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Comparison: Hardest Languages To Learn (HOURS NEEDED)

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Language Magazine - Improving Literacy & Communication

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Language Magazine is a monthly publication that provides cutting-edge information for language learners, educators, and professionals around the world.

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What is Linguistics?: Crash Course Linguistics #1

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World Games | World Geography Games Online

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Learn continents, oceans, rivers, islands, mountains and more with entertaining map quizzes to test your knowledge of world geography.

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I vs. Me Quiz from The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.

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Erin McKean's cool overview of creating words in English!

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Erin McKean: Go ahead, make up new words!

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In this fun, short talk from TEDYouth, lexicographer Erin McKean encourages - nay, cheerleads - her audience to create new words when the existing ones won't quite do. She lists out 6 ways to make new words in English, from compounding to "verbing," in order to make language better at expressing what we mean, and to create more ways for us to understand one another.

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Italian Words Used in English! (Crossword)

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Italian Words Used in English! (Crossword)

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Common Italian Words Used in English Crossword Puzzle

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The English language has plundered Italian for a great many words that are now used in both. How well do you know these words that travel back and forth? Find out by completing this crossword. Once you're finished, you'll also be able to learn how all of these words have been defined by Merriam-Webster.

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Which Country Is Larger By Population? Quiz

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This quiz will show you two countries. Identify the one with the larger population. This quiz is based on Britannica’s list of the world’s populations, so review that before you start.

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This is so much fun!

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Oceans game: interactive map quiz to learn the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Ocean. Free resource for teachers. Great tool for whiteboard, computer, tablet and mobile.

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How Quickly Can You Complete a 60-Question Vocab Quiz?

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QUIZ: You'll have to remember your high-school vocabulary lessons to ace this quiz.

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South America is home to some of the world's highest lakes. Ten of South America's largest and most well-known lakes appear in this word search. How many can you find?

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With a few minor exceptions, there are really only two ways to say "tea" in the world. One is like the English term- té in Spanish and tee in Afrikaans are two examples. The other is some variation of , like chay in Hindi.

Both versions come from China. How they spread around the world offers a clear picture of how globalization worked before "globalization" was a term anybody used. The words that sound like "cha" spread across land, along the Silk Road. The "tea"-like phrasings spread over water, by Dutch traders bringing the novel leaves back to Europe.

The term cha (茶) is "Sinitic," meaning it is common to many varieties of Chinese. It began in China and made its way through central Asia, eventually becoming "chay" (چای) in Persian. That is no doubt due to the trade routes of the Silk Road, along which, according to a recent discovery, tea was traded over 2,000 years ago. This form spread beyond Persia, becoming chay in Urdu, shay in Arabic, and chay in Russian, among others. It even made its way to sub-Saharan Africa, where it became chai in Swahili. The Japanese and Korean terms for tea are also based on the Chinese cha, though those languages likely adopted the word even before its westward spread into Persian.

But that doesn't account for "tea." The Chinese character for tea, 茶, is pronounced differently by different varieties of Chinese, though it is written the same in them all. In today's Mandarin, it is chá. But in the Min Nan variety of Chinese, spoken in the coastal province of Fujian, the character is pronounced te. The key word here is "coastal."

The te form used in coastal-Chinese languages spread to Europe via the Dutch, who became the primary traders of tea between Europe and Asia in the 17th century, as explained in the World Atlas of Language Structures. The main Dutch ports in east Asiawere in Fujian and Taiwan, both places where people used the te pronunciation. The Dutch East India Company's expansive tea importation into Europe gave us the French thé, the German Tee, and the English tea.

Yet the Dutch were not the first to Asia. That honor belongs to the Portuguese, who are responsible for the island of Taiwan's colonial European name, Formosa. And the Portuguese traded not through Fujian but Macao, where chá is used. That's why, on the map above, Portugal is a pink dot in a sea of blue.

A few languages have their own way of talking about tea. These languages are generally in places where tea grows naturally, which led locals to develop their own way to refer to it. In Burmese, for example, tea leaves are lakphak.

The map demonstrates two different eras of globalization in action: the millenia-old overland spread of goods and ideas westward from ancient China, and the 400-year-old influence of Asian culture on the seafaring Europeans of the age of exploration. Also, you just learned a new word in nearly every language on the planet.

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Tea if by sea, cha if by land: Why the world only has two words for tea

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With a few minor exceptions, there are really only two ways to say "tea" in the world. One is like the English term- té in Spanish and tee in Afrikaans are two examples. The other is some variation of , like chay in Hindi. Both versions come from China.

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Want to try an interactive grammar quiz? You just choose the one that's right!

