Learning a second language is never easy for the simple reason that it is exactly that — a second language. Ninety-nine percent of the time and, of course, barring the existence of congenital speech defects, the difficulty of learning a new language is brought on by the learner’s adherence to the conventions and practices of his first language, his native tongue. Conflicts in pronunciation, vocabulary, usage, intonation, manner of expression, even understanding of concepts, therefore arise. A perfect way to test this fact is to have a simple statement in English read by a Frenchman, an Italian, a Russian, a Japanese, a Portuguese and a German. See how many versions of the same statement in English you get!
The best thing to do in learning a new language, therefore, is to start fresh. Try, even temporarily, to suppress whatever conventions you are used to with your native tongue, and learn from scratch. While this is easier said than done, it is crucial to the process of learning a new language. You may also apply the following proven techniques:
1. Understand the language’s basic sentence structure. Regardless of what language it is, its basic unit of thought will always be the noun-verb combination we know in English as the sentence. Learn some nouns and verbs to convey your thoughts and you’re on your way, but do not concentrate on learning the rules alone. Remember, to know a language means to be able to speak it.
2. Read, read, read! Reading will help you get acquainted with common terms and expressions used in a specific language. Read simple materials like newspapers and magazine articles that you easily understand which can help you slowly build your vocabulary. Your goal is to be conversant in this language one day so learn new words as you go along. Bear in mind though that, to be effective, your vocabulary must be made up of words you can understand and use and not just words that you recognize and understand but cannot use.
3. Write, write, write! As you acquire more confidence, start writing down your thoughts on paper. Write about things you have read or any experience you may have encountered. The best way to practice your writing skills is to maintain a personal journal of things going on within and around you. This will also hone your skills in narrating and describing events.
4. Learn the art of listening. The best way to acquire skills in correct pronunciation and intonation of a language is to listen to how a native speaker speaks it. It is necessary for anyone who wants to be an expert in any language to develop his listening comprehension.
5. Learn to use the dictionary. Whether you are writing, reading or merely listening, it will serve you well to study the dictionary. This will not only help you widen your vocabulary, it will increase your confidence in choosing the correct words for particular situations.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Creative Use of your Computer Can Make Language Learning Easier
Your computer can be used as a creative tool in your quest to learn a foreign language. Some innovative ideas can turn your language education into an entertaining, truly memorable experience.
* Audio Modification
Many companies produce software packages that enable you to transform your voice (or someone else's). You can make your voice feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be raised to a high pitch or lowered to bass tones.
So how does this help you learn a new language?
Many foreign languages (French and German, for example) assign gender to nouns. When learning new vocabulary, why not record feminine nouns in a female voice, masculine nouns in a male voice, and neuter nouns in a robotic voice? This approach can also be used with other types of vocabulary learning. Perhaps you could record a list of German dative verbs in a woman's voice and a list of German accusative verbs in a male voice. You can even take audio files that have been recorded by other people and make them more interesting by morphing voices or adding sound effects.
An internet search for 'voice cloaking' or 'voice modification software' will provide numerous resources to choose from.
* Don't Just Print
If you own a color printer you can spice up your vocabulary lists with bursts of color - perhaps feminine nouns in red, masculine nouns in blue, and neuter in dark grey. You might want to highlight irregular verbs in another color - or perhaps apply bold or italics to make them stand out on the page. Experiment with various fonts and weights.
* Websites and Online Sources
Every language student should have at least one online dictionary bookmarked (preferably several). Each dictionary will work a little differently. Some provide audio clips. Others will allow users to submit new words and expressions. (Be aware that not all user submissions will be 100% accurate.) The best dictionaries will clearly indicate 'verified' user submissions and will mark colloquial and dialect expressions appropriately.
Are you a poet? Help is as close as your computer. Online language resources include helpful rhyming dictionaries. An internet search for 'rhyming dictionary French', 'rhyming dictionary German', 'rhyming dictionary Spanish' etc. will give you good results.
Try to rely on accredited educational sites (domains ending in .edu) when doing grammar research. For instance, if you are looking for Hungarian verb conjugations, try a search like 'Hungarian verb conjugations site:.edu'. Although at the time of writing the previous search doesn't work at MSN, it does work at Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and many others. The 'site:edu' portion of the search restricts results to domains ending in '.edu' - which are usually universities and other similar educational institutions.
