Practice vocabulary with Random Flash Cards Use the Language Bear's flash card system to study hundreds of vocab words that you can sort by category. Add the flash cards to your homepage and study as little or as much as you want, when it's convenient for you! GO>
Read Bilingual books with your children
Want to introduce your kids to a new language and a new way of thinking? Reading a foreign language with your children will broaden their horizons and give them an edge in an ever more globalized society. GO>
Read Bilingual books to study a foreign language
Reading foreign novels and literature is a great way to expand your vocabulary. The Language Bear has lots of novels in written in two languages. GO>
Practice a foreign language with online discussions If you don't use it you lose it! Use your foreign language skills in designated discussion rooms in the forum. There's a room for every language, start a discussion about anything! GO>
Get the best learning resources this side of the Mississippi It actually doesn't matter which side of the Mississippi you are on; the Language Bear offers great deals on Pimsleur audiobooks, Textbooks, Dictionaries, Translators and much more! GO>
We've just up'd the stakes a bit more and we're now offering our simple language flash cards as Google Gadgets in four languages. You can add these gadgets to your igoogle homepage and thanks to WidgetBox, you can also add them to your blog, your MySpace page, or just about anything else.
We hope you enjoy these little gadgets, and you can rest assured that we are working on some new languages that we can make these flash cards out of too. If you really want a certain language, please, as always, let us know!
Language Bear Flash Cards adds Google Gadgets!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Now we're really cookin' over here. The Language Bear is now on-board with Google gadgets. We've officially released our famous language flash cards in French for use on your iGoogle.com homepage!
Our flash cards are some of the easiest and most powerful flash cards in the industry. There's no login necessary. Anyone can quickly get started studying with these cards. We've built a huge vocab database for each language and created categories to make it easy to study.
The French flash cards give you over 450 flash cards to study from and the ability to choose from 17 different word categories such as: Around Town, Relationships, Food, etc... Display cards first in English or in French and then show the answer. (You can also just show both languages if you're not feeling very ambitious... but c'mon..)
Enjoy the flash cards and make sure you share them with your friends that might be interested too! Just click the "Add to Google" button below!
DO Feed the Bear!
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Language Bear is, of course, still being upgraded and added to. We've just added an actual feed to the site so that you can get all of the latest info from the Language Bear in your favorite reader or your email inbox. If you didn't notice (below) the articles that we post here are aimed to help make it easy for you to get inspired about learning a foreign language. We'll keep posting tips and tricks or helpful articles that make you want to learn, and you keep reading them. Sound like a plan? Alright. Have a great day
How do you find time to learn a whole language??
Sunday, August 17, 2008
So you want to learn a language, but you “don’t have time” right? Yeah yeah, join the club… But not having the time is rapidly becoming a less valid response as the speed of the world (travel, business, communication) increases. Sure, there are probably a ton of other things you could be doing too, but the trick is to set your priorities. Learn to observe your activities, and if it seems you haven’t been studying the language you’d like to be, it’s time to prioritize it a little higher. If you’re visiting a foreign country or need to learn a language for business, then there is no question that you must make time to study and practice. Here are a couple of tips to help you make the best of your time:
Find a good learning method that works for you. Everyone learns differently, make sure to try a variety of different programs, teachers, books, etc. to find the method that works best (IE. Reliable, fast comprehension on your part). Spending some time upfront finding out which is best for you will save you time in the long run.
Set up a schedule. Things can slip through the cracks if they do not have a timeframe allotted. Pick a time during the day and reserve it for language study. Many audio lessons can be done easily in the car during the commute to and from work which is a great time to study because you know you won’t be busy doing anything else. The morning is said to be a good time for studying because the mind is fresh and you will retain new knowledge much better than if you study on a fatigued mind.
DON’T let yourself get distracted! When you’re studying… study. Commit the time to nothing else but studying. Relinquish all other thoughts of your job and your life, find a nice quiet place and put your all into it. First, it will be much more fun when you are entirely involved in it, and it will also allow you to learn new things much easier.
Audiobooks can be difficult to pay attention to. Especially if you are driving or doing something else while listening. The mind can (and will) wander and you can find yourself in the most peculiar places, often, anywhere BUT paying attention to the audiobook. If you simply turn up the volume a notch or two, it can be much more difficult to ignore. So crank it up!
You can do it. And when you have done it you will be happy that you did. And you probably already know that, so just do it already!
Check out these links on techniques for learning languages:
In today's fast-paced, information-based society, the folks here at the Language Bear believe there's no reason for you to EVER stop learning something. That old phrase "You learn something new everyday" has evolved recently and we find ourselves learning a exhorbitant amounts of knowledge every day. What makes this possible today is the ability for information to travel much faster than it did 30 years ago.
Yeah, but how do I retain it all?
Your memory is like a muscle. And your ability to learn (despite what you may think) does not decline as you grow out of childhood. You just become preoccupied with other things or lose the motivation to exercise your mind and memory. It does require discipline and committment but if you don't use it, you lose it. Find something you enjoy and learn as much as you can about it. It's good for you!
One-Two, One-Two, Work those memory muscles!!
And find a way to have fun doing it, you'll be glad you did.
Joseph Caspar Mezzofanti, Polyglot
Sunday, June 22, 2008
What is a Polyglot? A polyglot is a person who speaks many different languages. There have been many such famous people over the years. One who's name is Joseph Caspar Mezzofanti, was an italian Cardinal, and lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. He claimed to be able to speak over 38 different languages! And people from all over the world would come to challenge him in their native tongues, and he never ceased to amaze them with his fluency.
You can read about the life of Cardinal Mezzofanti in The Life Of Cardinal Mezzofanti by Charles William Russell. There is a copy of this in the LB bookstore.
And check out this list of languages that Mezzofanti was able to speak! It's HUGE! It indicates how well he could speak all of the languages; OVER 30 languages, perfectly! You've got to check this guy out if you're a lanugage enthusiast.
Learning a Second Language as a Child
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Did you know that early childhood is the best time to start learning a second language? The earlier children are exposed to a second language the easier it will be for them to pick up on it. This is partially due to their ability to retain large amounts of new information, partially due to their willingness to retain such information and also due to their vocal dexterity.
Reading multilingual books with your child or otherwise introducing them to a second language is also just a great way to broaden their horizons as well. It will inspire them; it will get them pondering the otherwise un-ponderable marvel that is communication.
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