Hola mis alumnos,
Aqui hay algunos lugares en la red que les pueda ayudar.
Here are a few places on the internet which may be useful.
(Click on Links to the right to go directly to find great websites to help you develop your Spanish skills including the ones below)
Learning Styles Index
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/RMF. html
GRAMMAR - (Interactive) Study spanish grammar
www.studyspanish.com
GRAMMAR - (Interactive) Review Spanish, Language, and Culture with Barbara Nelson
http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php
GRAMMAR NOTES - Review or print your grammar notes with Dr. Lemon
CONJUGATOR - Review Spanish with the Spanish Institute of Puebla
http://www.spanishconjugator.com/
DICCIONARIO - del Real Academia Espanola ; espanol-espanol
www.rae.es
DICCIONARIO - de ingles-espanol; espanol-ingles
www.wordreference.com
REALIDADES - Study vocabulary and grammar directly from your textbook - Realidades
http://www.phschool.com/atschool/txtbk_res_fl.html
**Just click on "world languages" and find your textbook and various review
activities and games that can help you study.
SPANISH NEWS - Up to the minute news in Spanish
http://www.spanishnewsnetwork.com/
WWW Sites in Spanish -
http://www.lawrence.edu/fast/faresg/sites.htm
GETTING STARTED RESOURCE PAGE
Diccionaries
New Editions to the ListLive Lingua – online Skype courses in a growing number of languages. (1.4)
RESOURCES
Guide to Self-Assessment
1.1 Assemble Your ToolsThere are a few programs and items that I have found to be indispensable as a language learner. Everyone is different and so everyone’s tool box will look different, but these are a few of the items and programs that I have found most useful as I have endeavored to learn another language. Start with these few to begin with and then as time goes on and you begin to feel what is working for you and what is not, move on and explore the rest of the Resource Section for other great tools for language learning.
The Teach Yourself Series: This great series of books offers an easy to use, activity filled yet simple introduction to grammar structures, expressions and basic cultural ideas to most languages. I used the Teach Yourself Turkishbook and thought it was a great place to start.
The Whole World Guide to Language Learning: This is the only book on the list that you will need to purchase. It is well worth the cost though as it does more than perhaps any other resource to prepare you for the life of a self-directed language learner. It is especially recommended for those preparing for or already living the expat life abroad.
How To Be A More Successful Language Learner: Another great resource filled with ideas to help you become an independent language learner.
Language Acquisition Made Practical (LAMP): Filled with lots of great ideas, this book is written especially for the person moving overseas and able to dedicate significant time to language learning.
Lexicarry: This wordless book has been created to be used with a language helper or native speaker. It is filled with pictures of all areas of life and is an excellent resource for learning language. Like TPR, this resource allows you to skip the translation process and get straight to matching items with words leading to deeper learning.
1.3 Online Guides and eBooksThe Everyday Language Learner Guide Series: Four great guides to empower the independent language learner.
The Everyday Language Learner’s Guide to Sustaining: This is a free guide written to help you create, maintain and protect your motivation, commitment and attitude for language learning.
Peacecorp Volunteer’s On-going Language Learning Manual: A great resource for the self-directed language learner with lots to inspire, empower and give you the tools to be successful.
The LACE Manual for Language Learning: Another great resource filled with practical ideas about how to learn the language using a language helper.
Kick-Starting Your Language Learning: Greg Thomson‘s short book will help you gain a better understanding of how we can most effectively learn language. This is a foundational document that is an essential read for all interested in learning another language.
Language Learning in the Real World for Non-Beginners: Another classic from Greg Thomson. This offering speaks to the language learner who is off to a good start, but needs direction to keep improving.
Leave Me Alone! Can’t You See I’m Trying to Learn Your Language: Greg Thompson shares about the importance of relationships in your language learning journey. A very good read to get you thinking about language helpers.
Language Impact: This site is the home of so many great articles, including a few of the above. Many of the articles are an absolute must for independent language learners and will truly enhance your language learning journey.
Omniglot: This site is the a great repository of information and links to sites for many of the languages of the world. It includes a list of websites and blogs dedicated to just about every language in the world. Search for your language and you will find a whole host of great links to help you get started.
Beniko Mason: This site is a clearing house of academic articles about language acquisition, comprehensible input, extensive reading and much more.
Exploring Culture - A great site with loads of ideas to help you explore the culture of your target language.
1.4 Language Learning ProgramsLivemocha: With over thirty five languages available, Livemocha offers language courses very similar in nature to those of Rosetta Stone. While the courses are very good and free, the strength of Livemocha, in my mind, lies in the way it builds community through social media connections. A bit like Facebook, Livemocha allows you to make friends – native speakers – who will help you on your language learning journey. Part of the program is sharing both writing assignments and speaking samples with the community for feedback – and of course taking the time to give a little feedback yourself. Livemocha is a great place to start for the everyday language learner. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week will get you a great foundation upon which you can build. Listen to Clint Schmidt, the VP of marketing and product at Livemocha, tell about the program on this podcast.
