Hello everyone! World Conversations is an organization that is here to encourage people to learn one or more foreign languages. As our world becomes smaller, it becomes more and more important to be able to communicate easily with those around us. Whether we need to learn a language for school, for the workplace, a trip, or even just for your community, we should have resources available to us to do that as quickly and easily as possible.

World Conversations is here to look at various programs for learning languages, and to provide resources, reviews and recommendations for people so that they can find the programs that best match their needs. We welcome any input from anyone in terms of your own experiences with various methods, products which you like, good sites you have found, etc.,  and would love to receive posts (and videos) of your success stories, and of how learning another language has impacted your life. Feel free to look around at what others think, as well as what our recommendations are. Thanks for contributing to this community!

Alan Thomas                                                                                                                                                       

www.WorldConversations.com

Technorati Tags: learn foreign languages, learn to speak french, learn to speak German, learn to speak Japanese, learn to speak spanish

     As an educator I’ve had many students ask me why they needed to learn to speak Spanish.  They really have a difficult time seeing past their friends, activities, problems, and fun. They tend to live in a very small world and learning to speak Spanish simply seems like it’s something that they will never need. They have a hard time seeing the big picture.

They don’t realize that many people all over the world speak more than one language and that knowing another language opens up another world to them. Think of the rich cultures in Europe where so many languages are spoken, and yet the people can travel among the various countries there very easily and are able to communicate with one another.

In the United States, we have always had one language that most of the people understood of course, so learning any others became more of an academic exercise, at least in the minds of the students. Most of them take foreign language courses because they have to. And few of them retain any ability to have conversations in that language several years after the courses are taken.

But our world is changing very fast. Each year the world get smaller due to our technologies that allow instant communication from almost anywhere to anywhere else. And one of the languages spoken by a large segment of the earth population is, of course, Spanish.

In North America, we have a very quickly growing segment of our population who speak Spanish, and these numbers are going to continue to grow in the coming years. It is becoming more and more vital that we can all communicate easily. Many people in businesses are finding a number of their customers only speak Spanish. And obviously they need to be able to talk with one another.

In our government offices with which the public continually interacts, again those who are in direct contact with the public need to learn to speak Spanish so that they will be able to communicate, especially on very important matters. And public servants like the police and fire departments and emergency personnel certainly need to be able to speak with the people they come across in their jobs. It’s often a matter of life and death!

And of course our teachers need this skill. We have more and more students in our classes who can only understand Spanish, and if the teacher has no ability to do so, then how much are these students going to actually learn. Of course it’s a two way street. These students must be learning English as we are learning Spanish. Young people will pick up the English very quickly because they will be immersed in it, but the rest of us need a little more help in learning to speak Spanish very well.

Fortunately there are a number of ways in which we can do this. There are formal classes, books, online lessons, and programs one can use at home to help learn the language. If you are in the position of needing to learn Spanish, take some time to check out the various sources and find the one that you think is easiest for you in your situation. There are several multimedia programs that allow you to learn at home or online and some include games and can help anyone at any age or on any level. Just find what works for you!

Alan Thomas                                                                                                                                  

www.WorldConversations.com

 

 

Technorati Tags: learn foreign languages, learn to speak spanish, spanish learning systems, Why learn Spanish

Don’t know about you, but I hate wasting loads of time and hundreds of dollars just to learn the basics of a foreign language.

I mean, look at the price of university classes. Just to take a BEGINNERS’, Level 1 Spanish class, I have to spend at LEAST $300 just on the course, then another $100+ on the software! And that’s at a public university…forget Rosetta Stone: Spanish or similar software!

Clearly, there has to be a better way. A way that will teach you Spanish quicker…and for less.

The solution I’ve found is called Rocket Spanish.

Why do I like it? I’ll give you three good reasons. It allows you to:

1) learn Spanish thoroughly and in less than 8 weeks with full money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied for any reason (no joke–you’ll get every penny back). So there’s really no risk.

2) have fun doing it

3) spend less than $100 to learn beginners’-advanced levels all in one. As it’s online, you can learn anywhere, and save yourself time going to classes, tutoring sessions, etc.

THE GOOD
Rocket Spanish gets my high marks for author, Mauricio Evarlampieff’s comprehensive coverage of everything from grammmar and writing skills, to spelling, vocabulary, and natural Spanish speaking.

Some people learn languages better through reading. Others, through listening to audio. And then there are those who need both, but in an interactive format.

Luckily, Rocket Spanish offers all three: it gives you detailed, colorful learning manuals; powerful audio lessons where you can hear a native Chilean speak proper Spanish; and through interactive games, such as flash cards, so that you can test and improve your overall command of the language.

