#studying languages

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Concurrences exercise (2)

Short exercise about adjective-noun-article-verb concurrence (this is not a gender-free exercise cause Italian grammar is still very related to genders and there are occasions in which is hard to find a gender-free way of writing). Make your choice and check it under the keep reading link.

1.
A. Io e mio fratello sono molto felici.
B. Io e mio fratello siamo molto felice.
C. Io e mio fratello siamo molti felice.
D. Io e mio fratello siamo molto felici.

2.
A. Luigi e sua sorella va al mare.
B. Luigi e sua sorella vanno al mare.
C. Luigi e suo sorella vanno al mare.
D. Luigi e suoi sorella vanni al mare.

3.
A. La tua casa e molto grande.
B. La tua casa è molto grande.
C. La tue casa è molta grande.
D. La tua casa è molta granda.

4.
A. Lo mio gatto beve il latte.
B. Il mio gatto beva il latte.
C. Il mio gatto beve il latte.
D. Il mio gatto beve lo latte.

5.
A. Io rispondono al telefono.
B. Io rispondo allo telefono.
C. Io rispondo a il telefono.
D. Io rispondo al telefono.

6.
A. Oggi abbiamo scritto sul quaderno.
B. Oggi abbiamo scritto sul cuaderno.
C. Oggi abbiamo scritti sul quaderno.
D. Oggi abbiamo scritto sullo quaderno.

7.
A. I cani abbaia al ladro.
B. I cani abbaiano al ladro.
C. I cani abbaiano a lo ladro.
D. Gli cani abbaiano al ladro.

1D - 2B - 3B - 4C - 5D - 6A - 7B

hoping everyone is having a great start of the weekmore study and inspiring content on my instagram

hoping everyone is having a great start of the week

more study and inspiring content on my instagram account if you need daily motivation: @thomreads on ig


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JPN GRAMMAR: Number (+Counter) (ぐらい・くらい) は / Noun (だけ)は “At least)”Source: Tobira Lesson 51. MeaningJPN GRAMMAR: Number (+Counter) (ぐらい・くらい) は / Noun (だけ)は “At least)”Source: Tobira Lesson 51. Meaning

JPN GRAMMAR: Number (+Counter) (ぐらい・くらい) は / Noun (だけ)は “At least)”

Source: Tobira Lesson 5

1. Meaning

At least

2. Structure

Number +(counter) は

Nだけは

N(ぐらい/くらい)は

3. Examples

1. 一週間に一回プールで泳ぐようにしている。

2. 仕事が忙しくても、昼ご飯だけ食べて下さい。

3. 30人もパーティーに誘ったから、10人ぐらい来てくれるだろう。

Image sources: 1,2 (We Heart It)


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JPN Grammar: 〜など (non-exhaustive list)Source: Tobira Lesson 2〜など indicates that the given list is noJPN Grammar: 〜など (non-exhaustive list)Source: Tobira Lesson 2〜など indicates that the given list is no

JPN Grammar: 〜など (non-exhaustive list)

Source: Tobira Lesson 2

〜など indicates that the given list is non-exhaustive. When more than one item is listed, や is commonly used to connect them.

1. Structure

N1 や N2 + など + particle(は・も・が・を・に・の・etc)

2. Examples

夏休みはギリシャイギリスなどに行こうと思っています。

日本の食べ物の中ではすし天ぷらなどが好きです。

今学期は日本語アジアの歴史(れきし)などのクラスを取っています。

Image sources: 1,2 (We Heart It)


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JPN Grammar: 〜なければ(ならない・いけない)〜なくては(ならない・いけない)“Must/Have to”Source: Tobira Lesson 2 and JLPT SenseiThJPN Grammar: 〜なければ(ならない・いけない)〜なくては(ならない・いけない)“Must/Have to”Source: Tobira Lesson 2 and JLPT SenseiTh

JPN Grammar: 〜なければ(ならない・いけない)〜なくては(ならない・いけない)Must/Have to”

Source: Tobira Lesson 2 and JLPT Sensei

These patterns express the idea of obligation. Although they are interchangeable, there is a subtle difference between ならない and いけない. 

ならない: speaker stating their sense of obligation

いけない: sense of obligation directed towards the hearer

Obs.: To express the opposite, you can use 〜てはいけない(written)〜ちゃいけない・じゃいけない(spoken)

1. Meaning

have to; must; should

2. Structure

verb + な + 〜ければ・くては(ならない・いけない)

〜なければならない(Formal: なりません Spoken: なきゃならない)

〜なければいけない(Formal: いけません)

〜なくてはならない(Formal: なりません Spoken: なくちゃならない)

〜なくてはいけない(Formal: いけません)

3. Examples

早く寝なければならない。I must go to sleep early.

私も頑張らなければいけない。I have to do my best too.

