According to Lifehacker, a new Facebook feature allows you to translate posts and comments on Facebook pages.
The “translate” link is shown when a comment is made in a different language. It’s placed right next to the “share” and “like” links. Whilst the service is currently only available on Facebook pages, there are plans to roll it out to profiles also.
Facebook uses Bing to translate the comments, so as with any machine translation there will be errors. It will certainly save some time copying and pasting into a different browser window though! This may also be a handy tool for language learners looking for interesting content in their target language. Facebook has a lot of fan pages, events and interest groups, so it should be easy to find content, read it and then check your understanding using the translate feature.
One of the things I love about Christmas is the songs that get played which can’t be played at any other time of the year.
My favourite is Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, and I also have a soft spot for Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. However, this year I have discovered a whole new batch of Christmas songs that I never would have known if I hadn’t started learning Spanish!
In Spain, carols are called villancicos. As well as many songs that have been translated from English, traditional Spanish villancicos include Campana Sobre Campana. Another more modern popular song is Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano (see below).
Songs are a great way to pick up new vocabulary, and this is a great way to get into the festive spirit as well as learning more about cultural aspects of your chosen language! What’s your favourite Christmas song in your target language?
High school students in Oklahoma can win up to $1,000 for writing a ‘mini-dictionary’ about their school, reports NewsOK.
Sponsored by Oklahoma University’s Institute of US-China Issues, the Newman Young Writer’s Award offers prizes for a single or co-authored submission of a “mini-dictionary/encyclopaedia”. The entries must reflect the character of the school, and “can explore the people, places, slang, or rituals that define their school”.
I love dictionaries, and this sounds like a great creative project! If you’re not a high-school aged Oklahoma resident, why not try out some dictionary or encyclopaedia entries about your target language… in your target language. You could talk about the culture, the language itself, or how and when you use it. Get writing!
Some people are well-rounded in their language learning. Others have problems with certain areas. I fall into the latter category.
Whilst I have generally been good at reading and writing in my target language, speaking and listening come less easily to me. Part of this is shyness and part is not wanting to be wrong! As my teacher told me recently though, it’s better to speak up and be wrong than not to speak at all.
My teacher is right of course – trying to avoid speaking means I am not improving in this area and so my fear of being wrong keeps growing. I’m also not able to learn from my mistakes.
So, my tip for the day is to speak up! Whenever you get the opportunity, whether this is in class or practicing in the privacy of your home, sound out words, sentences or even whole conversations. Become familiar with the strange sounds coming out of your mouth and soon you may be so comfortable speaking your target language you may not notice you’re doing it!
