If you have decided to learn French then you have no doubt wondered what is the best way to learn French in the shortest possible time. Everybody wants to be fluent as quickly as possible so that they can enjoy talking to people from another culture and gaining an insight into their lives and lifestyles. This article will highlight the best way to learn to speak French in terms of quality and time it takes to become a capable French speaker.

In my opinion the best way to learn French is by doing a French immersion course. This typically involves going to France and taking a course. As you take the course you may be living and working in France and have constant opportunities to put your learning into the practice by talking to local people or people you come in contact with.

French immersion courses have other advantages. You may be learning about something that you have no real life experience of. For example, you can have the game of Petanque or boules explained to you but you will never truly understand it until you see the people playing it with the azure sea as a backdrop.

Being able to see, touch, feel and smell the things you are learning about make the understanding so much easier. Only by immersing yourself in the French life can you get this experience.

Immersion courses do not just apply to France either. You can find French immersion courses all over the world. Canada can offer immersion courses with their own particular take on French language and culture. Or you could combine a Caribbean vacation with an intensive immersion course by visiting Martinique. As Martinique is a overseas French department you can get an insight into French culture with a Caribbean twist.

French Immersion is the best way to learn French but is probably the most expensive way of learning French. The other ways to learn French if you do not have the finances or time to go to another country are to do a standard night course at a French Institute or purchase a learn French software course.

If you prefer an alternative to immersion courses or would like to get your feet wet with French before landing in France then a learn French software course is ideal. Visit http://rocketfrenchreview.com/ for a detailed review of the popular language course Rocket French. The course has been updated to include an audio component and you will find a review of this new Rocket French audio course and details of all the other features that it has to offer. You will also find useful tips on how to learn French. Adrian Whittle has learned French and Spanish using various methods and is ideally qualified to review new language courses.

I never really believe in bringing items with you as conversation starters. Well what do you know, it actually works!

I experienced it myself. After a visit from the veterinarian I brought my puppy along to the grocery store to do some shopping. I couldn’t believe it when complete strangers passed by and looked at us with eyes wide open and bright smiles. Some comments like “what a cute puppy” and ” is it a he or a she?” Some people even went to the extent of going near me and patted my mixed poodle -terrier three month old puppy.

I said to myself “wow , what a way to meet someone!” It was effortless. You don’t have to risk rejection, muster courage, withstand dry mouth and weak wobbly knees just to talk to someone for the first time. So from that time on, I thought with the right props, the right location and time, you are bound to meet new people and rev up your “social rocket” out in the launch pad.

Here are some tips on what to bring to get that good topics of conversation going. Choose conversation starters that you feel suit you personality.

1.Books.- With provocative titles like ” The grass is greener over the septic tank” or “What color is your parachute?” will surely illicit questions or comments.

2.T-shirt- Wear something with a phrase in a foreign language. A sports team, A Janet Jackson concert t-shirt.

3.Magazines- You can actually target someone you’d like to meet, by carrying a magazine that would appeal to his or her interests. You want to meet a fashionista? Bring Vogue, Details or GQ. An architect? Bring Architectural Digest. You get my point.

4.Travel Brochures- Pull out travel brochure from your bag about an exotic place. You can ask the one sitting next to you if he or she has been there already or know someone from there.

5.Sheet Music- Do you go gaga for a musician or local jazz singer? Carry sheet music geared to the type of music maker you have in mind.

6.A camera- Invite a female friend to the beach. When you spot a cutie ask him to snap a picture of the two of you, then offer to take his picture and email it to
him. You now have his email and when you email his photo you can drop him a note.

7.Crossword puzzles- While you are nursing a double tall peppermint frappuccino at a local Starbucks you can bring along a crossword puzzle section of your local newspaper. Then ask that cute person next to your table if (s)he knows a three letter word for “untruth”. If (s)he answers “egg” please don’t laugh.

With this knowledge at your arsenal you can meet interesting people anywhere, anytime. Remember your favorite things are good conversation starters. Why not bring one item now when you head off to the nearest laundry shop?

Jovita Orais is an avid researcher. She writes on various topics including life balance, performance excellence, fulfillment, personal creativity, creative visualization,being rooted and anything related to self-improvement.

