Online Language Review

Check Out Some of These Language Programs

2009-10-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

For your convenience I have selected a few links to post on this page. I hope you find them useful.

Rocket Languages program seems to be "popping up" everywhere. So, I thought it fitting to put their link first. Click Here!

Who wouldn't want to learn the language of their choice quickly?! Learn to speak ANY language in just a few days!! Click Here!

Although this link is not to a language program, it's information is invaluable! It shows you the techniques to make the most of your studies. Click Here!

If you would like to travel and try out your new language skills stop by this travel site! Click Here!

How to Learn a Foreign Language in One Hour

2009-10-21T23:50:00.001-07:00

By Larry M. Lynch

In his article entitled, "How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in One Hour", author Tim Ferris details his techniques or what he calls "deconstructing" a foreign language. His argument is that by deconstructing the language's main elements such as alphabet, key grammatical structures, rules of pronunciation and sentence structure, you can gain a basic understanding of just how it functions. That way you can relatively easily determine if you will be able to pursue fluency in communicating in that language within a reasonable amount of time.

How to Learn Any Foreign Language

His general belief system is similar to my own in that I state in my foreign language learning techniques book entitled, "You Can Learn A Foreign Language: Tested Techniques Anyone Can Use" that if a language is similar in grammar and structure or pronunciation to your own first language (L1), then it should be fairly easy to acquire using English, for instance, as a point of reference. An example would be a native Spanish speaker learning Italian, Portuguese or even French. These are all in the same linguistic family.

On the contrary, if the language that you are considering is vastly different in structure, grammar or pronunciation to your own, then you will likely tend to have increased difficulty in learning it. That is not to say that you cannot learn a foreign language radically different from your own, but simply that learning it will have greatly increased difficulty for you in comparison to one in your first language's family group.

Linguistics and Families

Languages, like people, come in families. In my book, I go into detail about linguistic families and which ones are grouped together. English, for example, is in the same linguistic family as German - not French and Spanish as many language learners initially believe. While there are a substantial number of true word cognates between these three - English, Spanish and French, which often can help considerably with communications, there is a distinct "caveat". What is it, exactly? It is the presence of a considerable number of false cognates. That is to say, words which look and are spelled in similar manner but have very different meanings in the two languages.

In the next and final part of this article, we'll consider anomalies in spoken Chinese. Also, we'll review how to look at foreign language learning "as a sport". See you then.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, prolific writer, expert author and public speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 120 countries. Get your FREE E-book, "If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" and English language teaching and learning information at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Contact the author at the above blog address for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_M._Lynch

How to Learn a Foreign Language in One Hour - Part 2

2009-10-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

By Larry M. Lynch

Foreign Language Learning

In the first part of this article post, we briefly looked at the general belief system for learning a foreign language as opinioned by noted author Tim Ferris as compared to my key considerations. Here in the final, part 2 of this article, we will continue by examining anomalies in the Chinese language which add to its already inherent difficulty in learning it as a foreign language.

An Anomaly of the Chinese Language

But being in the same language family can also have its problems and idiosyncrasies for unwary foreign language learners. Chinese is a good example of this. Although there are nine major "dialects" of Chinese, most of them are virtually unintelligible to speakers of the other Chinese dialects or variants. Speakers of Cantonese cannot "talk" directly to speakers of Mandarin, although they can read the written form of Mandarin since most of the dialects in Chinese have the same written form! They can easily read and understand each other's writing, but cannot speak to one another.

Treat Language as a Sport

Author Ferris advises would-be foreign language learners to "treat language learning as a sport". Learn the rules of the language first to determine if you'll be able to manage it, before investing any substantial amount of time in trying to learn a foreign language which may be somewhat "out of reach" or at the very minimum, a "broad stretch" for you to acquire up to even a mediocre level. His clearly laid out and well-defined points are well taken in my opinion.

Learn a Foreign Language in One Hour

Can you learn a foreign language in one hour? Normally, most certainly not. But you could do enough deconstruction of a foreign language in one hour, more or less, to determine how well or how difficult it would potentially be for you to learn that foreign language. This could definitely go a long way in helping to avoid the disappointments and frustrations of trying to learn a foreign language that was too far out of your league for easy acquisition. And that my dear potential foreign language learner, is certainly something well worth considering.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, prolific writer, expert author and public speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 120 countries. Get your FREE E-book, "If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" and English language teaching and learning information at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com/ Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Contact the author at the above blog address for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_M._Lynch

Exercise Your Brain by Learning a New Language

2009-10-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

By Kelly Winter

It is no mystery that the secret to preventing memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's disease is to ensure your brain stays active throughout your life. Largely fueled by the concerns and fears of the aging baby boomers, there is a thriving business surrounding this topic and you can now find numerous books, articles, games, courses, websites and other products dedicated to helping you maintain a healthy and properly functioning brain.

Luckily, this is not all just hype and there has been extensive scientific research surrounding this topic. A quick internet search will fetch you volumes of information on related studies so I won't go into technical detail here except to summarize that findings show that when the brain is stimulated to produce new neural pathways (connections between brain cells) on a continuous basis, throughout your life, the brain will continue to grow and improve.

Neurologists have reported that by spending only 20 minutes, 3 times a week, practicing mental exercises you can reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer's disease by 70%. And so, what is an effective brain exercise? It has been discovered that for a brain exercise to be beneficial it needs to meet three criteria; one, it needs to engage your attention, two, it must involve more than one of the senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste), and three, it must break a routine activity in an unexpected, nontrivial way.

Learning a new language is recognized as being a highly effective brain exercise because it strongly meets and even exceeds all three of these criteria.

One, you must focus intently to make progress in your lessons thus making your brain work strenuously. You have to listen to a word or phrase, repeat back the word or phrase and at the same time your mind has to translate the meaning of words from and to your native language. Add memorization, listening, reading and writing to the list and your brain will feel the workout.

Two, you must use sight, sound and speech to properly speak and understand a new language. Although speech is not one of the five senses, it does require the brain to interpret and organize the information from the other senses and to formulate a response using motor-skills thereby exceeding criteria number two.