LingQ: LingQ, like Livemocha, is free. Based on reading and listening, LingQ is a unique system that allows you to have control over the input, implement multi entry and incorporates integrated review. LingQ is at twelve languages and growing. (No Turkish yet) Founder Steve Kaufman is an avid linguist and language learning expert who himself knows eleven languages. You can listen to Steve describe the LingQ program here. Coupled with Livemocha, I think these are the two most important programs to use to get started in building a strong foundation in the language in a low stress environment. LingQ offers English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. LingQ has a great introductory video that you can watch here.
Busuu: I have not yet tried this out, but I have read that it is lot like Live Mocha and that it is a pretty cool site. Like Livemocha and LingQ, it is free to use. With all three you can buy in at higher levels if you would like. One thing I like is the ability to find other users from particular countries easily. Busuu has seven languages currently: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian and French. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Watch their tour of the site here.
Rosetta Stone: Rosetta Stone is probably the most well known and robust of all the home based language programs, but it is also quite expensive.
Fluenz: Another program like Rosetta Stone, I have heard great things about Fluenz, but have never tried it. It also is a bit expensive and as of now only has Spanish, French, Italian and Chinese.
Pronunciator: This is a great program with over 60 languages and 3 million lessons available. It is a basic audio flashcard system with a lot of great features. Great place for beginners to get started and for intermediates to get some much needed review.
FSI Language Course: These courses were developed by the Foreign Service Institute and are in the public domain. Over 40 languages are available with the full text and audio for each course.
Wikibable: Wikibable offers free lessons for learning any language.
Live Lingua - online Skype courses in a growing number of languages.
1.5 Language Learning Tools
Online Resource List: A list of 75 free programs you can use to learn a new language.
Fixoodle: A social language learning site where you can make friends, get translations, fix your errors and more.
Glovico: Fair trade language school allows you to work with tutors live from their countries across the globe.
Duolingo: New, free language learning program.
Culture Talk: Fantastic resource. Short videos of native speakers talking about different aspects of their culture.
Google Translate: There are hundreds of different translation tools out there, and Google translate is by no means the best, but it is the easiest and most accessible. It is not suggested to be used as an online dictionary – there are far superior sites for this and most are language specific. But Google translate is a good tool to use to increase your access into the language. It can help you find the “password phrases” you need to get in. As an example, afellow author recently embarking on a quest to learn Turkish in one year typed the words “children’s story” into Google translate and received the Turkish equivalent – “Çocuklar Hikayesi.” He copied this and pasted it into a Youtube search and quickly found a lot of children’s programs and cartoons in Turkish. Quick access to comprehensible input and a great example of how to effectively use Google translate as a tool to give you access to the language.
Lang-8: Lang-8 is a great social networking program that allows you to have a “virtual” language helper. Submit your writing in the native language and get it corrected by a native speaker (or two) from the language. Free membership. See a short introductory video of Lang-8 here.
Rhino Spike: Another social networking program allowing language learners to share their voice with those learning another language and allowing you to find and record native speakers reading your text – whatever it is. By becoming a member, you can find people to record audio for you. For example, you may post a short journal entry that you have written in the target language. A native speaker will record it and then upload it to the system. You can download it and listen. Likewise, you should lend your voice to the community and take the time to record and upload for language learners around the world. You can help!
Lyrics Training: A site dedicated to helping you learn languages through music videos and song lyrics. Add some fun to your language learning.
Digital Dialects: This site has a large selections of games and activities for beginning language learners. Nearly 60 languages represented.
Forvo: This site has the pronunciation of words by native speakers for hundreds of thousands of words in many of the worlds languages.
Tatoeba Project: Totoeba is a project that aims to collect lots of sentences translated in several languages.
Open Culture: Free language lessons for over 40 languages.
GLOSS: Great repository of lessons from the Defense Language Institute in nearly 40 languages.
Free Rice - vocabulary review program for English, French, Italian, Spanish and Korean. Help feed the hungry with each review.
1.6 Language Exchange SitesVerbling: Connect instantly with native speakers for an online chat.
The Mixxer: The Mixxer is a social networking site designed to help language learners find one another for language exchanges using Skype.
Conversation Exchange: Language learners can find conversation partners, pen pals and online chat partners through the Conversation Exchange.
Tonguetide: Tonguetide is a language learner’s social network offering opportunities to share ideas, read blogs, find tutors, classes and to find language partners.
Meet Up: Meet Up is for all sorts of clubs and organizations and hobbies, but you can also find or organize language learning meet ups through it in your area at this site.
Fluent in Three Months Forum: Launched in the spring of 2011, this forum has a thread dedicated to helping language learners meet up with potential language partners. It also has a lot of great language specific information and resources.
italki: italki helps learners find tutors, classes and language partners.
Hello-Hello: Hello-Hello is a new language exchange site that is free, includes lessons, and other options.
