One of Many Voices

Introduction...of sorts

2020-07-05T12:43:00.000+01:00

Welcome to this languages learning blog!

Here you will find a collection of posts holding a veritable myriad of ideas, tips, tricks and activities to help you learn any language you desire. My co-bloggers and I have tried to make all our posts as universal as possible, that is to say applicable to independent, high school, primary school, university or adult language learners in every context and situation. Although we have strived to reference wherever possible, the vast majority of the information and advice on this blog has been inspired by individual experience of language learners. As to myself, I am a language learner studying Spanish and Portuguese, having grown up bilingual with English and French (trilingual if you include Creole!), so I take a personal interest in practicing what I preach, as well as preaching what I practice, so to speak...

This blog has both general language learning advice, University specific advice and is currently developing more advice specific to individual languages. Posts are arranged by date, so please explore the various entries on the panel to the right. To begin with, I would suggest reading the post on why learn a foreign language: http://1ofmanyvoices.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-learn-new-langauge.html...And I hope that this resource proves useful to you in your language learning...

Why learn a new language

2019-02-06T12:28:00.000Z

For anyone who as ever posed themselves or another the question of 'what for?' when it comes to learning a new language, I have compiled here a collections of reasons and motivations for language learning of a number of University students currently on a language related degree....

"The feeling you get going abroad and understanding what people are saying to you! Being able to order at restaurants or ask directions without anyone's help is amazing!"
"Language learning is fun"
"In the world of Politics, speaking several languages gives you the edge over the rest"
"Understanding the rules of communication like Grammar and conjugation makes us appreciate our Mother Tongue so much more"
"I love Spanish food and culture so knowing the language gave me a greater insight into all that"
"Lots of employers are looking for people with practical skills like languages. If you apply for a job and have extra language abilities, you're a step ahead of the other candidates who don't have those skills!"
"Teaching Language is very rewarding and through a language class the students can learn culture, politics, science, literature...anything really!"
"Language makes travel so much easier!"
"the learning and preservation of language is so important as it promotes intercultural understanding and cohesion"
"French is such a sexy language. I could listen to people speak it for hours!"
"Knowing the target language allows me to appreciate works of art such as books and plays in the original language rather than risk losing some of the value of the work through translation"
"Interpretation and Translation jobs are well paid and allow you to travel all across Europe and the world"
"Learning language is like learning to break a code. Its exciting, thrilling and very challenging"
"It's so rewarding to see one's own progress in the early stages of language learning. It makes one feel confident and ready to tackle the challenges ahead"
"Language is interesting because it is always changing, just like mankind"
"If I learn french I can go live in France one day, or have a second home there"
"Studying language is fun because its like picking up a habit more that studying. In stead of having to pore over books all day and night you can learn it by watching TV or listening to music or even having coffee with friends, as long as it's in the language! What better way is there to study?"
"When you graduate with a Language degree you actually have a real, practical skill that you can put on your CV"
"As English is being spoken more and more around the world, its important that we can also appreciate other languages and keep them alive"
"For a career in Fashion, languages are VERY important as I would need to travel and deal with models and designers from all over the world"
"Being able to speak the languages of people across the world can help you meet new people with confidence and make new friends, connections and acquaintances"
"Learning to speak languages like portuguese allow me to go to Brazil and work with the underpriveledged children and people who have no education. My studying the language now can help me educate others in the future"
These are just a few motivations of students already studying languages. What are your motivations? In my experience, the clearer the motivation, the clearer the process and the better the result. Why not jot down a few reasons for learning a language on a piece of paper and stick it on a wall or book that you can see, and when lacking in motivation, take a look at it and maybe even say it out loud to yourself. Whatever the case, and whatever the motivation, it is imperative to keep it high throughout the language learning process...

How do I learn a new language?? Introduction

2018-12-11T16:58:00.000Z

Language is in fact a skill. It's a habit you picked up from your childhood. I don't believe that people are "good" or "bad" at languages, because if you are able to communicate in your mother tongue, then you are, in essence, a successful language learner*. Keeping that in mind, picking up the habit of a second, third or even fourth language isn't so daunting, considering you succeeded so well at it the first time!

Bearing that in mind, it is useful to break language down into four separate areas. Thinking about your mother tongue, let's assume it's english, try and think of all the ways in which you encounter language...Speaking to people, listening to music, reading the paper or books or road signs, texting friends, writing emails etc. All these activities in which you encounter language can be divided into four specific skill areas, or four different things you are doing in each activity: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Breaking the entire concept of "learning a Language" down into these four areas makes planning to learn it a WHOLE lot easier!!

You will find that resources may or may not be geared towards all of these skill areas. For instance, a comprehension based text book with lots of passages and questions is useful for developing reading skills, yet not so helpful in practicing Speaking. Many textbooks come equipped with audio CDs and speaking exercises incorporated. These are most useful as general opinion is that learning is most effective when most senses are engaged**. In this sense, an activity where you saw some of the language written and read it outloud, listening to your own voice as you speak each word, and then wrote down answers to the questions or perhaps a summary, would be the most effective of activities in that it involves all four skills tasks AND your senses of sight, sound and touch (whilst writing).

Breaking language learning down into these four areas allows the learner to plan for their learning. Whether you are in Primary, Secondary School, College, working full-time, part-time or not currently employed, it is important to monitor each of the skill areas to ensure they are recieving the attention they need. Find ways of challenging and excercising each skill area and practice, practice, practice!

In order to learn new material to practice with and progress in your language learning, use already designed resources such as textbooks, online course materials or the school or course curriculum. These will give you a clear projection of how you are expected to progress in your language learning over a period of time. HOWEVER, do not rely entirely on any single resource. Supplement your learning with as many authentic resources as you can! The internet is a wealth or resources from online news channels, newspaper websites, tandem partner exchange programs, music videos, films and TV programs etc. Try meet native or very fluent speakers and practice with them. If you're in school then your teachers and language assistants would probably be more that happy to sit and have a conversation in the language with you. If you go on holiday, try not to speak English to the local people, try ordering food, asking directions, talking about the weather and making enquiries all in the native language. This is probably the best way of all to learn language.

This is just a short introduction into thinking about learning a language. I will shortly post more specific ways of learning and practicing each of the target skill areas: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking.

*There is debate about language learning vs language acquisition but for the purpose of this post, all that is FAR too complicated!
**This is true for any subject, not just language!!

Interview with a Spanish Language Student

2010-04-10T13:01:00.004+01:00

Name: Jack
Studying: French, Spanish and Portuguese
Mother Tongue: French and English
Strongest Language: French
Future Plans: Teaching, Travel, Writing Novels and Short Stories

1. Why do you want to learn languages? Languages make travel and communication easier and they provide insight into different cultures and societies. Language opens the door to the world. They are also an AMAZING skill to have, favoured by all employers and often just very impressive.

