Menu
Menu
French native speaker learns English & Spanish
Learning a new language is empowering. It allows us to connect with our ancestors or explore a different culture. It opens up your mind and enhances your creative thinking abilities! Often, adults think they’re too old for languages, but that’s not true. Follow this blog series where the Sagebooks Hongkong team shares knowledge about teaching children, and adults alike, and some of their best tips, so you can start learning a new language today.
Writer Bio 作者簡介
Debbie R
Toronto
Debbie is a content writer & creator based in Toronto, Ontario. She has always been fascinated by languages, and she’s never stopped learning them since her youth. She grew up speaking French at home with English as a second language learned in school over time. This taught her how much more there is to life than just speaking one or two languages. Furthermore, she decided to take on a new language and learn Spanish in the last seven years. You will now find her balancing work, life, books and television in all three languages.
Language learning tips 我的語文學習竅門
Is your experience with language learning and teaching more with children or adults?
Great question, I grew up in a home where we spoke French as our first language, and I learned English towards the end of secondary school. I then learned Spanish as an adult and have done French tutoring as well as teaching French as a second language for adults. Most of my experience and perspective, when it comes to language learning, are for adults.
Tell us your best tip for learning a new language as an adult.
Making time would be my best tip. We often hear that learning a new language is time-consuming. The fact is, anything that we wish to accomplish or learn is time-consuming. It’s about finding the time. My biggest tip for anyone looking to learn a new language is that you must find consistent time in your routine, no matter how busy you are.
When I was learning Spanish, I would incorporate at least one hour of Spanish learning per day, even if this meant listening to a podcast in Spanish for one hour. Ideally, I would spend time with hands-on practice, but when that wasn’t possible, listening in the background was very helpful for me and helped me recognize words that I was learning and their meaning.
What are 3 things that you recommend doing regularly when learning a new language?
- Speaking out loud.
- Listening to podcasts, radio, or watching TV in the language that you are learning.
- Writing to yourself.
Language Learning Activity 語文學習遊戲
For this activity, you will write a letter to yourself.
What you will need
- Paper & a pen/ pencil.
- Or, your laptop
- A dictionary (for the language that you are learning)
How it works
This activity works no matter at what level of your language journey you are at. You will write as much as possible in the language that you are learning and the rest in your mother tongue. In the letter, you will include the following items:
- A greeting to yourself.
- A goal that you have in the next year.
- Three things that you will do to achieve your goal.
- A closing note.
Once you have completed the letter, identify where you struggled or could not write in the language that you are learning. Highlight those sentences, and then use your dictionary to correct your letter. Remember, it does not need to be perfect.
Now, rewrite the same letter to yourself and remember the corrections you made. Writing to yourself and correcting your own work (even when not perfect) allows you to identify patterns that need improvement, as well as your strengths.
Related posts 相關文章
Related learning tools 相關學習工具
我們會經常為大家探討漢字和語文的課題。
要是你有特別的相關課題希望我們探討，歡迎您告訴我們。
We discuss Chinese language and culture related topics on a regular basis.
If you would like us to discuss certain topics about Chinese, please let us know.
更多教養支援 SUPPORT FOR YOU
很多家長都已是我們 Facebook 群組【講媽 · 講爸園地】 的成員。歡迎你也加入我們，一起互相鼓勵和支持，共同為孩子的學習而努力。
Many parents are already part of our Facebook Group. If you’d like to take advantage of the collective wisdom of your fellow parents, please join us.
We’d love to hear from you.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