Google Plus: Google Plus is relatively new but the “Hangout” function is the place where all the language exchange action will probably happen. I think the key would be to create a circle of native speaking friends with whom you could then talk with anytime you are online together. You can see how Mike at Look Out, Knock Head is using Google+ HERE.
Couchsurfing: Couchsurfing was created to help folks find a bed and new friends in their world travels, but has also become a bit of a social network in its own right and can be a place to find native speakers with whom you can speak online. Read how one learner uses this HERE.
Expat Blog: When I listed my blogs on Expat Blog I began almost at once to get messages from Turks who have registered in hopes of finding language exchange partners.
Expat Country Forums: In general, expats like to create online communities through forums where they can share information. The largest in Turkey is called MyMerhaba. These are places where information is shared, including information about language tutors, etc. Nationals are also using them to find English speakers for language exchange partners and so language learners should be able to find language partners.
Language Specific Blogs: Some languages are difficult to find partners for due to a host of reasons. If you are struggling to find partners at any of the above mentioned sites, another place to look is at language specific blogs. People who are blogging about their journey in learning a lesser known language have probably figured out the best resources and would probably know how to help you. Two examples of great language specific blogs that I have found to be incredibly helpful are Navajo Now and Women Learning Thai.
Eurolingua Institute: Eurolingua helps you find a language school and get started learning another language.
Twasebook: If you are looking for how native speakers use a word, enter it here and get samples from Twitter.
1.7 Flashcard ProgramsPictolang: Image based flashcard games.
Anki: This is a free program that can be downloaded to your computer. Easy to use and you can create your own cards or use anther learner’s cards. Watch a demo HERE. Read Anki: Bringing Flashcards Out of the Stone Age
Byki: This program is free to use though limited until you purchase the deluxe edition of your language. It boasts a language community with whom you can exchange or share cards.
Flashcard Exchange: A robust exchange with over 400,000 members. This is not just a language site, but language seems to be one of the larger categories with many languages represented if you want to use someone else’s list. You can of course create your own and can print them off as well.
LearnClick: Create your own cloze test flashcards based around any text. Learn vocabulary in context.
Quizlet: Quizlet is an online flashcard program. It has a lot more than just languages, but comes with flashcard decks that others have made as well as the ability to make your own.Watch a Demo.
iTunes App Store: With literally hundreds of different apps for language learning, there is not much you won’t find for your iphone these days. Many are free and all allow you to have language learning material with you wherever you are.
1.8 TPR ResourcesTotal Physical Response is one of the very best methods for getting started with language learning. It is simple to use and is great to use with a language helper or friend. There is a lot of helpful information on the web and I wanted to highlight some of it here.
TPR World: This is the website from the guy who created the TPR method. Lots of resources and articles.
Maximize Your Language Learning Through TPR: One of the few articles dedicated to helping independent learners understand how to use TPR affectively as a learning tool. A must read article.
502 Words That Can Be Learned With TPR: If you are wondering what and where to start with TPR, this list may be the kickstart you need.
Video Demonstration: This seven minute video shows how one teacher used TPR in his 6th grade Spanish class with remarkable results.
LACE Manual: This was already mentioned above, but pages 9-15 give a very good explanation of the method as well as four pages of topics and ideas for actually using it as a self directed language learner.
1.9 Recording ToolsYou will want to find something to record with so that you can maximize your time with native speakers. Most laptops have this capability as do most new cell phones. The main thing is to keep recording at your level. Keep it simple but make it useful. If you are looking for recording software, Audacity is a free program that is simple to use and extremely versatile. One great feature in Audacity is that you can slow down a recording without loosing sound quality. For example, you can slow down a podcast so that you can hear it better without losing sound quality.
1.10 Evaluation ToolsThe Everyday Language Learner’s Guide to Self-Assessment: This robust assessment is designed for the independent language learner and is a one of a kind evaluation that will help you take control of your language learning journey.
ACTFL: This is the site of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the assessment scales found here are the most highly regarded among second language educators. A simplified version of these scales are used in the EDLL Guide to Self-Assessment.
CEFR: Similar to the ACTFL, the CEFR are the mainstay of evaluation amongst European educators.
Cactus Language Level Tests: Cactus is one of the world’s leading providers of tailor made language training. They have a language level test for eighteen languages. This is a traditional academic assessment. Watch a presentation about Cactus here.
1.11 Great BlogsThe following is a collection of blogs by language learners and language experts. Most are people dedicated to learning more than one language. Most are not necessarily everyday language learners. I have learned much by reading their blogs and interacting with all of them though. They represent a wide variety of ideas, methods and opinions on language learning. Anyway, here are a few of my favorites in no particular order. I encourage you to read them for inspiration and great ideas. I owe much to all of them for this reason and it is why I share them with you today. You may, as well, have your own favorite bloggers who are not mentioned here. Let me know who they are and I will try to add them to future editions.
Visit the Great Language Learning Blogs Page
1.12 Learning Activity IdeasPERSONAL SETTING
Aqui hay algunos lugares en la red que les pueda ayudar.
Here are a few places on the internet which may be useful.
