If you have been thinking about picking up a new language or improving on a language you already know, there’s no time to start like the present. Languages Connect has composed a small collection of tips to help you along your language learning journey. We’re focusing on French, Spanish, Italian or German in this article but these tips are applicable to all languages!
French
French learners are in luck because the Alliance Francaise are currently offering a whole host of free online learning resources including a free French assessment, free webinars on French culture and live performances through Facebook live! You can find out more about these events here.
Learning a language online can take many shapes. You can use sites like Memrise and Duolingo for vocabulary and grammar, you can practice what you’ve learned on hellotalk by communicating with native speakers in your target language and you can even use social media. We compiled a list of accounts to follow if you’re learning French so you can fill your timeline with French content. You can check it out here!
Spanish
If you’re interested in learning Spanish Netflix is a great place to start. There are so many Spanish language TV shows, movies and documentaries to choose from. You can also install a plug in called Language Learning with Netflix that helps you through whatever you’re watching by translating what is being said, breaking down the words and giving you the option to save new vocabulary into flashcards! We also made a list of some great Spanish movies to watch on Netflix, which you can see here.
Interested in learning more about Spanish culture and literature? The Instituto Cervantes runs lots of online workshops that you can get involved in, from flamenco dancing workshops to an online book club! You can find out more about these events here.
Italian
During the summer we ran #ItalianWeek on our social media platforms. We went through some basic phrases as well as some important cultural aspects related to Italian. You can find our vocabulary posts here and you can test your knowledge with our quiz here.
Our Student Language Ambassador Lily Lee also discusses the time she spent in Italy learning Italian, which you can watch on our YouTube channel.
There are so many great Italian learning resources out there, the BBC even have a whole section of their website dedicated to learning Italian that includes free classes! You can try them out here.
German
The Goethe Institut is a wonderful place to start for those interested in German! They have loads of free resources you can avail of including workshops, games and quizzes to test your knowledge. If you haven’t checked them out yet we recommend you start here.
Watching YouTubers in your target language is a proven way of studying! That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the top German social media accounts to follow for everyone with interests from makeup, to comedy, to science.
We hope these tips help you to discover new ways of engaging with you target language and inspires you to use 2021 to improve your language skills! Music lovers make sure you follow our Spotify for playlists in your target language!
