More Fun Than Quidditch Harry Potter Language Learning

More Fun Than Quidditch Harry Potter Language Learning More Fun Than Quidditch: Harry Potter Language Learning Expecto Learnonum!Okay, maybe thats not a real spell, but it should be.After all, Harry Potter can help you learn languages, and were not just talking about Parseltongue.Of all the language learning books  on the market, its possible that none will charm you quite like the boy wizard can.You dont even have to settle for just reading the books. With audiobooks and movies out there, too, your learning options are nearly as limitless as your powers should you possess the legendary Elder Wand.So its time to cast a spell on your language learning! Heres all you need to know to improve your language skills with Harry Potter. Why Use Harry Potter for Language Learning?First of all, Harry Potter is available in a wide variety of languages. In fact, Harry Potter books are available in a total of 80 languages, ranging from widely spoken languages like French and Spanish to less common languages like Hawaiian. Youre unlikely to find many novels published in more languages than Harry Potter.Pl us, the plot will be familiar to Potter fans, so you dont need to rely as heavily on your language skills. Because you already know the story, Harry Potter can read more like an  easy language book  than other novels at its approximate difficulty level. And if youre not needing to focus as heavily on following the plot, you can dedicate your focus more to understanding the language.Not only that, the Harry Potter series will familiarize you with some less common terms that youre unlikely to encounter in your normal study routine. Wizard, werewolf, unicorn and more. While those words are fairly recognizable in English, theres a strong chance that even advanced language students dont know them in their target languages because they simply havent had a need for them yet.However, Harry Potter makes extensive use of some terms that you may be familiar with in English but not your target language, making it an excellent way to expand your vocabulary (and infuse it with a little magical fu n).Reading Harry Potter in another language also gives you fun bragging rights. Reading books in your native language is cool, but reading books in your target language  is much cooler. And with so many Potterheads out there, chances are that someone you know will be super impressed by your accomplishment. But be warned: They may ask you to share their favorite spells in your target language.As an added bonus, the books get more difficult as you go. If you arent terribly familiar with reading in a foreign language, it can be challenging at first. Luckily, since the Harry Potter books start out relatively easy before getting increasingly challenging, your skills will improve as the reading level of the books increases. You can think of it as the earlier books giving you the reading practice you need to prepare you for the later books.How to Get the Most out of Your Harry Potter Language Learning ExperienceUse multiple versions of Harry PotterThere are plenty of versions of Harry Pott er available. You might read the books, listen to the audiobooks or watch the movies. And dont worry: You wont need to use a sorting hat to choose just one to which youll be permanently bound. Instead, use as many versions of Harry Potter as you can. Reading Harry Potter can give you valuable reading practice. The audiobooks give you excellent listening practice that you can enjoy anywhere. The movies also give you listening practice with the added benefit of giving you a visual context to help understand any words or phrases you dont immediately recognize.When it comes to learning a language with Harry Potter, you cant go wrong with any of the available options, even if the movies do omit some valuable plots and scenes that definitely, definitely should have made the cut. (Not that were bitter!)Go through each book/movie in orderReading, listening or watching out of order can obviously be confusing. But beyond that, reading, listening or watching in order is a valuable way for lang uage learners to prepare themselves for whats next in the series. The books become increasingly advanced. The movies get increasingly dark. All in all, starting at the very beginning is an important way to ease yourself into the Wizarding World in your target language.Plus, starting at the beginning can familiarize you with magical vocabulary before the plots get more complex. You dont want to be trying to learn tricky vocabulary when you have to give your full focus to the Battle of Hogwarts!Have an English copy of the work handy for referenceHaving an English version of Harry Potter handy can make reading, listening or watching infinitely less intimidating. The two works can act sort of like  dual-language childrens booksâ€"you can do as much as possible in your target language, but if things get a little overwhelming, you have your trusted English version at the your fingertips to clarify things.Plus, lets be real: The goddess J.K. Rowling made up an awful lot of words and phrase s. In your native language, you can adjust to these. However, in your target language, you might not be sure when a word or phrase is invented versus when you just dont have it in your foreign vocabulary yet. Having an English copy handy can help you read through any tricky scenes in English to deduce which