Three, If you only speak one language than it is probably safe to assume that learning a new language would not be a routine activity for you. Even if you already speak multiple languages, each new language brings new concepts and challenges to the brain.

Besides the obvious benefit of brain longevity, learning a new language will provide other benefits such as confidence when travelling to the country where your new language is spoken and perhaps it could even open doors for certain careers.

There are many ways to learn a new language ranging from formal classroom style courses to self-paced video, audio or online computer courses. My personal preference is online computer courses mainly because when cleverly designed, they are highly interactive, entertaining and transportable (that is if you have a laptop or access to multiple computers). A well designed computer based language courses will offer a variety of learning techniques such as audio, video, text, games and quizzes providing an even greater opportunity to flex your brain muscles.

Kelly Winter is just one of the many baby boomers concerned with keeping healthy, active and alert as she enjoys the next phase of her life. She enjoys travelling the world and has had great fun and success learning to speak Spanish with the rocket language program which offers all the benefits mentioned in her article. Check it out at http://www.rocketlanguages.ca and start to challenge your brain now.

[1] Alzheimer's Research & Prevention Foundation

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Winter

How to Find the Right Word to Use

2009-10-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Sayles

The problem with looking for language translations online is the way most websites translate languages. You enter a word into a search box, and every possible translation, or possible similar word will flash infront of your eyes.

As an example, have you ever tried translating something as simple as car? Of course, the language you are trying to translate into will depend on the translations you get, but if you chose Italian, you might achieve the following:- macchina, automobile, auto, tram, vagone, carroza, carro and a few more.

Which is the right one? If you wanted to translate car into Bisaya, one of the Philippine languages you would get awto. However awto would represent all of the different types of car you can have. Convertibles, people carriers, estate cars. There is no real definition.

The main method for finding the translations I use is as follows, if I need to translate a word, I`ll think of similar words. If I wanted to translate lemon tree, and I already knew the translation for tree I would include that in a search on Google. In Spanish it would be "lemon tree árbol" This way I wouldn't be using a language website, but the power of Google to locate articles and websites that might list language translations as word lists.

For singular word and singular phrase translations, this is the master method you can use. If you want to translate a bunch of words related to one specific field, like drinks, you can also use the same method, just increase the amount of words in the search, and include some of those words in the language you already know.

Try this Google search for a list of drinks in the dutch language.

The other method of translating words which are quite rare is to use Wikipedia. Type your word in your language, and if you find an article page, search on the left side for a language link to the language you wish to translate too. For wildlife and nature, Wikipedia is a very useful resource.

Another way of translating the right word is to find someone else that has done all of the hard word already. Categorizing each word into the right places, and translating compound forms and phrases. This is what I`ve been doing for the past three years on my website http://www.jonsay.co.uk/. I used the above methods in the construction of my website, and without them, there is no way I could have done so much work. So far I have categorized a few thousand words in each of the following languages:- bisaya, chinese, dutch, italian, indonesian, japanese, spanish and tagalog, and with german almost ready to go live.

A final tip, get a friend from the country you wish to learn the language for! I did, and they have all been an excellent source of information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Sayles

How to Pass Your Foreign Language Class

2008-10-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Whether you are a student in high school, college, language class or just studing on your own, I thought these were some very good tips to help you in your quest to learn!

By Tom Tessin

Are you currently taking a foreign language class in college? If you aren't yet you most likely will need to take a few foreign language classes to get your major in college. There are many general education classes that are needed when in college, and foreign language is one of them. Foreign languages can be very difficult for some people to learn. When in college, it is even harder to learn a language because you learn the language at such a fast pace. Read below for some tips on how to pass your college foreign language class.

Professor - Your professors are supposed to be your friends so make sure you can ask them questions. If ever you have a question be sure to always ask until you understand. Whether you ask in class, or after class be sure you find out the answers.

Be there - College is expensive and if you don't show up you're going to only be wasting money. You want to make sure you go to every class when you have a foreign language. If you miss one day you will most likely be missing out on a lot. It's like math you have to learn the basics before you can go any further.

Textbook - Any kind of book in college costs an arm and a leg these days so you want to make sure you read it. Go through the textbook and go page by page and chapter by chapter. If you keep up with reading the textbook you will go much further than you think.

Sounds - You want to make sure you get a feel for the sounds. When learning a foreign language we often get confused at first with the different sounds. Try to pick them up and speak with the accents. It will take some time but it will flow much nicer and make you feel a whole lot better.

Verbs - To create good sentences in a foreign language you need to make yourself aware of a lot of verbs. Take a few days a week and just study verbs for 20 minutes each time. The more verbs you know the better your speaking will get.

Tenses - Be sure that you familiarize all the tenses. You want to make sure you know the past, present and future tense. If you don't learn these properly your sentences won't make sense. Once you get the feel for the tenses you will be on a roll.

Conjunctions - Learn all the conjunctions of the foreign language. Be sure you understand the subordinating, coordinating, and verb conjunctions. Once you know these a foreign language will make much more sense to you.

There is a lot to know about learning a foreign language. The most important thing is to have patience, have fun with it and have motivation. Foreign languages can be very frustrating but once you get the gist of it you'll be glad you took the time to learn it.

Find articles like these and more of Tom's work all on his student blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Tessin

Swedish Language - An Overview From A Translation Agency

2008-10-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

By Ioana Mihailas

A descendant of Old Norse, Swedish belongs to the East Scandinavian group of languages, a subdivision of the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages.

Swedish is mutually intelligible with Danish (also a member of the East Scandinavian language group) and Norwegian (which belongs to the western Scandinavian language group). It is spoken by approximately nine million people worldwide, most of whom reside in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Estonia. Sweden is an official language in Sweden and Finland, as well as in a small region of Estonia – Noarootsi.

Chronologically speaking, we can distinguish three periods in the evolution of Swedish language: Old Swedish, New Swedish and Modern Swedish.

- The first refers to the language spoken on the Swedish territory in the Middle Ages. The most relevant sample of this language was found in a law code, Västgötalagen, written around 1250.

