Owen Lee asked:
Millions upon millions of people are learning a language each day around the world, and with the assistance of rapidly developing modern technologies and sophistication of internet, a lot of these learners are doing it on the internet. Language schools are not a must any more.
First of all, you can learn foreign languages online through with podcasts or any such type of recordings that are readily available at many websites nowadays. Simply do a search on Google with keywords related to “podcast” and you’ll be able to locate a great number of podcasts for your own learning pleasure. If you would like to have more up-to-date information, you can tune into online radio stations and listen to the news or music. If you happen to be blessed with a faster internet connection, you can also watch TV online. The possibilities are endless.
Another very simple way to learn foreign languages online is to practice speaking foreign languages with a native speaker who happens to be learning your mother tongue. You can communicate with them by using instant messaging applications, e.g. MSN messenger, ICQ… You can also talk to them directly using software like Skype or any other VOIP (Voice Over IP) applications.
The only question becomes… How do you find such people to act as your teachers? It’s not that difficult. There are many different language exchange communities on the internet where you can find partners according to your own needs. Simple do a search on any major search engines with the keyword “language exchange”, and you should be able to find your first partner for learning foreign languages in almost no time at all.
And thanks to thousands of language enthusiasts, there are tons of carefully constructed lessons online and you can learn other languages for free at your own convenience. Do another simple search for foreign language courses and you’re bound to find countless of them out there to assist you to get up to speed quickly. This is probably the most direct way to learn foreign languages online.
Also, do you write your blogs? If so, join the blogger community. The type of words and phrases used in blogs is arguably the most original and fresh language that you can ever run into. Interact with bloggers abroad and, who knows, maybe they’ll become your tutors in some way.
The above are just a couple of ideas of how you can learn foreign languages online, but really, don’t be restricted to those ideas. There are plenty of other ways to get online exposure to the languages you want to learn. Keep searching and have fun while doing it.
Philip Nicosia asked:
In today’s competitive and evolving world, the importance of education has never been more important. People are now more aware of the continuing need to improve one’s self through adult learning. Due to factors such as time constraint, e-learning has quickly emerged as an alternative means of continuing education.
As globalization continues to be the trend these days, more and more people feel the need to learn at least one foreign language. Again, due to the fast-paced lives many lead today, online courses present a viable alternative to the traditional face to face, or classroom, language learning. The major advantage of learning foreign languages through e-learning is the convenience it presents to the learner. Materials can be made available anytime, anywhere. The learner can access modules at his own time and he work on his courses at his own pace.
Computer assisted language learning has been in existence for many years now. In fact, its roots can be traced back to the 1960s. This technique began with a simple drill and practice approach. As more pedagogical elements were introduced, computer assisted language learning evolved into a more interactive experience.
The question many people ask is just how effective is learning a foreign language online? The main difference between classroom learning and e-learning is the presence of a teacher. A good teacher recognizes the learning needs of the student. In addition to that, a good teacher recognizes the learning style of each individual student. He capitalizes on both factors and enhances learning through different techniques. Due to advances is many e-learning platforms, these factors have been taken into consideration. The learner’s needs and learning styles can now be dealt with accordingly.
Today’s e-learning platforms offer a wide range of approaches to suit each learner’s specific needs. Some platforms even make use of facilitators - human or otherwise - to encourage the student and enhance the learning process. When combined with the convenience of studying at one’s own pace, e-learning proves to be an effective way of learning a new language.
Studies show that more people prefer e-learning to the traditional classroom sessions. The flexibility the e-learning offers seems to be one of the major factors that students take into consideration. Some personalities react more positively to the online learning environment. One explanation is that the relative anonymity that this type of learning gives a student more confidence. Studies show that learning languages online seems to present a more relaxed learning atmosphere. It has been proven time and again that such a learning atmosphere does a lot in terms of enhancing the learning process. The student learns more and in a shorter span of time than normal. The student also tends to remember more of what he has learned.
Online foreign language learning also capitalizes on the amount and quality of information and resources that can be found on the Internet. E-learning programs take advantage of this situation, enhancing learning even more. So if you are seeking to learn a foreign language, whether for professional or personal reasons, online learning just might be the right choice for you.
Larry M. Lynch asked:
In this article, I invited a native English speaker now living and working abroad; to share his best tips and experiences in picking up a foreign lingo once you’ve been relocated onto foreign soil. As mentioned before, when it comes to foreign language learning, be it English or any one of the other 6912 spoken languages in the world, we could all use any help we can get. Here are some segments from his extensive comments excerpted from my e-book, “You CAN Learn a Foreign Language: Tested Techniques Anyone Can Use to Learn ANY Foreign Language”.
