#foreign langauges

[nowthisnews]

Texas candidate Sri Kulkarni, who hopes to flip a GOP congressional seat, is campaigning in 21 languages

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[foowitch]

When your...

When your native language is not English but still in real world you give reaction as English 

[studentaesthetics]

This is my first master-post so I’m sorry if it sucks (I know the header does), but I hope it helps at least someone.

Step 1: choosing a language

Before you actually start studying a foreign language, you actually have to pick a language that you are somewhat interested in and are willing to commit to. Here are some things to consider:

Do you have any experience with the language at all? It’s absolutely fine if you don’t because after all, the goal is to learn a foreign language. If you have briefly learnt anything about the language in question at all, even if it is just one phrase, chances are that because it is not completely new, you will find it slightly easier.

How much time are you willing to dedicate? I don’t know how schools work in different places of the world, but at mine, it was compulsory to take up a foreign language in secondary school. This can get quite hectic as obviously, there are other classes you have to focus on as well, so if you think you want to spend as little time as possible on the language, it would be safest to chose a language which comes from the same origins as your first language. If you want to give yourself a challenge however, choose the language which is the most different to your first language, but remember it will require more time and dedication.

Step 2: approaching a new language

If you’re studying a language for school:

Before starting each outlined section in the textbook, read through/search for some keywords relating to that section

Ask your teacher any questions/doubts/curiosities you have about the language, even if it not relevant to your final. If you’re putting the effort in to learn a language, you might as well do it properly and not just to pass a class.

When in class, try to speak in the language you’re trying to learn at all times. I know it might be difficult, but it will help you learn the vocabulary you would truly use in real life conversations.

Some of the topics outlined in foreign language textbooks see a bit pointless. To make sure they are not, try to think of scenarios where you could use the words and try to incorporate them into a conversation, even if you are talking to yourself.

Even though the best way to learn grammar is by actually speaking the language, if you have test/quiz/assignment coming up that focuses solely on grammar, try to just write sentences using basic grammar principles and get either your teacher or a native speaker to check them (sites to get hold of a native speaker listed below).

General tips:

Practice makes perfect! Try to speak in the language as much as you can, and don’t worry too much about grammar. As you speak, you will start developing an instinct where you will sort of be able to detect whether what you’re saying sounds right or not. 

Listen to the language to perfect pronunciation. Not only will listening to music/watching TV or YouTube/listening to the radio/listening to pod-casts help you develop that instinct so you can have an idea of what sounds right and what doesn’t, but it will also help you  learn how to pronounce words properly and perhaps even teach you new, more modern words which are used in everyday speech.

Step 3: Finding Resources

Below, I have listed some sites and apps which can help you learn a new language (some of them allow you to interact with native speakers):

My Languages

 BBC Language

How to Learn Any Language

Effective Language Learning

Conjuguemos

The Polyglot Project

 Linguanaut

 duolingo

memrise

  interpals

 polyglotclub

 sharedtalk

 couchsurfing

babbel

[languageek]

Languageek's Film Favorites ft. More Language Geeks

A Beautiful Life / 不再让你孤单 (2011) - Mandarin 

Central Station / Central do Brasil (1998) - Brazilian Portuguese 

El Cielo en Tu Mirada (2012) - Spanish (Mexico) 

Under the Same Moon / La Misma Luna (2007) - Spanish (Mexico) 

Carol's Journey / El Viaje de Carol (2002) - Spanish (Spain) 

Possible Loves / Amores Possíveis (2001) - Brazilian Portuguese

Behind the Sun / Abril Despedaçado (2001) - Brazilian Portuguese

Ghost / ゴースト もういちど抱きしめたい (2010) - Japanese 

Time Traveller: The Girl who Leapt Through Time / 時をかける少女 (2010) - Japanese

Puzzled Love (2010) - Spanish (Spain) 

Before the World Ends / Antes Que o Mundo Acabe (2009) - Brazilian Portuguese 

Instructions not Included / No se Aceptan Devoluciones (2013) - Spanish (Mexico) 

Miyazaki Films: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, Arriety, etc. Watch it in Japanese! 

From the Languageekies: 

The Necessities of Life / Ce Qu'il Faut Pour Vivre (2008) - French, Inuktitut

The Return / Возвращение (2003) - Russian

Burnt by the Sun / Утомлённые солнцем (1994) - Russian 

Sex of the Angels / El Sexo de Los Angeles (2012) - Spanish (Spain), Catalan (nsfw) 

Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) - German 

Blue is the Warmest Color / La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2 (2013) - French (nsfw)

The Intouchables / Intouchables (2011) - French 

I Killed my Mother / J'ai tué ma mère (2009) - French (Canada) 

Micmacs / MicMacs à tire-larigot (2009) - French 

Before the Fall / Napola - Elite für den Führer (2004) - German 

Run Lola Run / Lola rennt (1998) - German 

Men in the City / Männerherzen (2009) - German 

Men in the City 2 / Mânnerherzen, und die ganz ganz große Liebe (2011) - German 

Amélie / Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001) - French

Life is Beautiful / La Vita è Bella (1997) - Italian 

City of God / Cidade de Deus (2002) - Brazilian Portuguese 

City of Men / Cidade de Homens (2007) - Brazilian Portuguese 

Seven Samurai / 七人の侍 (1954) - Japanese 

Departures / おくりびと (2008) - Japanese

Elena / Елена (2011) - Russian 

The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy your Bath! / Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром! (1976) - Russian

Hipsters / Стиляги (2008) - Russian 

One Night / Una Noche (2012) - Spanish (Cuba) 

The Sea Inside / Mar adentro (2004) - Spanish (Spain) 

Chico and Rita / Chico & Rita (2010) - Spanish

Valentín (2002) - Spanish (Argentina) 

Brother / Hermano (2010) - Spanish (Venezuela) 

Beautiful / Biutiful (2010) - Spanish 

The Fish Child / El Niño Pez (2009) - Spanish (Argentina) 

Live-In Maid / Cama Adentro (2004) - Spanish (Argentina) 

The Official Story / La Historia Oficial (1985) - Spanish (Argentina) 

Entre Nos (2009) - Spanish

Volver (2006) - Spanish (Spain) 

Together Forever / Juntos Para Siempre (2010) - Spanish (Argentina) 

200 Pounds Beauty / 미녀는 괴로워 (2006) - Korean 

Silenced / 도가니 (2011) - Korean 

Marathon / 말아톤 (2005) - Korean 

Norwegian Wood / ノルウェイの森 (2010) - Japanese 

Nobody Knows / 誰も知らない (2004) - Japanese 

Haute Cuisine (2012) - French 

The Women on the 6th Floor / Les Femmes du 6ème étage (2010) - French

Thank you to everyone who contributed! I hope you guys find this useful. Sorry the list is limited to only so many languages; I'm limited to what I study because I'm mainly interested in listening to those languages, and I'm sure the same goes to the people who contributed. If you have any films to add, send me a message and if I get enough, I will make a second version :) 

[viperslang]

objet trouvé { french } : a discarded object found by chance that has a certain beauty to it. lost & found. 

philocaly : the love of beauty 

baisemain { french } : a kiss on the hand 

sabaism : the worship of stars 

antiscians : people who live on opposite sides of the world. literally " whose shadows at noon are cast in opposite directions" 

rasavada : the taste of bliss in the absence of though

a doleur exquise { french } : the heart wrenching pain of wanting the affection of someone unattainable. 

kef { arabic } : drowsy contentment