| Your computer can be used as a creative tool | | | | (Be aware that not all user submissions will |
| in your quest to learn a foreign language. | | | | be 100% accurate.) The best dictionaries will |
| Some innovative ideas can turn your language | | | | clearly indicate 'verified' user submissions |
| education into an entertaining, truly | | | | and will mark colloquial and dialect |
| memorable experience.* Audio ModificationMany | | | | expressions appropriately.Are you a poet? |
| companies produce software packages that | | | | Help is as close as your computer. Online |
| enable you to transform your voice (or | | | | language resources include helpful rhyming |
| someone else's). You can make your voice | | | | dictionaries. An internet search for 'rhyming |
| feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be | | | | dictionary French', 'rhyming dictionary |
| raised to a high pitch or lowered to bass | | | | German', 'rhyming dictionary Spanish' etc. |
| tones.So how does this help you learn a new | | | | will give you good results.Try to rely on |
| language?Many foreign languages (French and | | | | accredited educational sites (domains ending |
| German, for example) assign gender to nouns. | | | | in .edu) when doing grammar research. For |
| When learning new vocabulary, why not record | | | | instance, if you are looking for Hungarian |
| feminine nouns in a female voice, masculine | | | | verb conjugations, try a search like |
| nouns in a male voice, and neuter nouns in a | | | | 'Hungarian verb conjugations site:.edu'. |
| robotic voice? This approach can also be used | | | | Although at the time of writing the previous |
| with other types of vocabulary learning. | | | | search doesn't work at MSN, it does work at |
| Perhaps you could record a list of German | | | | Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and many others. The |
| dative verbs in a woman's voice and a list of | | | | 'site:edu' portion of the search restricts |
| German accusative verbs in a male voice. You | | | | results to domains ending in '.edu' - which |
| can even take audio files that have been | | | | are usually universities and other similar |
| recorded by other people and make them more | | | | educational institutions.* Online Chatting |
| interesting by morphing voices or adding | | | | and Video ConferencingVideo-cams, VOIP, |
| sound effects.An internet search for 'voice | | | | microphones . . . put them all together and |
| cloaking' or 'voice modification software' | | | | talk with foreign friends from all over the |
| will provide numerous resources to choose | | | | world. Using a language in conversation is |
| from.* Don't Just PrintIf you own a color | | | | probably the quickest way to learn.Whatever |
| printer you can spice up your vocabulary | | | | you do, remember that the more senses you |
| lists with bursts of color - perhaps feminine | | | | stimulate during the learning process, the |
| nouns in red, masculine nouns in blue, and | | | | more firmly imprinted the learning becomes. |
| neuter in dark grey. You might want to | | | | Turn your language education into a |
| highlight irregular verbs in another color - | | | | fun-filled sensory experience and you will |
| or perhaps apply bold or italics to make them | | | | probably stick with it. If it becomes |
| stand out on the page. Experiment with | | | | monotonous, you may lose interest.Kathy |
| various fonts and weights.* Websites and | | | | recommends the links below for a couple of |
| Online SourcesEvery language student should | | | | helpful pages that may be useful in your |
| have at least one online dictionary | | | | quest for language education:* German-English |
| bookmarked (preferably several). Each | | | | short stories in parallel translation.* A |
| dictionary will work a little differently. | | | | list of search engines to help with the |
| Some provide audio clips. Others will allow | | | | searches mentioned in this article. |
| users to submit new words and expressions. | | | | |