本当にすぐは行かなくてはいけない。I really have to go soon.

日本語をもっと勉強しなくてはならない。I really need to study Japanese more.

調べなきゃならないことがあるから、図書館に行って来るよ。I’m going to the library because I have something to look up.

A: 今週末、何をしますか?B: 来週の月曜日にテストがありますから、今週末は勉強しなければならない。A: What are you going to do this weekend? B: I have a test next Monday so I have to study this weekend.

A: 週末に、となりの町で伝統的(でんとうてき)な祭り(まつり)があるんですが、行けませんか。B: 面白そうですね。でも、土曜日は教会に行かなければならないんです。日曜日でもいいですか。A:  There is a traditional festival on the weekend in the neighboring town. Do you want to go? B: Sounds interesting. But I have to go to church on Saturday. Is Sunday okay?

Image sources: 1,2 (We Heart It)


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Source: Genki II Lesson 13.3

Intermediate Japanese Review Day 2 & 3/15

Used to express an impression or inference based on direct observation. Equivalent to “it looks like” or “it seems like”.

1. Structure:

い adjectives: おいしい → おいしいそうです・おいしくなさそうです

exception: いい → よさそうです・よくなさそうです

な adjectives: 元気(な) → 元気そうです・元気じゃなさそうです (drop な)

2. Examples:

Affirmative:

このりんごはおいしいそうです。This apple looks delicious.

明日は天気がよさそうです。It looks like the weather will be fine tomorrow.

メアリーさんは元気そうでした。Mary looked fine.

Negative:

この本は難しくなさそうです。This book doesn’t look difficult.

ともこさんはテニスが上手じゃなさそうです。It looks like Tomoko isn’t good at tennis.

3. Qualifying a noun: adjective + そうな

そう can be used after an adjective to qualify a noun. そう is a な adjective, thus it is written as そうな.

暖かそうなセーターを着ています。She is wears a warm-looking sweater.

For more information: PuniPuni Japan

captain-jale:

inlanguagewedontsay:

In Czech we don’t say “You’re annoying” or “You’re irritating me”, we say “sereš mě (seresh me)”, which literally means “You’re shitting (on) me” and this is just perfect way to describe the feeling.

Submitted by anonymous, with the help of @anxiousahsoka

In French we say “tu me fais chier” which means “you’re making me shit”

I did it! Yesterday I convinced my boyfriend to learn a new language (thanks to endless talks about why learning a language is the best thing on earth haha). Actually I gave up on this but out of nowhere he was like “I’m thinking about learning French”. Hell yeah!!! So he took French. Well not my favourite language but probably useful when visiting France and I’m not going to complain about it because I’m happy af that he’s going to learn a new language. We’re living in Germany so France is not that far away, even though we’re usually in Italy for vacation (I guess things will change lol). 

Learning languages as a couple, sounds like much fun but we’re not learning the same language, so it’s going to be a little bit different and also harder to help each other and study together. That’s why I’m writing this, how can we support each other the best way even if we’re not learning the same language and what are the advantages of learning two different langauges? Let’s do this!

  • Challenge each other. We both use Memrise as a tool to challenge each other. There’s a high score list and I’m very competitive and he has 2 hours of boredom every day because he’s traveling by train. Today I couldn’t believe how high his high score was after getting up. It was already a little bit hard to keep up with him.
  • Test each other. The thing with testing our vocabulary knowledge is… that he can’t read my vocab because of a different alphabet. The solution is easy: In my case he’s just asking the German words, I translate them and then he shows me the word. I can ask French and German words.
  • Play games. There are many multiplayer games where you can play together and just switch the language of the interface to the language you learn.
  • Be creative. You have so many options how to learn a language (just like my Tumblr post about “different ways to learn a language”), if you’re creative. For example: acting like you two do only speak your target languages but it’s important for the survival of humankind that you two talk to each other (about whatever). Just use Google Translate and type in what you want to say and show it your partner. You may think this is pointless but it’s not about learning what the other person says, it’s about learning how to make sentences on your own. No matter if they are correct, you should just try and think about what you want to say and how you could do that. Many language learners have the problem that they can understand a lot but are not able to make their own sentences because they rarely do that compared to studying their passiv vocab.
  • Rewards. You probably know about rewarding yourself when reaching a goal, but now you can make a deal with your partner. For example the person who has a higher high score on Memrise can make a wish. Maybe there’s just a difference for very competitive people to “normal” rewards you give yourself but for me, this is so much more fun because I WANT TO WIN THIS SHIT! Also, there are way more option for your price because you’re not alone anymore (hello massage, I’m coming for you).
  • More support. I know you can get support from friends (if you can get them to learning a language lol, I gave up there) or your language exchange partner but it’ll never be like getting through this with your partner. Also, if you’re living together your partner is always there for you, if you feel like giving up or want to celebrate (even very small) goals you reached your partner is just around the corner.
  • It’s hot. Let’s be honest, speaking another language makes people more attractive (proven fact) and seeing the person you already love speaking another language (which you don’t understand, so it’s a skill you don’t have) makes him/her even more attractive.
  • More opportunities. Because both partner learn a different language, there are double as much opportunities for vacation and where to travel, away from these tourism places.
  • More cultural diversity. If you learn a new language you (mostly) also learn about their culture. So with a partner who’s learning another language you don’t just have one new culture around you but also another one.
image