2. Why these particular languages? I’m already bilingual, speaking English, French and Creole (An Island Dialect), so Spanish was a no-brainer for me. Being one of the most widely spoken languages it has obvious strategic appeal. It I love Hispanic culture, particularly Latin American. I love the music and grew up listening to Gloria Estefan, Silvio Rodriguez and have always been fascinated with that part of the world without having the opportunity to travel there. Portuguese followed on from there, for its usefulness in Brazil and lusophone Africa as well a Europe.

3. What kinds of resources helped you in your University Language learning? I’m not a conventional language learner as a Dyslexic/Dyspraxic I find Grammar rules and linguistics quite complicated and hard to grasp, and learning things off by heart does not work for me! I like to use more authentic resources such as music, films, native speakers on the news, in interviews or in person, books etc. I believe you learn language best when immersed in it, so I try to surround myself with Spanish: playing music or movies, having words of songs or poems up on my walls, writing texts in it and speaking it to whoever will listen (and occasionally to myself!). Anything can be a resource really, I put my email accounts, mobile phone, computer, facebook account, camera etc into Spanish or Portuguese and you wouldn't believe how much that helps with undertstanding and confidence!

4. How do you improve your Reading? Writing? Speaking? Listening? I improve my reading by simply: Reading. Practice makes perfect. I use a technique of highlighting everything in a text that I DO understand, and speculating on what I DON’T, before looking it up or asking someone.
I improve my writing by again, simply: Writing, I practice writing all kinds of genres of Texts. I write summaries to practice vocabulary; commentaries and essays to practise structure and register; leaflets, stories and articles to practice fluency, and email exchanges with penpals or texting friends to build up competency and learn colloquial usage.
I try to speak as much as possible in Spanish to native and non-native fellow students like myself. I also have little debates in my head sometimes of a particular theme, and speak aloud to myself when hovering or doing the dishes alone. I also learn the words to songs and sing them to practice pronunciation, intonation and cadence, and I find this REALLY helps.
I don’t really practice listening as it comes to be as a byproduct of all the other skills. I listen to music, movies, news reports and my friends speaking Spanish and absorb it quite subconsciously I guess…

5. What are your Strengths and Weaknesses in learning Spanish? I’m a self-starter and that really helps. I also connect language with the context, it isn’t just a set of rules for me, its relevant to what I see on the news, what I hear in Shakira’s latest song, what I read in the Newspapers everyday.
My weakness is that I often overlook the details of language learning as they frustrate me, and this is detrimental to the progress of my formal and academic Spanish. I should spend more time on my writing and formal register.

6. What is the hardest part of learning Spanish? The Grammar and the subjunctive. As someone with learning difficulties, learning finicky little details like gender or complex and rare conjugations goes completely over my head, and I struggle to retain rules and irregularities. I also don’t respond well to many formal language learning resources such as text books and even some teachers as they adopt a linguistic point of view using lots of linguistic Jargon that always means very little to me. I may not know what the subordinate, colocative clause of the third person in a cognate is, but I do know how to use it!

Interview with a Portuguese Language Student

2010-04-10T12:17:00.004+01:00

Name: Catalina
Studying: Spanish and Portuguese
Mother Tongue: English
Strongest Language: Portuguese
Future Plans: Travel, Charity/Missionary work and possibly Teaching

1. Why do you want to learn languages? I began learning Portuguese because I started attending a Portuguese speaking church and I wanted to communicate with my boyfriend’s family who are Brazilian. The benefits of learning Portuguese for job opportunities did not have anything to do with my decision to pick up the language.

2. How long have you been learning Portuguese? For just over three years although I didn't really have any guidance or support from teachers in the first two years. At the moment I can understand most Portuguese literature and have a conversation with a native Portuguese speaker about anything (within reason- nothing about science and stuff!) My pronunciation is one of my strengths. I have quite a good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. But I need to improve on more formal Portuguese.

3. What kinds of resources helped you in your Learning? Going to church and listening to Portuguese throughout the services was a great help when I started learning. Speaking to Brazilians helped to improve my pronunciation and pick up vocabulary and grammar. It also helped with my confidence. The main thing that helped was that I was completely surrounded by Brazilians most of the time so learning was more real and practical. It was and still is a lot more fun that way. On the other hand I wish I had used more resources like grammar books to make sure I was speaking correctly. Now I spend more time reading and looking through books and guides rather than practicing my speaking.

4. How do you improve your Reading? Writing? Speaking? Listening? I improve my listening by watching the news in Portuguese and taking notes, and watching films.. I improve my reading by just practicing and making sure I understand what the text is about instead of focusing just on words that I don't know. I improve my writing by using synonyms and using new words.

5. What is the hardest part of learning Portuguese? The hardest thing in Portuguese is the difference between Portuguese from Portugal and from Brazil and the fact that the books are not always reliable on which word is used where. My advice would be to focus on your weakness because I was very happy (and still am) to chat to someone in Portuguese but I always put off writing something which meant my speaking is much better than my writing. Spend more time on the things you are least comfortable at doing. And hopefully you will get better at the weaknesses and you will be a more well rounded Portuguese speaker! Yeah but don't stress just have fun with it! =)

Interview with a French Language Student

2010-04-10T11:55:00.004+01:00

Name: Channah
Studying: French, German and Russian with a little Japanese
Mother Tongue: English
Strongest Language: German
Future Plans: Linguistics and Teaching probably

1. Why do you want to learn languages? It’s really interesting and exciting - unless you learn and study it you don't realize all the complex things that go on inside your head when trying to construct sentences and speak everyday. Grammar is fun. You can learn rules which you then have to apply all the time when using the language. I also like how when first learning a language, how you can see yourself improving as you learn more vocabulary and grammatical structures, and it is really satisfying as you see yourself progressing and becoming more confident

2. Why these particular languages? I have always studied French and don’t want to stop learning. German is really grammatically interesting and I feel a lot more confident in speaking this language. Russian is exciting. Its alphabet is like a code and once you know which sound each character represents you feel you have achieved a lot and it opens up possibilities of understanding so much more. Just started doing lunchtime taster Japanese course – again, another (or in fact 3 different) alphabets is challenging but really satisfying to learn.

3. How long have you been learning them? I have been learning French since I was 11. At GCSE the language seemed to ‘click’ for me. Currently, I understand the majority of French that I hear and I really enjoy reading and writing but I lack a lot of confidence with speaking. It’s almost as if a barrier comes up when I’m in certain situations with French – I have no confidence and consequently I’m unable to say anything.I started German 3 years ago at the beginning of A-Levels. I am now at a similar level in German as in French. This year I have become more confident with speaking German, I think because I live with another student studying German and we often speak German together. I like feeling equal when speaking a foreign language and that rarely happens with native speakers so that may be why I often get quite nervous and say very little in the presence of native speakers.I have been learning Russian for about a year. I found learning Russian quite frustrating at first as I wasn’t able to express all the things I could in my other languages.

