If Scandinavian languages are your thing, this book is for you: “Comparative Grammar of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, Learn 3 Scandinavian Languages at the Same Time” Robertson B. Kunz, 2024. It is available on Amazon.com.
Learning a couple of new languages at the same time can be a challenging task, but Robertson Kunz shows that there are real advantages to doing it that way.
Most people learning more than one language experience mixing them up, especially if the languages are quite similar. How can you speak your new languages with some fluency, without rehearsing each statement before you speak?
That's a question I've been struggling with too, but I think Robertson book has given me a technique that looks promising.
In his introduction, Robertson talks about “practicing keeping [the languages] apart” as a skill that you can practice, and get good at. We'll have a look at that.
You could use this book for learning all three languages, or if you know one or two already, for adding the second, or third.
Robertson notes that he was "greatly influenced by Professor Alexander Agüelles in his view that languages should be studied in language families rather than one at a time." Professor Agüelles is also know for a method called "Language Shadowing", which we discussed in our earlier blog post "Will Language Shadowing Work for You?"
How the Book is Structured:
The first hundred pages of Robertson's book consists of several interesting introductory sections, which talk about about the languages, their evolution, the dialects, important historical and political events, the phonology of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, as well as their mutual intelligibility, and more.
Following this, the book is divided into nine grammatical topics.
Each of the topics has a number of short and clear grammatical explanations comparing the languages. These are each followed by numerous “identical” phrases in English, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish.
The Skill of Keeping Languages Apart
According to Robertson, it's practicing the side-by-side phrases, which is the key to learning how to keep the languages apart. In one of his YouTube videos, the author suggests that you “Write out phrases next to each other … read them many times … [and] practice switching back and forth between them.”
To give you an idea what such a practice could look like, here are two examples, one from the beginning of the section “Nouns” and one from the beginning of “Adjectives”. Each section has numerous side-by-side phrases in English, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish.
By trying out these phrases yourself, you'll have an idea of how this approach would work for you.
Definite and Indefinite Nouns:
English: I have a cat. The cat is black. Swedish: Jag har en katt. Katten är svart. Norwegian: Jeg har en katt. Katten er svart. Danish: Jeg har en kat. Katten er sort.
Other topics in the “Nouns” section:
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns • Plural Forms of Nouns • Genitive Case of Nouns
Adjective and Noun Phrase Agreement:
English: a beautiful city Swedish: en vacker stad Norwegian: en vakker by Danish: en smuk by
Other Topics in the “Adjectives” Section:
• Types of Adjectives • Predicative and Attributive Adjectives • Adjective Negation • Adjective Order • Adjectives in Plural Form
Learning the Pronunciation
On page 5, you can download a “Free Gift”, an audio file “to hear Swedish, Norwegian and Danish spoken back to back to get a better sense of these three languages.”
Learning the correct pronunciation right from the beginning is the best way to go. So, it's probably worth using another program, a friend or tutor, or an AI tutor for regularly practicing the sounds and intonation of your new language(s), and specifically for how to pronounce each of the sentences.
Language Switching
For me, language switching happens all the time in the four languages I live with every day: German, English, Dutch and French. I talk and text with family and friends. I'm not perfect, but I don't worry much about mixing up the languages. French and Italian a not a problem either.
But some time ago, I learned essential travel phrases in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish before visiting each of the countries. Now, a few years later, I do find it a little difficult to keep them apart. So, I'm excited about relearning the basics of these languages by switching between them as presented in the book.
Good Advice
The method in this book is pretty straightforward. But of course, learning a language does involve time and persistence. And so you'll probably agree with Robertson when he says: “The biggest obstacle you will face is not so much the learning of multiple languages at once as it will be your time management and ability to manage your emotional state."
With all this hype about "Learn a language Fast", it's interesting to see Robertson - a polyglot who actively works on 8 languages a day - say the following: “Ultimately, learning any language is a lifelong process and a slow one at that. If you are able to study a little bit each day, one day you will wake up and you will be quite good; although you may never notice yourself reaching that level.”
Disclaimer
I was contacted by Robertson B. Kunz to write this review. In return, I was offered a digital Review Copy of the book. We have no financial agreement about sales of the book.
If you're into Romance languages, be it Spanish, and/or Portuguese, French, Italian, here's a learning tool and grammar guide that you would enjoy: “Learn and Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French, with Spaced Repetition”, by Adros Verse Education, Bucharest 2024.
The book is available on Amazon, as well as on the Adrosverse website. There are also other sellers.
The book, available as a printed book or an ebook (counting 410 pages), accompanies you through 6 Levels of your language journey: I. Basic, II. Beginner, III. Elementary, IV. Intermediate, V. Advanced VI. Fluent. Each level introduces key grammar points and vocabulary. With the book come Anki Flashcards decks for spaced repetition learning.
The sequence of grammar topics for each language is presented in a fairly traditional way. No big surprises there.
But what makes this book really interesting is how it also pulls together the similarities and differences between the four languages. This applies to the sounds, grammar, and word meanings. There's a logical sequence from Level I to Level VI and individual topics are easy to search and find.
Learning To Speak
If you also want to become conversational one or all of these languages, I highly recommend that you set yourself up for speaking practice right from the start and beyond the book. Try it with a friend, with a coach, or even with an AI tutor if you can set one up.
No digital program will teach you how to freely engage in conversations, no matter how much repetition it provides or how well grammar points are explained.
Words need to be in context and part of meaningful sentences that flow in sequence. And these have to be understood in their full contextual meaning.
Besides practicing speaking, I also recommend reading meaningful texts as soon as you can. This will teach you how the language is put together and how “grammar” cannot be separated from meaning.
That being said, once you start on this book and follow through with some consistency, you'll be building a solid grammar and vocabulary foundation in the languages you focus on.
Spaced Repetition
This is a method of “learning new material and then reviewing and memorizing that material over spaced intervals”. With the Anki app, you have a digitalized version of what used to be paper flashcards or index cards in a box.
Using spaced repetition with the Anki app is an integral part of learning with this book. So, early on, you'll get instructions on how to download and set up Anki (p. 10-14 of the ebook). The use of AnkiWeb and AnkiDroid is free. AnkiMobile, needs to be purchased from the Apple Store.
