March 25, 2009

Easy Simple Ways to Squeeze Audiobooks around Your Everyday Schedule

Filed under: Great Multimedia Tips, Hall Of Language, To Read A Book — admin @ 11:10 am

An active life can make it hard to fit in all the titles you would like to read. Long commutes to work and mundane activities might be consuming enormous chunks of your time everyday. Your favorite hobbies take a back seat to your job, caring for children, or even household tasks. You can make use of the hours you spend commuting to get up to date on books you can’t get around to reading. Thanks to media files, you can enjoy Righteous Men by Sam Bourne for sale from Download Audio Book Online, or audio-books recounted by W.E.B. Griffin without ever lifting the book.

Making the most of your time is fast becoming necessary these days. Audible books such as Pimsleur Spanish Plus by Dr. Paul Pimsleur by Download Audio Book Online take advantage of the dead minutes in our lives, it may be time spent waiting at the doctor’s office or perhaps taking the family to music lessons. Audiobooks are now for sale to download as audio files suited for your PC, laptop computers and ipods these include Pimsleur Inglese 1 - English for Italian Speakers I Part 1 by Dr. Paul Pimsleur, so pick up your mp3 player and get ready to discover the current thriller, such as audible books penned by Elizabeth von Arnim without hauling a cumbersome book with you. Another benefit of audible books is hiring or buying the book that interests you then listening to it at your leisure. Do you wish to learn Spanish? Why not check out audio-books? It’s easy to catch up on current business practises, or you can enjoy studying the newest notions about religious belief or modern spirituality. Audio books exist in a multitude of titles and literary genres. It doesn’t matter if you are a natural history devotee, or you are crazy over horror or interested in self-help, it’s simple to access many audiobooks immediately. Several options are open; it’s simple to take a subscription to a program and rent or else buy them outright. Reading will always be a requisite skill, but the most convenient way could be the enormous assortment of audio titles available today. Numerous chronicles, such as audiobooks performed by Sam Bourne, can be more enjoyable when recounted by the writer or a noted actor. Simply reading a book isn’t the same as listening to an audio title performed by Joanna Bourke, including the additional nuances established during a rendidtion. Your reading experience will be elevated by listening to audio-books like Italian in No Time! by Dr Robert Blair and go far beyond the words on a page.

Click here and take a look at our really inspiring source for Pimsleur Englisch - English for German Speakers I - Complete by Dr. Paul Pimsleur suggestions.

Don’t forget about audio books next time you want to buy books, audiobooks are a fantastic means to fit the titles you desire into your busy life.

January 26, 2009

Seven Steps to Learning Spanish

Filed under: Life Of Self Improvement, Hall Of Language, Education Portal — admin @ 12:09 am

by Neal Walters

1) Take advantage of the free lessons at our new SpanishLearningCentre.com site. See the resource box at the bottom for full details. We provide free and fun audio lessons.

2) Don’t waste the driving time you spend in the car. Instead of listening to the radio (unless you are listening to Spanish radio), try listening to programmed course materials. Many people commute more than 5 or 10 hours per week. Even at 30 minutes a day, you will be astounded what you can learn in the car.

3) Carry flashcards with you. Make your own flashcards on 3×5 notecards using words from the course from which you are currently studying. Be sure and carry them with you; next time you are standing in line or waiting for whatever, pull out the flashcards, and do a quick review.

4) It really helps to have a good book (with a Spanish/English dictionary in the back). Not everyone learns best with audios; many students need to see and read the words for them to sink into their brains. Books will fill in gaps, such as grammar, and provide a quick reference when you need to lookup a word or phrase.

5) Don’t forget about software on your computer. You can easily listen to the same words and phrases over-and-over again without tiring out your computer. With multimedia systems, you typically get immediate feedback on your progress and mistakes.

6) Join a Spanish club or class. Maybe your local high-schools or colleges have continuing or “fun” educations classes like languages. The classes are often $25 or less, and you have the benefit of learning with others, and getting feedback from a teacher.