(Click on Links to the right to go directly to find great websites to help you develop your Spanish skills including the ones below)
Learning Styles Index
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/RMF. html
GRAMMAR - (Interactive) Study spanish grammar
www.studyspanish.com
GRAMMAR - (Interactive) Review Spanish, Language, and Culture with Barbara Nelson
http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php
GRAMMAR NOTES - Review or print your grammar notes with Dr. Lemon
CONJUGATOR - Review Spanish with the Spanish Institute of Puebla
http://www.spanishconjugator.com/
DICCIONARIO - del Real Academia Espanola ; espanol-espanol
www.rae.es
DICCIONARIO - de ingles-espanol; espanol-ingles
www.wordreference.com
REALIDADES - Study vocabulary and grammar directly from your textbook - Realidades
http://www.phschool.com/atschool/txtbk_res_fl.html
**Just click on "world languages" and find your textbook and various review
activities and games that can help you study.
SPANISH NEWS - Up to the minute news in Spanish
http://www.spanishnewsnetwork.com/
WWW Sites in Spanish -
http://www.lawrence.edu/fast/faresg/sites.htm
GETTING STARTED RESOURCE PAGE
Diccionaries
New Editions to the ListLive Lingua – online Skype courses in a growing number of languages. (1.4)
RESOURCES
- 1.0 The Guide to Getting Started and Self-Assessment Worksheets
- 1.1 Assemble Your Tools
- 1.2 Books
- 1.3 Online Guides and eBooks
- 1.4 Language Learning Programs
- 1.5 Language Learning Tools
- 1.6 Language Exchange Sites
- 1.7 Flashcard Programs
- 1.8 Total Physical Response (TPR) Resources
- 1.9 Recording Tools
- 1.10 Evaluation Tools
- 1.11 Great Language Blogs
- 1.12 Learning Activity Ideas
Guide to Self-Assessment
1.1 Assemble Your ToolsThere are a few programs and items that I have found to be indispensable as a language learner. Everyone is different and so everyone’s tool box will look different, but these are a few of the items and programs that I have found most useful as I have endeavored to learn another language. Start with these few to begin with and then as time goes on and you begin to feel what is working for you and what is not, move on and explore the rest of the Resource Section for other great tools for language learning.
- Pocket Dictionary
- Online Dictionary
- Teach Yourself Turkish book
- A small pocket notebook for writing down things I need to know as they come up.
- A larger spiral notebook for taking notes and writing practice sentences and journals in.
- A notebook to make “lesson plans” in. In this I would plan out what I wanted to do each week and would make specific plans for my time with my native speaking language helper.
- Livemocha or Rosetta Stone – at the beginning for building a beginning foundation.
- Lang-8
- The LACE Manual and the Peacecorp Manual.
- The EDLL Guide to Self-Assessment
- Recording Device of some sort and an ipod or other MP3 player.
The Teach Yourself Series: This great series of books offers an easy to use, activity filled yet simple introduction to grammar structures, expressions and basic cultural ideas to most languages. I used the Teach Yourself Turkishbook and thought it was a great place to start.
The Whole World Guide to Language Learning: This is the only book on the list that you will need to purchase. It is well worth the cost though as it does more than perhaps any other resource to prepare you for the life of a self-directed language learner. It is especially recommended for those preparing for or already living the expat life abroad.
How To Be A More Successful Language Learner: Another great resource filled with ideas to help you become an independent language learner.
Language Acquisition Made Practical (LAMP): Filled with lots of great ideas, this book is written especially for the person moving overseas and able to dedicate significant time to language learning.
Lexicarry: This wordless book has been created to be used with a language helper or native speaker. It is filled with pictures of all areas of life and is an excellent resource for learning language. Like TPR, this resource allows you to skip the translation process and get straight to matching items with words leading to deeper learning.
1.3 Online Guides and eBooksThe Everyday Language Learner Guide Series: Four great guides to empower the independent language learner.
The Everyday Language Learner’s Guide to Sustaining: This is a free guide written to help you create, maintain and protect your motivation, commitment and attitude for language learning.
Peacecorp Volunteer’s On-going Language Learning Manual: A great resource for the self-directed language learner with lots to inspire, empower and give you the tools to be successful.
The LACE Manual for Language Learning: Another great resource filled with practical ideas about how to learn the language using a language helper.
Kick-Starting Your Language Learning: Greg Thomson‘s short book will help you gain a better understanding of how we can most effectively learn language. This is a foundational document that is an essential read for all interested in learning another language.
Language Learning in the Real World for Non-Beginners: Another classic from Greg Thomson. This offering speaks to the language learner who is off to a good start, but needs direction to keep improving.
Leave Me Alone! Can’t You See I’m Trying to Learn Your Language: Greg Thompson shares about the importance of relationships in your language learning journey. A very good read to get you thinking about language helpers.
Language Impact: This site is the home of so many great articles, including a few of the above. Many of the articles are an absolute must for independent language learners and will truly enhance your language learning journey.
