Google Secrets How to Learn a Language Using Google

Google Secrets How to Learn a Language Using Google Google Secrets: How to Learn a Language Using Google On the journey to fluency, you might think of Google as a road.You use it to get to important placesâ€"like language courses or study materials.You might not realize that Google is a language learning destination itself.But think about it.Google can pull from all the information in hundreds of languages found online.Its built on some of the most sophisticated technology out there, all with the purpose of connecting people and ideas from all over the world.You just need to know the right features and search tricks to put it all to use for your language studies.Here’s how to unlock Googles potential for foreign language fluency. Google Secrets: How to Learn a Language Using GoogleUse Image Search for Visual LearningWhat, to you, is the difference between an easy chair, a couch, a sofa and a recliner?How about a garbage pail, garbage bin or trash can?Words for physical objects can sometimes be perfectly clear to native speakers, but maddeningly tricky to pin down. As a language lear ner, this can make it difficult to build a vocabulary base that youre confident in.So instead of memorizing dictionary definitions, try adding Google Images to your vocabulary building regimen. Just look up a foreign word that youre learning, and youll quickly see how the image results can give you a much more precise, nuanced understanding.Here’s a perfect example. The standard English translation for the Chinese word ?? (wàitào) is raincoat or coat. But when I searched for images, I realized the word refers to all kinds of things that I might call a sweater or windbreaker in English. It’s clearly a broader definition than I realized!Take a few flashcards or a vocabulary lesson that youre working on, and see what discoveries Google Images brings to you.Plus, if you enjoy this type of real-world, visual learning, FluentU is a great supplement to your Google explorations. FluentU provides authentic foreign language videos thatve been transformed into language learning experienc es.Each video comes with interactive captionsâ€"click on any word for an instant definition and native pronunciation, as well as a picture to help you understand and remember the word. There are also flashcards with visual learning aids, quizzes, full transcripts and vocabulary lists to help you remember new words from each video once youre done watching.The videos are organized by genre and learning level, so you can easily find ones that work for you. FluentU also personalizes your learning by suggesting new videos based on what youve already learned.FluentU currently has programs for Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian, Japanese, Korean and English. Click any language youre interested in to explore the program for free with a FluentU trial.Use Site Search to See Vocab in Different ContextsWhen we take writing classes in school or study literature, we eventually learn that some words belong in some contexts and others don’t.You wouldn’t use Dr. Seuss wo rds in an academic paper, and if you’re writing a diary you probably won’t use the same language as Shakespeare.When you learn a foreign language or teach one to yourself, you run the risk of being unsure about this sort of thing. Without someone to guide your writing, you really don’t have much of a way to tell if you’re using the right words in the right situations.How can Google solve this problem?With a simple trick called site search. It’s very easy to use.You just type “site:” plus the name of a website, plus whatever you’re looking for. Then the results that come up will be restricted to that one website. This is a great way to look for posts by one author on a blog, for instance, or find all the times that a country is mentioned in a news publication.And as for language learning, you can definitely try non-English search queries too. Let’s say you’ve just learned the word mochila  (backpack) in Spanish. If we search different websites that run the gamut o f nonfiction, news and entertainment, we’ll find a few different examples.If I search a photography website, I’ll find articles about adventure or hiking backpacks made for photographers. A fashion website gives me advice about different styles of everyday backpacks.Each of these has their own related vocabulary and writing style to describe the same vocabulary word you just learnedâ€"making for perfect reading practice  and well-rounded communication skills.Get the Gist with Machine TranslationLots of language learners decry Google Translate, and not without reason. Everybody’s heard of the inaccurate or flat-out hilarious results it can come up with, and nobody should use it as their only learning resource.But if you’re careful with it, Google Translate can fill an important gap in language learning.How many times have you struggled to understand a long article in your target language? Next time that happens to you, put it into Google Translate to get the gist in English. Since you can see the two texts side by side, you can connect them mentally and start learning the patterns.You can even hover over the sentences with your mouse and see the relevant translation light up on the other side!Don’t worry, it’s not cheating to use a machine translator. When used correctly, its a step towards comfort with the structures, rhythms and common words in your target language.Check Your Language with Pattern-friendly SearchesThis is probably the biggest secret for language learning with Google, and here I am, giving it away.How is it that search engines give you the result you’re looking for in the top two or three results, almost every time?Its because search engines like Google are massively powerful pattern-recognition and pattern-analysis machines.If enough people click on a link, that means it’s valuable and it goes up in the search results. And if enough people type “faceboko” and then click on “Facebook,” Google knows to suggest an alterna te spelling for you.What else is based on patterns? Language.From sound systems to verb conjugations to adjective declensions, every language in the world follows (mostly) predictable rules and patterns. You can take advantage of this through strategic foreign language Google searches.Lets say youre unsure about a particular grammatical construction. Just type it into Google and see whether you get a suggested alternate phrasing or see different versions of it in the top results.To narrow it down, put the search inside quotation marks  and Google will look for that exact phrase all over the internet. This will also help filter for websites that are written entirely in your target language.If you get very few results (say, under 500,000) youll know your phrase is off. If its a short but incorrect phrase, you can often find the correct version within the search results or as suggestions at the bottom of the page.Get Free Literature for Your LanguageA lot of people never get beyond the images, maps and videos tabs on Google results. But did you know that there are also enormous indexes of published books and academic papers, absolutely free?Google Scholar and Google Books have tons of public domain material.Google Books lets you search the text of millions of published books, ranging from rare and out-of-print foreign books to the newest bestsellers. Got a book on your shelf you practically know by heart? See if you can find it online in your target language!And if you’re linguistically inclined, there’s no better resource than Google Scholar for in-depth academic papers. Some of them are way over my head, but others are absolutely fascinating.For me, these are the most helpful when I’m struggling with a complicated aspect of grammar that doesn’t have the slightest equivalent in my native language.The formal analysis of language in these papers isn’t for everyone, but try it outâ€"you may find a few gems.Be a Language Tourist from Your SofaOne of the re asons I travel is to go speak and hear other languages. The people and places around the world are cool I suppose, but as someone with a passion for languages, that’s what really drives me to go places.And if you’re reading this article, you might be in the same boat. When you get to your destination, will you be prepared?It’s a powerfully strong psychological effect to look around and see not a word of your native language. Depending on where you go, you might end up far away from bilingual signs or English advertisements. This can really be overwhelming for some people.So before you go, look up some of the places you’ll visit or dream of visiting on Google Street View and see what it’s like to be surrounded by foreign-language text all the time. Check the definitions of the most common words you see on street signs or business names.This is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in your target language from home. Plus, its fun and a great study motivator! It makes your lang uage seem more relevant and might even inspire some travel plans, if you dont have them already.And if you do have a trip booked, Street View tourism will make you less intimidated and more ready to enjoy your travels once youre there.If you know how to use it, Google can find just about anything for you.Language learning online has never been easier, and now that you know how to go about language learning with Google, you’ve stepped into a brand new world of resources.Whether it’s checking grammatical patterns or looking up images to help you understand definitions, there’s no better time than now to get started!Yassir Sahnoun is a content strategist, writer, polyglot and co-founder of WriteWorldwide. You can learn more about Yassir at YassirSahnoun.com. And One More ThingMake FluentU as regular a part of your life as Google, and itll prove just as indispensable. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With Fluent U, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that real people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.