Language Exchange User Posts

If you’ve had learning French on your list of things to do for a while but have found it difficult to get started, don’t fret. You’ll get into the habit in no time with a little dedication. What can 30 days do, you ask? 30 days is all it takes to start the habit of incorporating French into your daily life and build a basic foundation to start using it.

Designate a certain amount of time each day (and be sure that you work on it each day, as a short period of time daily is more beneficial than a four-hour cram session once or twice a week) and start diving into your podcasts. By designating an hour of practice each day, you’ll sure to get the working foundational skills of French in no time.

You may have heard a thing or two about learning a language by listening to a podcast, but have you ever tried it yourself? The benefits of learning French with podcasts are endless. Think about it. Podcasts are the perfect way to expand your knowledge while multi-tasking. You can workout, clean the house, drive to work, or, if you work in retail like me and have a kind manager, while you close for the night (seriously, I’ve gotten paid while listening to podcasts for three hours, which is a sweet deal if you ask me).

Learning a language via podcast is great for auditory learners for a primary learning tool, but should be used as a secondary tool for visual and tactile learners. Keep in mind that French, like any language, is multidimensional, so it’s important to get a well-rounded, working knowledge of all of the language as a whole in order to really learn it. In addition to podcasts, be sure to practice reading, writing, and speaking skills.

If you’re a beginner, focus on podcasts that provide French lessons so that you get a grip on the basics. Learn French by Podcast offers good quality, step-by-step lessons for free. You can even download PDF files to accompany the podcasts so that you can follow along on a visual format. The lessons don’t just focus on the specific lesson, but branch out and make connections to other words and ideas, teaching the details on "why" to say something, not just the "how" to say it.

Learn French with Alexa is another great lesson program for beginners to get a guided understanding of the basics and offers accompanying text for each lesson.

Daily French Pod works on giving you a daily podcast to listen to that will help you build your vocabulary and follow along in conversation. Unlike the other podcasts mentioned, this is not a lesson and requires foundational French knowledge in order to get the full benefits. The podcasts are spoken slowly and are easy to follow. They are also about a ton of different topics (there are almost 2,000 podcasts at your disposal, so variety is a given!), from politics to nature to technology, so there is sure to be something for everyone.


Photo Credit: Ben Dalton
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Are you looking to travel to an area of the Philippines where some form of Bisaya is spoken? Jumping into an unfamiliar culture can be overwhelming if you’re going in without knowing the language, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be an expert in the Bisaya language to have a successful trip.

Know the Background
Bisaya refers to the group of languages spoken by the Visayan people, the largest Filipino ethnic group in the country. This means that Bisaya is an umbrella term for a variety of languages/dialects, the most popular being Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Waray-Waray, with many others included. It is therefore important to understand which right language is for you. This will depend on where you will be spending your time and who you will spend your time with.

As Cebuano is the most commonly used of these languages, this article will focus primarily on Cebuano words, phrases, and resources.

For Starters
Here are some basic words and phrases that you may find helpful to start off with.

Hello   >>>   Uy

Yes   >>>   Oo

No   >>>   Dili

Please   >>>   Palihug

Thank you   >>>   Salamat

You’re welcome   >>>   Walay sapayan

What’s your name   >>>   Unsay imong pangalan?

My name is   >>>   Ang akong ngalan kay…

Nice to meet you   >>>   Maayo nga nagka-ila ta.

Excuse me   >>>   Kadiyot lang

I’m sorry   >>>   Pasaylo-a ko

How are you   >>>   Kumusta ka?

Fine   >>>   Maayo

I don’t speak Cebuano   >>>   Dili ko makasulti'g "Cebuano"

Could you write that down?   >>>   Palihug isulat daw

Where’s the bathroom   >>>  Asa dapit ang kasilyas?

Thanks to Wikitravel for these useful translations. Check out the rest of their phrase list if you’re looking for more.

Other Resources
Free Language Videos offers a ton of valuable YouTube videos from English to Cebuano that help you accumulate words and phrases to build your vocabulary. The videos are all featured on a playlist so they’re easy to locate and use.

The site Binisaya offers some useful tools such as written lessons, videos, a Cebuano-English dictionary, a spell checker, and forums so that you can stretch your Bisaya skills.

Bohol offers a great extensive phrasebook if you’re looking for more go-to vocabulary to work with.

Keep in mind that if you are only planning on needing the language for a short period of time that no expertise is needed. Focus on the basics so that you can easily communicate with others and navigate the area, but don’t stress about not knowing everything. Carry a translation dictionary and be open to working with others to bridge the language gap and you’ll be sure to make the most of your stay.


Photo Credit: Stefan Krasowski

Not many people know that many different languages are spoken in Spain in addition to Spanish. For example, a Portuguese-like language known as Galician is spoken in northwest Spain and a Romance language called Catalan is spoken in eastern Spain. Another language known as Euskara or Basque is spoken in northern Spain. If you are interested in living in or visiting certain areas of Spain, it would be most beneficial for you to learn these Spanish languages. This article will give you a brief overview of the different languages and websites showing where you can learn the basics of each one.