4. What kinds of resources helped you in your Language learning? At GCSE and A Level, we spent an hour a week with the language assistants and I got a lot out of this. My language assistants from my school are probably the only native speakers I am reasonably comfortable speaking to and still like to keep in contact with them. I enjoy reading looking at Grammar Books as they provide the key to how the language works. When I first started learning German, I got myself quite a concise grammar book which I read and learnt the main, important grammatical differences which I’d have to get to grips with in order to pick up the language. I am still surprised how easily I managed to do this in such a short space of time. I really enjoyed finding out about the grammatical differences and similarities between German, French and English.

5. What resource do you hope to make use of in the future? Maybe speaking more to native speakers… although sometimes, I prefer learning languages without the help of native speakers. I think it’s really cool how non-native speakers of different languages communicate together – it’s a shame that English is often the lingua franca. I often think it doesn’t matter whether one sounds native or makes mistakes as long as the speaker is competent enough to get a message across, however, I don’t like the thought that I will sound foreign and make mistakes, even if they might be able to understand me perfectly well.

6. How do you improve your Reading? Writing? Speaking? Listening? I like to keep mini flashcards of new vocabulary I learn and I listen to podcasts in the target language, just to get used to listening to that language. I also put the language of my phone, email homepage and other computer accounts like facebook and Blackboard into French so I get used to seeing the it on a regular day-to-day basis.

7. What is the hardest part of learning French? Probably the fact that I’ve been learning the language since I was 11, but I still make so many mistakes and even if I keep learning the language for the rest of my life, there are always going to be things I get wrong and I will always have an English accent when speaking French. This might sound like quite a negative attitude, but I think, once you realize this, but love learning languages nonetheless, it means you don’t have to set yourself the near-impossible task of native-like competency, but can relax and enjoy learning it with the aim of being the best second-language learner of French that you can be.

Interview with a German Language Student

2010-04-10T10:45:00.015+01:00

Name: Autumn

Studying: English, German and Spanish at University

Mother Tongue: Hungarian

Strongest Language: English

Future Plans: Possibly teaching, Linguistics, Working for the EU, Diplomacy and D efinately Travel!!

1. Why do you want to learn languages? Personally I feel fascinated about language learning because I believe that it allows me to access a greater part of the world we live in directly and gain an insight into how other people […] think about and see the world.

2. Why these particular languages? When I started primary school I had already been learning English, so the only other option was German at the time. It was the same with French when I went to secondary school; I simply had no other option. And then Spanish was actually my own choice mainly because I felt intrigued by and wanted to explore Latin American culture.

3. How long have you been learning and how competent are you at your languages? I have studied German for 11 years, French for 6 years and it is my second year studying Spanish. In German I am quite advanced in all skill areas. I generally feel confident about using the language in various formal and informal real life situations. Surprisingly in spite of only starting Spanish one year ago I would rate my competency between pre-intermediate and intermediate and I have built up quite a lot of confidence too in such a short period.

4. What kinds of resources helped you in your Language learning? Well, at high school I was not really relying on online sources unlike now at university, it was simply not common practice at the time I guess. Instead, mainly based on the recommendation of my tutors, I used selected material in print that was designed to help language learning. Also, I enjoy reading simply for pleasure in foreign languages, so for example I have read books and magazines. And not to forget native speakers and other language learners as excellent resources; I have always liked practising with others.

5.What resource do you wish you had made better use of from the start of your language learning? Definitely other speakers [of the language] whether they are also language learners or native speakers. Besides that, I would say the unlimited variety of resources on the internet.

6. How do you improve your Reading? Writing? Speaking? Listening? When I read I like […] to underline and highlight things I find noteworthy. I have developed my own elaborate marking system to work with texts, using different codes and symbols. I find this method much more effective than solely listing words in a book. It slightly changes the outcome of reading when I decide to focus on the theme of the text and only try to pick out elements that are directly linked to this theme. While at high school I also used to write summaries and commentaries on readings and form questions to them as if I was designing my own listening comprehension task.

With respect to improving my writing skills I now benefit from sending emails to my foreign friends or my fellow students. Or even just texting my friends in a foreign language who study the same language does help. Apart from that especially in German I used to write my own stories or topic-based essays and imaginary letters that really improved my writing skills.

To improve speaking there is the good old method of memorising dialogues by heart so one can then apply those phrases in real life. I know it may well sound a bit boring but it actually worked out well for me in German. Also, having at least one form of a safe environment where one feels comfortable to speak up is essential. It can be a class or a group of friends or a language teacher or a native-speaker friend, there are numerous options.

In order to improve my listening skills I search recordings online. For example newspaper websites normally have news clips and one can always find interesting ones. They are nice because one can go back and listen to them several times as opposed to listening to a live radio show for example. I like watching movies with foreign sounds and subtitles and I listen to foreign music over and over so I cannot actually help gradually understanding more of the lyrics just by being exposed to it constantly. I have had the chance to benefit from having conversations with native speakers, so if one has an opportunity to do so I would highly recommend not missing it; it is probably the most effective and authentic way to improve listening and speaking skills.

7. What is the hardest part of learning German? For me personally the hardest part of learning German is regional differences in pronunciation and colloquial phrases in everyday speech. Even though German is considered to be a “difficult language”, I would recommend trying to enjoy it and make use of it! Most importantly, find some kind of motivation for YOURSELF personally that will help you fight through the hard times of language learning!

Being a Green Student Pt 1

2010-01-26T15:08:00.005Z

Some tips and tricks to help us do our bit to cool down the planet and save some polar bears...

