» Click here for Accelerated Learning of Foreign Languages with Deep Trance Hypnosis
With my passion for learning foreign languages, you can imagine an assortment of books, audio tapes, CDs, computer programs and online courses I have accumulated and used. For the languages I have been learning over the years, I believe that I have more language learning programs than the National Library. The prices for different programs vary and each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so I wanted to review a few that I liked the most.
The Ideal Situation for Learning a Foreign Language
The ideal situation for learning a new language is living in a country where that language is spoken. Short of that, if you live in a multi-cultural community, you can spend some time mingling with people who are natives from the country where the language you're learning is spoken. Watching foreign language movies will by itself put you into a mild state of hypnosis. Even if in the beginning you can pick out only a few words, in time you will be able to pick out more and more words and phrases. Since movies engage your imagination and emotions, they will in a way help you to "borrow personal history" because you will have gone through experiences the actors are portraying vicariously. Your retention of what you learn will be much higher than if you were just to learn a language from the textbook.
Cool Addictions
» Rocket Spanish: The Ultimate Guide to Learning Spanish
» Rocket French: The Ultimate Guide to Learning French
» Rocket German - The Ultimate Guide to Learning German
These programs are available as instant downloads or as CDs. These are complete language programs and include tools for building your vocabulary (with images), grammar, playing games, culture notes.
» Click here to access immediately FREE 6-part mini course for Spanish.
» Click here to access immediately FREE 6-part mini course for French.
» Click here to access immediately FREE 6-part mini course for French.
Have fun with learning another language!
Pimsleur
Pimsleur programs are awesome for developing conversational proficiency. By the time you're done with these programs, you'll have no problem conversing with others because the whole program is designed to have you practice communicating.
Pimsleur programs are most suited for languages you consider difficult to learn as well as if you're a lazy learner. The learning process is effortless and you will be able to converse, however you will have to use other methods to expand your vocabulary as well as to master reading and writing abilities.
I feel particularly grateful for these programs because they have made learning Chinese languages, Mandarin and Cantonese, which I have considered challenging to learn on my own, an effortless and very enjoyable process.
Each Comprehensive level contains 30 half-hour lessons.
Rosetta Stone Programs
While Pimsleur programs are the greatest for helping you to develop ability to communicate in your new language, Rosetta Stone programs will help you tremendously to associate images with words and actions.
The two levels of each program contain: - 8,000 real-life color pictures and phrases spoken by native speakers - Curriculum with 12 activities in each of 210 lessons
These programs use total immersion and intuitive learning process. They also provide you with a series of tests, drills and exercises.
Foreign Language Institute
Foreign language Institute has excellent programs for learning foreign languages. What I particularly like about FSI programs are substitution exercises. You get to play around with the words you have learned in so many different variations that you are bound to remember what you learn.
Assimil
Assimil Programs are better known and more popular in Europe. They are designed to have you speaking in a very short time, by going over one lesson a day. Each language book has about 100 - 140 lessons and comes with 4 CDs, which contain only the material in a foreign language.
Living Language
I like Living Language sets. They are very reasonably priced and come in two levels - Basic and Advanced. Each level comes with a solid book and 8 CDs - 4 CDs you listen to while you go through the book and the other 4 ("on the go") you listen while you're driving in your car. The books cover many different topics, cultural notes and grammar.
Penton Overseas - VocabuLearn, Learn in Your Car Series
Penton has a selection of foreign language learning programs and my favorite are sets which come as 24 CDs and contain VocabuLearn, Learn in Your Car and Immersion Plus CDs. VocabuLearn CDs contain only vocabulary - divided in nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The three levels will teach you 7,500 words and expressions. Learn in Your Car CDs teach you language progressively, beginning with few words and simple phrases and progressing to more complex sentences and grammar. Immersion Plus is in a way continuation of Learn in your Car series and contains a variety of situational dialogues. Even though you can use this program entirely while driving in your car - it comes with booklets which contain all the information on CDs in a written format.
Transparent Language
Transparent Language programs come as a software which you use on your computer. The main benefit of this type of programs is that you get to record your pronunciation and it gives you some measurable way to figure out how well are your pronouncing your words and whether you'll be understood when you speak. Program for each language comes in three levels on one CD. The first level consists of 100 basic expressions, the second level consists of intermediate conversations and the third level is supposed to be an advanced discussion. While this is a useful tool, I have found it to be too slim in the area of topics it covers.
Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas' CDs (there are only 8 CDs in Deluxe version of his programs) are somewhat similar in format to Pimsleur. There is no written material and you only listen to audio. The somewhat annoying side of his program is that while he is teaching the language, you get to listen to two people who are just learning how to pronounce the words (I'm not sure if that is supposed to make you feel better about your pronunciation or to encourage you since you get this urge to keep on repeating the words as if you're going to help those two students on the CD). The wonderful side about his CDs is that he is giving you numerous shortcuts - associations to the words you know in English and grammatical rules which will help you to learn hundreds of words in no time. The truth is - yes, that is the way for rapidly learning languages and amassing sizeable vocabulary.
Few Online Resources
I have signed up for numerous Online Language Learning programs and here are few that I truly enjoyed and am still using:
For Chinese
Chinese Horizon has online multimedia with flash and it is the first online Chinese (Mandarin) Learning program that I truly found useful. It covers variety of topics and you learn both how to speak and how to read Chinese. You can also try a number of free lessons.
For Japanese
This is a cool place to learn Japanese. You learn from videos and you can go and download some free samples. You also learn how to write in Japanese.
For German
Excellent, informative and entertaining free German language lessons (130 lessons) for learning beginner, intermediate and business German for native speakers of English, French, Spanish and other languages. The website also has live radio and TV broadcasts and daily news in different languages.
A video instructional series in German for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 48 fifteen-minute video programs available as free downloads.
For French
A video instructional series in French; 52 half-hour video programs available as free downloads.
For Spanish
A video instructional series in Spanish for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 52 half-hour video programs, available as free downloads.
For Hindi
» Devanagari - Hindi Script Tutor
Great online program for learning to write Devanagari script.
» A Door to Hindi - 24 online lessons
Lessons cover video clips, writing Hindi and grammar.