The Most Difficult Chinese Tone Pairs To Pronounce

TOP 9 REASONS FOR LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE

By learning a new language, you can become a more intelligent, open-minded, happy, and confident person.
If you like the sound of that, we invite you to read our list of personal reasons to start learning a new language:

INCREASE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND BROADEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE

When you learn a new language, you also learn about the people who speak that language, about the country they live in and the culture they grew up in.
You will notice this during the entire learning process, but especially once you start interacting with native speakers.
Think about it;
How often do you reveal something about yourself during a conversation?
Unless you're a secret agent, a fugitive or a vampire, you do this all the time.
 
Social interaction and curiosity are integral parts of human nature.
Studies have shown that satisfying these desires will lead to a happier, more fulfilling life.

The process of learning a language offers a great way to accomplish this!
You can learn about other people’s daily lives, their history and traditions, their beliefs, their holidays and favorite pass-times, their cities and sights, their food, their art, and so much more.
 
Before long, you’ll be able to actively approach people who speak the language that you’ve been learning and actually interact with them.
Think of how amazing that would be! You could personally ask them all of the questions you’ve ever had about their country, talk about cultural differences that you’ve been curious about and make new friends in the process!

“So... someone told me that, in your country, when someone takes their dog out for a walk and the dog poops, that person has to pick up the dog’s poop and throw it away...
That’s just a myth, right?”

By learning other languages, you gain entirely new perspectives on other cultures, your own culture and the world as a whole (which may soon be ruled by dogs).

IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

Obviously, when you learn a new language, you will have to remember a lot: new vocabulary, new grammar rules, new expressions, new sounds, perhaps even an entirely new alphabet.
Recent findings in the field of neurology tell us that, through consistent repetition of newly acquired knowledge, you can actually modify and strengthen parts of your brain, including the parts that are responsible for the creation, storage and retrieval of memories.
It's possible to amplify this process, called neuroplasticity, by using a wide variety of learning methods.

Doing so will challenge and stimulate your brain in different ways, allowing you to create stronger memories more rapidly.
This kind of mnemonic training will not only benefit you as a language student but will also help you become better at remembering other things.

"Hang on... what language was I learning again?"

EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN AND BECOME MORE CREATIVE

Once you’ve learned another language, you will be an absolute GENIUS with unparalleled mental abilities.
You’ll put Leonardo da Vinci to shame!
No... of course, that’s not true.
BUT, learning another language has proven to be a great way to keep your mind sharp and improve your mental abilities in all kinds of interesting ways.

For example, when you try to actively use the language you’re learning and talk to someone in a real-life situation, you might realize that you don’t know as many words as you thought you did.
Or perhaps you’re too nervous and just can’t think of them spontaneously.
Don’t panic!
You just have to be a little creative and describe what you’re trying to say until the other person understands and teaches you the word you were looking for.
It’s like waving a magic language wand.
After a while, you’ll become so good at this that the people you’re talking to will quickly guess the words you’re trying to say.

“How may I help you, sir?”
“Hm, how do I describe a hot tub...?”
“It’s round and there’s water in it...
Sometimes the water is calm and sometimes it moves violently...
People go there to sit and relax...
They often bring something to read...”
“Oh, I understand, sir.
The toilet is at the end of the hall.”

A fun and effective way to practice this is to play games like “Taboo” or “Charades”, using the vocabulary you're trying to learn.
You will notice that it's easier to remember words after you've described them or acted them out.
This is because, in your mind, they've been connected to other, related vocabulary and to an enjoyable situation.
By adding emotions (such as fun or excitement) to your learning process, you make it easier for your brain to create strong, lasting memories.
This is why parents know exactly when and where their child said her first word, for example.

SIMULTANEOUSLY IMPROVE YOUR FOREIGN AND NATIVE VOCABULARIES

When you learn a new language, you will inevitably compare it to your own.
You'll find yourself translating back and forth and discover different ways to express yourself.
By doing so, you will not only become better at the language you’re learning, but you will also become more proficient in your own language.
You will frequently come across words that you don’t understand.
Most of the time, when you look them up, you’ll think “Oh, that’s what that means! Alright!”

However, there will also be times when—after looking up an unknown word—you’ll think:
“Huh? I’m confused...
I don’t understand the translation either!”
As a result, you’ll look for the definition in your own language and BAM!
You’ve just learned a new word or expression in your native language, just by learning a new word in your second language.
Pretty cool.

“Wow, who knew?!
ʻOmeletteʼ means ʻa dish of beaten eggs cooked in a frying pan.ʼ
So the French DO have a word for that!”