1. Find about about your Uni/halls of residence/local council's recycling policy and stick to it. Although rummaging through your own bins to separate paper from plastic isn't all that glamorous, I'm sure most would agree it is worth the life of a polar bear...
2. Switch off your plug sockets, lights and all electricity outlets before leaving your room in the morning or evening.
3. Print on both sides of the paper. If possible, print your readings two pages per page, i.e shrink 2 A4 pages for them to fit on 1 A4 landscape printout. Easily done, lighter to carry and SO much better for the trees!
4. Recycle your notes and required readings. If you used a bunch of texts for an assignment that you don't need any more, ask around the people doing the same course as you if anyone else would need them for any other assignment. In some cases, if a certain class has prescribed a long list of readings, share them out amongst a group of friends, each reading one or two of the set readings, and then organise a report-back study session where you each present what you learned from your delegated reading, thus saving time, paper and energy.
5. Buy second hand. Amazon and Ebay are excellent. The most I ever paid for any of my course books was £3.40. Cheap and environmentally friendly AND if you keep the book in good quality you can always resell it for a profit, so lucrative as well!
6. Buy Organic. and local for that matter. It generally isn't all that much more expensive, its better for you and the environment, and usually has less packaging.
7. Turn the heating down and put on an extra layer of clothing.
8. Buy one bottle of water a week and fill it up with tap water daily to carry with you. Or better yet, buy a sports bottle or thermos type water holder that will last the legnth of your career and save you £1 a day on bottle water.
9. Use scrap paper. The backs of unsuccessful printouts work fine for your own personal brainstorms and notes. Think pre-recycling recycling.
10. Walk, skip, jog, sprint, bike, skate, rollerblade, unicycle or at least, use public transport to get to uni or out and about. A 10-20 minute brisk walk to campus and back home would qualify as your daily excercise fix, and is good for the polar bears. If this is impossible then support public services by using public transport reducing 20 vehicle's carbon emissions to 1.
11. Buy from charity shops or arrange a clothes swap with some friends. Preloved and preowned clothes do little damage to the environment and a lot of good to the purse strings.
12. Always do a full load of laundry. Unless its ABSOLUTELY necessary, wash on a cold wash, and use eco-friendly washing powder and softener, which are usually cheaper than the more plush brands on the supermarket shelves! Invest in a clothes horse to airdry your clothes as tumble dryers waste ridiculous amounts of energy and often shrink or cover your clothes in other people's lint! If you don't have a full load, consider doing a group load with a friend whose personal hygiene you trust!
13. Carry your own shopping bags when you pop to the supermarket or highstreet. If you do use store plastic bags, be sure to reuse them as dustbin liners or next time you go shopping.
14. Use ring folders or plastic wallets rather than notebooks. Notebooks often tend to go unused come the middle of the binding, meaning some poor tree died for only half a notebook's worth of use.
15. Use online resources and soft copies as much as possible. avoid printing, scanning or photocopying and if necessary live by your own designed notes made about said resource.

That be all for this post...part II to follow shortly :D

Choosing a Language to Learn...

2009-12-11T17:00:00.006Z

So you're thinking of learning a new language? Perhaps you've always dreamt of travel and now the kids are grown up and living away from home you have an extra hour or so a day on your hands. Perhaps you're having to choose your GCSE, A-level, IGCSE or IB subjects and you really loved you primary school french lessons but aren't that interested in France. Perhaps it's time to go to University and you still have no idea what you want to do with yourself so languages seem like a good option...

Whatever your motivation, situation and circumstance, Languages ARE for you. In my opinion, everyone in the world should be at least bilingual (the majority of the world are, according to some sources!) However, choosing the right language to study is important. If, like me, you dream of backpacking across latin America in the near future, then German probably won't prove all that helpful. Likewise, if you dream of being a diplomat for the European Union, then Punjabi probably isn't the language for you. Its important to ascertain WHY you want to learn a language (See my post about motivation http://1ofmanyvoices.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-learn-new-langauge.html) in order to choose WHICH language you should learn. I myself had to research and evaluate the usefulness many languages thoroughly before opting for the ones I am currently studying. I've asked around and looked online as well as drawn on my own previous knowledge to compile a mini evaluation-type profile for a handful of languages offered and studied here in UK. However, this post has not been formally researched beyond the sources cited at the bottom and naturally, opinion and motivation will differ from person to person.

LANGUAGE: English
FAMILY: Germanic/ Indo-European
SPOKEN WHERE: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Southern and West Africa, India, West Indies and generally most places on earth
APPEAL: Increasingly hailed as the Global Lingua Franca, the major language of Business, Tourism, Trade and Politics etc. It is the most studied second language in the world.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: Linguists project that in the future the entire globe will speak a hybrid of Mandarin, Spanish and English. The language itself is quite easy to learn in some respects such as the lack of gendered nouns and such. It proves difficult however as it is highly irregular in terms of grammar and spelling (having its roots in both Latin and Germanic based languages).
USEFUL FOR: Worldwide travel and jobs everywhere. English is seen as a HUGE advantage and the Teaching English as a Foreign Language industry (TEFL) is booming.

LANGUAGE: French
FAMILY: Romance/Italic/Indo-European
SPOKEN WHERE: France, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, Canada, Parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, Central, West and North Africa, the Indian Ocean, South India, Pockets of the Middle East.
APPEAL: French has a reputation for sensuality and glamour. It is the language of the fashion elite, timeless literature and romance, opera and Art. It’s also the most taught second language in primary and secondary schools throughout the world. It has been the main actor in the politics of the European Union, only recently superseded by English and German.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: Here in the UK French is the foremost second language taught in schools. French is probably the most difficult Romance language to learn, with its heavily prescriptive grammar, and even heavier collection of irregularities, almost unique vowel sounds. French has also had the habit of being taught in quite a heavy, stodgy and prescriptive way (through repetition of verb conjugations and learning this off by heart). However, French is a very beautiful language, spoken differently in every corner of the world and therefore very handy for travel.
USEFUL FOR: Global Travel. Working in the EU or UN. Working in Translation or Teaching across the globe. Working in Fashion or Cooking industry (amongst many others), Appreciating Fashion, Art, Literature, theatre, Food etc…

LANGUAGE: German
FAMILY: Indo-European/Germanic
SPOKEN WHERE: Europe mainly, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Namibia and various pockets around the world.
APPEAL: It is the most common second language in Europe, and, like French and English, is essential to European Politics and Business. German culture also has a history in invention and innovation, and I’ve heard many people studying German admit to a greater appreciation for the German’s contributions to the world through their learning of the language. German’s also LOVE to travel, so German would be a must for any tourism-related job, especially in Europe.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: It is in some ways very similar to English making pronunciation and comprehension a little easier. Its also very grammatically prescriptive, and therefore appealing to all lovers of all things linguistic.
USEFUL FOR: Travel and business in the EU and Europe, Tourism, Appreciating European Technological innovations and literature

LANGUAGE: Spanish
FAMILY: Iberian/Indo-European/Italic/Romance
SPOKEN WHERE: Spain, pockets of Europe, pockets of North Africa, Across the Americas; The US, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, the Philippines
APPEAL: Spoken across the Americas, many are drawn to Spanish as a portal to the vast and sensational history of this side of the world. It has been described as the language of Salsa, Tequila, Blood and Fire, Tapas, Revolution, and Passion. Hispanic culture is increasingly popular and has infiltrated almost every area of Anglo-western society. It also has strategic appeal in the US as the second most spoken language after English. It is one of the 6 official language of the UN, and the second most spoken first language worldwide. It is a very passionate, very romantic and very fervent language.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: Spanish is a VERY good language for people with dyslexia, as it is written completely phonetically. It is quite easy to learn in terms of reading and understanding, as it has very few irregulars as compared with German and French. The Spanish language does vary across the atlantic and across the Americas but most variants are easily understood given one has a basic grasp on the language.
USEFUL FOR: Working for the UN, living and working in the United States or Central and South America, travelling across Europe, appreciating literature, art, history and culture, dance and cuisine.

