Samstag, 28. November 2009

Free Mandarin Resources

Here is a long list of free resources for learning Mandarin, which I have sifted out of all the other resources I encountered while searching on Google:

http://www.clearchinese.com/learn-chinese/index.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNoOdNvdZlg Learn chinese with yang yang
http://www.luomapinyin.com/downloads.html chinese internet vocabulary
http://www.learnchineseez.com/read-write/traditional/index.php learn 4000 characters with animated character strokes
http://www.learnchineseez.com great site for tv and radio links, fsi course etc
http://www.skritter.com/about writing chinese characters, spaced repetition

As you can see, some of them I've already given cursory labels, and I hope to have time soon to go through and label all of them.

Labels or not, they're worth taking a look at, of that I assure you:)

Donnerstag, 26. November 2009

NaturalArabic.com

This site was referred to by Chris in the LingQ Forum


in a recent post. It is very similar to LingQ in that learning also takes place through simply reading and listening, but it has a couple of interesting features which I think any language learner can appreciate. Check out the intro video at


However, despite these cool features, it cannot compete with the INDEPENDENT language learning power of LingQ, namely that on LingQ the LEARNER decides what he or she studies and can import his or her own content, without having to rely on some website to do it, in addition to the fact that you can't save words on this site.

Regardless, I think it's a cool concept, it just needs a bit of work.

In the future when Arabic is offered on LingQ, this might be a good supplementary website from which you could take words and phrases and save them in your LingQ wordlist, for example.

The Key to Good Pronunciation: Exaggeration

This is a re-post of one of my recent contributions (http://www.lingq.com/learn/zh/forum/4/4709/) in the LingQ Forum, with a couple slight additions:

Good pronunciation is very much a question of attitude towards and acceptance of the foreign culture, and it's impeded by fear.

Fear of sounding 'too foreign', of leaving the comfortable boundaries of the sounds and intonation of your native language.

In my opinion, exaggeration is the key to good pronunciation. EXAGGERATE everything you do in the language, based on what you see and hear native speakers doing. Try to look (that is, move your mouth and face) and sound like them, imagine you are them.

All of this, of course, must be preceded by lots of natural exposure to the language, i.e. listening and reading. Remember that Steve didn't speak Russian for two years after he started learning, that is, he gave himself time to assimilate the sounds and intonation of the language before he started speaking.

Steve actually talks about this subject in his interview on Radio Canada


and in this thread on the forum



Once you've heard a lot of English and have become accustomed to hearing and understanding different accents, it's important that you choose one you'd like to imitate and try your best to emulate it. Otherwise you will always have a foreign/international accent (and there's nothing wrong that).

Check out this video (and YouTube channel and blog, in that order) on Language Learning and accents from Hyunwoo Sun, a Korean tutor at Koreanclass101.com and a popular YouTube polyglot


and watch this Chinese cop and the way he imitates a New York accent by exaggerating (and ends up sounding pretty good)

Dienstag, 24. November 2009

Skritter : Learn Chinese and Japanese characters faster and retain them longer

I came upon Skritter, a cool website for learning how to WRITE and remember Chinese and Japanese characters, while searching for free online learning resources for Chinese. Watch the intro video here:


According to the site, Skritter allows you to

  • Learn Chinese and Japanese: in your browser, no installation.
  • Write your characters: use a mouse, writing tablet, or touchscreen.
  • Track your progress using SRS (Spaced Repetition Learning System): so you review only what you need to review.
  • Use textbook lists plus over 4200 simplified and traditional characters included.
You can sign up for a free 2-week trial for the Chinese site, after which you have to pay.

The Japanese site currently free, as it is still BETA.

Montag, 23. November 2009

Acappella, my other love

In case anyone's interested, here's a video of my UC Berkeley Acappella group Artists in Resonance (AiR) performing 'Heartbreaker' by Pat Benatar on campus in the Music Department.


I also recommend Under the Bridge, Motown Philly, and Mr. Roboto, where you can see me and Rafi hold down the bass, and Lie Low, where I get a solo in! Oh, and you can skip the intros/skits ;)

We sure had a lot of fun back then.