7) Travel to a Spanish-speaking country. It will immerse you in the language and culture, plus you may enjoy the site-seeing and museums. You will see and read signs everyday, and overhear people speaking Spanish.

Free beginner tutorials available now at Beginner Spanish website.

September 30, 2007

Master Spanish or Any Other Language in 30 Days or Less!

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 4:11 pm

As in many aspects in life, Second Language Acquisition is part of a process that may extend for several years. How funny and ludicrous it is to find language courses that offer what we would all like to hear, that we can master a new language in only 30 days!

Some of these course providers even go one step beyond and raise the ante by promising students to speak a language with native- like pronunciation in this span of time.

Simply put, this is a blunt lie. Even for people living abroad in a foreign country, it may take several years for them to master the new language, let alone sound like native speakers. All this in spite of being immersed in the best setting for language acquisition to take place. After all, they are surrounded by native speakers of the language for most part of the day, unless they simply stay at home all the time, of course. Every single contact they have with people forces them to interact in the target language in order to get their message across and understand their interlocutors. Every interaction revolves around truly communicative situations (i.e. no one in the street will come to you and ask you: “what are the rules to form the ‘imperfect subjunctive?’”

What is more, after a hard-day’s work with full interaction in the second language, they get home and plan to relax, turn on the TV and there it is again: the foreign language is right there waiting for you! There is no escaping from it! You can run but you can’t hide. It’s at home on the radio, TV or the Internet, when you talk to your neighbors or the mailman; it is on your radio when you go to work, it’s ever present at work, when you go to the market, to the bank, when you eat out etcetera, etcetera and etcetera. This is total and absolute immersion and even in this heaven for the person eager to acquire a second language it may take at least four years for a learner to master this language, and especially in adults, native-like pronunciation is very difficult to acquire.

It is obvious that it is not always feasible or practical for us to leave everything behind and pursue this quest for learning a second language. Does this mean that we are doomed not to ever learn another language? Could we in any way infer that there is no hope of ever mastering a second language? Of course NOT. There are some awesome language courses and programs out there which are based on sound pedagogical principles. However, we must be realistic and objective about our second language learning. Whenever we hear about “the ultimate language course that can gain us proficiency overnight” we should be absolutely skeptical. More often than not, these self-proclaimed “ultimate solutions” are nothing but well-designed marketing ploys aimed at getting as much money from students as possible, in the shortest possible time.

Not surprisingly, they cost an arm and a leg, not because they are good, just because they sell hope; they sell what we want to hear, the magic pill that could make our dreams come true effortlessly. Who wouldn’t like to achieve in one month what’s taken others a lifetime to obtain? I would! However, pragmatically speaking, that is utterly impossible! Being a rather sedentary person with some extra weight, I must admit that I would love to be in very good shape. Nevertheless, I must acknowledge the fact that even if I hired the best personal trainer in the world and went to the best gym in the universe and trained my very hardest and dieted along the way, all of this for a whole month with the supervision and guidance of the best in the field, and even if I quit everything to pursue this objective, the plain and simple fact will remain that I would still not be able to participate in the Olympics after just one month of this severe training.

It would be ridiculous both to expect this to happen and to offer this. After just one month, how could I compete or even train at the same level of world-class athletes who have devoted their entire lives to get ready for that moment? The mere idea of this is just nonsensical! Ironically enough, this is often what second language programs offer and people simply fall for them time and again. What is more, the ones who design these programs are by no means “experts in the field” but just ruthless cunning businessmen who want quick profits by selling sand castles no matter how much pain and frustration they will eventually cause.

My humble piece of advice to any serious second language learner or learner-to-be is to be cautious and skeptical whenever tempted by such appealing offers as the ones already mentioned. As in the fable “The tortoise and the hare,” remember that “slow and steady wins the race.”