LANGUAGE: Italian
FAMILY: Indo-European/Italic/Romance
SPOKEN WHERE: Italy, Switzerland, The Vatican, other pockets of Europe, Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
APPEAL: a rival for French in terms of Romantic Romance languages, Italian is associated with romance, passion, great food and elegance; along with fast cars and heavy-handed flirting ;). It is also a beautiful, lilting language, essential to the world of Fashion, Art and Fine Cuisine. The language, like its country of origin, is steeped in history and culture, and speaking some Italian adds a certain something extra when visiting Italy.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: In spite of general opinion, I haven’t met a single person studying both Spanish and Italian who says they are similar. Like any Romance language Italian can be deciphered with some knowledge of French or Spanish, but it is also a challenging language in its own right. Intonation seems to prove quite difficult for learners of this language. On the other hand, Italian culture (the fashion, the food, the art) has permeated that of much of the English-Speaking world so creating a context for the language is quite easy.
USEFUL FOR: Art, Culture, Fashion, Cookery, European History studies and careers, Travel across Europe particularly the Mediterranean, appreciating history, the arts, culture and of course, good food!

LANGUAGE: Portuguese
FAMILY: Iberian/Indo-European/Italic/Romance
SPOKEN WHERE: Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Goa, Cape Verde, East Timor, Macau, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sao-Tome and Principe
APPEAL: Unlike its Spanish sister language Portuguese phonetics are a lot more varied and complicated, giving the language a very distinctive sound. Most of the people I know studying Portuguese are doing so in the hope of living and working in Brazil one day. The world seems to harbour an insatiable appetite for all things Brazilian: Football, samba, Brazilian Cinema, Gisele Bundchen etc. Portuguese is also currently the 7the most widely spoken language in the world, and serves to this day as a remnant of one of the most powerful and the longest reigning of all the European Empires. It is also an extremely passionate and affectionate language, and very fun to pronounce.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: As any romance language, having some experience of French, Spanish or Italian generally helps when learning Portuguese, although the most helpful would have to be Spanish. Continental European Portuguese is somewhat harder to decipher than Brazilian Portuguese, which has in some places adopted some characteristics from Castellano (rolled 'R's; syntax etc). The Subjunctive/Conjunctive is quite complicated in comparison to other Romance languages, but vocabulary and syntax are fairly easy to grasp. With all things Brazilian being increasingly fashionable there are always many authentic materials to choose from such as Brazilian films, music, football culture and politics.
USEFUL FOR: Working in Europe, Africa or Latin America (Brazil has one of the fastest growing economies). Teaching English as a foreign Language. Working in Fashion, Cinema or Sport. Appreciating popular culture, art, literature and music. Learning Samba and various other forms of Latin American dance.

LANGUAGE: Arabic
FAMILY: Semitic/Afro-Asiatic
SPOKEN WHERE: The Middle East and North Africa; Algeria, Comoros, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritiania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Western Sahara and pockets of Indonesia and South East Asia
APPEAL: The language of one of the wealthiest portions of the globe: the middle east. Arabic is the language of Islam, as is learned as such in its classical form by Muslim children across the world. It is an extraordinarily romantic and poetic language, very rich in vocabulary, and Arabic speakers to tend on the whole to be rather wordy in other languages. Arabic script is very beautiful, as is the importance of the language to all those that speak it. It is also between the 3rd and 6th most widely spoken language on the planet, depending on your sources.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: The difficulty with learning Arabic outside of an Arabic-speaking context is that you will learn the classical form of the language, which is rarely if ever spoken in real life situations. Arabic is generally spoken in various dialects from region to region and country to country, some of which are unintelligible across the border! This naturally makes learning Arabic slightly tricky, as you may find yourself limited to certain dialect that is only spoken in a small pocket of the Arabic speaking world. Learning to read and write Arabic script is, however, invaluable, and not difficult for those who have some knowledge of languages such as Hebrew, for example, and so are already accustomed to reading from right to left. Once native speakers of Latin-based languages get accustomed to the differences between their mother tongues and Arabic, I have been told that the language structure itself is not complicated and shares many common features with romance languages such as the ascribing of genders.
USEFUL FOR: Economics, Business, Finance, Tourism and Trade across the Middle East and North Africa (as well as worldwide). Working for the UN. Practising Islam or living in an Islamic country. Appreciating Art, Culture, Literature, Dance and Cuisine

LANGUAGE: Mandarin (Chinese)
FAMILY: Sino-Tibetan
SPOKEN WHERE: China and pockets worldwide
APPEAL:The most widely spoken language by native-speakers worldwide, due entirely to the fact that China is the most populous country in the world and increasingly a contender for the title of global Super Power. The ability to speak Mandarin-Chinese is a valuable asset to anyone looking for career in finance, business and/or economics and it is fast becoming one of the most widely learned second languages in the world. China is also one of the older countries in the world, and had one of the most powerful empires of all time. Mandarin is invaluable for travelling across and learning about this great nation steeped in history and achievement.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: For speakers of Latin-based languages learning a whole new script can be daunting, but it is not impossible. It will, however, take time and probably a significant period of immersion to build up any semblance of fluency. Chinese characters represent words rather than letters, which makes for a lot to remember! Chinese script is, however, extremely beautiful and poetic, which makes it a language that can also be learned for pleasure.
USEFUL FOR: High demand for Translators and Interpreters. Working for the UN. Trade, finance, business, economics, world politics, tourism, travel, education, technology. Travel and living in China or Taiwan. Appreciating arts, culture and history of China and Taiwan.

LANGUAGE: Japanese
FAMILY: Japonic
SPOKEN WHERE: Japan, and pockets worldwide
APPEAL: Japanese is one of the most useful tourist languages in the world- the stereotype of the Japanese tourist is a cliché for a reason! Japan also has a booming economy and increasing demand for cultural exports: sushi, bonsai plants, origami, karaoke and manga cartoons to name but a few. Japan has also been greatly influence by china and many other of the older Asian civilisations, and therefore the language is a great stepping stone into other Asian languages. Japan is also one of the most widely used languages on the internet and in the world of business. The Japanese are also amongst the healthiest people on the planet, and the japanese lifestyle is imitated across the western world today.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: Japanese is not very complicated for a Latin-language speaker to learn. It has few tenses, very simple grammar and very few irregulars. Japanese script is very distinct, and very beautiful, looking more like artwork than writing most of the time! Many characters denote sounds rather than words, so there are less characters to be learned than in Mandarin, for example.
USEFUL FOR: Working in any part of Asia. Trade, travel, tourism, business, technology, fashion, education, politics. Appreciating popular culture, arts, fashion and food.

