Teaching ESL - The 5 Most Difficult Things About the English Language

For native English speakers, none of these are a problem but they can create havoc and apprehension with English language learners, particularly those who do not benefit from being in an English-speaking country.

Number 5 - Idioms and Expressions

Every language has its idioms and expressions and English is no exception. In fact, it sometimes seems that 50% of what we say is idiomatic with the grammatical portion of the language just acting as connectors. I term it 'the colour of the language'. Idioms are phrases that when spoken usually do not have much if anything to do with the words being used. No wonder ESL students have comprehension problems. Let's look at some animal idioms to give you some examples:

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Holy Cow!"

"When I tell my mother, she's going to have a cow!"

"It looks like a dog's breakfast."

"She's barking up the wrong tree."

Try explaining those to students who have never encountered these idioms and have nothing to relate them to.

Number 4 - Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs containing more than one word.

'Up' is one we use all the time: bone up on, break up, bring up, burn up, butter up, call up, draw up, dress up, ease up, give up, hurry up, listen up, look up, move up, smarten up, tie up, wise up...

Off is another one: back off, beg off, face off, hold off, show off, tell off...plus several I won't mention!

Or how about 'back' as in: back down, back in, back off, back away, back up...

Speaking of 'down, we have break down, bring down, die down, dress down, lowdown, show down...

And far from the end but all I can cover here, 'in', as in, call in, figure in, give in, listen in, run in, shoe-in...

Number 3 - Homonyms

Homonyms are words that are pronounced the same but mean different things and are often spelled differently as well. For example:

1. The referee blew his blue whistle.

2. Cheryl rode her bike as we rowed our little boat in the river.

3. She had never seen such a beautiful scene.

4. The new site for our building is quite a sight.

5. It seems the seams in my pants have split again.

6. Years of rain didn't interrupt the king's reign.

7. Due to the dry weather, we do not see any dew on the grass.

8. Our zoo has a new gnu.

9. Some people know that you add to find the sum.

10. They're on their way over there.

11. I ate the eight cakes that were on my plate.

12. How many ways can I tell him that he weighs too much?

13. They banned the crude band from playing at the concert.

14. We only won one prize.

15. They had to raze the old building before the sun's rays could raise the temperature.

16.I'll walk down the aisle on the Isle of Capri.

17. The boy threw the ball through the window.

Is it any wonder, new learners get confused?

Number 2 - Tenses

Past Simple - Present Simple- Future Simple, right?

Well, it's not quite that simple, is it? We add present continuous and present perfect, past continuous, past perfect, future continuous, future perfect and then we have present to talk about the near future, present continuous for the future...

Explaining each of these different tenses to students and expecting them to understand is challenging and it doesn't happen overnight. Then, expecting students to learn when and how to use them is another facet of the task.

I don't have space to go into a full explanation of tense use here but if you want a good explanation, you might like to go to My English Pages.

Number 1 - Word and Sentence Stress

Some languages are described as musical. Well, English has quite a lilt to it when you listen to it. In words of two syllables or more, only one is stressed or spoken a little louder than the rest.

In these examples, I have shown the stressed syllable in caps: CA-na-da, a-MER-i-ca, CHIN-a, ja-PAN, pho-TOG-re-pher, con-sti-TUT-ion.

ESL learners have a tough time figuring this all out. It takes a practiced ear.

Similarly, certain words or parts of words in sentences are spoken a little louder to signify their importance in the meaning of the sentence. Sentences are usually spoken in 'thought groups' and thee is usually only one stressed point per thought group.

Here is an example of a sentence with four thought groups with the stressed point shown in caps:

I'm GOING | to the MARket | by mySELF | on SATurday.

As native speakers, we say it quickly and don't even think about it but for non native speakers, it takes a lot of practice listening to and imitating English speakers.

One of my favourite exercises is to have students pronounce this sentence in nine different ways. Each way has a different meaning.

"JOHN and Sally walked to the small restaurant yesterday evening" (Not Bill)

"John AND Sally walked to the small restaurant yesterday evening" (John was not alone)

"John and SALLY walked to the small restaurant yesterday evening" (Not Susie)

"John and Sally WALKed to the small restaurant yesterday evening" (didn't drive)

"John and Sally walked TO the small restaurant yesterday evening" (not from)

"John and Sally walked to the SMALL restaurant yesterday evening" (Not the big one)

"John and Sally walked to the small REStaurant yesterday evening" (Not the pharmacy)

"John and Sally walked to the small restaurant YESterday evening" (not today)

"John and Sally walked to the small restaurant yesterday EVening" (not the afternoon)

So there you have what I consider to be the five most difficult aspects of learning to communicate in English. If you are learning English, the best way is to be in a country where English is the main language and you have the opportunity to practice it 24/7 (an expression). If you cannot do that, join an English Club, read books, newspapers and magazines, watch English videos. Replay them a few times and listen to the stress, the idioms and the way the language is used.

Robert Taylor

Dr. Robert Taylor is a Canadian educator who lives in Thailand and specializes in teaching English. He has a teacher training school for people interested in teaching English overseas Sunbridge Institute of English and an online club for business people who need to improve their written English communications My Business English Club.

View the original article here

You Can't Answer a Question If You Can't Say the Answer

It takes time to become accustomed and familiar with new words and phrases. It would be nice if people could be told something once, then be able to recall and use this information perfectly forever more. But it doesn't often happen.

The names of fractions in English are somewhat irregular, at least to start with because English, as it developed, absorbed words from more than one other language (usually Anglo Saxon or Old English and Latin).

For example half and third are derived from the Old English words 'healf' and 'pridda'. But quarter comes from the Latin 'quartus'. Next comes fifth, not 'fiveth', which comes from the Old English 'fifta'. After this, things settle down with sixth seventh and so on. But it is still necessary to learn the exceptions.

Another common difficulty is saying remainders and improper fractions. For example five divided by four is one remainder one or one and one quarter. It is very common for children to be confused at the two ones in one remainder one and in one and one quarter. After all these are not phrases that they are likely to have used before. In contrast by the time children learn to count at school they are likely to have used the words one, two and three many times. (How many ice creams would you like?). But one and one quarter is more of a tongue twister.

Another difficulty comes with converting kilograms to grams, or kilometers to meters. This is often thought of as a math problem. But it is in largely a speaking problem. There are two parts.

Firstly just repeat exactly what is said but replace kilo with thousand and thousand with kilo.
So two kilograms becomes two thousand kilo grams.
And three thousand grams becomes three kilo grams.

It really is that simple!

Secondly, learn the how to say fractions of a thousand. So 1/2 a kilogram is five hundred grams which means five hundred grams is half a kilogram.

Children seem to be comfortable with saying two thousand five hundred grams for 2 1/2 kg and three thousand five hundred grams for 3 1/2 kg.