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

Certain languages, such as the Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, etc.) are part of the same “language family”.
This means that, if you already know one of these languages, it'll be much easier for you to learn another, closely related language.
Many other languages, however, have no connection to each other what so ever (like German and Japanese, for example).

By picking a language that is difficult to learn, e.g. one that is not related to your native language, you can make the language learning process far more challenging (even if you’ve already learned another language).
So if you're someone who enjoys a good challenge, consider this:

BECOME MORE AWARE OF YOUR LEARNING ABILITIES AND GET A CONFIDENCE BOOST

Learning a new language is hard work.
To succeed and avoid getting fed up with it, you will have to be disciplined and follow a well-structured study plan.
You will also have to determine what type of learner you are and which types of exercises are best for you.
Luckily, it's very easy to accomplish these things when you use a good language course.

A good language course will help you analyse your study habits and keep track of your progress.
You'll quickly find out which types of exercises work best for you and how to use them most effectively.
Once you've identified your preferred study methods, you might be able to apply some of them to other things you're interested in learning.
You may also be able to think of creative variations of your preferred study methods or come up with entirely new ones, making your learning process even more fun and diversified.

By seeing how quickly you progress when you use the right exercises, you'll become more confident about your learning abilities and feel very proud of yourself.
And you should – learning another language is a great accomplishment that relatively few people achieve!

BECOME SOMEONE ELSE

Say what?
At first glance, this reason may sound a bit strange, but we're serious about this.
By learning a new language, you can, in many ways, become a different person!
Similar to your appearance, the way you speak (and sound to other people) is one of your most defining features.
The process of learning a new language can be can used to reshape your personality and restructure your social network.
This kind of an intentional "fresh start" can help you develop a greater sense of freedom, confidence and joy.

For many language students, this happens completely unintentionally.
Learning a new language typically exposes people to other cultures and different ways of life.

Because only a few or perhaps none of the people you communicate within your new language know the “old you”, your personality can undergo significant changes that you may not be fully aware of until one day, you realize that you are not the same person in English as you are in Italian:
 
“Hello. My name is John and I work in accounting.”
“Ciao bello! Come stai?
Ho perso il mio numero di telefono, potrebbe prestarmi il suo?”

If you just used Google Translate to find out what that cheesy Italian pick up line means, you now know that translating pick up lines is a bad idea (almost as bad as using them in the first place).

IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

When you learn a new language, it's extremely important that you expose yourself to it sufficiently (the more the better).
Thanks to the Internet, it’s very easy to listen to native speakers of virtually any language.
Use it!
It will not only help you become familiar with the sound of a language and all of its unique characteristics but will also help you learn new words by listening for clues within the context of each conversation.

Just as in your native language, you will have to learn to understand people when they mumble or speak with an accent, when there's a lot of background noise, when you talk on the phone, etc.
Also, whether you like it or not, native speakers are going to speak fast and use words that you haven't learned yet.
To overcome these challenges, you will have to become a more attentive listener.
This doesn't just benefit you, but also the people you care about.

“Hi grandpa, how was your day?”
“Great! You won't believe the fun we had at Bingo night!”
“I can't wait to hear all about it.”

ENJOY THE FUN AND EXCITING PROCESS OF LEARNING A LANGUAGE

While there are certainly a few aspects to language learning that are challenging and a little tedious (like memorizing grammar rules, for example), it's generally an incredibly fun and rewarding process.
To get the most of your language learning experience, it's very important to choose a language course that is comprehensive, entertaining, and personalized.
Such a course will allow you to quickly expand your vocabulary and start speaking in your new language, which will make you feel great!

At first, you'll able to introduce yourself and name a few objects around the house.
You’ll be very proud the first time you order a meal and actually get what you wanted.
After a while, you'll even be able to read a book or watch an entire movie without having to look up every second word!
It makes it so much more enjoyable.
Eventually, you might even start thinking and dreaming in your new language and using words and phrases from in everyday life, just because it sounds better.
“¡Hasta la vista, baby!”

Becoming fluent in a foreign language will take time, but with some proper motivation, a few friendly native speakers and a good variety of effective and enjoyable study methods, you will come to think of it as a fun hobby that you'll look forward to every day.

Not convinced yet?
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Children are naturally fascinated by other children. Kids can captivate students and hold their attention like few other things can. In fact, according to psycholinguists, language development in children is driven largely by language use of other children (for example, here‘s a study about the effects of peer language input on preschoolers). This principle is one that we’ve taken to heart.

In our eight-level video series, students learn Spanish through a lively and humorous storyline featuring children modeling the language in a fun, life-like situations that they can relate to. Students are drawn into the lives of the characters in the videos and before they know it, they become part of the stories, wanting to see what happens next, forgetting that the stories are in a different language!

