Fluencia

There are things I like about Fluencia. It has a nice layout and is pretty easy to use. You learn vocabulary by listening to a conversation. Then you are quizzed on it. I was having fun even though I was mostly practicing stuff I already knew.

The environment is sort of like a game or quiz. This is a big plus.

But here is the con. Fluencia is not free. Much like Babbel, Fluencia gets you hooked and THEN throws you their pitch. I'm moving through the course, enjoying myself, when suddenly a box  pops up  and informs me I only have a few more lessons until I will have to pay.

What? Yep, a hundred dollars a year. It's less expensive than Rosetta Stone, but I'm not crazy about the fact that they tried to trick me either. Are these courses afraid that if they don't state that they cost money up front we won't bite?

Maybe it's because free language courses are the wave of the future with courses like Duolingo leading the way. Even ad based courses and courses that offer a basic account tend to do better than totally paid courses.

If you are learning Spanish go ahead and try Fluencia. You can at least take the first fifteen lessons. If you like the style and can afford the subscription, it's totally worth it.

# Dieci consigli per imparare una lingua da Destiny (tradotto dalla fantastica comunità Duolingo)

English note: This is my list of 10 tips for language learning translated into Italian by the awesome Duolingo community. Woohoo!

# Dieci consigli per imparare una lingua da Destiny

ultimamente non ho trovato nessun nuovo corso, ma volevo comunque scrivere un articolo. Così eccolo. Dieci consigli per imparare una lingua straniera.

1\. Etichetta tutto Esatto. Ho detto etichetta tutto. gira per casa ed etichetta tutto nella lingua che stai imparando. Se stai imparando lo spagnolo allora metti una etichetta "la pared" sulla tua parete e "la puerta" sulla tua porta . Se vedi le parole continuamente, ti si stamperanno in mente.

2\. Trova qualcuno con cui parlare nella lingua. Potresti trovare qualcuno che parla la lingua e che sta imparando la tua per video-chattare con lui. Oppure se sei timido puoi usare messaggi istantanei o una chat room come "Espanglish Chat".

3\. Fai delle schede didattiche. Puoi trovare delle Flashcard in un negozio locale nel reparto scuola di solito a prezzi contenuti. Dovrebbero costare un dollaro o meno quelle che hanno le linee su un lato. Crea un mazzo di schede usando un grosso evidenziatore nero in modo che le parole siano facili da vedere

4\. Usa le flashcard per giocare. Gioca a diversi giochi con le flashcard. Puoi giocare a Memory

Memory

Per giocare a Memory scrivi la parola nella lingua che stai imparando su una carta e nella tua lingua madre su una carta separata. Disponi le carte in una griglia o trova qualcuno che lo faccia per te Per giocare, devi accoppiare le parole della lingua che stai imparando con le parole che hanno lo stesso significato nella tua lingua madre.

a pesca di parole

Questo è un po' più incasinato è un pò più ridicolo e potrebbe essere più semplice per i ragazzini. Si può giocare anche contro un amico.

Per questo hai solo bisogno di carte con una parola sul fronte e sul retro. Ammucchia tutte le carte Questo è il lago Ora a turno raccogliete una carta. Indovinate cosa significa la parola. Se hai indovinato continui tu a pescare la carta. La persona con più carte alla fine del gioco vince.

5 Investi in un vocabolario se parli inglese e stai imparando lo spagnolo, allora investi in un vocabolario spagnolo-inglese. Ottieni l'idea Ogni volta che scrivi o ti eserciti e hai bisogno di cercare una parola puoi semplicemente aprire il dizionario e ricercarla.

6\. Trova uno spettacolo in lingua da guardare. Quando stavo studiando tedesco trovai uno show chiamato Lauras Stern che guardavo su youtube. Ho guardato un episodio dopo ogni lezione di Tedesco che prendevo. Penso di aver aumentato abbastanzala mia comprensione Mi dava anche una carica di sicurezza quando capivo molto di quello che stavano dicendo.