But ten thousand five hundred grams for 10 1/2kg
or one hundred thousand five hundred grams for 100 1/2kg
seem to be more difficult to say, until they become familiar.

For some reason it seems that saying one thousand five hundred grams for 1 1/2 kg is takes longer to become familiar with.

By the time they are comfortable with saying and one hundred and one thousand five hundred grams for 101 1/2 kilograms you can be confident that they have got to grips with this particular type of problem.

Jeremy Shiers is the father of four children. Jeremy has a BSc in mathematics and a PhD in Physics. For the last 17 years he has been passing on his knowledge to his children.

He has noticed that some parents do not do this which he believes is due to them making one or more common little mistakes. To read Jeremy's free report visit: http://sevenlittlemistakes.com/.

Jeremy has written another longer report describing in detail how he helped his children get started with arithmetic and maths. Visit http://startingarithmetic.com/ to download your copy.

View the original article here

Learning Spanish and Going Green

Do you know that there are a lot in the Spanish speaking or Hispanic communities whose people need to be educated in the plight of the environment? This is especially true with recycling. The problem is not that they do not know what is going on; the problem is in decimating the information in a way which they could understand it.

This is where the importance of learning Spanish comes in for the Green movement. Although there are a lot of fliers and books, even rallies, going around which give information on the idea and process of recycling, still a lot of the Spanish speaking communities are not reached. There is a need for people who know how to speak Green to a lot of people and there are not many of them.

The Green movement is very much alive and active and they need people to spread the word. If they had enough people who could speak Spanish well, be eloquent in the language, and be patient enough to teach and talk about the mechanics of recycling, then more and more people can be informed.

This is especially true in those hard-to-reach Spanish speaking communities. Some of the communities are out of touch from the modern world and they need to be educated on the effects of pollution. They need to know the importance of separating waste like the biodegradable and the non-biodegradable. They need to know they cannot just burn their trash and think it is good for the planet; they also need to learn not to cut down the trees to make room for their goats and other herd.

These are people who are not in contact with television and the internet so it is very important to give them the information. The only way is to have more people learning Spanish and other languages so they can go out and spread the word.

There are a lot of learning Spanish tools online these days - the learning Spanish software, the e-Books, the online schools, the chat rooms and other tools and applications. All one needs to do is to get familiar with the tools, choose which one is easiest for them to learn a second language and then begin the course.

Learning Spanish will not only helps Hispanic community but also open the doors for employment opportunities, something which everybody need especially in this day of economic rut.

Have you planned a trip to a Spanish speaking country? Do you want to learn the second most spoken language in the world? If so, then you will want to know how to learn Spanish within eight weeks! Click here for more information

View the original article here

Words Commonly Misspelled Or Misused

Its and it's

Its is a possessive word.

The dog has had its breakfast. (NOT The dog has had it's breakfast.)

It's the contracted from of it is or it has.

Have you seen my phone? It's disappeared. (= It has disappeared.)

It's not worth reading. (= It is not worth reading.)

Whose and who's

Whose is a possessive word. It is used both as a determiner and as a pronoun.

Whose book is this?
Whose is this book?

Who's is the contracted form of who is or who has.

Who's your father?

Their, they're and there

Their is a possessive word like his or your.

Their daughter is my classmate.

They're is the contracted form of they are.

They're waiting for us.

There is an adverb of place.

There is somebody at the door.

Your and you're

Your is a possessive word like their and his.

Where is your umbrella?

You're is the contracted form of you are.

You're my best friend.

No one and none

No one (also written as no-one in British English) means the same as nobody.

I waited for hours, but no one came.

None expresses the idea 'not a single one'. It can be followed by of.

None of my friends wished me a happy birthday.

No one cannot be followed by of.

Any one and anyone

Anyone means the same as anybody. Any one means 'any single one'. It can refer to both persons and things.

Does anyone know where Jane works?
You can borrow any one book at a time. (NOT You can borrow anyone book at a time.)

Sometime, some time and sometimes

Sometime means 'one day'.

We will be visiting you sometime next week.

Some time means 'a considerable amount of time'.

It will take some time to repair the car.

Sometimes means 'on some occasions'.

Sometimes I wonder what life is all about.

Quite and quiet

Quite is an adverb of degree. It means 'completely' or 'entirely'. It is pronounced like 'white'.

You are quite wrong.

Quiet means 'silent', 'peaceful' and similar ideas. It is pronounced like 'diet'.

She is a quiet girl.

Whether and weather

Weather means 'climate'.

In May the weather is hot.

Whether is a conjunction used to introduce yes/no questions.

I asked whether he had come.

Later and latter

Later is the opposite of earlier. It is pronounced like waiter.

I will see you not now but later.

Latter means 'second'. It is the opposite of former. Latter is pronounced like 'matter'.

I think the latter part of the film is more interesting than the former.

Lose and loose

Lose is an irregular verb. It is pronounced like choose. Its past tense and past participle forms are: lost and lost.

Lose / lost / lost

You will lose your dog if you don't tie it up.

Loose is pronounced like goose. It is the opposite of tight.

This knot is loose and will soon come undone.

Manjusha Nambiar is an ESL tutor and content developer. Her blog GrammarEnglish gives free English Grammar lessons and printable grammar worksheets

View the original article here

Learning Korean: 3 Important Differences Between English and Korean Grammar

Korean and English have very different grammar structures, which can make learning Korean challenging for native English speakers. How should you overcome this challenge? The best way is to tackle the problem head on, by directly comparing Korean and English sentence structures. This article will give a very brief review of basic grammar concepts and then discuss the three main grammatical differences between Korean and English.

Quick and Easy Grammar Refresher

To get the most out of this article, you must understand some basic grammatical concepts. Most importantly, you need to understand subjects, objects and verbs. Simply put, a verb is a word that expresses action or being, words like eat, walk, and tell. The subject of a sentence, on the other hand, is the word that takes the action of the verb. Finally, the object in a sentence is the "thing" involved in the action. It often answers the "who," "when," or "where" kinds of questions.

For example, in the sentence "Ryan wrote a letter," the verb is "wrote." Ryan is the one who did the writing, so he is the subject, and the letter is what Ryan wrote, so it is the object. Do you notice the order in which those words were placed?

Word Order: Korean vs. English

The order of the words in the sentence above is subject + verb + object. In Korean, the order of the words in a sentence is subject + object + verb. So, in this case, using Korean grammar, the sentence would read like this:

"Ryan letter wrote." Or, in Romanized Korean, laieon eun pyeonji leul sseoss-eoyo.

Laieon = Ryan (there is no "R" sound in Korean)

pyeonji = letter

sseoss-eoyo = write

This is the most important part of Korean grammar that you need to know. You'll have to fight all of your natural instincts, but you must place the verb at the end of the sentence when speaking Korean.