Here are 20 reasons why you should learn a foreign language. (You can find even more if you look up advantages of your target language.) :)

  1. Makes you more attractive. Seriously. You don’t even have to speak it all the time. It’s enough if people know you CAN speak it.
  2. Increased concentration.
  3. Increased multi-tasking-skill.
  4. Increased intelligence / IQ.
  5. More open and tolerant.
  6. Increased self-esteem.
  7. Lowe chances of diseases. For example like Alzheimer (4x).
  8. Better memory.
  9. You make decisions faster and better.
  10. You make decisions (only in your target language) more logical.
  11. Less “limited” mind because of more views.
  12. Better in separating important from unimportant information.
  13. Better in discovering false information (lies).
  14. You won’t get into tourism traps.
  15. Art, literature, books, etc. in original language.
  16. You’re more positive.
  17. It’s easier to solve complex problems (for example in mathematics).
  18. Advantage because of globalization. The world gets “smaller” because of the internet.
  19. Increased creativity.
  20. Helps you get better in your native language.
image

Do you know these times when you’re sitting in front of your textbook, trying to learn these boring af vocabs you’ve seen 1000 times but still can’t remember and just wish to do something different (or hoping that the world explodes so you can at least stop)?

Well, there are more ways to learn a language and I think because we just learned how we “should” learn a language at school, we’re limited in creativity. Thanks to school it’s hard to think outside of this “textbook, vocab lists, tests, etc.” stuff but there are ENDLESS things you can do to learn a language.

Remember: everything you do in your native language, you can try to do in your target language!

This is for all the people who are tired and exhausted, who are thinking about quitting or don’t have fun with their target language anymore.

DON’T YOU DARE TO GIVE UP! YOU’VE COME SO FAR!

_____________________________________________

Examples for different ways of learning a language:

  • write a diary
  • summarise an article about a topic you like (cooking, fitness, etc.)
  • listen to a podcast/radio
  • listen to music (while reading the lyrics)
  • try to sing along with music
  • read out loud while reading a book/magazine/blog/etc.
  • watch movies/series/videos
  • record videos in your target language or about how studying is going (progress, problems, etc.)
  • write a blog (well hello there :))
  • use apps that make it more fun (duolingo, memrise, lingodeer)
  • chat with native speakers
  • actually talk to native speakers ( I know what a crazy idea)
  • read websites about things you’re interested in
  • use social media only available in your target language
  • change the language of your smartphone
  • change the language of your pc
  • change the language of your life
  • play games in your target language (like not necessarily for learning it, I mean just playing a normal game IN your target language)  
  • take online lessons with teachers that make you forget you’re learning
  • do a challenge! (I love this one so much)
  • find a learning group
  • be active in forums (no matter about language learning or a forum in your target language)
  • find a language exchange partner. (You should, seriously.)
  • watch lessons on youtube
  • read a (children-)book (with audio)
  • talk to yourself 
  • think in your target language (a fun way is to tell a story about your life while it’s happening like “I went down the road with a stranger always behind me, who could it be? What does he want? It got quiet… too quiet. I tried to keep calm but was it really a coincidence? All in the middle of nowhere?” I know I’m bad at this but I hope you get what I mean, think of it like reading a book.)
  • learn vocabs with pictures, type in the word you want to know and ONLY look for pictures, try to feel the word. If you google for “strawberry” (in your target language and don’t know what it means) look at the pictures, the colours, how could it smell? Make a sentence with the new word. When was the last time you ate it? How was it?
  • Write a story/book online or just for yourself.
  • Make a mindmap
  • Use a topic jar (a jar where you put in notes with different topics on it, you take one every day and write/talk about it)
  • use social media to find groups interested in learning a new language or your target language
  • translate texts and act like you’re a famous translator who’s the only person on earth who can translate your target language (for example if you’re reading articles about historical stuff, act like you’re the only one who can find out what happened back then and the whole world is counting on you!)
  • try to solve random online tests
  • listen to a song/audiobook/whatever and write down what you hear
  • search for words you want to learn and build up (funny!) sentences with them or even whole stories
  • read comics/mangas/etc.
  • search for receipts  in your target language and pray to god you’re doing it right… if not, well you won’t forget the vocab again. Win-win situation. :p
  • search for language learning groups near your living place and actually meet them (stay safe and check everything before)
  • listen to children songs (I still remember the first children song I learned in English lessons… like… 11 years ago in 5th grade) these songs are supposed to stick… *cough* head shoulders knees and toes knees and toes *cough* sorry where was I?
  • connect with language learners over Skype (useful groups of course like German trying to learn French, Frenchman trying to learn Turkish, Turk trying to learn German)
  • write a list (you know… like I do right know so I don’t forget English)
  • describe things you see (more fun with a partner)
  • teach your target language to others
  • listen to audio while sleeping
  • take notes in your target language (I don’t mean for grammar rules or something like that, I mean notes you would take in your native language anyway)
  • write a letter (so much better than an e-mail)
  • write an e-mail (who has time for letters)
  • learn rimes 
  • learn jokes (it’s also useful for social interaction)
  • talk to your pets (at least if they listen to you, if I start to talk to my cat she starts yelling into my face)
  • translate songs and learn the vocab of it so you have more fun listening to it later
  • think about a topic and write down every word you can think of and then translate them into your target language