* Online Chatting and Video Conferencing
Video-cams, VOIP, microphones . . . put them all together and talk with foreign friends from all over the world. Using a language in conversation is probably the quickest way to learn.
Whatever you do, remember that the more senses you stimulate during the learning process, the more firmly imprinted the learning becomes. Turn your language education into a fun-filled sensory experience and you will probably stick with it. If it becomes monotonous, you may lose interest.
* Audio Modification
Many companies produce software packages that enable you to transform your voice (or someone else's). You can make your voice feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be raised to a high pitch or lowered to bass tones.
So how does this help you learn a new language?
Many foreign languages (French and German, for example) assign gender to nouns. When learning new vocabulary, why not record feminine nouns in a female voice, masculine nouns in a male voice, and neuter nouns in a robotic voice? This approach can also be used with other types of vocabulary learning. Perhaps you could record a list of German dative verbs in a woman's voice and a list of German accusative verbs in a male voice. You can even take audio files that have been recorded by other people and make them more interesting by morphing voices or adding sound effects.
An internet search for 'voice cloaking' or 'voice modification software' will provide numerous resources to choose from.
* Don't Just Print
If you own a color printer you can spice up your vocabulary lists with bursts of color - perhaps feminine nouns in red, masculine nouns in blue, and neuter in dark grey. You might want to highlight irregular verbs in another color - or perhaps apply bold or italics to make them stand out on the page. Experiment with various fonts and weights.
* Websites and Online Sources
Every language student should have at least one online dictionary bookmarked (preferably several). Each dictionary will work a little differently. Some provide audio clips. Others will allow users to submit new words and expressions. (Be aware that not all user submissions will be 100% accurate.) The best dictionaries will clearly indicate 'verified' user submissions and will mark colloquial and dialect expressions appropriately.
Are you a poet? Help is as close as your computer. Online language resources include helpful rhyming dictionaries. An internet search for 'rhyming dictionary French', 'rhyming dictionary German', 'rhyming dictionary Spanish' etc. will give you good results.
Try to rely on accredited educational sites (domains ending in .edu) when doing grammar research. For instance, if you are looking for Hungarian verb conjugations, try a search like 'Hungarian verb conjugations site:.edu'. Although at the time of writing the previous search doesn't work at MSN, it does work at Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and many others. The 'site:edu' portion of the search restricts results to domains ending in '.edu' - which are usually universities and other similar educational institutions.
* Online Chatting and Video Conferencing
Video-cams, VOIP, microphones . . . put them all together and talk with foreign friends from all over the world. Using a language in conversation is probably the quickest way to learn.
Whatever you do, remember that the more senses you stimulate during the learning process, the more firmly imprinted the learning becomes. Turn your language education into a fun-filled sensory experience and you will probably stick with it. If it becomes monotonous, you may lose interest.
18 Strategies For Enhancing Language Skills
The following strategies are offered for enhancing language skills and managing language challenges. This listing is by no means exhaustive, but rather is meant as a place to begin.
Alice Thomas and Glenda Thorne
1. Take the mystery away.
The first and perhaps most important strategy is to teach students about the components of language, common language challenges and language strategies, and to help students understand their own language strengths and challenges. This process is sometimes called demystification – taking the mystery away.
2. Simplify directions.
Students with receptive language challenges may need directions broken down into their simplest form. They may also benefit from a comic book-type illustration of steps to take for the completion of a task.
3. Give written copies of directions and examples.
Students with receptive language challenges may need directions given to them at a relatively slow pace. They may need directions repeated to them. They most often benefit from having a written copy of directions that are given orally. Examples of what needs to be done are also useful.
4. Provide frequent breaks.
Students who have receptive language challenges may use up a lot of energy listening, and, therefore, tire easily. Consequently, short, highly structured work times with frequent breaks or quiet periods may be helpful.
5. Give additional time.
Students with receptive and expressive language challenges are likely to have a slower processing speed and should be allowed additional time for written work and tests.
6. Sit Close.
A student may want to sit close to the teacher so he can watch the facial expression of the teacher when s/he is talking. This may also help to diminish interference from other auditory distractions.