Julio Foppoli is a teacher of English as a Second Language and a teacher of Spanish as a Second Language. He is the creator and owner of http://www.esaudio.net/Spanish/online_classes.html, an online educational website with a technological edge, specialized in the teaching of Spanish as second language via audio-conference to native speakers of English from all over the world.

The website offers free listening comprehension activities with Spanish from all of the Spanish speaking world.

August 28, 2007

Brief Etymological Review of the English Word-Stock

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 2:26 pm

Etymologically the vocabulary of the English
language is far from being homogenous. It
consists of two layers - the native stock of
words and the borrowed stock of words.
Numerically the borrowed stock of words is
considerably larger than the native stock of
words.

In fact native words comprise only 30% of
the total number of words in the English
vocabulary but the native words form the bulk
of the most frequent words actually used in
speech and writing. Besides, the native words
have a wider range of lexical and grammatical
valency, they are highly polysemantic and
productive in forming word clusters and set
expressions.

Borrowed words or
loanwords are words taken from another
language and modified according to the patterns
of the receiving language.

In many cases a borrowed word especially one
borrowed long ago is practically
indistinguishable from a native word without a
thorough etymological analysis. The number of
the borrowings in the vocabulary of the
language and the role played by them is
determined by the historical development of the
nation speaking the language.

The most effective way of borrowing is
direct borrowing from another language as the
result of the contacts with other nations.
Though, a word may be also borrowed indirectly
not from the source language but through
another language.

When analyzing borrowed words one should
distinguish between two terms - source of
borrowing
and origin of
borrowing
. The first term is applied to
the language from which the word was
immediately borrowed and the second - to the
language to which the word may be ultimately
traced. The closer the two interacting
languages are in structure the easier it is for
words of one language to penetrate into the
other.

There are different approaches to
classifying the borrowed stock of words.

The borrowed stock of words may be
classified according to the nature of the
borrowing itself as borrowing proper, loans
translation
and semantic
loans.

Loan translation or calque
is a phrase borrowed from another language by
literal word-for-word translation.

Semantic loan is the borrowing of
the meaning for a word already existing in the
English language.

Latin loans are classified into the
subgroups.

  1. Early Latin loans. Those are the
    words which came into English language through
    the languages of the Anglo-Saxon tribes. The
    tribes had been in contact with Roman
    civilization and had adopted many Latin words
    denoting objects belonging to that civilization
    long before the invasion of the Angles, Saxons
    and Judes into Britain (e.g., cup, kitchen,
    mill, wine, port).
  2. Later Latin borrowings. To this
    group belong the words which penetrated into
    English language in the sixth and seventh
    centuries, when the English people were
    converted to Christianity (e.g., priest,
    bishop, nun, and candle).
  3. The third period of the Latin
    borrowings
    includes words which came into
    English due to two historical events: the
    Norman Conquest and the Renaissance. Some came
    to English language through French but some
    were borrowed directly from Latin (e.g., major,
    minor, intelligent, permanent).
  4. The latest layer of Latin words.
    The words of this period are mainly abstract
    and scientific words (e.g., nylon, molecular,
    vaccine, phenomenon, and vacuum).

The tendency of the English language to
borrow extensively can be traced during the
centuries. Thus, one can confidently claim that
borrowing is one of the most productive sources
of enrichment of the English vocabulary.

Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.customresearchpapers.us/ and an author of the popular online tutorial for students “What Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days”, available at http://www.go2essay.com/.

August 15, 2007

Learn Chinese Pronunciation: the 80/20 Guide, Part 2

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 2:21 pm

“I want to learn Chinese but just give me the basics!”

That’s what this Chinese pronunciation guide is all about. It’s all that you need to know about the pinyin system of Chinese pronunciation to get by.

The 80% that’s important. (Spend 20% of time to learn the 80% that’s important.)