- Gustav Vasa's Bible is one of the first documents written in New (literary) Swedish and dates back to the 16th century.

- Since then Swedish language has gone through various changes and, under the influence of writers and intellectuals, as well as due to the industrial development and internationalization, it has developed into becoming Modern Swedish, the language spoken by the Swedes today.

“Rikssvenska” (or Standard Swedish), is the official language of Sweden. It is used in media, officialdom and administration and it was created in accordance with the dialects spoken around Stockholm.

Swedish uses a 29 letters alphabet, 26 of Latin origin and three specific letters: ö, ä, å.

Its vocabulary is predominantly of Germanic origin. Borrowings from German and English are quite common together with many French words that became part of the language in the 18th century.

Both Swedish syntax and morphology resemble the ones of the other Germanic languages. Swedish verbs fall into five conjugations; the nouns are divided into five declensions and are inflected according to number, case and definiteness; the adjectives agree with the nouns and pronouns; the number words are cardinals and ordinals etc.

Although apparently a difficult language, Swedish may prove easy to learn for a person who speaks a language of Germanic origin and it is sure to create no problems for someone speaking another Scandinavian language.

Swedish is a working language of the Nordic Council and one of the official languages of the European Union.

Considered one of the countries with the highest living standard, Sweden is famous for its worldwide appreciated industry represented by companies like Volvo, IKEA, Tetra Pak etc.

Ioana Mihailas is a linguist for Lingo24 document translation companies, a top provider of technical translation services in London.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ioana_Mihailas

Björn Engdahl's Swedish Course

2008-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Pronunciation guide to the Swedish language

As I said, the most difficult thing to start with, is the pronunciation. Therefore, you don't have to memorize all this at the beginning. You could just skim through it so as to get a rough idea of the basics. And then, as you expand your knowledge in Swedish, you could go back and try to make your pronunciation more Swedish. What you especially should look at is the tone and stress chapter and the phonems printed in bold.

The Swedish language has got two kinds of phonetical accents - the acute and the grave accents. The acute accent is the same as in many other languages. The tone is falling as in the English word speaker. This accent is employed in words of one syllable and in a few words of two or more syllables.

The grave accent is the one characteristic for the Swedish language, and it occurs in most words of more than one syllable. Here, the tone is falling too, on the first syllable, but the second syllable starts on a higher pitch than does the first, and a strong stress occurs. Most Swedish polysyllabic words have the main stress on the first syllable and the grave accent on one of the following syllables.

I will mark polysyllabic words employing the acute accent with an apostrophe (') behind the stressed syllable.

('segel = sail, the noun)Words using the grave accent are marked with a star (*) on the main stress syllable, and if needed, an apostrophe behind the syllable with the higher pitch

The following curve illustrates the pitch of the grave accent with the Swedish word *tala = to speak.

Here are some a couple of endings, all of which use the acute accent, stressed on the last syllable. It's not important that you memorize these endings at the beginning. Just learn to recognize them as you come across them.

-ang, -ant, -at, -ent, -eri, -ess, -ion, -ism, -ist, -log, -nom, -tris, -ur, -ör, -ös

Vowels: (all comparisons to English refer to the British pronunciation)

a [a:] as in father - ta = to take[a] as the the o in brother - katt = cat

o [o:] o exact English counterpart, but somewhat like the u in German rufen - ko = cow[o] like German u in und - hon = she

u [u:] no English counterpart, tongue position as for y but lips even more rounded - hus = house[u] somewhat like English er in letter, but lips rounded - brunn = a well

å [å:] similar to English saw - båt = boat[å] almost like English song - sång = song

e [e:] like the first part of the English here - se = to see[e] like English net - fett = fat

i [i:] similar to English ee in see, mouth more straightened - fil = file[i] almost like i in did - in = in

y [y:] similar to French rue and German müde, but lips more rounded and protruded - sy = to sew[y] the same but shorter, somewhat like German müssen and French lu - sytt = sewn

ä [ä:] before r similar to the first part of English hair - där = there. Else less open like French chaise - träd = tree[ä] before r like a in English carry - stjärt = bottom. Else like [e] - lätt = easy

ö [ö:] before r almost like i in bird - för = for. Else similar to French deux - söt = pretty[ö] before r like [ö:] befor r but shorter - dörr = door. Else like [ö:] but shorter - röst = voice

Consonants (I only write those whose pronunciation differs from the same letter in English)

d [d] as in English but put your tongue against the upper part of your teeth.

g [g] as in great when preceeding a,o,u,å or unstressed e[j] as English y in yes before e,i,y,ä,ö and after l and r

j [j] as y in English yes

k [k] as in English k before a,o,u and å[k] Somewhat like the ch in choose without the initial t-sound, or similar to German Ich

l [l] almost like English l, but with your tongue more to the front in your mouth

q [k] as English k

r [r] a roled r

t [t] similar to English t but with your tongue against the back of your teeth

w [v] as English v

x [ks] never [gz] as in English example, always [ks]

z, s [s] as English voiceless s

Certain combinations:

[s] ch, sk (before e,i,y,ä,ö), sj, schsi and ti (before -on), skj, stj, -ge and rs

Either you could pronounce it as sh in shall, but you could also use another sound similar to German ch in nach but softer.

[j] gj, lj, hj as y in English yes

[k] tj, ch (sometimes) see k above

[g] ng as in English sing

[gn] gn as it says

[gk] nk as it says

[k] ck as ck in English sick

[n] rn as n but with the tongue slightly further back in the mouth

[t] rt as t but with the tongue slightly further back in the mouth

Learn Swedish With the Course Used to Teach Diplomats!

2008-10-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

Foreign Service Swedish is for those that want to learn conversational Swedish fast. Developed by the U.S. State department and used by government agencies for the last 40 years, you too can learn Swedish quickly. With an easy to use, sensible, and efficient format, you will see why this course has been used by the Foreign Service for decades. Foreign Service Swedish is so effective you have nothing to lose!