Omniglot: This site is the a great repository of information and links to sites for many of the languages of the world. It includes a list of websites and blogs dedicated to just about every language in the world. Search for your language and you will find a whole host of great links to help you get started.
Beniko Mason: This site is a clearing house of academic articles about language acquisition, comprehensible input, extensive reading and much more.
Exploring Culture - A great site with loads of ideas to help you explore the culture of your target language.
1.4 Language Learning ProgramsLivemocha: With over thirty five languages available, Livemocha offers language courses very similar in nature to those of Rosetta Stone. While the courses are very good and free, the strength of Livemocha, in my mind, lies in the way it builds community through social media connections. A bit like Facebook, Livemocha allows you to make friends – native speakers – who will help you on your language learning journey. Part of the program is sharing both writing assignments and speaking samples with the community for feedback – and of course taking the time to give a little feedback yourself. Livemocha is a great place to start for the everyday language learner. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week will get you a great foundation upon which you can build. Listen to Clint Schmidt, the VP of marketing and product at Livemocha, tell about the program on this podcast.
LingQ: LingQ, like Livemocha, is free. Based on reading and listening, LingQ is a unique system that allows you to have control over the input, implement multi entry and incorporates integrated review. LingQ is at twelve languages and growing. (No Turkish yet) Founder Steve Kaufman is an avid linguist and language learning expert who himself knows eleven languages. You can listen to Steve describe the LingQ program here. Coupled with Livemocha, I think these are the two most important programs to use to get started in building a strong foundation in the language in a low stress environment. LingQ offers English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. LingQ has a great introductory video that you can watch here.
Busuu: I have not yet tried this out, but I have read that it is lot like Live Mocha and that it is a pretty cool site. Like Livemocha and LingQ, it is free to use. With all three you can buy in at higher levels if you would like. One thing I like is the ability to find other users from particular countries easily. Busuu has seven languages currently: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian and French. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Watch their tour of the site here.
Rosetta Stone: Rosetta Stone is probably the most well known and robust of all the home based language programs, but it is also quite expensive.
Fluenz: Another program like Rosetta Stone, I have heard great things about Fluenz, but have never tried it. It also is a bit expensive and as of now only has Spanish, French, Italian and Chinese.
Pronunciator: This is a great program with over 60 languages and 3 million lessons available. It is a basic audio flashcard system with a lot of great features. Great place for beginners to get started and for intermediates to get some much needed review.
FSI Language Course: These courses were developed by the Foreign Service Institute and are in the public domain. Over 40 languages are available with the full text and audio for each course.
Wikibable: Wikibable offers free lessons for learning any language.
Live Lingua - online Skype courses in a growing number of languages.
1.5 Language Learning Tools
Online Resource List: A list of 75 free programs you can use to learn a new language.
Fixoodle: A social language learning site where you can make friends, get translations, fix your errors and more.
Glovico: Fair trade language school allows you to work with tutors live from their countries across the globe.
Duolingo: New, free language learning program.
Culture Talk: Fantastic resource. Short videos of native speakers talking about different aspects of their culture.
Google Translate: There are hundreds of different translation tools out there, and Google translate is by no means the best, but it is the easiest and most accessible. It is not suggested to be used as an online dictionary – there are far superior sites for this and most are language specific. But Google translate is a good tool to use to increase your access into the language. It can help you find the “password phrases” you need to get in. As an example, afellow author recently embarking on a quest to learn Turkish in one year typed the words “children’s story” into Google translate and received the Turkish equivalent – “Çocuklar Hikayesi.” He copied this and pasted it into a Youtube search and quickly found a lot of children’s programs and cartoons in Turkish. Quick access to comprehensible input and a great example of how to effectively use Google translate as a tool to give you access to the language.
Lang-8: Lang-8 is a great social networking program that allows you to have a “virtual” language helper. Submit your writing in the native language and get it corrected by a native speaker (or two) from the language. Free membership. See a short introductory video of Lang-8 here.
Rhino Spike: Another social networking program allowing language learners to share their voice with those learning another language and allowing you to find and record native speakers reading your text – whatever it is. By becoming a member, you can find people to record audio for you. For example, you may post a short journal entry that you have written in the target language. A native speaker will record it and then upload it to the system. You can download it and listen. Likewise, you should lend your voice to the community and take the time to record and upload for language learners around the world. You can help!
Lyrics Training: A site dedicated to helping you learn languages through music videos and song lyrics. Add some fun to your language learning.
Digital Dialects: This site has a large selections of games and activities for beginning language learners. Nearly 60 languages represented.
Forvo: This site has the pronunciation of words by native speakers for hundreds of thousands of words in many of the worlds languages.
Tatoeba Project: Totoeba is a project that aims to collect lots of sentences translated in several languages.
Open Culture: Free language lessons for over 40 languages.
GLOSS: Great repository of lessons from the Defense Language Institute in nearly 40 languages.
Free Rice - vocabulary review program for English, French, Italian, Spanish and Korean. Help feed the hungry with each review.