7\. Gli esercizi di scrittura sono necessari. Potete non essere d'accordo con me ma non eravate soliti scrivere gli esercizi a scuola per imparare la vostra lingua madre? se sei timido puoi semplicemente scrivere esercizi e scrivere cosa sai su un pezzo di carta se ti senti coraggioso puoi inviare i tuoi esercizi su http://www.lang-8.com che è un sito specifico per imparare le lingue e fare esercitazioni

8\. leggi nella lingua E' IMPORTANTE ESSERE IN GRADO DI LEGGERE NELLA LINGUA SCELTA,SOPRATTUTTO SE SIETE INTERESSATI ALLA SUA LETTERATURA. la lettura può anche aiutarti a capire l'ortografia e la pronuncia delle parole che altrimenti potresti confondere puoi leggere libri in lingue diverse su http:/www.childrenslibrary.org. hanno libri in diverse lingue oppure puoi cercare i libri nella lingua che stai imparando su eBay

9\. PARLA AL TUO CANE NELLA LINGUA SCELTA. O AL TUO GATTO. Oppure al tuo pesce rosso oppure al tuo peluche favorito si, sembra sciocco. Ma probabilmente parli con il tuo animale domestico tutto il tempo comunque,quindi perché non parlare a loro nella lingua scelta? loro non vi giudicheranno e questo vi fornisce un modo libero da giudizi di praticare la lingua. Avanti così.

10\. non smettere di studiare Mantieni la pratica Perchè una lingua straniera è un giardino che ha bisogno di essere innaffiato o morirà. Se le persone non usano una lingua straniera spesso la dimenticano. chiedi appunto ai tuoi genitori se ricordano qualcosa del loro corso di lingua alle superiori quindi studia un pochino ogni giorno

Spero che questi suggerimenti di apprendimento linguistico vi aiutino!

Con amore,

Destiny

10 Language Learning Tips From Destiny

I haven't come across any new courses lately, but I still wanted to make a post. So here it is. Ten tips for learning a foreign language.

1. Label EVERYTHING. That's right. I said label everything. Go around your house and label everything in the language you're learning. If you are learning Spanish then label your wall "la pared" and your door "la puerta". If you see the words all the time they'll stick in your head!

2. Find someone to talk to in the language. You could find someone who speaks the language and is learning your language to video chat with. Or if you're shy you could use a messenger or chat room like Espanglish Chat.

3. Make flashcards. You can get Flashcards at a local store in the school supply section fairly cheap usually. They should be a dollar or less for the kind that have lines on one side. Make a bunch of cards using fat black marker so the words are easy to see.

4. Use the flashcards for games. Play different games with the flashcards. You can play Memory.

Memory

For Memory write the word in your target language on one card and your native language on a separate card. Lay the cards out in a grid or have someone do it for you. To play, you have to match the word in the target language with the word meaning the same thing in the native language.

Fishing For Words

This one is a little messier. It's a bit sillier and might be easier for younger kids. You could play it against a friend.

For this one you only need cards with the word on the front and back. Throw all of the cards into a pile. This is the lake. Now take turns picking up a card. Guess what the word means. If you get it right you get to to keep the card. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

5. Invest in a dictionary. If you speak English and are learning Spanish then invest in a Spanish-English dictionary. You get the idea. Whenever you are writing or practicing and you need to look a word up you can just open your dictionary and search for it.

6. Find a show to watch in the language. When I was learning German I found a show called Lauras Stern which I watched on Youtube. I watched one episode after every German lesson I took. I think it boosted my comprehension quite a bit! It also gave me a confidence boost when I understood a lot of what they were saying.

7. Writing exercise are a must! You can disagree with me, but didn't you use writing exercises in school to learn your first language? If you are shy you can simply do writing exercise and write what you know down on a piece of paper. If you are feeling brave you can post your writing exercise on http://www.lang-8.com which is a site specifically for language learners to do writing exercises.

8.  Read in the language. It's important to be able to read in your target language, especially if you are interested in its literature. Reading can also help you understand spelling and word pronunciations that might have confused you otherwise. You can read books in different languages at http://www.childrenslibrary.org. They have books in several language. Or you can search for books in your target language on eBay.

 9. Talk to your dog in the target language! Or your cat. Or your pet goldfish. Or your favourite stuffed animal. Yes, it sounds silly. But you probably talk to your pet all the time anyway, so why not talk to them in your target language? They won't judge you and this provides a judgement-free way to practice the language. Go for it!

10. Don't stop studying! Keep practicing. Because a foreign language is a garden that needs to be watered or it will die. If people don't use a foreign language they often forget it. Just ask your parents if they remember anything from their high school language class. So study a little bit every day.

I hope these language learning tips help you!