Korean Subject and object Markers

This is an easy comparison. In English, there are no subject and object markers. In Korean, there are. Take a look at the example sentence I wrote above. Did you notice that there are 5 words in the Korean sentence but that I only translated three of them? The two words I didn't translate are "eun" and "leul." I didn't translate them because there is no direct translation.

Notice that the word "eun" follows the word "Laieon" (Ryan). Laieon is the subject of the sentence; therefore, it is marked with the subject marker "eun."

The word "pyeonji" (letter), on the other hand, is the object, so it is marked with the object marker "leul." These markers can be confusing at first, but don't worry. They come naturally once you begin to use them regularly.

Articles

Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of nouns. In English they are the words "a/an" and "the." Look at the sample sentence above one more time. You may have thought that I made a typo when I wrote the sentence, "Ryan letter wrote?" Actually, however, the sentence is correct when written in the Korean form because in the Korean language there is no use of articles at all.

Summary

Korean and English have very different grammar structures, which can make learning Korean a bit difficult for native English speakers. You can make the process much easier, however, if you understand the difference in word order, the difference in the use of subject and object markers, and the difference in the use of articles.

Best of luck in this and all of your learning endeavors.

Want to learn Korean online? Check out my Rocket Korean Review.

Also, be sure to grab a copy of my FREE (for the time being) new book called "Ordinary Ways to Learn a Language Extraordinarily Fast" at http://www.liveinasiablog.com/learning-a-new-language/

Have a great day.

Ryan Wiley
Founder
The Live in Asia Blog

View the original article here

Learn Spanish In Spain, The Fastest Way To Learn Spanish

A new language can open new doors and send your life in a completely new path. The quickest way to learn is to have the need to learn. If you need to learn then you will learn much quicker. Necessity is the mother of invention after all. You will learn Spanish much quicker if you learn Spanish in Spain.

Spanish is the one of the widest spoken languages in the world. It is spoken in countries spread across the planet and is understood by over 50% of the world's population.

Living in Spain

The easiest way to learn a language is to live in the country that speaks it. The Spanish people are friendly and welcoming and Spain is a lovely country to live in. Why not join the thousands of ex-pats already living in Spain. The country has a laid back attitude, low cost of living and some of the most beautiful shore lines in the world.

Reading on the internet is one thing but living in the country is something completely different. Everything is different. Buying property, using the facilities and the language barrier are some of the things that you will need to think about and things that you will need to contend with.

The majority of ex-pats live in around the costas, mainly because they have probably visited the areas on vacation. But some of the inland areas of Spain are every bit as stunning as the shore resorts.

Learning Spanish

So you have made the decision to learn the language, but where do you start? Your ideal will be to be residing in Spain and learning from the locals. This is probably the route to fluent Spanish but you will need to be reasonably proficient before you land in sunny Spain. A good guide can help you get by but the best way is on-line, in the comfort of your own home.

The basics

Like anything in life you should start with the basics. Repeating 'hello' and 'goodbye' over and over again may seem like a joyless task, and really it is, but it isn't pointless. It will get you accustomed to the Spanish lingo. A good audio guide can be a great tool or if possible a tutor. Try to keep it fun.

Intermediate

The basics are firmly implanted in your head. It is time to move onto the next stage. Remember you need to keep everything fun and you will learn much faster. You can move onto complete sentences and phrases, a more conversational approach. You are probably ready to move to Spain and start your path to fluent Spanish. You will only really become proficient once you are forced to interact with the locals, order food off them and hang out with them.

Much like the country itself Spanish is a beautiful. It isn't as hard to learn as you imagine and you will find yourself picking it up in no time.

Learning Spanish online is the fastest way. It can be a challenge but with the right help you can get there fast!

View the original article here

What Is Braille Transcription?

Reading is one of the primary means of gaining information about the world. Through newspapers, magazines, signs and more, people acquire details about the world by decoding printed words and determining their meaning. Blind people, however, are unable to gather visual signals and cannot access this type of information. The blind have just as much need for this information as anyone else. Whether it is a detailed knowledge of current events or a simple understanding of what room to enter, the blind have just as much need for printed information as those with normal vision. To make information more accessible, many printed items are also available in Braille. Braille is a tactile information system that allows the blind to read information using their fingers rather than their eyes.

There are multiple ways to transcribe text into Braille. The simplest way is known as Grade 1 Braille. In Grade 1 transcription, each letter is substituted with its braille equivalent. While this is an effective, easy way to write things in Braille, and while even the untrained can easily accomplish this, there are multiple drawbacks to Grade 1 Braille. Braille characters are quite large, so direct transcription takes up a large amount of space. When transcribing a simple sign, this may not seem like a limitation, but for larger documents, space is at a premium. Using the full, large character for every letter is often not the ideal choice.

An alternative method is Grade 2 Braille. This form of Braille uses a wide range of contractions to conserve space. Twenty-three of the most common words are represented by a single letter rather than by the full word. For example, the word "can" is written simply as "c." This reduces the number of letters that need transcribing, as these words are likely to appear frequently in documents. Similarly, some common combinations of letters are shortened in words, and some other words are abbreviated. The entire set of conventions underlying Grade 2 Braille is quite comprehensive, covering hundreds of pages of text.

While Grade 2 Braille is typically sufficient to make transcription of text feasible for even long documents, Grade 3 Braille is sometimes used. This form of Braille incorporates even greater abbreviations and is considered informal. Typically, this Grade 3 Braille is used only by individuals writing notes to themselves. It is rarely used in formal documents or texts. For most purposes, Braille transcriptionists should focus on Grade 2 Braille.

The need for trained Braille transcription is quite high. With the massive volume of printed material available, there is a high demand for people who can transcribe this text into viable linguistic material for the blind. However, as is apparent from the voluminous size of the list of conventions for transcribing Grade 2 Braille, performing these transcriptions is no simple task. Braille transcriptionists must undergo thorough training to familiarize themselves with these conventions. They must also complete certification tests to be considered effective transcriptionists. Braille print is a primary means of contact with the world for a wide swath of the population, so highly reliable and consistent transcription is essential for effective comprehension.

We provide Braille Transcription

For more on topic quality articles see - Transcription Services

View the original article here

Mandarin Chinese and English: What Are the Differences?

Mandarin is the not the Chinese language, rather, it is one of the many Chinese dialects. Around seventy percent of Chinese speakers use Mandarin. It is not only the accepted written language of Chinese, but it is also considered as the business language of China.

Many non-native Mandarin speakers believe that Mandarin is a very difficult language to learn, especially for those who are used to speaking the English language. But why is this so? Is Mandarin so different from English? Let us compare them.