Sonntag, 22. November 2009

Getting started in Japanese

This post is for everyone who's always wanted to get started learning Japanese but never knew where to start.

'Human Japanese' is, in my opinion, the least painful and most entertaining introduction to all aspects of the Japanese language, and it's what helped me most when I got started. It includes a short history of the Japanese language, a comparison of Japanese to English, and then a thourough and engaging intro to the writing system and basic grammar and vocab over the course of 40 chapters, including audio for all the words and phrases. The trial version is free to download (see link below).

The other resources (#'s 2, 3 and 4) are indispensable for learning Hiragana, Katakana and the Kanji, and #5 is for those who intend to study Chinese as well and want an efficient way to learn the 800 most frequent characters (which comprise 75% of written Chinese).

Ok, here's what you do to get started in Japanese:

1) Go to

http://www.humanjapanese.com/download.html

and try out Human Japanese, which, as I said above, is the best introduction to the writing system, grammar and vocabulary of Japanese I've seen.

***2) Download Nihonaid from

www.nihonaid.com

which is a program you download that utilizes mnemonics combined with Spaced Repetition Learning to maximize the rate at which you learn first Hiragana, then Katakana, then the Kanji.

3) Sign up for a free membership at

http://kanji.koohii.com/

where you can learn the Kanji online using James Heisig's system and have access to other learner's mnemonic devices for the characters.

4) Check out the wealth of resources for learning Japanese at


5) (Optional) Invest in

Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters

http://www.amazon.com/Tuttle-Learning-Chinese-Characters-Revolutionary/dp/080483816X)

which will not only help you to remember the meanings of the characters, but will also help you remember the Chinese pronunciations of the characters, as these are built into the mnemonic devices given.

I wish you success in your Japanese studies, and welcome any comments or questions!

Samstag, 21. November 2009

I've posted a video on LingQ's YouTube channel LingQ Plaza

Under the following link you can see the recording of my conversation in Spanish with Albert (Alsuvi)


The conversation went quite long, so I split it up into 4 parts.

I hope you enjoy the video and I welcome any feedback on the video (and on my Spanish!)

Freitag, 20. November 2009

Free Chinese mp3 songs and lyrics

Chinese-tools.com is a great resource in general for Chinese learning, as it has free audio/text lessons (from Zhang Peng Peng's Intensive Spoken Chinese, which I previously posted on), annotated news in Chinese, poetry, writing lesson, idioms and more.

However, one of the coolest things about the site is the wealth of free Chinese songs and their corresponding annotated lyrics from different genres, including Pop, ROck, R & B, Top Hits, and Love Songs:

http://www.chinese-tools.com/songs

If you combine these resources with the learning power of LingQ, then you've got a formidable ally in your quest to learn Chinese.

Donnerstag, 19. November 2009

Vera's Diary for Beginners (in English)

Calling all English learners! I just published ten new episodes of Vera's Diary for Beginners in the English library, which can be found under the following link:


There are now a total of 24 lessons in the collection, with a further 19 to be coming soon.

This is a great place to start with lots of good vocabulary for beginners in English, and if you're learning German as well (or you'd like to see the translation), then check out Vera's Diary for Beginners in the LingQ German library.

Comments and suggestions are much appreciated:)

Happy LingQing!

Bild zur Lektion

"Seven tips on how to learn languages at LingQ" by Steve Kaufmann

from the LingQ Wiki (http://lingq.pbworks.com/Seven-tips-on-how-to-learn-languages-at-LingQ)

Everyone has their own way of learning languages at LingQ. If you had to advise someone on what YOU consider the most important things to do in order to get the most out of LingQ, ...

Here are my seven points.

1. To get the most out of LingQ you need to listen a lot. Make sure you have a good MP3 player and know how to get your desired content from the LingQ Library onto your MP3 player. Carry your MP3 player with you wherever you go.