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Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects Quiz from The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.

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Misused Words in English Quiz from The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.

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Take this Geography quiz at Encyclopaedia Britannica to test your knowledge of the geography of Africa.

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Capital Cities by Continent! (Easier edition)

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Capital Cities by Continent! (Easier edition)

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Capital Cities by Continent Quiz, Easier Edition

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QUIZ: What makes this quiz easier? Instead of the four continents you're choosing from in every question of that other quiz, here you've got just two. Everything else is the same. See a city, pick where it's located. Simple, right?

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Let's dive into "The 13th Warrior."

This movie stars Antonio Banderas as a court poet, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, banished to a distant land because he fell in love with the wrong woman-the lady of some big shot, definitely above his pay grade.

He then finds himself in the land of the Vikings, whose culture and language is as distant as home.

There's a scene in the movie that should be thoroughly appreciated by language learners. About 20 minutes in, we see the main protagonist sit around the campfire in the company of brusque Viking warriors.

The men roared with laughter as they compare personal stories, making fun of each other's exploits. Antonio Banderas's character sits in the middle of this vulgar banter unable to get into the conversation because of two reasons: 1) He's a poet who wields the quill rather than the sword, and 2) He speaks no word of the language.

The movie then shows a montage of him silently sitting by the campfire night after night after night. He's silently observing, looking intently at lips, gestures and body language while listening for words, phrases and sentences that all mean gibberish.

But over the course of several evenings, something happens.

The conversations started becoming meaningful to him. He starts to understand one word. And then another. And another. Soon, he's catching on to phrases, making sense of them little by little.

The scene climaxes with Ahmad ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas' character) suddenly speaking a coherent sentence that jolts the warriors into murderous attention. One of them asked him, "How did you learn our language?"

With emphatic conviction, (and as the camera focuses squarely on his face), Ahmad ibn Fadlan replied:

"I listened!"

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

How We Learned Language as Children

The previous section highlighted a specific strategy that we, as children, have used in picking up our first language. We know that it works, because now, as adults, we have a language that we can speak, read and write in.

The strategy I'm referring to is, of course, listening.

It's a shame that many overlook its importance in the language acquisition process. Because the thing is, listening is the first and most important strategy in language. It is at the very core of learning a new language, so when making time to study, you need to make time for listening.

Babies undergo a phase psychologists call a "Silent Period." As the name signifies, this is the time before babies learn to talk and produce the words in their language, sometimes called the Pre-Production Stage of language development.

But don't be misled, the "Silent Period" is not a passive phase of silence. It is a very busy time for babies to assimilate the phonetic features of the linguistic environment. Even if you don't hear them speak, babies are learning about the language. They are closely listening to the sounds around them. (Look at those cute round eyes!)

And these tiny humans understand more than they let on. If you observe them closely, you'll realize that there's comprehension in those eyes. They may be blinking in silence. But make no mistake, babies are listening, observing, integrating and adapting. They listen so closely that, in the future, they will soon be able to replicate the linguistic features of the people around them. (It's no accident that babies in Texas speak with the same accent.)

Adults trying to master a second language should borrow a page from little Johnny's handbook.

Listening is that effective and it's that powerful! It's a time-proven method that you would absolutely be crazy not to take seriously. If you're experiencing difficulties in some stage in your quest to become fluent, it can often be traced to the listening part. You probably skipped it entirely and jumped impatiently into the sexy mission of learning the actual lines or the enjoyable competition of playing language games.

But because listening is that important, I would like to give you a set of listening strategies that will skyrocket your learning ability. But I have to warn you, this is not your grandmother's kind of listening.

Applying these strategies may boost your abilities, but it's not a walk in the park. You'll probably be completely wiped out when you're done, which can only mean one thing: Your language knowledge is growing and improving.

4 Simple Yet Powerful Strategies to Learn a Language by Listening

1. Choose Material Suited to Your Level

Don't bite off more than you can chew.

One of the most common mistakes language learners make is tackling materials that are way too advanced for their level. They skip to intermediate lessons without first listening to beginner material. Then learners complain that the speakers are talking too fast and they can't make out the words.

Imagine being taught Calculus in the first grade. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Yet that's what language learners try to do when they perform listening tasks that are way above their level.

The ideal listening material is one that's a level or two higher than your current level. That means holding off listening to discussions by native French speakers about some esoteric economic theory when you are fresh off the boat. Better listen to kids talking about dogs, cat and apples. You would benefit from speakers who are only a little bit better than you. That way, your goal is more approachable and you are reaching just a little bit each time. And guess what? They speak more slowly too!