For more motivational stories, tips and free e-book that shows you how to achieve happiness and wondrous prosperity visit: http://www.articlesvariety.blogspot.com

Buenas dias! [bwe-nos di-yahs] ‘Good morning/day’

Get ready to start learning to speak Spanish…
the most popular romance language in the world.
Spanish is spoken by roughly 440 million people
worldwide who often speak it as their only language.
It is the second most used language and the third
most spoken language in the world.

So, learn to speak Spanish in the next few
weeks and you will be ready to visit Spain, Mexico,
Latin America, South America, etc., and understand
what people are saying to you and to others.

Learning to speak Spanish is not very complicated.
There are a number of great learning courses that
take you by the hand and lead you easily through
the basics of the language. When learning Spanish
keep these practical tips in mind:

Practical Tips To Learning To Speak Spanish

Tip 1 - Find time to study each and every day at a time when
you are rested and most receptive to absorbing the materials.
Don’t overdo it - Allow yourself 30 minutes to an hour every
day.

Tip 2 - Absorb the material in each lesson fully before going
on to the next lesson. Review each lesson’s material at least
a couple of times a day to be sure you have it in your head.
It wouldn’t be bad to review all the lessons for the week
before moving on to next weeks lessons.

Tip 3 - Gain a complete understanding of basic pronunciation
before moving on to the more advanced aspects of the language.
This will make it much easier later on.

Tip 4 - In order to absorb the language better try zeroing in
on the topics and subjects that interest you the most. This
will sharpen your memory to remember phrases, and words that
excite you.

Tip 5 - Don’t ever give up or let discouragement get the best
of you. We all have times when things don’t seem to be going
our way, but usually these are temporary bumps in the road and
things get back to normal in due time. If you have a
momentary lapse in learning simply realize we all go through
periods like this and then get started with the program again.
You will succeed.

Tip 6 - Purchase a Magic Marker and some 3 x 5 cards. Print
names of things in your house such as Television, clock, bed,
chair, etc on the cards in your new language. Place the 3 x 5
cards all around your house and get used to knowing these
objects in your new language.

Tip 7 - Force yourself to think using your new language for
everyday activities. This will cause your mind to become more
comfortable using the new language until it seems to flow out
of your mouth easily.

Tip 8 - In most areas of the country there are radio or
television programs that broadcast shows speaking only in the
language you are studying. Tune in and listen to these shows
periodically to see what you can understand of the language.
The more words you learn of a new language the more these
shows will become a language memory booster and reinforcement
for you.

Today it is more important than ever to know the Spanish
language since it appears everywhere. Learning a foreign
language, particularly Spanish, is not complicated. It will
even be for your own benefit because, who knows, you may find
yourself on the streets of Madrid or Mexico City talking to
people in Spanish one day. At least, you won’t have a hard
time living the Spanish life and adjusting to their culture -
simply because you took the time to begin Spanish language
study!

Buena suerte! (Good luck!)

Dennis Beckley has been a professional online marketer,
publisher, and webmaster for several years. His most recent
undertaking is the publication of his ‘Incredible Tips’ articles.

Discover more about Learning To Speak Spanish:

http://www.learningtospeak-spanish.com

As most adults who have tried to learn another language other than their own will tell you, tackling the project can be quite difficult. While children seem to effortlessly adopt another language, the stumbling blocks can be enormous in the adult brain. For many people, learning Spanish is a necessary and popular choice. To learn Spanish for beginners, the choices of instruction are extensive.

Initially, the best way to learn Spanish for beginners is to purchase a simple English/Spanish dictionary. This will assist you in translating words from English to Spanish and vice versa. Begin by choosing commonplace objects from around the house and translating them into Spanish. The key here is practice. Practice, practice, practice. Refer to the object using the Spanish word only and keep doing it until you are comfortable. The great thing about these dictionaries is that most of them come in pocket sized versions; making them the perfect portable tool to take along with you should you visit a Spanish speaking country.

