How Foreign Language Magazines Can Be Your Key to Learning

How Foreign Language Magazines Can Be Your Key to Learning How Foreign Language Magazines Can Be Your Key to Learning Imagine this: outdoors, sunshine, cup of coffee and a magazine.That could be your new study routine.I love magazines.When you have lofty language learning goals, you need to give yourself a break from time to time.Magazines  win every time, giving us learners a refuge  from  the formality of textbooks, length of novels and challenging language of newspapers.They let you  study from anywhere, even from your cozy bed or a sunny hammock, and youll definitely be having fun while learning.Theres nothing I enjoy more than relaxing with a crisp new magazine in my lap (or on my Nook!).In fact, it was through reading magazines that I was able to learn French.Thats how I discovered that magazines are a great way to learn languages!Scroll down, and Ill share with you how I used magazines as a powerful tool to improve my language skillsâ€"and how you can too! How Foreign Language Magazines Can Be Your Key to LearningThere are tons of different language learning resources out there for modern l earners, so why are magazines so special? Lets take a look at what makes magazines uniquely effective for learning languages.Why, of All Things, Magazines?Magazines are interesting!  Textbooksâ€"especially foreign language textbooksâ€"can be  boring or feel too formal. Magazines just are never boring or formal. Theyre written for mass consumption, and magazines tend to publish only the most fascinating content. Plus, there are so many magazines out there that they cover an enormous variety of subjects.  And because theyre written in a style to appeal to a mass audience, youll often find that the content is easy to digest.Images help you learn.  This isnt my opinion, but rather a fact. Remember when you were a child and loved childrens booksâ€"those wonderful, colorful books with brilliant covers and thick pages filled with beautiful artwork? Well, magazines are just the adult versions of childrens books. Theyre filled with images: photos, artwork, graphs, charts, you name it!Science actually shows this is true. Children learn language through images. This can work just as well for adult langauge learners, and what better place to find images than a colorful magazine?Youll often find that you can understand the gist of an article just by looking at the images. My tip: Focus on the images and their captions, and try to piece together what they mean without touching your dictionary.Magazine content will teach you about culture.If youre like most people, youre not just learning a language cause you have a fascination with grammar. Youre probably interested in the cultures and societies connected to that language. Perhaps you dream of ordering bread at an authentic French boulangerie, or maybe you want to what theyre really saying in your favorite Japanese anime show (we all know the subtitles arent telling the whole truth!).Magazines allow you to learn language and culture at the same time. Digest some knowledge about French gastronomie while reading cooking magaz ines, or devour manga  to  improve your Japanese. Theres a multitude of ways that you can discover more about culture through magazines!How Any Language Learner Can Use EmNow, I know what youre about to ask  me. I dont speak the language Im learning that well. How can I pick up a magazine now and be able to read it?Its a common misconception that you need to be experienced in a language to read it well. You have to remember that magazines are a tool  for  communication, and that each magazine is targeted to a different audience. The key is finding the right magazine at the right level for you.Start at your levelThis is true in English as well as a foreign language. For example, Im not going to pick up an issue of Rocket Science Today,  because its way above my level. Similarly, dont get an overly complicated or difficult magazine in the language youre trying to learn.If youre a complete beginner, why not start with childrens magazines? They use simple language and often includes cop ious amounts of picturesâ€"and who doesnt understand pictures? In fact, as Ill explain futher, images are one reason that magazines are such a fantastic resource for language learning.If youre studying a particular topic in school, focus on that topic for perfect learning synergy. For example, if youre studying economics and love the course content, then why not try to read an economics magazine? You may find that a lot of the material in there is quite similar to what youre learning in your classes. This will give you an “in” to learning the language! This applies equally to professionalsâ€"choose a magazine related to the field you work in!Dont panicLet me tell you, you may struggle a bit at first. Learning through magazines is, sadly, a stark contrast to how were taught to learn languages in school. In my college classroom, each unit focused on something specific. Perhaps it was gender, then the past tenses, then prepositions, one at a time, with the idea being that you neede d to steadily add building blocks to understand a language.When reading magazines, youll get gender, verb tenses, prepositions and dozens of things you dont understand all at once. Dont let that scare you. Re-read articles and try to