Difference in origin

The English language is closely related to Flemish, Dutch, Low German and Frisians, which belong to the Germanic language family. Mandarin, on the other hand, evolved from Old Chinese and Middle Chinese. The fact that Mandarin and English originated from different language families might explain the major differences between the two tongues.

Difference in Alphabet

While the English alphabet is composed of twenty-six letters, Mandarin, on the other hand, does not have any. Instead, the Mandarin written language is composed of characters. Mandarin's logographic system is composed of about 10,000 characters, of which an average Mandarin speaker needs to know only about 3,000 to communicate with the language well. While in English, you need to put the letters together to form a word, in Mandarin each character corresponds to a word, which can be combined to form more complex words or concepts.

Difference in Phonology

Mandarin is a tonal language, which means it uses pitch to convey word meanings. In English, changes in pitch help express sentiment. Mandarin has four tones, high level, rising, dipping and falling; the neutral tone makes the fifth. These tones render different meanings to words.

In addition, English vowel sounds are more numerous as compared to Chinese. For example, words like full/fool and fit/feet are typically mispronounced by Mandarin speakers. Dipthongs, like the long vowel sounds, are usually shortened to make a single sound.

Difference in vocabulary

The combination of particles with short verbs to create phrasal verbs does not apply in Mandarin. In English, this is very common with verbs like "look up to", "give in" and others.

Difference in Grammar

Mandarin is not an inflected language. The sentiment is communicated through adverbials (such as time or manner), word order or contextual meaning. Different verb forms and tenses do not convey the perception of time in Mandarin. This is dissimilar to English where much of the idea is expressed through the use of verb tense and auxiliaries, such as in walk/walks/walked or is/was/are/were. Basically, the verb system of English is more complex than that of Mandarin.

Modal verbs (can, will, should, etc.) are limited in Mandarin. English, meanwhile, makes use of modals to express varying intensities or meaning. That is the reason why, for instance, Mandarin speakers may seem to be dictatorial when they make recommendations, requests and appeals.

The word order is also different between English and Mandarin. In questions, English inverts the subject and the verb, while Mandarin expresses this by adding words to indicate a question. In Mandarin, adverbials come before verbs; whereas there are many rules that direct their position in English sentences.

Indeed, there are significant differences between Mandarin and English. But this should not hinder you from learning Mandarin (if you are an English speaker) or English (if you are a Mandarin speaker) as learning both tongues brings so many benefits.

Daniel C Howard is a language teacher living in Asia. He has over a decade of experience teaching all ages a variety of subjects. For free info and lessons on Mandarin Chinese, please visit his blog here.

You can also sign up for a newsletter full of free language tips from Daniel's many hours in a class. And as a bonus, stay updated on all the new information on http://www.learnmagnificentmandarin.com/.

View the original article here

French Grammar - Opportunite Is NOT Opportunity

First let me preface this post by explaining what a False Friend / Faux Ami is.

Plain English Please

A false friend is someone you've grown to know and trust for the longest of times. Then one day, you get into a bind and need his or her help. Then, toodle-loo, this person suddenly is gone and nowhere to be found.

Wait, this isn't morality and ethics we're talking about? No.

The false friend we're concerned about is much less sinister. It basically is any word that looks like a word in another language, and so you automatically assume that they are the same thing... And it's a good thing to do actually! Because you'll be right more than 90% of the time. But that 10% is a stinger, so let's get this sorted out shall we?

Today, the word we are going to discuss is.. OPPORTUNITE.

I mean wow! The first thing you see, it looks like a freaking imposter, downright copyright violation worthy! I mean, switch the y out for an e, and magic, you've just learned a new word with no work involved.

So then, how do we translate the word opportunity into French?
--By the word occasion.

Here are some examples:

J'ai eu l'opportunite de manger un hamburger. --> WRONG!

J'ai eu l'occasion de manger un hamburger. --> RIGHT!

I had the opportunity to eat a hamburger.

Ok, that's all fine and dandy, Charlie. But how do we correctly use the word opportunite then? I'm glad you asked!

Pour le chat, c'est l'opportunite de manger les souris

For the cat, this is its CHOICE MOMENT to eat the mice

Or take another example:

Ensuite, on jugera l'opportunite de cette strategie de jeu.

Then, we'll determine the SUITABILITY of this game plan.

Does that make sense? The word opportunite in French really refers to good timing or the appropriateness of something. It's RARELY used by most people in this way, however.

Wait, what do you mean?

This happens to be one of those rules that many French people (at least in Canada) break all the time! It's really more of a rule to be followed when you have to turn in one of those dreaded term papers in a college class. Nothing more!

So... huge sigh of relief. This isn't one of those critical faux amis to remember. But it's still probably a good idea to build up the habit of using OCCASION instead of OPPORTUNITE when your mind thinks opportunity.

Charlie has been a French as a Second Language Classroom Teacher at the Elementary and Secondary levels and has been teaching and tutoring adults, teenagers, and children for over 8 years.

For your FREE eBook on the powerful TOP French resources I used to go from speaking zero French to being SUPER fluent in no time, please visit - http://www.charliesfrenchfactory.com/welcome.html

View the original article here

Language Translation Services Done by a Professional and Experienced Translator

As we know that today the importance of translation has truly increased with the globalization. This importance can be perceived by the fact that there is an increase of interaction of people from far and wide. People from different places have different ideas and ideologies to share with others; because of it the translation has come of great importance to people to convey or share their ideas in an effective manner with them. Today because of education people are becoming more interactive to others which are so essentially required for enlargement of their businesses and as a result of it people need the help of translation for good communication. Translation has turned into a big business today as we see a lot of big companies have started providing translating services. Translation is significantly used for different languages with common objective of bringing proper understanding among the masses. It is also used for breaking the cultural barriers which are the big hurdles on the path of integration of countries, people and joint working system.

The increase and development of tourism, a major source of generating revenues to every country, has actually expanded the importance of translation. It is a common phenomena that people have become so interested to indulge in tourism activities by spending their holidays in far off at foreign places. They need special translators to make them understand and enjoy other culture by immersing into it. The use of the translation has got into diverse fields; from Government to corporate offices there is a necessity of interpretation required for carrying out various official tasks. For example, any foreign delegate visiting India may require expert Hindi translator in-case he doesn't understand English or Hindi besides his national language.

Expert interpreters, having sound communicating skills of that language spoken by the delegate need to be hired. Keeping in view the emerging trend of the importance of translation several educational institutes run by Government and private players are providing various diplomas and degrees in different foreign languages where thousands of candidates sit every year for entrance tests which talks about translating demand. Now we can realize how important the translation has become which is attracting the corporate world to have a glance towards it. Because of it the Government has begun to pay attention on this sector, hence, the more this tourism sector increases, the more importance of translation will be increased. Therefore, we can say that there is the possibility of good prospect for people willing to make career in translation.