1.6 Language Exchange SitesVerbling: Connect instantly with native speakers for an online chat.
The Mixxer: The Mixxer is a social networking site designed to help language learners find one another for language exchanges using Skype.
Conversation Exchange: Language learners can find conversation partners, pen pals and online chat partners through the Conversation Exchange.
Tonguetide: Tonguetide is a language learner’s social network offering opportunities to share ideas, read blogs, find tutors, classes and to find language partners.
Meet Up: Meet Up is for all sorts of clubs and organizations and hobbies, but you can also find or organize language learning meet ups through it in your area at this site.
Fluent in Three Months Forum: Launched in the spring of 2011, this forum has a thread dedicated to helping language learners meet up with potential language partners. It also has a lot of great language specific information and resources.
italki: italki helps learners find tutors, classes and language partners.
Hello-Hello: Hello-Hello is a new language exchange site that is free, includes lessons, and other options.
Google Plus: Google Plus is relatively new but the “Hangout” function is the place where all the language exchange action will probably happen. I think the key would be to create a circle of native speaking friends with whom you could then talk with anytime you are online together. You can see how Mike at Look Out, Knock Head is using Google+ HERE.
Couchsurfing: Couchsurfing was created to help folks find a bed and new friends in their world travels, but has also become a bit of a social network in its own right and can be a place to find native speakers with whom you can speak online. Read how one learner uses this HERE.
Expat Blog: When I listed my blogs on Expat Blog I began almost at once to get messages from Turks who have registered in hopes of finding language exchange partners.
Expat Country Forums: In general, expats like to create online communities through forums where they can share information. The largest in Turkey is called MyMerhaba. These are places where information is shared, including information about language tutors, etc. Nationals are also using them to find English speakers for language exchange partners and so language learners should be able to find language partners.
Language Specific Blogs: Some languages are difficult to find partners for due to a host of reasons. If you are struggling to find partners at any of the above mentioned sites, another place to look is at language specific blogs. People who are blogging about their journey in learning a lesser known language have probably figured out the best resources and would probably know how to help you. Two examples of great language specific blogs that I have found to be incredibly helpful are Navajo Now and Women Learning Thai.
Eurolingua Institute: Eurolingua helps you find a language school and get started learning another language.
Twasebook: If you are looking for how native speakers use a word, enter it here and get samples from Twitter.
1.7 Flashcard ProgramsPictolang: Image based flashcard games.
Anki: This is a free program that can be downloaded to your computer. Easy to use and you can create your own cards or use anther learner’s cards. Watch a demo HERE. Read Anki: Bringing Flashcards Out of the Stone Age
Byki: This program is free to use though limited until you purchase the deluxe edition of your language. It boasts a language community with whom you can exchange or share cards.
Flashcard Exchange: A robust exchange with over 400,000 members. This is not just a language site, but language seems to be one of the larger categories with many languages represented if you want to use someone else’s list. You can of course create your own and can print them off as well.
LearnClick: Create your own cloze test flashcards based around any text. Learn vocabulary in context.
Quizlet: Quizlet is an online flashcard program. It has a lot more than just languages, but comes with flashcard decks that others have made as well as the ability to make your own.Watch a Demo.
iTunes App Store: With literally hundreds of different apps for language learning, there is not much you won’t find for your iphone these days. Many are free and all allow you to have language learning material with you wherever you are.
1.8 TPR ResourcesTotal Physical Response is one of the very best methods for getting started with language learning. It is simple to use and is great to use with a language helper or friend. There is a lot of helpful information on the web and I wanted to highlight some of it here.
TPR World: This is the website from the guy who created the TPR method. Lots of resources and articles.
Maximize Your Language Learning Through TPR: One of the few articles dedicated to helping independent learners understand how to use TPR affectively as a learning tool. A must read article.
502 Words That Can Be Learned With TPR: If you are wondering what and where to start with TPR, this list may be the kickstart you need.
Video Demonstration: This seven minute video shows how one teacher used TPR in his 6th grade Spanish class with remarkable results.
LACE Manual: This was already mentioned above, but pages 9-15 give a very good explanation of the method as well as four pages of topics and ideas for actually using it as a self directed language learner.
1.9 Recording ToolsYou will want to find something to record with so that you can maximize your time with native speakers. Most laptops have this capability as do most new cell phones. The main thing is to keep recording at your level. Keep it simple but make it useful. If you are looking for recording software, Audacity is a free program that is simple to use and extremely versatile. One great feature in Audacity is that you can slow down a recording without loosing sound quality. For example, you can slow down a podcast so that you can hear it better without losing sound quality.
1.10 Evaluation ToolsThe Everyday Language Learner’s Guide to Self-Assessment: This robust assessment is designed for the independent language learner and is a one of a kind evaluation that will help you take control of your language learning journey.
ACTFL: This is the site of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the assessment scales found here are the most highly regarded among second language educators. A simplified version of these scales are used in the EDLL Guide to Self-Assessment.