I particularly enjoy the PERSONALITY behind the audio lessons. Mauricio has a very warm, charming personality, and a unique talent for teaching Spanish in a direct, friendly way. He interacts with his American co-narrator, Amy Waterman, to give you a fun, sometimes humorous journey through the wonder of the Spanish language. You even learn about the many Spanish-speaking cultures.

Additionally, Rocket Spanish shrewdly divides its audio, written, and interactive lessons into Beginner and Advanced segments, so that you can go at your own pace and learn what you need before jumping into advanced areas.

Overall, it’s a wonderful system for learning a fun, romantic language. And it covers all levels of learning.

THE BAD
Not many bad parts, but perhaps the Members Area could be more organized. Not a big deal because all the information is all there and accessible, but not always so obvious. A minor outcome, and still more clear than many other courses I’ve tried.

TRY IT..OR BUY IT?
Very highly recommended Buy. This is one of those rare products that eager Spnaish learners can’t afford to miss. If you’re serious about learning Spanish–while saving money–then Rocket Spanish is the right course to buy. The free course is ok to try, but it certainly won’t give you all the tools you need.

And hey, if you don’t like it before 56 days are up, you’re entitled to a full refund, for any reason at all.

What have you got to lose?

Technorati Tags: learn to speak spanish, rocket spanish, Spanish software

Back when I was in school, like most students, I took several years of a foreign language. Three years of Spanish to be exact. But also like most people, after getting out of school, I could no longer speak in an actual conversation, and as the years passed by, I pretty much had forgotten everthing I ever learned.

You know, the way we were taught Spanish in school is not the best way to learn. Modern developments in teaching language have come up with much easier ways to learn foreign languages, and learning Spanish is now much more fun and easy. And it’s based on actual conversations rather than on boring grammar lessons.

Learning Spanish now involves using modern technology that makes it fast and easy for our brains to pick up on the new language in a very natural way, by seeing, hearing, and speaking in normal conversations and by playing games in Spanish. It’s fun and effective!

I just wish it had been like this back in school!

Alan Thomas

www.WorldConversations.com

Technorati Tags: best way to learn Spanish, fun learning spanish, games to learn Spanish, learn a foreign language, learn spanish easy, learn to speak spanish, Learning spanish is easy, spanish lessons

There are many different tools and techniques offered today in language learning programs. Some are more visual, some are more about hearing and speaking the language, and some concentrate on formal grammar. In some of the better programs, videos, CD’s pr mp3’s. speech feedback, etc. are used. While in others you will see lists, flashcards with words or images. And games are popular as well.The very best programs incorporate a variety of these into their programs and some people simply use a number of different systems at the same time in order to immerse themselves in the language.

What kinds of activities would you most like to see in a program that helps you learn a foreign language?

As with any practice that doesn’t necessarily has a “one way” of being done, language learning has a few common mistakes that apply to most, if not all the available learning methods out there. Whether you’re studying using a free online course, through educational games, translated texts, flashcards or any other method, you’re bound to find one of these mistakes if what you’re using is not of good quality.

1. Learning the new language like a science

The language learning process is by no means comparable to say, learning a particular science or learning a profession. Language learning is a skill and like all skills, sheer, raw information gurgling won’t do the trick. This is a very common mistake that is especially hard to avoid in written language learning methods such as courses, online lessons and the likes. It’s very tempting for the writers of these materials to simply divide the language in big chunks and feed it to you with a large spoon: “here’s the grammar” “here’s the spelling” “here’s the vocabulary”. This will get you nowhere, or if it will indeed have any effect, you will take the longest route to get to it.

2. Taking large breaks

I’m feeling metaphorical today, so let me compare the language learning process to a huge furnace. If you want to light this huge furnace you’ll need to constantly feed it firewood and as you do so, you’ll see the fire growing bigger and bigger. Now, stop the process and the fire will go out and you’ll have to put an almost equally hard effort to get it back on. It’s the same with language learning. Once you get into it and you start getting the hang of it, a large break from studying or practicing could be a killer. Detach yourself completely from the learning and practicing and you’ll find yourself having to bring in a new load of firewood.

3. Learning too fast

There’s a factor that I like to call “learning anxiety” that usually affects persons trying to study a language because of a personal or professional need (your wife’s Japanese, your new business partner is French, your son is Dutch, stuff like that). This phenomenon happens when you’re in a rush to get basic grip on a language and you skip through some of the essential steps too fast. You go in studying grammar without a basic vocabulary, you get into advanced terms before even knowing the basic ones and so forth. This may indeed allow you to understand and make yourself understood in a conversation, but overall, you will take more time correcting your wrongfully learnt concepts than it would have taken you if you had studied them correctly in the first place.