2. Create lots of LingQs. As your cursor travels across the text you are reading, when you see a word you do not know, or would like to know better, or would like to be able to use, grab it. If there are user hints, take one. If not, click on New Hint. Do the same for phrases. Make sure you create as many LingQs as possible. 100 a day is not too many!

3. If you have saved a lot of LingQs, you will see them highlighted in yellow on your text, when you read. Treat your reading at LingQ as a powerful way to learn words and phrases and usage patterns, and not just a reading experience. At first you cannot even remember the meaning of the words you saved. After a few months there will be few words or phrases that you do not understand.

4. When reviewing your saved words using Flash Cards, do not expect to learn them all. Just go through them quickly. Do so immediately after you finish reading a text and have pressed "I Know All". Do so again when you receive your email with your LingQs for review. But do so quickly. Do not worry about what you cannot remember. Some words stick and others just won't.

5. Talk to a tutor once a week. It will keep you motivated. If you have a specific problem, or if you really enjoy your discussions with tutors, you can always go for more. However, a once a week commitment makes sure that you stay focused.

6. Write on the Forum in the language you are learning, at least once a week. Use the Post and Submit button, to post your comments and submit them for correction at the same time.

7. Make lots of friends on the Community, the more the better. Find people from your own country, or people studying the same languages as you, or members and tutors who speak those languages. The more friends you have, the more you will be connected to other members of the community. This will sustain your interest and keep you going, and help you achieve your goals.

----------------

You'll find the front page of the Wiki here http://lingq.pbworks.com/


Meertaligheid. Ja of nee? Tweede taal leren

Interessant artikel over kinderen en meertaligheid van WereldExpat.nl:

'Nederlandse ouders in het buitenland twijfelen soms of ze hun kinderen meertalig moeten opvoeden. Is het wel goed voor je kind? Hoeveel talen is mogelijk en hoe doe je dat dan?'

http://static.rnw.nl/migratie/www.wereldexpat.nl/nl/wonen/taal/typischnltv_mariaverhallen-redirected

Dienstag, 17. November 2009

The bilingual brain

This is an excerpt describing the cognitive benefits of bilingualism from an article called The rise of the monoglots that Steve provided a link to on his most recent blog post (http://www.universityaffairs.ca/the-rise-of-the-monoglots.aspx):

The bilingual brain

Speaking two languages is like going to “brain gym,” says Ellen Bialystok, a psychology professor at York University’s faculty of health and a leading researcher on the cognitive benefits of bilingualism.

Dr. Bialystok’s early research on children found that, under certain conditions, bilingual children learn to read faster and score higher on cognitive tests than their monolingual counterparts. Her most recent work, at the other end of the age spectrum, has shown that lifelong bilingualism can delay symptoms of dementia.

“A bilingual person with dementia or Alzheimer’s can maintain better cognitive performance longer because bilingualism gives you a cognitive reserve, like a reserve fuel tank,” she says.

Bilingual individuals also think differently, says Richard Clément, a psychologist and director of the University of Ottawa’s Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute. “They have access to two systems. Not only two semantics systems, or two lexical systems, but actually two ways of thinking.”

This ability gives them “a repertoire of thinking modes” and a better capacity for adaptation, he says. As a result, they are “better adjusted, happier and less stressed” in intercultural situations.

-------------------------------

“To have another language is to possess a second soul.”

-Charlemagne

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.”

-Benjamin Lee Whorf

(both quotes borrowed from http://www.quotesdaddy.com/tag/Language/2)

Wie Sie jede Sprache in 12 Monaten fließend sprechen lernen können

Laut Udo Gollub, Geschäftsführer und Gründer von Sprachenlernen24.

http://www.sprachenlernen24-blog.de/sprache-lernen-in-12-monaten/

I also recommend the other posts on Mr. Gollubs blog, which can be found on the right-hand side of the page.

Foreign Language Mastery

Linguist Mr. John Fotheringham's website

'dedicated to helping you master one (or perhaps many more!) foreign tongues in the fastest and cheapest way possible',

a must-read for language enthusiasts.