Meet Kayleigh Garman
Kayleigh “Kees” Garman, Director of Language Studies at a large language institute in Europe, offers the following additional comments during an interview on foreign language learning. He speaks English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, and Turkish and is now working on his Hungarian.
Learning a new language can be challenging for anyone As a learner of multiple languages, admittedly some better than others, there are indeed some tricks I have used to make the process easier for me personally which hopefully will benefit those who might be intimidated by the idea of trying to master (whatever that means actually) a new language. Some are rather obvious tips, but others are possibly things not much considered before.
Never fear
“One of the biggest and most obvious ways people hold themselves back in developing a new language is by being afraid to make mistakes.”
“Strive for meaning above accuracy, especially at the beginning!”
What do you mean Kees?
Are you saying that it’s okay not to have perfect grammar and language skills at the outset, even on simple structures? Are you suggesting that foreign language teachers and foreign language learners shouldn’t correct all their mistakes to keep from becoming “fossilized” in some mistakes?
“Yes and yes!”
Learn to laugh
On top of not fearing your mistakes, a very healthy dose of laughter can really take the sting out of those dreadful and “inevitable” mistakes.
“I’ll never forget some years ago being in a kitchen meeting at the dormitory in Denmark where I was living for a year and the horrible blunder I made. After waiting my turn to say that we needed to clear out the freezer of old bread and vegetables from days gone by, I made the following embarrassing mistake: Instead of saying “I’m very unhappy with the freezer situation” (fryseren), I said to my 23 friends at the table that I was “immensely unhappy about my hairdresser” (frisøren). It wouldn’t have been so bad, except that I was practically banging my fist about it – you can imagine the querying looks I got from my friends. You can also imagine the good laughs we had about in the days to come.”
But as they say; “It’s better to laugh than to cry!”
Get your pronunciation right
The mistake above was due to stress and intonation. Obviously you’re going to get it wrong sometimes, but why people (and often teachers as well) are seemingly rather lazy or uninterested in addressing pronunciation will forever be beyond me. Naturally, no one expects a learner of a new language to step off the plane sounding like a native-speaker, but let me say very clearly that …
… “The earlier one deals with getting pronunciation as close to natural as possible, the better off everyone is in the long run.”
Your speech doesn’t need to be the “Queen’s English”, in most settings one sounds quite silly speaking in such a way, but your language needs to understandable and acceptable to the community you’re in.
No matter which foreign language you might wish to tackle, these “from the trenches” tips can be useful tools in your English or other foreign language learning arsenal.
Andrew Bolinger asked:
Press releases are designed to provide exposure for a company or organization. They are written either for the media to adapt or to interest your potential customers directly. It helps if they are already crafted in such a way that they are ready for publication. In many instances, the press will run press releases without making any modifications on the original content, so you want to make sure that your material already contains all the information that you want to relay and in a format ready for publication.
If you’re a novice at writing press releases, looking up examples of press releases will help you with how to craft your own release. Try to keep your content interesting but impartial. You want to come across as an authority in your field.
You can find samples of press releases all over the Internet. There are websites that were created mainly to help users learn how to write these materials properly so they usually contain templates and formatting instructions that you can follow. Take note that a press release has to follow a standard format so you need to take the time to learn about this pattern before you go about writing your first press release.
Press release submission sites usually also offer you sample press releases which you can use as a basis for your own material. It’s best if you study press releases that were produced by companies or organizations that are somehow related or similar to your own. This way, you’ll have a good idea of how to go about relaying your information to your readers. But your press release should be unique, of course.
Steve Kettle asked:
Learning to speak foreign languages does not come easy for most people. The problem is that many of us find the need to learn a foreign language a must for trying to keep pace at work. Being bilingual is no longer a unique ability that someone picks up in college or while serving in the military. It has progressed far beyond knowing a few phrases as our economy becomes more world wide.
Many of us learn to speak Spanish or French in high school. At least we think we know the language until someone actually begins speaking to us in their native tongue! No time for reference books to help decipher what we are trying to understand or communicate. The need to learn a foreign language is real. It may mean the difference between a great promotion at work or being stuck in the same department for years.
Job opportunities are not the only reason for learning to speak a foreign language. World wide travel has become a popular recreation these days. Cruise line, for example, rarely have captains who claim English as their native language. Today, any vacation spot along United States coast lines will likely have workers that speak some language other than English. Wouldn’t it simplify things if you if you could learn a foreign language that would allow you to communicate freely with them?
