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Thanks for reading the Multilingual Books newsletter, your source for foreign language news, information, and product information and specials from Multilingual Books. This is also available as a web page at our website, www.multilingualbooks.com. In this issue:
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This month's feature is the second installment of an exclusive series by staff member Rodman Reynolds.
Language Learning Tips
Tip #2: Learn Nothing in Isolation
By Rodman Reynolds
Most foreign language students quite reasonably prepare themselves for the daunting task of accumulating those huge amounts of vocabulary and word forms (if it's an inflected language like Spanish or German) by creating word lists, charts, flash cards, and similar tools. All these tools are very useful, but they carry with them the hidden danger that if you train in your language by memorizing long lists of words, what you end up learning is a whole lot of words in a list - the material has been learned in isolation, away from the context of live, spoken language.
If actually being able to function in the target language is your goal then it is important to remember to always start using the words, grammar forms, and formulaic sentence structures in sentences of your own - both in written composition and in actual speaking.
For example, let's imagine that you have just learned the Spanish words for dog, cat, food, as well as the Preterite (simple past) tense of verbs. If you want, you can always memorize the words and the verb forms (adding that to the mountain of other words and verb forms you've been learning) and hope that you'll be able to come up with it when you need it. But, if you really want to have that information digested and well-rehearsed for a real-life situation, you'll be much better off training yourself by working those new elements into sentences of your own, using previously learned material as well as the new. Make up new combinations, and switch around elements as much as possible. Form a few complex sentences as well as simple ones. You'll notice that changing one element often requires changing the entire sentence as well. The more you practice on your own, the quicker you'll be able to come up with proper sentences in live situations, which is most likely what you're really out to achieve, right?
Here's some examples using the words for dog (perro), cat (gato), and the Preterite tense.
I bought a dog and a cat.
Compré un perro y un gato.
We bought three dogs and a cat yesterday.
Compramos tres perros y un gato ayer.
The dogs ate the cat right away.
Los perros comieron el gato en seguida.
We didn't buy any more cats after that.
No compramos más de gatos después.
One can keep making as many sentences as necessary to really work the new language into deeper memory. The important thing to remember is to create your own sentences, whether simple or complicated, because when you're speaking with a real person, material that's simply been memorized isn't going to take you very far.
Until next time,
Rodman Reynolds
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Worldwatch.org Reports 2,100 Languages Near Extinction
Worldwatch.org, an organization that watches global trends, recently reported that 2,100 of the world's 6,800 known languages are in danger of becoming extinct.
Please visit the worldwatch.org website to order a electronic version of the full report.
Interesting Language Facts
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Linguaphone Courses Multilingual Books is the newest US distributor of Linguaphone's top quality audio and video courses. Linguaphone is known around the world as the leader in high-end personal language instruction. With courses in 30 languages, Linguaphone products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit our Linguaphone product page. |
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TeLL Me More Software Courses TeLL Me More is Europe's best selling language software, used by major schools, universities and corporations. Tell Me More is a complete learning solution, with 200 hours of material per level, multimedia video and sound, and state-of-the-art speech recognition. TeLL me More speech recognition technology recognizes what you say, assesses your pronunciation, and corrects any mistakes. Available in 3 levels for the beginner or more advanced student, in 8 languages: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish. For more information, please visit our TeLL Me More product page. |
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Systran Professional The best machine translation program in its class has just been updated with new language capabilities. Systran Professional is designed for corporate users and is available for the 14 most used language pairs in the business world. Systran can translate most file formats and is lightning fast. In fact, Systran PROfessional can translate over 600 pages per hour. We use Systran PROfessional almost every day for our own internal translations and recommend it above all others. For more information, please visit our Systran product page. |
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$50 Instant Rebate on Professional Cassette Center Complete Language Courses |
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Free Shipping on Auralog Software Courses For a limited time, receive free shipping (on US orders) on your order of TeLL Me More or any Auralog products. Use promo code AUR418 to receive your special. TeLL Me More is Europe's best selling language software, used by major schools, universities and corporations. Available in 3 levels for the beginner or more advanced student, in 8 languages: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish. For more information, please visit our TeLL Me More product page. |
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When I moved to Seattle from Muskegon, Michigan (a city on Lake Michigan) in early 1999, I was looking for exciting and challenging opportunities in a great city. I knew Seattle would be for me!
My formal education at a mid-sized liberal arts university includes degrees in English and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Since I like to write, I emphasized Journalism in my studies. I also studied Spanish in high school and college to honor my Latino heritage. It was then that the love of languages seed was planted.
My post college jobs include being a Recording Engineer at Brilliance Audio, a producer of books on tapes. It gave me technical experience I never knew I was capable of. With this book industry experience, I then went into bookselling. I became a Bookseller Manager at a local chain of remainder books in western Michigan. In charge of my own store, I quickly gained knowledge and insight into the bookselling industry. My other career ventures had me substitute teaching for children K - 12 and freelance writing for local music magazines. I was also a Writer and Associate Producer for a local TV talkshow! A summer trip to New York City in 1998 cemented my decision to move to a bigger city and make use of my communication skills and cultural interests.
Once in Seattle, I started out at some temporary jobs (Amazon.com, Starbucks offices). Eventually, I landed a full time job at Borders Books and Music in downtown Seattle. Once there, I was promoted to Corporate Sales Representative. This gave me a great feel for this city. Besides the responsibility, it gave me a sales savvy and drive.
I take all this experience, along with my love of languages and interest in multiculturalism, here. I believe that the seed planted years ago is now ready to bloom at the Internet Language Company!
Paul Torres
Internet Language Company
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