That’s a question I asked myself many times. So I spent a lot of time on blogs and websites telling me that you can’t name an exactly number. Of course you can’t but I was just searching for an “around this” number. Everyone knows that there is no magical number like 1000 and then you’ll speak your target language but with 999 you wouldn’t. I just wanted “around this” numbers to be motivated, to have a goal, to have a direction I can keep in mind.  It was a pain in the ass to get an answer to this. And I want to share it with you guys, so you don’t have to waste your time on several blogs and giant textwalls to get just a little bit closer to this answer. Don’t forget these are just “around this” numbers and it’s very(!) important that you also use them and SPEAK your target language.
 _______________________________________
 100 most common words make up 50% of conversations.

300 most common words make up 65% of conversations.

2.000 most common words make up 90% of conversations.
_______________________________________
What are the different levels of a language?

A1: 500 words A2: 1.000 words

B1: 2.000 words B2: 4.000 words

C1: 8.000 words C2: 16.000 words
_______________________________________

And here a little bit detailed:

250 words - without these words, you can’t make a sentence.

750 words - is needed for everyday conversations.

2.500 words - will allow you to say most things you want, but sometimes in an awkward way.

5.000 words - is an active vocabulary of a (not high educated) native speaker.

10.000 words - is an active vocabulary of a (high educated) native speaker.

20.000 words - is needed in your passive vocabulary to fully understand work of literature by a notable author.

Day 4 / 365 days of productivity and language learning. ☕ 20. Nov. 2017 I had trouble with my internDay 4 / 365 days of productivity and language learning. ☕ 20. Nov. 2017 I had trouble with my internDay 4 / 365 days of productivity and language learning. ☕ 20. Nov. 2017 I had trouble with my internDay 4 / 365 days of productivity and language learning. ☕ 20. Nov. 2017 I had trouble with my intern

Day 4 / 365 days of productivity and language learning. ☕

20. Nov. 2017

I had trouble with my internet the past days and don’t know which productivity day I have now… so I’m using a date on my post from now on haha.
I’m not the best Studyblr or Langblr so far.^^
This is a Bujo entry I made yesterday. It’s a to do list for this week. Like studying Korean, making a Tumblr post, new vocabs, meditation and stuff like that.
Sorry for the chaos but… you know… I’m a chaotic person. ^^
I hope everyone is having a productive day while studying or language learning or whatever. :)


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doinglanguagestuff:

image

Do you know these times when you’re sitting in front of your textbook, trying to learn these boring af vocabs you’ve seen 1000 times but still can’t remember and just wish to do something different (or hoping that the world explodes so you can at least stop)?

Well, there are more ways to learn a language and I think because we just learned how we “should” learn a language at school, we’re limited in creativity. Thanks to school it’s hard to think outside of this “textbook, vocab lists, tests, etc.” stuff but there are ENDLESS things you can do to learn a language.
Remember: everything you do in your native language, you can try to do in your target language!

This is for all the people who are tired and exhausted, who are thinking about quitting or don’t have fun with their target language anymore.
DON’T YOU DARE TO GIVE UP! YOU’VE COME SO FAR!

