Homeschooling French As a Second Language - Using a Dictionary to Build Vocabulary

When you have access to a good quality, comprehensive, French-English dictionary, you open up a world of possibilities to your French as a Second Language students. Vocabulary building is an important part of language learning, and having a good dictionary makes it easy and fun.

What dictionary should you buy? I highly recommend investing in the biggest and best one you can afford. Small paperback and pocket dictionaries just don't have all the information you will need. A larger version, on the other hand, will contain conjugations, grammar, word histories, examples of world usage, and even sample letters and phrases to help you in conversation and composition.

Having a comprehensive dictionary allows you to build your French lessons based on other topics that you may be studying. If you are studying the continents of the world, for example, you can look them up and label them on your map in both French and English.

As you work through your history or science lessons, you can also do themed projects in French, such as booklets, posters, and oral presentations using the vocabulary of the specific areas you are working on. You might assign, for example, a poster on the mammals of North America. Your students can label their projects in English and French to double up on the learning potential.

One favorite project, when I taught my middle school classes, was always a restaurant menu. In our unit on food, students would make themed menus, designing colorful covers, inventing interesting restaurant names, and listing off the various meats, vegetables, beverages, and other foods they were learning about. Some students chose a sports theme, some a garden theme, etc. As a follow-up we would use the menus to act out a visit to the restaurant.

Having a comprehensive dictionary allows you to follow areas of interest to your children such as soccer, basketball, animals, cooking, etc. For a few years, I taught a group of homeschooled boys in my home once a week. One of our projects was learning about hockey equipment. I brought out my son's smelly hockey gear and spread it around my kitchen and we named each piece. Then the boys drew pictures of hockey players, labelling their equipment. It was great fun, and the boys were motivated because it was a topic they were interested in.

Are you planning your vegetable garden for next spring? Map out where you will plant your beans, tomatoes, etc. and label it in French. Do you feed the birds in your backyard? Make a checklist in French of birds that are common to your area and check off each bird as you see it. Are you making a fun dessert for the family? Find the recipe in French and see if it tastes just as good!

With a comprehensive French-English dictionary, you can make French a relevant and fun part of your homeschool curriculum.

If you are interested in adding French as a Second Language to your homeschool, or are looking for teaching aids for your French classroom, take advantage of the free resources available at http://nallenart.org/. Norma Allen is a veteran homeschooler and curriculum writer who has also taught French either in the classroom or online for over 25 years.

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Using A Dream Dictionary

The use of a dream dictionary can be a very useful tool in interpreting dreams. A dream dictionary is usually a listing of common symbols that appear in dreams and a short description of what these symbols often indicate. In many dreams where there is a prevalent symbol, it is very worthwhile to use a dream dictionary to interpret your dream.

For those who have a particular symbol that appears repeatedly in their dreams, a dream dictionary may provide them with some insight into what the symbol means. Once you understand what the symbol means, it is often easy to make the connection to what is going on in your life that is making your subconscious project this image in your dreams.

The caveat to using a dream dictionary is that the symbols found in these dictionaries do not necessarily have to be symbolic in your particular dream. One example is when there are images of ice in your dream. While ice may have certain symbolic meanings, it doesn't always have to have the meaning indicated in the dream dictionary.

Other factors such as a recent snowfall or setting the thermostat a little too low could also be reasons for dreaming of ice. A dream dictionary can provide a great deal of insight but it is important that you realize that not everything in your dream has to have a symbolic meaning.

Todd runs the Dream Interpretations Guide website where you can find a large free online dream dictionary. Check it out today at: http://dreaminterpretationsguide.com

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How To Learn Spanish Online Using A Spanish Dictionary

In this article you will discover how to learn Spanish online using a Spanish dictionary. In my last article, I told you about an American friend who was attempting to express to his new in-laws that he was he was going to support and help his new wife. But he mistakenly said in Spanish that he would "tolerate" his new wife.

That's because he used the phrase "Voy a soportarla." In the Spanish language, the verb "soportar" means to tolerate or to bear. After writing that article, one reader emailed me and said:

"Patrick, it appears that you are using a regional definition of the verb 'soportar.' When I looked in my dictionary the first definition that I saw for the verb 'soportar' is 'to support.'"

In response to that email, I want you to know that a common mistake that many intermediate and advanced students of Spanish make is to continue to use the same dictionary that they used when they first started learning Spanish.

If you want to become fluent in Spanish, then you MUST use a dictionary that is entirely in Spanish. I have several Spanish only dictionaries. The one that I highly recommend is:

Diccionario Esencial de la Lengua Espanola de la Real Academia Espanola (Spanish Edition)

The Real Academia Espanola (Royal Spanish Academy) is the official royal institution that is in charge of managing the Spanish language. Their dictionary is highly regarded by Spanish professors throughout Latin America and Spain.

The definition that I found in the dictionary for the Real Academia Espanola (Royal Spanish Academy) for "soportar" is:

1. Sostener o llevar sobre si una carga o peso.

2. Sufrir (aguantar, tolerar).

Neither definition even remotely resembles the English verb "to support." If I translate the two above Spanish definitions for "soportar" the word means:

1. to sustain, to hold

2. to tolerate

If you want to learn Spanish online, there's no need to pay "dinero" for the Diccionario Esencial de la Lengua Espanola de la Real Academia Espanola. The Real Academia Espanola has an on-line dictionary completely free. You can just Google "Diccionario Esencial de la Lengua Espanola de la Real Academia Espanola" in order to find the URL for their online version of their Spanish dictionary.

