Tips and tricks to learn a language in the best way

For Celia inMiscellany, Tips and tricks the 02/03/2021

5 easy steps to speak English without a foreign accent

You travel to a new country and when you start talking to native people they discover your nationality just because of your accent when speaking English Has it ever happened to you?. Although some accents have a lot of charm, if when you try to speak another language it bothers you, today we bring you 5 simple steps to speak English more naturally. This way you’ll have more confidence in talking about it and you’ll be able to put it into practice in your next experience abroad.

1. Choose your accent

Think about which accent you like best or which one sticks with your personality. There are many types of accents (British, American, Australian…) and you can choose according to your preferences.

Once you choose your favorite, you must stay true to him and be consistent in speaking. You should use vocabularies according to the selected accent and try not to mix words that are used in with others.

2. Go and listen to everything in English

It’s one of the most typical tips when you’re learning a new language, but when you try to improve your pronunciation it’s one of the most useful. Force yourself to watch all YouTube shows, series, movies or videos in English. Learning new words will be of great help to you, but your accent will mostly appreciate your hatred getting used to always listening to English. (Not forgetting the type of accent you’ve previously chosen, remember point1!)

Seeing things in their original language instead of the dubbed version is a different and very enriching experience. You can start watching videos or movies you already know in English. It may cost a little at first, but if you lean on subtitles (logically) it will get easier and easier.

3. Listen carefully

English is a fairly musical language, so it’s important to perfect the right sounds and fluency if you want to talk like a native. In Spain, for example, we pronounce all the letters of words, so for us English can be somewhat complicated. Listening to how different the words spoken by a native sound can be of great help.

It is worth paying attention to the way in which certain words are said (burger, spaguetti…). Even if the changes are minimal to your language, you’ll make a difference.

4. Say it all out loud

The more you practice your English, the better. You don’t need anyone to talk about it, you can do it with yourself. It may sound kind of weird, but it’s tremendously useful. One of the things that can help you practice the most is reading aloud (books, magazines or what you like the most). If you like a phrase from a movie, try repeating it as you do in it. Learn the lyrics of your favorite songs and repeat them over and over again aloud. It really works!

5. Take every opportunity to talk

Try to relate to strange people and look for opportunities to speak English. Introduce yourself to volunteers to read in class, look for academies or even erasmus and practice bars or meetings. Any time is good to improve,the more active you are, the faster you will learn and develop your accent.

And since it couldn’t be any other way, the best advice we can give you is to travel. Moving around an English-speaking country will force you to practice and help you lose your foreign accent. That’s
why in Ynsitu
we offer dozens of
language courses,
for better your language and pronunciation at the same time you visit a new place Encourage yourself to travel with us!

For Jeanie Bryan inTips and tricks the 26/02/2021

Seven Must-See Sites in Ireland

Ireland is a land of intriguing history, deep blue skies, and old, old stone. If you find yourself there, plan to visit these sites, some of the country’s loveliest and most interesting.

Kilmalkedar

Surrounded by rolling hills and filled with tall grasses and wildflowers, Kilmalkedar is located on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. This religious site dates back to medieval times. Associated with Saint Brendan and Saint Maolcethair, Kilmalkedar includes the remains of a twelfth-century Hiberno-Romanesque church and a cemetery with weather-worn tombstones.

Caha Pass

Constructed in the mid-1800s, the Caha Pass is a winding road in the Caha Mountains between Glengarriff and Kenmare. This sandstone range is located in County Cork on the Beara Peninsula. Steep and grassy, Caha is home to grazing sheep. The narrow road is full of switchbacks, as well as tunnels that bore into the mountains. Tricky to navigate, it is subject to low-hanging mists that can make driving an adventure.

Torc Waterfall

This waterfall is less than five miles from Killarney and sits inside the Killarney National Park. Several trails loop around the area and pony rides are available to carry visitors from Muckross House to the Torc Waterfall trail. As you walk to the falls, you’ll encounter trees, boulders, and logs covered in vibrant green moss. The waterfall drops twenty meters from the Owengarriff River.

Cliffs of Moher

Remember the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride? Those were the Cliffs of Moher. They’ve been featured in the Harry Potter series of movies and other famous films as well. Running along the County Clare coast, these windswept cliffs reach heights of up to 700 feet. Standing here, you’ll see just how blue the Atlantic Ocean can be.

Inis Mór

Accessible by ferry, Inis Mór sits off the west coast of Ireland. It is the largest of the three islands that make up the Aran Islands. With a population of fewer than 1,000 residents, Inis Mór is the home to colonies of seals, prehistoric hill forts, and Na Seacht dTeampaill. At Na Seacht dTeampaill, you’ll find the remains of two seventh-century stone churches and monastic dwellings, as well as tombstones.