_____________________________________________

Examples for different ways of learning a language:

  • write a diary
  • summarise an article about a topic you like (cooking, fitness, etc.)
  • listen to a podcast/radio
  • listen to music (while reading the lyrics)
  • try to sing along with music
  • read out loud while reading a book/magazine/blog/etc.
  • watch movies/series/videos
  • record videos in your target language or about how studying is going (progress, problems, etc.)
  • write a blog (well hello there :))
  • use apps that make it more fun (duolingo, memrise, lingodeer)
  • chat with native speakers
  • actually talk to native speakers ( I know what a crazy idea)
  • read websites about things you’re interested in
  • use social media only available in your target language
  • change the language of your smartphone
  • change the language of your pc
  • change the language of your life
  • play games in your target language (like not necessarily for learning it, I mean just playing a normal game IN your target language)  
  • take online lessons with teachers that make you forget you’re learning
  • do a challenge! (I love this one so much)
  • find a learning group
  • be active in forums (no matter about language learning or a forum in your target language)
  • find a language exchange partner. (You should, seriously.)
  • watch lessons on youtube
  • read a (children-)book (with audio)
  • talk to yourself 
  • think in your target language (a fun way is to tell a story about your life while it’s happening like “I went down the road with a stranger always behind me, who could it be? What does he want? It got quite… too quite. I tried to keep calm but was it really a coincidence? All in the middle of nowhere?” I know I’m bad at this but I hope you get what I mean, think of it like reading a book.)
  • learn vocabs with pictures, type in the word you want to know and ONLY look for pictures, try to feel the word. If you google for “strawberry” (in your target language and don’t know what it means) look at the pictures, the colours, how could it smell? Make a sentence with the new word. When was the last time you ate it? How was it?
  • Write a story/book online or just for yourself.
  • Make a mindmap
  • Use a topic jar (a jar where you put in notes with different topics on it, you take one every day and write/talk about it)
  • use social media to find groups interested in learning a new language or your target language
  • translate texts and act like you’re a famous translator who’s the only person on earth who can translate your target language (for example if you’re reading articles about historical stuff, act like you’re the only one who can find out what happened back then and the whole world is counting on you!)
  • try to solve random online tests
  • listen to a song/audiobook/whatever and write down what you hear
  • search for words you want to learn and build up (funny!) sentences with them or even whole stories
  • read comics/mangas/etc.
  • search for receipts  in your target language and pray to god you’re doing it right… if not, well you won’t forget the vocab again. Win-win situation. :p
  • search for language learning groups near your living place and actually meet them (stay safe and check everything before)
  • listen to children songs (I still remember the first children song I learned in English lessons… like… 11 years ago in 5th grade) these songs are supposed to stick… *cough* head shoulders knees and toes knees and toes *cough* sorry where was I?
  • connect with language learners over Skype (useful groups of course like German trying to learn French, Frenchman trying to learn Turkish, Turk trying to learn German)
  • write a list (you know… like I do right know so I don’t forget English)
  • describe things you see (more fun with a partner)
  • teach your target language to others
  • listen to audio while sleeping
  • take notes in your target language (I don’t mean for grammar rules or something like that, I mean notes you would take in your native language anyway)
  • write a letter (so much better than an e-mail)
  • write an e-mail (who has time for letters)
  • learn rimes 
  • learn jokes (it’s also useful for social interaction)
  • talk to your pets (at least if they listen to you, if I start to talk to my cat she starts yelling into my face)
  • translate songs and learn the vocab of it so you have more fun listening to it later
  • think about a topic and write down every word you can think of and then translate them into your target language

An old post I often use recently.

Use the polite form in German to be rude.

So a friend wanted to practice German with me and started to speak in the polite form.

I told him that it’s not necessary to use it with me because 1. we’re about the same age and 2. we’re talking over the internet.

He asked me what the second thing has to do with it. I told him that I would use the polite form to speak with a 50 years old in real-life but not if he is messaging me over the internet.

Then he asked what I’m talking about, because I once sent him a screenshot of a weird old men. And I used the polite form while talking to him.

The thing is, this 50 years old man tried to hit on me and I was using the polite form to make clear (for him), how much older he is. So he would stop with this bullshit. But he was like all the other old men who try to hit on me and said “oh you don’t need to use the polite form with me, we’re basically around the same age”. Sorry b*tch, we’re what? I’m 22. Even if you double my age I’m still younger!

I kept using the polite form, which makes them angry every single time because it basically means “You’re so much older, don’t even dream of sleeping with me. It’s disgusting.”

And I think it’s really funny how you can use a polite form to be rude af and make people angry by using it with them.

Languages. Weird little things.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all are having a wonderful day. :)
 Lately I’m thinking about learning two languages at the same time. Usually I always was like “hell no, this is not going to happen” because I remember when I first tried doing this (without a plan or any knowledge how I could do that) I failed. Like really hard. I always switched up words and grammar, because I was learning them literally AT THE SAME TIME. For example when I tried to learn a new word, I learned it for language A and B simultaneously. Later I didn’t know which word belonged to which language. Or if I knew it in language A I just couldn’t get away from this word. No chance to remember it in language B.

___________________________

So the goal is to separate them as much as you can! You want to learn them at the same time but NOT together. Make them as different as possible.. You want your brain to connect these languages with different things. Now, it’s time to take a look on how you can do that.

