Lýdia Machová has a webpage for language mentoring where the main points of her approach, as also mentioned in the video are presented.Here's a short useful video on the topic.
Learning a new language: how to go about it?
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For several languages, English, English (UK), Mandarin, Russian, French, Spanish, German, Hindi, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, and Esperanto there is help to learn vocabulary and pronunciation on
Learn a Language - Share a Language - LanguageGuide.org It is like an interactive picture dictionary.
Here are areas covered for English:
Writing: The Alphabet, Writing
Numbers: Numbers, Ordinal Numbers
The Body: The Body, The Face, The Body II, The Digestive System, Medicine
Clothing: Men's Clothing, Woman's Clothing, Winter Clothing, Sewing
Food: Fruit, Vegetables, Food, Food II, Drinks
Animals: Farm Animals, Pets, Insects, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles & Amphibians, African Animals, Sea Animals
Nature, Plants, Landscapes, Weather, The Sea, Camping
The House: The House, The Door, The Garden/The Yard, Indoors, The Den, The Dining Room, The Kitchen, The Kitchen II, The Bedroom, The Bathroom, The Bathroom 2, The Utility Room
Miscellaneous: Colors, The Family, Tools, School, Space, The Farm, Electronics, Construction, Money, History, Fantasy, Communication, Art, Instruments, Photography, The City, Jobs, Law & Order, The Military, Games, Computers, The Office, Babies, Kids, The Fair, Science, Religion, Shapes, Telling Time
Transportation: The Car, Travel, Land Travel, Sea Travel
Geography:
Continents, 
Europe
Below is an example of what a page can look like, and not that there are challenges, if one wishes. To do the speaking challenge, the microphone has to interact with the webpage. When one holds the mouse over a sign, word or picture, one will hear the word for the concept pronounced, and also see how it is spelled. To reinforce learning, one could note down the words and concepts that one wishes to focus on.
Learn a Language - Share a Language - LanguageGuide.org It is like an interactive picture dictionary.
Here are areas covered for English:
Writing: The Alphabet, Writing
Numbers: Numbers, Ordinal Numbers
The Body: The Body, The Face, The Body II, The Digestive System, Medicine
Clothing: Men's Clothing, Woman's Clothing, Winter Clothing, Sewing
Food: Fruit, Vegetables, Food, Food II, Drinks
Animals: Farm Animals, Pets, Insects, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles & Amphibians, African Animals, Sea Animals
Nature, Plants, Landscapes, Weather, The Sea, Camping
The House: The House, The Door, The Garden/The Yard, Indoors, The Den, The Dining Room, The Kitchen, The Kitchen II, The Bedroom, The Bathroom, The Bathroom 2, The Utility Room
Miscellaneous: Colors, The Family, Tools, School, Space, The Farm, Electronics, Construction, Money, History, Fantasy, Communication, Art, Instruments, Photography, The City, Jobs, Law & Order, The Military, Games, Computers, The Office, Babies, Kids, The Fair, Science, Religion, Shapes, Telling Time
Transportation: The Car, Travel, Land Travel, Sea Travel
Geography:
Continents, EuropeBelow is an example of what a page can look like, and not that there are challenges, if one wishes. To do the speaking challenge, the microphone has to interact with the webpage. When one holds the mouse over a sign, word or picture, one will hear the word for the concept pronounced, and also see how it is spelled. To reinforce learning, one could note down the words and concepts that one wishes to focus on.
For some reason, I missed giving the link to the page, from where I copied her points. It is Welcome - Language mentoring
And as I looked up her name, there was a page in Russian, by a Russian linguist, Alexey Ermakov, but if you have a good translator in your browser, or perhaps is familiar with Russian then it is easy.
