Speaking is usually the #1 weakness for all Cantonese learners. This is a common issue among language learners everywhere. The reason for this is obvious: When language learners first start learning a language, they usually start with reading. They read online articles, books, information on apps and so on. If they take a class, they spend 20% of their time repeating words, and 80% of the time reading the textbook, doing homework or just listening to a teacher. So, if you spend most of your time reading instead of speaking, you might get better at reading but your speaking skills never grow. You get better at what you focus on.

So if you want to improve you speaking skills, you need to spend more of your study time on speaking. Here are five tips to help you get started:

1. Read out loud
If you’re listening to a lesson and reading along, read out loud. Then re-read and speed up your tempo. Do this again and again until you can speak faster. Try your best to pronounce the words correctly, but don’t obsess about it. Read swiftly, emote and put some inflection on the sentences. Reading aloud helps to train the muscles of your mouth and diaphragm to produce unfamiliar words and sounds.

2. Prepare things to say ahead of time.
As you may know from experience, most learners run out of things to say. But, if you prepare lines ahead of time, you won’t be at a loss for words in conversations. This will help you not only to learn how to say the words, but how to say them in the right context. A good way to prepare yourself before conversations is with our Top 25 Questions Series, which teaches you how to ask the most common conversational questions, and how to answer them, in Cantonese:

Click here to learn the top 25 Cantonese questions you need to know.

3. Use shadowing (repeat the dialogues as you hear them).
Shadowing is an extremely useful tool for increasing fluency as well as improving your accent and ability to be understood. Shadowing helps create all the neural connections in your brain to produce those words and sentences quickly and accurately without having to think about it. Also, as mentioned in tip #1, shadowing helps develop the muscle memory in all the physical parts responsible for the production of those sounds. Depending on what your primary and target languages are, it’s quite likely that there are a lot of sounds your mouth just isn’t used to producing. Shadowing can be done, for example, when watching TV shows or movies or listening to music.

Each one of our lessons begins with a dialogue. Try to shadow the conversation line by line, and you’ll be mastering it in no time.

Click here to for a FREE taste of our Absolute Beginner series!

4. Review again and again.
This is the key to perfection, and we can’t emphasize it enough. Most learners don’t review! If you review and repeat lines again and again, you’ll be speaking better, faster and with more confidence.

5. DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES!
You’d be surprised by how many people try to avoid talking! The more you speak, the faster you learn – and that is why you’re learning Cantonese. Practice speaking every chance you get: whether it’s ordering coffee, shopping or asking for directions.

Hello Listener,

You’ll want to know about these 2 new Cantonese learning tools and features. They’re great for reviewing, motivation and progress. One is an unofficial sneak peek.

So what are they? The brand new Achievement Badges and the Word Bank! And… if you want to master Cantonese, unlock our proven learning system at 26% OFF and get a Bonus 6.5-hour Audiobook!

In this month’s newsletter:

1. Ends Friday! Learn Cantonese with 26% OFF & a FREE Audiobook!
No school. No stress. Learn Cantonese at your pace and start speaking in minutes with effective lessons! ‘Til Friday only, get 26% OFF any 1- or 2-year plan and a BONUS Cantonese Audiobook as a 2-for-1 deal. You get access to 110+ hours of audio and video lessons by teachers, lesson notes, motivational progress stats, apps, study tools and more. Just $2.96/month and up to $62.40 OFF. Hurry! Ends Friday, 8/28/2015!

Click here to learn Cantonese and get 26% OFF. Up to $62.40 in savings.
(The free 6.5-hour Cantonese audiobook will be inside your welcome email)

2. NEW Feature! Learn and Stay Motivated with NEW Achievement Badges
Learning Cantonese? You deserve recognition and motivation. So, if you’re a Premium PLUS member… you can now unlock new badges as your Cantonese improves. Your Premium PLUS teacher will give out badges as you complete weekly assignments. The result? You master more Cantonese, unlock badges for your progress, and stay motivated to keep going.

Click here to learn about the Premium PLUS Achievement Badges!

3. Here’s a Sneak Peek at the Newly Redesigned Word Bank!
We haven’t fully announced this yet… but here’s a sneak peek! The Word Bank – your personal collection of words and phrases – is better than ever. What’s new? First, a shiny new design. You can sort and manage your vocab and phrases with custom labels. Turn transliteration on and off. And feel free to print out your entries as physical study material or export them as files! Not a Premium member? Take advantage of the 26% discount by Friday.