Another way to learn Spanish for beginners is to embrace the technology that has flooded the marketplace. There are Spanish instruction CDs that consumers can simply listen to while driving, working, playing, or shopping. These act much like dictionaries but provide the proper pronunciation of words which can be enormously helpful. DVDs offer classroom instruction that consumers can watch over and over again as necessary. And portable electronic devices offer all the assistance of a dictionary but with audio. For instance, if you enter a word in English, such a device will say it back to you in Spanish.

Last but not least to learn Spanish for beginners, enlist the help of someone who speaks Spanish fluently. Find a friend or an acquaintance who will help you learn the basics. Or sign up for any number of classes offered at high schools and colleges at night where you can learn the fundamentals of this language.

In this modern day of advancement, it is often much easier to learn Spanish for beginners. Gone are the days of endless toiling over books in a classroom. The modern world offers a variety of choices for students on the go in learning this beautiful language.

For easy to understand, in depth information about learn Spanish for beginners visit our ezGuide 2 Learn Spanish.

As I look back on the trip out west to San Diego, which I took the first week of April 2007, I couldn’t help but think about the number of
workers I ran across that did not speak the English Language. Obviously, communication was some what difficult, if not impossible.
Among a lot of people this is a touchy subject. I mean, if your going to work in the U.S.and earn a living here,
it would only be appropriate to speak the language. But instead of being angry about the situation, I decided why not put a
positive spin on it and use it as an opportunity to educate myself.

Why shouldn’t I make the effort to to learn the
Mexican Language they were speaking? so that the next time I travel out to San Diego I will be able to communicate with them
in their language, and in turn have a more pleasant experience. This would also benefit myself when I travel to their country.

I see it as a win-win situation. Learning languages in these days are much easier. From books and audio tapes to online learning. Online learning is what peaks my interest. I have visited several online sites and companies that distribute the software. They are all excellent programs. Many of the companies use the 4 basic language skills: Listening Comprehension, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. I cannot think of a more enjoyable or useful way of expanding your horizons, then learning a new language, especially online.

Rosetta Stone is an
excellent company to start your new online experience.

If you prefer to go
thru a major online university, you could try
http://www.educateyourselfonline.com

I have gone to the site

http://www.learn-a-language-online.com, they also focus on Rosetta Stone.

Are you bilingual? If you are it can help you get a job! How? Read on…

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the U.S. with over 42 million members, totaling 13.7% of the U.S. population. 40% of these (17 million) speak English less than “very well”.

Total Hispanic discretionary income in 2004 was estimated at just under $700 billion. This is expected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2010.

With these numbers and that spending power, is it any wonder that there are many business out there eager to deal with that population and cater to their needs? To do business with people who don’t speak English, speak only or mostly Spanish, you have to have personnel who can communicate with your customers. Hence the need for bilingual employees in a wide range of jobs.

So just how widespread is this need? It is hard to say exactly, but maybe the following would shed some light on the subject.

Searching on the largest U.S. employment network at careerbuilders.com, on April 14, 2007, for “bilingual” in the job title yielded 12,230 jobs in the search results. There were 160 pages of results, listing jobs in 33 states.

The overwhelming majority of these jobs were for people who could speak both English and Spanish. There were 4,530 job listings in Sales, 3,698 in Management, 3,489 in Customer Service, 2,592 in Retail, 1,971 in Administrative and Clerical, 1,586 in Health Care… the list goes on and on, through 63 categories.

California had the highest demand with 2,033 positions offered, followed by Florida (1,724), Texas (1,444) and Illinois (671). There were 34 companies listed as employers seeking employees. Radio Shack led the list with 526 positions to fill, followed by R-Solutions, Subsidiary (436), Sprint (374) and 31 others.

If you want more details or proof, go to CareerBuilders.com, type in “bilingual” and hit the search button yourself. Look at the specific job offerings, in the city and state of your choosing. You will quickly see that there is a huge job market for bilingual people. Probably someone, somewhere is looking for someone with skills just like yours. But to qualify they must be bilingual.

Speaking a language is an acquired skill. If you learned Spanish, then you could qualify for some of these jobs!