Ermakov keeps on learning languages, and shares his experiences and tips on the languages he is occupied with on his website: Как учить языки – Я лингвист where he gives a few words about the different topics he has covered. For instance, he writes about Lídia Machová:
Language learning possibilities for readers using Kindle
In general, if one has a Kindle format of a book in a language one knows and in the language one is learning and there are Kindle dictionaries connecting the two languages, then there are additional possibilities for learning. One may read the book in the language one knows while looking up difficult words and translate them into the language one is learning. Later, one can read the volume in the language one is learning and look up words in the reverse dictionary to connect between the lesser-known language and the well-known language. Depending on where one is on the learning curve, it may also be an option to read just one chapter in one's own language and then shift to the language one is learning. This alternation may reinforce and strengthen the learning of newly encountered words and make it overall enjoyable as one still does not know how the plot develops.
Using Kindle Highlight to save words one is learning
With Kindle Highlights, one can save words to My Clippings for later review. Of course, one can also write down the words, as one reads.
Finding dictionaries for Kindle
If someone has an old Kindle, there may be fewer dictionaries preinstalled, mine had just two English to English. Fortunately, suitable dictionaries can often be found or purchased.
An example for someone reading Spanish much easier than English:
Say one is reading a Kindle version of a Mary Balogh book in Spanish from the titles mentioned in this thread. One knows all the words in Spanish but not in English. With a Kindle Spanish to English dictionary installed and activated one may look up the translation of the words into English. This may prepare one for reading a Kindle version of the same title in English using a Kindle English to Spanish dictionary. All one needs to do is change the default dictionary on Kindle and have both book available.
Applied to French
There seem to be fewer books in Kindle of the same author in French, but La perle cachée (The Secret Pearl) is available.
Other languages
If a title is missing in Kindle format for the language one speaks, sometimes one can change another format if it is exists by using an ebook converter. Alternatively one may find solutions for other ebook readers using other formats.
In general, if one has a Kindle format of a book in a language one knows and in the language one is learning and there are Kindle dictionaries connecting the two languages, then there are additional possibilities for learning. One may read the book in the language one knows while looking up difficult words and translate them into the language one is learning. Later, one can read the volume in the language one is learning and look up words in the reverse dictionary to connect between the lesser-known language and the well-known language. Depending on where one is on the learning curve, it may also be an option to read just one chapter in one's own language and then shift to the language one is learning. This alternation may reinforce and strengthen the learning of newly encountered words and make it overall enjoyable as one still does not know how the plot develops.
Using Kindle Highlight to save words one is learning
With Kindle Highlights, one can save words to My Clippings for later review. Of course, one can also write down the words, as one reads.
Finding dictionaries for Kindle
If someone has an old Kindle, there may be fewer dictionaries preinstalled, mine had just two English to English. Fortunately, suitable dictionaries can often be found or purchased.
An example for someone reading Spanish much easier than English:
Say one is reading a Kindle version of a Mary Balogh book in Spanish from the titles mentioned in this thread. One knows all the words in Spanish but not in English. With a Kindle Spanish to English dictionary installed and activated one may look up the translation of the words into English. This may prepare one for reading a Kindle version of the same title in English using a Kindle English to Spanish dictionary. All one needs to do is change the default dictionary on Kindle and have both book available.
Applied to French
There seem to be fewer books in Kindle of the same author in French, but La perle cachée (The Secret Pearl) is available.
Other languages
If a title is missing in Kindle format for the language one speaks, sometimes one can change another format if it is exists by using an ebook converter. Alternatively one may find solutions for other ebook readers using other formats.
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Since then a couple of pages turned up. One has several of the major languages, and this page in Russian is helpful if one is Russian, is translating from or to Russian or is learning Russian. As an example, I imported and changed the setting on my Kindle, so I can look up the meaning of English words in Russian. I chose a word in English and the Eng-Rus dictionary gave several words in Russian of which I only knew one.
Being stationed in Germany during my tour in the army in the 80's, I became passionate about learning German. One thing I did was to buy some German books for 10-14 year olds, Any word I didn't know I looked it up in a German-English dictionary. I underlined that word in the book and in the dictionary. After a while I stopped even writing the meaning down in the margins of the book. I scored a penalty to myself if I looked up a word that I had previously looked up more than once. It was not long before I was reading German and English classics (in German).