words and phrases are made up.Maintain a special vocabulary list to keep track of unfamiliar wordsDont let a rogue bludger throw your reading off track! Maintain a list of unfamiliar words. Better yet, consider two separate lists.One list should focus on Potter-specific words, like Quidditch vocabulary, spells, potions and charms. These words wont necessarily benefit your vocabulary in your target language. However, maintaining your own reference list can save you time when you encounter this vocabulary again.The second list should focus on vocabulary in your target language that does exist outside of the Wizarding World, like mythical creatures, magical terms and any other unfam iliar vocabulary you encounter. Then, you can look up these words in a dictionary for a more precise definition and study the terms so that you never forget them.After youve finished one book or movie, create a flashcard deck for it so you can review all the new vocabulary youve learned.Looking for a unique flashcard resource? Check out FluentU.  For the most part, FluentU is known for its authentic language videos, which  make it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news, inspiring talks and more.With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contextsâ€"the way that native speakers actually use them.Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level and topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see more examples of the word youre studying.The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes store  or  Google Play store.Read/write reviews and summaries in your target languageYour language learning doesnt need to stop when the books, audiobooks and/or movies end! Since Harry Potter is so popular, you can keep your language learning on a roll by reading and writing reviews in your target language.Harry Potter has fans all over the world, so by searching the title in your target language, you can generally find a website where users can post reviews. Read what others have to say about your favorite work, or better yet, write your own review or summary to get valuable writing practice that employs some of the awesome vocabulary you just learned.More Fun Than Quidditch: Harry Potter Language LearningThe Harry Potter BooksThe benefits of learning with the Harry Potter booksThe books of Harry Potter are available in a massive variety of languages and are one of the best Harry Potter learning tools out there.Theyre particularly ideal for language learners who have already read the novels in English. This way, youll already know what happens and when.One major benefit of learning a language with the Harry Potter novels is that theyre readily available. You dont have to shop internationally to purchase them, and while th eyre pricier than the English-language editions, they arent prohibitively expensive.Foreign language Harry Potter books are often available in print editions, which provide some additional opportunities for language learning. For instance, whenever you dont know a word and need to look it up, write its meaning in the margins of the page. That way, the next time you read through the book, if youve forgotten a word, youll already have its meaning handy.You might also want to dogear pages with your favorite quotations and underline them. Then, you can go back through and memorize your favorite lines. Not only will this be a cool party trick, it can also give you valuable models for grammar rules. Plus, you can never know Dumbledores quotable wisdom in too many languages.E-books are also widely available,  meaning you can start reading immediately and have the convenience of reading on your favorite device (which may or may not also have a handy translator on it). Plus, these e-books ar e usually more affordable than print copies.For the sake of this list, weve linked to the Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone/Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone for each language. From there, you can generally find the subsequent novels in the Customers who bought this item also bought section. You can also find additional novels by searching Harry Potter and the name of your target language.When available, weve also included the complete set.Where to find the Harry Potter books in foreign languagesPottermorePottermore, J.K. Rowlings digital company, is an unbeatable source for Harry Potter e-books in a huge array of languages.The Pottermore website also makes browsing by language easy. Simply select your language from the book language drop down menu to see books in your target language. Not all the books are available in all of the languages. However, you might also hit the jackpot and find that your target language also has the complete set of books available.Barnes NobleB arnes Noble may not be the most popular online bookseller, but if youre unsure of what language or languages you want to buy the Harry Potter books in, Barnes Noble is much easier to browse than other vendors (were giving you the side-eye, Amazon).In fact, all the foreign language Harry Potter editions are grouped together on one page. Barnes Noble offers a mixture of hard copy and downloadable NOOK books, and most of the prices are quite affordable.AmazonYouve got to love shopping on Amazon, particularly for the great prices! Here are links to editions in multiple languages:Arabic  ???? ???? ???? ????????Chinese  ????