4. Using solely “theoretical” learning methods

This issue could be a problem with 9 out of 10 learning processes, but the language learning one is even more acute. Whether you could pull it off perfectly in say, physics, if you only used theoretical learning all the time and you were suddenly faced with a real, practical problem, with language learning you’re bound to look a fool. Theoretical language learning will hardly form any accurate pronunciation skills and whenever you’ll be faced with an actual conversation in that language, you just won’t be able to express all that theoretical information you stored up.

5. Using the “all work no play” technique

It’s well known that anything you learn while relaxing or having fun, you learn with more ease and the information you store this way is longer lasting and can be used more effectively. You’ll be amazed by the amount of language learning techniques out there that don’t take advantage of this and instead, tend to follow the more rigorous path. Sure, playing vocabulary games, using flashcards, completing quizzes or whatever you could deem as “fun learning” won’t be as fast or intense as the rigid methods, but you get the above mentioned effects and you lose the risk of getting learning fatigue.

6. Learning monotony

Although last in our list, this is by far the most common mistake that you will find with online language courses and even with language center practical lessons and courses. Language learning is a long, arduous process, make no mistake about it. I don’t care what those “Learn Spanish in 2 weeks” course books say, it just can’t be done in such a short time span. Or well, if you consider grasping the complicated inner-workings of phrases like “Hello, how are you today?” in Spanish having “learnt” a language, then so be it. Anyway, the point is that in this long and arduous process, we tend to get bored, we tend to lose the initial enthusiasm when we realize that “hey, this isn’t as fun as I thought, it’s actually hard work”. Lesson monotony does not help this and it’s the main reason most people simply quit a course instead of putting up with it.

To avoid learning monotony, try to mix up your learning methods as much as possible. Use translated texts, use audio tapes, engage in conversations with friends, teachers or other students, watch media in that particular language if available, play educational games, use flashcards, use the dictionary to improve your vocabulary, do ANYTHING you have to do, just don’t let learning boredom overcome you, because trust me when I say this, it’s a foreign language killer in way too many cases.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/6-common-mistakes-made-in-language-learning-98184.html

Many Americans are learning Spanish to meet both business and personal goals. If you are one of the millions of visionary Americans taking on this challenge, bravo!

In business, speaking Spanish will help you attract loyal customers and a diverse employee base. By speaking Spanish in your personal life, you will meet fascinating people from around the world– and you’ll build valuable, long-lasting friendships.

For adults learning foreign languages can be challenging. You are never too old to acquire a second language! In fact, it’s good exercise for your brain.

Prepare to be dedicated in the pursuit of your linguistic goal. After all, you didn’t learn English over night. We learn our native language through years of trial and error. Nevertheless, you can achieve good results quickly by using these ten practical tips.

1. Use the words you know. Everyone who speaks English knows more Spanish than they realize. When you are beginning to speak Spanish, it could be difficult for you to compose and say an entire sentence. That doesn’t matter. Don’t wait until you have an entire “perfect” phrase. Say the words in Spanish that you know.

When you observe native speakers, you will hear them converse in English, Spanish and even Spanglish. With language it’s never all or nothing! Say what you know, even if it’s only one word.

2. Set yourself up for success. Start with simple greetings like “hola” or “buenas tardes.” If you say please or thank you to a Spanish-speaking customer or employee and you know the words “gracias” and “por favor,” use them after you say the words in English.

Setting a positive bilingual tone for communication is always a good idea. It lets the person you are speaking with know that it’s fine with you to use both English and Spanish.

3. Expect to make some mistakes. If you had a foreign language class in high school or college, perhaps you were corrected so many times that you feel defeated before you start. We all make mistakes when we speak English, so making mistakes in speaking Spanish is normal and natural. Everyone makes mistakes– even native speakers.

4. It’s OK to feel awkward. Speaking Spanish will feel physically different to you. You might even feel like a cartoon character has taken over your speech! Speaking Spanish requires more use of your facial muscles- and then there are those “trilled” r’s. Just do your best. Your accent will develop over time. Not having the best accent will only stand in the way of your ability to communicate if you let it.

5. Being shy is normal. It takes a strong, positive personality to take the risk of speaking another language. We are all inhibited to one degree or another. We’re terrified that people will laugh at us– or even yell at us out of impatience. Smile and dive in! It’s normal to feel inhibited when you begin to speak another language.

6. Ask “yes-no” questions. As you begin to increase your skills, when asking questions pose them so that the answer will be yes or no. This will give you a head-start on understanding the rest of the answer.