Of course, I was immersing myself in the culture, watching German TV and listening to German radio. I was also studying German grammar. At that point I met some German people who I became friends with - which perhaps helped more than anything else as I became conversational in German.
German is a fairly easy language to learn for an English speaking person, (it's almost 'Old English'), except for the gender rules - there are 3 genders in German. The subjunctive form is also difficult as that has atrophied in the English language.
Funny how it is much easier to read a foreign language rather than understand the spoken. German sounds as beautiful as French to me.
Of course, I was immersing myself in the culture, watching German TV and listening to German radio. I was also studying German grammar. At that point I met some German people who I became friends with - which perhaps helped more than anything else as I became conversational in German.
German is a fairly easy language to learn for an English speaking person, (it's almost 'Old English'), except for the gender rules - there are 3 genders in German. The subjunctive form is also difficult as that has atrophied in the English language.
Funny how it is much easier to read a foreign language rather than understand the spoken. German sounds as beautiful as French to me.
Thanks for the reminder, thorbiorn!
Since my French writing skills are abominable and I wish to become more fluent in the language I bought a few French titles of the romance novels, like Grace Burrowes's stand-alone Le Chef du Clan (The Laird) and Julia Quinn's Un goût du Paradis (Just like Heaven). Quinn's entire Smythe-Smith Quartet has been translated into French, so I might purchase the rest of the series.
I already read The Laird in English, so that will make reading in French much easier and subsequently I can focus more on the grammar and syntax (something I wish to do).
Recto
Jedi
I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. I studied German and English at school for almost 10 years and couldn't understand written/spoken sentences beyond the elementary school level. Worst than that, I started to dislike German as a language because classes/exams slowly turned into torture over the years. What a wasted opportunity
I finally got to learn English as an adult while at my engineering school. The English teaching there was rote memorization of business-related terms, idiomatic expressions and dialogues (which we had to act out in front of the class). While it was far from being sufficient in order to become fluent, it gave my brain a solid foundation on which to build upon. I strongly dislike rote memorization without context so it was a blessing that I was forced to do it like that at that time. Otherwise, what I learned next/in parallel wouldn't have stuck.
At home my goal was to understand SoTT articles and the recommended books. Since few books where translated to French, it was a strong incentive for me to start learning English seriously. So I started by reading 1-2 articles regularly; I was slow and it usually ended up in headaches due to straining. Understanding articles on geopolitics or psychopathology ain't easy I can tell you that
Joking aside, the topics themselves were what drove me forward during the (rough) first few months. In parallel I started to watch a lot of subbed tv series, movies and youtube videos without subtitles (podcasts mainly).Since I didn't have any English-speaking people to talk to (and I was also a depressive introvert at the time), I started to talk and think in English in order to get used to build sentences and pronunciation. While reading an article I would read aloud sentences and paragraphs, while watching a podcast I would imitate a person by matching their accent and gestures. It is easier to imitate a sound if you put you whole body into it (face, hands, arms, body movements, etc), the copying mechanism of the brain activates the right muscle groups inside the mouth which you can isolate to reproduce the sounds more easily. Just as you can elicit emotions by taking specific stances or mimicking them (e.g. sobbing).
Over time it became an acting game, reciting SoTT articles as if I where the narrator of a Greek tragedy or a comedian performing a comedy skit. Improvising here and there. Same for the podcasts or movies, imitating a person or character and saying outlandish things, swapping accents and intonations. It was crude and at times way off the mark, but boy was it fun!