To learn how to get the best Spanish-learning course available visit: Learn Spanish
To read reviews of Rocket Spanish visit: href="http://netincome123.com/go/to.pl?l=rsMa28Rev&u=RS2">Review

Jorge Chavez has been an internet entrepreneur and marketer since 2002. He began to learn Spanish after he was 30, now is bilingual English-Spanish. He has monolingual friends, relatives and clients who only speak Spanish and others who only speak English. Read his articles at http://rocket-spanish.ya23.com

Many people ask themselves the question, “Do I need to learn Spanish?” both consciously and subconsciously. Usually the answer comes up something like, “No. I speak English, everybody in the U.S. speaks English, I don’t need to speak Spanish.” But maybe before jumping to that conclusion, we should look into the matter more deeply.

The last U.S. Census, made in the year 2000, established that there were over 35 million Hispanics in the U.S. These Hispanics made up 12.5% of the total population. Furthermore, Hispanics seem to be the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. By 2004 Hispanics numbered 42 million, about 13.7% of the total population.

And we are not talking about poor wetbacks here. Like other waves of immigrants before them, the Hispanics are assimilating, growing and prospering. Today they represent tremendous purchasing power in the U.S. economy. The magazine “Hispanic Business”, in its May, 2004 edition, reported the results of a study on the subject. The study found that the disposable income of Hispanics, the U.S.’s largest minority group, was almost $700 billion! Moreover, their disposable income was expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2010!

We are talking here about numbers and economic power to be noted and reckoned with!

So how does this affect your choice of languages to learn? The U.S. census of 2000 told us that three-fourths of Hispanics speak a language other than English in their homes. 99+ per cent of them speak Spanish. Furthermore, the census revealed that 2 out of every 5 Hispanics reported that they spoke English less than “very well”. You can read about it in “We the People: Hispanics in the United States, A Census 2000 Special Report”, by Roberto R. Ramirez, December 2004.

That means that of the 42 million Hispanics in the U.S. as of 2004, 40% or 16.8 million do not speak English very well and prefer to speak in Spanish. That group comprises 5.5% of the total U.S. population!

So one of the reasons to learn Spanish is to be able to speak with your neighbors! And it’s not just for travel south of the Rio Grande any more.

At one time concentrations of Spanish-speaking people were to be found only along the U.S. - Mexican border and in New York City. Not any more! Now they are all over, notably California, Texas and Florida, of course but Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia… practically all over! Almost wherever you are you are going to encounter groups of your neighbors who speak very little English, only Spanish.

So perhaps you want to rethink that question about learning Spanish. As well as giving you the ability to communicate with your neighbors, learning Spanish is also a culturally expanding experience. Spanish history books are different from English history books… and the Spanish were in the new world a hundred years before the English were!

Learn and understand more of the background of the largest minority group in the U.S.! Learn to speak Spanish.

To learn how to get the best Spanish-learning course available visit: Learn Spanish
To read reviews of Rocket Spanish visit: href="http://netincome123.com/go/to.pl?l=rsMa28Rev&u=RS2">Reviews

Jorge Chavez has been an internet entrepreneur and marketer since 2002. He began to learn Spanish after he was 30, now is bilingual English-Spanish. He has monolingual friends, relatives and clients who only speak Spanish and others who only speak English. Read his articles at http://rocket-spanish.ya23.com

Before the days of the Internet, learning a language free was not an easy thing to set up, or achieve, but with the Internet at your disposal, a whole new world of learning French has opened up. I am going to show you 5 ways in which you can learn French free.

1, Go to a French speaking country and hope for the best. This might seem like the most efficient option, because it seems to be closest to the way you learned your native language, but it isn’t quite as simple as that. Just going into a French speaking environment will not ensure that you learn French. What’s needed is a special kind of impetus. If you are lucky enough to hook up with a native speaker who would be willing to take you under their wing and teach you French, patiently, you have probably found one of the most efficient and pleasant ways to learn French. It can happen, but it is rare, especially if you want t learn French free.

2, Immersion in a French speaking country may not be an option for most people, but you can still learn French free, as long as you’re willing to seek out some essential resources both online and offline. Your first stop will probably be the Internet, where you will find a mixed bag of sites and free courses, some with sound files, to choose from. The standard of these resources varies, but if you’re willing to dedicate a little time and effort to Internet searches, you can learn French free online, to a certain degree.

