Finding similarities between the Spanish words you are learning and English words in your vocabulary is one of the most effective ways of expanding your knowledge of the new language. When you start learning Spanish, many of the words you come across from lesson one look similar in both languages, or even identical: individual, mineral, hora, presentar, teléfono, momento, electrónico, radio, recomendar, salmón, limón, apartamento and countless more. Those will be easy to learn and to remember, and a great boost to your motivation. In my experience both as a Spanish teacher and as a student of foreign languages, what is even more encouraging is finding less obvious connections between words in both languages. For instance, have you noticed that the Spanish word for ‘beef’ and ‘cow’ (vaca) has the same origin as the English word ‘vaccine’?; or are you aware of how many English words share their origin with the Spanish numbers: unity (uno), duo (dos), trio (tres), quartet (cuatro), sexagenarian (seis), September (seven), octopus (ocho), November (nueve), December (diez)?Once you have seen those similarities, you are more likely to remember the new Spanish words without effort because your brain works by making associations. If you have ever tried to learn lists of Spanish words without context or associations you will know what a hopeless endeavor that is. That is why I always teach Spanish vocabulary to my students by connecting the new words to other words they already know. Even if you have only just started learning Spanish, making those connections will be one of your greatest allies. They will save you precious time and energy, and will transform the learning process into a game and an enjoyable challenge. The problem, however, is that if you are a beginner, or even if you have already reached an intermediate level, finding similarities between English and Spanish words might not always be easy. A good Spanish language course, however, should point at those similarities, as well as guide you through the most efficient vocabulary learning techniques. To show you how much faster you can learn new Spanish words by associating them to other words you are familiar with, here are twenty-five everyday Spanish words. In brackets I have given you the English translation and on the right is the English word of the same origin as the Spanish:lavadora (washing machine) – lavatorymicroondas (microwave) – undulatecongelador (freezer) – to congealbebida (drink) – beveragecaña (small beer) – canecopa (glass) – cupmanta (blanket) – mantlevino (wine) – vineyardtinto (red [wine]) – tinctureterraza (balcony) – terracemarisco (shellfish) – marinaquerer (to want) – to querycarne (meat) – carnivoreprimero (first) premiercasa (house) – casinotener (to have) – tenantantes (before) – antenatalequipaje (luggage) – to equiphabitación (room) – cohabitationlavaplatos (dishwasher) – lavatory, platemandar (to order) – mandateordenador (computer) – orderencantado (delighted) – enchantedlibre (vacant) – libertycarta (menu) – cartographyCan you connect other Spanish words you know to English words of the same origin? What about ‘pasillo’, ‘fumador’, ‘último’, ‘pescado’, ’suavizante’, ’sombrilla’?
Archive for the ‘Articles’ category
Learn Spanish fast – find similarities between English and Spanish words
January 7th, 2010Rocket Japanese Review – Learn Japanese Fast Online
January 7th, 2010Most of us would like to learn a new language, which can be very useful especially when you travel from one country to another for business or other reasons. One of the languages that people would most likely want to learn is Japanese and the easiest way for people to get access to a Japanese learning course is online. Rocket Japanese is one such online Japanese learning course. It was developed by Rocket Languages which sell other popular language learning tools such as Rocket Spanish, Rocket French and Rocket Chinese. Rocket Japanese is a very useful interactive audio lesson which anyone can easily follow. You do not need to sign up for courses which will require you to show up in their classes everyday and will take up much of your time. You can go at your own pace in the comfort of your own home. Learning Japanese has never been easy with this interactive audio course, because it is the closest thing that you could get to a one-on-one lesson. Rocket Japanese boasts of 31 lessons with each one as long as about 25 minutes. The audio course provides easy lessons on conversational Japanese which you can easily follow. If you are a traveler and would like to visit Japan sometime, or if you would just like to learn a new language, then the course offered by Rocket Japanese would be perfect for you. The audio course will provide you the basic things that you need to know about Japanese grammar, vocabulary and even culture. They bundle in a few software such as MegaVocab which trains you on the Japanese vocabulary, MegaAudio learning audio software where you can learn to speak and recognize over 1000 commonly spoken Japanese words. MegaHiragana is another bundled software that trains you on the Japanese handwriting. There is also a forum as well as technical support provided. Although there are other language courses online such as Rosetta Stone, Rocket Japanese is cheaper and it provides a good foundation to learn Japanese fast online.
Learn English Online to Speak in the Global Language
January 7th, 2010If you are planning to learn English online, then you have made the best decision of your life. The English language has become the universal language, being spoken in all the countries across the mother planet. The rising popularity of the internet has created this small village called the globe, and the global language is none other than English. There are numerous online resources imparting English language learning.
Advantages of Online Learning
Online learning of a language, especially English offers many distinct advantages. First and foremost is the fact that online English learning can be self-paced and self-directed. When you start to learn English online, you need not adhere to a specific time schedule of classes. Moreover, you may choose from many methods and techniques available. This also means that the student is free to select the most appropriate technique of learning based on her skills, interests and needs. Last but not the least, the cost of learning is very low compared to those in conventional methods of learning. In short, if you are planning to learn English online, you save your precious resources in terms of time, money and efforts.
Contents of Online Learning
English language, presumed to be one of the richest languages, offers a wide variety of items to learn. Assuming that you are at an intermediate level to learn English online, the syllabus will be different from those at basic and higher levels. In general, the online learning of English language starts with the alphabet and numbers. Once the student has mastered these, she is exposed to words (the vocabulary) and composition. The arts and literature come towards the highest end of the hierarchy.
Boston English Language Institute offers many courses in the English language stream. These certification courses vary from one to eight months. Belford University offers a bachelor’s degree in English and English Literature for those having work experience of four years. Ellis College at New York offers an online Bachelor’s degree. Their focus is on preparing students to face challenges in the professional world. Other universities offering three year Bachelor programs in online English are U of Southern New Hampshire, U of Illinois, American Military U, and Fort Hays State U. Getting notes or teaching material is easy – you get it through the internet in the form of workbooks, test papers, tutorials (video and audio).
You can start to learn English online in different ways. You may choose to subscribe to free and paid online courses teaching online English language. You may also opt for purchasing ebooks and CD’s that you can study offline. However, you must remember one thing all the time – not to forget to complete the exercises given at the end of each chapter. This not only tests your gained knowledge, but also offers a new punch of motivation for you to learn English.
Online learning of the English language can be a wonderful experience. You will suddenly find yourself in the middle of the world with your first steps in learning English. Such is the prowess of the English language.
