Learning New Languages

Learning is free, all you need is a computer, internet access and a good knowledge of English, through which you’ll get to know the foreign language. It works like this. First you have to register with username and a password, which you pick yourself. The chosen username and password are than used to log on the website. After that you choose the language you want to learn or improve, and learning can begin. The basic level is always followed by harder ones.  Every level reached brings an award, which can be used to unlock certain upgrades (conversations or interesting facts about the chosen language).On every level, speaking, reading, understanding and writing are being checked. If the program or an app is paused, the progress is automatically saved, so that you do not have to start all over again.

There is a fairly wide range of languages you can choose from. There are not only European, but also more exotic languages, such as the Scandinavian (well, these are European), Korean, Indonesian, Hebrew, Hindi (spoken mainly in India), Swahili (used in the Eastern and Central Africa). 

 

In the process of creating the questions and tests, also native speakers are involved. The number of languages you can learn is not limited, which is particularly good news for those who want to learn more languages and become polyglots. Although a better idea is to maybe start with less languages, especially if you start 'from scratch', and master those before you take on another ones. Later, when you already have some knowledge, you can also invite your friends to test each other on how much each of you has mastered a certain language.

Try to involve the foreign language you are currently learning into your everyday life, so you'll be in contact with it on a daily basis. For example start by watching certain TV channels, read books and articles, check out the youtube clips. You can also download a movie and ad subtitles in the language you are learning.

It is good to mention that there are also quite a few other sites to learn foreign languages from. Very interesting is definitely the My Language Exchange, which is used by over 3 million users worldwide, learning more than 100 different languages. You can find it on www.mylanguageexchange.com. There you also have to register, log in, shortly present yourself and state which languages you already know and which ones you would like to learn anew. There are a lot of other users, whose profiles hold their specific information. Two users with similar interest can connect and learn a language under a guidance of a native speaker. They can use a web camera or arrange some other way to learn. Sometimes even true friendships are made and people even visit each other to learn a language in a local environment. So here you have it, even more useful side effects of learning a new language.

On the social network Facebook I also found that there are groups such as the Language Exchange Club, where you choose a city or a country. When your request to join the group is approved, I am sure you will find someone with whom you will be able to practice. That way you will learn faster and you will improve your confidence. Members of the group can also meet in person and refine their language skills while having fun.

 

Perhaps some tips from a 35 year old Italian, who speaks 11 languages will be useful. Everything is possible if you want it hard enough. See for yourself at www.thepolyglotdream.com.

I myself am of the opinion that learning a foreign language, even completely anew,  is never too late if a person is willing to do so and also finds joy in that kind of activity. Usually we hear that children are more receptive and learn languages faster than adults. Personally I would conclude that children are not burdened with worries that we as adults mostly bring onto ourselves. We as grown-ups also like to put obstacles on our way and make excuses that we are just too old for this and it will take too long before we will know anything anyway. So we surrender before we even start. Obviously we should really look up to our children.

 

At this point I would like to share a true story that happened to me a few years back, while I was on a train. On the way to Ljubljana I noticed a girl sitting beside me and reading notes and newspaper articles written in some kind of characters. I gathered that it must be a language from our neighbouring continent of Asia. When I asked he about it she told me it was Sinology (Chinese language) and that she was repeating for her last college exam. When I wished her good luck, an elderly gentleman joined our conversation and asked her how long would it take for him to learn even the basics of Chinese language and if that is even possible at his age. She replied that it will certainly be possible, as long as he had a strong will and interest in the language. The man agreed that this will certainly be a challenge for him and that he will try. I never found out if he even started learning Sinology, and how successful he was, but the point of this story is, that each and every one of us is capable of learning even the basics of a foreign language; you just have to be passionate about it. Of course, it is of the outmost importance that you have fun while doing so. Recently languages that are spoken by a large number of people on the planet, such as Sinology, Hindi and Arabic are getting interesting, and they can be very useful. Especially in the business environment.

Whatever goals you set for yourself, learning and knowing a foreign language can be really useful. Maybe it can open the door for a better job, a more relaxed trip, and also it tells you a lot about the certain nation and its culture. Foreign language suddenly becomes not as much "foreign". Given the fact that the locals know how to sometimes mess with the tourists by raising the price of their goods or services, this practically does not happen, if they do not recognize you as a foreigner, but as someone who speaks their language fluently. Knowing the language can open the possibility to see, get to know and to experience much more, since the people appreciate the effort you put into learning their language. It allows you to even become one of them. And with that I gives you a chance to learn and improve your knowledge of the language with the locals. What are you waiting for, courageously choose one of the methods above, or any other one you will enjoy, and add to your resume one or more new virtues. Good luck!