LANGUAGE: Hindi
FAMILY: Indo-Iranian/Indo-Aryan
SPOKEN WHERE: India, Indian Ocean, Fiji and pockets worldwide
APPEAL: The language that emerged over 1000 years ago from Sanskrit, Hindi is the the most widely spoken language on the planet, and the Indian diaspora has reached every corner of the globe. The Hindi spoken today has been strongly influenced by English, Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Portuguese. It has been described as the language of "poetry and philosophy", and is unquestionably the language of Bollywood and Indian cuisine worldwide (for the most part). India is one of the oldest countries in the world and is a land steeped in history and culture. Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to this country in search of spiritual solace or cultural experience. It is just one of the hundreds of languages actually spoken in India, but it is one of the most popular.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: Hindi is a very easy language to learn, with very few irregularities and strong ties to other languages mentioned above. It is also a very logical language. English speakers also have the advantage that very often English words are inserted into Hindi speech when the speaker cannot find the appropriate word in Hindi.
USEFUL FOR: Working for the UN, Oxfam or any other NGO or international organisation. Trade, travel, tourism, law, finance, education, medicine, science. Appreciating Asian history and Indian culture, dance, food, literature and art. Practising Buddhism or Hinduism or just an interest in Yoga-type spiritual activities.

LANGUAGE: Russian
FAMILY: Indo-European, Slavic
SPOKEN WHERE: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Crimea, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Lativia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine and many other pockets of Europe, the northern Middle East and Asia.
APPEAL: Russian is usually considered the lingua franca of eastern Europe, uniting many countries that used to be part of the USSR. Russia has also given the world a great number of its greatest creative minds: Griboyedov, Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Yesenin, Akhmatova and many more. Russia is also increasingly integrating into the world economy, and so its language is of significance to anyone interests in world economics, business, finance and international trade and politics.
WHAT'S BEING SAID?: Although it uses the Cyrillic script, the Russian alphabet only had 33 characters so is not so disparate from Latin-based languages in terms of its word structure. Russian is one of the easier languages to learn, as its structure is logical with very few irregulars.
USEFUL FOR: Working in the UN. Interpreting and Translating. Trade, Economics, Law, Finance, Business. Appreciating Literature, Music and Dance.

Studying a Language: Writing

2009-12-11T16:59:00.023Z

Writing in a foreign language is, in my opinion, a step up harder than reading. It presents the language learner with the challenge of producing the language themselves, pulling together everything they know about gender, conjugations, vocabulary, and tone in one piece of written work. However, writing tasks do still allow the learner the comfort of not having to produce the language spontaneously, as they would have to when speaking. Here are some ideas to practice writing and actually produce written work in the target language.

The spring board into writing is reading. Familiarising yourself with how the target language is written will allow you to, in turn, write it competently. (See my post about Reading Skills http://1ofmanyvoices.blogspot.com/2009/12/studying-language-reading.html)
WRITE WRITE WRITE. Text your friends in the language (preferably those who are also studying it or this may lead to some confusion!). Find yourself a tandem partner or penpal and exchange weekly emails. Keep a diary or journal in the target language. If you fancy yourslef the creative sort, attempt some poetry, short stories or even plays. Give yourself a topic a week and write however many words about it: your opinion, what's happening, describing it etc. Don't worry too much about correctness, you will find that the more you write the more aware you become of your own mistakes and you will find yourself improving in a very natural, almost subconcious way!
For written tasks, make mindmaps or lists of
all the key words you would need to use. For instance, if you are to write 300 words about the environment in your area, list or spidergram all the related words in the key language such as 'environment; pollution; recycling; toxic' etc. Find other pieces of writing on the subject and see if they have any interesting turns-of-phrase related to the topic, and try to incorporate them into your writing WITHOUT PLAGIARISING. (stealing someone's work and giving them no credit for it!). Make a list of these expressions and along with your key words tick them off as you write to make sure you've used them all.
Try different sorts of writing activities to practice different grammatical structures. Write about your childhood or a past event to practice the past tense. Write about your plans for the future to practice the future tense. Write about your dreams for world peace and a stop to climate change to practice the subjunctive. Write a description to practice your use of adjectives.
Use Synonyms. As your language progresses so should you range of vocabulary. I chose a set of key words that often come up in essays (such as 'problem' 'advantage' 'disadvantage' 'opinion' 'create' 'announce' 'said') and found 5 synonyms for each one, and made lists I can refer to whenever I have a piece of writing to do. Not repeating the same word a million times in a piece of work really improves the quality of the writing.
Make use of language setting on computers and use spellcheckers. Another good trick to check for spelling mistakes is reading your piece of work from the last word to the first (backwards, basically). This way the words really stick out on their own as you're not reading for understanding.

This post is particularly about the SKILL of writing in another language. I hope they are helpful, and I will be posting a general writing post about academic writing in general...enjoy!

Studying a Language: Speaking

2009-12-11T16:59:00.022Z

Speaking. At times daunting even in your native language, it can be all the more challenging and at times terrifying in a foreign language, especially during the beginners stages. This post provides some ideas of how to practice speaking in the foreign language, in order to improve fluency, accuracy, pronunciation and, above all, confidence.

It may go without saying, but practice speaking the language as much as possible. Even if you vocabulary is limited to asking for someone's name and telling them how old you are, do so at every opportunity you get! Practice not only makes perfect, but builds confidence in speaking as well.
Expose yourself to as much spoken (and written) language as possible. Make note of key expressions, words that usually go together and pay attention to intonation and pronunciation. Listen to music, watch interviews or TV or films, arrange to meet up with a native speaker to have a conversation and pay attention to the locals speech if/when on holiday.
Speaking practise does not only mean practising spontaneous speech. Any speaking will do. Whilst in the earlier stages of language learning, you can practice speaking by simply reading aloud so try getting hold of some poetry, short stories, easy texts or even dialogues from movies or plays.
Further to that last point, if you can get hold of an excerpt of a play or a dialogue (or even write your own and get it checked by a native speaker!), practising acting it out with classmates or friends will really help. You can practise pronunciation as well as gestures and intonation which also form part of speaking a language (think of all the non-word sounds in french 'fouf' 'ben' 'euh' 'pfff' or the Mexican 'esteee'!)
Try set up a tandem partnership (ideally one that's both written and spoken) either with someone you meet face to face or even online using Skype or other video chat programs. As you may feel self-concious trying to speak the your tandem partner's native language, remember that they probably feel equally self-concious speaking English (or whatever your mother tongue may be), which may make the exchanges easier on both of you.
Try look out of groups of words around likely topics. Most IGCSE, GCSE, A-level, IB etc. classes already provide functional vocabulary, for example words such as Holiday, Beach, Relax, Travel, Airport, Tourist, that can all be used when talking about Tourism. Make use of vocabulary lists and learn to pronounce the words or expressions correctly.
Think up some key sentences about topics you usually like to talk about and practice holding short conversation with a classmate or friend who's also learning the language. Imagine you are in the country that speaks the language and you are trying to get to know someone so think of what you would ask them and what you would say about yourself if you were speaking your native language, and find ways to say it in the target language. If your feeling ambitious, you can ask a native or more advanced speaker to listen to your conversation, and provide feedback on pronunciation or perhaps give you some easier or more idiomatic ways of saying things.
To acquaint yourself with cadence, intonation and pronunciation, learn some songs in the target language. Listen to a song through with its lyrics and then learn to sing it. This is especially handy if your language has sound that you are unfamiliar or unused to making (such as the rolled R in Spanish and Italian, the sharp or rounded U sounds in French or the gutteral H in Arabic). Practise singing the song (to yourself, or someone who likes your singing voice!) and you'll be surprised at your progress in fluency...
Its worth investing some time in learning to read phonetic script, as this can help you at times when there are no native speakers handy and you have to look up an unfamiliar word in the dictionary. However, please don't lose any sleep if you find you are unable to understand phonetic script, many people (including myself) can't and manage to get by just fine!
Record yourself speaking or singing or reading out loud and play it back making note of areas to improve such as pronunciation or any hesitations...
When you manage to build up some fluency in the spoken language, pay attention to your non-word utterances. In English, for example, we often infer the word 'like' when we are between thoughts or trying to find the right word. We also use the sound 'umm' or 'uh' when thinking. Try think of these equivalents in your target language and use them when speaking. They are often in line with the vowel sound of the language, for instance the Spanish 'e' or 'y' is often used as an 'umm' whereas many eastern European languages use an 'mmm' sound. Details like this will really give you the edge in sounding more like a native speaker, and also help you to disassociate one language from the other, leading you to actually think in the target language when you are speaking it, rather than just translating from your mother tongue in your head before you talk.
It may be the first sign of madness, but I would advocate talking to yourself! Have debates with yourself, or discuss essay ideas or plan your day outline in the target language. If you feel self-concious, or there are people around you may disturb (on more than one level!) try do so when you are in the shower, or doing the dishes or hoovering, where the noise can drown out your voice so you don't feel self-concious.
Speak the language when abroad. It may seem daunting and you may feel ridiculous but most people will appreciate that you are making the sort of effort that the stereotypical tourist wouldn't. Be warned, however, that you may encounter people who think so highly of their language that they would want it spoken by only native speakers rather than have it mangled by tourist. In cases like that, try speak to someone else, or do what I do and insist on speaking to them in the language until they cooperate or leave! (not always advised but often a good laugh!)

