Archive for February 5th, 2010

How to Learn German Quickly And Cheaply

Friday, February 5th, 2010

When it comes to the best way to learn German, it seems that there is often two ways to go about the problem. In most cases they represent polar opposite ways to go about solving the problem. You can spend a lot of money on learning German. And this will probably be successful. Or you can spend a lot of time on the problem and this too will probably be successful. If you spend plenty of cash you will no doubt be saving time to reach your objective (presumably to be fluent in German). If you devote plenty of time to the issue then you will no doubt be able to save on the money you expend.

So there are two likely scenarios.

You arrange a trip to Germany, where you take part in an intensive German language course. You spend a few months in the country afterwords to consolidate and hone your learning. You leave when you have attained a good level of conversational German or are fluent. Of course this adds up to a pretty penny but you will probably have an excellent grasp of German at the end.

The second option is to stay at home. You get yourself a standard course on learning German. You know, the one that has a booklet and some audio tapes or cd’s. If you have a bit of extra cash you may go for a software program that has a few more multimedia devices to help you learn. Whatever course you go for, it will be a whole lot less than a ticket and all the other things that it takes to go to Germany.

No doubt it will take a bit longer using this approach than the immersion method. But this is not really surprising as it is the equivalent of studying part time compared to living in the country where the language is spoken.

So how to you learn German quickly and cheaply ? That is the question everyone wants an answer to. And the answer is to live as if you were in Germany or some other German speaking country. Or in other words bring the immersion method to you.

So if you live in a big city or out in the sticks, where you hardly see a soul let alone a German speaking soul, how can you immerse yourself in German?

Well, you take advantage of all the audio visual tools that are within easy reach. So you want to use books, TV, radio, internet, and DVDs to get as much German language happening in your home. Immerse yourself in the language by listening to German music, watch German movies or TV programs. Tale advantage of the largest disseminator of information that we have, the internet to learn German. Check out the video sharing websites like youtube or google videos to find German language videos. You will be surprised at the variety of things you can find, like interviews, music and documentaries. Some could be subtitled with English if you are new to German.

You can also visit online forums for German-speakers or people keen to learn German/English. Look for podcasts on German language courses. Most will be free provided you have an internet connection. Many authority websites like the BBC have language courses that you can learn from for free.

Give yourself as much time listening, learning and speaking German as possible. Devote a whole day or a weekend to this task. weekends are best because you have less commitments and more free time.

Looking for a good German course then visit http://rocketgermanreview.com . The site has reviews on three popular German courses, including a comprehensive Rocket German level 2 course review.

Begin to Study Bulgarian with Ease

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Bulgarian can be described as a language heaped with melodic elements. The alphabet is known as the Cyrillic alphabet. To be able to read Cyrillic is definitely one of the the majority of difficult parts while learning the Bulgarian language. Nonetheless if you comprehend this beautiful characteristic of the language, you’ll be delighted.

Bulgarian in general

The Bulgarian language has got quite a long time to evolve - from 860s to nowadays. You can find 4 main historical periods in the language development: Prehistoric period, Old Bulgarian, Middle and Modern Bulgarian. The first Bulgarian alphabet is named Glagolitic and was put together by the 2 brothers Cyril and Methodius within the middle of the 9th century. They’re even now appreciated in Bulgaria for their work. As the Glagolitic was very difficult to write, the alphabet has been simplified and eventually substituted by the Cyrillic. The final major modification in the Bulgarian alphabet, that formed the modern Bulgarian was performed in 1945. The change was the removing of 2 letters which made the number of characters in the alphabet a round 30.

How to learn it

Learn about several essentials to learn the language less difficult:

- Take responsibility by yourself

Imagine how it will be when you can talk with Bulgarians without the need of a translation. Keep always an eye on your goal why you want to learn the language. It will help you to go through difficult parts of the learning process and to find always a real reason to motivate yourself.

- Learn as often as doable

Learning a language is almost the same like staying fit; you have to exercise it as much as possible. Try to learn Bulgarian at least 3-4 times a week. The reason for that is, that if you wait too much with your next study time, you will forget details of what you already learned and that will make it more difficult to make real progress. Make a routine with your Bulgarian lessons or vocabulary memorization.

Allow mistakes

Making errors is the right way to understand. Not just the Bulgarian language but anything. Whenever you make a mistake and take some time to understand it, then you are sure you will not do it again. Be open to make mistakes, learn from them, become a master. That’s the way it goes!

Learn the fundamentals

Every language has several very basics. Allow them sufficient time. Don’t learn by heart, just make sure you gave them sufficient time and that you really perceived them. Learn the alphabet very good, check out the sentence structure better and understand the genders of nouns in Bulgarian, etc.

Go on trying - Most effective together with Bulgarians

If possible try to practice your insights directly with Bulgarian people. It will improve your understanding and you get the feeling for the language faster. In the case you don’t live yet with Bulgarians, you can practice with your available study materials. And another hint: Try to make it a game. Learning playfully is a practical way to stay focused. For example you can create your own quiz, and play it together with a partner.

Bulgarian - worth to learn if you know the rewards

Learning the Bulgarian language is not an easy task. It requires some hard work, some self organizing and some time. But isn’t knowing any language a richness? Isn’t the understanding a jewel that no one can take away from you? Particularly a language so special and unique by itself, so old and rich in sounds like Bulgarian? Absolutely.

I am writer on www.learn-bulgarian.net, where you can find a lot of free materials to learn the Bulgarian language.