11 Bloody Brilliant British English PhrasesKaroline Schnur, linguistics expert at Babbel\\n
As you might expect in a language learning company, almost everyone who works at Babbel is multilingual. I say almost because I’m not one of them (yet). Like many native English speakers, my attempts to learn a second language in school were in vain. I have now reached an intermediate conversational level in German, but it’s nothing compared to my international colleagues. Every day I hear people walking around the office speaking dozens of different languages, code switching in conversations with different colleagues, and translating their funny idioms into English. But even among the serial language learners at Babbel, you’ll never find someone poring over French 101 textbooks, cramming themselves to fluency.\n
That’s because the central principle of the Babbel language learning approach is that people should spend about 15 minutes per day\ studying a new language. This is surprisingly short compared to the length of time university students are expected to study a language nightly (~90 minutes). So how are people at Babbel picking up new languages even though they’re putting in less time than I spent cramming Spanish verb conjugation in high school? I sat down with one of Babbel’s linguistic experts, Karoline Schnur, to find out how 15-minute language lessons are all you need to become proficient in a new language.\n
Karoline started off by explaining the central principle behind the Babbel learning approach: “If you read a lot of information, you won’t be able to absorb everything. We call this information overload or cognitive overload.” She explained that the brain is a master at deciding what information in our daily lives is important and what is background noise. This background information is tossed out, and never makes it into our long-term memory. Great for guiding our day-to-day lives, but not so great for language learning.\n
Karoline was also keen to dispel the myths about cramming, or b\inge learning: “This is when you have a big test coming up so you sit down and try to learn everything that you need to know. But how much do you remember after a week? Probably not that much.” Instead of worrying about trying to do a lot all at once, it’s actually more important to repeat a smaller portion of information more frequently. She continued, “To get something into long term memory, you must make connections and repeat it. Repetition is really important in language learning.”\n
Fortunately, the Babbel App was specifically designed with the limitations of human memory in mind. Fifteen minutes corresponds well with the principle of “chunking” in psychology — our brains work best at absorbing around seven new things at a time. As Karoline explained, “If you think about the capacity of your brain to digest around seven chunks of new information, the time is a clear limit. From our Babbel perspective, if you start with a new lesson with a few bits of information, that takes about 15 minutes. Then you can go into repetition: Repeat 10 previous items and you need less than 5 minutes for that.”\n
Sounds easy enough, right?\n
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\n With some of the science behind the Babbel approach under our belt, it was time to see how the app reinforced this approach. According to Karoline, “We have repetition built into the lessons with different exercises and different contexts, so that you make these connections.” While you may first encounter a certain set of vocabulary in the beginner courses, these words will also pop up in later dialogue practices — and not just in the obvious contexts. For example, a course on talking about young children will not only feature the standard vocabulary of child-rearing, but will also have words related to seniors, construction and noise. This is because our world is dynamic, and it’s important to recall these words at any time — not just at the kindergarten!\n Because repetition is so important, the Babbel App has a Review Manager that’s designed solely for repeating information and getting it into your long-term memory. When talking about the rationale behind this approach, Karoline explained, “This also comes from psychology, and it’s based on time intervals. Each time you repeat something and get it correct, it will move up a step.” When using the app, you’ll notice that items come up for review not only right after a lesson is completed, but in the days and weeks that follow. She continued, “If you keep getting it correct, the time until you see it again expands. After all those steps are done, we say, ‘OK, this is in your long-term memory.’” In this way, Babbel isn’t just helping you memorize vocabulary, but truly learn a language.\n
With only 15 minutes to study each day, I was eager to ask Karoline for any tips she could give me to best use my time. “If you take a moment to determine where you have more time and where you have less time, you can choose your lesson accordingly. At Babbel, we’ve designed our lessons so that they fit perfectly into those times when you’re waiting or commuting.” Many users (including lots of employees here at Babbel) use the app while on public transportation, especially on their way to work. It’s the perfect use of an otherwise boring stretch of time.\n