After 3 years, I suddenly realized I couldn't tell whether a piece of content was in French or English if I didn't pay attention. I was quite baffled by the fact that I had learned something without witnessing my progress along the way. All in all, I believe repetition, having a goal/need and being playful are definitely three of the pillars for successful language learning. After all, what's the point in learning a new language if it's not fun and meaningful? And without the grammatical+vocabulary foundation, you're like a painter without a canvas, a seed without a soil, a scuba diver without water, a dancer without music, a... Ok, ok, I'll stop it here. You get the point
Nowadays I'm far from perfect, my accent and my sentence-building skills aren't great since I don't practice like I used to. But I'll settle with an ok-ish English level for now. There are many other things to learn and so little time to do it unfortunately.
Social media groups dedicated to the learning of languages
There are dedicated forums for language learner on several social media platforms, many with so much material and so many ideas, that one can easily run out of time just reading about them. To find them one can try: "English learn" or "English language" or "English language learner" and several search suggestions come up. For other languages one can change English with French or Spanish, Russian, German etc.
Examples:
Not that the number of members necessarily translates current quality, but at some stage a lot of people must have been interested, if there are many members and they are active, meaning that one can also get answers to questions.
On Facebook, there is Russian Language with 65,000 members. As always some posts and questions give rise to more responses than others.
On VK there is English for Teaching & Learning they have more than 54,000 members.
There are dedicated forums for language learner on several social media platforms, many with so much material and so many ideas, that one can easily run out of time just reading about them. To find them one can try: "English learn" or "English language" or "English language learner" and several search suggestions come up. For other languages one can change English with French or Spanish, Russian, German etc.
Examples:
Not that the number of members necessarily translates current quality, but at some stage a lot of people must have been interested, if there are many members and they are active, meaning that one can also get answers to questions.
On Facebook, there is Russian Language with 65,000 members. As always some posts and questions give rise to more responses than others.
On VK there is English for Teaching & Learning they have more than 54,000 members.
I can really recommend this! A few days ago I (finally!) started reading romance novel writer Julia Quinn's Un goût du Paradis (Just like Heaven) after first reading the novel in English. I am looking up every word I don't know using the French-French dictionary on my kindle, just for fun. That said, there are many words that are similar in English, which makes reading easier. Still, it takes me much longer than reading an English novel, but Quinn is still witty, even in French.
While reading I also pay attention to grammar and syntax.I also bought the second tome of Quinn's Smythe-Smith series, but this time in German. I started reading German literature, and although I understand the gist of the novel I decided to leave it and read the romance novel first, because it probably helps me build comprehension and the German-German dictionary on my Kindle makes the life of a language learner much easier!
At the same time I started watching German Krimis (crime series) to help me with pronunciation and comprehension. As I started a German business correspondence course (distance learning) it is very likely that my German (and French) will improve by reading and listening at the same time.
That reminds me of this article which extols the virtues of interleaving:
Practicing different skills in quick succession can lead to massive gains in learning
Despite multiple studies showing the benefits, many people don't know this learning trick. Mixing up your learning can lead to massive gains, a new study of academic performance reveals. For years now 'interleaving' has been a secret largely...
www.sott.net
But this article also contains important knowledge:
Longer breaks during learning lead to more stable activation patterns in the brain
We remember things longer if we take breaks during learning, referred to as the spacing effect. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology gained deeper insight into the neuronal basis for this phenomenon in mice. With longer...
www.sott.net
So, switching from one language to another might not be such a bad idea.
In case some of you don't know about it, I've found this app to be quite useful.
It allows you to basically watch any video in your target language AND get subtitles, both in your mother tongue and in the target language as well. You can export a PDF or copy the text. The translation is not perfect, but it works quite well.
ltl-school.com
It's handy to listen to interesting people in foreign languages too even if you aren't learning the language and are just interested in the content.
It allows you to basically watch any video in your target language AND get subtitles, both in your mother tongue and in the target language as well. You can export a PDF or copy the text. The translation is not perfect, but it works quite well.
Language Reactor || An Amazing Language Tool (2024 Update)
What if we could learn foreign languages by watching our favourite shows? Well.. it is now possible with ‘Language Reactor’ for both YouTube and Netflix!
ltl-school.com
It's handy to listen to interesting people in foreign languages too even if you aren't learning the language and are just interested in the content.