Continued from Part 1, learn Chinese pronunciation, the 4 tones…

1. Consonants

There are 24 consonants in pinyin which are pronounced a lot like in English.

b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, y, w

Learn Chinese pronunciation of Consonants

b as in boy
p as in pine
m as in mother
f as in food
d as in dig
t as in talk
n as in none
l as in loud
g as in good
k as in kid
ng as in song
h as in hot
j as in jeep
q like “ch” in cheat
x like a sound between the “s” in see and the “sh” in she
zh like “dg” in sludge
ch as in children
sh as in shake
r as in raw
z like “ds” in words
c like “ts” in eats
s as in son
y as in Yao Ming
w as in we

2. Vowels

There are 6 simple vowels.

a, o, e, i, u, ü

Learn Chinese pronunciation of Vowels

- a as in mama
- o as in drop
- e as in
- I as in sit
- U as in look
- ü like the u in the French rue

3. Vowel Combinations

In Chinese pronunciation, basic vowels can form vowel combinations with each other or with a nasal consonant.

Learn Chinese pronunciation of Vowel Combinations

- ai like eye
- an sounds like “ah” with an emphatic “n” at the end (NOT like “an” in can)
- ang sounds like “ah” with a soft “ng” (NOT like “ang” in hang)
- ao is like “ao” in Tao
- ei is like “ay” in bay
- en is like “u” in sun
- eng is like “ung” in sung
- er like “ur” in purse
- ia is like ya
- iang is like young
- ie is like yeah
- iu is like the “ou” in you
- ian like yen
- iao is like “eow” in meow
- in as in “in” in gin
- ing as in “ing” in sing
- iong is like pinyin “yong”
- ong is like “ong” in kong
- ou is like “ow” in low
- ua is like “ua” in guava
- uan like one
- uang like “oo” + ang
- ui is like way
- un is like “wou” in would and ending in “n” sound (woon)
- uo sounds like “wo” as in wall
- uai is like why
- ua is like “wa”
- üan like yuan and written without two dots
- üe is like “yue” (“we” in “wet”)

Want to learn Chinese for pleasure and profit in less time? Like to creatively enhance your life with Chinese characters and symbols? Liow Kah Joon is your guide. Sign up for his free Chinese Symbols ezine at Living Chinese Symbols

August 13, 2007

What Does Your Body Language Tell?

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 5:41 am

It is your choice whether to listen or not listen to someone talking. You listen when needed and wanted to, but do other people see you as a good listener? Listening skills are essential for good relationships and are also a critical skill in many professions, especially the helping professions. Whether you’re maintaining a happy marriage relationship, counseling someone with problems, or coaching members of your team for business success, good listening skills lead others to feel more comfortable. They will have more confidence in you and hold you in higher esteem.

You may not realize how important your body language is, when others view you. It is even more important that your words. So, what says ‘good listener’ and inspires in others who speak to you the confidence that you really are listening? Your body language, of course! Even if you really are listening to every word, you won’t be seen as a good listener unless you have the right body language.

A poor listener has many of these traits -leans away or even turns away slightly, arms folded, maybe a bit of impatient toe tapping, and frequently looking elsewhere. Or, if someone starts to read then you know for sure they’re not listening! And of course if your body language suggests you don’t want to listen, the other person will feel less comfortable talking with you and will be less likely to confide in you. This is a good recipe for creating distance and miscommunication in a relationship.

A good listener shows five characteristics that can be remembered through the acronym “SOLER”.

S - Square-on
Face the other person square on. If you’re turned away, you won’t give the impression that you want to listen.

O - Open-posture
Folded legs, and particularly folded arms can be subconscious signals that you really don’t want to hear what the other person has to say.

L - Lean-towards
Lean slightly towards the other person. This indicates an interest in what they’re saying. Leaning away from a person tends to indicate disinterest.

E - Eye-contact
Maintain normal eye contact with the other person. If you keep your eyes down, or keep looking away, you can give the impression that you’re not a comfortable or willing listener.

R - Relax
Don’t be too formal or stiff. A relaxed posture suggests that you’re comfortable in the role of listener, and ready to hear everything the other person has to say.

