Language learning requires work....it is not easy.

Meet Anthony HERE on his website Speaking Czech Fluently

Translate from one language, to another, and then another. 

Did you know that Queen Elizabeth I was fluent in five languages? It is true. Not only is that true, but the language learning technique fluentczech discusses in the above mentioned video is a technique used by Elizabeth to practice and maintain her languages. Princess Elizabeth's daily routine involved translating a phase from English, to French, to Italian, to Latin, to German then back to English. She kept hundreds of notebooks. I think that this must have been very difficult for a little girl. Girls should be playing with dolls. I do not know if Elizabeth enjoyed her language learning. But I do know, from all the history books that I read about her - she was one clever girl. 

 At the age of 11, her ability to grasp and retain foreign languages was extraordinary. She was fluent in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Latin. She had abilities in German, Welsh and Portuguese. When ambassadors called upon the royal family, Elizabeth addressed them in their native tongues. She was a brilliant child. 

I am open to new ideas. Maybe we should get a journal, write a sentence, and translate it into our target languages. It worked for one of the Greatest Queens of England. Pourquoi pas? Por qué no? Why not? Perché  no?  Proč ne? Miksi ei? Miért ne? 

Although this is irrelevant to the topic, Elizabeth I was a bit of an opportunist when it came to men. She had no intention on marrying anybody. But she  successfully play her suitors off of one another for about 25 years, gaining alliances and wealth from gifts on the possibility of marriage.

University of Houston Foreign Language Department

Today I thought that I would write about two topics. The first topic, is of course, foreign language courses offered at various universities. I lived in Texas for three years and almost enrolled at The University of Houston to study foreign languages. As fate would have it, I ended up in Washington DC instead. In this blog, I wanted to share some of the courses offered at the University of Houston. The second topic of discussion is a YouTube polyglot, fantasticidiomas. He is very passionate, and his videos are improving.

If you live in Houston Texas and would like to check out what the U of H has to offer, click on the links above. I would like to add, that I have noticed a change their language curriculum. Before, everything was Spanish, or French, or German. That was about it. Now, we have so much more diversity!

Now onto my second topic, fantasticidiomas made another spectacular video today. These are the exact kinds of videos that I like to see! He introduces a new book about the origins of the Russian language, and uses a screen capture allowing viewers to see the book as he discusses it. It is often the case that polyglots like to get on camera and record themselves talking about a book, a program or how a language. Some get up with a blackboard and give us grammar instructions. That is all well and good. But, remember we are here to serve one function. That function is to communicate with other language lovers. 

Use your technology! Make your videos swift, clear, eloquent, and edit your material. Outsiders looking in will always call us a bunch of pedantic bores. We should try to make the language learning experience as effective and meaningful as we possibly can. 

I have seen fantasticidiomas evolve. He is becoming better and better at his art. For that, I give him three cheers!