I WANT TO LEARN … A LANGUAGE FOR MY SUMMER HOLIDAY!

The holiday season is here! Get more from your time away when you learn a bit of the local language.

We’ve selected the best and most innovative quick holiday courses for beginners, so that you can pick up the essentials before you head away – even if you’ve never studied a language before. Or just download a language course onto your ipod or mp3 player … and learn on the plane … on the beach … or at the bar! Don’t just speak English, get the holiday language advantage!

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While you’re there:

There are lots of different language courses you can download onto your ipod or mp3 player and take away on holiday with you.

01 Michel Thomas

One of our favourite download courses is the Michel Thomas Method, which is available in all your favourite holiday languages from Spanish to Portuguese.

languages: Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Learn a language on your iPod ® in the UK>>

02 Teach Yourself One-Day

Learn a language on your iPod ® in the UK>>

03 BBC Quickstart

BBC Quickstart is for you if you are going away on a weekend or short European break and want to grasp the basics of the language, without having to master any complicated grammar or phrases.

languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish

Learn a language on your iPod ® in the UK>>

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Before you go:

01 Teach Yourself One-Day

If you’re a complete (and we mean complete) beginner, then these may be the courses that get you started with French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish in just one-day. Perfect for that holiday or weekend break. Much better than just speaking English.

languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish

method: audio cd, booklet, dvd (French, Spanish only)

read our Teach Yourself one-day Greek review!

more information and to buy  Teach Yourself one-day from our Teach Yourself shop [UK and Europe]>>

more information and to buy  Teach Yourself one-day from our Teach Yourself store [USA and Americas]>>

02 Pimsleur Quick & Simple

Eight quick and simple audio lessons from Pimsleur to give you a start in conversation in your new language.   It’s like learning a language when you were a kid – slowing building up key words and phrases.   Just do 30 minutes a day and you’ll see progress in no time at all.

languages: Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek (Modern), Hebrew, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish

method: audio cd

read our Pimsleur quick & simple Mandarin Chinese review!

more information and to buy  Pimsleur Quick & Simple [USA and Amercias]>>

ipod & mp3 Earworms Rapid French Volumes 1 & 2

I tried out Volumes 1 & 2 of The Earworms Rapid French language courses – and downloaded them to my mp3 player.   This is a new learning experience for me – both having the French course on my mp3 player, as well as learning a language through the use of music. Read more

IPOD & MP3 EARWORMS RAPID FRENCH: VOLUME 2 REVIEW

An independent language course review by Andrea Martins

The Earworms Rapid French Volume 2 is the follow-on audio language course from Earworms Rapid French Volume 1. It comes included in the Earworms Rapid French downloadable package with volume 1.

Having already tried out Volume 1, I found that Volume 2 was more of the same – but at a faster pace and  learning  much longer phrases. Again, we meet the same presenters as in Volume 1 and with the same method of learning the French language via rhythmic music. We hear techno, reggae, chilled out music and even echo effects that are quite catchy! It’s this catchy and melodic music that helps you to pick up the language quickly and also helps you remember particular words and phrases. This is what Earworms calls the ‘accelerated learning technique’.

We are told to begin by sitting back and relaxing. We are on a plane with our presenters. The music kicks in and we start learning phrases for ‘are you going to?’, ‘for pleasure’ and ‘for business’. It sets the scene for using your French on the plane on your way to a French-speaking country. We learn how to ask for things; ‘can you bring me a cognac/beer?’.   It is here that we are exposed to our first piece of grammar; that of gender: une bierre (f) or feminine and un cognac (m) or masculine.

The English-speaking presenter reinforces our memory for learning certain phrases by associating them to English words. For example, for un instant he says ‘ah, like an instant’. Later he quips that he is going to remember souhaite (wish) by thinking of a sweatshirt with ‘WISH’ written across the front in big letters. These word associations tie in with the ‘memory hooks’ that Earworms also use. The memory hooks help you to associate the French to a visual memory and familiar words in English.

We move onto learning how to talk about today, tomorrow and maintenant (’now’). We also learn more grammar through the informal and formal forms of ‘you’ (tu/vous). The conversation runs into talking about having a reservation at a hotel, asking for things, saying that you are going to have a shower/bath and looking at numbers, from 60 to a million!

The chapters then go into learning the months of the year, talking about food in a restaurant and finally talking about family, brothers, sisters and the time. The course has a good overview of more expansive vocabulary and is enough to get you through basic conversations in French.

As with Volume 1, what I enjoyed most about the Earworms Rapid French was that I didn’t find learning  the language  too challenging. It is a fun way  to learn  a language. The one disadvantage to learning this way is that you have to like the music. I can imagine that if you don’t like the music, then you might find this method of learning quite irritating!

This course comes with a useful downloadable booklet. It gives more information into what the accelerated learning technique is about. It also lists all the phrases and words found in the course. This is useful for those (like me!) that like to see the written language and associate it with hearing the language at the same time.

This way of learning is different but is accessible for most learners. The course can be listened to on the beach, on a train, plane or anywhere where you can listen to the music and  not concentrate too hard on what is being taught.

Earworms courses are available in several languages.

Learn a language on your iPod ® with Earworms Rapid French Volume 2 [UK and Europe]>>

to find out more or to buy an Earworms language course>>

Get the French language advantage with Earworms Rapid French. Claim your competitive advantage!