Children can learn Spanish like they learned their first language.

All of us acquired our first languages through our own experiences and interactions with others. Learning a foreign language should be similar. Similar to how they acquired their first language, students learn as they connect the context, visual cues, and actions of the characters with the language they use. Since most students don’t have the opportunity to live with a family speaking Spanish, we thought we would give students the next best thing. And students have ample opportunity to practice speaking Spanish with a plethora of games and hands-on activities built into our curriculum.

Students get the benefits of learning Spanish through stories.

Learning through stories is one of the most ancient and universal teaching techniques because it works. A story with an ongoing plot, good character development, vivid details and colorful graphics, unexpected twists, and humor draws us in and is easier to remember for a long time. Because it paints a picture in our minds, the content goes to our long-term memory and we retain it. It becomes part of us.

Students learn day-to-day Spanish conversations from the beginning.

At the heart of language is the connection between people, to communicate our wants and needs, and to engage with others to build relationships. Being able to connect with others in Spanish will provide your students with many incredibly rewarding experiences and excite them about progressing through their language-learning journey.

Unfortunately, many programs, even for children, focus on explicitly grammar-based learning or isolated units (such as teaching a unit of only colors, then numbers) and as a result, students lack the skills to have even the most basic conversations in Spanish, even after several years of study. After all, in real life kids don’t learn the names of all fruits or all household items in their first language at the same time. Because they learn from (and for) conversation, kids learn words like “dog” and “eat” much earlier than they do “grapefruit.” Just as the most practical aspects of language are (unconsciously) prioritized when we learn as infants, our Spanish curriculum focuses on the essentials for real-life communication so that students learn to converse, not to recite!

Focusing on conversation develops the essential skill of spontaneous recall and results in long-term retention.

Our Spanish curriculum is designed to optimize student retention of key concepts by teaching through context-rich conversation, never resorting to the rote memorization techniques that act as the foundation for far too many language-learning programs. With our approach, children are constantly engaged, become part of the stories, and don’t realize they are learning Spanish. Before they know it, they’re associating actions with the new language automatically. Instead of a forced effort to recall, students can quickly and easily retrieve the Spanish they want to use when they need it. As we’ve observed in our students over the years, the result is that the Spanish they learn are natural, automatic, and stored in their long-term memory.

Our curriculum offers teachers and parents many choices so they can easily customize and implement the program that best benefits their students.

Students have different learning styles and Teachers and Parents have different goals for their students. Whether you have a lot or a little amount of time for Spanish instruction, a variety of ages, and learning styles in your classes or family, our program will work for you. Most of the video lessons are only five minutes, and the teacher’s guides include an extensive set of hands-on activities to choose from. Students watch the video lessons; then teachers simply choose the supplemental activities that work best for their schedule and goals and accommodate the needs of their students.

When students learn Spanish using immersion, they will get all the cognitive benefits that come with learning a foreign language.

Learning a foreign language is one of the single best ways to strengthen a child’s brain. It uniquely develops the neural pathways in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, the language centers of the brain.

However, to maximize the many cognitive benefits, students must learn through immersion. This is because their minds must work out for themselves the connections between the actions or objects and the language, without resorting to their first language. We never use a translation, which inhibits a student’s ability to think in the language and be more automatic with it. With our program, your children and students are significantly strengthening their brains as they learn Spanish.

Not all immersion programs are the same. With our building-block immersion, students learn in small, manageable chunks that build up gradually over time.

Children have the benefit of time to learn Spanish and other foreign languages. They will embrace and take off with a new language when they can learn in small manageable chunks that build up gently over time. This reduces frustration and solidifies what has been learned, so it’s not superficial or rote — on the contrary, the result is a deeper connection to and understanding of the language.

When taught in a gradual and gentle way, immersion is by far the most effective way to learn Spanish and other languages. Our method teaches using a building-block immersion which first breaks down the language into smaller words and phrases and then gradually integrates the language together into sentences and then paragraphs. In this way, students aren’t intimidated by immersion, which can lead to frustration and a negative attitude towards Spanish. It also means that in time, students learn to speak Spanish in complex and naturalistic sentences, beyond simple words and phrases. Many programs simply don’t include this essential aspect of developing a student’s ability to integrate the vocabulary they have learned into full conversation. This is critical in any successful language program but is often inexplicably overlooked to the student’s detriment.

Teachers, learn more about our Spanish curriculum with our free trial for schools!

Homeschools and families, sign up for our 48-hour free trial and see your children speak Spanish before you know it!

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