With the purchase of the book, you've received Level I Spanish/Portuguese/Italian/French Anki package for free for a limited time. Later flashcard sets have to be purchased.
Looking at Level I
Level I: Basic is the most substantial section, and runs over 100 pages long. There you can learn, relearn, or just refresh your knowledge of language basics in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. To give you an idea of the content:
1. Alphabet and Pronunciation: covers the consonants and vowels in each language as well as in comparison to each other.
2. Similarities to English: It's nice to get an explanation why Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French are considered “easy” languages to learn for English speakers. It includes examples of English cognates in the Romance languages and parallels between the languages.
3. Gender and Plural: English nouns don't have gender, and there is no agreement between adjectives and nouns. This section presents the four languages individually and their specific patterns of agreement.
4. Cardinal Numbers: Numbers are very useful to have, especially for travel. This section lists the numbers comparing them in 4 languages from 1 – two billion (2.000.000.000). It's a great place to double-check if you're not sure how to spell or say a number.
5. Subject Personal Pronouns: This section is particularly interesting for English learners as it untangles, among other things, the different forms of “you” in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French – singular/plural, formal/informal. Again, an excellent reference to check when you're not sure.
6. Present Indicative Tense I: Verb conjugation in the present tense in English is not complicated. For example, taking the verb “to go” - singular: I go, you go, he goes; plural: we go, you go, they go. By contrast, learning verb conjugations in one of the Romance languages takes practice and repetition. And ultimately, you'll want to be able to use verbs in each of these languages automatically, without having to think about sound and ending.
7. The Articles: Likewise, articles in Romance languages are more complicated than in English, which basically has only three forms, “the”, “a”, and “an”.
8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives. Being able to formulate questions is an essential tool for building basic conversational skills. For once, asking questions in Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian is less complicated than in English. French is an exception there.
9. Basic Vocabulary: Colors, Times & Seasons, Directions, Family, Anatomy. Last but not least, you'll learn and practice some useful vocabulary.
A Word about Fluency
Levels II to VI build on the basic grammar topics. That is a very satisfying way to proceed. For example, prepositions are an excellent topic to drill as they are tricky to use in all languages, as are the various types of pronouns and certain idiomatic expressions. As expected, quite a bit of attention is given to irregular verbs, and the many verb tenses that occur in Romance languages.
Level VI is entitled “Fluent”. Finishing the book, with all the Anki practice still does not guarantee that you'll be a fluent speaker. Yes, you'll know what a “Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense” is, and can probably rattle it off in a couple of languages, but the door to fluency has another entrance. You need to practice speaking, and actively use the language in conversation with others.
Learning to understand others and making yourself understood requires remembering and internalizing grammatical patterns and conversational language, and producing these in real time.
All that being said, I love having a structured approach to mastering the grammar of languages I'm learning and to practicing vocabulary. These are my first impressions. I'll be doing an update in a few months.
Disclaimer
I was contacted by Adros Verse Education to write this review. In return, I was offered a pdf Review Copy of the book. We have no financial agreement about sales of the book.
Most of us know that there is a big difference between “knowing” vs “speaking” a foreign language.
Sometimes friends talk about the foreign language they studied in school or college.
They may acknowledge that they have not kept up with the language, but then say: “I could still get myself understood when I'm in that country.”
Well, I'm not going to tell them, but I have bad news: You won't be able to make yourself understood. “Speaking” a foreign language requires practice, even for very simple things.
I know – I've been trying to learn Dutch for several years know, mainly by doing the very limited Duolingo program (Gamesforlanguage does not have a Dutch course).
Dutch shouldn't be that difficult for me. My native language is German, many Dutch words have the same Germanic root, and Dutch grammar is much easier than German grammar.
I can read and mostly understand Dutch conversations and podcasts when I know the general topic. But speaking it fluently is still very difficult.
Recently, Ulrike and I have started a ”Dutch language day”, a day when we only speak Dutch. I'll keep you updated on my progress.
(Ulrike speaks Dutch fluently, having gone to school for two years in the Netherlands as a child. While her vocabulary started out as being somewhat limited, she always made a point of speaking Dutch with her sister, cousins and friends.)
On our “Dutch days” she'll correct both my mistakes and my pronunciation. Because Ulrike learned Dutch as a child she sounds like a native to Dutch speakers.
I also know that I'll never be able to speak Dutch without a German accent. But that is okay.
Public Figures with Foreign Accents
For Americans, there are wonderful examples of well-known public figures who came to the US as teenagers or adults and whose English could not be called anything but “fluent” - although their accent may still identify them as non-natives.
• Henry Kissinger was 15 when he came to the US in 1938. • Arnold Schwarzenegger was 21 when he arrived in the US in 1968. • Arianna Huffington was 19 when she moved to England in 1969. • Martina Navratilova was 19 when she came to the US in 1975.
Most readers will have heard at least of one of these celebrities on radio and/or television. You probably would call their English fluent – even though their more or less distinct accent makes it clear that they learned their English later in life.
(Other examples, such as Albert Einstein, the famous architect Leoh Ming Pei, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, etc. could also be listed, but their voices are less well known.)
It's likely, however, that most of these immigrants already had a basic knowledge of English when they arrived in the US. And, they perfected their new language in school or through diligent individual study.
One interesting theory that applies to sounds in languages is called “categorical perception”.
My personal experience with learning Dutch as an older adult has confirmed this for me: Not only has it become more of a challenge for me to distinguish several Dutch sounds (that are different from German), but also to imitate i.e. reproduce them.
This is where young kids also have a big advantage over (older) adults: They are much better not only at hearing sounds, but also at imitating them.
But all is not lost: The same way that actors and opera singers can perform in foreign languages (they also spend much time learning and practicing), we can improve our listening and our pronunciation as well. By listening to and practicing “foreign” sounds, we also can get better hearing and saying them.
This is why you should always repeat foreign words aloud in an online language course. In our Gamesforlanguage courses and games we frequently encourage our learners to do so.
But even if you never acquire true native fluency in a foreign language or a perfect accent, being able to understand and be understood is quite likely the main reason you started learning a foreign language in the first place. So go for it! Communicating in another language is a special feeling of mastery.
