Also, I am working on advanced tutorials for each of the languages for when we progress beyond first year study. Stay tuned!

While studying another language, you may come across words such as articles, tenses, moods, or aspects; these parts of language are not unique to English and they tend to work similarly in the romance languages. For example, English articles such as the and an work almost identically in French and Spanish, and being able to coherently communicate about the different parts of language allows you to converse clearly with other students of language. I find that as my knowledge of English grows, so too does my ability with other languages.

In short, it is important to understand your own language so that you can put clear names to concepts and separate them in your mind. When you begin to bridge concepts, such as definite articles in Spanish and English, you form connections that help your brain to realize that these are not truly different words, but different ways to convey the same concept. This realization helps to drive home fluency of another language and solidify it.

das Fenster, die Fenster

Today’s Learn German: Word Of The Day is:

das Fenster, die Fenster : window

Note: die Fenster is the plural form.
Follow along with this audio file:
Learn German - Word Of The Day - das Fenster, die Fenster

Credits:

• Kambrie Balser: images

le lapin

Today’s Learn French: Word Of The Day is:

le lapin : rabbit

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn French - Word Of The Day - le lapin

Credits:

• Kambrie Balser: images

french.about.com

One of my favorite resources for the French language is french.about.com. Complete with tutorials, audio, and useful tips, this site is great for any student of French. Though the layout is somewhat clumsy and it can be hard to navigate, there is a wealth of useful information to be found here. For a complete French education, it would be wise to check in now and then and make test your abilities against the mountains of vocabulary and on-site tests they provide. A must-have resource for any French student.

el río

Today’s Learn Spanish: Word Of The Day is:

el río : river

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn Spanish - Word Of The Day - el río

Credits:

• Kambrie Balser: images

A couple years ago, when I was visiting Paris with my mother and father, my mother and I wandered into one of the larger cemeteries in Paris (unfortunately, I cannot remember which) because she wanted to visit the grave of an author she remembered from her childhood. While I was proficient in the French language, I was not near fluent; when I asked for directions from a kind gentleman, I found that he spoke so quickly that I could not understand him! Luckily, I had learned to listen for context clues.

As the gentleman spoke I listened for words like, “right” and “left”, and I kept a good watch on his body language and hand gestures. Without these context clues, I would never have been able to navigate the cemetery (though, we still didn’t manage to locate the grave).

Most teachers of foreign language start out by teaching how to ask for directions, or perhaps asking questions about items in a store or things around the house. Though this is surely good practice, it is not preparation for actually being able to use the language in order to get around and actually converse with the native speakers.

One important thing to learn is that listening is important. Watch movies, listen to audio books, or even talk to fellow students in the language you’re learning; it is very important to actually listen. Teachers can teach you to speak well, but there is no sense in speaking if you cannot listen and understand the people you are speaking to.

As you browse the site, make sure to listen to audio I have provided; while I may not be a native speaker, I can give you an idea of what something should sound like. If you listen enough, then maybe you will be prepared when conversing with someone in another country.

der Berg

Today’s Learn German: Word Of The Day is:

der Berg : mountain

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn German - Word Of The Day - der Berg

Credits:

• Tri Le: images

http://dict.leo.org

LEO is one of my favorite resources for learning German. LEO is a German-English dictionary website that will help you not only by defining words but it also provides audio clips for most the words! Unfortunately, the audio can be pretty low quality, but any audio is better than nothing. I find myself constantly using LEO to double-check my pronunciation and spelling of words! It is a great complement to a real book, but I personally wouldn’t consider it to be a replacement.

la forêt

Today’s Learn French: Word Of The Day is:

la forêt : forest

Follow along with this audio file:
Learn French - Word Of The Day - la forêt

Credits:

• Kambrie Balser: images