The Fluent Show - Episodes Tagged with “Speaking”

Q&A: Should You Learn the Dialect of a Language?

Kerstin Cable — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 07:00:00 +0100

How do you feel about learning two dialects of a language at the same time?

The Dictionary of Linguistics defines dialect as a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area.

So in other words, you’re ALWAYS learning a language and often you might be learning one that is a dialect of another. Romanian and Italian are dialects of Latin, if we zoom out far enough.

So for you as the language learner, the dialect question is relevant. But do not sweat it because there’s no single answer. Each language you will learn might handle its dialect question slightly differently. So there’s only one way to do this, and that’s to ASK.

It’s the classic “what’s a dialect, what’s a language” debate, and whether it really matters.

In this episode I discuss the topic in practical terms without going too far into the deep question. Every language has non-standard variants, so let’s just think about what matters most when learning a language.

Thank you to my co-host Lindsay Williams for this episode introduction.

Q&A: How To Prepare For Language Lessons on Skype

Kerstin Cable — Mon, 28 May 2018 07:00:00 +0100

You can find language tutors on sites like italki, in online communities, or by searching for your target language on social networks. Instagram is particularly great here.

Before Your First Lesson With A New Skype Tutor

Be clear about what you want to get out of your set of lessons, and communicate this to your teacher. Here's a list of suggested questions to ask them.

Decide if you want to follow a curriculum
Decide how you want corrections to work
Listen to simple texts in the language if you can, even podcasts

Before Every Lesson With Your Tutor

Do your homework

Homework isn't necessarily an explicit set of exercises, but sometimes it's just about reading a text or reviewing what the last lesson covered.

This is the way for you to get more for your money — interaction and contact are at a premium if you’re self-teaching, so try to stay focused. If your teacher gives you a flashcard deck, interact with it. Always review new vocab from previous lessons.

Research the vocabulary of what you want to talk about
- You can use a mind map to collect vocab around your target topic

A post shared by Kerstin Cable (@kerstin_fluent) on Jan 26, 2018 at 12:27am PST

Be somewhere quiet with fast internet
Ask your tutor for help with what you’re stuck on

Ground Rules

No matter where you are at in your journey with language tutors, these five tips are going to make your life better and easier when you're working with a tutor.

Respect your language tutor (see language exchange podcast)
Be open and tell them about yourself
- Your situation
- Your experience
Ask advice, they’re an expert!
Budget for a few months, budget for your next language goal (time budget, financial budget)
Decide how you want corrections to work

Final thought: TRUST THE PROCESS

Don’t doubt yourself too much
You won’t get faster just through a few tutoring sessions, but you will move forward through it
Don’t expect the world - you cannot buy knowledge!

Win $25 With Our Sponsor Smartcards+

This month, Smartcards+ is giving you the chance to win a $25 iTunes gift certificate when you download and try out the app. Here’s how it works:

Head over to www.smartcardsplus.com/fluent and download the app onto your iPhone or iPad
Create your account and start your first deck
Share what you are learning! Post a screenshot with the hashtag #smartcardsplus on Instagram or Twitter
Make sure you follow @appdesignplus so you can be notified by direct message if you’re a winner

Hot Tip: If you don’t know where to start, select “Import” and “Online Resources”, and you’ll be able to search the deck library at Anki and Quizlet

Thank you to Olly Richards for this episode introduction.

How To Get Native Speakers To Speak Your Target Language

Kerstin Cable — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 07:00:00 +0100

Great news, everyone! The Fluent Show is now newly available on Spotify, TuneIn Radio, and I Heart Radio. How do you listen?

Shout out to our new sponsor, Smartcards Plus.

In Today's Show: A Q&A with a question from Shannon on Twitter.

She asked:

Got advice on how to get bilingual speakers of your native language and your learning language to stick to the language you’re learning?

Click or tap here to read the full show notes in my blog article on www.fluentlanguage.co.uk

Got a Language Question?

Please send your questions or ideas to @thefluentshow so you can hear them on the show and I can keep making Q&A episodes.