For the month of July, Laney, the 16-year-old daughter of a close friend, came to visit us on her own. She had one request: Please, speak only English with me. At the end of July, we sat down for a brief interview to talk about her month-long English immersion experience here in the US.
Laney lives in a French-speaking town in Switzerland. She has a very good knowledge of school English. She also came with a lot of enthusiasm. I also asked her about the progress she felt she had made. (This is not a photo of Laney.)
Tell me a little about yourself:
I am 16, and maybe in what you call grade 11 in the US. My native language is French, but I go to a French-German bilingual school and also speak German. I love reading and running.
Are you a shy person?
Depends on the person I'm with, sometimes I'm more and sometimes less extrovert or introvert. At home I'm medium.
What is your background in English?
Oh, English was always there. I started in English day care. We did songs and little games. In primary school, I had English for six years as a subject, but also private lessons and group lessons.
For English classes in my school now, we read literature, do grammar exercises and speaking exercises. Our teacher speaks German as a native language, but never uses German or French in class. His English has an American accent because he went to university in the US.
Literature: We read books, do quizzes about the story. We discuss what we think about it, share opinions and write essays about philosophical questions. For example, we read The Giver by Lois Lowry. We looked at the film. And as a project, the class had to create a film about it.
Grammar: We have grammar books with homework exercises to practice. The teacher goes fast over the topics. I think grammar is helpful. But sometimes you need to search for more rules to understand it. Rules help at the beginning. But when you talk you can't think. It just sounds right because you said it so often.
Speaking: We do presentations and the teacher makes us speak a lot. In class he puts us into groups to debate topics and questions, why you like something, and why you don't.
What has improved the most for you with the English immersion here in the US?
Just to be in the US has improved my English a lot. Especially conversations. I was forced to understand what other people said and I needed to speak so that they can understand.
In class at home, students don't use the words that people use in conversations here. Actually, I often feel that my classmates don't really like English. They have a French accent, can't seem to get off it. Native German speakers have a better accent in English. The French really hang on to their French accents! Maybe they think it's charming?
I listen a lot to podcasts and audio books but the language is also different from conversations.
What has been the most difficult about English here?
The most difficult thing? Making mistakes. I say something, then I hear that it's a mistake, but I can't take it back. I've said it!
Mistakes that I do the most: not get the ending right for the 3rd person, to add the -s. That is really hard for me. I often just don't do it.
Any words or expressions that you found especially puzzling?
Yes, there are a few things that people said and I could not figure out:
> Something is "low key". (meaning, relaxed, not stressed) > That's "101". (meaning, introductory, beginning level) > The question, what's your "ETA"? (meaning, estimated time of arrival) > Someone would be talking, and then say "Period." (meaning, definitely, that's final) > The difference between "grapes" and "raisins". In French we use "raisins" for "grapes".
What has been the easiest for you during your English immersion here in the US?
I don't need to make a big effort to speak, I just did it. Well, I like English better than French. That is about using the language. For me: when you say something in English it sounds better. French is good when you write and so, but English is a friendlier language.
Did you notice customs that are different from home?
Yes, people are friendlier. It's easier to have contact at the beginning. We spent most of the month in a mountain village with tennis courts, a pond for swimming, restaurants with an outside terrace.
So it was easy to meet others my age. But when I thought I made plans to get together with a girl my age, she didn't show up. This happened twice, with two different people. If you do that in Switzerland it is really bizarre. So I don't know.
Restaurants: The Caesar salad in the US is different. For example, in Switzerland, you automatically get the chicken, here you have to pay more for it.
Shopping: When you shop clothes, they have candy at the check out, even at clothing stores like Old Navy and Primark. Not in Switzerland. The supermarkets have a lot of processed food, so many more here than in Switzerland. We know that, it's not surprising.
Why are you learning English?
I like language, I like to speak in other countries without using my phone or a translation app. Maybe I'll study in the US later.
It's good for our brain plasticity to switch between languages. I like to do a little bit of everything. Mathematics, music, languages, they are different skills. I like all of them, they are fun.
This was my first time really immersed in English. Two weeks are short to be immersed. One month is pretty good. There are days that are better than others. There were days when I made so many mistakes. But you learn that way too.
Any advice for language learners?
Do lists of expressions of words that are more difficult. Use a little notebook. Put the list on your phone. Talk with people. I managed to get together with people my age, that made it fun and interesting.
Thank you, Laney! So, you're flying back home tomorrow. We're going to miss you! Have good flight!
With a name like Gamesforlanguage.com, it's no wonder that people find us by searching language games. And even if our main languages and courses are French, German, Italian and Spanish, it is not difficult for us to add games for other languages by using our games format.
The first new language game we have just added is in Dutch. As readers of our Blog may remember, Ulrike is also fluent in Dutch. She attended school for two years in the Netherlands when she was 9 and 10 years old and visits family quite regularly there. She is also well aware how her “children's Dutch” vocabulary has expanded over the years. While language games alone will never make you become fluent in any language, expanding your vocabulary is essential for language learners at every level.
That's probably why many schools have started to use our language games with their students. Not only are these games completely free, they also don't show any google ads or other advertisements, and can be played without registering.
For those learners who also play our courses, registering is only essential so they can return to the course where they left off. And these courses are also totally free, without ads, upsell or other add-ons used in so many other “free” programs.
We know which games are the most popular. That's why the first Dutch game is “Days of the Week”.
You'll find this game by clicking on the left image or on the link above. As we'll add more Dutch games in the future you'll find them by clicking on Quick Games, and looking through the list.
What is the appeal of playing a “Days of the Week” shootout game in another language? For one, the names of weekdays are with us every day. They are easy to learn and useful to have. The extra bonus is that a beginner will get some nice basic pronunciation practice.
Dutch is a Germanic language, so if you're learning Dutch, and already know English, or German, Swedish, Danish or Norwegian, you have a head start. In these languages, the words for weekdays resemble each other. For example: Monday is Montag (in German), måndag (in Swedish), mandag (in Danish and Norwegian), and maandag (in Dutch).
Playing the days of the week in Dutch has you practice sounds and letter sound combinations that are typical for Dutch. For example, Dutch has particular vowel combinations: the open “aa” in “maandag”, the “oe” in “woensdag”, the “ij” in “vrijdag”. And then there's the Dutch “g” sound in “-dag” that are hard for some English speakers.