  • Don’t start them at the same time. I know first it sounds strange if you want to learn two languages at the same time but you shouldn’t start both on the same day. Because right at the beginning you have to learn the same words like “hello, how are you, my name is, bye, etc.” and as I said you want to separate them as much as you can. Just pick one and concentrate on it for a few weeks (like one month or if you learn fast even less) and then start the other one. This way you already know the very basic stuff in language A and don’t confuse it with language B.
  • Don’t take similar languages. The worse you can do is learning two similar languages. First it sounds like a good idea, because of similar grammar and especially similar words, which could make you think “this way I learn faster” but it’s NOT the case.
    Italian and Spanish? Bad idea.
    German and Dutch? Bad idea.
    Russian and Ukrainian? Bad idea.
    The best is to take languages that aren’t even in the same language family.
  • Take languages with different letters. This is a hack that can help you a lot. Especially if you are a visual learner, languages with different writing systems will make it nearly impossible to switch them up. I mostly learn stuff through seeing it. Like seriously, I can’t remember shit if I just hear it but I were able to learn 500 Spanish words for a test on the next day in 2 hours because I used a technique for visual learners. Of course I wasn’t able to keep all of them in the long term memory but it was enough to get an A. And I never ever switched up words (even if I learned them at the same day in two languages) if they were written in different letters, because if I remember a word, I see it in front of my inner eye. So to all visual learners: THIS is the best thing you can do.
  • Use different colours and stick to them. For example always use blue for Russian and red for Spanish. It makes it easier for your brain to switch between them. You brain will associate the language with this colour. So if you switch from Russian to Spanish and your brain sees red it will automatically first use the connections it built up around this colour. And you connected Spanish with red. I don’t know how to explain that properly but if you see red your brain connects it with Spanish vocab because it’s “closer” than the Russian vocab.
  • Use different times. Same as above. You connect one language with a specific time. For example after you get up in the morning you study Russian and before you go to bed you study Spanish.
  • One of the languages should be a familiar one. This way you will have “less” work. For example if your native language is French then Spanish or Italian are good ones for you. But remember that the second language you chose should be as different as possible.
  • Chose a main language. There will be a time when you question yourself, if this was a good idea. It will feel like you’re getting nowhere and of course you will think about if it’s because you don’t concentrate on one language. With a main language you will see more progress because you spend more time with it. A really great way to motivate yourself and if you don’t like the choice you made you can always take the other one as main language.
  • Make a plan. I don’t know what else I could say about this because you probably all know what I mean. You have to make a plan WHEN you learn WHICH language for HOW LONG and WHAT you want to learn.
  • Think in your target languages. As soon as you have an intermediate level, you can start using both languages at the same time and even practice them together. Try to translate from language A to language B. This way you can learn to think in your new languages because there is no need to think in your native language at all. At this point try to avoid your native language as much as you can.
  • Take your time. You can’t expect to learn two languages as fast as you would learn a single one.
  • Learn at different places. Same as the colour and time tip. Connect every language with another place. For example Russian is the living room and Spanish the kitchen. Or if it’s possible try to learn one of them at the library/park/etc.
  • Connect them with emotions (and not only textbooks). For example speaking Spanish with your friends (happy, comfortable, etc.) and exploring Moscow while speaking Russian with the natives there (exited, nervous, etc.)
  • Study both every day. I guess I don’t need to say more.
  • Keep in mind that it’s even harder to keep your motivation. If you loose motivation in learning languages, it will be twice as hard to get back on track. Because everything will take twice as long. So if you find it hard to learn one language if you’re not motivated, you should consider learning one after another. Your progress will be slower if you learn two languages at once and if you’re not a person who can handle this, you should stick with one.
  • Make everything different. I know I mentioned it a lot but just think about what you could change in your learning routine. You can help your brain to connect many things with language A or language B. You drink Cola while studying language A and tea while studying language B. Put a picture of Spain on your table while studying Spanish and one of Russia while studying Russian. Write with a black pencil in Spanish and with a grey one in Russian. Meditate before Spanish and work out before Russian (or other morning/night routines you do, followed by the language you want to connect it with).

I hope this post was helpful for you and keep in mind that if you just want to speak as many languages as possible, one after another will be faster. But if you want to learn both languages at the same time because you really like them, there is nothing stopping you. :)

Before I start I want to mention a few things about this post.

  1. The easiest language will always be the one you like learning, because if you have fun, it’s not really hard. Also, if you are motivated you will learn much faster.
  2. This post will show you how long it will take to learn a language based on their difficulty. That just means, how DIFFERENT it is to the English language. More different = “harder”. It does NOT take into account if you are interested in a language or not. The condition of these groups are that your interest in these languages are ALL THE SAME!
  3. The numbers I will give you are “just around this”numbers.
  4. Based on which other languages you already speak, some languages will be easier (means faster) for you.
  5. There are many factors that can change the pace of your language learning journey. (I will also make a post about this topic soon)

So first we will take a look at the groups. Which language are the easiest and hardest for English speakers?