Prashant Katiyar is a translator.

View the original article here

Discover the Secrets of a Unique Way to Master the Easiest Language to Learn: Spanish

After much deliberation with my international friends at work (I live in South Texas) I decided that since Spanish was considered the easiest language to learn I would give it a shot. They seemed very sure that for an English speaker, learning Spanish wouldn't be that hard. Looking back on it, it strikes me that they were patient with me and kept referring to the fact that I was a native English speaker. I think in an international context it is generally accepted that people who are fortunate enough to speak English as a first language just feel it is their birthright to have everyone communicate in a way that is convenient for them. Every other language learns that they must know multiple tongues in order to communicate effectively around the world.

I was tired of coming to work and not understanding much of what was going on around me. My boss was also an original Spanish speaker and there was little doubt I was at a disadvantage when applying for promotions. I am thankful that I had a decent support system and motivation to help me learn the language so quickly and efficiently.

They pointed out to me that Spanish would be the easiest language to learn in my case because it bore many similarities to English that were not readily apparent to me at first. It seems that there are a surprising number of words that sound similar to their English counterpart. Sometimes just being comfortable with this much of a language makes the rest easier to learn I was assured. They were definitely right. During my studies I found out that English and Spanish (as well as French and Portuguese) all descended from the same Latin roots way back.

The other main thing that helped me learn the language (in combination with great friends) was the fact that many of the grammatical prices are the same in the two languages. Spanish is much easier to learn than French in that regard. This is because in French, the order of many sentences does not directly translate properly to English. Spanish thankfully does not have this problem.

I now have much more success in talking with the sizable number of Spanish speakers at my workplace. My ability to speak to them in their native tongue gives me a deeper and more trustworthy relationship with them. It was well worth taking a few evenings to learn.

I managed to master conversational Spanish rapidly thanks to an innovative interactive course that helped me put the natural learning process on turbo. Click the link to find more information on how I did it and why Spanish is the easiest language to learn.

View the original article here

The Importance of Learning Spanish

Now is not the time to be a monolingual. People are learning Spanish in numbers which were once considered unimaginable. Spanish has gained importance as being one of the most widely spoken languages of the world. In the West, Spanish is considered secondary to English.

As a result, many native Spanish speakers have moved to other countries. They learn the language of that land but remain loyal to Spanish. This is true of the Hispanic population in the US. There are over 40 million Hispanics in the United States and there number is always on the rise. The dilemma is that they have shorn monolingualism while the Americans haven't. Most of the Spanish people are able to speak English but a majority of English speakers don't understand even a word of Spanish.

There is no doubt that Spanish is the best choice for anyone who is looking to add to his repertoire an exotic language with a rich history. Not only is Spanish of cultural importance, but is the official language of four of the seven continents.

Easy to Learn

The phonetics and vocabulary make Spanish probably the easiest language to learn for an English speaker. Spanish is written in a way that an English speaker will be able to read a word and ascertain its pronunciation easily. Even basic grammar of the Spanish language is simple and clear-cut. When you begin to learn it, you will be able to converse fluently in Spanish in just a few days.

Understand English Better

Did you know that a large portion of the English vocabulary we commonly use is derived from Latin? Well, this was a gift from the French, but the interesting thing is that Spanish is a Latin language as well. So, what I am trying to say is that you can understand English grammar and language better when you start to learn Spanish.

Become a Linguist

He who learns one language can learn a hundred! Got a bit of the Schindler's List hangover! Seriously speaking, learning Spanish can be the first step on your journey to picking up the important languages spoken in the world today. Spanish is one of the easiest to learn, and is therefore a good one to start off with. Once you have learned Spanish, you can move on to French or German or any other language which you prefer.

However, learning Spanish isn't a walk in the park. You will have to put in much effort and time to be able to master it.

Spanish Learning Factory can help you learn Spanish in a way that you will be speaking it like a native in no time at all.

SpanishLearningFactory Provides Online Spanish Courses and Spanish classes from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced. for more details visit website SpanishLearningFactory.com

View the original article here

How To Describe Past Events in Spanish

Today we will discuss how to describe past events in Spanish. Sometimes you'll run into a old friend who you have not seen for many years. This person knows everything about your life in the past, but he/she has no idea what you are up to right now. In this lesson, we are going to learn to explain things from the past that are still the same and also how to talk about things that have changed.

Take a look at this e-mail from Sebastian, who has not seen Pedro since high school 15 years ago.

Hola Pedro, como estas? Estaba mirando fotos de la escuela anoche, y me acorde de vos y lo bien que la pasabamos en la escuela. Bueno, te cuento, algunas cosas han cambiado un poco. Ya no persigo chicas, me case y tuve un hijo. He dejado de fumar y ya no bebo como antes, aunque todavia me gusta tomar algunas cervezas los fines de semana. Afortunadamente sigo teniendo pelo, y todavia uso gafas, porque sigo sin poder ver los numeros del autobus cuando esta lejos. Espero verte pronto y recordar Viejas epocas. Ya ves, me he vuelto un hombre responsible pero sigo siendo un buen tipo.

Abrazos,
Sebastian

Hi Peter, how are you? I was looking at pictures from school last night, and I thought of you and how what a good time we had in school. Well, I tell you, some things have changed a bit. I am no longer chasing girls, I got married and I had a son. I stopped smoking and I do not drink like I did before, although I still like to drink a few beers on the weekends. Fortunately I still have hair and I still wear glasses, because I still can't see the bus numbers from far away. I hope to see you soon and talk about old times. You see, I've become a responsible man but I'm still a good guy.

Cheers,
Sebastian

As you can see, there are different structures to speak about the different things that Sebastian still does and what he has stopped doing.

Things that he still does

Seguir (conjugated) + Gerund: Sigo teniendo pelo (I still have hair) / Sigo siendo un buen tipo (I'm still a good guy)

Todavia + Present tense: Todavia me gusta tomar algunas cervezas. (I still like to drink a few beers)

Seguir sin + Infinitive (when you didn't do in the past and still don't): Sigo sin poder ver el numero del autobus...(because I still can't see the bus numbers)

The things that he has stopped doing.
Ya no + Present tense: Ya no persigo chicas. (I am no longer chasing girls)

Dejar de + Infintive: Deje de fumar (I stopped smoking)

Volverse (to became, is a change in the personality): Me he vuelto un hombre responsible (I've become a responsible man).

Hopefully this lesson helps you out when you want to talk about things in the past and how they relate to the present.

