Modern Erasmus

Learning foreign languages

Cardinal Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti (1774-1849) is one of history’s most accomplished polyglots. He spoke more than forty languages fluently, all of which he learned while never leaving his home country Italy.

1. Introduction

I consider myself very lucky to having grown up in a somewhat multicultural environment. At home, my father used to speak to us in French and my mother in Arabic. Additionally, English was used everywhere and there was no escape from being confronted to it: TV, Computer games, Books and magazines, cartoons and movies. Being quite an addict with the latter definitely helped with learning English by passive means.
It’s actually only a few years ago that I started to learn a new foreign language, Spanish at first and then German. Weirdly enough, my passion and motivation for language learning only grew stronger from that point on. I’ve now reached an intermediate to advanced level in Spanish and I can speak simple sentences in German.

I’m going to develop in this post everything that might be helpful to a language learner. I hope this will benefit the one who’s just starting his language learning adventure as well as the one who’s already acquired a good learning methodology.

The article will talk about global methods and not those specific to a particular language. I will try writing about other languages afterwards, each in a separate thread. I hope in time that many will share their respective experiences with language learning.

2. But what do I need languages for?!

I actually am not sure why web sites which deal with languages usually give a list of reasons onto why to learn a foreign language. I mean… aren’t those obvious? Furthermore, for someone who’s visiting ModernErasmus on purpose and who’s chosen to read this article, I’m pretty much certain this someone has a pretty good idea how languages can be useful and enriching to him.

Still, for those that might have stumbled on this thread by accident and who might be convinced that spending time to learn a foreign language is a waste of time, here’s my quick list of reasons, in the hope of changing your mind on the subject:

• Learning foreign languages generally goes hand in hand with a curiosity for the associated cultures. This implies greater general knowledge and open-mindness.
• A definite plus on the professional level. Mastering English off course, but also other languages, will let you beat the competition and get that international position you’re aiming for. In a similar manner, it will offer you more choices for your studies abroad.
• More pleasant trips where you’ll be able to make interesting encounters and handle hurdles easier.
• Appreciate fully literature, music and cinema of other countries.
• Make international friends, and stay at their place during your holidays!

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, “only” spoke a handful of languages (Latin, Greek, Dutch, Hebrew, English …)

3. How to get there?

3.1 Stay abroad for a long time
That’s probably the best way and especially the quickest to learn a language. You will usually need a minimum of six months of practice in order to be able to speak the language. If the language’s structure is very different than your mother tongue (e.g. Enlish <-> Mandarin), you’ll need six additional months.
You’ll still need to provide a minimal effort:
-> Study the grammar on your own or attend a class
-> Do not speak English by default but try speaking the country’s language
-> Do not search for fellow countrymen for comfort but instead go towards the locals or other foreigners.
You’ll find on the internet plenty of sites that offer their services for finding a job or internship abroad.

3.2 Studying at home and/or taking courses

If you are motivated enough, enthusiastic about it, and ready to dedicate regularly some time for it, you can get there easily by your own. Furthermore, there’s no need to lay out large sums of money: lots of resources are cheap or even freely accessible on the internet.
I’m going to start with listing commercial products. Bear in mind that not one product by itself will let you reach fluency!

Each country has its own set of language publishers but some of them are present worldwide:

• Assimil: One of the oldest language learning methods out there. Consists of funny short dialogs to read regularly (preferably one 15-minutes lesson each day). Each dialog has its translation into your base language and comes with a small grammar part. The main series (called “With ease” or “sans peine”) will let you reach an intermediate level. The Advanced series (called “Perfectionnement”) will let you go further.
• Auralog’s Tell Me More: Probably the most complete package out there. Very thorough software that teaches you large amounts of the language with a nice interactive approach. The complete method (Beginner + Intermediate + Advanced) costs around 250 US dollars.
• Pimsleur (http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/)
  This method is essentially based on listening and repeating drills. It consists of CD or MP3 recordings that you can listen to while in your car without making much efforts. Unfortunately, it can only teach you a limited set of words and thus is not as complete as the others. You can probably find it at your local library and borrow it without spending the abnormal cost that they charge you for.
• Foreign Service Institute – FSI : This is another method which is very extensive and complete. It’s also one the best deals you’ll get since it’s completely free(!): the different original language courses were developed at the beginning of the 60s and they are in the public domain.
  You can download texts and MP3s here: http://fsi-language-courses.com
  You should evidently have a minimal knowledge in English in order to use them and get the most out of them.

Other popular methods that I never had the opportunity to try include:

• Rosetta Stone (http://www.rosettastone.com)
• Michel Thomas (http://www.michelthomas.com/)

Some people prefer learning on their own instead of attending courses. If they are really motivated and a bit organized, they can go faster than following a one week course, where average rhythm would slow them down.
Lots of organizations and enterprises give language courses; you have the international cultural centers (Goethe for German, Cervantes for Spanish, etc.) as well as other private companies like Berlitz. All of those offer quality and intensive courses. Their downside is that they’re usually quite expensive.
If you live in a big city and search well, you’ll often be able to find a very good course at a cheap price, whether at a university-like institute or a non-profit organization.

3.3 Tools and resources common to many languages

The polyglots’ forum: http://how-to-learn-any-language.com where you can find great advice from different polyglots.
WordReference is another very useful site with a very active forum, and in important number of definitions of words and expressions.