Premium Users: Click here to access the New Word Bank!
(Note: You must be logged in to access this)

To your fluency,
Team CantoneseClass101

P.S. We’re giving you a BONUS 6.5-Hour Audiobook. Get 26% OFF by Friday!
No school or textbooks necessary to learn Cantonese! In fact, you get a FREE Audiobook when you get 26% OFF any 1- or 2-year plan. Master Cantonese in LESS time with this 2-for-1 deal! Unlock our learning system – over 110 hours of audio and video lesson by real teachers and more! Just $2.96/month and up to $62.40 OFF. Hurry! Ends Friday, 8/28/2015!

Ends Friday! Click here to learn Cantonese and Get 26% OFF!
(Your FREE Audiobook will instantly be available in your welcome email)

There are plenty of destinations where you can get by with English, but sometimes you want to do better than just ‘get by’. Here are 6 reasons you should learn the basics of the language of your next trip destination.

1. You will be able to discover your destination better than other tourists.
Getting by is one thing, but actually experiencing a trip abroad is quite another. No amount of guidebooks and online research can compensate for a basic lack of language ability. Speaking the language of your destination permits you to explore that destination beyond the regular tourist traps. Your language skills will not only allow you to dig into all the hidden gems of your destination, but they will also allow you to mingle with the locals to get a true experience on your holiday. Think of it this way: you’re not restricted to talking to the people at the tourist desk anymore.

2. Knowing how to communicate with local police or medical personnel can be life-saving.
Before you leave for your destination, make sure you learn how to ask for help in that destination’s local tongue. Do you know how to ask the waiter if this dish has peanuts in it? Or tell your host family that you’re allergic to fish? Can you tell the local doctor where it hurts? Moreover, an awareness of an environment improves your chance of remaining safe inside it. For example, walking around a busy marketplace, dazzled by an unfamiliar language, signs and accents will instantly render any tourist a more attractive mark for pickpockets. Communicating with other people, asking questions and looking confident will make you look like a semi-local yourself, and will ward off potential thieves.

Click here for Cantonese Survival Phrases that will help you in almost every situation

3. It helps you relax.
Traveling is much less stressful when you understand what that announcement at the airport was saying, or if this bus line reaches your hotel. These things stress you out when traveling and they disappear when you understand the language. This allows you to focus on planning your trip in a better, easier way.

4. Speaking the language can provide you with a way to get to know people you’d never otherwise have the opportunity to speak with.
Sometimes those relationships turn into friendships, and other times they’re nothing more than a lively conversation. Either way, as Nelson Mandela said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” When you approach someone – even staff at a store or restaurant – with English, rather than their own language, an invisible divide has already been erected. Making even a small effort to communicate in the language of the place you’re visiting can go a long way and you’ll find many more doors open up to you as a result.

Click here for the Top 25 Cantonese Questions you need to know to start a conversation with anyone

5. You’ll be a better ambassador for your country.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we know very little about other countries and cultures, especially the local politics. And what we do know is often filtered to us by the media, which tends to represent only certain interests. When you can speak the local language, you’re able to answer questions that curious locals have about your country and culture. Are you frustrated with how your country is presented in global news? Are you embarrassed by your country’s leaders and want to make it clear that not everyone is like that where you’re from? This is a very good opportunity to share your story with people who have no one else to ask. We all have a responsibility to be representatives of the place we come from.

6. Learning another language can fend off Alzheimer’s, keep your brain healthy and generally make you smarter.
For more information, check out this blog post about the 5 Benefits of Learning a New Language.

Hello Listener,

(This is all about new achievement badges at CantoneseClass101. Keep reading!)

Let’s say you JUST finished a Cantonese lesson. For example, an assignment like…

• You write a self-introduction in Cantonese
• You record your self-introduction via audio or video
• You send an image to your teacher that’s related to Cantonese
• …or you complete a weekly writing task

Then, you send it over. Your CantoneseClass101 teacher checks it. Approves it.

Ding! You get a new achievement badge for your hard work. It’s your mark of progress. It definitely sends a burst of Cantonese learning motivation into your brain!

What does this mean? It’s proof that your Cantonese is improving, as confirmed by a real Cantonese teacher. Real proof that you’re well on your way to mastering the language. And it’s an awesome way to stay confident and motivated in your learning journey.

It also means achievement badges are now available at CantoneseClass101. You’re learning Cantonese. You deserve recognition and motivation. So, if you’re a Premium PLUS member, you can now unlock badges as you level up your Cantonese. Your Premium PLUS teacher will give out badges as you complete new assignments!

Click here to visit My Teacher at CantoneseClass101!
(For Premium PLUS users: Complete assignments and get badges from your teacher)

Listeners, this is something many of you have been asking for.

