A collection of language learning articles, software and websites that I’ve tweeted/retweeted/discovered on Twitter over the past few months for those who don’t use that site: Popling. Hack your Brain. Learning, Without Studying. A website + desktop app for people who want to learn, but lack motivation. Lingoversity Learn languages with your vocabulary trainer. Rhinospike: [...]
Full Story »Review of Some Language Learning Communities: Busuu, Livemocha, LingQ, and Hello-Hello
Lately I’ve been using several language learning communities online to see what they offer and how expensive their pay materials are. Personally, I was most interested in finding sites that offered free audio flashcards for learning vocabulary (preferably with pictures) and less so in finding a teacher or language exchange partner. I just wanted to [...]
Full Story »Eavesdropping on the French [New MP3]
I’ve finally uploaded another French Listening mp3 and this one is a little different from the others. First of all, it is much harder to understand because I was basically eavesdropping on random conversations. It starts out with Mamie working on a crossword puzzle, then Parrain talking about winning the lottery and retiring, then Patricia [...]
Full Story »Informal French Vocabulary: Common Expressions (New Video)
New video on informal French: Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel!
Full Story »Why French is Hard to Understand, Reason 17 of 428: Fake English Words
The real reason why French is hard to understand for English-speakers is the numerous liaisons (that I mentioned recently) and lack of junctures between words. English tends to pause more often between words and exhibit open juncture, while French pauses between phrases and links sounds between certain word boundaries so that determining individual words is [...]
Full Story »A Frequency Dictionary of French
A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core Vocabulary for Learners I just learned about this book today and I really wish I could go to a bookstore or library and look at it. Amazon’s Look Inside feature only includes the introduction and none of the actual content but Routledge’s site offers a few sample pages to [...]
Full Story »Introducing: French Language Tutorial E-Book and Paperback Book
As of today, the French Language Tutorial is available for purchase as an e-book (PDF format) or as a coil-bound paperback book (8.5″ x 11″). It contains all of the original French tutorials (French 1-7) and French Phonetics, plus I included IPA transcriptions for most of the vocabulary lists and for all of the verb [...]
Full Story »Online Language Learning Communities
I’ve decided I’m going to try out the free features of the online language learning communities, and report back with my findings (as well as prices for the pay features). But the first challenge is just finding all of the language communities. These are the ones that I plan on reviewing. Can anyone add others [...]
Full Story »I Love Multilingual Lists of Vocabulary and Verbs
For those who also love multilingual vocabulary lists or verb conjugations, I’ve updated the Romance and Germanic lists so they fit better on the screen. Each vocabulary category or verb now has its own page so they won’t take forever to load. The Romance languages include French, Italian, Spanish and some Portuguese for the vocabulary [...]
Full Story »French Listening Resources: Weekly Updates to Podcast
I’ve just uploaded the latest mp3 to the French Listening Resources podcast, so it will be available for download soon through iTunes or immediately through the site. I’m going to try to update every weekend and also provide the transcript right away (in text format and as a new page so you can listen and [...]
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