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Viewing Pitfalls and Advantages of Foreign Language AudioPitfalls and Advantages of Foreign Language Audio
By Kathy Steinemann
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You have heard it from your professors, in textbooks, on the internet. To learn a foreign language you must spend time listening to it. But how? Friends and Relatives Maybe you are learning a new language because you have friends or relatives who speak it. You are among the fortunate few. Talk to them whenever possible - but remember that they may use idioms and grammar constructions not considered acceptable in your foreign language course. Internet Radio Internet radio provides a plethora of free resources. Do internet searches like: - internet radio list German - internet radio list French - internet radio list Spanish Bookmark your favorite stations and listen to them whenever you can. Bear in mind that DJs and announcers may use less-than-perfect grammar. However, news reports will usually be correct. Audio Books Audio books on tape or CD may be purchased from a number of sources. However, not all recordings will be optimal for your purposes. Volume levels may be unpredictable. Pieces of a recording may be so loud that they threaten to hurt your eardrums while other portions will be whisper-quiet. This might not be caused by a faulty recording - but by the speaking style of the narrator. Whenever purchasing audio, try to find a distributor who will provide you with pre-sale listening samples. If this is not feasible, buy only a single title from a specific speaker. Listen to the production - and if it is good, try to obtain more titles by the same narrator. Audio books sometimes have another problem - annoying background music and sound effects. Done properly, they can augment a recording. However, these extras are often too loud, drowning out the spoken portions. If you can locate a CD or tape that includes a printed copy of the story, so much the better! Television Programs Check your cable or satellite TV lineup. Sometimes you can order suitable foreign-language channels for a small extra monthly charge. DVD Productions Movies and TV series on DVD provide a wealth of material. Try to find productions that were created originally in the foreign language with English subtitles. Why? Part of the language learning process involves learning from lip reading. (Recall how you watch someone's lips in a noisy room to decipher what they are saying?) You will not get this benefit from an English movie that has been remade for foreign markets. Watch DVDs at least once without subtitles, then again with subtitles. Make note of a few words, look up the definitions and learn them - then watch again, repeating the process. If you prefer English productions accompanied by foreign language dubbing and subtitles, you may have to purchase (or convert) a DVD player that is capable of playing DVDs from other regions. TV series have optimal learning segments. North American productions for 1/2-hour shows are about 20 minutes long if you skip through the intro and closing credits. You can work through each episode, learning the vocabulary, then moving to the next. Go for It! We live in an incredible electronic era where language learning is becoming easier every day! Make use of all the resources available to you. (c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author's note below (with active links) are included. About the Author: Kathy Steinemann is a busy webmaster and author who enjoys writing German-English stories in parallel translation. She works behind the scenes at several websites, including A-Language-Guide dot com. Article Source: A Language Guide - http://www.a-language-guide.com |
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