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Building Blocks That Last a Lifetime

Little kids don't learn to speak a language by burying their nose in a book and neither will you. Drills, rules, and random lists of words rarely work for all but the most dedicated of students. Instead, Foreign Service Swedish immerses you in conversational Swedish from the first lesson, so you learn by doing. Studies show retention rates are far higher when you experience using a new skill rather than just reading or listening about it. Foreign Service Swedish provides the structure you need to make this happen fast.

Mirror, Mirror

Foreign Service Swedish immerses you in the sounds of Swedish right from the beginning. You need to learn to hear the similarities in sounds between English and Swedish before you even begin to learn new words. Foreign Service Swedish's Mirroring approach does just that. By revealing to you the sound and structure of Swedish first, you'll come to recognize words in conversation almost immediately after you've completed your first lesson. With a solid foundation, your Swedish skills will expand at a rate you hadn't imagined was possible!

This Isn't Your High School Language Class

Learning Swedish should be fun. Grammar drills? Not around here. Foreign Service Swedish doesn't quiz you on nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Such an approach is bound to fail given how boring it is. Instead, Foreign Service Swedish takes a much more subtle approach to revealing the structure of the Swedish language as you listen and practice speaking. Foreign Service Swedish gives you the tools you need to start forming your own Swedish sentences from the very beginning!

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Watch The Video To Learn More

How to Pronounce Polish Words Part 1

2008-10-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

By Martin Cheslak

The Polish language is often considered one of the most difficult for non-native speakers to learn, and one of the reasons cited is the difficulty foreigners have in pronouncing Polish words and phrases.

However, this shouldn't have to be so. Polish is, after all, a very phonetic language, and almost every single word is pronounced exactly as it is written (there are a few exceptions, but not many).

The Polish alphabet is very similar to the English one, with only some extra accent marks and unique letters. However, some of the letters which are the same in both Polish and English are pronounced differently, and this can lead to confusion among English speakers learning Polish.

The 32 letters of the Polish alphabet, with both upper and lower case, are: Aa, Ąą, Bb, Cc, Ćć, Dd, Ee, Ęę, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Łł, Mm, Nn, Ńń, Oo, Óó, Pp, Rr, Ss, Śś, Tt, Uu, Ww, Yy, Żż, Źź, Zz. Notice that Qq, Vv, and Xx are not present in the Polish alphabet (more information about this in the second part of the article).

There are quite a few more vowels in the Polish language than in English. The Polish vowels are: a, ą, e, ę, i, o, ó, u, y. There are also several digraphs (two or more letters pronounced as one sound) in Polish, some of which have very unique pronunciation.

Once you learn how to pronounce the 32 letters of the alphabet and the digraphs above, reading Polish will become very simple and straightforward (understanding what you're reading may take some more work, however). For the sake of simplicity, I've presented a table below with an explanation of all the letters and digraphs and their pronunciation.

A a The Polish "a" is a lot softer than the English "a" sound, and sounds a little higher than the "ahhh" sound you make at the doctor's office (there is no corresponding English sound; you should listen to a Polish speaker to learn it correctly) Ą ą Sounds like the American English "ow" in the word "own" with a deep French accent (again, this is a uniquely Polish sound) B b Pronounced exactly like the English "b" C c Pronounced as the "ts" sound in English Ć ć This letter is pronounced as the "ch" in the word "cheese". Beware: people will tell you that "ć" and "cz" are pronounced the same; any native speaker will tell you this is not true! D d Pronounced just like the English "d" E e Pronounced just like the American English "e" in the word "let" Ę ę This sound is absolutely impossible for a foreigner to comprehend unless they hear it in person... it starts like the English "eh" and ends with an "wwww" sound with a thick French accent (please ask a Polish speaker to pronounce it for you to learn it correctly) F f Pronounced just like the English "f" G g Pronounced like the English "g" in the word "green" H h Pronounced like the "h" in "hello" I i Pronounced exactly like the American English "ee" in "bee" J j Pronounced like the "y" in "yesterday" K k Pronounced exactly like the English "k" L l Pronounced just like the English "l" Ł ł Pronounced exactly like the "w" in English M m Pronounced just like the English "m" N n Pronounced just like the English "n" Ń ń Pronounced like an English "n" but with the mouth spread wider apart (like the Spanish letter "ñ") O o Pronounced like the American English "o" in the word "more" Óó Pronounced as "oo" like in the American English "cool" P p Pronounced exactly like the English "p" R r Is pronounced with a roll of the tongue and lips in a circle, sounding like an engine running... "rrrrr" (much like the Spanish "r") S s Pronounced just like the English "s" Ś ś Pronounced like the American English "sh" sound T t Pronounced exactly like the English "t" U u Is pronounced "oo," exactly the same as the Polish "ó" letter. W w Pronounced like the English letter "v" Y y Pronounced like the "i" in the American English word "dim" Ż ż This sound is not present in English. It sounds like a combination of a rolled "r" and a "z" Ź ź This sound is also not present in English or the Western European languages. It sounds like a "ż" with a higher pitch; it is sometimes incorrectly transliterated as "zh"... this does not reflect the actual translation. Z z Pronounced just like the English "z"

Find more articles about the Polish language on the website of SlovoPol Group at http://www.slovopol.com. SlovoPol also provides professional low-cost Polish and English translations. Martin Cheslak is the author of this article, and has all rights to its distribution, except those granted to articlesbeyondbetter.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Cheslak

How to Pronounce Polish Words Part 2

2008-10-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

By Martin Cheslak

In Polish, every letter or digraph is pronounced separately, even when the same letters are written one after the other. For example, if a Polish word contains "nn" or "ll", both letters are pronounced separately. The stress is Polish is also very regular: almost every Polish word is pronounced with the stress on the second-from-last (penultimate) syllable. In some foreign words the stress will fall on the third-from-last syllable, but this is rare.