Learning to speak a foreign language is also a great hobby. Even if you never plan to visit Mexico or any other Latin American country you could learn to speak Spanish or French just for the thrill of learning. It is a great sense of accomplishment when you can fluently order in French at your favorite French restaurant…and know what you are ordering!!
There are many reasons to learn a foreign language. Increased job opportunities, foreign travel and vacations, and of course, just for fun. No matter the reason, all of us will some day encounter a situation where knowing how to speak or read in a language other than our own will become important. Will you be ready?
Ilse Hagen asked:
Seated leg press benefits are tremendous because not only do you get to work your muscles, particularly on the lower body, but you also get to unwind a couple of tight muscles usually caused by arthritis or other muscle conditions. Seated leg press benefits are great, that’s why some people even use it as a form of therapy for older patients who have difficulty walking.
About leg press
There are currently two approaches to leg press. These are usually done to test an athlete’s lower body strength and to build leg muscles, which can be good for marathons, jogging, and other strenuous sports activities. At low intensity levels, a leg press can also be therapeutic to athletes.
The two approaches to leg presses are:
The diagonal leg press - where cast iron weight plates are attached to the leg press sled. The person sits below the sled and pushes the iron weights upward.
The seated leg press - these equipments are commonly found in gyms where the person sits upright and pushes the weights forward with their feet.
Essentially, the difference between the two is the way the person pushes the weights. But a little difference in direction actually creates a lot of impact for the body.
The right machines
Now that you know the seated leg press benefits, it is time to find the right leg press machine for either your business or home use.
When looking for either a cable or seated leg press machine, try to go for high quality - but often expensive ones. You don’t want to be hurting anyone so you have to look for those that come with safety brackets. Also, make sure that the safety brackets are easily adjustable. Finally, try to make enough room to place the machine so you can maximize the benefits of doing leg press in your small home gym.
Anna Hart asked:
Birthday e-cards are fun to send and fun to receive. Most are free or low-cost, and you don’t need to pay postage. As a result, birthday e-cards have become a very popular means of wishing well to family and friends.
Foreign birthday e-cards can add to the fun - or can wish happy birthday to a friend who is either in a foreign land, or who speaks a foreign language.
We have friends in Japan, so naturally wanted to find Japanese birthday e-cards. No problem. A few minutes of search online turned up several sites offering foreign birthday e-cards in Japanese and other languages.
Foreign birthday e-cards may be English, and still be foreign. We have friends in New Zealand, too, and were delighted to find a source of “Kiwi” birthday e-cards online.
Foreign Birthday E-Card Sources
Foreign birthday e-cards are readily available, and worth the search. We did part of the work to get you started. We could not include every possible source of foreign birthday e-cards, nor could we include every language, but these examples should help.
1. Blue Mountain: This popular site offers many foreign birthday e-cards. Spanish birthday e-cards are the most numerous, and easily seen. For other nationalities or language, simply type the word into the Blue Mountain search engine. We found Japanese birthday e-cards with Japanese music! There were even more Chinese e-cards.
2. New Zealand: Although birthday e-cards from any English language site work for New Zealand friends and family, those that are distinctly New Zealand will be appreciated. KiwiCards has several great birthday e-cards. New Zealand’s tourist site has post cards that make good birthday e-cards. So does the New Zealand Nature Company.
3. Eriksen Translations: This website offers 9 different foreign birthday e-cards. You choose the language you want, and then edit your birthday e-card. The cards are not fancy, but they meet the need.
4. Kaartenhuis: Here is a wonderful place to find Dutch birthday e-cards. They have many cards from which to choose.
5. Edit Image: has dozens of clever, animated foreign e-cards with art and music distinct to a dozen different countries. These quickly become birthday e-cards when you personalize them. They can keep you interested longer than intended, and are sure to please.
6. Say it with E-cards: Hebrew birthday e-cards are featured here, as well as Judaic birthday e-cards in English.
7. Go Dubai: Here you can find foreign birthday e-cards for Middle Eastern groups.
You can continue your search by using words such as “German,” “e-card,” and “service” in a single search. You will also find foreign birthday e-cards on many English e-card websites. Simply visit the site, locate its search engine, and type in the name of the nation or language you want.
DIY Foreign Birthday E-cards
Foreign birthday e-cards can be made quickly by you. Visit a nation’s tourism website, and look for free e-postcards. Write your birthday message on one of these beautiful postcards, and it becomes a birthday e-card.
Many other sites post free e-cards as a service for their customers. Character-in-Action, for example, has beautiful “character” cards, some featuring a single character trait, others without words. Add your message in the foreign language for a unique birthday e-card.