Thank you for sharing. I can install it, but for some reason, it does not attach to the YouTube and show up as an option after the time indication.
After watching the latest
MindMatters: Meaning All the Way Down: The Wonders and Mysteries of Language with Juliana Barembuem
And revisiting these videos:
Sounds - Part 1: Why is it important to work on pronunciation?
Sounds - Part 2: Which sounds do you really need?
Sounds - Part 3: A hidden talent that you can awaken again!
I looked up some webpages and found:
A Complete Guide to Language Learning. Part 1: Learning Pronunciation, written by Timur Baytukalov. The article has a strong focus on learning pronunciation:
In line with his philosophy he has developed a paid program that can show IPA phonetic analogues to subtitles of English films if one uploads the subtitles. He also has a BLOG ABOUT PRONUNCIATION AND PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION. There is also an IPA alphabet for American English, French, and Russian and a useful list of terms used when speaking about the sounds of a language. In general, he suggests:
Another site with a very strong emphasis on phonetics is Front Page where one finds this article:
The IPA Alphabet: How and Why You Should Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet, which has:
See also the official site: IPA Chart with Sounds
There are Wiki articles of the phonology of many languages. For English, for instance this. In general, one can go to the Wiki index with languages, select the language needed if available, then go the section on phonology, and click link to the main article if available.
During the preparation of this post, I came across a few videos for those learning French and English. First there was, Learn French Pronunciation in 12 Minutes which is for English speakers and focuses on the sounds that are not known in English: 3 consonant and 10 vowel sounds. Another, French phonetics / French sounds gives examples using mostly the names of animals.
The following teacher from speaks French only, but has an interesting way of explaining the French alphabet. One can switch the subtitles on, the auto-translator if one likes. The link is Cours de français : l'alphabet - How to pronounce the French alphabet ? and the second Pronounce French Alphabet : Les Particularités Phonétiques De l’Alphabet Français and for the nasals this French Pronunciation - Les Voyelles Nasales "ON" - "EN" - "AIN" For another video on the same subject that clearly shows the position of the mouth from both front and side, check French Truly TV: 4 Great Tips for Easy French Pronunciation
For French speakers learning English, this is about pronouncing the "h" when saying hotel in English. Another channel, English with Carla, has a video about a few difficulties French speakers often encounter when speaking English. Moving into English in a more general way, she also has a useful review of the 16 BEST YOUTUBE CHANNELS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH!
This video from English with Lucy recommends combining reading a book with text like in a physical book or an e-book along with the audiobook, so one can combine the sound and the visual impression.
Finally, Rachel's English has suggestions that could apply to other languages too. How to THINK in English.
To find interesting tips and material is more easy than finding the time to practice all the good advices, though I also learned a something while writing, it can be very enriching to look at how different teachers approach the challenges of learning language, especially pronunciation.
The International Phonetic Alphabet vowel chart with more details
On the page of IPA chart, one finds:
If the reason for the shape lacks an explanation, there is this image from the Fluent in 3 Months article, The IPA Alphabet: How and Why You Should Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet, I referred to in the previous post. Perhaps this can make it more easy to locate where in the mouth the vowel sounds are located.
If the locations of the sounds are somewhat schematic in the two previous models, this table from the IPA Chart With Sounds is more specific:
A way to work with the chart would be to find the vowel locations of the vowels one already uses.
On the page of IPA chart, one finds:
If the reason for the shape lacks an explanation, there is this image from the Fluent in 3 Months article, The IPA Alphabet: How and Why You Should Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet, I referred to in the previous post. Perhaps this can make it more easy to locate where in the mouth the vowel sounds are located.
If the locations of the sounds are somewhat schematic in the two previous models, this table from the IPA Chart With Sounds is more specific:
A way to work with the chart would be to find the vowel locations of the vowels one already uses.
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Good sources, @thorbiorn ! Thanks for sharing some of those.