Try invest as much time in practising the language, however self-concious you may feel, as it is the only way to build confidence. Remember that at the end of the day most people's goal in studying languages is to be able to say they "speak" the language...and there is invariably only one way to achieve that- by actually speaking it!

Studying a Language: Reading

2009-12-11T16:59:00.015Z

Reading skills are ESSENTIAL when learning a language. It is also, in my opinion, the least daunting of the four skill areas to master. When you read, you (usually) have the time to try and decipher unfamiliar words, to recognise the spelling of something which you may have difficulty understanding when pronounced in the language. Whilst recently in a French GCSE classroom I asked some students practising for their oral exam "Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire demain?" and was met with an array of blank expressions. However, when I wrote down the question in front of them, they recognised the words that they had not understood and were able to answer. Reading allows the language learner the luxury of taking their time, returning to unsure or unfamiliar words and phrases, speculating on meaning from spelling or similarity to other languages. Here are some ideas to make the most of your reading tasks and practise reading skills in your own time.

Firstly, READ READ READ. As much as possible. find Newspapers, books, online articles, textbooks, poems, song lyrics, appliance manuals, emails ANYTHING. For this skill, really, Practice does make perfect.
Read a text through several times. First ascertain the general meaning, maybe using Skim reading (letting your eyes skim over each sentence only picking out key words) not worrying too much about words you don't know. In exam conditions, you have limited time to spend on reading, so focus on reading for gist (using Skim reading) rather than understanding every single word of the text. Focus building up Speed and Understanding, and then attention to detail.
If you feel that you are struggling to understand, use the trick of highlighting or underlining everything you DO understand, and you will see that invariably there will only be a handful of words or phrases that you don't.
When dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary or expressions, before heading straight for the dictionary or teacher, try guess what they mean. Use clues from the surrounding words, i.e. if the sentence is speaking about what you do on holiday, the unfamiliar word is unlikely to have something to do with the Middle Eastern Peace Process or Molecular Biophysics (if there is such a subject...). Try to work out whether the word looks or sounds like any word you know in any other language, e.g Spanish embajador = English Ambassador. You would be surprised how many words in Latin and Germanic based languages are similar in this way. Note down your guesses for each word and then check it with a native speaker or a dictionary. For an extra push ;) give yourself points or rewards for each one you get right!
If a sentence is long and you are losing the gist of what is meant then break it down. Insert full stops and make it into small sentences, that way, you won't lose your train of thought.
Use colour, post-its, drawings etc as much as possible. One student devised her own marking system where she underlined certain types of words, circled key terms, highlighted unfamiliar grammar etc. Others colour code i.e blue for new vocabulary, orange for terms they may want to use later, green for everything I understand.
There is a dysfunction of the eyes in some people, often in dyslexics (like myself) where black text on white backgrounds is difficult to see. This is called Visual Stress Syndrome(see this website for more info http://www.visual-stress.com/what.htm). I struggle with this, and for this reason always try to use blue pens, many colours and coloured paper. It really makes a world of difference! Research also shows that people with Visual Stress benefit from using Coloured Overlays over text when reading, which can be bought from most reputable stationary stores.
As your language skills become more advanced in all areas, try reading increasingly challenging and diverse texts. At University level you should be comfortable reading journalistic articles, academic writing, narrative, poetry etc. Read and make note of what makes these different styles so distinct; is it the choice of words, the grammatical constructions, the themes being dealt with, the use of literary devices etc? Cultivating a critical awareness of different types of text will greatly benefit your reading AND your writing skills in the target language .
Read aloud. Once you have an understanding of the text (or even if you don't), read aloud to yourself or someone else and focus on your accent, pronunciation and intonation. Strictly speaking, this is of more benefit to you Speaking skills but it will definately help built confidence and hopefully, your reading speed.

For more ideas, consult your teachers and/or fellow learners about how they learned to read in the target language. Ask them for advice and resources if need be. The internet, once again is a wealth of written resources, as is travel if you should be so lucky!

Acknowledgements to Dr Patricia Romero de Mills (2008), Emese Racz (2009) and the University of Southampton Centre for Language Study.

