Language-Learning Tips

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HOW TO LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

  • Study how a native person moves their mouth to make different sounds and imitate them.
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  • Exaggerate the sounds when you talk.
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  • Learn to think in the new language by associating new sounds and words with the idea or image of what it means.
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  • All languages belong to language families. If you learn a language from the same language family, look for similarities of vocabulary.
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  • Languages in the same family, located geographically near each another, will generally resemble each another more than languages geographically further away. Eg. In the Germanic family, Norwegian and Swedish are much closer than Norwegian and English.
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  • Memorise new words and try to make connections and word associations.
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  • Say the words out loud – make word cards with the foreign word on one side and the meaning on the back. Practice memorising them. Again, memorise using word association (anything to make you remember the word).
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  • Use language CDs – the more you hear the language, the more you can train your ear to the new sounds. The more you hear these new sounds, the sooner you can begin to dream in the new language.
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  • Use dialogues and language textbooks. Ask yourself simple questions and answer them.
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  • Use the language as much as possible – at foreign restaurants, with native speakers etc.
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  • See a movie in the language you are studying.
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  • Buy a foreign newspaper or magazine and read what interests you.
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  • Listen to foreign radio and songs.
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  • Buy children’s books in the foreign language – they are often easy to understand.
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  • Buy a traveller’s phrase book and practice the
  •  dialogue.
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  • Go to the foreign country for total immersion.
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  • Practice, practice, practice!

    • GRAMMAR TIPS FOR KIWIS/NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS

    Fewer & Less: Use 'fewer' with things that can be counted; Use 'less' for all other situations.
    Eg: Eat fewer cakes; Drink less alcohol
    BUT: Use 'less than' with a plural noun when it denotes a measure of time, amount or distance. Eg: Less than three weeks.

    Which & That: Use 'which' (surrounded by commas) if a group of words adds information; Use 'that' if it restricts. Eg: My house, which is brown, is near the park; The house that has a big dog.

    Who & Whom: Consider this sentence: To who/whom do I send this? Now remove the 'To who/whom', and rephrase the sentence to include 'he' or 'him'. Consider whether it sounds natural to say 'do I send this to he?' or 'do I send this to him?'. If it sounds better with 'he', you would use 'who'; if it sounds better with 'him', you would use 'whom'. In this example, you would use 'whom'. 'To whom do I send this'?

    More grammar tips coming soon...

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