Understanding Swiss German dialects is a real challenge for German learners. But they are not alone: Even German natives often have great difficulties with some Swiss German dialects.
When traveling in Switzerland, hearing different languages spoken is just part of the experience. Sitting in a café, riding on a tram, going by train, standing in a chairlift line, walking in the countryside - you're bound to hear people speak Swiss German with each other.
As you can also see on the map above, the (Swiss) German Cantons occupy the largest region of Switzerland.
But why are Swiss German dialects such a big challenge for German learners? There are a few reasons.
When we say “Swiss German”, we are not referring to a unified language. As they grow up, Swiss Germans learn to speak different versions of the Alemannic German dialect, depending on the region in Switzerland they live in. Only when they start kindergarten or school are they exposed to "standard" and written German. One could therefore argue that all Swiss Germans grow up bilingually.
Any of the Swiss German dialects differ from standard High German in sound (phonology), grammar and vocabulary. Because of the different sound systems, people from northern Germany do not easily understand Swiss German.
There is also no standard written Swiss German. In writing, Swiss Germans use their dialect mostly just for some informal communication, sometimes in emails, text messages, on social media, occasionally in personal letters etc. The words are then written phonetically, just the way they are said. The sign left we saw at a restaurant wishes "Guten Appetit" (Enjoy your meal). People also say it to each other before a meal. In all official and business communication, standard German ("Schriftdeutsch" i.e. written German) is used.
But Swiss Germans from different regions in Switzerland (and some Austrians, e.g. from Vorarlberg, who also speak an Alemannic dialect) do mostly understand each other, maybe with the exception of some remote mountain dialects.
To simplify: Swiss German dialects range from Low Alemannic, to High Alemannic, and to Highest Alemannic, with Low, High, and Highest referring to the geography of Switzerland.
Low Alemannic is spoken in the northernmost parts of Switzerland, which include the city of Basel.
High Alemannic is spoken spoken on the Central Plateau, an often hilly stretch of land that extends between the Jura mountains (south of Basel) and the Alps. Both cities of Bern and Zurich are located on the Swiss Plateau.
Highest Alemannic is spoken in the alpine regions of Switzerland, which include the Canton of Valais.
A Sample
Remember, there is no standardized spelling of Swiss dialects. In the examples below, you'll hear how this typical conversational exchange sounds in the four different regions. There are some differences in the sounds, but listen especially to the music (intonation) of each phrase. (See the German translation in parenthesis. Please note: The spelling of the dialect reflects what we as German speakers hear. If you have other suggestions, please write us.)
"How are you?" (Wie geht es Ihnen?) "I am fine, thanks. And how are you?" (Gut, danke. Und wie geht es Ihnen?)
Worried about getting the sound right? If you're greeted when you enter a shop, for example with the universal Swiss ”Grüezi“, it may be best for you to just echo the greeting back.
Our visits to Switzerland have been mostly to the bilingual city Fribourg, which straddles a language border between French and the Swiss German. To find out more about bilingualism in Fribourg, click on the article by Antilia Wyss HERE.
Can you decipher this sign in the "Hochzeitergasse" (Bridal Couple Lane) in Fribourg? (A hint: It is not politically correct...!)
We've also gone many times to the Berner Oberland to ski. Read about our Bärndütsch language lessons in Gstaad.
How Many Swiss German Dialects Are There Really?
Hard to count. One YouTube video presents 23 different Swiss German dialects. There is also an iOS app that's called Diäläkt App, where Swiss Germans can record local words and find out what region(s) they come from. You can listen to various examples. One could also say that each village has its own dialect that people continue to use.
Why Are There So Many Swiss German Dialects?
A brief summary helps to understand why: "The need for a standardized German written language came up in early 15th century at the time of the Reformation. There were practical reasons behind it: The Bible, later also newspapers, works of literature, political declarations, etc. should be read and understood by all. It would have been impossible to translate these into the various dialects.
Most Germans accepted the written language also as the basis of its spoken form. However, Swiss people did not. To this day, they have continued to use their dialects in private and business conversations, even in schools and universities." (The above is a translation of a paragraph from this Switzerlandical blog post.)
To listen to four different dialects: Basel, Zurich, St. Gallen (a city in the east of Switzerland) and Bern, click HERE. If you're a tennis lover, you'll recognize Roger Federer in the interview on the video clip: He speaks the Basel city dialect.
German in Switzerland by Numbers
German is the sole official language in 17 (out of 26) Swiss cantons; French and German are co-official in 3 cantons. In 2020, 62.3% of the population of Switzerland were native speakers of German (either Swiss German or Standard German at home), 22.8% French (mostly Swiss French); 8% Italian; and 0.5% Romansh. From Wikipedia: Languages of Switzerland.
Lessons and Courses
If you're moving to the Swiss German part of Switzerland, you may want to take lessons and learn a particular dialect. You can search for YouTube lessons. There are also a couple of iOS apps: - "Grüezi Switzerland" - a travel app with many practical phrases and sentences in 19 different Swiss German dialects; - "Swiss German: with Kathrin Erni" - with live lessons videos and flash cards; - "Swiss Words by Philipp Egli" - a vocabulary app with audio.
All others might enjoy finding out a little more about the dialects, and try out a few of the expressions.
Disclosure: The audio for the dialect versions of of the phrases "Wie geht es Ihnen?" and "Gut, danke. Und wie geht es Ihnen?" are taken from the iOS travel app "Grüezi Switzerland". On the app you can find the audio of a large number of sentences and phrases in 19 different Swiss dialects. We have no relationship with the "Grüezi Switzerland" app, or any of the other apps mentioned above.
Bio: Ulrike & Peter Rettig are co-founders of Gamesforlanguage.com. They are lifelong language learners, growing up in several European countries before moving to Canada and the United States. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Our Quick Language Games have become popular with schools. Why? Our games are for beginning and elementary learners (Levels A1 and A2). Each game takes about 3 to 5 minutes to play, teaches easy vocabulary, and, like the Spanish language game in the image, includes fun exercises such as Word Invaders. Also, our site is completely free, doesn't bother you with ads, and you can play without registering. Sometimes we're surprised which games are played the most.
