How to Communicate around the Globe: Learning a New Language

Posted by Pamela S. on Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Not everyone speaks English. Most of us only speak one language. The Internet has connected us on a global level, but English is the language of the Internet. That said, becoming fluent in one of more second languages can put you at the head of the pack.

According to Listverse, the top ten spoken languages are:

Mandarin
English
Hindustani
Spanish
Russian
Arabic
Bengali
Portuguese
Malay-Indonesian
French

According to an article on Intelligent Life, Mandarin may be a useful language to learn, but it is the most difficult.

If you have ever tried to conduct inquires and you lost out because you didn’t speak the language, and neither did your peers, you know how valuable it can be to learn and understand basic communications.

People in Europe often speak more than one language because of the close proximity of their countries. They know how to foster language development in children, because they start to learn at an early age.

PCMag rates the best language learning software. Here is an overview of some of the best programs:

Duolingo may not be the best language program but it has an advantage – it is free. It is a fairly new program and only became available to the public in June. I just tried it out and I   am going to see if I can learn Spanish using this free online language-learning website. The sites also provides a crowdsourced text translation platform. Right now the only languages available are Spanish, French, German and English.

Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur Approach is available in various forms and levels. You can purchase digital downloads or CDs. The Pimsleur Method was established by Dr.Paul Pimsleur approximately 50 years ago.

According to the company, the Pimsleur Approach is the preferred language teaching method of the FBI.
The system teaches using four principals:
1. Anticipation: a “challenge and response”, instead of repeating words.
2. Graduated-interval recall: a method of spaced retention, graduating to longer intervals.
3. Core vocabulary: teaching commonly used words to build a core.
4. Organic learning: A strictly auditory learning style.

Available Languages: Albanian, Eastern Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari Persian, Dutch, Farsi Persian, French, German, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Ojibwe, Pashto, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Swiss German, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese; and English as a Second Language for speakers of Arabic, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi Persian, French, German, Haitian, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese.

Rosetta Stone is probably one of the best known language software programs. The program is available on PC, Mac, iPad, or smartphone. There are personal, business, public sector, education and homeschool versions. Rosetta Stone eliminates grammar and translation and focuses on a natural method of learning called “Dynamic Immersion”.

Available languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, American English, British English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Pashto, Persian (Iran), Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Latin American Spanish, Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese.

Both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur don’t come cheap. They have various packages and sometimes they run special prices or sales. If you are serious about learning a new language, either of these are a good choice. I’ll stick with the free software until I know that I am serious. I have a number of old language programs on cassette tape stashed away in my closet, because I gave up.  I’m sure you do too.

 

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