Beginner-friendly French songs!

Listening to music in French is a great strategy to absorb more of the language throughout your day. For beginners just starting out your adventures into the world of Francophone music, I found this album, Non Ouais! by Pink Martini (which fun fact – originates from Portland!). This album is well-suited for beginning French learners, as it has simple grammar, clear pronunciation, and familiar vocabulary. You might be surprised with how much you can understand! Here are two of the most popular songs to give you a taste:

Why even bother learning languages?

Es ist so einsam im Sattel seit das Pferd tot ist. That’s what my German step-mom’s Whatsapp status used to say. The sentence translates to “It’s so lonely on the saddle since the horse is dead”, so during my German-learning journey I thought to myself, it must be some sort of figure of speech! But it’s not. It means the same thing in German as it does in English. Learning languages independently though apps is tricky because the meaning behind language is put through conversation. Language is used when catching up with a friend, or through an author telling the reader a story. This type of connection is impossible to establish when taking online courses with Duolingo. Here at Reed we have such an amazing resource to put this meaning behind language: Language courses! As my time at Reed comes to an end, I would like to recommend to everyone that can to take a language class, as it’s one of the most enriching experiences Reed has to offer. Here’s why:

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What’s in the Language?

There’s a prevailing idea that Languages — unlike Chemistry, Economics or Anthropology — can be self-taught without having to sign up for classes or immersion programs.

To what extent is it true? While self-teach apps like Duolingo made a lingua-revolution in the language learning sphere, taking a class specifically dedicated to acquiring a new language has its hidden perks that not many know of.

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YouTube en français

YouTube is a great resource for language-learning—you can learn new vocabulary, ways to use grammar structures, and hear different accents. If you’re just starting out your expedition into French YouTube, I’ve made a list of channels that can help you get started! These are more suitable for intermediate and advanced learners, as these videos only have auto-generated captions, and creators tend to speak quickly and use slang. (Sidenote – I found out the word in French is “youtubeur.euse” and I love it.)

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Íslensku!

I went to Iceland for spring break and I was fascinated with the language. It’s sad that so few people speak it – only 314K, which is less than the total population of Iceland! – so I want more people to learn it. Here are some awesome facts about the language that might get you to learn it!

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Leilani’s tips for keeping a language journal!

Parody of the cover of Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Text has been changed to "Diary of a LangLabbie," with an image of a stuffed octopus edited over top.

I have a terrible habit of hoarding blank notebooks, fancy pens, and cute stickers. So instead of letting them continue to sit in my desk drawers forever, I decided to start a language journal! The concept is simple yet effective: try to use only your target language to fill up a journal! I’ve been writing entirely in Chinese, but this method works for any target language. Honestly, I find journaling to be challenging, but here are some tips (and prompts!) for you to begin and stay motivated to write your very own language journal!

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