languagetools
Language Tools
Language tools
Tip: Before buying a course or anything, be sure to check out Amazon or Google to see what other people are saying about it. Consider the good and bad points people have raised and whether they fit into your 'ideal' language course.
Jump to:
* SRS
Language courses
A good language course is the cornerstone of your language learning and so it's important to choose the best one possible.
If you're a beginner in your language always try to get a course with audio, as no pronunciation guide is an equal substitute for hearing the language.
- A mainly audio course
These are courses that teach you using mainly audio, whether in the form of drills or translation exercises. They are normally very user-friendly and easy-to-use, so are good for anyone who is learning a language by themselves for the first time.
They also build very good pronunciation skills and help a lot with speaking. However, if you are not an audio learner and find it difficult to learn from sound only you may find these courses counter-productive. It's normally a good idea to establish if you are an audio learner first, try listening to a sample lesson before you decide.
FSI, Pimsleur, Michel Thomas & DLI courses are all good examples of quality audio courses.
FSI & DLI language courses were developed by the United States government for training diplomats & military personnel. They are both based on the audio-lingual method, which utilises a lot of drills. A drill gives you a sample sentence and then instructions on how to change it slightly. A typical example might be:
Q- I am a teacher ... lawyer.
A- I am a lawyer.
The FSI & DLI language courses are very thorough, running into hundreds of hours to complete, and once you finish one course you should be able to converse at a basic level.
One flaw is that the material is quite old (40-50 years old) and the format can be off-putting to complete beginners. However, they are still some of the most comprehensive and effective courses available.
The Pimsleur courses are all audio and follow the typical format of introducing a dialogue, breaking it down, testing you extensively on the content and then playing the dialogue again for you to listen to.
Whenever they introduce a new vocabulary item they will test you several times in graduated stages; e.g. after 1 minute, then 10 minutes, then 30 minutes etc, to ensure that you remember everything.
Finishing 3 volumes of a Pimsleur course gives you good conversation skills at a basic/survival level, as the vocabulary taught is only small (500 words).
Pimsleur attracts criticism because only a small amount of vocabulary is taught and English is used a lot. However, for a beginner in a language, they are useful for building conversation skills and are also very user-friendly.
The Michel Thomas course are all-audio and teach mainly grammar rather than vocabulary. They teach you how to form your own sentences and give invaluable shortcuts for vocabulary and grammar rules.
One criticism is that they do not always use native speakers and don't teach many words. However, they are possibly the most user-friendly and painless courses available and are also invaluable for building speaking skills.
- Audio & Textbook course
This is one of the most common language courses and certainly one of the cheapest. The normal format for these is to introduce a dialogue, give you the vocabulary, explain the grammar and then give you exercises. They are based on the grammar-translation method and can be useful for experienced language learners.
Teach Yourself, Colloquial and Assimil are good examples of these.
Teach Yourself and Colloquial follow very similar formats so to get a good idea about which one is better try reading the reviews on Amazon.com.
Both popular and lesser studied languages are included and each language book is written by different authors, so there is normally a lot of variance in quality.
Assimil courses are very similar to graded readers. In each of the 100 lessons they include a dialogue or text with a translation on the other side, followed by a few translations and fill-the-gap exercises.
In the first 'passive' wave, you read the lessons passively, one a day, until lesson 50, when you enter the 'active' wave.
While passively reading lesson 51 you go back to lesson 1, and translate it into your target language. And you continue doing 2 lessons a day until you finish the end of the book.
Assimil is useful for a particular type of learner: one who enjoys reading and places more importance on passive skills, listening and reading than active skills.
The majority of the languages are available through French only. One way to get around this is to first do an Assimil French course in your native language. Then you will be well-equipped to do the course of your original target language in French, improving two languages as you go along.
Video reviews of self-study language courses can be found at Foreign Language Expertise.
Language classes
Language classes can be invaluable for complete beginners to a language, to gain a basic understanding of the grammar, its pronunciation, and have some practice speaking it.
They can also be a gateway to the wider community of learners and native speakers. You teacher may also have information about language exchange partners or other useful events (festivals etc).
To get the best out of language classes don't skip class. As most classes last 2 hours you will miss a lot of useful content and may be lost when you turn up next lesson.
Also, try speaking in the language you're learning as much as possible. It means more practice speaking and it's very easy to get feedback on anything you're not sure of. Don't be embarrassed!