2. Contextualize and Look at the Big Picture

When you are digesting an audio or video clip, keep in mind that all conversations are spoken in a certain context. Words and sentences don't exist in a vacuum; nuances are king. By looking at the big picture, you are making calculated inferences about what's going on in the conversations.

It's not your job to know exactly what's said, nor all of the details, but rather to know what it's generally about.

When you listen to a conversation, get your bearings right and understand the situation. Are the speakers long-time friends, colleagues or family members? Then it might be reasonable to expect a lot of informal utterances and maybe even slang. Is it a conversation between a boss and an employee? Then the social dynamics will be a little bit different. (This is especially true in Asian cultures where they stick to specific hierarchical norms.)

Look for context clues. If you're watching a video, note the surroundings. Where are the speakers situated? Inside a conference room? A playground? A church?

This location matters a lot. There are topics that would never be discussed inside a church, but would be fair game in a boardroom.

3. Listen for "Key Words" for Understanding

When I say listen for key words, the purpose is not so you can articulate or verbalize them. No! When I say listen for "key words," it's so that you can understand what is being spoken. There's a big difference between the two. One is "listening for speaking," while the other is "listening for understanding."

We want to listen for understanding. (In fact, nothing in this lesson is geared for speaking. It's all focused on comprehension. The speaking part comes much, much later.)

If you think about how we learned to talk as babies, we understood first before we learned to speak. Research is slowly showing the importance of comprehension over articulation. One of the reasons why language lessons don't cross into a person's long-term memory from the short-term memory is that there was no genuine comprehension of the lesson in the first place. It was memorized rote, without any real meaning to the learner. In that case if you give it a couple of days, the student will forgets all he or she has "learned."

So when you listen for key words, it's so that you can work out what is being discussed. It doesn't matter that you get the actual meaning of statements. In fact, it will be fairly often that you'll get it wrong. But it's important that your comprehension improves. Everything else will follow from comprehension.

To practice both contextualizing and listening for the big picture, it's best to study with audio or video clips that have subtitles or English translations. The best place to practice in this way is with FluentU.

All of the videos are subtitled and translated, and every word comes with an in-context definition, image and multiple example sentences. You can even click on a word to see how it's used in other videos across the site. That'll teach you context for sure!

FluentU currently services Mandarin Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Korean and Spanish learners.

4. Listen for Specific Language Features

Let me prove to you for once and for all that listening is not a passive act. In fact, it's far from it.

Listening, at least the kind that propels you to linguistic success, is one of the most engaged and zeroed-in activities. The thing is, it's not just about exposure. It's not just about playing some foreign track in the background while working on something else entirely. That method is too inefficient for your time.

Listening is an activity of intent. It's deliberate and calculated.

When you listen to a clip, be prepared to do it several times. I want you to listen to the different nuances, tones, rhythms, verbs, adjectives and tenses. But don't do it all at once. So maybe for the first round, you listen for the tones and the melody of the conversation. Next you listen for the verbs. And so on.

So a 90-second clip could take you an hour or two to completely digest. Are you ready for that kind of work? Focus on a different linguistic feature every time you replay the clip, and things will slowly start clicking for you.

Listening Opportunities for Language Learners

If you are not living in the home country of your target language, look for every opportunity to be able to listen to the language being used in different contexts and circumstances. Distant immersion is a way to go and here are some suggestions:

Children's Shows

As I have mentioned before, start off with the lightest material. So search for these types online.

Children's shows have the advantage of simple sentence construction and slower talking rates. It is, after all, for kids. The lessons are often multisensory and full of vivid examples-all helpful for the language learner. These shows are formatted so that you can easily get the context for the different scenes.

Besides, they're also fun. The games and the music involved could keep you interested for hours and even make your day. There's no shame in an adult watching shows for kids. So if you're learning Japan, for example, why not start watching some Japanese cartoons?

YouTube and Other User-generated Sites

YouTube is awash with video clips featuring native speakers in different contexts, formats and levels of language sophistication. You can find videos that are funny, interesting, even awe-inspiring. Get yourself entertained, but do not lose sight of your purpose-and that is, learning the language, not the magic trick, the recipe or the computer hack.

Use YouTube to your advantage, so always pick videos that are just a level or two above your current state. As a beginner, if you got a home video featuring a mom/dad talking to his/her small child, that clip would yield low-hanging fruits for yourself.

Movies, Concerts and News

Movies have plotline and themes and are good practice for long-format listening. Foreign films will sharpen your contextualizing ability, which is one of the most basic skills you need for foreign language work.