There are several digraphs (two or more letters pronounced as one sound) in Polish. It is important to learn these digraphs, because they will be pronounced the same way every time you see them, and the pronunciations are not always intuitive. The table below presents how to pronounce each digraph separately.

ch Pronounced exactly like the Polish "h" letter (equivalent to the English "h" in "hello")

ci Pronounced exactly like the Polish "ć"

cz Pronounced with a lower tone than the Polish "ć". To pronounce it, start saying "ć" then stick your lips further out

dzi Pronounced like the American English word "gee"

dź, dz Pronounced like the "j" in the American English word "jeans"

dż A deeper sound than the "dź", it is pronounced like the "j" in the American English word "jungle", but with the lips further out

ni Pronounced like the Polish "ń"

rz Pronounced just like the Polish letter "ż"

si Pronounced like the Polish "ś"

sz Pronounced with a lower tone than the Polish "ś". To pronounce it, start saying "ś" then stick your lips further out

zi Pronounced exactly like the Polish "ź"

Major Exceptions to Be Aware Of:

There is a phenomenon in the Polish language known as devoicing. Devoicing happens when one of the letters b, d, g, w, or z occur at the end of a word. When this occurs, the consonant is softened and changes its pronunciation. For example, the letters b, d, g, w, and z would change their pronunciation to p, t, k, f and s.

The letters q, v, and x are not present in the native Polish alphabet, yet you may encounter them while reading a document in Polish or while traveling through Poland. The reason for this is that they are used only in words which are direct foreign loanwords, such as English words which have not had their spelling changed to follow Polish grammatical rules.

In certain situations, you will need to know how to pronounce these letters. The "q", which is rarely encountered in Polish, is pronounced as the English letters "kw". The "v" can be pronounced two ways: usually as a English "v" in English loanwords, but as an English "f" is words of German origin. The "x", which is fairly common in some written Polish documents, is pronounced as the English "ks".

Find more articles about the Polish language on the website of SlovoPol Group at http://www.slovopol.com. SlovoPol also provides professional low-cost Polish and English translations. Martin Cheslak is the author of this article, and has all rights to its distribution, except those granted to articlesbeyondbetter.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Cheslak

Polish Language - An Overview from a Translation Company

2008-10-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

By Ioana Mihailas

The official language of Poland, Polish is spoken by over forty million people worldwide. Speakers of Polish are commonly found in Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia - countries where they emigrated to during the two world wars. Polish is also spoken in some small regions of Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Belarus.

A descendant of Old Polish, Polish belongs to the West-Slavic group of the Indo-European languages together with Czech and Slovak. The first document written in Polish was called "Gniezno papal bull" and it included several hundreds of Polish names.

Polish language makes use of the Latin alphabet but it also uses some diacritics. Its difficult and diverse reading rules, as well as the tendency to conglomerate numerous consonants in a row in one word, makes it difficult to be learned by foreigners.

Polish nouns, pronouns and adjectives decline in seven cases. Polish verbs have three tenses, three moods and three voices and, as a peculiarity, they have a feature called "aspect". The "aspect" can be perfective or imperfective, depending on whether the action is completed or not.

The Polish language has several dialects but the differences between them are insignificant to such an extent that a non-native speaker could not make a difference between them. The most important Polish dialects are: Great Polish (used in the west), Lesser Polish (spoken in the south), Silesian (used in the South-West) and Mazovian (spoken in the East and in Central Poland).

The language of personalities like Henryk Sienkiewicz, Ludwik Zamenhof (the inventor of Esperanto), Krzysztof Kie[lowski and Roman PolaDski, Polish is a language that has always been associated with culture and history. Far from being an 'old' language, Polish continues to develop and adapt to modern times, mostly by borrowing new words from English and German.

Ioana Mihailas is a linguist for Lingo24 Translation Services. Please feel free to visit our website http://www.lingo24.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ioana_Mihailas

Dutch Language - An Overview From a Translation Company

2008-10-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

By Ioana Mihailas

Dutch language started to take shape at the middle of the 5th century AD. The language spoken by the inhabitants of the Netherlands back then was called Old Dutch and it developed from Lower Franconian (Niederfränkisch), a dialect of Low German.

Middle Dutch was the language used during the 12th and the 15th century and since the year 1500 we can speak of Modern Dutch, a language very similar to Standard Dutch, the language currently used by the Dutch people. Standard Dutch is called "Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands" meaning "general civilized Dutch".

The name of the Dutch language comes from the word Dietsc / Duutsc (language of the people), as people used to call it in the Middle Ages.

Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname and other Dutch colonies, as well as in small parts of Germany and France. It has an official status in the Netherlands, Flanders, Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles and it manages to sum up around 23 million native speakers worldwide (15 million residing in the Netherlands).

Dutch used to be the official language of South Africa until 1961, contributing to the development of Afrikaans, one of the official languages of South Africa.

Dutch has several dialects, the most important being Flemish, spoken in Flanders (Belgium). Compared to Standard Dutch, it uses older words and a softer pronunciation.

Like the other Germanic languages, Dutch uses the Latin alphabet. As a particularity, it contains the group of letters "3" that stands for the more common "y" which is used only in foreign words.

Dutch language has three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) but they are quite often reduced to two (common and neuter). Cases are used mainly for pronouns, while common nouns and adjectives are not case inflected.

The Dutch vocabulary is predominantly of Germanic origin and it is one of the richest in the world, containing approximately 190,000 words.

Other particularities of the Dutch language are the extensive use of doubled letters (mostly due to the formation of compound words) and the devoicing of all consonants at the end of the words.
Ioana Mihailas is a linguist for Lingo24 Translations Service London, a provider of high quality technical translation services.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ioana_Mihailas

Dutch Progression: The Changes in the Dutch Language in the 20th Century

2008-10-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

By Philip Nicosia

The Dutch language is spoken by more than 22 million people, most of them in countries like the Netherlands and Belgium. Given this statistic, Dutch can be considered as one of the more popular languages in Europe.

Before the 17th century the Dutch language was not yet standardized. There were many dialects in existence that it was beginning to pose a problem.

After the 17th century, after the standardization of the Dutch language has taken place, it became so much easier to identify the distinctions between the standard Dutch language and its dialects. But the developments surrounding the Dutch language has continued well into the 19th and 20th century. Because of the influences being exerted by other languages like German, French, and English, the standard Dutch language is undergoing a change.