Love,

Destiny

LanguageComics

https://www.languagecomics.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/LanguageComicsTeam/featured

LanguageComics is a great free resource for people learning either Spanish or French. You can read an easy comic with translations for practice. If you go to their Youtube pages, you can also watch some of the comics and hear it read to you.

More on this later.

Hope you like it!

Love,

Destiny

mySpanishgames

Someone on a forum was struggling with telling time on a Spanish forum, so I searched "cómo decir la hora"  and I came across THIS website. This wonderful, fantastic Spanish learning website!

It is called mySpanishgames and it is 100% free.

It runs on donations, so if you can afford it, please donate.

There are different categories, including Stories, Songs, Games, Vocabulary, Fun Grammar, a book store and a teacher's corner.

The website has quite a few fun games. You don't have to know Spanish to play the games, but a little knowledge does help.

One of the games is called ¿Quiénes? If you have ever played Guess Who? you will love ¿Quiénes? Eliminate the suspects according the clues given If the game says "Lleva zapatos negros" or "Is wearing black shoes", click on the people that aren't wearing black shoes to eliminate them.

You can also read and listen to some fun stories on this site. They are very easy for beginners to understand.

In the fun grammar section, the grammar lessons are also basically games. Above is a lesson indirect objects.

All of the games and lessons on this site are tons of fun, so go and try it out! It's definitely a winner.

Love,

Destiny

Busuu

This is an online language course I've been hesitant to review, BUT it does have a free area (and way more free content than Babbel).

The biggest con? You can only study ONE language as a free member.

However, there is quite a bit of free content, so pick your favourite language and sign up.

Busuu uses cues for both the visual and auditory parts of the language. A picture along with the word. This is really helpful for learning the language.

Busuu gives you a review of everything you've learned. There are a few different activities. In this one the speaker says a word or phrase and you must select the picture she is talking about. Once you select the picture, the word will appear underneath it.

This is another fun activity on Busuu. You match the words on the left side of the screen to their meanings on the right. Just like the criss-cross puzzles you do (or did) in school.

This activity forces you to think about how the words are spelled in the language.

One of the major PROS of Busuu is the writing activity. In just about every section, after you learn the vocabulary, you can choose WRITING after you've gone through VOCABULARY and DIALOGUE or you can review first. A question is asked in the language you are learning, and you must answer it in the language. Native speakers will comment and correct you. They will also give you stars based on how good your writing was.

Here is an example of a WRITING exercise that was corrected by a native speaker.

Some other key points about Busuu.

You earn Busuu berries that you can shop in a little store with. You can use your Busuu berries to buy discounts on the paid course or you can buy cute little animals for your garden.

Busuu also has a chat feature. After you've studied a lesson, Busuu offers you the chance to select a native speaker to chat with. This is a great way to practice the language.

And that's the main reason I give Busuu 4 stars.

Enjoy!

Love,

Destiny

Languages: English, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese

Language Practice: Children's Library

Today, I want to talk about a place called Children's Library. It's located here.

http://www.en.childrenslibrary.org

Click on Read Books and you'll be taken to a library of books in different languages.

Select the language you're studying and select the length you want to read. If you are beginner, I recommend choose a SHORT book. If you are advanced try choosing LONG books. Once you've selected these specifications you should have some pretty good options related to your learning level.

Once you select the book you can flip through the pages and read it. It looks like a real book, but it's virtual! See how easy the German text from the book Waldo And His Colors is?

Have fun reading and practicing!

Love, Destiny

Utilizing Youtube For Language PRACTICE.

Aside from using Youtube to learn languages, you can also use it to practice languages.

Chinese Practice

This t.v show appears to be for preschoolers. It has singing, captions (in Chinese characters), and fun. It should be easy enough for beginner to intermediate Chinese learners. Beginners will catch at least some of the words.

Die Zauberer Vom Waverly Place (German Practice)

You can find Disney shows in a lot of language. Here is one example: Wizards Of Waverly Place. In order to find your favourite show in the language you are learning, it helps to translate the show into the language first and then do a Youtube search.

I recommend this for intermediate/advanced learners.

Trotro (German Practice)

Trotro is a very simple, easy-to-understand cartoon for preschoolers with simple language. If you have the knowledge of a 4-5 year old in your target language you should be able to understand Trotro. Very good for beginners.

Trotro comes in a few other languages.