But before we dive into the Quick Language Games that have been most popular recently, you might wonder:
WHY GAMESFORLANGUAGE?
Why are we doing this? As lifelong language learners, we started GamesforLanguage - Language Games, Travel Story Courses, Blog - as a way of staying in touch with the languages we speak, and of course to learn new ones.
Peter had learned French and English by living abroad after finishing high school. He was now eager to add Italian and Spanish. Currently he is working on his Dutch.
I had grown up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. My work background was language teaching to college students. I taught German to English speakers, and English to German speakers.
During my teaching career, I was trained to use various methods, which included the traditional Grammar-Translation method (learning rules and vocabulary to translate); the Audio-Lingual method (pattern drills, with focus on speaking and listening); and the Direct method (using only the target language for conversations, reading aloud, and writing). I also worked freelance for Pimsleur International as author and editor.
For my own language learning, I've always liked audio and direct immersion the most. I was thrilled when audio courses became easily available, first on CDs, then directly on the Internet.
For both of us, GamesforLanguage became a perfect interactive-learning project. It's been a great way to try things out and we've enjoyed becoming part of an international language learning/teaching community.
We've been lucky to find great collaborators: native speakers to write our courses and record the audio. All of the Quick Language Games we add ourselves, using the vocabulary and audio recordings of our courses. The increasing interest in our Quick Games motivates us to keep adding more of them.
TOP GAMES IN RECENT MONTHS
Note: Most of our games are a sequence of "Memory" "Word Shoot" "Flash Cards" and "Word Invaders".
Quick French Games
The City
Level A1. Learn and practice 8 city-related nouns and put together 6 easy phrases that require agreement or the correct preposition. For example: "sur le pont d'Avignon" (on the Avignon bridge); "la vieille ville" (the old town).
Passé Composé with "avoir"
Level A2. Learn and practice the forms of the Passé Composé with the auxiliary, or helping verb, "avoir". [The Passé Composé is used for an action or event that was completed in the past.] You're then challenged to put together a few simple sentences using basic vocabulary. For example: "Ils ont fait une promenade" (They took a walk); "Nous avons acheté une maison" (We bought a house).
Level A1. Learn and practice the individual present tense verb forms of the irregular Spanish verb "ir" (to go). Then put them into the context of short and easy sentences, such as "¿Ustedes van al concierto mañana?" (Are you going to the concert tomorrow?); "Ellos van a la estación" (They're going to the station).
"Tener", Present Tense
Level A2. Practice the present tense verb forms of the irregular Spanish verb for "to have". Then, using basic vocabulary - such as "el libro", el tiempo", "la pregunta", los "euros" - you'll put together easy sentences. For example: "Él tiene todos mis libros" (He has all my books); "Tenemos mucho tiempo" (We have a lot of time).
Level A1. Practice the present tense forms of the modal, or helping verb, "müssen" (must, to have to). Then put together simple sentences, which will help you figure out German word order. In German, a modal verb goes in second position in a statement, and in first position in a question. Examples: "Sie müssen warten" (They have to wait); "Muss ich umsteigen?" (Do I have to transfer/change trains?). If there's a "dependent infinitive", it then goes to the end: "Sie muss das Buch finden". (English: She must find the book").
Modal Verb "können"
Level A2. With he modal verb "können" (can/to be able), you can express an ability or a possibility. Learn and practice the present, past, and conditional forms of "können" (can/to be able) and form simple sentences. They'll also help you practice German word order: "Ich könnte dich morgen treffen" (I could meet you tomorrow); "Ich konnte dich gestern nicht anrufen" (I couldn't call you yesterday).
Level A1. Question words are basic tools for communicating, and picking the right one helps you to get your message across. You'll practice distinguishing between the Italian for where?, when?, how much?, which?, who?, how?, why?, and three forms for what? Finally, you'll hear and then put together simple sentences, such as: "Come è andato il viaggio?" (How did the trip to?); "Quando parte il prossimo treno?" (When does the next train leave?)
Numbers 1 to 20.
Level A1. With this interactive Italian numbers game you can learn the numbers 1-20 in Italian. Part of the practice are a few simple additions, such as: "Uno più quattro fa ... " (1+4= ...); "Sette più otto fa ..." (7+8 = ...).
FOCUS: We learn best when we really focus all of our attention on what we're doing. The games are short, only 2 to 5 minutes. The audio you'll hear is in the target language only. And so, paying full attention is not difficult.
LIMITED VOCABULARY: As a beginner, it's hard to keep too many new vocabulary items in your memory at the same time. If you just focus on a few, they'll stick better.
PRONUNCIATION: By repeating words and phrases right after the native speaker, you practice producing sounds that may not exist in your native language. It takes focused practice to get those right.
LISTENING: The skill of "listening comprehension" in a new language may be the hardest to learn, especially if native speakers rattle on as they normally do. The best way to build listening comprehension is from the ground up: become familiar with the sounds of frequently-used words so that you can start picking them out of easy conversations.
GRAMMAR: Our brains intuitively look for patterns, and that's what grammar is. Learning abstract rules can be a chore. A better way is to make sound combinations and grammar patterns intuitive, something that a language game can help you with.
FLUENCY? No program alone can make you fluent. For that you need direct and frequent interaction with other speakers. But basic listening and speaking practice - as with language games - can help you build a good foundation.
Our games make a fun resource for beginning and elementary learners and can act as a springboard to new language adventures. A journey to language fluency takes time, persistence, and patience. And it should be fun too.
Since 2021, the word "inflation" has become a topic of conversations, opinions and forecasts in the US, Europe and other countries. And so, questions by my sons and grandchildren about the German hyperinflation made me look for our German stamp collection from that time. My grandfather, and my father as a young boy, had put it together in the early 1920s. Some of the numbers on those stamps truly boggle your mind.
The US Experience
Let's first look at what's happening here. For the younger generation in the US, “inflation” is a term that they know. But they have started only recently to experience its effects themselves.
We've all now noticed that many goods have become more expensive over a short time. Indeed, only after 2020 did the US annual inflation rate move above the 5%, something we had seen in the seventies and eighties and then again, briefly, in 2008. The chart below shows the spike around 1980, which was close to 14%, and then the more recent jump in 2020.