One of the more noticeable change in the Dutch language over the past century is with regards to pronunciation. The voiceless pronunciation of certain letters or syllables are now entering the standard language and is a unique feature that was more commonly heard from a dialect found in a province in Holland. These voiceless pronunciations commonly revolve around “v” as “f”, “z” as “s” and “g” as “x”. This current trend mirrors the desire for a change in spelling Dutch as near to its phonological sound as possible. This would mean that each particular sound is represented by a single letter or that a grapheme is only made in one particular way.

There is also a shift in how three diphthongs are being pronounced. The diphthongs in reference are ei, ui, and ou. The current shift for these are now moving towards aai, ou, and aau. This change was first seen among women who are middle aged and well educated and who come from the upper middle class. These women are identified with the world of the academia, politics, arts and literature.

From these beginnings the practice eventually spread out to women from other demographics. But lately even men have started employing this language change. It is also becoming employed by children, even those under the age of ten years and from very diverse backgrounds.

Already, this change can be heard in large parts of the Netherlands, but most especially among women of Turkish or Moroccan descent.

There are also some changes being seen in the area of morphology. One very significant change is inclusion of plural endings ( -s) even for nouns. This change is mostly seen in words that end in –e – for example, hoogte – de hoogtes, which was usually hoogten.

Even the suffix –baar is becoming more and more prevalently used in modern Dutch usage more often in the use of neologisms. In turn, the suffix -(e)lijk is becoming less and less used and in fact is being ignored in favor of the aforementioned –baar.

There is even a rising use of “concentrations” in modern Dutch. This is most commonly seen when using multi part compound nouns.

LearnMyLingo.com delivers a variety of quick language learning programs right to your desktop including Dutch and a free language learning guide, 8 ways to learn a language quickly and easily.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Nicosia

7 Reasons You Should Choose Chinese As a Second Language

2008-10-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

By Rosie Wang

Reason 1 - Over 1.2 billion people speak the Chinese Language. It is spoken by one out of every five people on earth, more than any other language in the world.

Reason 2 - The Chinese civilization is over 6000 years. Learning the language is the key to explore and appreciate the cumulative knowledge and experience of one the world's oldest and exquisite cultures.

Reason 3 - China is becoming a dominant player in the international economic and financial system of this century. With China joining the WTO, it has created huge demands for a greater understanding and trading with the world's fastest growing nation.

Reason 4 - The United States government has designated Americas relations with China as one of the most important foreign policy issues. Ever-broadening U.S. - China relations in various business fields has increased the importance of Chinese presence in American communities.

Reason 5 - Chinese is one of the four "critical languages" for Americans. Understanding and proficient in the Chinese language are of critical importance to the United States in economic advantages and opportunities.

Reason 6 - Chinese communities have played important roles, including science, business, education, arts and various services in local communities of all countries around the world. Being able to communicate with and better understand these community members is a benefit in our multicultural society.

Reason 7 - Learning Chinese not only satisfies our desire to grasp a foreign language but it can also be the greatest asset to career advancement. There are increasing opportunities for government and business careers as well as for scientific, scholarly and cultural exchanges.

(http://www.chinese-online.info)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rosie_Wang

An Introduction to Learning Chinese

2008-10-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

By Kip Owens

The Chinese language has over 40,000 characters, but only 10,000 are commonly used. To fully understand the language (at least in reading and writing), you need to learn Chinese Characters. Chinese is considered one of the most beautiful, but complex languages in the world. There are over 1 billion people that live in China, not including overseas Chinese Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and parts of Malaysia -- Which makes Chinese the most spoken language in the world. With the growing economic prosperity of these areas, more and more schools are offering Chinese language programs.

Chinese is a very diversified language, with twelve different dialects of spoken Chinese The national dialect of China is Mandarin, or "pu tong hua" which translates into "the people's language." I would recommend learning it to many people, with over 50% of China's population able to speak Mandarin. The language is based on ideaograms, or based strongly on symbols and characters. Loosely it is based on combinations of 214 elementary pictographs called " Chinese radicals."

The Chinese language is one of the oldest languages in the world. In fact, the earliest traces of written Chinese go as far back as the early Zhou Dynasty, or over 3,000 years ago. While the Chinese culture itself has seen constant changes over its long life, the grammar, vocabulary, and writing system have mostly remained preserved.

The grammar and sentence structure of Chinese is very different from English. For example, in English, someone may say "I will run," "I am running," "I have ran," but in Chinese someone can say, "Wo zuo"(which means "I run") with time as an adverb such as today, tomorrow, in a little while, etc. Chinese sentences take up less space than the English translation. This is because sentences only need to consist of several characters.

Mandarin is the most widely spoken of the Chinese language and can be a bit difficult to learn, but there are many sites online that can help get you started.

A great source of articles for learning beginner Chinese is the Chinese crunch blog. There are 10 mistakes that all beginner Chinese students make that slow them down and are very frustrating. Read on to learn how to recognize and avoid the 10 common mistakes people make learning Mandarin Chinese.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kip_Owens

Important Points To Consider Before You Learn To Speak Chinese

2008-10-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

By Mukil Krishnasamy

Mandarin Chinese is the main language in Mainland China and is used on a day to day basis by more than 50% of the population. While there are a number of dialects spoken throughout Chinese provinces, the number of users of Mandarin Chinese is constantly growing, along with the growing status that now recognizes Mandarin as China's official national language.

People right across the world learn Chinese language for a variety of reasons including to improve their chances of employment, to help them negotiate internal business agreements or to enhance their travel experiences. While in the past, you may have been concerned about which Chinese language to learn and master, take heart that Mandarin is the second language of over 40 million people of Chinese descent throughout the world and so it is the natural choice when it comes to deciding to learn Chinese. It is not only spoken in the People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Singapore but also used widely throughout countries in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world where Chinese-speaking communities are present.

Chinese is a truly fascinating language to study and it is relatively simple to learn to speak Chinese at the fundamental level. Chinese is based on a simple structure language and character structure, and it uses varying tones to give different meanings to a word. As soon as you start to learn Chinese, you will realize though, that it is so much more than just a language though. When you learn to speak Chinese you get a window into understanding Chinese culture and way of life.