Studying a Language: Listening

2009-12-11T16:58:00.013Z

Listening, although sometimes considered quite a passive skill, can often be very challenging given that spoken language can often seem completely disparate to its written form. Perhaps the listening skill area would be better described as 'oral understanding', and in light of this here are some steps designed to improve your understanding of the spoken language:

First of all I would advise being aware of variations within the language or you could end up completely confused. A European Spanish accent is worlds apart from that of a Cuban, to say nothing of the differences between French from France and French from Canada; and some variations of Arabic aren't even mutually intelligible across neighbouring countries! You may not be able to decipher every accent straight away, but it does help to tune you ear to variations of the language to increase the range of your understanding.
When you come across new words or saying in a text book or other written form, try find a native speaker or someone with a good accent to say it for you, so that you can learn to recognise it.
Connected to that last point, be sure to practise speaking as much as possible, even if its just reading aloud or singing along to a song in the target language. In order to reproduce the sounds of the words effectively, you need to train yourself to hear the words properly so speaking the language can be in itself, an assessment of your listening skills. See my post on developing your speaking skills: http://1ofmanyvoices.blogspot.com/2009/12/studying-language-speaking.html
Some text books come with audio CDs to supplement learning. These are especially handy as they often include a native speaker reading out passages from the text book that you can follow. Download the audio content onto you Ipod or Mp3 (should you be lucky enough to own one!) and carry it with you to listen to as you go about your day.
When listening to the target language, try add a visual element. Listen to News Reports is a lot easier when you can see the footage of what they are talking about. When listening to music, try watch the music video (most are available on Youtube) as this may indicate what the song is about and 'tell the story' so-to-speak.
Couple your listening with written forms of the language. Try watching foreign language films with subtitles in the target language rather than in your mother tongue. Pay attention to hand gestures, body language and other indicators of mood or meaning.
Listen for understanding. Try listening to a News Report and picking out 5 or 6 key words from which you could deduce the general meaning of the report, such as country names or transparent words (Words that are the same in all languages). Similarly, try watch a scene from a movie or sitcom in the target language without subtitles, and try infer what's going on from keywords as well as the actions of the characters (facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice etc). Remember, between 70 and 90% of all communication is nonverbal- meaning, you can infer a great deal of what you don't understand!
Listen to a song several times with the lyrics in front of you. This is a method I swear by as it helps you get accustomed to changes in tone, rhythm and cadence as well as improving pronunciation and helping you learn idiomatic phrases (or common expressions to the lay-person.

As much as you can try to schedule in actual focused listening practise using some of the ideas outlined here, and any others of your own invention. Listening skills can often be overshadowed by the need to develop writing and speaking skills, so remember that language is learned holistically, rather than compartmentally (a word I may have just invented but I'm sure you understand!)

2009-07-08T18:25:00.001+01:00

What will help me survive at Uni?

2009-07-05T14:40:00.001+01:00

General ideas of things you would need to make your uni life more comfortable, easy and productive (And frugal by the by!). This is assuming you have your accomodation sorted for the year...

1. Good telephone contract (Virgin and other have great deals for £10 a month or so. Perfect for students).

2. Transport. Some Uni's offer discounted transport for their students within the reaches of their campuses. Its best to take advantage of this sooner rather than later.

3. A wallet or planner to keep your student ID cards, transport, Library, gym and any other membership cards together in a safe place.

4. 2 sets of bed linen & towels, so that when one is in the wash, you can use the other

5. Collapsable clothes horse (save money and the environment by not using a tumble-dryer)

6. Portable Laundry Basket or bag (some supermarket 'environmental' woven bags are cheap, look lovely and hold about a machine's wash of clothes at one time)

7. Young Person's Coachcard (£10 http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/Offers/index.cfm); 16-25 Railcard (£30 http://www.railcard.co.uk/) and any other discount transportation is essential for visiting friends, family or going away for a weekend or easter break.

8. Lots of Passport sized photos (its amazing how many of these you get through in a year)

9. A Facebook account is helpful, not just for keeping track of new friends, but also for administration of groupwork, and finding out about events and societies within the Uni.

10. A wok (cooks everything!) a medium sized saucepan, a sieve, a sharp knife, Cutlery, Crockery, teatowels, tupperwares, baking tray

11. A Laptop with a webcam (macbook macbook macbook!) to Skype overseas friends and family.

12. A bike, if your home is far from your campus, its a great way to keep fit, as well as protect the environment (obviously a bike lock and insurance as well)

13. lots of copies of you CV, Passport and/or student Visa for work and residence purposes

14. An alarm clock (for those lovely 0800am lectures. Preferably one other than your cellphone, anything to nobble our dependency on phones!)

15. I will add more as I think of them. Suggestions WELCOME!

What will I need to study at Uni?

2009-07-05T13:56:00.001+01:00

OK, so this post is more a channel for me to express my undying love for stationary. Apologies as it is also quite UK-Centric, but I guess it would generally apply to any country really. As a student aiming for a first-class degree, I found the following items either essential or very helpful for studying throughout the year. As a language student, some of them are quite languages-specific, but I've added a list of general bits and pieces I know friend's in other disciplines have found helpful.

General

1. Diary or Daily Planner(with 1 day to a page, or 2 to pencil in lectures, seminars, classes, meetings, and see how much time is left over for other things)

2. Pencils, erasers, sharpeners (to pencil things into the diary :P) *

3. Pens (Black, Blue, Green and Red for staple Uni work)*

4. Coloured felt-tips, pencils, crayons, pens ( Most people work and remember better when using colour, in notes, mind maps, diary etc)

5. Highlighters (Invaluable for presentations, seminar readings and notes)

6.Staplers, paper clips, plastic folders (to hold the bits and pieces of paper you will invariably be given in bulk for each course)

7. File-Folders (One big one with lots of dividers so everything is in one place, or one per subject/course so that your load is lighter to carry)

8. Clear pencil case to keep it all in (clear because most uni's stipulate a clear pencil case during exams, so it saves buying another one. You can also clearly see what's there and what's missing)

9. Index Cards/Revision note flashcards (handy for presentations, flashcard learning, and small and handy to carry around)

10. Post-its (to keep pages in books, and to clearly mark things. Different colours also help organisation, perhaps colour-coded according to subject)

11. Audio-recorder thingy (to record lectures to listen to at a later date, or upload on your mp3 to revise whilst doing something else)

12. File, Box File or attractive Box (to store returned assignments and last year's material in case you need it again) or you could RECYCLE !!!

13. Lined & Plain Paper, or Exercise notebooks (again could be colour-coded according to subject, but trust me, you can never have enough of these!)

14. An Address book, to note specialist vocab, or new spellings (any book with A-Z somewhere, or you could make your own)

15. A comfy book-bag, over the shoulder or backpack to carry it all in (emphasis on Comfy!)

*it's best to buy a whole pack of these at the beginning of the year, not only will it work out cheaper, but you won't have to worry about running out of supplies during exam or assignment period

A few subject specific supplies:

1. Dictionaries, thesaurus' (thesauri?) Phrasebooks for languages*

2. Grammar exercise workbooks for languages*

3. Audio recorders (Essential)

4. Calculators (University's usually recommend which are required for specific courses)

5. Geometry sets

6. Laptop**

7. Graph paper/note books

*Before buying instore, often second hand or even first hand editions can be bought for a fraction of the selling price online (ebay/amazon etc) or from students who did the same course the year before. I bought 6 coursebooks (priced between £7-£12 each) for around £1-3 each online and from ex-students.

**If you plan your time and work right, you should be able to rely on the Uni's own computer workstations. although a laptop does make working more flexible, most good uni's should have more than enough computers for their students.

Acknowlegdements to Stella Cottrell's Study Skills Handbook for inspiration http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?is=1403911355 HIGHLY recommended for anyone embarking on ANY course of Study.