Songs also have themes and even stories in them. For example, a love song will have words and phrases related to the topic of "love." Listening to foreign songs, especially nursery rhymes, can help you search for key words. But don't forget that mining the songs is for comprehension.

A newscast uses a special subset of vocabulary. One of its major advantages is that it shows a video while the story is being reported, so you get a leg up in the key words that you are listening for. So if you see strong winds and waves being streamed, you can fairly be certain that the news is not about some zoo animal giving birth.

Theme-related Podcasts

As mentioned previously, contextualizing is a very important skill. So we turn to podcasts to hear words used in specific situations.

Podcasts often deal with certain themes. They can talk about sports, fashion, politics, even religion. The advantage of listening to theme-related podcasts is that it gives you a highly focused workout on a certain subset of vocabulary. Because it narrows the field of interest, you can now focus on the specifics of the topic.

To save you the time and effort of trialing various podcasts for language learning, be sure to check out some top breakdowns and reviews just like the video below. You'll learn about some of the popular and hidden gems of the language podcast world.

If you enjoy learning about resources before you use them and language learning strategies, then be sure to subscribe to the FluentU channel now.

Culture Talk

Culture Talk is a subtitled interview of native speakers. It's a double whammy because not only does it teach you about language, but it also touches on the realities of daily life in the language's home country. So you get a special appreciation for the richness of the culture. Let's say you want to learn about coffee-making in Uganda, for example. You can learn just that, as explained to you by one of the coffee makers herself.

FluentU

As introduced earlier, FluentU is one of the most effective language learning websites today. Save yourself hours of searching through YouTube videos by practicing with FluentU's hand-selected authentic video clips instead.

In addition to being engaging, informative and accurately translated, FluentU's videos are also organized by level and topic-so you'll immediately know which clips are right for you. Immersing yourself in the high-quality videos that FluentU has to offer is time seriously well spent.

Friends Who Are Native Speakers

Finally, if you happen to have friends who are native speakers of the language you're interested in, there's nothing like listening to it in person. The acoustics are different, and the general experience is just more textured and vivid.

Just make sure that your friends talk slower than their regular speaking rate-especially in the beginning. Then treat your friends for dinner because they've shared with you something really precious: a new language.

With these four strategies and new listening opportunities, you can take your language learning to the next level.

You might even have your very own aha moment, just like Ahmad ibn Fadlan with the warriors, when you can proudly exclaim: "I listened!"

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing...

If you dig the idea of learning on your own time from the comfort of your smart device with real-life authentic language content, you'll love using FluentU.

With FluentU, you'll learn real languages-as they're spoken by native speakers. FluentU has a wide variety of videos as you can see here:

FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.

Didn't catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.

You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU's "learn mode." Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you're learning.

And FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you're learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words-and reminds you when it's time to review what you've learned. You get a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn languages with real-world videos.
Sign up for free!

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4 Simple Yet Powerful Strategies to Learn a Language by Listening

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Let's dive into "The 13th Warrior." This movie stars Antonio Banderas as a court poet, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, banished to a distant land because he fell in love with the wrong woman-the lady of some big shot, definitely above his pay grade.

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Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz

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QUIZ: This quiz will present you with the name of a country. You have to decide whether it's in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere. (There will be no trickery with countries that touch the Equator.)

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Test your spelling with this site from Merriam-Webster! (Put on your headphones and they will tell you what words to spell!)

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10 quick questions: hear them, spell them, and see how your skills compare to the crowd.

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Test your knowledge of geography with this Geography Bee from Quizlet!

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All Language Resources has a drop down menu of languages you can explore. Many of them are free and they give good reviews of each one!

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We've spent thousands of hours testing hundreds of resources.

Once you've decided to learn a language, it can be difficult to figure out which resources are worth using and which ones ought to be avoided.

Our reviews are done independent of any outside influence. If a product is bad, we say so, even when we could earn money by saying otherwise. There are too many good language learning tools available to waste your time or money with bad ones.

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Home All Language Resources - Find The Best Tools For Learning A Language

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We've spent thousands of hours testing hundreds of resources. Once you've decided to learn a language, it can be difficult to figure out which resources are worth using and which ones ought to be avoided. Our reviews are done independent of any outside influence.

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Regions of the World Quiz - World Geography Games

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World regions quiz: entertaining map game to learn regions, including the Caribbean, Great Plains, Polynesia, Maghreb, Horn of Africa, Patagonia and Siberia. Free resource for teaching geography.

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If the problem continues, contact the site owner.

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QUIZ: How do you use the Oxford comma? What's the difference between an en dash and an em dash? How do you use ellipses? Test your knowledge of English punctuation with this quiz!