learn enough to get the meaning. Focus on what you do understand and try to improve piece-by-piece.Keep a notebookA great way  to  aid your steady improvement in comprehension is  to keep a notebook. It can be a physical notebook or an app on your smartphone, it doesnt really matter. Whenever you come across a word that you dont understand, write it down and look it up.Organize, organize, organizeThe notebook strategy ties into another critically important factor: staying organized!This means setting realistic goals, reading some of the magazine every day and creating a system where, when an article is too difficult, you file it away and come back to it later, when, hopefully, your language skills have improved and you can better understand it. I bet yo ull be surprised to see how much  your comprehension has grown!Create manila folders of magazine cut-outs (if youre using print magazines) or a electronic filing system (for e-mags). Note a date on each magazine piece that you want to return to in the near future, giving yourself a week, month or multiple months to improve before returning to that piece.Increasing your exposureOrganization leads us to the most important point: To learn a language, you  need to be exposed to it every day. Magazines can be a great way to finally make learning a language a part of your daily life. Make a plan and stick to it so that you can get the most out of magazines.Electronic vs. Hard-Copy Magazines?Much like the Kindle vs. Print debate, this one has no simple answer. Heres my handy list of pros and cons to help you decide which tool is best for you. Ill also provide you with some recommendations for how to track down magazines in each format.Electronic MagazinesProsTons of free magazines out ther e (see below for my top resources) in a wide variety of languages.Dont take up much space. You can fit more than you could possibly ever read on a single USB drive.Can work on multiple devices: PC, Mac, iPhone, Blackberry, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, you name it!ConsYour eyes can get tired of staring at a computer screen.E-book readers, such as Kindles or Nooks, are easier on the eyes but can have difficulty rendering certain files properly.Virtual highlighting tools arent as good as an actual highlighter, and oftentimes you cant chop down magazines files into individual articles.Quantity can be a curseâ€"youll have to filter through the mediocre content to find a magazine you truly like.ResourcesIssuu:  Issuu is a website where people from all around the world upload magazines, articles and other digital content. The best part? Most of this is free! Click on the link here  to explore their vast database of free digital content which you can then read on your PC, Mac or portable device.Scri bd:  Similar to Issuu, though with a greater focus on technical content. Check Scribd out if youre looking for something more niche or specific. Scribd is especially good for Spanish language magazines as its very popular in Latin America.Print Magazines ProsTime-tested format. No batteries needed, never loses charge and is portable.Malleable. You can take a pen, highlighter or scissors to turn that magazine into a learning tool from your own imagination.You can easily make a filing system using manila folders to keep track of articles you understood, found difficult or want to get back to.ConsCan be tough to find magazines in less common languages, especially if you dont live in a big city or have access to a quality university library.Purchasing them can be expensive over time.Can become bulky. Weve all seen hoarders with boxes of magazines.ResourcesBookstores:  Despite what you may have heard in the media, bookstores still exist and many carry a large selection of magazines. You may want to see if theres a bookstore for the language you want to learn in your city. In fact, most cities have specialty stores that cater to minority communities and they often carry magazines.Libraries:  What better place to learn a language than your local library? Most have an extensive magazine selection in multiple languages, and you can check out copies for free! Some even allow you to make photocopies of particular articles.If you happen to live near a quality university, take advantage by exploring their librarys selection (most universities let members of the public browse freely, and a few even let you check out materials). They often have materials in more languages than public libraries and offer more extensive titles.In the end, I recommend choosing what works best with your lifestyle. If you prefer reading from your Nook, then go digital. If you like the feel of glossy paper, then go with print.You could always strike a compromise, downloading electronic copies and then printing them out.Whatever you want to do, magazines are flexible enough to meet your needs and preferences! And One More ThingIf youre digging these strategies, youll love using FluentU. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  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 Screen.FluentU 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 your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs learn mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples f or 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.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.