Nelly Furtado sings … in Spanish

Did you know that the Canadian-Portuguese singer, Nelly Furtado, is writing her latest album entirely in Spanish? This is the first time that she will be releasing a non-English album. The album is called ‘Mi Plan’ and will be released on the 15th September 2009.

Find out how to learn to speak  Spanish and get the  Spanish language advantage

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!

---

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>>

---

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]>>

Le Quatorze Juillet

Bastille Day, known in French as le quatorze juillet,  is a French National holiday held on the 14 July each year.   It was on this day in 1789  when hundreds of Parisians stormed the Bastille Prison in Paris starting the French Revolution and bringing about the end of the monarchy.   Read more

Daniel Meade is learning … French

Daniel Meade is learning French in the hit TV show ‘Ugly Betty’.   The storyline finds Daniel (actor Eric Mabius) as the father to Daniel Jr. (actor Julian de la Celle) – apparently through a liaison with a French model in Paris.   Neither of them can speak much of the other’s language, 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!

IPOD & MP3 EARWORMS RAPID FRENCH: VOLUME 1 REVIEW

An independent language course review by Andrea Martins

Now this is a new learning experience for me: learning a language through the use of music. This is an interesting concept and something that Earworms calls an   ‘accelerated learning technique’. The idea behind it is to listen to words and phrases in a rhythmic way  set to melodic music .  You feel at ease as you listen and somehow the phrases become catchy and easy to recall.

I tried volume one of the Earworms Rapid French language course. It is just over an hour long and covers subjects that you might encounter whilst you are abroad such as ordering things, asking for things, asking directions, telling the time, numbers, days of the week, greetings and other useful expressions. You also cover verbs such as to eat, to order, to buy, to rent as well as asking questions such as ‘do you like?’, ‘what’s this?’ and ‘how much is it?’.

The first track deals with ‘je voudrais’ – I would like. Before you know it you are ordering drinks, as well as saying other expressions such as ‘parfait’, ‘de rien’ and ‘merci’ – all good conversation fillers and useful pleasantries!

Each sentence is repeated at least three to four times, but each time it is said at a slightly different pace and with a slightly different intonation. The sentence is then broken down into parts. So, for example ‘I would like to eat something’ is broken down into its components and then the word order is compared to English:   ‘I would like’, then ‘to eat’, then ’something’ then ‘to eat’ again and then ’something’ again and then the whole sentence is said in full once more. This idea of breaking up an expression and reconstructing it reminds me vaguely of the Michel Thomas method. But the Earworms method uses music and rhythmic repetition to great language learning effect!

The music varies from techno to funky jazz, guitar and ‘lift’ music (musak)! Each type of music denotes a different chapter so learning doesn’t become monotonous and allows you to associate certain language with certain music. At the end of each chapter track, a challenge is set for us, although the male English language speaker answers the questions. The female French speaker asks us ‘how do you say…..?’ with something that we have just covered in the chapter. It’s a good exercise and nothing too challenging.

In fact, this is what I enjoyed most about the Earworms Rapid French; I found the whole experience not too challenging or exhausting and yet I remembered quite a bit of the French. This particular 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. You even get a list of the English, the French (along with the audio of the sound) and its ‘memory hook’ – something which helps you associate the French to a visual memory and familiar words in English.

Overall, I thought that this course was fun, entertaining and I was under no pressure to memorise words. I later found myself humming one of the tunes and remembering the repetition of the French words! This method really does seem to work! C’est parfait!

Learn a language on your iPod ® with Earworms Rapid French Volume 1 [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!

Kylie is learning…. Spanish

Did you know that the Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue is learning Spanish? She  wants to learn  Spanish as she is in a relationship with the Spanish male model, Andres Velencoso.

Find out how to learn to speak  Spanish and get the  Spanish language advantage>>

La finale Di UEFA Champions League 2009

We’ve gone all Italian this week! This year’s UEFA Champions League Final will be held in the Stadio Olimpico, Rome on the 27th May 2009. FC Barcelona will play Manchester United FC in what could be an explosive football match.   A five-day celebration of football kicks off in Rome’s historic centre on Saturday 23rd May with the official opening of the UEFA Champions Festival. Read more

WORLD MUSIC

There is no better way to really absorb a language than to listen to music every minute of the day.   You’ll soon be singing along and learning your language at the same time!

---

Browse our Language Advantage World Music Shop [UK]>>

Browse our Language Advantage World Music Store [USA]>>

 

---

top of page

David Beckham is learning … Italian

Did you know that David and Victoria Beckham are both learning Italian now that they live in Milan owing to David’s season at football club AC Milan?

Find out how to learn to speak Italian and get the Italian language advantage>>

Read more

Next Page »