Anna Rivera is a native Spanish speaker from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is also a Spanish instructor and the author of 2 learning Spanish books. If you would like to get FREE instant download access to the MP3 audio and PDF transcripts to her Spanish lessons absolutely free AND read her reviews of the most popular learning-Spanish products, then visit her web site now in order to: learn Spanish online That's http://LearningSpanishProductsReviews.com/

View the original article here

Skype Online English Lessons - Learning a Language With Video Chat

Learning English is now more accessible than it has ever been for people in countries all over the world. With the internet the opportunity of learning English online is only a matter of finding the right company to be taught by. Skype is a common type of video chat system that many people use. There are a few, clear cut reasons for trying Skype online English lessons with a reputable business. They are learn English from the same native English speaker every lesson, spend money on the actual lesson instead of on software, and learn conversational English through role-playing and one-on-one chats.

There are two ways to learn a language which are from someone who speaks English and someone who is a native English speaker. There are pros and cons to each approach, but if you are learning conversational English, learning through a native English speaker will guarantee correct pronunciations and word usage. There are businesses that will provide you with the same teacher for every lesson. With the same teacher you do not have to concentrate on filling in a new teacher each lesson or telling them that you already learned something. Skype online English lessons bring native English teachers within your reach.

Many companies will sell you expensive software that you have to install on the computer. With Skype online English lessons the software you need is online for free. You pay for an actual live person who can tailor your lesson specifically to how you learn. Software can do that, only live people can. Online English lessons should not be complicated. You pay for the time of the teacher you are working with. Never pay for an expensive computer teaching system again, when your time and money could be better spent learning from a live person via video chat through the internet.

Spending time focusing in writing English or spelling English when what you need is conversational speaking skills can be a waste of time. Get lessons focused on your needs through a variety of techniques taught by a live teacher. If all you need is conversational English you can do that easily through one-on-one dialogue. Skype online English lessons are designed to give you the training in English that you are willing to pay for. English is not difficult but can be challenging without the proper instruction. Learn to speak English from a professional native English speaker over the internet and see how quickly you can learn.

View the original article here

Easiest Language To Learn - What Makes These 3 Languages Easiest for English Speakers to Learn

Since I speak a lot of foreign languages, people are always asking what was the easiest language to learn. I wish it were as simple as saying French, or German, or Spanish. Unfortunately, like so many subjects the answer is far more complex than one might think.

It's not always a matter of which is the easiest to language to learn. In order to understand which language is easiest for you to learn, you must analyze the differences and similarities between the different languages.

For example, many English speakers in the United States immediately think that Spanish is the easiest language to learn. But that's only because Spanish is the default second language spoken around this country. So indeed, Spanish may be easier for many Americans than some other foreign languages. One problem, however, is that many north Americans falsely believe that speaking Spanish is little more than adding an "-o" to the end of every word in a sentence. Nothing could be further from the truth.

One thing that must be taken into consideration is that Spanish is a Latin language, but it is also largely influenced by Arabic. So there are a lot of words in the language that do not follow the rules are available Latin language. While English as a lot of Latin words in it, it is really a Germanic language. And because of that, Spanish ultimately does not share as many similarities as you might think.

Although English is descended from German, that does not necessarily mean that English speakers can easily pick up the German language. German for most north Americans, contains many unusual guttural sounds. In fact, it is fair to say that most people from the United States have not heard proper German spoken. German also has very complex grammar and word structuring, making it even more complicated to navigate for the average English speaker. That said, however, German and English do share some profound similarities in core vocabulary and some aspects of grammar.

French is another language that is of interest to many English speakers. Unfortunately, most people in the United States have been given a bad impression of the French language as well as French people. And the little that people know about the French language is inaccurate at best. For that reason, when most Americans begin learning French they must unlearn a lot of bad habits that have been drilled into them for a long time.

Like Spanish, French is also in Latin language. Yet it has one distinct difference. You see, over a period of about one hundred years or so in recent history, France had been invaded by Germany no less than three times. For that reason, French like English contains a lot of German influenced words.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty for most Americans when it comes to French is that they do not recognize that they already know a lot of French words. In many cases, is because they do not have been large vocabulary in their mother language.

As you can see, these three languages have many parallels they share with English which is what makes any one of them an excellent candidate if you want to learn to speak a new language. Just analyze the differences in this article and review which suits your current background and knowledge best.

If you care to find out which language I really think is the easiest language to learn for most people, visit http://institutoicsa.com/. There you can read about strategies to learn languages as well as recommendations of the best software to suit your needs.

View the original article here

How Learning Chinese Can Make It Easier to Do Business in China

These days, everyone wants to do business in China and this should not be surprising given how the Asian giant's economy is booming due to its burgeoning manufacturing sector. It was recently reported that China had overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest economy, with a total worth of $5.8 trillion at the end of 2010. In fact, many analysts are already predicting that China will overtake the US to become the world's biggest economy within the next ten years given its current rates of growth. No wonder businessmen are scrambling to take advantage of the many business opportunities the country is offering.

To get the most benefit from doing business in China, however, businessmen need to have some proficiency in Mandarin, the most spoken Chinese dialect with over a billion speakers. Although Westerners can rely on translators to communicate, Chinese business relationships are determined by guanxi, or connections. This means that the Chinese see interpersonal relationships as essential in the formation of professional and business relations. This does not mean that you have to be friends, but it does mean that you have to be able to speak some Chinese to be able to make the small talk and pleasantries that are so important to harmonious dealings.

Inevitably, many will question the value of taking the trouble to learn Mandarin given that an increasing number of Chinese are learning how to speak English. Why not rely on them to help you deal with Chinese businessmen and bureaucrats? The reason is simple: Chinese value relationships. They will appreciate the effort you've taken to at least be able to learn some of their language and will reward you accordingly by being a bit more sympathetic to your cause, compared with a businessman who may offer better terms, but displays more cultural insensitivity. In addition, speaking Mandarin helps Chinese businessmen develop a certain level of comfort with you that may make it easier for them to do business with you than with your rivals.

And being able to speak Mandarin will also is invaluable when you're doing business in many other countries that have substantial ethnic Chinese populations, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Overseas Chinese have become an increasingly prominent economic presence in these countries and represent a great opportunity to do business. Even though many of these Chinese have become assimilated into their respective societies, they still hold on to their ethnic Chinese roots and would appreciate a Westerner reaching out to them by speaking their language.

Online Chinese lessons are one of the most convenient ways to learn Mandarin, since you have a wide range of modalities available to you. You also have the luxury of being able to study the lessons in your spare time, unlike when taking off-line classes, where you would have to find time for them in a crowded personal schedule. And you have the advantage of being able to avail of personalized instruction through Skype, so that you'll still have that valuable interaction between teacher and student.

In conclusion..
To be proficient in the Chinese Language or Mandarin, you must be prepared to learn the language seriously. Online learning is readily available and easily accessible even at home. To find out how easy it is to learn Chinese Online, read Learn Chinese Online today! Or go to http://www.chineseonline.sg/

View the original article here

How To Improve Your English Speaking Skills?