3, Visit your public library and see if you can hire out a language course with tapes or CDs. This is a far better prospect than trying to cobble together a French course yourself from what you find on the Internet. There is an offline world too, and language courses that are produced by established publishing houses, such as Hodder or Routledge tend to be of the highest quality, something you can’t always be sure of when using resources published on the Internet.

4, Take part in what is known as a ‘language exchange’ with a French speaker who wants to learn English. Language exchange is just that: you will team up with a French speaker either online, or offline, and offer one another your native language speaking skills for equal time periods. This is great in theory, but in practice, it is only really efficient when you both have a certain amount of language under your belts. Being a native speaker of a language doesn’t always indicate that your partner will be an effective teacher. In this way, it can be a less than efficient way to learn French free from scratch.

Do a search for language exchange and you’ll see several sites on which you can sign up for a language exchange partner, if you don’t have access to native speakers of French in your vicinity.

5, Seek out online forums and discussion groups for learners of French. On such forums you will find not only beginners in French, but also learners with more advanced skills and even French teachers, both native and foreign, who will be willing to help you learn French free.

Participate in online forums on topics that interest you. Again, this is more suited to the slightly advanced learner, but it is there as a resource to learn French free, and all you need is an Internet connection to gain access to it. If you hobby is ice fishing, for example, find out what that term is in French and do a search for an online francophone community talking about ice fishing.

There you have it: 5 ways in which you can learn French free.

Let me show you how to start learning French the right way with my FREE 7 step start-up plan. Visit my website right now at

Click Here to learn French free right now.

‘Learn French fast!’ is the promise so many adverts for language courses promise both online and offline, and anyone who wants to learn French might be tempted to buy them, but do they live up to their claims? In this article we are going to be looking at just what it really takes to learn French fast.

If you are a native speaker of English, or even if you have learned English to a high degree of competency, you already have a natural skill to your advantage, that you can capitalize upon to learn French fast. Many English words are derived from Latin based words, due to invasion of Britain by the Romans and the Normans, who spoke French. This means that thousands of French words are already known to us, in some form or other, even before we start to learn French.

Although, as an English speaker, you do will enjoy certain advantages in learning French words, your knowledge of other languages related to French will also play an important role in whether you can learn French fast. If you happen to have a background in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or even Romanian, you will have a further advantage in your efforts to learn French fast.

This is because the grammatical structures of these languages is similar to that of French, which means the general concepts underlying the patterns of verbs, tenses and sentence structure will not require the same amount of elucidation they would if you were coming from a background of English only.

Have you studied any other languages successfully in the past? It doesn’t matter whether these languages are related to French, the mere process of having learned a foreign language before, sets the scene for any language learning that follows, and makes it that bit easier.

Looking at what we’ve discussed so far, what immediate advantages do you have to offer yourself to begin to learn French fast? Those represent just the first step.

To learn French fast, you need to get hold of a comprehensive language course to work from, that stimulates as many learning channels as possible at the same time, that is to say, visual, auditory and kinesthetic. A computer-based course is the most effective way to do this, because the entire course is accessible, literally, at the touch of a button. This helps you to learn French fast, because you won’t have to fumble your way through the pages of a text book, or constantly have to find your place on an audio tape or CD, that distracts you from the learning task at hand.

In addition to the positive factors you already possess, you can also speed up your learning of French using certain techniques and strategies that you can acquire. Learning how to concentrate for longer periods of time than the average modern mind is used to will help you focus on learning the French language better.

Also, learn how to use mnemonic techniques, such as association, to aid you in learning French vocabulary, because words are the building blocks of language. The faster you learn them, the faster you learn French! For example, the French for bear is ‘ours’, which sounds a lot like ‘horse’ but with the ‘h; dropped. You only need to imagine bears doing a horse race and you’ve immediately got that word under your belt. Now that’s fast learning!

Finally, to learn French fast, you will have to put in several weeks of intensive study, learning for at least an hour each day, and practicing in your free moments by reviewing the material studied in your active learning sessions.