Alright, how does this work and how can you unlock badges?
CantoneseClass101 Badges are currently available to Premium PLUS subscribers. Don’t worry, more are on the way for other users! Here’s how it works!

With Premium PLUS, you learn with your own Teacher. You stay in 1-on-1 contact via My Teacher – whether the mobile app or directly on the CantoneseClass101 site.

Your teacher gives you Cantonese assignments. That’s right, you’re not learning alone! You get various assignments. Your teacher will correct your Cantonese and give feedback. You can do this via text or audio or video recordings.

And you earn badges for completing assignments – from your teacher. This is how you know you’re mastering Cantonese.

You’re getting feedback from the one person that knows best.

A real Cantonese teacher.

Find your unlocked badges in My Account. Once you’re there, go to the “My Report” Tab and click on “Your Badges.” So, if you’re a Premium PLUS user, get in touch with your teacher on CantoneseClass101. Then, start earning badges and leveling up your Cantonese.

Click here to see your badges inside My Account!
(For Premium PLUS users only)

If you’re new, you might be asking “What’s Premium PLUS?”
Premium PLUS combines 1-on-1 learning with your own teacher PLUS our learning system. You get the best of both worlds – unlimited CantoneseClass101 Premium access, which includes 620+ audio and video lessons, PDF lesson notes, study tools and more – plus, you get a teacher who creates a personalized learning plan and guides you along the way.

If you want to unlock Premium PLUS at 30% OFF, take advantage of our discount. Click on the link below. This quick discount ends October 2nd, 2015!

To earning badges and learning Cantonese!

Team CantoneseClass101

P.S. 500 Million Celebration! Get 30% OFF Premium or Premium PLUS
Join the celebration and start speaking Cantonese with our proven and fun lessons for less! Get 30% OFF Premium or Premium PLUS and unlock our entire learning system – ALL lessons, lesson notes, study tools, apps & more! That’s just $7/month or $0.23/day but only ‘til 10/2/2015!

Only 500 spots! Click here to get 30% OFF Premium or Premium PLUS!

1. Schedule your time.

One of the most important factors in keeping your motivation up is developing it into a habit. Whether it be 20 minutes or 3 hours, schedule time to study every day and stick to it. Regular exposure solidifies what you learn and keeps you progressing. To make sure you stick to your routine, a great idea is to build a schedule for your day and decide that every day/Monday/weekend, you study from 6pm to 8pm. Just remember that 30 minutes a day, every day, is better than a binge 8-hour study session at the end of the week (though it’s obviously better than nothing).

2. Learn a word a day with our great Word of the Day learning tool.

Trying to learn everything at once and getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of words in your new language is not a good idea. Sometimes, even if you do learn new words, you forget them quickly because you haven’t heard them enough in context. As mentioned above, daily exposure to new words is an important factor in solidifying your target language. Our Word of the Day tool delivers you daily words and phrases, shows you how to pronounce them and use them in different contexts. Since you can get the WOTD via email, Facebook, or Twitter, this is a passive way of learning a language that fits into your existing daily social media routine. It only takes 3 minutes to review a word and practice its pronunciation, so you can do it on the way to work, in the gym, or even before you go to bed.

Click here to get the Cantonese Word of the Day for FREE!

3. Make friends!

If there’s a community of people who speak the language you want to learn in your city, start attending those events! Friendship is the easiest way to get comfortable with the slang, intonation, and mannerisms of a new language. The key to learning any language is speaking a lot, so try to find a native speaker who can be your conversation partner. Having friends that speak your target language means that you will find yourself in situations where you have no choice but to speak that language. But since they are your friends, you will be doing things you enjoy with them. So these situations will probably have little or no stress. These friendships will also mean that you have someone you can ask about language, culture, and so on.

4. Take a break!

If you’re having an off day or if your brain is already tired of studying, see if you can take a break and do something fun AND useful. Comic books, illustrated stories, and cartoons are a fun way to keep learning while reducing the target language text load for weary eyes. Plus, the images help you plant lasting seeds of memory, as researchers say humor opens up cognitive doors. This is a way to keep the target language active in your brain without the strain of studying a textbook.

Don’t get stuck with the same content though. When things start to bore you, move on. Change up your books, movies, anime, music, dramas, and so on when they start getting old.

5. Don’t give up!

As with any goal, there are going to be pitfalls along the way. You’d have to be incredibly determined to never have an off-day or consider giving up. And when you do it’s ok, but the important thing is to pick yourself up after this temporary setback and keep going. Knowing you’ve overcome a few obstacles is only going to make the moment you have your first conversation in another language that much sweeter. Like the Cantonese proverb says, ‘Fall down seven times, stand up eight.’