Karoline noted that learners can adapt their studying to their personality type. “There are two types of language learners: those who like routines and those who don’t. The ones who like routines can make up their own schedule, like two sets of repetition and one new lesson, and they stick to it. Then there are ones that don’t like routines. It’s no problem, they just don’t do the same thing every day.” She suggested that these types of people can choose to dedicate some days to only repetition (which isn’t a lost day, because you didn’t forget anything!), and other days to just new lessons, or whatever ratio they prefer.\n
She also recommended that one day per week should focus on applying the language to real life:\n“If there’s a Spanish restaurant in your city, why not greet them with ‘Hola!‘ or try ordering in Spanish? If that’s unavailable where you live, the internet still provides a lot of places to read the language, or listen to a podcast, or to find an online community where you can communicate with others. To apply is the best way to really get the information into long-term memory.”\n
If you plan on using the language in real life (which is the goal, isn’t it?), then you should actually put it to use.\n
As for Karoline’s final tip: “The\ most important thing is to do something every day. Even if it’s just 10 minutes, it’s better than nothing because you made connections.” While spending a full 15 minutes on lessons and taking time to review should be the goal for language learning, the key to proficiency in another language is daily practice. With this consistency, you’ll be speaking a new language in no time.\n»,»excerpt»:»
How long should you practice a new language every day? We sat down with one of our linguistics experts here at Babbel to find out why our app gets you speaking a new language in only 15 minutes of study per day.\n»,»metadata»:{«dateGmt»:»2018-03-25T16:27:25″,»guid»:{«rendered»:»https://www.babbel.com/»},»modifiedGmt»:»2020-02-18T15:17:30″,»status»:»publish»,»type»:»post»,»link»:»https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/learn-language-20-minutes»,»author»:24,»featuredMedia»:40912,»commentStatus»:»closed»,»pingStatus»:»closed»,»sticky»:false,»template»:»»,»format»:»standard»,»meta»:{«ampStatus»:»»,»spayEmail»:»»,»babbelOpenGraphDescription»:»»,»babbelOpenGraphImage»:0,»babbelOpenGraphTitle»:»»},»categories»:[2069],»tags»:[],»postTemplate»:[],»ystProminentWords»:[11292,2333,6205,11291,11289,2452,11287,11288,2326,11085,2324,2332,11290,11286,5870,2468,11294,11295,11293,2336],»jetpackFeaturedMediaUrl»:»https://i2.wp.com/cms.babbel.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/updated-A8A9553_Karoline_facebook-1200×628.png?fit=1200%2C628&strip=none&ssl=1″,»coauthors»:[{«id»:»6888″,»displayName»:»Claire Larkin»,»firstName»:»Claire»,»lastName»:»Larkin»,»slug»:»claire-larkin»,»relativePath»:»/en/magazine/contributors/claire-larkin»,»absolutePath»:»https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/contributors/claire-larkin»,»description»:» Claire Larkin was born and raised in Arizona before jumping ship and moving to Berlin in 2017. While she studied political science and history in university, she now spends her time writing and editing for Babbel Magazine. In her free time, Claire likes to watch all kinds of science fiction, give astrology readings, and hoard wool to stay warm during German winters.\n»,»descriptions»:{«en»:» Claire Larkin was born and raised in Arizona before jumping ship and moving to Berlin in 2017. While she studied political science and history in university, she now spends her time writing and editing for Babbel Magazine. In her free time, Claire likes to watch all kinds of science fiction, give astrology readings, and hoard wool to stay warm during German winters.\n»,»de»:» Claire Larkin ist in Arizona geboren und aufgewachsen, bevor sie 2017 nach Berlin zog. Obwohl sie Politikwissenschaft und Geschichte studiert hat, verbringt sie jetzt ihre Zeit damit, für das Babbel Magazin zu schreiben. In ihrer Freizeit schaut sie gerne alle Arten von Sci-Fi, erstellt Horoskope und hamstert Wolle, um im deutschen Winter warm zu bleiben.\n»,»fr»:» Claire Larkin est née et a grandi en Arizona avant de faire le grand saut et d’emménager à Berlin en 2017. Après avoir étudié les sciences politiques et l’histoire à l’université, elle se consacre maintenant à l’écriture pour le Babbel Magazine. Dans ses temps libres, Claire regarde toutes sortes de films de science-fiction, aime dresser des thèmes astraux et collectionne les pelotes de laine pour survivre aux hivers allemands.\n»,»it»:» Claire è nata e cresciuta in Arizona e si è trasferita a Berlino nel 2017. Ha studiato Scienze Politiche e Storia e ora scrive per il magazine di Babbel. Nel suo tempo libero ama i film di fantascienza, l’astrologia e i maglioni di lana che la riparano dal freddo inverno berlinese.\n»,»pt»:» Claire Larkin nasceu e cresceu no Arizona, mas em 2017 fez as malas e se mudou para Berlim. Apesar de ter estudado Ciências Políticas e História, ela agora se dedica a editar e escrever artigos para a Revista da Babbel. Além da paixão por palavras, ela também adora assistir todo tipo de ficção científica, lê mapa astral para seus amigos e ainda tricota para se manter quente no inverno alemão.\n»,»pl»:» Claire Larkin urodziła się i wychowała w Stanach Zjednoczonych. W Berlinie mieszka od 2017 roku. Na studiach fascynowały ją stosunki międzynarodowe i historia. Teraz z pasją tworzy i redaguje Magazyn Babbel. W wolnych chwilach Claire uwielbia oglądać filmy science fiction, sporządzać horoskopy i robić zapasy wełny w oczekiwaniu na mroźną berlińską zimę.\n»,»es»:»
