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Learning a Foreign Language - Foreign Language LessonsAs the internet, telephones, and jet planes continue to shrink our globe and bring us into contact with peoples and cultures from around world, learning a second language is a valuable skill for just about anybody. While English has become sort of the defacto standard on the Internet and most young people in foreign countries do study some English, studying the languages and cultures of other nations benefits us all. Most American school kids today have the opportunity to study several different languages, with some schools offering exposure to Spanish as early as kindergarten. But real dedicated foreign language classes really begin in junior high and high school, where Spanish, German, and French remain the most popular choices. In this day and age, having some people in this country who speak Arabic and Chinese might be good for us as well.. Of course it is well documented how small children can easily learn and distinguish between multiple languages that they are exposed to -- their young brains are "wired" for language, and most adults trying to learn a new language will never equal the mastery and command that the average 7 year old holds over their native tongue. However, it's never too late to learn, and people of all ages can and do learn how to speak foreign languages every day. In this guide we will take a look at some of the options if you want to learn how to speak Spanish, Japanese, Italian, or just about any language.
Study Foreign Languages - Foreign Language ClassesAs an adult, one option for learning to speak Spanish or some other foreign language is by taking a class. All community colleges offer foreign language classes, though your selection of languages may be limited depending on the size of the school. Stop by your local college and pick up a class schedule for the next quarter to see what is offered, or search for their website -- most schools list their course offerings online as well now. Many people need the structured, enforced schedule that a language class offers if they want to succeed, so consider your ability and dedication to learning on your own (as with a software program below) vs. being in a classroom environment. Outside of schools, there are also a variety of private options, ranging from personal tutors to companies like Berlitz that has more than 60 language centers all across the country. Their BerlitzEnglish is a popular method for learning English as a second language in a classroom environment, combined with multimedia and internet materials to reinforce learning. They feature small classes with no more than 4 students, working with a native speaker.Foreign Language Software -There are a number of software programs that help you learn foreign languages. Most of these involve exercises where you read and hear the language being spoken, answering questions, taking exams for vocabulary and grammar, etc. Some higher-end programs even evaluate your pronunciation, having you speak into a microphone while your vocal patterns are compared to a correct speaking pattern. Berlitz is a big name in the foreign language software market, from English as a second language to French and Chinese -- they've been teaching languages for more than 100 years. For example, the Berlitz Spanish Premier software sells for $39, and comes with audio CDs for your car, audio files for use on your iPod, and of course the PC software that combines total immersion with flashcards, multimedia learning, and speech analysis. Four audio CDs give you hours of spoken language exposure to listen to while you drive or relax at home - no workbook or reading is required for these, just listening and speaking. Each package covers beginner, intermediate, and advanced components, covering the basics like numbers, money, travel terms, etc. before moving on to shopping and hotel phrases and office conversations. The Berlitz method is offerd for Spanish, French, Italian, German, English, and Chinese/Japanese. Transparent Language (transparent.com) is another company that offers foreign language software products to help you learn words and phrases. In addition to all the languages covered by Berlitz, Transparent adds Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Polish, Russian, Swedish, and Portuguese. Their products come in a few flavors, including the Learn X Now (ie, "Learn French Now") which sells for $69 and is built around an immersion system meant to teach you with more than 15000 words and phrases, and the Before you Know It products, which sell for $49 and covers about 1000 common words and 250 phrases. They also offer the LinguaMatch Panoramic series for $29 each, featuring a talking phrase book interface that helps you learn more than 2000 words. They even have some free online language learning tools, like word finds, quizzes, games, and spoken words and phrases you can listen to. Overall, good products and very broad language selection.The final one we recommend is Rosetta Stone (rosettastone.com), which uses listening, speaking, reading, and writing to immerse you in your new language - "dynamic immersion" they call it. Like most companies, they use native speakers so you are hearing and learning the real thing. Rosetta Stone has been teaching foreign languages to students since 1993 - I remember getting some of their very first CDs during the boom-time of "multimedia" for PCs in the early 90s. A lot of their system is built around hearing and seeing words and matching those words with pictures and images -- the same way a baby learns to talk, hearing you say "ball..ball..ball" as you hold up a ball or point to it. Their products cover 30 languages -- all the big ones plus others like Greek, Turkish, and Korean. Their products are more expensive than the others we have mentioned. For example, the Italian Level 1 course on CD costs $209, offering 200 hours of instruction spread across 92 lessons. Level 2 Italian is another $239 for 118 intermediate lessons. Also available is an online subscription model, which costs $110 for 3 months or $160 for 6 months, and covers the same lessons as those on the Level 1 and Level 2 CD collections. The only problem I have with these online subscription models is that they violate our normal way of thinking of purchasing products -- They also offer a 6 month money back guarantee -- if you aren't satisfied with your progress, return the product for a full refund. Foreign Language Translator - Phrase DictionarySometimes you don't want to learn an entire foreign language - you just need to translate a document or webpage from one language to another? How can I translate a webpage? Where can I find a foreign language translator? The easiest way to translate something on the Internet is to use Google's foreign language translation tools. You can enter any phrase or paragraph of text you want, then choose what language to convert it to. Another option is for translating entire webpages - just enter or copy in the URL of the page you want translated and select the language you want to see it in, and Google does the rest. While no translation is perfect, especially when idiomatic expressions are concerned that don't translate exactly from one language to the next, Google still does more than a passing job and gives you a pretty good idea of what the text says. Try it out for yourself here. Another popular source for translating webpages is Babel Fish. Same format and function as Google, allowing you to translate pages of text or specific webpages into a variety of languages. Keep in mind not everything is perfect - I entered a sample message about banks and an ATM machine, and got back an Italian translation that included the word for "atmosphere", which is what the abbreviation "atm" stands for in science!
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