{"id":814,"date":"2013-07-02T04:22:03","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T04:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=814"},"modified":"2013-07-03T04:24:53","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T04:24:53","slug":"how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg\" width=\"322\" height=\"193\" \/>We all go through the same sort of process when we learn a new language. At the start we have very few words and there are some situations in which we simply don\u2019t have the resources to say what we want to. As we improve then we get to a stage in which we can deal with just about any situation, although perhaps we do so still using a very small selection of words.<\/p>\n<p>I am always very impressed when I hear people use a wide vocabulary and sophisticated words in a language which isn\u2019t their mother tongue. If you increase your vocabulary then you can look like a bit of a brainbox when you speak. So how will you do it?<\/p>\n<p><b>Read a Lot<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Reading literature in the language you are learning is a fantastic way of adding an extra level of shine to your skills. Personally, I feel into the trap once of trying to be clever and reading \u201cclassic\u201d literature in a foreign language. I didn\u2019t realise at the time that I was learning an antiquated way of speaking which made me sound like I had taken language classes in the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century. A better idea is to look for books from modern authors with a good reputation or even ones which were written in English and translated. Of course, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/russian\/\">while taking their Russian courses London students can read<\/a> some of the finest books ever written, although they will want to ask their teacher which classic Russian books will teach them useful words for the modern world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We all go through the same sort of process when we learn a new language. At the start we have very few words and there are some situations in which we simply don\u2019t have the resources to say what we want to. As we improve then we get to a stage in which we can(\u2026)<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 text-right\">\n\t \t\t\t\t<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-xs\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/\">CONTINUE READING &raquo;<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[23,21,22],"class_list":["post-814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-language-learning","tag-language-experience","tag-learn-spanish","tag-spanish-lessons"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I) - Listen &amp; Learn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I) - Listen &amp; Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all go through the same sort of process when we learn a new language. At the start we have very few words and there are some situations in which we simply don\u2019t have the resources to say what we want to. As we improve then we get to a stage in which we can(\u2026)        CONTINUE READING &raquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Listen &amp; Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-02T04:22:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-07-03T04:24:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/\",\"name\":\"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I) - Listen &amp; Learn\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-02T04:22:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-07-03T04:24:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e374acb890d7d8ff832ab9000b12bcec\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Listen &amp; Learn\",\"description\":\"Language Courses and Language Services UK\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e374acb890d7d8ff832ab9000b12bcec\",\"name\":\"Robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6e7377b5c33c414b6535e0a7b650743?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6e7377b5c33c414b6535e0a7b650743?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Robert\"},\"description\":\"I moved from the UK to South America to save the rainforest but ended up saving myself from a boring career in banking instead. I have now worked online as a freelance writer for almost a decade, covering every subject from Bitcoin to golf and from backpacking to the smelliest kinds of cheese. Languages are my favourite subject, as they are fun to write about and I can pass on useful information too. Despite knowing approximately 3 words in Spanish when I first boarded a plane here, I have managed to survive, although with the occasional cringe-worthy misunderstanding along the way. My first Spanish classes were in Ecuador, where I also discovered what really happens to water when it goes down a drain on the equatorial line. After that, I started travelling South America and picking up as much of the language as I could. I am now married to a Bolivian and my daughter has Spanish as her first language but speaks English like a bonnie wee lassie from Braveheart. We travelled to Europe for a spell but we feel more at home here, with a laidback lifestyle and nice weather. Much of my Spanish I learned on the hoof, working in a bank in Spain and desperately trying to explain credit card charges to immigrants whose Spanish was as limited as mine. I also tried running a shop in Bolivia, which threw me in at the deep end. Nowadays, I work on my PC while learning new words from musical geniuses like Los Aut\u00e9nticos Decadentes and Celtas Cortos. My interesting career path really comes in useful at times as a freelance writer. I sometimes wonder if there is anyone else out there whose CV has UK mortgage underwriter and Bolivian pig farmer owner on it. If there is then I would love to hear from them. There is nothing better for me than settling down to type something fun that might educate or entertain the people who read it.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/admin\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/robert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I) - Listen &amp; Learn","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I) - Listen &amp; Learn","og_description":"We all go through the same sort of process when we learn a new language. At the start we have very few words and there are some situations in which we simply don\u2019t have the resources to say what we want to. As we improve then we get to a stage in which we can(\u2026)        CONTINUE READING &raquo;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/","og_site_name":"Listen &amp; Learn","article_published_time":"2013-07-02T04:22:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-07-03T04:24:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg"}],"author":"Robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Robert","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/","name":"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I) - Listen &amp; Learn","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg","datePublished":"2013-07-02T04:22:03+00:00","dateModified":"2013-07-03T04:24:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e374acb890d7d8ff832ab9000b12bcec"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/surveytoolblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/young-man-reading-a-book-0011.jpeg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/how-to-look-like-a-brainbox-in-your-second-language-part-i\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Look Like a Brainbox in Your Second Language (Part I)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/","name":"Listen &amp; Learn","description":"Language Courses and Language Services UK","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e374acb890d7d8ff832ab9000b12bcec","name":"Robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6e7377b5c33c414b6535e0a7b650743?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6e7377b5c33c414b6535e0a7b650743?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Robert"},"description":"I moved from the UK to South America to save the rainforest but ended up saving myself from a boring career in banking instead. I have now worked online as a freelance writer for almost a decade, covering every subject from Bitcoin to golf and from backpacking to the smelliest kinds of cheese. Languages are my favourite subject, as they are fun to write about and I can pass on useful information too. Despite knowing approximately 3 words in Spanish when I first boarded a plane here, I have managed to survive, although with the occasional cringe-worthy misunderstanding along the way. My first Spanish classes were in Ecuador, where I also discovered what really happens to water when it goes down a drain on the equatorial line. After that, I started travelling South America and picking up as much of the language as I could. I am now married to a Bolivian and my daughter has Spanish as her first language but speaks English like a bonnie wee lassie from Braveheart. We travelled to Europe for a spell but we feel more at home here, with a laidback lifestyle and nice weather. Much of my Spanish I learned on the hoof, working in a bank in Spain and desperately trying to explain credit card charges to immigrants whose Spanish was as limited as mine. I also tried running a shop in Bolivia, which threw me in at the deep end. Nowadays, I work on my PC while learning new words from musical geniuses like Los Aut\u00e9nticos Decadentes and Celtas Cortos. My interesting career path really comes in useful at times as a freelance writer. I sometimes wonder if there is anyone else out there whose CV has UK mortgage underwriter and Bolivian pig farmer owner on it. If there is then I would love to hear from them. There is nothing better for me than settling down to type something fun that might educate or entertain the people who read it.","sameAs":["http:\/\/admin"],"url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/robert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":818,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions\/818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}