Other sites where you’ll find a number of tutorials:
http://www.ielanguages.com/
http://www.elanguageschool.net/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/
http://freelanguage.org/

Download Dialang’s software in order to test your skills:
http://www.dialang.org
-> Websites with podcasts listings:
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/language/
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/link_89.htm
http://www.oculture.com/2006/10/foreign_languag.html
http://www.utm.edu/staff/globeg/flpodcasting.html

A good search engine for podcats is Yahoo:
http://audio.search.yahoo.com/audio

(Podcasts specific to a particular language will be given in other articles)

-> Find people with whom you can practice. Ideally those would be friends or acquaintances with whom you spend good time. You can find though people on the internet with whom you’ll be able to practice, on regular forums, or on especially dedicated websites like http://www.polyglot-learn-language.com

-> Flash Cards
Flash Cards are simply cards where we write questions on one side and their answers on the back. They make it easier to memorize, especially when they are studied on non-regular intervals. The Leitner system, who bears the name of its creator, consists of classifying cards in successive groups, depending on whether we answer the question correctly or not.
There are now programs that give us the ability to easily use electronic flashcards. They often come with the option of adding images or sound files. I have tested some but none intensively to be able to give a helpful opinion about them. For many, you’ll be able to find ready-made flashcards available.

You can find here a list of programs:
http://www.quingle.com/softarea/flash.htm
Some of the most used programs are Mnemosyne, SuperMemo and iFlash. Quizlet.com is a free online alternative

-> Watch and listen to TV and radio stations thanks to the internet.
Check out Winamp -for online radios- and wwitv.com -for online TV stations-
It goes without saying that you should watch everything in its original un-dubbed version!

-> Magazines
If you have an intermediate level, there are lots of especially made magazines for language learners where you can read in the target language, with lots of vocabulary words and parts explained. you’ll be doing this while learning lots of interesting facts about culture, history, geo-politics, etc.
In Germany for example, there’s sprachzeitungen

In France, a famous language magazine is Vocable

And a few others:

-> Dictionaries

There is a very enjoyable book I try to read whenever I can and it’s the 5 languages visual dictionary, available in different editions in each country

-> Books and movies
Last but definitely not least, try reading bilingual books and watching movies in your target language.
Since you want to keep your language learning process pleasant as much as possible, choose the novels and movies that you’d like reading or watching!
Be smart! If you notice that normal novels are too hard choose easier ones.

3.4 The way of the Fanatic

So, you’re a perfectionist. You want to learn and master the language in a shorter time than it usually takes. You probably have guessed by now it’s not the tools that really matter, but the “How much do you want it?” instead!
So what’s the difference between a fanatic and a normal language enthusiast? Is the former just going to sacrifice all of his free time for learning?

Here’s the answer:
The fanatic takes every opportunity he gets to learn and get familiar with the target language.

Here are some interesting and practical ideas about what a Fanatic might do (I admit I have done some of those myself!):

• Configure your cell phone into your target language
• Install and use your favorite PC applications in your target language ( e.g. Firefox, IE, Office, Skype, etc.)
• Regularly read the news in your target language
• Listen to music/news (Radio or Web access) in your target language. You can do this while working at something else. I often listen to “BBC Mundo Hoy” bulletin while ironing my clothes! You can also do this while going and coming back from work.
• Make small lists of vocabulary words -flashcards- with their meanings and keep them with you in your wallet. It is best if you can get these words out of context, from a magazine or a book for example. Whenever you’re in a metro or simply waiting, get these papers out and read them a few times.
  You can even stick those flashcards on your fridge or your bathroom mirror (remember, you’re a fanatic!)
• Regularly read the http://www.wordreference.com site and take part in it.
• A fanatic who got good at language A and wishes to start studying language B, will buy a coursebook with language A as the base language instead of his mother tongue. That way he’ll be studying the new language and practicing his newly acquired language at the same time!

4. Some personal thoughts on language learners

1. “Oh yes I do speak that language” or “I speak 5 languages”
   It’s not very elegant to brag about your knowledge of a language, or to brag about anything for that matter. Definitely don’t do it if you barely speak a few sentences!

This is in relation with the second point

2. “I’ve lived in this country for 5 years so I perfectly know the language”
   Yes living in a foreign country definitely helps in learning the language but as I said earlier you still need to provide efforts. I’ve met a large number of people from different origins who have lived in a country for even more than five years and were barely able to speak the local language. Most of those people limit themselves to a level where others would understand them and they would understand others. They’ll keep on doing the same simple errors over and over again. Such a waste of time!
3. “My course is better. We start talking on the first day!”
   There is no magical route for getting good at something. Yes talent can help, but it consist mostly of work and commitment. You cannot escape studying grammar and vocabulary if you wish to get a good level. There are no magical shortcuts! I remember a student in my first class of Spanish, a few years ago, who was complaining about the fact we weren’t talking much in class after three months’ time, and that the course was useless because she wasn’t able to talk to her Spanish friends. That student left the course disappointed a short time afterwards and, as you might have guessed, her Spanish skills never went too far.
4. “Language learning is such of a strenuous task”
   It is true that efforts should be made at first. But afterwards, learning can be a fun process: watching movies, reading the stuff you usually enjoy, listening to good music, etc.

In the end, all you need is a good motivation, some free time and a little perseverance and you’ll get there! Good luck!

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