Basque is a romance language spoken in the northern central area of Spain. Basque is mostly spoken by the Basque people, an ethnic group found in Spain and France. Basque is a very unique language that uses the Latin Roman alphabet and letters are pronounced like they would be in Spanish. About 650,000 people speak it as a first language and there are about 100,000 speakers in the French Atlantic Pyrenees. If you are interested in learning Basque, here are some websites to help you do so.

• Basque 101 - https://www.101languages.net/basque/
  This website provides an overview of Basque as well as useful translations from English to Basque. This site offers translations of common words and phrases, numbers, time, colors, transportation, eating, shopping, etc. Along with language lessons, the site contains helpful information on Basque history, grammar, geography, classification, and more to help you expand your Basque knowledge.


• My Languages - https://mylanguages.org/learn_basque.php
  This link provides a number of resources to help you learn Basque. My Languages offers lessons and lists on the Basque alphabet, grammar, vocabulary, phrases, readings, and much more. The site also has resourceful tools such as a Basque dictionary, transliteration maker, Basque radio, keyboard, audio lessons, and quizzes.
  
  Galician is an Indo-European, romance language spoken by 4 million people in Galicia, a region in northwest Spain. Galician is in the same family of languages as Portuguese and both languages share common origins. Galician has strong similarities to Portuguese in vocabulary and syntax. For the native Galician speaker, Portuguese is about 85 percent understandable. If you are interested in visiting or living in Galicia or learning Galician and Portuguese, here are a couple of websites to teach you the basics.


• iLanguages - https://ilanguages.org/galician.php
  This site provides Galician lessons teaching vocabulary, phrases, and grammar. The lists of English to Galician translations also conveniently provide an audio option to allow you to hear pronunciations of words and phrases. iLanguages also offers a language quiz to help test your knowledge.


• Learn Galician - https://learn101.org/galician.php
  This website takes a step-by-step approach to learning Galician by providing lessons in the alphabet, grammar, common phrases, vocabulary and more. The lessons also include free audio to allow you to listen to Galician pronunciations. The site also offers an exam to help you test your knowledge.
  
  Catalan is a romance language spoken in Spain. About 5 to 6 million people speak Catalan as their first language. Catalan is the national language of Andorra, a European country between Spain and France. It is also spoken in France, Sardinia in Italy, and areas of Aragon and Murcia in Spain. Though Catalan’s written form looks like a cross between Spanish and French, many say the language is similar to Italian. Catalan’s alphabet has shown to be similar to English as well. If you are looking to live or visit a place where Catalan is predominantly spoken, here are a few websites to help you in learning the language.


• Surface Languages Catalan - https://www.surfacelanguages.com/language/Catalan
  This link provides numerous lists teaching essential Catalan phrases and vocabulary. Lessons include a first few words, small talk conversation, buying things, food and drink, getting around, places and buildings, somewhere to stay, and more. Each lesson provides English to Catalan translations, audio for the words and phrases, flashcards, and related word games.


• Catalan 101 - https://www.101languages.net/catalan/
  This website provides the information necessary to learn Catalan by giving lessons teaching Catalan pronunciation, phrases, and vocabulary. The site also provides video lessons such as one teaching how to pronounce Catalan consonants and related examples. Along with language lessons, 101 languages provide useful information such as an overview of Catalan, history, dialects, geography, and travel guides to where Catalan is spoken.
  
  Castilian, more commonly known as Spanish, is the official and cultural language of nearly 350 million people. About 414 million people world-wide speak Spanish as a native language. Castilian is the official language of Spain and their constitution states that all Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it. Spanish is spoken in many countries that were former colonies of Spain such as countries in Central and South America, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara in Africa, and areas in the Philippines. Due to its many immigrated speakers, Spanish has also become exceedingly prevalent in the United States. Due to the number of speakers and growing popularity of Spanish, it would be useful to know the basics of Spanish. If you are looking to learn Spanish free online, here are a couple of websites that could help you out.


• BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/
  BBC has a multitude of resources to help you learn Spanish. The site provides interesting pages such as a guide to Spanish, Spanish phrases, Football Spanish, and Spanish news, TV, and radio. BBC also offers Spanish lessons in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Along with fun games such as audio crossword puzzles, BBC posts free interactive learning video dramas to help you learn Spanish in a different way.


• Study Spanish - https://www.studyspanish.com/
  This website contains the information necessary to learn Spanish. Lesson topics include pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, verb drills, and features and resources. The English to Spanish lessons are offered at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Vocabulary contains flashcards and helpful audio to help you practice how words and phrases are pronounced.


• SpanishDict YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/SpanishDict
  This YouTube channel provides multiple video lessons teaching Spanish. Lessons covered include greetings, introductions, grammar, phrases, vocabulary, and more. There are many different volumes of video series including videos that show a pronunciation guide for common Spanish words and months. The English to Spanish lessons on these videos from multiple teachers are very detailed, clear, and well-explained.
  
  
  Photo Credit: Chris Bastian