Pat Jackson is the Founder of Learning Spanish Like Crazy. If you would like to get FREE Instant access to the first 2 lessons of Learning Spanish Like Crazy or sign up for our FREE online interactive weekly Spanish classes, then go here now: http://www.LearningSpanishLikeCrazy.com/

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Try Using An Offline Dream Dictionary

While you can certainly find a dream dictionary online, one of the best sources for finding an accurate dream dictionary from a reputable source is to buy a published book from a bookstore. Although you may find a very useful dream dictionary on the Internet there are some advantages to using a published dream dictionary including accuracy that you can count on existing.

One of the major advantages that a published dream dictionary holds over an online dictionary is there is much less research involved in choosing a dream dictionary. There are many published dream dictionaries that are commercially available and it is highly likely that they all contain accurate information.

When choosing between online dream dictionaries, the research usually involves determining which dream dictionary is most accurate but when you are choosing between several published dream dictionaries you are usually trying to determine which dream dictionary is the most comprehensive. The advantage is that you can expect accurate content and the biggest concerns include how well the dream dictionary is organized and how inclusive it is in terms of symbols.

Many online book sellers allow reader to rate the books that they sell and these user ratings can be useful in determining which dream dictionary to purchase.

Todd runs the Dream Interpretations Guide website where you can find a large free online dream dictionary. Check it out today at: http://dreaminterpretationsguide.com

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ADVICE Using Hand Held Dictionaries

Hand held are dictionaries are very popular these days. There are many different types and many different ways that you can benefit from them. I mean, when have you ever been out and thought "I could use a dictionary" but you don't have a book with you? We can't always carry a dictionary in our back pocket? Or, can we?

With a hand held electronic dictionary, you can have a dictionary in your back pocket at all times. Whether you are in medical school and it is a medical dictionary, or if you are in a foreign country and it is a language dictionary, you can use a hand held dictionary to your benefit.

What Are Hand Held Dictionaries?

Hand held electronic dictionaries come in many different types and forms and are great because they are portable. You can have your dictionary with you at any time. Whatever type that you have, you can benefit from having it with you. Whether it is a pocket PC or cell phone technology, you can have instant information at your fingertips.

How They Can Benefit You

You might be able to benefit from a hand held dictionary in the same way that Tom did. Tom was Executive Coordinator for his business and he was often asked to make speeches and give live reports of what was happening in his business. Well, Tom had been public speaking for a long time and he felt pretty confident in front of his colleagues but writing was not his strong point.

He sometimes went through stress while writing his speeches and reports and sometimes spent hours with a dictionary, a thesaurus and a word processing program to get it all right. But once, while at a business conference in Atlanta , he was asked to fill in for someone who fell sick and give a speech in front of the entire convention. While being in front of people did not bother him, the actual speech writing was a bit of a problem.

So while stuck in his hotel room preparing at the last minute, he got a great idea partly out of desperation. He ran out to the store and purchased a hand held dictionary which helped him write his speech in less than 45 minutes. The next morning he gave a fantastic and intelligent speech and shortly after was offered a promotion. Now his hand held electronic dictionary goes everywhere with him. How can a hand held electronic dictionary help you?

Daniel J Lesser is the creator of http://www.best-electronic-dictionary.com
A whole world awaits with the right words in your hands.
Find out how you can expand your horizons at best-electronic-dictionary.com

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Using an Online Dictionary As a Writing Resource

It used to be that a writer needed a fixed base. A place to call their own. Not because they actually needed one to write in you understand. What they needed was a place to store their dictionary and thesaurus. After all, carrying a 20-volume copy of the Oxford dictionary was likely to give one a major backache or worse!

But all that has changed!

Writers are no longer tied to their desks and their bookshelves. With the advent of netbooks, tablets and laptops, the portable author can take his bookshelf with him. But even that can be cumbersome as discs go missing and need to be stored in a binder.

The presence of internet hotspots has removed even that restriction. Now the author can find an internet connection in almost any coffee shop. Usually for free.

And that means that online dictionaries are available as a writing resource even for the portable author.

There are many online dictionaries available. Of course, the major dictionaries are all online. Merriam-Webster, Oxford, Collins, Random House. All are available online. In addition, there are a number of other specialist or lesser dictionaries also available. And of course, there are dictionaries that exist solely on the internet. Even Google has a dictionary available.

Most of the online dictionaries also include connections to other related tools such as a thesaurus or an etymological dictionary. Even pronunciation aids and translation aids are available.

Using an online dictionary is very simple. The easiest method is to use Google and the search "define term" where term is the word you wish to define. You'll get a list of dictionaries that you can choose from. For example, if you search "define word" you'll get a list of definitions of the term "word".

But for a writer you may want to use only one dictionary.

My own preference is the Oxford dictionary (not the OED unfortunately) if I am writing for an audience outside the U.S., but Merriam-Webster for an audience within the U.S.

Whichever dictionary you chose the process is remarkably similar.

It begins by signing on to the dictionary's website. Once there, you will normally find a search field. Enter the term you wish to search and press the search button.

Depending on the website, the result will be either a list of alternatives, a combined definition plus other references, or the default reference entry for the website, which is usually a definition.

However, most of the websites also include a menu of different resources. For example, Merriam-Webster has a Dictionary, Thesaurus, Spanish-English dictionary, and Medical Dictionary available. In this case, you can pick the most suitable lexicon.

Do you want to learn how to write a book in 24 hours? Take my brand new free course here: http://www.learningcreators.com

Do you want to read more free information like this? Go to my blog: http://www.learningcreators.com/blog/

Glen Ford is an accomplished consultant, trainer and writer. He has far too many years experience as a trainer and facilitator to willingly admit.

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