Learn about and acquire the top five tools for learning Afrikaans
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| Eric: Hi everybody! And, welcome back to AfrikaansPod101.com. This is All About, Lesson 11- The Top 5 Useful Tools for Learning Afrikaans. I’m Eric. |
| Pieter: And I'm Pieter. Hallo. |
| Eric: In this lesson, we’re going to jump-start your Afrikaans studies! We're going to tell you the best tools to help you learn Afrikaans…besides us, of course. |
| Pieter: Yes, we’re going to be sharing some supplements! |
| Eric: Think of these tools as the hammer, nails, wood, and glue that are going to help you build your Afrikaans into a nice, big monument of language. Or something like that. |
| Pieter: Once you have these tools, imagine what you can do. We'll show you how to get instant translations and look up words! |
| Eric: Now, the tools…some are slightly technical, others are just tried and true methods. |
| Pieter: Yes, but use them! They will help you a lot. |
| Eric: Yep, even if you only use one or two that you like, it'll really be beneficial. We know because we've been there! |
| Pieter: The best part is, you can come to AfrikaansPod101.com and share, as well as learn what has worked for other students like you. |
| Eric: We have learners from all over with all kinds of learning styles. From the Einstein of learning Afrikaans to the bookworm who doesn't like computers, there is someone in our community that can relate to your style of learning, and we can all give each other tips. |
| Pieter: So come and say hello, and make some language-learning partners! |
| Eric: First, we will list what kinds of tools you should be using and then give our recommendations. Okay, now, number one…what is the number one thing you're going to need, Pieter? |
| Pieter: An Afrikaans dictionary! |
| Eric: Yeah, sorry guys. That was a bit anticlimactic, perhaps. |
| Pieter: Anticlimactic, maybe, but necessary. |
| Eric: However, we do have some very exciting dictionaries. |
| Pieter: Yes, there are some surprising new forms out there that won't make your school bag any heavier. |
| Eric: Number two is online dictionaries. |
| Pieter: Maybe that’s also anticlimactic. Number three, is a grammar website. |
| Eric: Number four is an old favorite: flashcards. |
| Pieter: They have helped us many times! |
| Eric: And last, but definitely not least…audio and visual aids. |
| Eric: Alright. Let’s go into more detail about all these tools. An Afrikaans Dictionary, this is like what, the hammer? |
| Pieter: Yeah. The most essential tool, anyway! |
| Eric: Okay, yes, we know that you’re thinking, "obviously." But good dictionaries can be hard to find and we’re going to tell you which ones we think are the best, as well as some specialized forms of Afrikaans dictionaries you may have never heard of. |
| Pieter: If you prefer having a physical dictionary, I recommend “Pharos” dictionaries. They always have the most updated words and phrases. |
| Eric: But these are quite heavy. And if you use a paper dictionary while trying to use your Afrikaans practically, you might end up with a very impatient waiter. |
| Pieter: There are other, lighter options. Some great tools have been created to make it easier. |
| Eric: Electronic dictionaries are really advanced now, and my recommendation is a dictionary from Lexilogos. |
| Pieter: Some of these dictionaries are talking ones and they allow you to select the phrase you want from a touch screen. |
| Eric: And they have an extensive data bank and phrases for most situations, so you don't ever need to panic. |
| Pieter: Well, either way, you'll get great help from both! |
| Eric: Okay, now, tool number two is going to help you with your translation! |
| Pieter: Tool two is online help. It's called "lexicool.” Inevitably, like everything in life these days, part of your studies are going to be online. |
| Eric: The good thing about this dictionary is that it also checks several different sites, so you can get a good idea of what the best translation might be. |
| Pieter: Another useful dictionary is “Glosbe.” The good thing is that it shows you some sample sentences along with the word you looked up. |
| Eric: It can also translate some short sentences. |
| Eric: Okay, so dictionaries are a great tool, but let’s continue with tool three. |
| Pieter: It's an Afrikaans Grammar site- http://www.openlanguages.net/afrikaans |
| Eric: So, once we have some vocabulary down, we of course need to learn how to form sentences! |
| Pieter: And as we know, this is done with grammar! Okay, so these tools are all great so far. |
| Eric: Yes, but I think we need a break from online tools. Let's get back to something more arts and crafts-y. |
| Pieter: Like one of my personal favorite study methods…flashcards. |
| Eric: Yep, there’s no better way to burn Afrikaans into your mind or to reinforce what you’ve learned visually. |
| Pieter: And in this case, you can choose – the old-fashioned way or the modern way… |
| Eric: You can buy books with ready-made flashcards, practice your writing by making your own, or use one of the many online resources for flashcards… |
| Pieter: Yeah, flashcards are a great way to learn the language. You can find an interactive flashcard feature on AfrikaansPod101.com. |
| Eric: Flashcards are really convenient, because you can use any spare moment you have to study. That’s guaranteed to push your Afrikaans to the next level faster. |
| Pieter: For the last tool, let’s get back to some technical methods. In this case, the computer is a real help. |
| Eric: That’s because you can listen to and see Afrikaans whenever you want. |
| Pieter: So tool five – audio and visual aids. |
| Eric: Audio and visual aids are the best ways of learning a language. |
| Pieter: And very important to help your brain retain certain parts of a language, too. |
| Eric; Yes, make sure you listen to the language every day to let your ears get used to the sound of the language. |
| Pieter: You can listen to some Afrikaans music, read some news, or listen to online radio at http://www.rsg.co.za/ or by browsing for Afrikaans stations on http://www.tunein.com/ |
| Eric: Become a hardcore listener of Afrikaans radio and it will really help your listening and pronunciation! |
| Pieter: Sure! We also need to let our eyes get used to Afrikaans, so what better way than reading! |
| Eric: Since reading a novel can be a bit tricky at first, I recommend that you think back to when you were a kid learning your own language. What did you use? |
| Pieter: Picture books! |
| Eric: Correct! You might think that it's too childish, but it DOES work. From the very beginning, you can start with the Miffy picture books by Dick Bruna. Then you can move on to fairy tale books. You’ll know the story of most of these fairy tales already, so this will make it easier for you. |
| Pieter: Yes, and books for all levels are available! |
| Eric: All these things are great; I've used them all. But there’s one last thing that I want to mention. Maybe people get so into these high-flying tech things that they forget about it. |
| Pieter: What is that? |
| Eric: It's the humble notebook and pen. So many uses, but I'll share my tip. Every time you hear a word, learn a word, or find yourself lacking a word that you need to know, write it down. |
| Pieter: Yes, otherwise you won't retain as much. |
| Eric: Yes, and the next time you’re with someone from South Africa, you can ask them, “How do I say such-and-such," or just study the words whenever you pull out the notebook. |
| Pieter: Yes, it's a really good supplement. |
| Eric: These are all great tools. Listeners, which ones will you use? Tell us in the comments! And that’s it for this lesson. |
| Pieter: Thanks for listening! |
| Eric: And we’ll see you next time. |
| Pieter: Totsiens! |
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