The Chart below shows the 12 month Change of the Consumer Price index for selected categories for the last 20 years by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (Note also the spike and decline after the “Great Recession” 2007/8)
(After spiking to 9.1% in June 2022, the annual inflation rate for the United States has leveled off to 6.5% for the 12 months ended December 2022, according to U.S. Labor Department data published Jan. 12, 2023.)
The fear of inflation had some worried last year that the US might follow other countries with double-digit inflation rates. Or that the US might even head towards a so-called “hyperinflation”, which Germany experienced during the early 1920s.
These fears were and still are clearly unwarranted, especially when one understands the specific reasons that caused the German hyperinflation.
German Hyperinflation
Germany's currency had already started to lose its value at the beginning of the war in 1914: In order to pay for its costs, the Reichsbank suspended the paper Mark's convertibility to gold. After having lost the war in 1918, Germany was obligated to make substantial reparation payments in "Goldmark" or hard currency.
Therefore the Reichsbank attempted to buy foreign currency on the international market with German paper money. When the first reparation installment was due on June 1 1921, the value of the German Mark had fallen from 48 paper Marks per 1 US Dollar (late 2019) to 330 paper Marks per 1 US Dollar.
Germany failed to make another agreed-upon installment payment by the end of 1922. To ensure reparation payments, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr Valley, an area that was heavily industrialized, in January 1923.
A weak German government, more afraid of Communists and unemployment, but also cognizant of the public outrage about the occupation, encouraged its own workers to engage in “passive resistance” and, through the labor unions, called a general strike.
The only way for the Treasury to make good on the government's promise and pay the wages for the +/- 2 million workers and civil servants on the Ruhr Valley was to turn on the money printing presses.
As a result, Germany was soon swamped with paper money, chasing a limited supply of goods. Moreover, as money started to lose its value, people started to buy anything they could, especially, if they could barter with it. Speculation as well as hoarding of food and goods became rampant, initiating a vicious cycle: Germany's economy slid from inflation to hyperinflation. (Not coincidentally, Hitler's failed "Beer Hall Putsch" in Munich occurred November 8/9, 1923 at the peak of the inflation and national misery.)
The Wiki chart left shows how German's paper currency inflation started slowly after 1918, accelerated during 1921/22, then really took off after the occupation of the Ruhr Valley in January 1923.
(You can read more about the German Hyperinflation in this Wiki entry, and in this PBS essay, or specifically about the Ruhr Occupation.)
The US Inflation Experience since 2002
Back to the US: While much has been written about the Federal Reserve also turning on “the printing presses” especially after the 2008 Great Recession, the Bureau of Labor Statistics chart above shows that inflation in the US did not really become an issue again until the Covid Pandemic in 2020.
The stock market (even more than real estate prices) clearly benefited from the “easy money” after 2008. The chart below shows the changes in both the S&P 500 and the Case-Shiller Home Price Index over the last 50 years.
Courtesy of Longtermtrends.net (https://www.longtermtrends.net/stocks-to-real-estate-ratio/)
There are many explanations why the US did not experience more of a currency inflation that many had predicted. But this would be the topic of another post.
Our Hyperinflation Stamp collection
Here are some images of our family “heirloom”, a stamp album titled:
“Eine Sammlung von Viererblocks aus der Zeit der Deutschen Inflation” (A collection of blocks of four from the time of the German inflation)
The stamp album starts off with what is likely the highest denomination of any stamp in history:
A block of four (4) stamps, each with a 50 Milliarden Mark “value”.
It was issued in November 1923, shortly before the end of the German hyperinflation.
(Also note, as explained below: 1 German "Milliarde" = 1 US Billion!)
Even as stamp values started to increase they still showed German landmarks, or original designs, e.g. German workers, etc.
But soon stamps lost any originality and their values were changed by simply overprinting.
And the values started to increase ever more rapidly, until by the end of 1923 we had reached the Milliarden (billions) denomination.
Billions vs Milliarden
By November 1923, one US Dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 German paper Marks. If you have trouble figuring what to call this number, you are not alone. English speakers would call it “4 trillions and 210.5 billions”, while German speakers would say “4 Billion and 210.5 Milliarden”. It is confusing that the English “billion” is the same as the German “Milliarde”, and that the English “trillion” is the same as the German “Billion”. The English “billion” is: in French: “milliard” in Italian: “miliardo” in Spanish: “mil millones”.
So, talking about "inflation" with our young families has been interesting, both as a way of understanding the present economy, and looking at some family history using fascinating family documents.
How did the German Hyperinflation end?
The Wiki entry Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic, mentioned above, describes the end quite well. Key was the introduction of a new currency, the “Rentenmark”, whose value was backed by bonds that were indexed to the price of gold. This monetary reform took place towards the end of 1923. By August 1924 the new monetary law allowed the exchange of a 1-trillion paper mark for one (1) Rentenmark, or one (1) “Reichsmark”. More complicated were the laws and rules that determined how creditors were to be compensated for the catastrophic reduction in the value of debts. This included mortgages, bonds and other debt instruments that were reinstated at various rates. It led to many corporate bankruptcies, court challenges, negotiations with many stake holders, etc., but in the end the government's actions proved successful. The ills of hyperinflation are still part Germany's national memory. They also explain Germany's insistence on fiscal prudence and restraint.
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He's a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.
Since our last review of "Think in Italian" (11/2020), Stefano has made a number of changes that enhance his focus on speaking, which - we fully agree with him - "is the most overlooked skill in language apps".
Stefano Lodola is an Italian polyglot, language teacher and translator, who speaks 12 languages. And he's an opera singer with a wonderful voice, as you'll hear in the audio.
Think in Italian's lessons are based on a simple wisdom: 1. We all learn a language by listening and mimicking. 2. We acquire language through context. 3. We best learn grammar through examples, not rules.
THINK IN ITALIAN OFFERS TWO SETS OF LESSONS
1. Italian audio course "Ripeti con me" (Repeat after me).
The audio course now has 250 lessons ranging from Beginner to Advanced. Spaced repetition helps you acquire vocabulary and grammar patterns easily.
Once you've chosen your level, you'll find lots of material that you'll understand just well enough - "comprehensible input" - to really stretch your skills.