7. Allow voluntary participation.
Students with language processing challenges should not be put on the spot by being required to answer questions during class discussions, especially without being forewarned. Rather, their participation should be on a voluntary basis.
8. Teach summarizing and paraphrasing.
Reading comprehension is often enhanced by summarizing and paraphrasing. This helps students to identify the main idea and supporting details. It may be helpful to provide key words such as who, what, when, where and why to orient attention to the appropriate details.
9. Teach a staging procedure.
Most students find a staging procedure beneficial when writing paragraphs, essays, poems, reports and research papers. First they should generate ideas, and then they should organize them. Next, they should attend to spelling and grammatical rules. They may also list their most frequently occurring errors in a notebook and refer to this list when self correcting.
10. Encourage renewed investment of energy in older students.
Older students who have experienced reading failure from an early age must become convinced that a renewed investment of energy will be worthwhile. According to Louisa Moats, an expert in the field of reading, older students who are very poor readers must have their phonological skills strengthened because the inability to identify speech sounds erodes spelling, word recognition, and vocabulary development. Phonological awareness, spelling, decoding, grammar, and other language skills can be taught as a linguistics course in which instructors use more adult terminology such as phoneme deletion and morphemic structure. Phonemic drills may include games such as reverse-a-word (Say teach; then say it with the sounds backwards – cheat.)
11. Give Foreign Language Waivers
Students who have experienced problems with their primary language are more likely to have difficulty with a foreign language. Foreign language requirements may need to be waived for these students.
12. Use echo reading for fluency development.
For fluency development, it is helpful to have a student in the lower grades echo read and also read simultaneously with an adult. The adult and the student may also take turns reading every other sentence or paragraph. Additionally, the adult may model a sentence and then have the student read that same sentence.
13. Amplify auditory input.
Multisensory techniques can be used to increase phonetic skills and to memorize sight words. For example, a student may sound out a word or write sight words on a dry erase board using different colored markers, all while using Hearfones, a Phonics Phone or a Toobaloo device to enhance auditory input. These devices amplify and direct the student's own voice straight back to his ears, causing increased auditory stimulation to the brain. These devices can be purchased from CDL's A+ WebStore at www.cdl.org.
14. See, say, hear and touch.
Multisensory strategies are helpful for learning letter names. Examples include: 1) spreading shaving cream on a table top and having the child write letters in the shaving cream while saying the letter name out loud; and 2) cutting out letters from sandpaper and having the child "trace" the sandpaper letter with his or her finger while saying the name of the letter.
15. A picture is worth a thousand words.
The expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words," may become especially important for the visual person who has difficulty expressing himself verbally. For example, a student may make diagrams, charts, or drawings to help him remember what he has read. If he is good at art, the student may draw or paint pictures to explain his ideas.
16. Teach active reading.
To help with comprehension, it may be helpful to underline key words and phrases with a pencil or highlighter and to paraphrase them in the margins, thereby making reading more active. If the student is not allowed to write in the book, he can write the main words or ideas on Post-It notes.
17. Guide students to read between the lines.
When first teaching students to infer while reading, the teacher should first guide the thinking by using a whole class activity. After the class as a whole has identified a logical inference, the teacher should facilitate the examination of the process by which they arrived at their inference. Leading questions may be, "What is the author saying to us? How do we know the author meant this?" Remind students that authors provide clues (imply) so readers can infer.
18. Provide individual evaluation and intervention.
Many students with language challenges benefit from individual evaluation and remediation by highly qualified professionals. It is critical to use assessment tools designed to pinpoint specific skill deficits and to provide individual or small group remediation/intervention using explicit, evidence-based strategies and methods that directly address each student’s individual needs.
Alice Thomas and Glenda Thorne
1. Take the mystery away.
The first and perhaps most important strategy is to teach students about the components of language, common language challenges and language strategies, and to help students understand their own language strengths and challenges. This process is sometimes called demystification – taking the mystery away.
2. Simplify directions.
Students with receptive language challenges may need directions broken down into their simplest form. They may also benefit from a comic book-type illustration of steps to take for the completion of a task.
3. Give written copies of directions and examples.
Students with receptive language challenges may need directions given to them at a relatively slow pace. They may need directions repeated to them. They most often benefit from having a written copy of directions that are given orally. Examples of what needs to be done are also useful.
