• Language Learning Resources on LearnALanguage.com

    I would like to take a moment of your time and inform you about the language-learning resources on LearnALanguage.com. This website is full of vocabulary and phrases that will help you improve your knowledge of the language you are learning. The site provides you with hundreds of lessons, games and activities in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, French to English and Spanish to English. A few of the pages I visit most often include: I love you in Spanish Kiss me in Italian Japanese Slang How are you in French Where is the restroom in Russian Can you help me in German Months and days in Chinese Expresiones de inglés Animaux anglais Learning how to say different phrases in other languages is fun. You may want to put …

  • Chinese Birth Year Signs

    Have you ever wondered what your Chinese birth year sign is? Well first of all, what are these signs? You’ve probably seen these signs, also known as Chinese zodiac or astrology signs, when you go to a Chinese restaurant. A printed sheet of paper, used as a place mat, shows twelve animals and has a brief explanation of each. You are assigned an animal depending on which year you were born in. This is about the extent most of us look into these signs. Oh man, was I surprised when I looked into my own sign a little more… My zodiac sign is the Tiger. I’m not convinced these signs are a real predictor, but I was blown away when I read a complete description of those born in the year of …

  • Learning a Language : Our Mission

    Every organization needs to have a mission.  This is the purpose, the overriding goal behind everything that we do.  We here at LearnALanguage.com had a very long, intense discussion over what our mission would be.  We think that you’ll be excited about this: Our Mission: To make language-learning a convenient and social habit through modern technology.  Pretty simple, right?  Let’s break it down together, just to see exactly why we’re here and what we’re doing. Language-learning: We operate based on the assumption that everyone is interested in learning a second, third or fourth language (or ought to be so).  The benefits are enormous and let’s face it – no one will ever regret learning another language.  We all have our own reasons, and that’s good enough for us. Convenient: We know that …

  • Funny Communication Fails

    FAIL The word “fail” is one of the most popular search words in Google and YouTube.  For some reason, human beings find enjoyment in watching the slip-ups and trip-ups of their fellow earth-dwellers.  America’s Funniest Home Videos, a TV show based solely on people falling over, is one of the most popular, family-centered TV shows of all time.  There’s nothing wrong with that (mostly), but here is the question: How do you make sure that you are the one watching these ‘fails’, not the one performing? I can’t tell you how to ride a bike properly, or how NOT to jump into a swimming pool, but I can give you some help with the language blunders that happen so often.  We’ve all heard the horror stories, and some of us …

  • Happy Birthday Multi-Language

    Are you tired of saying happy birthday in just one language? Add a little spice to the birthday party by being able to say happy birthday in multiple languages. You could even have a happy birthday multi-language party! Here is a video to help you: I hope your birthday party is awesome!

  • How to Turn Motivation into Celebration

    What gets you motivated? What gets you super-pumped and excited? What events cause celebration in your life? Take a moment and really think about those questions. It may even be helpful to write down your answers. I’d like to take a moment and answer those question for myself, and together I hope we can learn how to turn motivation into celebration. What gets you motivated? For me, the answer to that question depends on what the goal is. In my life, I usually see or experience something that motivates me and gives me the desire to set a goal and achieve it. For example, I have seen a healthy transformation in my father. For years, he could not sleep in a bed because he would get heartburn every night due …

  • Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award Winners

    One great way to immerse yourself in a new language is by watching TV or movies in that language. If movies are your choice, you should consider picking from the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners. Every year since 1956 non-English films that are made outside the United States are nominated for the award. These nominations and awards make a great resource when looking for the best foreign language films. The winner at the 2012 Academy Awards was “A Separation” directed by Asghar Farhadi. The film is in Persian and marks Iran’s first win since the award began. Some other notable nominees from this year included “Bullhead” in Dutch, French and Limburgish; “Footnote” in Hebrew; “In Darkness” in Polish, German, Yiddish and Ukrainian; and “Monsieur Lazhar”  in French. Yes, speaking is …

  • What Are Some Useful Language Tools?

    Every day, Google gets asked hundreds of thousands of questions about how to study better, what are the best tools to learn a language, what are the short-cuts, what advice do professionals offer, where are the great resources, the list goes on.  We all know it – Learning a language is a very difficult thing.  So why make it harder?  Every single tool that we come upon should be used to the fullest benefit possible.  It has been said that ‘life is a game of inches.’  Here at LearnALanguage.com, we have another tool to help you ‘get those inches.’ You can find our toolbar all over our site.  Download the bar that has each language (by selecting the image to the left), or you can go to the Learn Spanish …

  • Self Motivation Quotes

    It’s not easy to be self-motivated. We realize that learning a language is not an easy task. It takes self-motivation and hard work. In order to help you when you may not feel very motivated, I have compiled a list of some of my favorite self-motivation quotes. Many of the quotes come from the community of Mindbloom.  “One learns the most about writing once their pen is moving.” “You can’t fly if you never jump!” “Your breakthroughs will come when you do what you’ve been afraid to do.” “The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” -Steve Young “If you find yourself getting nervous, stop and relax for three full breaths. Then take one small step, then another. That is …

  • Learning a Second Language….. and a Third….. and a Fourth…..

    Do you know who Ioannis Ikonomou is?  I didn’t either – that is, until I ran across an article about one of the smartest living human beings.  Most of us would consider speaking a second language as a great feat.  A third language? Incredible.  A fourth language?  Impossible.  Not Ioannis Ikonomou.  This 46-year old Greece-born, world-citizen “feels comfortable” speaking and communicating in 32 languages.  That’s not a typo – 32 (as in thirty-two). As a native Grecian, his mother-tongue is Greek.  He began learning English when he was 6 years old.  After English came German…  Then Russian…  Italian…  Turkish…  Arabic…  And so the story goes.  Ioannis is now employed as the only in-house translator for the European Commission of the United Nations.  He spends about half the year in Beijing, China as …

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