Poulnabrone

Poulnabrone is a megalithic tomb in County Clare on the Burren, an area of glaciated karst. The limestone tomb’s three vertical stones support one horizontal one. Constructed by Neolithic peoples, Poulnabrone contains the remains of at least 33 individuals placed there sometime around 3500 B.C.

Although the tomb is roped off to protect it from visitors, you can stand quite close to it. Watch your step, though. A patchwork of small stones surrounds the tomb, and it’s easy to catch your foot and turn your ankle.

Giant’s Causeway

Situated in County Antrim off the coast of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway is a head-scratching sight to behold. Tens of thousands of hexagonal basalt columns perch here, some nearly forty feet high. Tumbled rocks spread across the area, forming a treacherous walkway into the ocean. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1986.

These seven places are just a few of the highlights in a land of natural beauty, historic landmarks, and congenial residents. Be sure to visit all of Ireland, both the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Author: Jeanie Bryan

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As you know, Ireland is an awesome country where you would have an amazing experience. But if you want to have a total immersion, our recommendation is to take an english course in Ireland, where you could learn and enjoy at the same time! Improve your language having the best experience of your life and discover all this wonderful places! Take a look trough all the different types of courses and cities offering by Ynsitu!

For Sara inTips and tricks the 24/02/2021

Informal chatting in English

You are traveling to the United States and you have worked hard to learn English. It is not your native language and some of it was difficult. But you made it! You can carry on a conversation in English with someone else easily.

But you are a little worried. You know that people in every country have their own expressions and their own unique way of speaking. English speaking people are no different. You will also find that words people use vary depending on their location.

Here is a list of common expressions that you will hear in the United States.

Y’all:

This is a contraction of you and all. You will hear it in the southern United States (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, etc..)

Example:

How are y’all doing?

Yis:

This is similar to “y’all,” but you will hear it in the northeastern states (specifically New York).

Example:

How are yis doing?

What’s up?:

This is a greeting and can mean several things.

When you first meet up with a person, they are asking for an overview of how you are. They do not really want to know the details of what you are doing.

If you initiate contact (by phone call, or by going to see a person), they may be asking, “What do you want?”

Example:

Hi Tomas, what’s up?

See you, see ya, or see you later:

This means goodbye.

Example:

“See you later Sylvie.”

Cool, sweet, nice, or no problem:

Any of these words mean that the person thinks something is good. Depending on their tone of voice, it can range from very excited down to acceptance of a fact.

Examples:

“Your new car is cool!”

“You can’t come out because you have to study? That’s cool.”

Lame:

The opposite of cool: not good. Often used to describe restrictions placed on a person by someone else.

Example:

“That is so lame that your professor makes you leave your cell phone at the front of the class.”

Hot:

This is often used to describe beauty or attractiveness.

Example:

“That new girl in the dorm is hot!”

Chick:

Used to describe a woman or girl.

Example:

“When is that chick going to get here?”

Dude:

Used to describe a man or boy.

Example:

“I talked to that dude yesterday.”

‘Cuz:

This is a shortened form of because.

Example:

“I am late cuz I missed the train.”

In most cases, when you are ordering a drink, you can simply say the name of the drink (Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, etc..). But some regions of the United States often refer to carbonated drinks by a general term.

Pop:

Used in the midwestern states (Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, etc..).

Soda:

Used in the northeastern states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, etc..), but also in California.

Soda pop:

You will sometimes hear both words together.

Tonic:

Used in some northeastern states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine).

Coke:

Southern states (Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, etc..) sometimes use Coke to describe any carbonated drink. Be aware that if you ask for a Coke in a restaurant, they will probably bring you Coca-cola.

Example:

“I’m going to get Cokes. What kind do you want?”

Sweet Tea:

Usually served only in southern states, this is iced tea with sugar already added.

Now that you are familiar with these words is time to put them into practice. Let’s see what Ynsitu can offer you with their English courses, are you ready to make new friends?

For Sara inTips and tricks the 19/02/2021

What to do after your great experience abroad?

Did you just finish your language course and don’t know what to do? Training is a cultural field in which you can always innovate and add new skills or skills. The case of language training was not going to be any less. You’re never going to learn 100% of a language, not even your own.

As mentioned in previous articles published on this blog, there are numerous methods of increasing your level or skills in the different skills required by a language. In this case we will not specify about specific languages since the methods to be covered are applicable to any language.