Do you want to improve your English speaking skills? My first piece of advice is to stop trying to sound like a native speaker. Instead, try to speak clearly and concisely. People living in different parts of the world speak English in their own style and that is perfectly acceptable. It is estimated that over a billion people speak English as a second language. Only a few among them manage to speak English like native speakers do. On the flip side, there are only around 380 million native speakers out there. That means you are in the majority.

Learn idioms, but don't use them

Try to avoid using idioms and slang. Learn idioms, but don't use them in your speech. Although idioms are common in all kinds of English, they just don't come naturally to a non-native English speaker. If students try consciously to fill their speech and writing with idioms, the result will probably be strange.

Use non-idiomatic ways of expressing ideas, and you will normally be understood. What's more, English speakers do not expect foreigners to speak perfectly idiomatically or correctly.

Don't fill your speech with long, complicated words when there are shorter alternatives. Keep it short and simple. Remember that most speakers (and that includes native speakers) have a small vocabulary. Very few words are used in everyday speech. Learn those words and you should do fine.

Be patient

You can't learn a new language in two months. Learning a new language is a time-consuming process, so be patient with yourself.

Grab every opportunity to speak English. You can't improve your English skills if you don't practice. Grab every opportunity you have to speak with people in English. The more you speak English, the more fluent you become. Can't find English speaking people in your locality? Try to find them on the web. Search ESL forums on the internet and you will find plenty of people interested in practicing their English skills with you.

Use internet based voice chat programs like MSN Web Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk. If you can travel to an English speaking country, do it. It is one of the best ways of improving your English. When you are in an English speaking country, you will be surrounded by people speaking the language. Needless to say, your English speaking skills will improve automatically.

Pronunciation skills

Don't worry about your accent. A lot of students try too hard to get rid of their accent. This is hardly worth the effort. Accents no longer matter. That said, you need to work on your pronunciation skills because people need to be able to understand you.

Manjusha Nambiar is an ESL tutor and content developer. Her site PerfectYourEnglish gives English Grammar and English speaking lessons. Subscribe to her feed and you will win a free Grammar eBook titled '120 Grammar and Vocabulary Mistakes to Avoid'.

View the original article here

Spoken English Lessons - Learning English for a Better You

There are few things you can do that are as rewarding as learning to speak a new language. Of the many languages spoken throughout the world few are as common and available as English. The English language is currently the business of language, so learning English can benefit you in more ways than just expanding your horizons. There is a new trend in the market of English lessons and that is to be taught by having one-on-one conversations with a native English speaking teacher. Even if you do not live in one of the English speaking country spoken English lessons are available through the internet.

The internet has opened up the world to those wanting to learn a new language. The best way to learn a language is to hear it from and communicate with a person who can instruct you. English has lots of facets and rules that can make it a difficult language to digest. Trying to learn English on your own is just not practical. If you try an online course of spoken English lessons there will be concentrated effort to help you in the exact areas that you need help in. Teachers with high recommendations and university certification can coach you through the process.

Conversation is the easiest way to learn a language. Pick up on words and pronunciations you would likely not hear otherwise. When you sit with someone in conversation there is a great deal of back and forth that makes the conversation work. If you are still learning a language you can pick up on these subtle things and use them faster than someone who was taught them. Spoken English lessons are one of the fastest ways to get a real comprehension of the English language. Learning is not easy and required patience and dedication but can be very beneficial and is worth the effort.

If you are debating beginning a course of spoken English lessons, you should give it a try to see how it works for you. English speakers are ready to teach you just by talking and correcting errors. As you learn English opportunities will be made open for you. When considering a program to learn English there are some options that are available that you should look into. There are video chat sessions that you can meet with the same teacher for every class. You will talk in every session and see what needs improvement and what you are doing well.

View the original article here

The Relationship Between French And English And It's Overall Effect On French Translations

While French is known as a somewhat insulated language these days in the past it was deeply influenced by surrounding languages, and the language itself influenced many others. For example despite the fact that they come from different language families French still exerted a fairly powerful influence over the development of modern English. This is due to fact that French was introduced to the British Isles in the eleventh century by the invasion of the Normans. While French is a romance language that overall has more in common with Italian and Spanish than with English, the two languages still contain a significant amount of common ground due to this connection. This connection then has quite a positive effect on French-English or English to French translations.

At a base level French and English share a common language of the same twenty six letters. The main difference in the written languages of French and English revolve around the dozen or so specific accent marks unique to the French language. These differences in accents and emphasis carry over into spoken variations of the languages, causing a number of problems due to differences in pronunciation between the two. These different pronunciations cause many of the problems for English and French speakers attempting to understand each other's speech. For example a major point of content for French speakers attempting to learn English revolves around the latter's seemingly chaotic patterns of stressing elements of words, as French incorporates more predictable and normalized patterns of stress and inflection.

Grammatically speaking French and English have a lot in common, and this aspect of the languages usually doesn't present either speaker with many problems. A few persistent areas of difficulty between the two revolve around differences in tense and the framing of questions, often leading to awkward statements of timing and phrasing of questions on both ends. This can normally explain why generic French translations sound a little forced. It is essential that you work with a competent French translation agency to avoid such issues arising.

Finally vocabulary between the two languages benefits from similar roots in the Latin language, making it relatively easy for speakers of either language to pick up large quantities of words in a relatively short time within the other language. While the two languages do feature their share of confusing interpretations of the same root word, overall their similarities in vocabulary outweigh many of their differences, especially in technical and specialized speech.

While French is known as a fairly particular language, overall it is far from impenetrable and far from the most difficult European language to understand or translate to and from.

Charlene Lacandazo is a marketing executive for Rosetta Translation, a leading full-service translation agency in London, UK.

Rosetta Translation specialises in French translation, as well as interpreting services worldwide.

View the original article here

Is Rosetta Stone Really Worth It?

Nowadays, learning a language on the computer is all the rage. More and more people are buying products like Rosetta Stone or subscribing to online services such as Mango Languages. Are these products really worth the money though? Let's face it, most people struggle to afford the higher end language products such as Fluenz and Rosetta Stone. It's rather hard to justify spending about five hundred dollars on software that you're not sure will work for you, but, it seems to work for everyone else. Let's take a more in depth look at Rosetta Stone and see exactly what it will and won't do.

Rosetta Stone is currently in its forth version and the price for its complete Latin American Spanish language pack is (at press time) $479.00. One year ago, when I bought it, the third version sold for the same price. I have asked Rosetta Stone Customer Support and they tell me that there no actual difference in the software between versions three and four. Rather, version four comes with access to Rosetta Stone's online learning community, TOTALe, which version three did not. After finding that out I decided not to upgrade to the next version.