If you put your mind to it, and you’re willing to study hard, you should be able to learn French fast, relatively speaking.

Let me show you how to start learning French the right way with my FREE 7 step start-up plan. Visit my website right now at

Click Here to learn French fast right now.

Spoken by 250 million people worldwide, primarily at the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America, Spanish is dominating as one of the top languages.

Imagine having it as another entry on the “language spoken” part of you resume.

An effective way to get the ball rolling is by studying the letters and sounds. From these sounds, you create words and phrases.

Do your best during your foreign language training by immersing yourself to the language being used by other speakers. This is done so you can familiarize yourself with the basics and everyday expressions.

Watch TV programs and films that use the language with translations that you can understand. Watch plays starring characters with accents that are native of the language you are trying to learn.

During this time, you should be able to observe how the native speakers pronounce the sounds, the speed of their dialogues, how they form words and sentences, and when they use certain expressions.

Contrary to what others believe, Spanish sounds are not really hard to pronounce. Once you’ve learned a few basic rules, it shouldn’t be too long before you can read and speak it.

First, know that Spanish has 30 letters, in contrast with English that has only 26. You must know how each letter is called and the sound it produces.

The four other letters present in the Spanish alphabet includes ch (read as che) as in chocolate, ll (read as el-ye) as in million, ñ (read as en-ye) as in onion, and rr (read as er-re).

The common 26 letters also has Spanish names and do not take on the ABC names of English: a, be, ce, che, de, e, efe, ge, hache, i, jota, ka, ele, elle, eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, ku, ere, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve doble, ekis, y grieyega, and zeta.

Spanish also has 5 vowels - a, e, i, o, and u.

However, what makes their vowels different from English vowels is that each of these vowels produces only one sound.

The vowel a is always read as in shut/other/son and never as in cat nor tape; e is always read as in pet/enter/let/said and never as in week; i is always read as in hit/pity and never as in bike; o is always read as in saw/Auckland/decor and never as in hope; and u is always read as /oo/ in book/put/push and never as in hut nor umbrella.

On the other hand, the letters that are pronounced the same way as in English are b, ch, d, f, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, w, x, y, and z.

The letter h is not pronounced verbally and is always silent, unless it belongs to the /ch/ sound. The letter r is always rolled, even more strongly when it occurs in rr. The letter q is pronounced the same way as in the English letter k.

The letter c is pronounced in two ways: /th/ as in thin before the vowels e and i, and /k/ elsewhere. The letter g takes the sound of the gargled /g/ as in the German word Bach before the vowels e and i, and /g/ in English elsewhere. The letter j also takes the sound of the gargled /g/ in all conditions.

It is important to keep these rules in mind. Before you can actually speak out the words, phrases, and sentences fluently, you have to master how to enunciate these sounds properly. Spanish is romantic. Try to keep the passion and sentiment with every sound you pronounce.

With basic knowledge of the everyday expressions, you can start practicing. Use them as much as you can. For example, instead of saying “good morning” to the people you live with as you wake up everyday, say buenos dias. They say practice makes perfect. So the more you use the terms, the more you will get used to it.

You can then start reading books and training materials. For better results, purchase books containing exercises (with key to corrections) and audio tapes, if any, in order for you to evaluate how you are doing during your self-study. Don’t forget to have a complete and comprehensive translation dictionary between the language you are trying to learn and a language you understand very well (ex. English-Spanish Dictionary). This way, whenever you encounter a difficult word, you will be able to look it up immediately and understand what it means.

Finally, if you think you have more than enough knowledge after many practice exercises, try watching a film (this time, without subtitles and translations) or read a book written purely in that language. For unfamiliar words, don’t hesitate to press the pause button (or you can pause yourself from reading), then consult your dictionary. Do this over and over again until you can finally speak, write, and understand Spanish very well.

Yes, foreign language training sure needs hard work and determination. But hey, didn’t you notice it can be so much fun?

Having problems getting your tongue to love Spanish? Learn how cutting edge technology can help you get started in an effective yet fun way of learning Spanish.

Go to this website for more information including where to get free mini-course with audio.