Category: Beginner

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Try Learning Estonian!

Estonian is the official language of Estonia, and is spoken by about 1 million people. It is a Uralic, Finnic language, but borrows many words from German and Russian, so the vocabulary might not be as daunting as it would seem if you’ve studied or speak other Indo-European languages. There are many dialects, but the two main groupings are the northern dialects, associated with the city of Tallinn (left), and the southern dialects, associated with Tartu (right). Standard Estonian is based on the one in Tallinn, so that’s probably what you’ll find in most language programs for it.

If you want to give it a try, the Estonian government started a language program called Keeleklik where you can take courses for free in Estonian. Aside from that, one of my favorite ways to practice language is watching cartoons.

On Youtube, you can find many Estonian cartoons from the 1970s made by Tallinn Film Studio, or Tallinnfilm, such as this one. These are fun to watch, and the Estonian is simple and slow, so you can try and keep up!

There’s also loecsen, which has lessons on basic phrases for traveling to Estonia, along with other languages you might want to learn.

 

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German.net

German.net is a language-learning website with numerous exercises. Levels range from approximately A1 (beginner) to B2 (advanced). This could be a very helpful tool for those looking to brush up on German skills or trying to advance their language. 

German.net has a number of grammatical exercises, including ones on verb tenses, case and declension, nouns, adjective endings, prepositions, and the passive voice. These exercises are neatly categorised and are easy to find on the website.

These textbook-like exercises require the user to fill in missing information, and the solutions give the correct answer. 

It also has “vocabulary builder,” which quizzes the user on words which grow progressively more difficult. 

Perhaps most unique to German.net, and also most useful, is the “reading” tool, which presents short texts and then quizzes the user on the content. 

German.net also features a verb conjugation tool, which is especially useful when reviewing for a test or trying to learn more irregular conjugations. 

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Radio Ambulante

Radio Ambulante is an award-winning podcast series which tells Latin American stories, covering a range of issues from immigration to bee-keeping. They have thousands of episodes to choose from, allowing listeners to filter by country, topic, and length. Most episodes are both in Spanish and English, which makes Radio Ambulante suitable for both beginners and advanced Spanish students.

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Têtes à claques, French Youtube channel

Têtes à claques
https://www.youtube.com/user/salamboproductions/featured

This is a channel (and a website) of humorous short videos in French that has been producing animated videos since forever. Some of them are easier to understand than others, but most have an option for English subtitles just in case. The sense of humor may not be to everyone’s taste, but there are a lot of real gems! Some recommendations from your Langlabbies include:

the Will Waller 2006: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJgQCbRsq-I and

Le Body Toner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKjpvnrhkU

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Easy Videos for French vocab + speech

Get ready to learn some French vocab the fun and easy way!
ladybug imageEasy French Vocab and Phrases 5min: https://youtu.be/fq_4V-Ia1z0.
This video is in French with French and English subtitles. The video covers basic French nouns and phrases, describing them by walking around the town and pointing to objects. Also helpful for pronunciation.
Days of the Week Song 2min: https://youtu.be/Lpwf5N0rfVE.
This video uses a mnemonic device to help you learn the days of the week in French. The song is catchy and easy to remember.
Months of the Year Song 2min: https://youtu.be/KxTsMctlfTY.
This video uses a song as a mnemonic device to help learn the months of the year in French.
Weather and Seasons in French 12min: https://youtu.be/Kq4Luegns8c.
This is a detailed video in English, introducing basic weather expressions, how to describe the weather, and the names of the seasons.
What Not to Pronounce in French 6min: https://youtu.be/NTU-2zvJ92U.
This video is in English and some basic French, and helps with the pronunciation of final syllables in French, including dropping the -d, -p, -t, -s, and -e at the ends of words. 
How to Pronounce the French “R” 2min: https://youtu.be/YCw_lEb1qXk.
This is a slightly silly pronunciation guide given in English on when and how to pronounce the “r” in French. Cognates like ‘horrible’ and ‘métro’ are compared in both languages, demonstrating the throat constriction present in French.
Uses of “Faire” 2min: https://youtu.be/kjni-2B9d4w.
This video introduces the verb ‘faire’ and different phrases in which it is used. A number of French speakers pronounce a variety of phrases in French with English subtitles.
Uses of “Avoir” 2min: https://youtu.be/SaIxCyfowrA.
This video introduces the verb ‘avoir’ and a variety of phrases in which it appears. French and English subtitles are included.

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2 Easy French movies for beginners

Les Choristes (2004) – A musical film about a choir teacher hired to teach boys at a French private school. This comedic gem is a classic for French language learners.

Kirikou et la sorcière (1998) – Animated version of a west African folktale. You can stream it on Youtube here.

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Phone apps for beginning language learners: Duolingo vs. Memrise

Duolingo: Duolingo’s app is very intuitive, is free, and has short exercises for both grammar and vocabulary for 100-level French. Structured exactly like the website, Duolingo features a ladder-like structure of learning; each lesson introduces new material based on past information. One nice feature to the app is the possibility of “testing out” of lessons, which is helpful if you find yourself bored by the current material.

Memrise: Almost identical to Duolingo’s mini-lesson/game-based platform, Memrise uses incrementally more difficult lessons with easy responses, presenting words or phrases and then asking for repetition. Some minor variations are present, however: Memrise uses short videos of native French speakers to help with listening comprehension. There is also a texting-based portion, where you can practice composing short messages by stringing together suggested words or letters. Memrise is less polished than Duolingo, and each lesson seems to introduce less material overall, with more repetition. This may be useful for learners who have a more difficult time learning new words or phrases. Memrise is free, but has frequent prompts to purchase a subscription. These can be ignored by simply tapping anywhere on the screen (other than the “purchase” button).

Visual of the Memrise user interface

Image credit: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/duolingo-ios-app-new-bot/
https://www.pcmag.com/review/356293/memrise

 

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French Podcasts for Beginners

Here are some podcasts which would be excellent for beginning French learners:

How Are You? 28min: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cbf-1-01-how-are-you/id263170419?i=1000163412494&mt=2.
This podcast is from Coffee Break French, which has several seasons of podcasts for learning French for beginners. The first episode introduces the phrase “ça va?” and its possible responses. Although the host is non-native (and has a Scottish accent), his pronunciation is not bad. Expressions are introduced in French and English, with plenty of room to practice and repeat phrases.

The Alphabet 12min: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/5-a-look-at-the-alphabet/id160256534?i=1000010654926&mt=2.
This Podcast, presented by Learn French by Podcast, introduces the French alphabet and pronunciation in French. The speakers use French and English to describe the pronunciation of each letter, including words which use those letters.