CEFR: Similar to the ACTFL, the CEFR are the mainstay of evaluation amongst European educators.
Cactus Language Level Tests: Cactus is one of the world’s leading providers of tailor made language training. They have a language level test for eighteen languages. This is a traditional academic assessment. Watch a presentation about Cactus here.
1.11 Great BlogsThe following is a collection of blogs by language learners and language experts. Most are people dedicated to learning more than one language. Most are not necessarily everyday language learners. I have learned much by reading their blogs and interacting with all of them though. They represent a wide variety of ideas, methods and opinions on language learning. Anyway, here are a few of my favorites in no particular order. I encourage you to read them for inspiration and great ideas. I owe much to all of them for this reason and it is why I share them with you today. You may, as well, have your own favorite bloggers who are not mentioned here. Let me know who they are and I will try to add them to future editions.
Visit the Great Language Learning Blogs Page
1.12 Learning Activity IdeasPERSONAL SETTING
- Children’s Books: Children’s books are written with a narrower vocabulary and are usually supported with pictures, both of which help aid comprehension. Read More.
- Dora the Explorer: Children’s cartoons can be a great source of comprehensible input. Some are better than others. Dora the Explorer for example narrates nearly everything she does in a repetitive fashion so that as Dora is walking down the yellow brick road she is usually saying something like, “I’m walking down the yellow brick road. I’m walking, walking, walking. I am walking down the yellow brick road.” Finding dubbed versions of these can be a great source of comprehensible input.
- Google Translate: Finding resources like Dora the Explorer in the target language is usually the challenge. With Google Translate and Youtube though, you can find just about anything. Type: Watch Dora the Explorer into Google Translate and then copy the translated phrase into the Youtube search bar. You can use Google Translate to search for tons of things in this way. A few to consider: clothing catalogue, children’s stories, world news, or the name of your favorite hobby. Read More. Read More.
- Passion Podcasts or Blogs: Using Google Translate, find podcasts or blogs about the things you are passionate about. If you are a Man United fanatic, find blogs and podcasts about Man United in the target language. What’s your passion? Harley Davidson? Fly Fishing? Star Trek? Apple Computers? George Cloony? Internet Marketing? Find a blog or podcast created by a native speaker about that topic.
- Comic Books: Comic books use the pictures to tell half the story, giving you a tremendous amount of background knowledge. The reading is mostly just the dialogue between characters. A comic book or graphic novel can be a great source of comprehensible input.
- Dubbed Movies: Finding your favorite movie dubbed into the language you are learning can be an excellent source of comprehensible input. Your interest is high, you have great amount of background knowledge and you can watch scenes or the whole movie again and again.
- Narrow Reading: Rather than skipping around and reading about a lot of different subjects, reading a variety of different texts about the same subject builds background knowledge and creates more comprehensible input. As an example you may read four different newspaper articles about the same current event. Each author writes from their own point of view, but each uses the same set of words and structures. Read More. This could also be expanded to other activities: watching movies, listening to podcasts and listening to other native speakers – all about the same topic. Read More.
- Streamed TV Series: Most languages can be found online. Most as well have a television series or two being streamed over the Internet. A TV series, like narrow reading, allows you to get to know the characters and storyline so that you can begin to understand more and more of what is going on in the story. Check out language specific blogs for ideas on where to find these or check in at one of the language learning forums.
- Books in a Series: Reading a series (Narnia or Harry Potter for example) is another great way to create comprehensible input. A great deal of background knowledge, vocabulary and the writer’s style carries over from one book to the next. For example, as I have read through the Harry Potter series, there was a larger percentage of words that I knew in book 2 that had carried over from book 1. This allowed my mind to get integrated review of what I already knew while being able to focus on the new stuff that was coming up.
- Label Up: We have probably all at one time or another labeled the things in our home with the new language. This is great, but we can increase the amount of comprehensible input available by expanding this labeling to include statements about what the object does, or what we do to it. For example if you label the door, why not also write a few sentences below the word: I open the door. I close the door. I knock on the door. This will give you more interaction with more of the language. Read More.
- Repeat – reread, re-watch, re-listen: Don’t be afraid to read the same book twice or watch a movie four times in a row. With each pass through, you will understand more, allowing your brain to make more and deeper connections of meaning with the words and structures you are seeing.
- Side-by-side reading: Side-by-side books have the story in both languages in the same book. One language on the right page, the other language on the left page. I would avoid reading sentence by sentence, but being able to look back and forth as you read does much to increase comprehensible input. Learn More.
- Livemocha or Rosetta Stone: These two programs will not do everything for you, but can be a supplemental activity that will provide you with lots of comprehensible input. Do a lesson a day as part of your program and they can be a great resource. Read More. Read More.
- Folk Tale Map: This project displays a world map with liinks to folk tales in the target language from around the world. Use folk tales as part of your language learning study time.
- God Story - Watch an audio visual retelling of the story of the Bible in 27 languages.
