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