Start practicing your listening body language and SOLER now, and you will see the improvement of your interpersonal skill and relationships both on and off your job.

George Williams maintains many translator websites, including English For French, English To Latin ,and English To Spanish.

August 11, 2007

Literature in an ESL Classroom

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 9:34 pm

Professor Colin MacCabe of the University of Exter School of English says that to truly know a language, you must know something of the literature of a language.

Literature is intellectually stimulating because a book allows a reader to imagine worlds they are not familiar with. This is done through the use of descriptive language. In order to understand, the reader will create their vision of what the writer is saying. In this sense, the reader becomes a performer or an actor in a communicative event.

Using literature versus a communicative textbook changes the learning approach from learning how to say into learning how to mean (grammar vs. creative thinking). Conversation-based programs tend to focus on ‘formulas’ used in contextual situations so there is little allowance for independent thought and adaptation of language. On the other hand, literature-based programs focus on personal interpretation of the language so students begin to experiment with the language. This experimentation can be especially helpful to the students for use in different subjects such as science.

Per Carter and Long, the 3 main approaches to using Literature in a language classroom are:

1. Cultural model

  • Based on the notion that literature is the expression of:
  • • Socio-cultural attitudes.
    • Aspirations of individual societies.
    • Mythic and universal values.

  • Text is regarded as finished product.
  • Associated with teacher-centered approach

2. Language model

  • Literature is taught for the promotion of:
  • • Vocabulary
    • Structure
    • Language manipulation

  • Puts students in touch with the subtle and varied creative uses of language.
  • Emphasizes language observation.
  • Student-centered methodology.

3. Personal growth model

  • Concerned more with student’s:
  • • Maturity as individuals
    • Progress as individuals through reading

  • ‘Literature for life’ approach
  • Promotes individual evaluation and judgment.
  • Learner-centered approach.

When adding literature into the classroom remember to choose some good books that students can relate to. Visual books are very helpful to help spark interest in children. For older students, you can incorporate questions into the reading process that require thought and expression from the students. In addtion, set aside specific times for reading. Don’t worry if students don’t respond well when you begin because they will start to enjoy it more (and therefore interact more) as they relate to the stories and experiences shared.

There is a wealth of resources available to teachers to help integrate literature into the curriculum. Some good online literature resources are:
London School of Journalism- English Literature Resources
The Children’s Literature Web Guide
Literature.org - The online literature library
English Literature on the Web
The Literature Network
Bibliomania
Literature Learning Ladders
BBC Arts and Books
U.S. Library of Congress
Click here to view an online presentation about Literature in an ESL classroom

Michael Hines is the founder of http://www.TotalESL.com, a free resource helping the ESL/EFL community in Asia and the Middle East for jobs, resumes, schools, resources, yellow pages, classifieds, information and lessons.

July 24, 2007

Understand American Money

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 9:50 pm

Dear ESL Student,

The American money system is logical and very easy to use. It is based on the dollar ($1.00), on which all cash and coins are dependent. There are 100 cents in a dollar. Coins are parts of one dollar, for example: a quarter ($0.25) is 1/4 of a dollar, a dime ($0.10) is 1/10th of a dollar, and so forth. Paper bills are multiples of a dollar: for example, a $5 bill. US Paper Currency The twenty, ten, five, and one are the most frequently used bills.

When speaking about money, $1 is referred to as “a one”, “a dollar”, “a dollarbill”, or “a buck”; $5 is “a five”, “five dollars”, “a five dollar bill”, or “five bucks”; etc. Another way to refer to money is to call it “cash.” One popular slang term for money is “cheddar.” The five, ten, twenty, fifty and hundred dollar bills have recently been changed in order to provide more security features. Both the new and old versions are currently used. The one dollar bill is not being changed as it is not considered as likely to be counterfeited. Also in use but not as frequently seen are the $2, $50 and $100 bills. The two dollar bill is rare - people often collect, rather than spend, them. $50 and $100 bills are not widely used and many places may not accept them for small purchases. You probably won’t ever see any larger-value denominations such as $1,000, $500, $5,000, and $10,000. People not familiar with these bills should probably not accept them, because counterfeit, or fake, currency does happen, especially in the higher and more unfamiliar denominations. Store employees may not like the use of very large bills to pay for very small items. For example, try not to use a $50 to pay for a 25¢ pack of candy! It would be better to pay with a smaller denomination or some coins. If you don’t have anything smaller, it is polite to let the store worker know. US Coins The most widely used coins are the quarter, dime, nickel, and penny.