- Pronunciation Practice: There is much you can do to improve your pronunciation in the target language. Your goal need not be to sound unmistakably native, but you should strive not to sound harsh to the native speaker’s ear. You can find a list of idea for improving your pronunciation by reading Stumbling Out of Bad Pronunciation.
- Catalogues: Home Furnishing catalogues like the ones IKEA gives away can be a great resource to use with a native speaker. You can do a lot of great activities that provide really great comprehensible input with them. Read More.
- Total Physical Response: Total Physical Response is a classroom activity that language teachers have been using for some time. It is time tested and proven to really work. The challenge is to turn it around so that you the learner can direct what is going on while still receiving the great input. A good game of Simon Says may be a good place to start. Read More.
- Language Acquisition Projects (LAPs): Developed by Dwight Gradin, LAPs are an amazing way to get structured and ever expanding comprehensible input. There is a brief summary of how to use LAPs as well as 26 LAPs in Peter Pikkert’s FREE LACE Manual. I am hoping that a training video will be made for LAPs one day because they are amazing once you know how to use them. LAPs were the single most powerful tool I used at the beginning of my Turkish journey.
- Handcrafted Stories: Handcrafted stories are stories that you have written. After you correct them with a native speaking friend, they become a great source of comprehensible input because they are interesting and filled with background knowledge (you wrote them after all). And since you wrote them, they are at your level. Perfect! Record your native speaking friend reading them, put them on your ipod and now you have an amazing source of comprehensible input that you can add to your personal study time. Read More.
- Road Map: On a large poster board, draw a map of your town with some of the main landmarks. Borrow one of your son’s matchbox cars (optional). Now sit down with a native speaker and have him tell you how to get to one place or another as if you are the taxi driver. This is a great way to get a lot of input and also really get a lot of practice at understanding directions. Read Language Learning Tip: Learning to get where you want to go.
- Story Telling: Have your native speaking friend or language helper tell you a common story that you both know. Thinks of childhood stories, folktales, etc. You could also give them a bunch of props and have them use the props to make up and tell a story. Read More.
- Re-tell: Have a friend or language helper re-tell something that you both saw. Last night’s football match. A TV show or movie. It has to be something that you watched as well. This will give you the background knowledge that will help create comprehensible input. Read Language Learning Tip: Retell It
- Speak to a Topic: Choose a common topic and have your native speaking friend talk about it for a few minutes. Have them tell you about their family, their favorite team, their favorite food, etc.
- Sentence Expansion Drill: The basic idea with this drill is to begin with a simple sentence and expand it one structure at a time. This allows you to get a great deal of practice with a language helper or alone. Read More.
- Sentence Transformation Drill: The basic idea here is to start with a sentence and then choose one part (usually the verb) and transform it by changing the verb. This allows you to practice all the different grammar forms. Read More.
- Series Method: The series method is a good way to move into working with connected speech and to give yourself a great deal of practice and repetition with the foundational elements of any language. The basic idea is to describe in step by step order how you would go about doing something from your everyday life. You can find a good description of the Series Method in the LACE Manual. Read Language Learning Tip: The Series Method
- The Grand Tour Question: The grand tour question is asked about a specific personal narrative of a person’s life. Examples could be questions about a favorite childhood memory, about a national event that everyone experienced, or about a future event. Questions about the past will give you answers using the past forms of grammar, questions about the future will give you future forms. The key to creating comprehensible input is to ask multiple people the same question. Each will give you their own story about the same topic. Grammar forms and much of the vocabulary will be repeated. Asking this question to four or five people in the same week and by the the time you are listening to the last one, your comprehension will have improved significantly. If it’s possible, record these narratives for later listening. Read More.
- Strategic Shopping: Admit it. You love to shop. For language learning, shopping strategically will increase the amount of comprehensible input you receive. Choose an item that you need (want) to buy. Before you head out to shop for it, prepare yourself by looking up key vocabulary and writing down some key questions. Then proceed to the first store and ask the clerk about the product. Listen intently. Ask questions. Ask them to repeat what they said if you need them to. Ask them to write new words down. Thank them and leave. Go to store two. Repeat the same process with a new clerk. Thank them a leave. Go to store three. Repeat the process.Read More.
- Dumb/Smart Questions: One of my favorites, the Dumb/Smart question is dumb because you already know the answer to the question you are going to ask and it’s smart because this background knowledge gives you a a much greater chance of understanding what the person says and thus, receiving comprehensible input. Read More. Watch.
- Take Control: One of the best things you can do in the community setting to ensure you receive comprehensible input is to take control of the conversations. You can do this with some of the ideas above, but you can also do this by just asking people to slow down, or repeat things or to give examples. Watch More.
- Help them Help you: In general, people aren’t all that good at giving comprehensible input. Usually they either realize you aren’t a native speaker and break into a really loud and generally grammatically incorrect sort of caveman dialect or they don’t realize and continue to talk a mile a minute with no concept that you may not be following them at all. With a little gentle instruction however, most can become great sources of comprehensible input. As an added bonus this will increase the amount of actual communication that takes place and your friendship will become much richer. Read More.