a native speaker. The host, Margarita, went through the process of learning Korean so she’s able to offer an angle on learning the language that’s different from some of the other channels out there.
• Learn Korean with Go! Billy Korean: Go! Billy Korean is another channel with Korean lessons taught by a fellow learner. He uses everything from games to travel to teach the language.
• Conversational Korean: Conversational Korean has several lessons that range from dialogs to conversational phrases to grammar lessons. The majority of the lessons are three minutes or less, so they’re great when you’re pressed for time.

Free Online Korean Courses and Systems

If you’re interested in guided lessons, there is an exceptional selection of free online Korean courses and systems available. Here are just a few websites that offer online Korean lessons at no cost:

• How to Study Korean: This was one of my go-to resources for Korean grammar questions when I was learning Korean and it is one of the best free resources I found for the language. It is essentially a free digital course book with incredibly thorough lessons.
• Learn Korean on Coursera: The online learning portal Coursera has a free Korean language course from Yonsei University called First Step Korean. It has several free video lessons taught by one of their university instructors.
• Dom + Hyo: Dom + Hyo are illustrators who use their design talents to create beautiful infographics that teach the Korean language and give their subscribers fun facts about Korean culture.
• Learn with Oliver: Learn with Oliver is an online flashcard tool that allows you to learn words or phrases with several ways to test yourself on the content. I personally love their email newsletters and look forward to seeing them in my inbox every day.
• Learn Langs: This free Korean course for beginners was created by Judith Meyer.

Free Korean Language Apps

Apps are an outstanding way to learn a new language. Especially for those who don’t have the time to sit down and study or who like to study on the go.

• Eggbun: Eggbun is available for both iOS and Android. It is based on the freemium model, so only a limited set of lessons are available for free. It was how I finally learnt to type in Korean and I picked up quite a few useful Korean words using their system.
• Pop Popping Korean: Pop Popping Korean is an app that teaches you how to read Hangeul through interactive games. It is free for Android and iOS.
• TenguGo Hangul: TenguGo has apps for a variety of languages, but its Korean Alphabet and Vocabulary apps are popular amongst Korean language learners. They are free for Android and iOS.
• S-TOPIK: For those interested in taking the TOPIK exam or for using it as a frame of reference, the S-TOPIK app is a great choice. It’s free for Android and iOS.
• Dongsa: If you’re struggling with Korean grammar, Dongsa is an app that can help you with conjugation. It is only available on Android devices.
• Memrise or Anki: Anki(for iOS, for Android, and for everyone else) and Memrise are flashcard systems that you can use to create your own Korean vocabulary decks or download those already created by other users. The desktop version of Anki is free as are both the app and browser versions of Memrise.

Free Online Korean Language Resources for Advanced Korean Learners

Watch Korean Vloggers on YouTube

If you’re looking for native and relevant material for your Korean language learning, YouTubers are a great source. Korean vloggers cover everything from comedy to beauty to food, so you’re sure to find a YouTube personality who covers a topic that you’re interested in. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Goteng: Goteng is a comedy blogger with a variety of videos and skits on his channel. The videos are in Korean, but you can watch them with English subtitles.
• 데이브 The World of Dave: Dave is another comedy blogger who shares videos in Korean as a non-native speaker. Many of his videos are culture-related, so it’s a great source for those of you interested in learning more about the language and Korean culture.
• The World of Erina: I discovered The World of Erina through The World of Dave. She is a Japanese vlogger who posts videos in Korean. She even teaches Japanese to Korean speakers so her channel is great if you’re interested in language laddering.
• 신별 ShinByul: If you’re a foodie, ShinByul is the perfect channel for you. In her videos, she tries out different Korean foods and snacks and comments on them.
• WhitneyBae: WhitneyBae is another Korean learner who vlogs in the language. Her videos are self-defined as ‘goofy’ and she often talks about what it’s like to live in Korea as a foreigner.
• 영국남자 Korean Englishman: Korean Englishman is a pair of Englishmen, Josh and Ollie, who make videos in Korean and English. Their videos are often comedic in nature and always entertaining.
• GabieKook: GabieKook is a travel and food vlogger who shares delicious and visually appealing recipes in Korean with English subtitles. I love the narrative of her videos - they’re more like stories than plain recipe videos.
• Stimboy: Stimboy is a popular Korean vlogger who is really varied in the content he puts out. He does a lot of product reviews and mukbang videos.
• HeoPop: HeoPop is a comedy vlogger from South Korea. His videos are available in Korean with English subtitles.

Free Korean Language Reading Materials

Korean uses its own unique writing system so reading practice is an important part of your learning journey. Finding material appropriate for your level in the language can be a challenge. Thankfully, there’s a decent selection of Korean reading resources available to you as a learner online for free.