Trotro Francais

Trotro English

Trotro Türkçe

Utilizing Youtube For Language Learning: Day 2

Learn Chinese

Mandarin For Kids

Utilizing Youtube For Language Learning: Day 1

Alright, so I haven't found any good sites to review lately. But I was answering some questions about language learning the other day and it got me thinking. One resource that a lot of people skim over is Youtube.

"You can use Youtube to learn a language?" Faith asked me when I bounced my idea off her.

"Yes, you can!" I told her. "In fact, if you want to learn Spanish all you have to do is type in 'Learn Spanish' and lots of resources come up. But to start you off, I am going to give you a glimpse of a few Youtube Language Learning Courses."

Learn Irish Gaelic with Puppets!

Learn Lebanese

Learn Japanese

You can click on the video to go to Youtube and learn more about the course. You don't even have to have a Youtube account to use it for language learning, but it really helps if you get one. Then you can subscribe to every course related to learning your language.

Babbel

Babbel  is a language course that I have been very hesitant to review because it appears that you only get a very, small amount for free.

Well, it's true. You don't get much for free. About one lesson, that's it.

They have 13 languages to choose from.

I like the feel of the course. Once I got into it I was really disappointed that they didn't offer more for free because I love the format. It kind of reminded me of Rosetta Stone but it has a much better value ($44.70 for a six month subscription). I'm not a fan of subscriptions myself but if you try out Babbel and like it then it something your Mom and Dad might find affordable as a birthday present for you.

There are some really good features here. I liked the "gamey" feel of the site and the writing practice where I was asked to type in letters or even whole words. I even got to listen to two native speakers have a conversation and write in some of the vocabulary.

All in all, it's a good language learning course, but it shouldn't call itself free because it only has a "free demo" of each language. It is worth checking out, though, as you may find it is the language course that will work for you.

Love,

Destiny

Languages: German, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Free Language

Free Language is a language information site that has information about many free and partially free courses.

And that, my friends, is why I chose to review it.

That and because it kept popping up in my search and I finally decided, "What the heck? I'll check it out. It can't hurt and it does say free in the title."

That's one of my favourite words.

So are gratis, kostenlos, gratuito, and gratuitement

A lot of information here.

There is a lot of information on this site. I scrolled through it for a while and I think it is best if you can check it out for yourself. I would like to say that they have tons of information on learning, teaching, videos, apps, software. You just have to pick the language you are learning and check out all the stuff that is listed under it.

Check out all those languages!

Hope you have fun!

Love,

Destiny

Languages: Too many to list

LanguageCourse.net

Language Course is  a site that helps you pick a school to study a language abroad. You can read reviews about language courses in different countries.

They also have a free vocabulary trainer which is a lot of fun.

I like to spend time on this one because I find it challenging.

You look at flashcards while listening to a native voice.

She goes over the list.

After going through the list you are tested on the vocabulary. There are a lot more features to this course than I even realized at first.

There is a nice video to go with it and teach you how to use the course. This course is well worth it.

Many thanks to LanguageCourse.net for allowing me to embed the video!

Languages: Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish

Google Chrome Apps Day 3: Learn Japanese 1

The Menu for Japanese 1

Japanese 1  is an app that allows you to practice the Japanese that you already know. You can practice hiragana, katakana, kanji, and your vocabulary (in hiragana).

Practice reading and vocabulary

Practice your hiragana



This is a good little study site for someone who is already a Japanese student and just needs practice. It is more serious than the Sugoi family but also better for quiet time.

If you  still need  to learn to read Japanese I recommend  Learn Kana which is an app that helps you learn to read in Japanese. The Google Chrome store actually recommended this to me when I was looking at Japanese 1.

A part of the site Learn Kana

Use it to study the basics of Japanese Hiragana and Katakana.

Google Chrome App Store Day 2: The Sugoi Japanese Funny Cartoon

                                      The Sugoi Japanese Funny Cartoon is great!

There are actually three apps and if you are learning Japanese go ahead and get them all.

The Sugoi Japanese Apps

Enjoy Japanese Sugoi Manga

Watch funny cartoons in Japanese, read, and listen to native Japanese speakers. If you don't know any Japanese you may want to combine this with a language course like LiveMocha or your Japanese classes at school. Look at how many cartoons you can watch. It's free, too!

Learn Japanese Learning With Sugoi Family

This is a fun puzzle game where you put together the faces of the characters and every time you place a character, it is read out loud to you!

Learn Japanese Write Gatakana

In the writing game, you can choose different characters and practice your strokes. This one is a lot of fun. Grace (my Japanese-American best friend) and I played it together and we couldn't stop laughing!

Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo (Fifth of May) is a celebration of Mexican pride and heritage in the United States.

Here are some good sites where you can learn more about Cinco De Mayo

Time And Date

About Spanish

Learn Spanish My Way

Hope you have lots of fun learning about Cinco De Mayo!

Love,

Destiny

The Google Chrome App Store Day 1: Chinese Tutor

Chinese Tutor is one of the apps available in the Google Chrome app store.  It is for people who already know some Chinese.

If you don't have Google Chrome you can also access Chinese Tutor here. If you do have Google Chrome I recommend getting the app so that you always remember to use it.

There isn't a lot to say about this really simple but useful Chinese app except that you need to know some basic Chinese to get started. This is not for the total beginner. You read Hanzi and have to guess it's meaning. 

You can look up Chinese words in the dictionary. There is also a pronunciation feature, where if you have a microphone you can practice your Chinese pronunciation skills.

So, if you are actively learning Mandarin Chinese or if you are planning to learn it, you need this app! Go get it. Right now.

Love,

Destiny

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin)

Google Chrome Web Store's Foreign Language Section

If you have Google Chrome then you have a great resource for learning languages at your fingertips. I may review some of the apps as a separate review in the future but for now I wanted to review the section as a whole so that you would be able to utilize it yourself and find exactly what you are looking for.

Chrome Store > Education > Foreign Languages

Once you are here you can browse through the apps or you can use the search bar to find the specific language that you want to learn. I like to try out all the language courses so I decided to scan the whole section. It was fun!

Some of the apps I will definitely be reviewing in the future

Chinese Tutor

The Sugoi Japanese Funny Cartoon

Japanese 1

I will probably review more of them that if I find one I love (or hate! You gotta know about the bad ones, too, right?)

So, if you have Google Chrome then you should go check it out. Right now! 

If not you should go get Google Chrome (unless your parents said you're not allowed)

My mom says I need a disclaimer that I am not promoting Google Chrome.

But it is my main browser and I do like it and I do find the App Store on it way useful!

Love, 

Destiny

Espanglish Chat

Espanglish Chat is a free internet chat site.

This is a great, simple little chat-room that has been open for quite some time. It was one of my first hang outs to speak "Spanglish" and it is always a lot of fun to find some buddies and chat with each other here. 

There is not a lot to say about this one but I felt it was useful resource. You can meet and chat with real people in English or Spanish and make friends or do a language exchange.

Definitely check this one out!

YY Nihongo

Yynihongo is a site where you can practice Japanese by immersing yourself.

Nihongo is the Japanese word for Japanese.

Click on the little flashcards and they bring up a picture.

You can click on different things in the picture to hear their name in Japanese. It also shows the name in English.

This site is good for people who have a basic knowledge of Japanese and can read some Japanese.

But even if you can't speak any Japanese you should check out the site if you are interested in learning the language.

I recommend combing this with LiveMocha Japanese lessons and Memrise.

Languages: Japanese

Some Windows 8 Apps for Language Learning

If you have a Windows 8 computer you might want to get some apps that you can use on your new computer. Here are some apps that might help you with the language you are learning.

Chinese

Little Prince Series

Animals 101

Transport 101

This is a cute game which has two modes, a learning mode and a game mode.

In the learning mode you can click on flashcards and hear the Chinese name for animals. 

In the game mode they give you the name for an animal and ask you which one it is.

Transportation 101 is the same way.

Japanese

Learn Japanese Romaji

This is a game for people who know a little bit of Japanese vocabulary. If you don't know all the words you will by the time you've played the game ten or twenty times. The game is easy and if you are competitive, it can be addictive. Drag the words to their matching picture.

Spanish/English

Vocabuland HD

This last one doesn't have a game mode which is actually pretty disappointing considering it would have great potential in that area. It has quite a few vocabulary words in Spanish or English. You can listen to a man or woman say them. I felt like with a name like Vocabuland, I would at least get a game so I felt let down. Maybe in the future they will have a game mode where they say a word and you have to click on the picture of the word. That would be great!

If you are the type of person who likes picture dictionaries and just sit and browse them for hours then this is a good app for you.

So, if you have a Windows 8 computer go ahead and check these out in the app store. You can find most of them by doing a quick search for "Learn Spanish", "Learn Chinese" or "Learn Japanese"