As we well know, the main skills to acquire in order to consider that we have minimal mastery over a language are: listening ability, speech ability, reading ability and writing ability.

How can we improve these skills?

Listening ability

This is probably the funniest ability to improve, or even if you less laziness. What is this method? Very simple, bring to the linguistic field everyday activities such as watching a movie, a video on YouTube, talks about a topic that interests you or even listen to music. You don’t have a hard time putting it in the language you’re practicing at the time. This way, you’ll be learning while having fun, or at least having an entertaining time.

It is very important to have a good listening capacity since it is this skill that will allow us to understand the rest of people when they want to communicate with us and helps us to improve our pronunciation and to get used to the accent of the natives of the language.

Speech ability

It may sound a little crazy, but believe me that these methods that I’m going to present to you give you effective results.

Do you talk to yourself, too? And have you tried doing it in another language? Many times our mind acts even when we are not realizing it, that is, unconsciously, but that does not mean that it is not working at that time. Talking alone is not the only way to make this method effective. You can also practice talking to friends.

Another effective method is to record yourself talking and listen to it several times. From this method you can listen to your faults and repeat it until you think the result with your pronunciation is optimal.

Reading ability

The only way to improve this skill is by reading. It sounds simple and obvious but you can always turn around looking for articles, books or magazines that are more like your tastes, your personality or your aspirations.

This method will also be very useful to improve your writing ability, because the more you read, the more grammatical constructions you acquire, consciously or unconsciously, that will be useful in the elaboration of texts.

Writing ability

As mentioned above, reading greatly helps the development of this skill. You can take advantage of reading blogs that interest you and finish your “practice” by leaving constructive comments about what you thought, your opinion or aspects to improve. This way you’re making a combination by practicing both skills.

Another method to practice computing these skills in gaining experiences. Why not go to work abroad in the summer? or why not take a gap take a gap year off? Whatever your decision reminds you of the importance of learning languages for your future, discover everything Ynsitu has prepared to make it a little easier for you.

For Alberto inTips and tricks the 19/02/2021

The best tips for passing an official Cambridge exam

Cambridge exams are a certification that before or after, most English learners will try to pass once in their lives. It’s not easy, but with dedication and effort you can get ahead.

Here are the best tips for you to achieve your goal of passing the Cambridge exam the first time.

1- Practice with test exams

Many students who take a Cambridge exam have not taken any full exams before test day. They have performed partial exercises, but have never tried to take the whole test. That’s a big mistake, you should take a full exam and even with the actual times of the test, to know if you’re on the right pace to finish it on time. On the Cambridge University website you can download two exams to practice, and if you’re going to an academy, try to get many of them.

2- Read a lot and of all kinds

Reading the Cambridge exam will require you to understand very different texts, so don’t settle for reading standard books. You have to read specialized journals and different topics (economic, scientific, political, etc.), opinion articles, interviews or conferences in order to expand your vocabulary and not keep the words of middle level.

3- Practice all the types of Writing you might see on the exam

You may be asked to write an essay, letter or email, proposal, review, or report. You should know how to write each of these types of texts. You can sign up for an academy preparation course or you can buy a book, so you can practice it and get to the test with some ease in all of them.

4- Don’t leave any answers unanswered

Choosing the wrong answer won’t subtract points from you, so don’t be afraid to point out an answer you’re not quite sure about but sense may be the right one. Don’t be afraid to opt for an answer when you hesitate between two or more options.

5- Don’t write for filling, if you’re not sure, get to the point

Think carefully about what you’re going to write before you do it and sketch with the points you’re going to try. This will help you stay out of the branches and address all the points you’ve set out to write. Use some of the resources you’ve studied in preparing your exams such as phrasal verbs, idioms, collocations etc.

6- Write ideas with full sentences

It tries to write with phrases with a complete meaning, clearly expressing the main idea of the paragraph. Don’t write loose words or phrases that are too short, or too long. Each paragraph should express an idea, so don’t mix concepts. And remember to link everything with appropriate linking words, not the typical “so” or “then”. Be a little more creative to show your wealth of vocabulary.

7- Read the questions and statements well

In principle you will believe that this advice is not very well founded, but you cannot imagine that of mistakes that are made because you have not read well what is requested. It is best to make a quick first reading, without singing in the details, that gives you a general idea. After that, a second, slower reading, trying to identify the type of text you’re reading, and the important points. Once you do, you’ll know how to perfectly address what you’re required to do.