Stefano has added a search field to look up words and see how they are used throughout the course. It functions like a contextual dictionary of the words and phrases in the course.
Click HERE for our detailed description of the lesson format, which continues to be simple and effective. Stefano calls the format "minimalist". There's no fluff, no flying owls, no fanfares, etc.
2. Short Italian Readings with audio "Leggi con me" (Read with me).
This is a collection of 600+ stories, news pieces, conversations, jokes and songs. The latter two are a new addition.
The various readings are sorted by level and come with audio, an Italian transcript, and an English translation. A new "Total Beginner'" level now makes entry into Italian real-world materials easier.
Short Stories
These are read in a slow but natural pace and are an painless way to grow your vocabulary. They also train you to guess meaning from context, similar to an immersion situation.
News
The brief News pieces expose you to vocabulary and grammar that is different from conversational language. They prepare you to understand and talk about local and global events.
Conversations
The Conversations are an easy way to build your conversational skills and confidence.
Becoming fluent in everyday conversations in Italian requires that you understand and are able to use those extra little filler words (beh, boh, allora, dai, tipo, cioè, insomma, etc) that act as conversational bridges, and sounds (mmh, ehm, uhm) that signal hesitation or a reaction.
Jokes
Understanding jokes in a foreign language requires a fair amount of sophistication. So, getting a little jokes training is not a bad thing.
Songs
You many have experienced that songs are an enjoyable way to sharpen your pronunciation, and to learn vocabulary and common grammar patterns. Italian is a perfect language for that.
Click HERE a more detailed description of the readings - minus the jokes and songs.
USER DASHBOARD
On your personalized dashboard (login required), you'll be able to see what lessons or readings you've done. You can also bookmark any content you'd like to add.
Setting your level on your dashboard, affects what lessons you see and readings you receive every week.
Also, you can quickly check your account, as well as access any free resources.
COMPLEMENTARY RESOURCES
A host of resources are available on Stefano's website as well as his YouTube channel. On the site, click the Tab "Free Resources". There you'll find:
• Study tips: Featured articles with my best tips. • Italian study planner • Checklist "Overcoming your barriers" • Ebook "How to learn languages fast" • Online Italian test • Italian grammar lessons
PRICING
All the material is available online on the website for a Monthly or Yearly Subscription, or for a One-off Lifetime Membership.
You'll receive his best offers together with the free resources, once you've entered your email in the space under I WANT TO LEARN*.
To receive a 50% discount on the first month through us, click HERE to go to the form and add your email there. Note: other coupons can apply in addition.
To try the lessons out for yourself, make use of Stefano's free 7-day Trial.
Stefano's courses are more expensive than most language apps, but they are clearly worthwhile for motivated learners who want results.
Live Q&As
This is new. Users can leave comments under the lessons or in the members-only Forum and receive prompt answers. Stefano also does live streams once a month.
LIVE TUTORING
A membership in Think in Italian gives you access to Italian Tutors. Classes are purchased separately.
MY PROGRESS - update coming
I'm currently fluent in 4 languages (German, English, Dutch, and French), and I'm very happy with my progress in Italian.
I've been watching an Italian soap Un Posto al Sole, on raitplay.it, with Italian subtitles. I've also been reading thrillers: Angeli e Demoni (translation of Dan Brown's novel), Ad occhi chiusi (by Gianrico Carofiglio), and La pazienza del ragno (Andrea Camilleri) - only occasionally needing a dictionary.
But speaking fluently in Italian is a different matter. My early practice with the audio course Ripeti con me!, using the first 15 lessons, repeatedly, definitely helped to untie my tongue. I'll soon be starting another month of learning with "Think in Italian". This time I'll be practicing with later lessons and will write an update.
In my experience, you become fluent in a language only if you engage with it consistently and make an effort to speak frequently. It's great, of course, to have a Italian speaker as a regular conversation partner. Using a good program with lessons corresponding to your level works well as a second choice.
TIP: An excellent way to improve your fluency in a language is "shadowing" a native speaker using an online app or just audio. You can do that by listening to the Italian - spoken sentences, conversations, short stories, news pieces - and repeating ALOUD what's being said along with the speaker or right after the speaker says it.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She's a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments right here below!
Disclosure: "Think in Italian" is one of our partner sites. If you use the 'click HERE' link under PRICING, you'll receive a 50% discount on your first month's subscription. Gamesforlanguage will receive a small commission, which helps us keep our site free of Google ads and other advertisements. As an affiliate, we were given a one month of full access to what is now "Think in Italian".
Have you ever thought that Trivia Quizzes could spice up your language learning? Indeed, when you're no longer a beginner, Trivia Quizzes can be a fun way to boost your language skills.
When our Boston-born sons were growing up, we often played the German equivalent of the board game "Trivial Pursuit" - all in German. In German, it was called "Spiel des Wissens" (Game of Knowledge).
For playing this board game, we used set phrases: "Du bist dran." (It's your turn.); "Welche Kategorie?" (Which category?), etc. Then the dice was rolled and the question was read aloud. We all had fun, learned something new, and they were clearly building their German skills.
Trivia games, in many languages, are now all over the internet. They are a huge language learning resource. Such trivia games are sometimes made for school children in their language or for companies as a brand recognition vehicle. And these don't provide translations.
But that means, playing such trivia quizzes will immerse you in your target language. You have to figure out the meaning of words from the context of the question and choose the right, or at least most probable, answer.
Why play trivia quizzes? A good response is that such quizzes challenge you to learn general knowledge about a subject, a specific culture, a country, or the world in general.
On the French site listed below (Quizz.fr), it says: "Pour briller en société, il faut savoir argumenter sur tous les sujets. D’où l’importance d’acquérir une bonne culture générale". (To stand out in society, you need the ability to argue about many subjects. That's why it's important to acquire a good foundation in general knowledge.)
What Is Trivia?
A Wikipedia entry traces the word back to the Latin "trivia", plural of trivium (“place where three roads meet”). The term came to be used for any public place, and then for anything commonplace.
The Oxford dictionary defines the word "trivia" as "unimportant matters, details, or information; facts about many subjects that are used in a game to test people's knowledge".
At times the facts asked in a trivia game may be unimportant per se. For example, It may not be essential that you know through how many countries the Rhine flows. The answer is "six", and they are: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands.