Each type of coin has a specific size and design, usually with the image of a president or other famous American person on the front. Quarters have been made with different pictures on their back sides, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the USA, and honoring each state. Coins that are rarely used include the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, and the Kennedy half-dollar, also known as the 50-cent piece. Canadian coins are seen in the northern United States and are also available in dimes, quarters, nickels, and pennies. However, not all stores and restaurants accept them; commonly, the closer you are to Canada, the more accepted they are. Canadian coins may be accepted as equal in value to US coins, but the exchange rate usually places a higher value on the US versions, so be careful not to accept too many.

Practical use The quarter is one of the most useful coins. If you are a student, be sure to save these! They can be used in almost any coin-operated machine: clothes washers & dryers, arcade games, pay phones, and vending machines dispensing food, drinks, stamps, tickets, newspapers, etc. Quarters and nickels can usually be used in pay phones and vending machines. Many vending machines will take small bills, such as ones, fives, and tens, but the change you get back will all be in coins. Often there will be a dollar changer near coin-operated machines which dispenses quarters in exchange for small bills. One word of caution: vending machines do not take dollar coins, half-dollars, pennies, or Canadian coins. Credit or charge cards are being used more and more, even for buying small things. Many Americans don’t like to carry much cash, and the cards are easy and safe to use. They are accepted almost everywhere, but not at all fast food restaurants! Traveler’s checks are a good idea for visitors also. You won’t have to carry large amounts of money in your pocket or purse, and the checks can be replaced if they get lost or stolen.

Much Continued ESL Success,

The creator of ESL Free Lesson

The “ESL Free Lesson” website is an incredible resource for ESL students from all over the world . This report is only one of 7 tips that you can get Free at eslfreelesson.com. To get your other 6 fantastic ESL tips and your “Free bonus Ebook” to help you to earn more money enroll now at:

www.eslfreelesson.com

July 12, 2007

Don’t Forget A Spanish Dictionary!

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 2:18 pm

On a recent tour through Mexico and Central America, I realized that I had forgotten many things for my journey. For some reason I made it out of my house without my toothbrush and toothpaste, but fortunately I was able to replace them as soon as I realized my mistake. I also forgot film for my camera but was able to purchase some once I got to Mexico as well. Far worse than forgetting those things, however, was the realization that I had forgotten my Spanish dictionary that I had received and practiced with just for this trip.

My best friend gave me the Spanish dictionary a few months before I headed out on my trip because she remembered what a difficult time I had in high school Spanish class. She assumed rightly that my Spanish skills were even more poor fifteen years after my last Spanish class. She handed me the Spanish dictionary and wisely advised me to practice the basic words and phrases found in the front of the dictionary every day until I left on my trip. I’ve never been good at following any advice that included the phrase “every day,” so naturally I only picked up my Spanish dictionary a few times before I headed out on my journey.

Many people warned me that having a Spanish dictionary would be one of the best tools for me as I traveled alone throughout several Spanish speaking and foreign countries. I certainly believed the warnings of friends and family, but I had no real idea until I landed in Mexico how true their warnings had been. I was like a lost puppy or a child without her mother. I couldn’t talk with locals or even begin to make out the words on signs or billboards.

