I can’t speak a foreign language, can I still help my child learn? – Yes you can!
Maybe you are planning a holiday in a foreign country or perhaps you have family or friends living abroad and want to learn the language to communicate easily. You may think that because you aren’t fluent in a language you won’t be able to teach your child, however, it isn’t difficult to learn a few of the basics as you go along. Besides, learning about another language and culture together is an excellent way to spend quality time as a family.
Read on for tips on helping your and your child learn another language. Find links to the best language learning resources available today.
Continue reading
5 tips to improve your Spanish pronunciation.
Learning new Spanish words and understanding the grammar is just half the battle. If you aren’t pronouncing the words correctly you will find communicating effectively with Spanish people difficult which can lead to confusion. Here we offer tips on how to master pronunciation so that you will sound like a native Spanish speaker in no time at all! Continue reading
10 easy & fun ways to build Spanish into your everyday life – perfect for busy people!
If your New Year’s Resolution has been to learn or improve Spanish (or any foreign language) but you are wondering how you are going to find the time to do this, read this article for easy, enjoyable ways to bring the language into your everyday life. Ok, so you don’t have time to sit over a Spanish grammar book for 2 hours a day, no problem, there are many other ways to learn a language: Continue reading
Filler words in Spanish (muletillas) – sound like a native speaker, not a textbook!
In English we have many filler words that we use to give ourselves time to think about what we are going to say next, such as; err, well, hmmm, like, etc. Particularly when you are learning to speak a foreign language like Spanish you start a sentence and then halfway you get stuck as to what to say next and you need a few seconds to think. It is here that these “filler words” come in handy. In Spanish, “filler” words are known as “muletillas” or “palabras de relleno”. If you can learn a few of these words they will not only make you to sound more natural and therefore more like a native speaker, but they can also give you time to think about how to word what you want to say next. Read on to learn the key “filler words” (“muletillas”) in Spanish and sound like a true Spaniard!: Continue reading
Learn Spanish and earn money at the same time – become an Aupair in Spain!
One of the best ways to learn a language and to become fluent quickly is to live and work in the country for a few months or even a few years. A popular way to do this for many young people is to work as an Aupair for a host-family. This is a cultural exchange which allows you to improve the language and learn about the culture from living with native speakers as well as earning money at the same time. In this article we will look at how one specialist Aupair agency in Spain works – “Family & Aupair”. Continue reading
6 tips to boost your memory and learn new words fast!
I am often asked by learners, “… but how do you remember all of the words?” Here are my top tips for learning and retaining words in another language and some proven ways to boost your memory:
1) Learn with pictures. Instead of learning endless lists of vocabulary, make you own picture dictionary. Seeing the word with an image will definitely help you to remember it for longer. Label household items and rooms in the house (as long as this doesn’t annoy the people you live with!) Continue reading
How NOT to learn Spanish! – 10 tips
1. Don’t rely on online translators. They are good for quick translations of words and expressions but don’t expect to type in a whole paragraph in English and have it translated into perfect Spanish. Online translators cannot understand the context. For example, in Spanish to say “What is Madrid like?” the correct translation is “¿Cómo es Madrid?” [Literally “How is Madrid?”] but if you put this into an online translator it comes out as “¿Lo que se desea Madrid?” – incorrect. [Literally, “What does Madrid like?”] Continue reading
Tips on helping your child learn a foreign language
Why should my child learn another language?
Research shows that children who speak another language perform better across all academic subjects. They are more confident, creative, have better problem-solving skills and more cultural awareness – invaluable in today’s multicultural society. School leavers with knowledge of foreign languages stand much better chances of getting better jobs as today’s global marketplace means multilingual staff are in great demand. Continue reading
Tips on what to do when you can’t remember a word or don’t know a word that you want to use in a foreign language
Often when you are talking in a foreign language you get stuck when you are in the middle of a sentence and find that you either don’t know a particular word or you can’t remember it. Here are some useful tips to help you out: Continue reading