In my experience, what worked the best was:
a) always reading material that I had audio for (never separate until level B1 was reached)
b) working on minimal pairs. This source has good stuff for several languages: French Archives - Fluent Forever
c) marking the text with curves for the melody and // for pauses, then playing at imitating what I was hearing and reading. Recording myself and comparing with the original.
d) talking to a native speaker who was willing to focus on pronunciation for a while, and correct me (unless you ask, most people won't correct you).
I found that by doing that, I was also learning the language faster. Nothing like making mistakes to go, "ouch! I'll never say that again".
As for the IPA, it's not strictly necessary, although I have to say I found it very useful for transcribing and remembering/discriminating sounds years ago. But, the same can be accomplished in pronunciation with steps a, b and c above, without adding the burden of learning yet another thing. Unless one finds it fun and interesting, of course!
Whatever the method, at least for me, learning a language starts with becoming at least very familiar with its sound system, its melody, etc. I always found that that made learning everything else in the language easier.
In my experience, what worked the best was:
a) always reading material that I had audio for (never separate until level B1 was reached)
b) working on minimal pairs. This source has good stuff for several languages: French Archives - Fluent Forever
c) marking the text with curves for the melody and // for pauses, then playing at imitating what I was hearing and reading. Recording myself and comparing with the original.
d) talking to a native speaker who was willing to focus on pronunciation for a while, and correct me (unless you ask, most people won't correct you).
I found that by doing that, I was also learning the language faster. Nothing like making mistakes to go, "ouch! I'll never say that again".
As for the IPA, it's not strictly necessary, although I have to say I found it very useful for transcribing and remembering/discriminating sounds years ago. But, the same can be accomplished in pronunciation with steps a, b and c above, without adding the burden of learning yet another thing. Unless one finds it fun and interesting, of course!
Whatever the method, at least for me, learning a language starts with becoming at least very familiar with its sound system, its melody, etc. I always found that that made learning everything else in the language easier.
Thank you, Chu, for all your suggestions. I will try to incorporate some, and see where it leads.
Below is an attempt to compare some sounds in English, French Spanish and Russian, followed by notes on different accents and dialects of English.
It began with:
Ordering the sounds used in different languages
On the same website, there are a few simplified charts. After working with the data, joining the lists, inserting a reference number (the one to the left below), and ordering, it looks like this:
It is interesting to notice some sounds appear in the standard pronunciations of several languages, while others are less common.
One can copy the above data, paste it in new spreadsheet and order the first column to find the order for each language. In some formats, importing does not work well since the arrow signs can not be read. It works in Google Docs, though I used Notepad, Notepad++, and LibreOffice/Excel to sort the list.
Pronunciations, accents, and dialects
The pronunciations of a word fall within a range, therefore the accuracy of the phonetic transcription will be specific to a particular accent. In the following, there are two words used frequently, accent and dialect. An accent sounds different, a dialect also has differences in vocabulary and grammar.
The Wiki, on Regional accents of English, has:
The Wiki for List of dialects of English mentions:
In school systems, Standard English in many forms are important, though this may vary according to region, the above Wiki has:
Standard English in Britain is British English
In relation to the teaching of British English to foreign students, the above Wiki mentions Received Pronunciation as a model:
To explain the time of formation of Received Pronunciation, there is:
Another frequent model for foreign students learning English can be
General American English. The Wiki has:
To explain further, General American English is an American English within North American English that also includes Canadian English. Some of the above pages goes into details with the differences in pronunciation and have even links to sound bits. Se also:
North American English regional phonology.
The range of dialects
For an illustration of the range of dialects and accents across the British Isles and North America, below are three images. From the List of dialects of English:
From North American English Canada and mainland US:
Understanding different accents and dialects
The advice of one teacher I watched was to expose oneself to the sounds of different dialects in order to increase the range of Englishes one can understand. If you are required or have chosen to imitate a particular dialect, you will have to see how to go about that when exposing yourself to many others.
