Top Language Resources that I can recommend
My book shelf groans with language resources. It’s partly to do with the job I do – selling language games. It is also because I am a keen language learner myself. Way before I designed KLOO, I was learning Italian. My wife is Italian and I always envied those who could speak fluently in more than one language. So I set about trying to join them.
I waded through a lot of materials. Some were terrible. Some, however were excellent. And of those I still use three. I list below My 3 top Language Resources.
1. Michel Thomas CDs.
I completed the whole course – usually on my way to work when I used to commute. Michel Thomas has a unique approach – focusing on verbs and sentence structure – the engine room of any language.
Each lesson builds seamlessly on what has been previously taught. Brilliant for understanding verbs and making language easier. I should point out though that it is a little light on vocabulary. To be fair to this course – it is not trying to build vocab – just to help you understand and become confident with structure. While Michel Thomas is not a cheap option – it is a lot less expensive (and better) than some famous language software programs you might be tempted to buy.
2. Italian Verb Drills
With Michel Thomas there was no writing – but there is with these Verb Drills. These relentlessly push you on verbs, endings and irregularities. It sounds like a prison sentence – but was actually quite enjoyable (in a warped kind of way). Sometimes you have to put in a shift and this text book is excellent for honing essential skills. Complete this book and your language ability will leap a few levels.
There is also a Grammar Drills Book in the same series – but it’s not so hot in my opinion
3. Learn a language with Kindle Books
My third resources is a Kindle – not intentionally designed for learning a language – but actually very good at it. I regularly read Italian books on my kindle. I would say that my ability to read Italian has improved hugely since I received my first Kindle. I have written before about the merits of e-books for helping people learn a language. The speed with which you can find out the meaning of an unknown word using an electronic dictionary leaves the old-fashioned way of reading foreign books for dust. Here’s a link on How to Use Kindle to Learn a Language.
Choose language resources carefully
I have written before in this blog of the perils of learning from poor materials. Bad language resources will slow you down, demotivate you and even lead many aspiring learners to give up – in the false belief that they don’t have the innate talent to learn a language. They do. We all do.
With the right materials it can be fast and even fun.
Our KLOO Language Games in French and Spanish
You might want to consider our multi-award winning language games. These games were designed to help my children learn a language after they struggled with many poor resources. You can make sentences in French or Spanish in seconds (watch the video below) and you learn words faster because we use the same language principles that you used to learn your first language (look at the second video).
They’re fun too!
How to learn how to make thousands of French Sentences – even if you are a beginner!
How Discovery Learning helps you build your vocabulary faster
Related articles
- How to Successfully Learn a New Language This Year (lifehacker.com)
- Raising Bilingual Children (babyzone.com)
- Tips to Pick Up a Foreign Language Quickly (tutoringtoexcellence.blogspot.com)
- Learn French, Spanish or any language – the perfect New Year’s Resolution (languagepie.wordpress.com)
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