_________________________

Group 1 (575-600 hours): the easiest languages because they are very similar to English. This are languages like Italian, Spanish, French, etc.

Group 2 (750 hours): still similar to English. In this group is just one language. German. (I guess because our articles are a pain in the ass. Seriously, I have friends that came here 10 years ago, don’t even have an accent anymore but still switch up some articles.)

Group 3 (900 hours): different to English. In this group are languages like Indonesian or Swahili. 

Group 4 (1100 hours):  significant differences to English. In this group are languages like Bulgarian, Croatian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Russian and many more.

Group 5 (2200 hours): very different to English. In this group are languages like Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

I made a post about many more languages, so if your target languages is not mentioned here, you can look it up on my other post here.

_________________________

And why did I tell you about these groups? Because the thing we care about are the hours it takes to learn a language from one of these groups! 

But that’s not all, we also care about the amount of words you have to learn to be fluent in a language. I also made a post about this, so if you want to know more about how many words you need to be conversational, fluent, etc. or if you are A1, A2, B1, etc. then you can check it out here.

So based on this post we want a vocabulary of 5.000 words. You also have to keep in mind to study listening, speaking, reading and writing to cover everything up. If you just learn a language from a textbook you probably won’t understand native speakers at all and you will also won’t find words when it comes to speaking it. The following numbers are for people who want to be fluent. Like REAL fluent like a (low educated) native speaker.

_________________________

How long will it take to learn a language from…

Group 1 (600 hours):

  • studying 1 hour per day: one year and 235 days.
  • studying 2 hours per day: 300 days.
  • studying 3 hours per day: 200 days.
  • studying 4 hours per day: 150 days.
  • studying 5 hours per day: 120 days.

Group 2 (750 hours):

  • studying 1 hour per day: 2 years and 20 days.
  • studying 2 hours per day: 1 year and 10 days.
  • studying 3 hours per day: 250 days.
  • studying 4 hours per day: 188 days.
  • studying 5 hours per day: 150 days.

Group 3 (900 hours):

  • studying 1 hour per day: 2 years and 170 days.
  • studying 2 hours per day: 1 year and 85 days.
  • studying 3 hours per day: 300 days.
  • studying 4 hours per day: 225 days.
  • studying 5 hours per day: 180 days.

Group 4 (1100 hours):

  • studying 1 hour per day: 3 years and 5 days.
  • studying 2 hours per day: 1 year and 185 days.
  • studying 3 hours per day: 1 year and 2 days.
  • studying 4 hours per day: 275 days.
  • studying 5 hours per day: 220 days.

Group 5 (2200 hours):

  • studying 1 hour per day: 6 years and 10 days.
  • studying 2 hours per day: 3 years and 5 days.
  • studying 3 hours per day: 2 years and 4 days.
  • studying 4 hours per day: 1 year and 185 days.
  • studying 5 hours per day: 1 year and 75 days.

Me: Okay, today I will get shit done. I will study at least 2 hours after work.

Brain: Or you could just take a nap.

Me: What? No. Yesterday you told me you are motivated and we will do this today.

Brain: Just think about it. You worked 9 hours and now you want to study? That seems stupid to me. Think about pizza, watching a movie, eating chocolate and taking a nap.

Me: Why are you like this to me??

Brain: Nap… What? Nap. What? Nap! I can’t hear you. TAKE A NAP!

Me:But…

Brain:Nap.

Me: You make me angry.

Brain: You know what would help you to relax? A nap.

Me every single day.

The best way to keep your motivation is to reward yourself for reaching your goals (even the small ones!). :)
But first you need to set goals… if you have no idea what you could do on your language learning journey you can check out this postfrom@lovelybluepanda.
It’s a really cool post about “100 Goals you can have as a language learner”. There are daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals.
So, if you’re done choosing the goals you want to reach, it’s time to choose the reward you want to get after completing it.
__________________________________

Here are examples for rewards you can give yourself. :)