I made it through the three week tour, but not without much stress and too many miscommunications. I learned quickly that gestures and pointing can go a long way when no words can be communicated. I made it to every city on my itinerary, so I did not miss out on anything in that sense, but I realized quite quickly that forgetting my Spanish dictionary made me miss out on what would have perhaps been the biggest blessing of the trip. Without a tool to help me communicate with the locals, I missed out on a lot of potentially amazing conversations and on getting to know the ins and outs of Spanish cultures from locals.

I will always regret forgetting my Spanish dictionary when I went on that trip, and not just because I couldn’t get around with ease. I’ll regret it even more because of the lovely Spanish people that I didn’t have the privilege of conversing with during my journey.

Belina Storrey is committed to never leaving on a trip to Mexico without her Spanish dictionary again. She is even more committed to helping other people learn to travel well. See more at www.spanishdictionaryhub.info

July 7, 2007

Why Should I Learn a Foreign Language?

Filed under: Hall Of Language — admin @ 8:11 pm

More and more software programs, electronic devices, and websites devoted to foreign languages are being developed daily. Why all the excitement? Why would YOU want to learn a foreign language?

Job Advancement - Get the Competitive Edge

Many large corporations and government agencies have positions requiring a second language. In a country like Canada, which is officially bilingual, someone who knows both French and English will have better employment prospects.

Travel

Travel to a foreign country can be exciting - and also very exasperating if you can’t understand the local speech. Many North Americans are somewhat egocentric in this regard, expecting to find English spoken no matter where they are. Although this is sometimes true in larger cities, don’t expect to find English-speakers in small communities.

Relatives

The world is a melting pot of cultures and languages. You probably have living relatives in other countries with whom you could communicate more effectively if you took the effort to learn at least a few words.

Genealogy Research

Some of your ancestors probably spoke a different language. If you plan to search old genealogical records, you will be more successful with at least a basic understanding of your ancestors’ language(s).

Understanding Your Own Language

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, ‘Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen.’ or ‘Those who don’t know foreign languages know nothing of their own.’ Learning a foreign language will give you a much better understanding of English. Your knowledge of English grammar, vocabulary, verb tenses, and sentence construction will improve when you tackle another language.

Self-Actualization and Challenge

If you’ve already been everywhere and done everything - perhaps it’s time to tackle something new. What could be more challenging and rewarding than immersing yourself in another language?

Opera, Poetry, and Prose Appreciation

Artistic works written in a different language often cannot be fully appreciated when translated into English. This is especially obvious when listening to poetry. If poetry is translated into English with a preserved rhyming scheme, the meaning of the poetry is almost always altered. Being able to listen to the original language - with its subtle tones and nuances - will lend to a greater appreciation of the artist.

Culture Appreciation

One can only truly comprehend a foreign culture if the language is also understood. Exactly what is ‘Bratwurst’ or ‘Calvados’? And what about foreign films? Wouldn’t you like to be able to watch something with subtitles - and skip reading them?

Invigorate the Brain

Adults benefit from the brain stimulation produced by language training. Seniors who tackle a foreign language show improved brain function over a period of time. Students who learn foreign languages as children score better on academic tests. There is also evidence to suggest that they may be more creative and resourceful when faced with solving complex tasks.

Learning Teaches You How to Learn

The self discipline and study habits acquired through successful acquisition of a foreign language can be applied to many other aspects of your life.

Studying Abroad

What better way to learn about a country’s culture than to study there? This requires an excellent command of the local language.

Communicate With Someone Secretly in Public

Imagine chatting in public with a friend about something private, knowing that only your friend understands!

Make Online Penpals and Friends

The internet is transforming our world into an intimate global village where you can chat via e-mail, forums, live chat sessions, and audio/video feeds.

Impress a Date?

In closing - male or female - you will make points with your bilingual date by learning a few important words. If your date doesn’t speak a foreign language, he or she will be impressed by the enchanting allure of intimate expressions in one of the ‘romance’ languages.

So - what are you waiting for? Get learning!

Kathy Steinemann is a webmaster who writes for:

* 111 Travel Directory

* 1000 Tips 4 Trips

* A-Language-Guide

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