4. Provide frequent breaks.
Students who have receptive language challenges may use up a lot of energy listening, and, therefore, tire easily. Consequently, short, highly structured work times with frequent breaks or quiet periods may be helpful.
5. Give additional time.
Students with receptive and expressive language challenges are likely to have a slower processing speed and should be allowed additional time for written work and tests.
6. Sit Close.
A student may want to sit close to the teacher so he can watch the facial expression of the teacher when s/he is talking. This may also help to diminish interference from other auditory distractions.
7. Allow voluntary participation.
Students with language processing challenges should not be put on the spot by being required to answer questions during class discussions, especially without being forewarned. Rather, their participation should be on a voluntary basis.
8. Teach summarizing and paraphrasing.
Reading comprehension is often enhanced by summarizing and paraphrasing. This helps students to identify the main idea and supporting details. It may be helpful to provide key words such as who, what, when, where and why to orient attention to the appropriate details.
9. Teach a staging procedure.
Most students find a staging procedure beneficial when writing paragraphs, essays, poems, reports and research papers. First they should generate ideas, and then they should organize them. Next, they should attend to spelling and grammatical rules. They may also list their most frequently occurring errors in a notebook and refer to this list when self correcting.
10. Encourage renewed investment of energy in older students.
Older students who have experienced reading failure from an early age must become convinced that a renewed investment of energy will be worthwhile. According to Louisa Moats, an expert in the field of reading, older students who are very poor readers must have their phonological skills strengthened because the inability to identify speech sounds erodes spelling, word recognition, and vocabulary development. Phonological awareness, spelling, decoding, grammar, and other language skills can be taught as a linguistics course in which instructors use more adult terminology such as phoneme deletion and morphemic structure. Phonemic drills may include games such as reverse-a-word (Say teach; then say it with the sounds backwards – cheat.)
11. Give Foreign Language Waivers
Students who have experienced problems with their primary language are more likely to have difficulty with a foreign language. Foreign language requirements may need to be waived for these students.
12. Use echo reading for fluency development.
For fluency development, it is helpful to have a student in the lower grades echo read and also read simultaneously with an adult. The adult and the student may also take turns reading every other sentence or paragraph. Additionally, the adult may model a sentence and then have the student read that same sentence.
13. Amplify auditory input.
Multisensory techniques can be used to increase phonetic skills and to memorize sight words. For example, a student may sound out a word or write sight words on a dry erase board using different colored markers, all while using Hearfones, a Phonics Phone or a Toobaloo device to enhance auditory input. These devices amplify and direct the student's own voice straight back to his ears, causing increased auditory stimulation to the brain. These devices can be purchased from CDL's A+ WebStore at www.cdl.org.
14. See, say, hear and touch.
Multisensory strategies are helpful for learning letter names. Examples include: 1) spreading shaving cream on a table top and having the child write letters in the shaving cream while saying the letter name out loud; and 2) cutting out letters from sandpaper and having the child "trace" the sandpaper letter with his or her finger while saying the name of the letter.
15. A picture is worth a thousand words.
The expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words," may become especially important for the visual person who has difficulty expressing himself verbally. For example, a student may make diagrams, charts, or drawings to help him remember what he has read. If he is good at art, the student may draw or paint pictures to explain his ideas.
16. Teach active reading.
To help with comprehension, it may be helpful to underline key words and phrases with a pencil or highlighter and to paraphrase them in the margins, thereby making reading more active. If the student is not allowed to write in the book, he can write the main words or ideas on Post-It notes.
17. Guide students to read between the lines.
When first teaching students to infer while reading, the teacher should first guide the thinking by using a whole class activity. After the class as a whole has identified a logical inference, the teacher should facilitate the examination of the process by which they arrived at their inference. Leading questions may be, "What is the author saying to us? How do we know the author meant this?" Remind students that authors provide clues (imply) so readers can infer.
18. Provide individual evaluation and intervention.
Many students with language challenges benefit from individual evaluation and remediation by highly qualified professionals. It is critical to use assessment tools designed to pinpoint specific skill deficits and to provide individual or small group remediation/intervention using explicit, evidence-based strategies and methods that directly address each student’s individual needs.
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