So how does the software work? Rosetta Stone uses a method that is called "Dynamic Immersion", which is basically a fancy way of saying that it does not use any English to teach you a foreign language. Rather, the program uses pictures of people and objects, with their Spanish translation underneath. In my opinion, this makes Rosetta Stone by far the easiest way to learn vocabulary in a new language. Because there is no English, the translated words stick in your mind with the pictures, which leads you to think in that new language. Just that feature alone makes this software extremely useful.

The program is composed of several levels, which are composed of several units, which in turn are composed of several lessons. Each of the units focuses on a certain subject, such as school or shopping. In each of the lessons, you learn new vocabulary and ideas then, after the lesson, there are several activities which you can complete to further your knowledge of the subject matter. Each of the activities focuses on you being able to do a certain thing such as: speak, listen, write, understand, et cetera. A good deal of the exercises are repetitive, but that's part of what helps you remember the language.

The company often boasts about its speech recognition program that gets you speaking your new language write away. While it does help you to form sentences quickly, the voice recognition software is certainly not bug free. There have been many situations where I know that I said the write thing, but the software just won't recognize it. Sometimes I will just turn off the speaking activities to avoid this. Rosetta Stone also claims that it will teach you to speak without an accent, if you set the speech recognition to only recognize native sounds. There are many flaws since, with Latin American Spanish for example, there can be many different types of accents, all of which are from native Spanish speakers. Also, for most adults learning a second language, it is almost impossible to speak without an accent, and so it's very difficult to succeed with native speech recognition.

Another problem that I have with Rosetta Stone is its claim that it teaches grammar. The grammar lessons are short and simple. They focus on things like which article to use for a word, or which verb conjugation goes with a given subject, but these lessons do not explain why it has to be the way it. My opinion on grammar is that there is no way to successfully teach it, without explaining it. Rosetta Stone doesn't explain anything, because the company's theory is that, when we learnt our first language, we weren't explained anything about grammar. The difference is though that then we couldn't be explained anything about grammar, so we just went with the flow, now we are older and smarter. We question things. I used Rosetta Stone for Spanish, and I was already familiar with French grammar, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do in Spanish, but, if I had been learning an eastern language (or any language that unconnected to what I knew), Rosetta Stone would have probably been too confusing for me to use.

In my own opinion, Rosetta Stone fails to give users enough opportunities to write in their new language. Yes, as I said earlier, they do have writing exercises, but they are far and few between. Normally, each exercise only asks you to write a few words or short sentences. I believe that, to memorize spelling and punctuation in another language, one needs to have more practice writing.

After a month or two of learning Latin American Spanish just through Rosetta Stone, I found that I could speak quite well, and I had confidence that I was saying things correctly. It amazed people that I could carry on a (basic level) conversation with other Spanish speakers. The problem, however, was that I was a little shaky on spelling. I could read quite well but, when it came to writing, I often found myself questioning where to put accents. After you learn one Romance Language, the grammar of the others will be fairly easy. That being said, I had a good knowledge of Spanish grammar. This knowledge, however, came more from my experience with French, rather than from Rosetta Stone itself.

So is Rosetta Stone worth it? I would honestly say that it is. Although there are many problems that I have found with this software, and it is not the godsend that many people assume it is, it will really help you memorize vocabulary words. I would not, however, recommend that Rosetta Stone be the only way you learn a language. It would be extremely beneficial to have a tutor as well, someone to whom you can ask questions. If that is not an option for, then I would suggest you buy a good grammar book to guide you where Rosetta Stone cannot.

Wilhelm Schulz offers both private tutoring and online classes for as low as $10 per hour.

To find out more on Wilhelm Schulz (Founder of Futurama Languages) go to:
http://futuramalanguages.weebly.com/

View the original article here

comment on french language programs on the internet

I am a French teacher who works to help others learn the beautiful language. I know how hard it can be to learn a new language, and I also know how much success depends on having the right learning tools.

As a French teacher, one query I am often asked is what learning package is the best for grownups or teens wishing to learn and speak French from home. Long ago I set out to discover the answer to this question, and one thing genuinely surprised me when I did. There are too many French learning packages out there that just aren't satisfactory enough.

When you look at the tools out in the market on the internet, you'll discover software, books, flash-card systems, and more. Sorting through them all is difficult, and selecting one can be even more intimidating. In Advance of getting to my thoughts on any French packages let's first talk about what a French learning package is and isn't.

First, a digital learning package is NOT the only thing you need to master French. You in addition need to take the time to read French publications, to speak to French-speaking individuals, and to make learning (and speaking) french a portion of your day-to-day existence. I can't stress how important this is to speed up the learning procedure.

Secondly, NOT every person needs a French learning package. In fact, if you aren't dedicated to learning the language you likely won't learn anyway. Learning French isn't tough if you apply yourself, but you need to make the decision right now that you are going to spend some time learning.

Third, a French learning program IS the simplest means to get started with the language. It will also cost much less (and take less time) than taking beginners lessons from a community college. The most suitable learning packages can take you right from beginner to advanced French.

Fourth, if don't take the time to buy the correct learning package you will merely make learning French harder. This is really the number one reason individuals don't follow through with their plan to master the language. Too many of the tools out there are actually just a waste of money.

If you've been considering of learning French then you'll be pleased to hear that, along with some of my colleagues, we took the time to evaluate the best four French learning packages in the market place today. We founded our evaluations on the following criteria.

* Level of French Learning - An acceptable French program should cover everything right from getting started levels up to having fundamental conversations with native French speakers.

* Amount of Information - The Amount of learning substance enclosed in the package

* Teaching Methods - Many people retain data better when taught with different methods. A suitable French program should use a variety of methods for teaching/retention.

* Follow Up Substance - Beyond the basic training course is there more substance in the market place to take your learning further?

* Additional Information (Fun Factor) - A suitable learning package should be fun to use. The most suitable programs we evaluated included games that magnified retention and made learning fun.

* Basic Language Abilities - Does the program supply adequate Content (and teach it rapidly enough) that the learner should grasp a basic dialog right after using the program for a while.

* Reading/Writing /Speaking Abilities - Along with speaking does the program teach language/grammar for reading, speaking and writing French?

With our evaluations we actually took two steps. First we evaluated the programs as teachers. We looked at their situation from the point of view of - would they be able to teach our students what we taught them. The next move I took was to in bring the programs into my adult learning classes. I had my grownup students use the programs at home for a period of time and then gave an introductory test to see what they had understood and retained.

The four programs we reviewed are as follows:

1st. Rocket French

2nd. Easy French Lessons

3rd. Lingo Basics

4th. Learn French Program

Buzz Hill - Professional Reviewer of online Products
Want more information learning to speak French go here: http://learnfrenchlanguagereviews.com/