• Wikipedia: Use Wikipedia to read short articles in Korean. You can switch back to your native language to check your comprehension.
• Lingq: Lingq is a popular online learning system that helps you acquire new vocabulary through its reading interface. It is only free in part - you need to help other learners in order to earn points to use the system for free.
• Korean Comics: Korean Comics is a webcomic created by a Korean language learner to provide a way for them to practise writing in Korean. The site also has a vocabulary section so that other Korean learners can view translations of the words used in each episode.

What Free Online Korean Classes and Resources Do You Use?

It’s incredible how many excellent resources are available to learn Korean at no cost online. Though I’ve featured 35 places you can learn Korean for free, I’m sure there are many more. Is there anything you feel that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments! Want More? Check out Benny's favourite Korean Resources.

The post 35 Free Online Korean Language Classes and Resources appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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How to pronounce R in Spanish

How to pronounce R in Spanish - Learn Spanish listening to native speakers. Today we talk about how to pronounce the Spanish R. It's a difficult task for many Spanish students because this sound is almost exclusive of the Spanish language. ¡Aprende pronunciación del español! ¡Practica la pronunciación de la R con nosotros! Transcripción y subtítulos disponibles: How to pronounce R in Spanish

La entrada How to pronounce R in Spanish se publicó primero en Spanish Podcast.

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Spanish Vocab Builder #100 - Home Electronics

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

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16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes

Are you learning Portuguese, and you want to find the best free online Portuguese language lessons? You’ve come to the right place! I’ve searched far and wide to find a variety of quality, fun, and free resources to boost your Portuguese skills. Learning European Portuguese? Overwhelmed by the number of Brazilian Portuguese resources out there? I didn’t forget you. I’ve collected free resources for both dialects. Whichever dialect you’re studying, don’t be afraid to try out other dialects. It’s always OK to experiment with different accents. So let’s get to it! Here are the best free Portuguese learning materials for all levels:

Portuguese Language Lessons for Beginners

A lot of beginners think you need to learn vocabulary and grammar before you start speaking Portuguese, and listening to other people speak Portuguese. In my view, it’s actually better to speak and listen to Portuguese from the first day you start learning. I recommend that you use self-study methods like flash cards and structured audio lessons to build your vocabulary, plus kids’ TV shows to get exposure to natural spoken Portuguese. I’d also recommend that you practise talking to native Portuguese speakers! Try the following resources whether you’re just starting out, or have reached an advanced level.

Beginner Resources for European Portuguese

• Memrise is one of my first stops when I’m just starting out in a language. It has tons of free courses for European Portuguese (and Brazilian, too). It’s a great way to get introduced to common phrases and vocabulary in the language.
• RTP Zigzag. RTP is Portugal’s public broadcasting network, and Zigzag is its section devoted to kids’ videos. Most are educational, covering geography, history, and general fun facts. Each video is short enough to watch in a few minutes during a coffee break.
• italki is where you find native Portuguese speakers to talk with, and it is a must, right from the first day you start learning Portuguese. It’s NEVER too early to start talking with native Portuguese speakers. When I say you should speak from day one, I mean that literally. So get onto italki and find some Portuguese speakers to chat with. They can be language exchange partners, community tutors or professional teachers. Professional lessons cost money but the prices are very reasonable. Finding a conversation exchange partner is free. You can search for Portuguese speakers based on home country, so search for people from Portugal to practise your European Portuguese.
• Learn Portuguese with Rafa. Rafa’s website is focused on European Portuguese for beginners, but it also explains some key differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese. Here, you’ll find detailed info on nearly every feature of European Portuguese grammar, including verb moods, conjunctions, general everyday phrases and even swear words.

Beginner Resources for Brazilian Portuguese

• PortuguesePod101. I recommend Innovative Language’s courses to all language learners, and PortuguesePod101 is one of the best places to start your Brazilian Portuguese journey. It has lessons for absolute beginners right through to advanced learners. Each episode comes with a PDF summary of the dialogue for you to follow along with while you listen. A second PDF with complete lesson notes is available to premium members. You can access many of the lessons with a free account, but you do need a paid membership to access every lesson.
• BrazilianPodClass. For extra structure in your lessons, try out this in-depth podcast that covers all of the major grammar points and tons of vocabulary in Portuguese. It’s not one of those repeat-after-me audio learning methods, but it shows you how to use what you learn in each lesson to make new phrases in Portuguese.
• Semantica is a video course formatted like a TV show. Each episode contains one scene of a story. You’ll keep coming back to learn more because you want to know what happens next in the story.
• Duolingo is an alternative to flash cards for building your Portuguese vocabulary and learning grammar. It’s perfect for beginners, and is completely free.
• italki. I already mentioned italki for European Portuguese, but of course, it’s just as important to speak with native speakers if you’re learning Brazilian Portuguese. It’s not always easy to get on Skype and chat with a native speaker when you’re new to a language, but you can bet you’ll learn a lot more this way than you ever will from self-study.

