LAPUS, Julia Louise R.

IV BS LTM

EFFECTIVE WAYS TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE

STEPS:
Be proficient at your own language first. It is very important that you know and
understand the "parts of speech". If you can identify what part of speech a word is, you
will be able to understand and practice the syntax (word order, which is different from
English in most cases) of another language.
Decide what language you really want to learn to speak.
Think about how you will use the language. Do you want to speak fluently? Do you
just need some general phrases or do you need a strong reading knowledge of a
particular language for grad school?
If you are someone who needs the books and tapes on hand, go online first and
search area bookstores. Check to see if they have the language you want to learn.
Decide if you need just a book or whether a book with tapes would be more appropriate.
Most of the time it helps to hear the language being spoken by a native. A good audio
program (no book needed) is published by Pimsleur. You'll repeat a lot and progress
slowly, but you'll remember everything. Another great program to use is Rosetta Stone.
It's also very repetitive, but you will not forget a thing!
Decide if you would like to buy online or go to the store itself. Buying online
enables you to comparison shop and possibly get used copies for very little money. If
you are going to a physical store, shop those stores online and note the prices for the
product you want.
If you're comfortable with it and have the time, there are many resources on the
internet where you can learn a language for free. Go to a search engine, such as
Yahoo or Google, and type in Learning to Speak Irish, for example. Thanks to the
internet you can hear a voice clip of a word or phrase being spoken to practice with.
Some sites also have areas to test yourself when you finish with a section.
Check out several websites and bookmark the ones you like best.
Go back to those websites and begin learning. Most important of all, have fun
learning!
Listen to internet radio broadcasts in the target language (BBC World Service is a
great place to start).
Check out podcasts. The huge advantage over internet radio is that they're
downloadable. You can listen to the same show repeatedly until you feel you

understand it. If you're into technology, listening to tech-podcasts is a good place to start
as many technology-related words and names are adapted from English.
Meet some native speakers either in person or in chat rooms/forums. The only way
to learn a language is to immerse yourself, so get immersing!
Schedule your sessions to learn the language. 15-30 minutes a day is a lot better
than one big session per week.

TIPS:
Teach it. When you're with your buddies, say simple phrases from your new
language and then tell what they mean.
Always repeat things aloud.
The best sites to learn from are the ones with voice clips.
Carefully read the sections on grammar usage and pronunciation.
Practice the different sounds made by vowels and special letter combinations unique
to that language.
Start simply. Focus on common words (I, he, she, they, we), food, stores and
restaurant vocab, and some words you'd like to know (i.e. "hello", "bathroom").
If you own any DVDs, try watching your favorite movies and select the option for a
voiceover in another language, while also selecting english subtitles. watch the movie to
read the words in your language while hearing them in another. then switch to english
voice and foreign subtitles. after a while, try to watch the movie in the foreign language
with no subtitles.
Be prepared to memorize, memorize, memorize. Learning an adequate amount of
vocabulary requires a large amount of memorization.
Its best to pick a first foreign language similar to your native language. You'll be
amazed from how much easier Italian is once you've studied Spanish first.
Study abroad if possible. This will be the fastest way to learn a language.
The best way to learn a language is to learn the grammar and syntax; learn what the
DEFAULT word order is in the language, eg, SubjectVerbObject-Romance languages,
SOV-Korean and Japanese, VSO-Irish, etc. Once you learn the structure of a language,
all you need to do is learn vocabulary and plug in words where they belong.
Read as much as you can!
When writing or mentally taking notes, think it in English, then think it in the language
you're learning. Do this in your everyday routine.
Make the language the first thing you see as you enter the internet. Look up websites
and set the best one as your homepage.
Make a foreign friend who speaks that language and interact with your new friend. A
problem shared is a problem halved.
Experiment with different learning methods to find which works best for you. Watch
videos, read scripts, and play interactive games. Incorporate the new language into
daily use in your reading, writing and entertainment to reinforce what you're learning
and build fluency.
Learn with family and friends. Get together and study.

 Once you have become semi-fluent, join another languages' version of facebook and
myspace.
Learning languages takes time and practice; it only works when you're committed.
Search out free, comprehensive language training websites. If you need help, ask a
native speaker.
Check out podcasts. They're just like Pimsleur's audiobooks, except they're free and
usually have very large archives.
Use foreign newspapers/movies with English subtitles/news channels to enhance
your lingual skills.
Use Wikipedia to your advantage. Open an article in the language you're trying to
learn and, in another window; open the same article in your native language.

SOURCE/S:
http://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Yourself-a-New-Language

LAPUS, Julia Louise R.

IV BS LTM

REACTION PAPER

A. Learnings:
Even though the class just started and we are just still in the middle or half of the
semester, I can say that I learned a lot from our Mandarin class. I learned that there are
4 tones involved. What I found really interesting is that the fact that if you mispronounce
a tone, or if the way you say the tone is incorrect, the meaning of the word becomes
completely different. I also learned that Mandarin is really a complex language. The
translation is word for word and sometimes it is wrong grammar but it is easy to
understand. I learned that anyone who wants to learn Mandarin or any language, one
must learn whole heartedly to really learn well.
B. Personal Application:
I can say that I really learned a lot in this subject. Though I havent mastered the
language yet, at least now I know some of it already. I now know words that are
unfamiliar from me before. It was really funny because I thought that mandarin language
is out of this world and was spoken by aliens. I learned to enjoy the language and I even
use it to talk to other people. Its really nice to know other languages because you are
able to understand people who know the language. At least those who study other
languages can understand what other natives are saying, even not all. I wish to learn
more about the language so I can use it in the near future.