Category: General Languages

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Resource for A1 German Students!

Do you want to practice your German over break but are tired of Duolingo? Do you also get the feeling that every movie in German sounds like a long, incomprehensible sentence? But more importantly… do you like to watch really bad movies that make you scream at the screen?

Nicos Weg is a movie made for learning German that has all the vocabulary you need for A1 level. You can find it on YouTube, but I added the link at the end of the post! The characters talk slow, but not too slow to the point where it’s annoying, and the storyline is (kind of) great! It’s an entertaining movie, that’s for sure. While most characters are really likable, the main character Nico will make you want to pull your hair out. I was watching this movie with a friend who doesn’t speak any German and we were both incredibly entertained, mostly because of how ANNOYING the main character is! We kept complaining about the plot holes of the movie and next thing you know we watched an hour and a half of it. Time flew by and I actually learned so many new words. Did you know that elevator is Aufzug in German? It makes no sense but it’s true! It’s such a great resource for hearing all the A1 words in a movie that moves at a pace that beginner students can follow, and I highly recommend it even if the general cinematography isn’t the best. I would describe it as the German version of Twilight. Tschüss und schöne Pause!

Link: https://youtu.be/4-eDoThe6qo?si=n_rx3opBqr2mPXvV

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Unique ideas to practice your target language over break!

Featuring my multilingual cat, Aria!

Without classes, it can be challenging to keep up with daily language practice over breaks. You may have heard the typical suggestions (all of which are great!), such as watching movies, listening to podcasts, or reading books in your target language. Here are some unique ideas to help you integrate your target language into your everyday life over break!

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Non-trivial way to improve your Russian and make everybody believe you’re a native speaker (sort of….)

Soviet Winnie the Pooh is a core childhood memory of mine

It’s never been a secret — Russian is notoriously challenging, filled with confusing conjugations and challenging slang that leaves even the most experienced learners crying, screaming and pulling their hair.

But you don’t have to jump straight into banging your head with a thick Oxford dictionary — there are multiple easy – perhaps even childish – ways to upgrade your Russian skills.

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The Duolingo French Podcast: Découvrez l’histoire de Joséphine Baker

Are you looking for more ways to immerse yourself in French? Podcasts are a great way to implement French into your everyday life. It’s especially important to engage with the language outside the classroom. Whether you’re taking a walk around the canyon, getting lunch in Commons, or trying to fall asleep, a podcast can add a lot more French exposure to your life. It’s a simple way to improve your French comprehension, vocabulary, and cultural knowledge. At the same time, it can be difficult to find the right one. For beginning to intermediate students, I have a recommendation for you: The Duolingo French Podcast!

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Is Culture Shock Inevitable When Abroad?

Find out in the interview with Henry, the Chinese tutor!

Patricio: Can you tell me about what made you want to learn Chinese?

Henry: It was actually kind of random. I was taking a gap year between highschool and college and I didn’t have a lot going on, so I picked up a bunch of hobbies such as archery and Chinese. I found a really good Chinese teacher and I really enjoyed learning a language in my free time. I was learning French in high school, but I really struggled with that because I was being forced to learn it, but it was a completely different story when I started learning Chinese because I actually wanted to learn it. 

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Italki: Not offered at Reed? No worries!

If you’ve ever wanted to learn a language that isn’t offered at Reed, give Italki a try! Italki has tutors and teachers from all over the world, and languages from A-Z (literally). If you’re looking to start learning anything from Azerbaijani to Zulu, check out the site to discover what else they offer! Whether you’re just starting out or want to meet with a native speaker to improve your conversation fluency, you can find the tutor you need at the time you’re available.

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Be Shameless When Learning a Language!

This week I interviewed Emilio, a Spanish tutor who’s eager to help people out with Spanish. In our interview, we covered topics such as feeling disconnected from one’s culture, what it means to have a diverse cultural background for one’s identity, and how to sound natural when speaking a new language. Emilio’s advice is to be shameless when speaking! The interview is posted below and was edited for length.

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Speaking Ancient Greek in modern-day Greece?

Today we are interviewing Basil-Anne, our Greek and Latin tutor. We talked about starting a language from scratch at Reed, the GLAM department, and studying abroad as a speaker of ancient languages!

Leilani: Would you like to talk a bit about your background, why you chose to study Greek and Latin?

Basil-Anne: Sure! I have studied Latin for a very, very long time. I started officially in fourth grade, but I think my first real Latin class was in seventh grade. So I’ve been taking it for a really long time. And I came into Reed undecided but I was very strongly either going to be a GLAM [Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies] major or be in the Sociology department. I went to the GLAM open house during O-week and fell in love and was like, “This is where I want to be.” So I dropped Intro Sociology and switched into another GLAM class and have not looked back.

L: You mentioned taking Latin prior to Reed. Did you have the same experience with Greek, or did you start with Intro Greek?

B: I started with Intro Greek, and Greek was a lot harder than Latin because I was starting from scratch. But it’s a very cool language. My favorite thing about just Greek and Latin in general, and I don’t know if this is true for all language learners, is the kind of peak you hit where you’re thinking of every single thing and all of a sudden, you’re just not thinking of every single grammar thing anymore. That’s a really fun moment for me. It corresponds with the course load, like you switch from language classes to literature classes, and that’s just such a fun transition for me, of being able to be like, “OK, I know what I’m doing, and now I actually get to talk about literature.” Which is why language is so fun. So with Greek, I really got to see that process condensed from freshman year to now, senior year. It was great.

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Meet Reed! (Spanish)

¡Hola! My name is Reed (he/him) and I’m a native Spanish speaker. I’m Argentine/American. My mom being a Spanish teacher made me sit through her lessons since I was a toddler, so I learned how to teach Spanish as a second language. I’ve taught all levels of Spanish in the past, including grammar, spelling, vocabulary, reading, and pronunciation. I’m happy to work through any questions and exercises you might need help with! I have a pretty flexible schedule so feel free to reach out if you’d like to arrange another time!