Intermediate Portuguese Podcasts, Videos and Other Resources

These intermediate Portuguese learning resources (including podcasts and videos) will take your Portuguese skills beyond the basics. I made sure to choose material that’s designed to be engaging. You’re more likely to study when you find learning fun. When listening to spoken Portuguese with the resources below, don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand everything you hear. The more you listen, the better you’ll get at picking out the words you know. You’ll also get pretty good at catching the gist of a story without knowing every single word.

Podcasts, Videos and Other Resources to Learn Intermediate European Portuguese

• Practice Portuguese is geared toward Portuguese learners who have an intermediate level of reading comprehension, but still have trouble with listening comprehension. The speaker’s voice is slow and clear, which is perfect for listeners who are still getting used to spoken Portuguese. Also, if you’ve been studying Brazilian Portuguese and want to get an introduction to the European dialect, this is a great place to start.
• Portuguêses no Mundo. This captivating free podcast is about a topic that many language learners love: world travel. In each episode, the host interviews a Portuguese person who’s living in another country. Hear their stories about what it’s like to move away from Portugal and start a new life overseas, from Japan to Oman to Angola and beyond. This podcast is useful for Portuguese learners because each episode follows the same structure. The host asks the same questions to each guest (“Why did you move to that country?”, “What surprised you the most about living there?”, “What do you miss most about Portugal?”, etc.). However, the responses of the guests are very diverse, keeping this podcast fascinating.
• Visiokids: Ciência para Crianças (Science for Kids). Learn fun science facts from this interesting children’s program while practising your Portuguese listening comprehension.
• Camões Instituto da Cooperação e da Lingua Portugal. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, this website is an incredible treasure trove of material for learning all facets of the language. Under “A Ler” (“reading”) there’s an assortment of books including story books (with accompanying audio!), mini biographies (with accompanying quizzes!) and a reference guide for everyday situations. Check out “A Falar” (“speaking”) for videos about spoken Portuguese, “A Ouvir” (“listening”) for a variety of audio exercises, and “A Brincar” (“playing”) for some games. The site is entirely in Portuguese, but some sections contain translations into English and French. Some of the links may seem broken, but don’t worry, the pages are still there. Do a Google search for the section you’re looking for and it should be the first hit, and will take you to the right page.

Podcasts, Videos and Other Resources to Learn Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese

• NHK World Radio Japão - When you’re still ramping up your Portuguese listening comprehension, it’s a good idea to listen to native speakers who are talking clearly at full speed. News programmes are really useful for this. NHK World News broadcasts a daily news program from Tokyo in dozens of languages, including Brazilian Portuguese. Get your morning news digest from this programme, then go online and read the news in your native language and check how well you understood the stories.
• Cinem(ação). Everyone likes watching films, right? Cinem(ação) is one of the most popular film-related podcasts in Brazil. It airs weekly, with lively and funny hosts chatting about one or more films released that week.
• Recontando. This fun Brazilian news site was made especially for children. The news stories are simplified in terms of language (it uses vocab that kids know) and content (it avoids concepts that kids are too young to understand). There are even videos of child news reporters interviewing Brazilian celebrities! Unfortunately the content has not been kept up-to-date, but there’s enough material on there that you won’t run out of stories to read and videos to watch for a long time.

Advanced Portuguese Language Lessons

Once you’ve reached an advanced stage of learning Portuguese, you’re ready to start engaging with the same media that native speakers use. You’re also able to find resources yourself, and I recommend finding those you like. Here are a couple of my favourites to get you started.

Advanced European Portuguese

• Conta-me Tudo (Tell Me Everything). This podcast is dedicated to amazing, funny and incredible stories. Each episode features a different speaker telling his or her fascinating tale to an audience. Topics are varied and include narrow escapes from death, odd ways to begin a career, and a terrible idea for a birthday present. The speakers all speak quickly, so the stories are perfect for advanced learners.

Advanced Brazilian Portuguese

• CBTV Canal Brasil for iOS, Android and Roku is a completely free, live TV channel geared toward Brazilians living in the United States. It broadcasts from Florida and includes news, sports, history, health, and even pets! Because it’s intended for native Brasileiros, the content is pretty advanced.

Over to You

What are your favourite free online Portuguese courses and resources? Let me know in the comments.

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