Watching T.V. and movies to improve your English (or any other language)

This was a recent post of mine on one of the LingQ forums:

I personally take great pleasure in watching movies and television series to aid my language learning and to keep myself interested when I don't feel like reading or just listening to audio.

It's also a nice way to really see how people talk and react in quasi real life situations, and especially to associate the meaning of what you hear with what you see, which is the most natural way the brain learns language.

However, as much as I like movies, I recommend using T.V. series more than anything because the episodes are relatively short and you can repeat them. I will usually watch each episode twice, once with subtitles and then once without.

It's also the method that gets you the most bang for your buck, as you can get roughly 18 hours of content for about 30 bucks if you buy the DVDs.

It's not important to understand everything you hear - as long as you understand at least 60% of what you're hearing, your brain is learning.

I personally never use the dictionary except on LingQ when I'm reading, and that's only very quickly just so I can understand the new words in context and then listen lots of times. If a text contains too many unknown words, it becomes boring to look them all up and I'll just read it to get out of it what I can.

I'm a highly motivated and very lazy language learner.

If you do look any words up, in your reading or when watching movies, make sure to save them on LingQ so that there's a certain amount of 'accountability' for the learning you've been doing, and so you can see those words in new contexts on LingQ.

Check out this article from Foreign Language Mastery http://l2mastery.com/methods/alg-approach-to-self-study

Sonntag, 15. November 2009

Improving your pronunciation

I always recommend that learners record themselves when trying to improve their pronunciation and intonation, especially when they have a lot of fossilized errors (as do most people who spend years in the grammar/translation system of language learning).

I use a rule of 5x5x5, although it could also be 3x3x3 or whatever - I just like 5.

1) Learners record themselves reading an article or a dialogue for which they have the native speaker audio as well. Audio content should not be very long, maybe 1 or 2 minutes maximum.
2) They listen to the content 5 times without reading, paying attention to the pronunciation and especially to the intonation, as intonation is more important for overall comprehensibility (I read this in Ann Cook's American Accent Training Program).
3) They listen to and read the content 5 times, once again paying special attention to the intonation.
4) Repeat step 2
5) They record themselves reading the piece again and then compare themselves to the first recording.

Do this every day with a different text, and every day listen to the text from the day before to review.

Students who've done this have noticed a definite difference in the quality of their personal reproduction of the content.

Having said all of this, I only recommend that people who have a lot of fossilized errors do it. If you've never spoken much English, just hold off a bit and give yourself time to soak up more of the language naturally so that you may never have to do 'drills' like this.

Chinese learning from scratch

This is a re-post of a response a wrote to a post on Helen's blog entitled
Learning Chinese with LingQ: No knowledge

It's very hard to start out in Chinese from scratch on LingQ at this point - I know because I tried.

A highly recommendable book is Zhang Peng Peng's 'Intensive spoken Chinese', which will help you to understand about 1000 words over the course of 40 dialogues, each of which includes the characters and pinyin transliteration, as well as wordlists.

Following each chapter is also a relevant grammar point, but I just skipped those in my hunger for more vocabulary.

My method was
1) read (the pinyin) and listen without understanding first
2) read and listen and look at the word list on the side of the page to figure out what they are saying
3) read and listen again to see if I understand
4) listen without reading to test my comprehension

This only took about 10 minutes for each dialogue, and I found that I could learn to understand a dialogue with sometimes 30 new vocab words in that time.

Once you can understand without reading, move onto the next lesson and do the same. Then it's just a matter of listening to the dialogues every day over the course of a week or so and after that occasionally repeating, and within about a month or less you can understand 1000 words of Chinese (in context).

Donnerstag, 12. November 2009

The Linguist on Language

You can read Steve Kaufmann's award-winning blog on language learning at

http://thelinguist.blogs.com/how_to_learn_english_and/

and see his videos at

http://www.youtube.com/user/lingosteve

both of which I subscribe to and refer to daily.

Getting started

Ok so I started this blog almost two years ago and then never ended up writing anything, but reading Steve's blog has given me incentive to pick it back up again and reach out to people...

I'll reach out as soon as I think of something to say. Till then, ta!