If you’re reading this, maybe you’re one of my bilingual readers who speaks Spanish as a first language. Chances are one or some of you have asked me before how you could learn English as a second language and there are so many resources out there that could help you. I will share with you some of the resources that I used to help me learn French as my third language. A lot of the resources that I used are FREE and online so hopefully this helps sets you in the right direction.
Disclaimer: I am not a teacher or a professional linguist. These are just some resources that I have stumbled upon during my language learning journey and would like to share with you and others who would like to know how to pick up English (and any other language) as a second language.
This email also uses affiliate links. If you buy from these links I will earn a small portion at no additional cost to you.
Duolingo
Duolingo is a FREE application that you can download onto your phone to practice many different languages. I have tried, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Russian among some languages that I have tried to learn in the past. Of course, you can learn English with this application for FREE. This application uses flash cards and vocabulary to help you memorize new words. You can input sentences and try to guess what the words are in your target language and you will earn points or stars as you finish each level.
Pimsleur
I found Pimsleur’s audio discs in my local public library for free. This company has tons of languages to learn from and all you need is a CD or DVD player to pop the disc in and listen to the 45 min- 1 hour audio, which will teach you helpful phrases in your target language. Many times these audio books come with small booklets to help guide you along with written sentences that are actual translations of what the audio says. I found this resource very helpful when I was learning French.
Assimil
Assimil is a bi-directional translation book that comes in your native language and target language. It translates words and phrases for you and gives you cultural anecdotes to help you understand the content that you are reading. It also comes with audio discs to help you listen to what the text says. This book comes in levels from A1-B2 and to C1-C2, which mark beginner, intermediate to advanced levels in your target languages. This is the only resource I used which I actually bought because I was really invested in learning French and I learned so much with this resource.
Grammar notes
The internet is full of free grammar notes online. I know, I know. No one likes to hear about grammar. It can get very boring to study but when you think about it you still have to learn grammar anyway at some point in your language learning journey. So why not Google “FREE American English grammar notes” and see all the hits you will get online. Of course you can substitute English with any other language that it is that you want to learn. In my case, it was French. But you might want to learn Portuguese, Italian, or German. Any other language that you find interesting.
Join Facebook Groups
Facebook has a lot of language learning groups that you can join to find a language partner willing to exchange languages with you. Chances are you will find someone who wants to learn your native language and you can exchange English or whatever other language with them that you want. You can set up a time to chat, exchange notes or just have a basic conversation to help you get the flow of the language that you want to learn.
These are just a few tips to help you get started in your language learning journey. There are a lot of resources out there on the internet and in your local library. Don’t be afraid to ask around and see what you might find. Chances are you might make a friend for life.
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Much love,
Rosa de Saron C.