8- Perform a balanced Speaking

You don’t want to grab the full weight of the conversation, but don’t fall behind either. Together with the partner assigned to you, you must carry out a conversation in which you can both speak and expose your ideas and vocabulary, without stepping on each other and being able to make a proper argument. In fact, using terms and vocabulary to help the other student get into the conversation will be well valued.

9- Review and review the exam once you’ve finished it

This point, even if it seems otherwise, is extremely important. Once you finish the exam, you should go through it ina deep way, as long as the remaining time allows, since you will surely find errors or improvements that during the writing of the same you have not noticed, but that once you read it “cold”, you will realize right away.

10- Take an exam preparation course abroad

Without a doubt, if you want to prepare a test well and gain ease in the language, it is best to take a course in a country where you speak. This is always going to increase your level much more than any academy you can go to in your home country.

Ynsitu offers you a wide range of Cambridge exam preparation courses abroad so you can pass the exam without any difficulty. You’ll finally achieve that level you’re so craving. The best investment for your future.

For marketing inTips and tricks the 18/02/2021

6 tricks to improve your English pronunciation

When you start learning a new language, you may sometimes feel that pronunciation is an obstacle to developing your language skills. Even if you’ve long since started learning it, sometimes you may feel unable to pronounce well. If you’re in one of these situations and you’re looking for a remedy for it, don’t worry. With the tricks we’re going to give you next, you’ll improve your pronunciation and feel able to have a conversation without any problem.

Forget Spanish altogether

It seems like the most typical tip and probably one of what you’ve already been given, but it’s totally true. Generally, most people who have difficulty pronunciation of English have very in mind how it is spoken in their native language. So when they try to have a conversation in another language without straying from their own, they pronounce as they would in Spanish.

It is true that when you start learning a new language, at first it is difficult to get out of our comfort zone and that is why we hold on to what we already know. But it is a serious mistake, because the pronunciation in English is completely different from that of Spanish. Pronouncing incorrectly can cause us frustration and little by little, we will find it more difficult to let go when talking, so this trick is so important.

When searching for words in the dictionary, also be interested in pronunciation

In dictionaries not only the meanings of words appear, in many of them also appear the pronunciation of these.

It is one of the tricks that is less considered, but it can be very interesting and effective. A good way to start learning English is to be interested not only in the meaning of words, but also in their pronunciation when we look for them in the dictionary. In this way we not only learn how it is pronounced, but we will also begin to learn how the phonemes and sounds of English are represented and further enrich our knowledge

Listen to the pronunciation of each word and repeat it

Currently, there are hundreds of pages where you can write a word and hear its pronunciation. The best known of them all is Google’s own translator. This online tool allows us, not only to translate the words, but also gives us the option to listen to them at the click of a click.

In addition to listening to how it is pronounced, it is very beneficial to repeat as many times as you need that word. This will make it much easier to remember when you have to use it some other time.

Listen to music and watch series in English

It is one of the tips that is most repeated when someone starts studying English, and at the same time the one that is most ignored. The fear of not understanding what is said makes us think twice about whether to put the film, series or song, but if you don’t try you’ll never know if you’re capable.

Don’t worry if you think your English skills are still too low to know everything perfectly. Currently, thanks to platforms like Netflix or HBO,we have a lot of movies or series of different categories and degrees of difficulty to start watching them according to your level. Don’t worry if at first you don’t understand most of what you’re hearing, it happens to all of us. Subtitles will become your best ally!

And as for music, any English-speaking group is perfectly valid to start working with pronunciation. A very good idea, is to visualize the lyrics of the song while listening to it and repeat this process as many times as you need until you strengthen the pronunciation of the words a little.

Watch the score and intonation

Like pronunciation, English scoring and intonation is totally different from Spanish. Generally, in English the phrases are made much shorter than in Spanish and depending on the type of phrase (interrogative, affirmative, exclamative…) it is intones in one way or another.

The tricks we’ve shown you above will help you differentiate the variety of intonations that exist and how important they are if you want to have a perfect pronunciation.

Relate to English-speaking people.

The most useful advice we can give you: speak as much as you can in English and if possible with natives. You may be embarrassed at first or think you’re doing it wrong, but making a mistake is when we learn the most.

If you don’t know anyone who speaks English, don’t worry. In most of the city, there are cafes, bars and different establishments where language exchanges take out. This way both sides win: you teach your partner Spanish, while they teach you English.

And it’s not just about learning, it’s also about meeting people and making new friends,immersing yourself in different cultures.

Now that you know the tricks, it’s time to put them into practice!.. and there’s no better way to learn than to know a new country. That’s why in Ynsitu we offer you hundreds of possibilities to get to know other countries while learning a new language. Travel with us and enjoy our language courses abroad!