You don't need to attend language classes to learn a language but they can help provide structure to a study routine. If you do decide to sign up for classes, supplement them with self-study. You'll progress at a much faster rate than just following classes on their own.
Language podcasts
Podcasts are fantastic for listening to while you're busy doing something else. For example, while exercising, doing housework, driving, or even working (in a job that relies on physical work, rather than your brain). To take full advantage of 'hidden moments' that you wouldn't use for study, you're going to need an mp3 player to listen on the move. But of course, you can always listen to podcasts from your computer as well.
Language podcasts work best as a supplement to a full course, to reinforce things you have already learnt. They can also help you get used to hearing the language and improve your vocabulary.
Each podcast uses a different methodology. Some use dialogues to teach vocabulary items and grammar (an example being Japanesepod101) and others teach with a teacher and a student who learns along with you (Coffee Break Spanish). Some combine different learning methods (for example Chinesepod). Whichever style you choose depends only on your preferences.
Most podcasts only run for a few lessons before being discontinued so check how many lessons are available on a podcast before you subscribe. Directories of podcasts can easily be found on Google and on the iTunes store.
Authentic materials
Of course, material designed for a learner will not bring you to fluency by itself. Native material - such as newspapers, TV shows, books etc in the target language - gets you using all the information you have learned.
You will pick up new words, new grammar, new expressions, slang, etc; constantly stretching your linguistic ability. Listening materials (films, radio etc) prepare you for talking with native speakers and reading materials help you with surfing the internet, writing letters and so on.
Intermediate level and above learners benefit the most from authentic materials, as they know enough grammar and vocabulary to pick up words from context, without constantly having to look up the most basic words.
Experienced language learners can sometimes pick up a language using only authentic materials and a dictionary, as they understand the general structure behind languages (e.g. tenses, particles, cases etc); but it's usually better for a new learner if they use instructional materials as well.
Try to build up a collection. If you have an interest or a hobby, find material on it in your target language. You'll find it much easier to watch a film or read a book if you're interested, than if you are doing it as a chore.
Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, it is much easier to find authentic material. Books, DVDs, games etc can be bought in online stores, and you can find many foreign videos, music, podcasts, news and blogs freely available on the internet.
SRS (Spaced Repetition System)
An SRS is basically an electronic flashcard program, that spaces the flashcards according to how well you know each one.
Most SRS use the Leitner System for spacing the flashcards. Instead of testing you on every single flashcard, it will test you first on the ones you don't know well, and test the cards you know very well at the end.
If you have lists of vocabulary that you need to memorize it's much more efficient to use an SRS than traditional methods. They can be invaluable for studying for tests, or for reviewing vocab from a textbook.
However, it's easy to get obsessed with reviewing cards, and cut-back on time studying or using authentic materials. It's better to use a combination of methods to remember vocab, i.e. reading native texts and looking out for newly learnt words, making your own sample sentences, reading the words out loud, acting out the words etc. If you find you are forgetting the words you're learning in SRS then it is more likely to be because you aren't using these words in context, i.e. seeing them in a book, using it conversation etc.
Some popular free SRS programs include:
jMemorize - No grading, easily categorise your cards, two sides, graph view
Mnemosyne - Grade your answers, three or two sided cards, categorise cards using activate/deactivate features
Anki - Grade your answers, three sided cards, online support, lots of support for Asian languages, lots of graphs, no categorising
Fool's Flashcard Review has a number of reviews for SRS programs including Anki, Mnemosyne, Ebbinghaus, Genius etc.
Online resources
Nowadays there is so much stuff available on the internet that you could learn a language without even spending a penny. Let's look at the different types of resources available and how to find the decent ones.
Courses - Many language websites will claim to be 'courses' when they are nothing more than a glorified list of vocab and grammar rules. Make sure that the course you are considering at least has exercises and audio (although this can be difficult for lesser studied language). Some of the most recent 'big' names for thorough and free courses include Livemocha (Rosetta Stone style) and FSI.
News and radio - If you are looking for authentic material in your language one of the most convenient is news sites.
BBC (32 languages), Deutsche Welle (30), NHK (17), RFI (19), CRI (44), Euronews (8), VOA news (45), RFA (10), KBS World (11) and SBS radio (68) all offer up-to-date news and radio segments in a huge array of languages. If you're interested, why not try keeping up to date with the news in the country where your target language is spoken?