If you are on great terms with your computer, and can make animated graphics, you might even want to experiment with creating foreign birthday e-cards from scratch.
Tip
Things like foreign birthday e-cards are not always easy to find, but with determination and patience, you should find exactly what you need.
Nora Zavalczki asked:
There’s a flaming debate on which the best method of acquiring a language is. There are two main methods of learning a language: the natural and the artificial way.
The first at hand, and by far most popular method of learning a language, is the natural method. Some linguists support the natural method, which means getting in touch with the new language and omitting the mother tongue as much as possible while learning. Instead of using the known mother tongue, a teacher or language trainer can use sign language and drawings in order to explain new words and the meaning of different expressions in the new language. In this case, the teacher appeals to the intuitive skills of the learners who will learn the language by imitation.
Also, if a person is exposed to a multilingual environment, s/he can learn two or more languages using the natural method with no difficulty at all. Being exposed to a multilingual environment means being contact with two or more languages, be they spoken by parents/grandparents, or spoken on TV or at a foreign language kindergarten or school. Being a method based on imitation, this method is very effective for kids and young learners as they have a strong imitation instinct and an absorbent brain that records easily.
On the other hand, there are people who are not responsive to the natural method of learning a different language. Those people need to have grammar and phonetic guidance in order to understand how a language works. The linguists that hold up to this artificial method agree to the fact that the natural language is effective only to a certain point, and that one cannot possibly speak a naturally acquired language 100% accurately, as mistakes might slip in. As a result, some agree to the need for a grammar and a dictionary. However, knowing the grammar rules and a massive number of words will not necessarily mean that these will be used correctly, and one might encounter difficulties when it comes to expression. Consequently, one will need a great amount of practice.
All in all, the best method of learning a language is the one that works for you. You can try the natural way and after a while go and double check with a grammar book, or simply go for the theoretical part from the beginning.
Peter Boston asked:
Coffee Presses
French presses or more recently coffee presses are the ultimate green coffee maker. Other than heating water in a separate kettle no energy is required, and now the Toddy Maker Cold Brew Coffee Maker eliminates even that requirement. The toddy maker coffee cold brew method drastically reduces many of the oils and acids found in hot brewed coffee that are not soluble at low temperatures. Cold brew coffee is easier on the stomach for acid sensitive coffee drinkers. Opinions vary on if cold brew leaves too much of the oil and acid in the bean.
Perhaps the most valuable feature of coffee presses is that they give you absolute control over the temperature of the water used for the coffee maker brew, which, along with the quality of the bean, is probably the most important factor in the quest for the perfect cup. Bodum is still the biggest seller worldwide but AeroPress and other coffee press manufacturers are making a name. The number of reviews for coffee machines of all kinds indicate how passionate people are about their coffee and the different styles of coffeemakers.
Drip Coffeemakers
Cold water from a reservoir on the coffee maker is first heated and then dripped onto coffee grounds contained within a filter assembly. That is the essence of a drip coffeemaker. You can still find manual drip coffeemakers but the overwhelming majority of drip coffee makers are electric. The final result is brewed coffee deposited into a glass pot, a thermal carafe, or an insulated travel mug.
There are variations in the water temperature of the brew, the filter assembly design, and speed of the drip, so some drip coffeemakers do make better coffee than others, and it’s not necessarily a function of price. Black & Decker is the value leader. With a little experience, however, you can tweak any drip coffeemaker to get it just right for you. Some models are programmable and have built-in water filters. Some drip coffeemakers like the Cuisinart DGB900 grind and brew in one operation. A drip coffeemaker sits on your kitchen counter in plain sight so maybe the deciding factor should be whether the darn thing is attractive enough to be there.
Sean R Mize asked:
Writing a press release is not a very simple task if you do not understand the basic frame work of writing a press release. A press release needs to be written properly, the selection of words needs to be good; it has to be concise and informative. While writing a press release it is important that you remember your target market and its nature. The way you write your press release will be affected by the profile of your target market segment.
The press release is good only if it has the information it is supposed to convey to the reader. It can be considered to be well written only if it has the desired information stated clearly. The content needs to be rich and it also needs to be carefully worded. A press release does not need to have very complex sentences. It needs to be simple enough to be read and understood by the general public.
Many companies prepare lots of press releases. The trick they use is that they prepare many slightly different versions of the same press releases. This is something really good as now the same press release can be sent to different smaller segment of the target audience. Not every one can write a good and effective press release. If you need any help in this regard you can browse through the internet. Many websites will be able to give you a clear guide line about how a press release should be written. You can also hire a professional press release writer to do this job for you