Mukil Krishnasamy is an expert in language learning skills. Learn Chinese and Learn To Speak Chinese with the guidance of the Language Advisor. You can also find free online courses at http://www.language-advisor.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mukil_Krishnasamy

Learn Italian Home Study

2008-10-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

By Sunil Tanna

Italian is spoken by around 63 million. Italian speakers can be found in a number of countries, including of course Italy, where the majority of Italian speakers live. Other countries where Italian is an official language include San Marino, Switzerland (where it is one of four official languages along with French, German and Romansh), and the Italian national community in Slovenia. In the Vatican City, Italian is also widely spoken, although Latin is the official language. Additionally, you can find Italian speaking communities in many countries around the world.

Learning Italian is a very useful if you plan to do business in Italy or another Italian speaking area. Additionally, Italian is to greater or less extent used in various fields as a Lingua Franca,including in some areas of the Roman Catholic Church, in fashion, in some areas of the arts (particularly design and visual arts, as well as opera), and to some degree in sports such as motor racing and soccer.

If you decide to learn Italian, the most obvious option is probably to go to Italian classes. Classes do suit many people, but of course they are not to everyone's tastes. Additionally, for some people, going to classes can impractical, either because they can't fit classes around their schedule, or because there simply are no classes in the area in which they live.

An alternative option is home study. Home study allows you to work at your own pace, enjoy flexible schedule, and of course learn in the comfort of your own home. Once upon a time, home study courses were mainly books and tapes, and while these options are still available, today, you can also find many computer-based courses.

By S. Tanna. Discover how to learn Italian at home at http://www.downloadfocus.com/cat_language_italian.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Tanna

Slow Down With Italian Words

2008-10-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

By Shareen Aguilar

The Italian language is among the Romance languages that is popularly studied and spoken by many other speakers. Regardless of the native language of a person, learning how to study Italian is always the first, second or third choice in language learning. This is because there are already many Italian speakers in mainland US and apart from that, the Italian culture has clashed with that of the US just fine. Eating spaghetti is an Italian custom, so while you're at it, why not complete what you need to know about the Italian language itself.

Though we notice Italian speakers conversing in their native language in a fast pace, it doesn't mean you have to do the same in each of your Italian exercises. It's not a problem though, in terms of pronouncing Italian words since each syllable (similar to the Spanish language) is pronounced just as how they appear. Any beginner can learn this part of the Italian language well. But there is a trick. Most newbies usually consider speaking very fast since the native Italians that they hear in a normal conversation has this trait. Don't be fooled any further, emphasize your consonants and vowels on every Italian word you use if you want to be understood.

Italian food is scattered everywhere and are popular in the American market. If you get the chance, try to read Italian ingredients, produce and beverages just as how an Italian native would read it. Read it out loud, as if you are teaching yourself the best way to pronounce it. You will realize that this activity, if done more so often, makes you comfortable in speaking the Italian language in public. When the right time comes, when you are all prep up in speaking Italian with Italian speakers regardless you are in your own country or in mainland Italy, you know that you are prepared and up for the exciting experience.

Shareen Aguilar is a writer for Learn Italian which has Memory Improvement Books and Memory Game Software for better Italian language memorization.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shareen_Aguilar

Learn Italian And Its Origin

2008-10-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

By Shareen Aguilar

The Italian language has developed from its ancestor, Latin, during the 13th and 14th century. Though Italian shares about 85% of similarities to the Spanish and French languages, it is still easier to pronounce. Each word is pronounced exactly as how it is spelled.

However, the Italian language has many sub categories and these are called the Italian dialects. Each town in Italy has different Italian language but the good thing about it is that the Modern Italian language has spread to countries like Somalia. A misunderstanding often happens between an Italian speaking person (not a pure Italian) and an Italian native. This is because the Italian native may have been born in a different district in Italy and the language he could be using is not the standard Italian language but one of the Italian dialects from towns that lie on the outskirt of Italy.

There is still a chance to learn the standard Italian language easy and fast. By using very simple memorization technique, a person can master Italian words even if it just takes a 10 to 15 minute session each day. Below is an example.

The pink ballerina elephant leads the dance and closes the show and receives a whale of applause from the elephant audience.

This method is called Link-Word. This is a memorization technique use to enhance a person’s memory. The idea is to link all the Italian word and its English meaning in one absurd story. Only that the Italian word is replaced by another English word that sounds much like the Italian term.

Italian = Balena

English word used = ballerina

English translation = whale

What’s good about this technique is that it can be used by anyone, of any age. It is a brain exercise which is safe for anybody to try. And it’s all natural too.

Shareen Aguilar is a writer for http://learn-italian-program.com which has Memory Improvement Books and Memory Game Software for better Italian language memorization.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shareen_Aguilar

Learn How to Speak Italian - Excellent Reasons to Speak Italian

2008-10-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

By Valentina Capra

Do you want to learn how to speak Italian? Italian is the most beautiful and harmonic language in the world. Who doesn't love the sound of this fantastic language?

How many people enjoy themselves eating in an Italian restaurant, travelling around the world and visiting museums full of Italian masterpieces of ancient and modern art? How many people plan to buy a house in Italy close to the sea or in the countryside and spend most of their holidays in the sun or to start a new business in this fantastic country?

A lot of people have the false belief that Italian language is difficult to learn but my experience as a teacher of foreign students is that with the right method everyone can easily speak and understand Italian.

Italian pronunciation is fun and easy and the Italian words are written in such a way that everyone can immediately pronounce them.

Furthermore, foreign people already know hundreds of Italian words having learnt them in a natural and unaware way by watching TV, going to Italian restaurants or even going shopping in the market and buying Italian products.

Who has never heard the word pasta, pizza, opera, caffè, cappuccino, lasagne, bella and ciao? Yes they're all Italian.

If you are passionate about Italy and its culture but you work and you don't have time to go in an Italian school, attend private lessons and you want to learn Italian fast, the perfect solution for you is to try Rocket Italian a new and effective course of Italian, which is easy and pleasant for all levels, from beginners to advance.

Click here to Learn How to Speak Italian today!

