Learning Strategies

Learn Swiss German (and Standard German) with voCHabular According to UNESCO, German is one of the most difficult languages in the world. At the same time, it is one of the most studied languages in the world. But anyone learning German in the German-speaking part of Switzerland faces an additional challenge: There is not only standard German, but also Swiss German, which is the language used most often in everyday communication. So you may have learnt German perfectly, but still find it hard to understand people when they speak Swiss German. This is where the question arises: Can you learn [...]

Language learning with films and TV series In addition to attending a language course, you can also learn a foreign language on your own outside of the classroom, for example… … in a language learning tandem; … by listening to podcasts; … by reading books; … by listening to music and … by watching films and TV series. While the first four suggestions have been explained in previous blog posts, this blog post will focus on the last suggestion: learning languages through films and TV series. First, we will look at how watching films and TV series can help you [...]

Learning languages through music There are many ways to learn a foreign language outside the classroom. In this blog series, we have already covered learning in a tandem (Tandem Language Learning), learning through podcasts (The Best Free Podcasts to Learn German) and books (Improve Your German by Reading). Today we are going to focus again on a predominantly auditory method, namely music. In the first part of this blog post, we will answer the question of why songs are a valuable tool for improving your language skills. In the second part, we will provide you with over 24 German songs [...]

The Best Free Podcast to Learn German Studying vocabulary, writing summaries, among other things, is crucial when learning a foreign language, especially within the framework of a language course. However, you can also learn a foreign language outside the classroom or in addition to a language course. We already got to know one of many methods in the blog post Tandem Language Learning, that is – as the title suggests – language learning through language tandems. While learning in a language learning tandem requires your active participation and responsibility for your learning process, today we will introduce a slightly more [...]

What are the best ways to study vocabulary? Emma stands at the bus stop and watches a middle-aged woman tapping desperately on the touchscreen of the public transport ticket machine. Finally, the woman approaches Emma and asks her if she speaks French, and if she could help her with the ticket. Emma's eyes light up. Yes! Finally an opportunity to practice French outside of her language course! Emma wants to ask the woman whether she has a Half Fare Travelcard and where exactly she wants to go, but she suddenly realises that she does not remember or know the right [...]

Tandem Language Learning In the blog post Make the most out of your language lessons with these learning methods we shared tips and tricks for effective learning methods before, during and after language course lessons. The blog post How to Write a Good Summary focused on one of the methods: writing a summary. However, you can also learn a language outside the classroom. A language-learning tandem partnership is a relaxed, interactive and extremely enriching way to do this. In fact, a language-learning tandem partnership can complement or, in some cases, replace language courses. And the best thing about it: language-learning [...]

How to Write a Good Summary In the blog post Make the most out of your language lessons with these learning methods, we mentioned that writing summaries is a useful method for revising the topic discussed in class. However, in order that making a summary really helps you learn languages faster, you may want to consider some tips and tricks. In the following, we describe five steps that are necessary for a proper summary. Step 1: Discuss your questions and uncertainties in class The class itself is the basis for a good summary. Why? Let us imagine that you are [...]

Make the most out of your language lessons with these learning methods By taking a language course, you will receive individual support and encouragement from your teacher. The materials used in class match your needs, and your questions and uncertainties can be discussed at any time during class. As a consequence, language courses offer you a great opportunity to improve your language skills. Nevertheless, lessons often involve a lot of time, energy and money. For this reason, it is important to make use of effective learning methods before, during and after the lessons in order that you can make the [...]