  • go to a café with your friends
  • watch a movie at the cinema
  • make a trip to another city
  • buy stickers, pencils, markers, washi tapes, etc. everything you’re using for your language learning entries
  • buy yourself something big for reaching big goals ( like even a car, yes I’m talking about REALLY big goals)
  • new shoes
  • an app
  • a monthly subscription for a language learning app/website like Busuu,  Babbel or Memrise
  • food from your target country
  • beauty stuff from your target country (yes I’m looking at you Korean and Japanese learners, there is much you can buy)
  • order food to your house
  • nail polish, lipstick, beauty masks, etc. (just small things you can buy at the next drugstore)
  • massage
  • new hairstyle
  • eyelashes extensions
  • take a day off
  • visit a museum
  • buy yourself a new book (maybe even one for language learning)
  • make a Netflix day
  • candy from the next grocery store
  • buy something that’s trending in your target country
  • a trip to your target country
  • go to a restaurant with friends or your family
  • a new outfit
  • get a pedicure/manicure
  • buy yourself flowers
  • take a course (like cooking, drawing, etc.)
  • visit a comedy club
  • tickets for a festival/band/singer you want to see
  • go golfing with friends
  • paintball (like seriously… try it with friends it’s fun haha :))
  • spa day
  • join a sport club
  • gym membership
  • go camping
  • a new laptop bag
  • look online for something you want and take the first thing you see (that’s especially for people like me who usually need days to decide if they want something or not)
  • visit a bookstore or library
  • make a picnic
  • take a hot bubble bath
  • buy a magazine or even subscribe to one
  • buy a plant for the room you’re usually studying
  • new headphones to have a better quality while listening to songs in your target language
  • piercing
  • tattoo
  • jewellery
  • buy a few online lessons in italki
  • yoga / meditation
  • buy candy from your target language
  • buy a bag with candy from all over the world
  • a mixer for smoothies
  • new workout clothes
  • go to a party/club
  • a new journal (or your first one)
  • a fancy waterbottle
  • search for new songs in your target language
  • a colouring book to relax
  • put money into a jar every time you reach a goal (for a bigger reward)
  • search for events near your city
  • go on a road trip with your best friend or partner
  • take language classes
  • buy a new videogame
  • try a new hobby

Done. I hope you find some of my ideas helpful. :)

A while ago I made a post about Dutch websites that can help you practice your Dutch, and a bunch of lovely people added some websites to the original post so I figured it was time to update the post. The websites are now sorted into more specific categories to keep the post more organised. 

A special thanks to @onzin-en-talen​ for adding the Belgian websites!


Beginner (kids websites)

jeugdjournaal.nl is the website for het Jeugdjournaal (daily on tv for 7-10 year old kids). Easy language, so easier to follow. Daily news ‘episodes’, 15 minutes long.

ketnet.be is a Belgian kids channel. Check out karrewiet too!


More advanced: News

AD.nl is an online newspaper - it is for adults so if you want news that’s familiar to items you can find on your newspaper you could go to the topic Buitenland.

NU.nlis another online newspaper which might be harder to read so again, if you go to Buitenland you’ll find worldwide newsitems.

NOS.nl again, an online news website and a topic Buitenland.

destandaard.be is a Belgian newspaper. This is the Buitenlandsection.

demorgen.be I couldn’t find a Buitenland section, but they do have, among others, a MusicandTechnology section on which you can find interesting articles.

hln.be another Belgian newspaper. This is the link to the Buitenlandsection.

VRT NWS is the Belgian public broadcasting service’s news website.


More advanced: Sports

sportnieuws.nl offers the latest sports news in the Netherlands.

sporza.beis the Belgian public broadcasting service’s sport news site.


More advanced: TV

NPO 1 is the Dutch national broadcasting channel, here you can watch live TV.

bvn.tvis a website where you can watch Dutch TV (thank you, @join-the-dutch-clan​)!

uitzendinggemist.nl here you can watch TV too, this website uploads recent episodes you might have missed on TV.


More advanced: Magazines

humo.be is a Belgian magazine, which provides interviews. They also offer reviews of concerts, CDs, TV programs and movies.

knack.be is a magazine that offers news as well as interviews on their website.


More advanced: Radio 

onlineluisteren.nl offers all radio stations in the Netherlands, sorted by genre (if you scroll down). You can also find the regional channels on here! These offer more news about the province. 

qmusic.nlis the website for Dutch radio station Q Music. You can find music, videos from the studio and music related news on here.They mainly focus on pop.

radio 538 is another Dutch radio station, focused on pop. They have a section called Gemist that offers the latest interviews and other cool stuff they did.

stubru.be is a Belgian alternative rock radio station - @onzin-en-talen​ recommends the interview Linde Merckpoel had with Ed Sheeran. They offer music news and more. 

mnm.be is another Belgian radio station, which is more focused on pop.


Learning vocab

woordjesleren.nlis a website where you can look up lists of words and sentences from a lot of language methods we use in Holland. There are not only Dutch - English lists, but also Dutch - other languages. It isn’t that great though if you don’t have the schoolbooks that belong to the lists… There also is an app but that probably will only work if you’re in the Dutch Appstore.

wrts.nl wrts is short for woordjes which translates to words. I think it’s free - at least when I made my account. You can make lists by yourself, or download lists from woordjesleren.nl.


Let me know if you have any questions or are looking for something specific! Voor nu wens ik je veel succes en plezier!

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