Claire nació en Arizona y se mudó a Berlín en 2017. Estudió ciencias políticas e historia y ahora pasa su tiempo escribiendo para la revista Babbel. Entre sus mayores aficiones están la ciencia ficción, la astrología y una gran colección de lana para mantenerse abrigada durante los inviernos alemanes.\n»,»sv»:» Claire Larkin växte upp i Arizona och flyttade till Berlin 2017. Hon studerade statsvetenskap och historia på universitetet och jobbar nu som skribent och redaktör på Babbel Magazine. 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Americans often find the way people from the United Kingdom speak and write amusing, and vice versa. The slight variations in spelling, the delightfully silly words used for common objects, and of course, accents\. But we also have a lot of questions about the differences between American and British English. How did the same language diverge in such a distinct way? Why do we spell things differently? And what’s the deal with “soccer” versus “football”?\n
In the \video above\, we had an American and Brit attempt to answer some of the most commonly Googled questions about the differences between American and British English. Here we’ll answer them with a bit more detail, with sources for you to dive even deeper.\n
It depends \which British accent\ you want; there are “loads” to choose from! A common accent in pop culture you’ve probably heard is the \Cockney\ accent, which is primarily spoken by working class people in London. Some key features are pronouncing “TH” sounds as “F” sounds and dropping the “H” at the beginning of words (i.e. \‘oliday\ instead of “Holiday”). The Cockney way of speaking also used an elaborate \rhyming slang\.\n
You may also enjoy a more proper or “posh” English accent — what’s known as Received Pronunciation or the Queen’s English. Historically, this accent has been a signal of superior social status. The indicators of this accent include a clear pronunciation of the “H” at the beginning of words, an inaudible “r” sound within words (like “heart”), and long vowels (making “darling” sound like “dahhhhhling”).\n
While it’s probably obvious why other parts of the world call the sport “football” (what with all the kicking of balls), you may wonder why the United States calls it “soccer” instead. Believe it or not, the word “soccer” actually \originated in Great Britain\. \n
In the 1800s, British universities began playing different variations of the medieval game known as football. One of these versions of the game was called “association football,” which Brits called “soccer” for short. When the game was brought over to America, it was still called “soccer” and that name stuck. The Brits used “soccer” and “football” interchangeably to describe the game between 1960 and 1980, but then switched almost exclusively to “football” due to the American connotations associated with “soccer,” ironically enough.\n
One of the most common and noticeable spelling differences between American and British English is the use (or lack of use) of the letter “u” in words like “colour” and “honour.” To Americans, the “u” seems unnecessary and a bit old fashioned. How did this change occur? It was all thanks to a man whose name you’ve almost definitely heard: Noah Webster.\n
Webster wanted to make American English more distinct, in order to take control of the language from the British. In his \earliest dictionaries\, Webster removed the extra “u” from words and switched “re” to “er” at the end of words like “theater.”\n
When people search this question, they are probably referring to “black pudding,” which is a type of blood sausage popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It’s generally made from pork blood, pork or beef fat, as well as cereal grains or oats. Black pudding is a staple of the traditional \“full English breakfast”\ or “fry-up,” which usually also includes fried eggs, sausages, back bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, potatoes and toast.\n
We’ve already described some of the key differences in the answers above, but there are many other features that set the two \dialects\ apart. Let’s dive deeper into some of these differences.\n
It’s difficult to make clear distinctions between U.S. and U.K. accents when there is such a wide variety of accents within both the U.S. and the U.K. A Texan and a New Yorker are both Americans, but have very different accents. The same goes for British accents in London, Manchester and Glasgow.\n
However, some very general distinctions can be made. Americans usually pronounce every “r” in a word, while the British tend to only pronounce the “r” when it’s the first letter of a word.\n There are also differences between American and British English in the areas of spelling, vocabulary and grammar. Here are just some of the examples.\n
The Babbel Approach\n
A Scientific Approach That W\orks\n
Our Tips And Tricks For Language Learning\n
1. Learning on the go\n
2. Find the right learning pattern for you\n
3. Build confidence through practice\n
4. Make a habit of daily learning\n
How Do You Speak With A British Accent?\n
Why Does America Call Football “Soccer”?\n
Why Does American English Drop The “U”?\n
What Is British Pudding?\n
What Are The Differences Between British And American English?\n
Accent\n
Spelling\n