-??????French  Harry Potter à lécole des sorciersThe complete set can be purchased in French if you already know youre going to love it.German  Harry Potter und der Stein der WeisenDont worry! The complete set can be bought in German.Italian  Harry Potter e la pietra filosofaleYou can also purchase the complete set of books in Italian.Japanese  ????????????T he complete set  of Harry Potter books is available in Japanese.Korean  ????? ???? ?Portuguese  Harry Potter e a Pedra FilosofalYou can also enjoy the complete set  in Portuguese.Russian  ????? ?????? ? ??????????? ??????The complete set  of books can also be purchased in Russian. But can we just take a moment to observe the fact that Harrys name is Gary in Russian? Okay, sure, thats just how the name is translated, but it does change the feel a little.Spanish  Harry Potter y la piedra filosofalIf you cant get enough of Harry Potter in Spanish, consider buying the complete set.The Harry Potter AudiobooksThe benefits of learning with the Harry Potter audiobooksHarry Potter audiobooks are another terrific learning option.Because theyre oral readings of the books, theyre longer and feature more vocabulary than the movies. Plus, you can enjoy them hands free, making them a great companion for your next road trip or flight.To get the most out of listening to a Harry Potter audiobook, consider giving each chapter your full attention the first time you listen. Replay passages you dont understand until you can make out each word. Then, jot down any words you dont know and look them up in a dictionary. You might even keep a copy of the printed book handy and read along as you listen so that you have an easier time understanding exactly whats being said.Once youve dissected the chapter fully, listen to it again whenever you like. Since youve already familiarized yourself with the material, youll have an easier time understanding the spoken language.The main downside of Harry Potter audiobooks is that they arent as readily available as the novels themselves, so you wont have quite as many language options to choose from. Again, for each language available, weve linked to the first work in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone/Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. However, other works in the series are also available.Where to find the Harry Potter audiob ooks in foreign languagesPottermoreJ.K. Rowling is back at it again with her awesome website. Pottermore makes it easy to acquire audiobooks of Harry Potter in 10 different languages, including French, German, Italian and Japanese. You can browse the entire collection of foreign language audiobooks or filter by your language of choice.Once you purchase an audiobook, you can download it to your favorite device for easy listening. But be warned: the audiobooks are much pricier than the e-books.Other ResourcesFrench  Harry Potter à lécole des sorciersGerman  Harry Potter und der Stein der WeisenItalian  Harry Potter e la pietra filosofaleJapanese  ????????????This audiobook is found on the Japanese Audible page, so youll need some Japanese skills to navigate.Portuguese  Harry Potter e a Pedra FilosofalRussian  ????? ?????? ? ??????????? ??????This Russian audiobook is available through a Russian language website, so youll need to use your Russian skills to get to the goods. But your hard work will pay off: You can listen to audio of the entire book (and subsequent novels) for free!Spanish  Harry Potter y la piedra filosofalThe Harry Potter MoviesThe benefits of learning with the Harry Potter moviesHarry Potter movies can bring you hours of enjoyment and valuable language learning material.But while the Harry Potter movies are available dubbed into a wide array of languages, youll need to work a little harder to get your hands on them. Most of these options are only available abroad, which means youll have to either pick up DVDs on your travels or order them online and have them shipped internationally. Sometimes, you might need to use your language skills just to purchase the DVD.However, once youve used the accio charm to make the DVDs yours, there are plenty of great ways to use them for language learning.One fun way is to have a viewing party with your language learning friends. First, watch a movie in English, then watch it in your target language. T his way, it will still be fresh in your mind, making it easier to understand. And with eight Harry Potter movies, youll have plenty of material to keep your weekends full of learning fun.Where to find the Harry Potter movies in foreign languagesChinese  ????-??????French  Harry Potter à lécole des sorciersWant a fun learning resource you can use right away? This YouTube playlist  is designed to help French students learn from Harry Potter clips.German  Harry Potter und der Stein der WeisenItalian  Harry Potter e la pietra filosofaleJapanese  ????????????Korean  ????? ???? ?Portuguese  Harry Potter e a Pedra FilosofalRussian  ????? ?????? ? ??????????? ??????You can also buy the complete set of movies for DVD or Blu-RaySpanish  Harry Potter y la piedra filosofalGuess what? You might already have the Spanish dubbed DVD in your collection! Thats because this widescreen edition comes with Spanish dubbing and subtitles. Just adjust your settings and enjoy!Whether youre a full- blood, half-blood or muggle, Harry Potter might be just the magic you need to make your language skills soar like you just got a new Nimbus 2000.