Valentina Capra is a qualified Italian Language teacher, who teaches private and group lessons in England. Her methods of teaching students is the best and quickest way to learn Italian, possible.

Learn how to Speak Italian at http://www.rocket-italian.org/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Valentina_Capra

How to Understand Common Italian

2008-10-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Italian language is a beautiful language, as they say. You can learn how to speak most of the common words, which will get you around when you take a trip to Italy. You will need to know all this when shopping in an outdoor Italian Marketplace.

1 Learn some common greetings. It will show people that you are friendly.

Good Morning = Buongiorno (Bone-Jor-No) Good Afternoon = Buon Pomeriggio (Bone-po-mer-i-jo) Good Evening = Buona sera (bon-a-say-ra) Good Night = Buona notte (Bon-a-no-tay) Hi/Bye = Ciao (chow)

(informal) 2 Remember that after you say hello, you will leave eventually, so learn the next important word.Goodbye = arrivederci (a-reev-ay-der-chee) (formal) ciao (chow) (informal)

3 Have dinner or lunch out, or make a date to meet a special someone, and you may want to learn these words to pay the bill and not be cheated.

1 = uno 2 = due (doo-ay) 3 = tre 4 = quattro 5 = cinque (chin-quay) = sei (say) 7 = sette 8 = otto 9 = nove (no-vay) 10 = dieci (dee-a-chi)

4 Never forget these other words, or you might get into a problem area and not be able to get out.

No = no Yes = si (see)

5 Always be polite. That is always a nice way to make friends, and be invited back.
Thank you = grazie (gra-tsee-e) You're welcome = prego Buongiorno is used from the morning until 2pm (1:00 -14:00). Buon pomeriggio is used in the afternoon (14:00-evening). Buona sera is for the evening Buona notte is either after 24:00 or when you are going to bed. If you don't understand, try to say this: Non parlo italiano. This is only basic Italian. Don't stop learning the language. It is beautiful and melodic.

Tips The vowels have the exact same sound every time:

a = ah e = ay i = ee o = oh u = oo "ci" is pronounced "chi" "chi" is pronounced "kee"

There are rarely any "sh" or "g" sounds in Italian.Roll your tongue when making "r" sounds. This is important because your words won't sound Italian if you don't roll your tongue.

Usually when there is a z, there is a "t" sound before it. For example, ragazzo (boy), sounds like (ra-gat-zo)

Listen to it being spoken. That is a quick way to pick up key words and phrases.

Learn French Online With Skype And A Native Speaker!

2008-10-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

By Franck Silvestre

Let's face it, learning the French language is not easy. You already know it, otherwise you would be able to pick the phone and speak with me today. The very best way to accelerate your learning curve is to learn with a native speaker.

The Internet made it easy to learn anything. You can literally learn French over skype without moving from your home.

Let me give you some tips to be sure that you learn French fast this year.

Learn Basic French Tip 1. Fixed Schedule

Make sure that you dedicate at least one hour per week to your French lessons. If you can have two hours or more, you will make more progress, but one hour per week is a good start.

Skype is not expensive, so you are not going to pay a lot of money to learn.

Learn Basic French Tip 2. Native Speaker

No need to say that you want to talk with a native if you really want to learn modern French. You don't want to learn words that nobody use. And you don't want people to laugh at you either.

Learn Basic French Tip 3. Learn French Software

I advise you that you get a French software to revise what you learn with your tutor. Rocket French will help you to revise because it is really well structured and beginner friendly.

I recommend it to my mentee.

To learn French, you need to be organized and spend at least one hour per week on skype. You need to speak with someone else. This is a the secret to learn any language.

Want to Learn French Fast? Visit http://www.learnfrenchexpert.com/

Franck Silvestre is a French native who helps others who want to learn to speak french online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Franck_Silvestre

Why You Should Learn French in Paris - A Powerful Reason To Travel To France!

2008-10-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

By Franck Silvestre

If you have ever wanted to learn the French language, the best way to do this it to learn French in Paris. That's right, travel to Paris and immerse yourself in the culture. This will teach you the French language faster than any home study course or night class.

The reason that it is easier to learn French in Paris is because you can actually feel the emotions behind the words that are used. You can hear the proper dictation of the way the French words are pronounced. You can see the facial expressions the French use to get their point across. This is the best French language education you can get.

When you are learning the French language from the great people of Paris, you will be having a lot more fun than if you were taking a dry online course or night class. You will be able to go out an enjoy the nightlife and tour the museums. You can immerse yourself completely in the French culture.

When you learn French in Paris you get to experience the sights and sounds of Paris as you learn. You are essentially receiving two educations when you are learning the language of Paris.

So if you have the desire to learn to speak French, there is no better way than to learn French in Paris. When you travel back to your home country, your friends and family will be amazed at how well you can speak the French language. So what are you waiting for, book your travel plans to Paris today!

Want to become fluent in French FAST? Visit http://www.learnfrenchexpert.com/

Franck Silvestre is a French native. Visit his website if you want to learn How To Speak French online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Franck_Silvestre

Learn to Speak French to Better Yourself

2008-10-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

By Chrisitne Breen

Learning a foreign language especially if you want to learn to speak French, is terrific endeavor. French is widely spoken in a crazy variety of places so no global traveler should really go without learning this language. The opportunity to learn French is precious, since this is the language of many UN missions. To learn French is to advance socially and morally.

If you are a native English speaker, one of the best reasons to learn French is to help you understand your own language. The most important thing you need to learn French is the desire to acquire the language. The best way to learn French is to have a French course that will teach you to speak French in an easy way.

There are many ways to learn to speak French. You can buy a book and try to teach yourself though without hearing the words spoken you cannot learn it correctly. You could also buy very expensive audio tapes or a cd set with books but last time I checked those are several hundred dollars! If you can find a local class that meets when you can attend, isn't too expensive or too far away and moves at a pace that works for you then that would be a good choice. But how many of us have a local French class that we can attend?

The best way to learn to speak French is to put yourself around native French speaking people. Just making the effort to learn French is half the battle.

Find out the best way to learn to speak French at your own pace!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chrisitne_Breen