But, if this question gets you to look at a European map, and perhaps at some point plan a cruise on the Rhine or another European river, the game has had an impact.
Well-designed trivia games can challenge you to think about a wide range of range of subjects: history, geography, science, nature, film, music, literature, etc. And that's not all bad, right?
Playing trivia games in your own language can be hard enough. But when you play trivia quizzes designed for native speakers in another language, you'll find an extra challenge. You have to navigate the language. Plus, what's common knowledge for them may not be common knowledge for you. The bonus? You'll learn interesting things about that country's culture and add to your skills - as the French put it - to "shine in society" (“briller en société”).
Some Tips for Playing Trivia Quizzes
Choose the level (easy, medium, hard). If you're playing in a foreign language, kids' quizzes are not a bad place to start.
Choose the content (general culture, music, history, geography, etc.)
Some trivia games are timed. These you'll have to do as quickly as possible. But when you're done, you can usually go over the answers.
Write down some of the words you don't know, and look them up when you're done with the quiz. Then, go back and do the quiz again. It's a good way to recall and review some of the more difficult words and answers you weren't sure about.
A Sample of Trivia Quizzes
Some of the sites I looked at were a little disorganized, hard to navigate, or cluttered by too many disruptive ads. But there are plenty that work well for language learners.
Here are a few free Trivia site suggestions for languages we cover. We are planning to also add a few more Trivia Quizzes on Gamesforlanguage. You'll find the ones we have at the end of each paragraph below.
French Trivia Quizzes
Quizz.fr is a website with free quizzes "for entertainment and education". You can choose among more than two dozen categories featuring "Actualités, Cuisine, Culture générale, Histoire, Geographie, Monde animal, Musique, Sports", etc. A good quiz category to start with is "Culture générale". [The site was created by Telemaque a French company that provides mobile solutions.]
¿Cuánto sabes sobre España? (How much do you know about Spain?) This is a 16-question quiz, with photos illustrating the questions.
Going to the bottom of the page, you'll also find quizzes about Soccer, Fashion, Spain's beaches, Nature, Spain's beaches, etc.
Note: All quizzes are free, and you can choose to play them in any of 10 other languages, including French, German, Italian, and English. [The site is presented by The Portal Oficial de Turismo de España.]
Test de Cultura Española. These are 30 general culture questions in Spanish about Spain you can try your hand at. You're told at the end which ones are right. (Click/Tap on "Comprobar") However, if you've made a mistake, you won't find out the correct answer there. You'll have to search it yourself. [This quiz page was created by Enforex, a Spanish language institute.]
La sai lunga is a free site with a large number of quizzes and tests to play online "to learn, have fun, and keep your mind active and agile".
The main quiz categories are: Geografia, Letteratura, Cultura generale, Scienze, and for each quiz you see the level: Facile (green), Media (orange), Difficile (red)
At the bottom of the page, you'll find "Il Quiz della settimana" and a few easy and hard quizzes. [The site was created by a teacher in Italy as an educational resource for schools. You can find out more at Unascuola.it]
Fragespiel - Das Quiz im Internet. On this site, you'll find 40 quiz categories and many of those have questions about general knowledge. But there are also: States of the US, and various categories specifically relating to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
You can also play: Frage des Tages (Question of the day.)
The favorite game of all time is "Hauptstädte Europa Quiz". (Capitals of Europe Quiz). [The quiz site was developed by BAWS Websolutions.]
All The Trivia. The site contains themed quizzes for children, teens, as well as adults "of all stripes". Categories include: Disney, General, Kids, Movies, Music, Sports, etc.
At the moment, the quizzes are in English only, but in the future Spanish quizzes may be added.
You can also print out a quiz sheet and play it online with family and friends. [The website is provided by PB International, a global entertainment company.]
Clearly, most Trivia Quizzes in another language are not for beginners. You have to know at least some basic vocabulary to understand the questions.
But - if you're bored with your current language program, need more challenges, or just want to try out something new – Trivia Quizzes in your target language are a great way to add fun and substance to your learning.
Disclosure: We have no relationship with any of the sites or companies mentioned on this blog post, other than Games for Language.
If Scandinavian languages are your thing, this book is for you: “Comparative Grammar of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, Learn 3 Scandinavian Languages at the Same Time” Robertson B. Kunz, 2024. It is available on Amazon.com.
If you're into Romance languages, be it Spanish, and/or Portuguese, French, Italian, here's a learning tool and grammar guide that you would enjoy: “Learn and Retain Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French, with Spaced Repetition”, by Adros Verse Education, Bucharest 2024.
Most of us know that there is a big difference between “knowing” vs “speaking” a foreign language.
A few years ago, we wrote a Post: 
For the month of July, Laney, the 16-year-old daughter of a close friend, came to visit us on her own. She had one request: Please, speak only English with me. At the end of July, we sat down for a brief interview to talk about her month-long English immersion experience here in the US.
With a name like Gamesforlanguage.com, it's no wonder that people find us by searching language games. And even if our main languages and courses are French, German, Italian and Spanish, it is not difficult for us to add games for other languages by using our games format.
Understanding Swiss German dialects is a real challenge for German learners. But they are not alone: Even German natives often have great difficulties with some Swiss German dialects.
There is also no standard written Swiss German. In writing, Swiss Germans use their dialect mostly just for some informal communication, sometimes in emails, text messages, on social media, occasionally in personal letters etc. The words are then written phonetically, just the way they are said. 
Our visits to Switzerland have been mostly to the bilingual city Fribourg, which straddles a language border between French and the Swiss German. To find out more about bilingualism in Fribourg, click on the article by Antilia Wyss 
Since 2021, the word "inflation" has become a topic of conversations, opinions and forecasts in the US, Europe and other countries.
result, Germany was soon swamped with paper money, chasing a limited supply of goods. 
The stamp album starts off with what is likely the highest denomination of any stamp in history:
Since our last review of "Think in Italian" (11/2020), Stefano has made a number of changes that enhance his focus on speaking, which - we fully agree with him - "is the most overlooked skill in language apps".
Have you ever thought that Trivia Quizzes could spice up your language learning? Indeed, when you're no longer a beginner, Trivia Quizzes can be a fun way to boost your language skills.
