Reward True Stories: How to learn a new language in three months
Learning a language opens many doors and has the added perk of giving you much more benefit from your travels. Meet Leora who learnt Finnish in just three months.
Learning a language doesn’t need to be difficult. So why not go for it? With WordDive you can learn a new language in three months, with courses tailored to those who like to travel.
WordDive is perfect for busy people
One of many satisfied users of WordDive is Dutch-Iranian Leora Sameni, who currently lives in The Hague in the Netherlands. Having a husband and child and a demanding job doesn’t really allow much time to attend courses in the evenings, but the app is helping her make her dream of speaking another language come true.
“I am hoping to start a business one day in Helsinki,” says Leora, who has a passion for Nordic languages – and Swedish furniture design.
A quicker way of learning
Leora Sameni already speaks several languages, including Norwegian, after having lived in Oslo for a period of time, and she speaks English like a native. Now she is intent on learning Finnish with the help of WordDive.
WordDive offers a quicker way of learning a new language than the more traditional methods. All the material has been developed by experts and the app uses artificial intelligence to adapt to the user’s progress. In just three months, WordDive users can conduct conversations in their new language.
Finnish is so poetic!
Finnish is a difficult language in many people’s opinion, but not in Leora’s; “Finnish is such a beautiful, raw, but poetic language. It tells the story of the people and their ways. It made me fall in love with Finland,” she says, while thanking the app for her new-found linguistic abilities.
“I just love the WordDive app. I like to have everything I need with me on my smartphone,” admits Leora, whilst applauding the app for being both interactive and inspiring.
“You can sense that it was created by linguists. The app makes language available to everyone. As a language enthusiast, I love that,” says Leora. “And I love the fact that it encourages me to set up new goals as I go along, and that I am rewarded every time I manage to reach a new level.”
Three hours a week for three months
Leora tries to take a Finnish lesson or two as often as she can, but it’s not always possible given her busy everyday life.
“At one point I had to take a month’s break, but I found it was easy to pick it up again very quickly,” says our language enthusiast.
Leora tells us that after a period of three months with the Finnish course, she learned the everyday language and could have conversations about things like food, clothing, health and traffic.
“WordDive helps me put a lot of effort into my Finnish pronunciation too, which is now near perfect – if I may be so arrogant about it,” Leora laughs. She spends about three hours a week on the language app and also regularly reads the WordDive blog. “The blog is both fun and useful,” she adds.
Learn a language, exercise the mind
Learning a new language is good for your mind. It keeps you on your toes, which in turn helps keep the brain healthy.
“It also changes your brain temporarily, I think. I am a near native English speaker, and I found that while my Finnish was getting better, my English was kind of deteriorating for a while. But then it adjusts itself again. I think it’s your brain reprogramming itself,” says Leora.
Troublesome idioms
All languages have their own idioms, or fixed expressions, where it’s difficult to interpret the meaning from the individual words themselves. This can cause any number of complications. Like when you want to wish someone luck by saying “break a leg,” some non-native English speakers might wonder why you want them to get injured…
You’ll learn many phrases from the language courses, but here are a few idioms that are easily misunderstood:
Spanish-English
When Spaniards want to go all out, they may say, “Tirar la casa por la ventana”, which would literally mean “Throw the house out the window,” in English.
German-English
If a German feels something doesn’t really matter, or makes no difference either way, he or she might say, “Das ist mir wurst.” Literally translated to English this would mean “It’s all sausage to me.”
French-English
When something is very easy, you might say, “I can do it with my eyes closed” or “with my hands tied behind my back.” In French, you can say “Je pourrais le faire les doigts dans le nez !” meaning “I can do it with my fingers in my nose!”
Learn a language, earn CashPoints
The WordDive app has been developed to make learning more fun and more efficient. You choose your language objectives and receive specially adapted courses, from Beginner to Advanced. Plus, you earn CashPoints if you buy a language course from WordDive.
Don’t give up the hope of speaking a language you really want to learn. Go for it! Learn a new language with WordDive and earn CashPoints, too, so that you can travel for less and practice it even quicker.