7. Practice each day. Practicing just five minutes each day will make a “grande” difference in your ability. A few minutes here and a few minutes there really add up over time. When you do practice, put yourself in situations where you can use the language. Attempts at memorization are usually very ineffective.

Write the days of the week on your calendar at the office and look at them each day.

Put a sticky note on your phone and write the numbers in Spanish from zero to ten on it. Each time you dial a number, say it in Spanish.

Make index cards of the Spanish words you want to learn first, and carry them in your purse or car. Exercises like these make your practice habits practical and help you build them into your normal routine.

8. Learn practical phrases.Think critically about what you do each day and what you need to learn to function more efficiently at your workplace. Learn those words and phrases first. By learning words that are practical, you will use them more often. The more you use the words, the faster you will remember them–and add to them.

9. Don’t worry about your grammar. Remember that no one speaks perfectly. Always remember that communication is always more important than conjugation! If the individual you are speaking with understands you, that’s all that really matters. It doesn’t have to be pretty and perfect to be effective.

10. Go slowly. Learning Spanish is like eating your favorite meal. Savor the experience. Learn Spanish one word or phrase at a time. Chew it completely before going on to more material. If you learn slowly, you will remember what you have learned longer. And, that’s the whole point!

Myelita Melton
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/ten-tips-for-learning-to-speak-spanish-135734.html

Communicate in Spanish instantly! Quick Conversation Spanish is an interactive skill builder for all ages and skill levels.  For business, school or just for fun.  Whether you are traveling abroad or around town, Quick Conversation Spanish will teach you all the words you need to know for every day situations through interactive games, colorful photographs, and more. Quickly build your Spanish vocabulary and perfect your pronunciation. Comprehensive Instruction Learn over 2,200 words group into common categories. Use the multimedia glossary of Spanish and English words to find word translations and hear the word spoken. Take along a customized word printout for easy reference in any conversation. Perfect Your Pronunciation Develop a natural accent with speech recognition that “listens” and evaluates your pronunciation. Hear your own voice and compare it to a native speaker with the innovative record/playback feature, then measure your accuracy with the Pronunciation Meter. Learning Map Fun You’ll never get bored as you increase your retention while playing word and memory games. Three fun activities test how much you’ve learned, while hundreds of photographs teach your words you’ll need for any situation. Learn over 2,200 words. Select words from over 100 subject categories or start with pre-selected list of most commonly used words. Develop a natural accent speech recognition that “listens” and evaluates pronunciation. Measure accent accuracy with the Pronunciation Meter. Use the multimedia glossary to find words, translate and practice pronunciation. Play games and exercises that offer clear recordings of native speakers for a fun way to learn. Windows 98, XP or Vista DirectX Pentium 90MHz processor 16 MB of RAM 25MB of free Hard Drive Space CD-ROM drive SVGA display (640×480, 256 colors) 16-bit sound card Speakers or headphones Microphone recommended  

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The Spanish/English version of the super-fast and super-fun bingo game. Players scramble to match the images on the tiles to their playing cards. The first one to fill a card wins. One side of each card is English and the other is Spanish. Open-ended play lets kids learn shapes, words, and basic

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Learning Is Fast, Fun and Friendly with Quickstart Spanish Immersion! Quickstart Spanish Immersion software is designed for you to start quickly and maximize the full potential of the widely accepted method of learning a language – the “Immersion” Method. The learning method is similar to the way you would acquire your own native language. Each word is introduced in a context where meaning is clear and memorable. The spoken and written words are associated with visual images, allowing you to improve your listening comprehension, reading comprehension, spelling, and speaking. You will be authentically immersed in the Spanish language with exclusive Panoramic Immersion Scenes and background sounds – mastering Spanish in no time at all! Easy and effective for beginners and travelers, a powerful learning tool for intermediate speakers, and a useful refresher course for advanced speakers! Speech Recognition & Analysis Train and improve your pronunciation! Select from over 2000 words and 1200 phrases. The Recording Session with Voice Recording and Visualized Playback Technology enables you to record your own speech and compare it to the tutor’s voice to determine your accuracy. Custom Preference Settings Customize the interface to suit your preferences. Choose a male or female narrator’s voice. Set preference of single language or dual language (your native language and the language you are learning) for on-screen text display. Choose whether to have background sounds while participating in Panoramic Scene Activities. Native Language Interface Learn to speak using your own native language! Most language software sold in the U.S. requires you to first be proficient in Spanish before you can learn another language. Not with Quickstart Immersion! Help and menus, words and phrases, games and tests can all be changed to the native language of your choice. 2000+ Number of Words 1200+ Number of Phrases 80+ Subject Categories 400+ Subject Game Activities 50+ Conversation

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