If you need more motivation, check out this list of the Top 10 Inspirational Quotes in Cantonese.

Hello Listener,

Last time, you got the new, free, weekly Cantonese lessons on the go. This time, there are 2 more updates for the Innovative Language 101 App:

1. CantoneseClass101 Video Lessons Now On The Android Version
2. Powerful Lesson Player Controls On the iPhone/iPad Version

What does this mean for you?

It means: more Cantonese lessons to learn with and more control over them!

1. Video Lessons now on the Android App!

Are you a visual learner and love learning with video? Cantonese Video lessons make up a major portion of the CantoneseClass101 learning system. They weren’t on the Android version before, but they are now.

Learn with video on the go by tapping on “Browse Lessons” and selecting any video series. (Note: This is already available for iOS.)

2. Powerful Lesson Controls for the iPhone & iPad!

Want to completely understand the Cantonese that you hear? Or review conversations until they’re stuck in your head? Take control of any Audio Lesson with new playback controls. With new Playback Controls, you can…

• Review again and again by putting a track on repeat
• Slow down or speed up by setting the playback speed (0.5x, 1x, 1.5x or 2x)
• Skip back and forth between tracks within a lesson
• Backtrack or get ahead by jumping 10 seconds back or forward

New updates! Click here to download Innovative Language 101 for free!
(If you own the App, upgrade to the latest version.)

If you run into any bugs or issues with this new update, feel free to send us a quick email at mobileapps@innovativelanguage.com

To new free Cantonese lessons for life,

Team CantoneseClass101

P.S. Take the 6-Month Challenge! Learn Cantonese in 6 Months for $66!
Get a BIG 45% OFF and master practical Cantonese with 6-Month Premium. Unlock ALL CantoneseClass101 lessons (new lessons published weekly), PDF lesson notes, Premium tools, Mobile App access, PLUS the exclusive Inner Circle Newsletter! Get 6 months for only $66. Ends Friday, 06/26/2015.

Click here to get 45% OFF 6-month Premium + Inner Circle Access!

Hello Listener,

Did you know that every new CantoneseClass101 lesson is yours free?

Fact: All new lessons are open to everyone for 3 weeks after the publish date. This is one of the major benefits of the Free Lifetime Account. Just sit back and learn. High-quality Cantonese audio and video lessons come out every week.

But here’s what’s new…
You now get the newest lessons on your mobile device, anywhere, anytime!

New update! Click here to download Innovative Language 101 for free!

Users requested this. We listened. Innovative Language 101 for the iPhone, iPad and Android – the App that gives you your lessons on the go – has an awesome new update: Newest Lessons.

If you’re learning Cantonese and want to get all new lessons all the time, you absolutely can’t miss out on this. With this update, you get:

When you log in to the App, simply tap on the “Newest Lessons” icon for all the latest and greatest lessons. Every time a lesson is published, you will find it here. High-quality Cantonese audio and video lessons come out every week.

New update! Click here to download Innovative Language 101 for free!

Remember: Every new CantoneseClass101 lesson is yours free. This a major benefit of the Free Lifetime Account. New lessons are open to everyone for 3 weeks after the publish date. High-quality Cantonese audio and video lessons come out every week.

If you run into any bugs or issues with this new update, feel free to send us a quick email at mobileapps@innovativelanguage.com.

To new free Cantonese lessons for life,

Team CantoneseClass101

P.S. Want to unlock the entire CantoneseClass101 learning system? That’s 110+ hours of lessons from Beginner to Advanced – that you can take on the go – exclusive Apps, Progress Tracking, Premium Study Tools, Feedback from Teachers and much more! Simply upgrade to Basic, Premium or Premium PLUS for more access.

Click here to upgrade to Basic, Premium or Premium PLUS!

Hello Listeners,

There’s a brand new feature out! But first, here’s a question…

How long have you been actively studying Cantonese?

Why do we ask? Well, Einstein once said… “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

While most people quit, the smarter ones (or the stubborn ones) stick with Cantonese long enough to break through and see progress.

And if you think about it, time and effort are the two things that’ll ultimately dictate how far your Cantonese will go. Look at it like this…

• Anyone with bigger muscles – they’ve spent more time at the gym than most.
• Anyone that’s a great artist – they’ve spent more time on their craft.
• Anyone that knows a ton of Cantonese words – they’ve spent more time on picking up new vocabulary.
• And anyone that’s a great Cantonese speaker – they’ve spent more time speaking Cantonese.

It’s all about time and effort.

And that’s why you can now track your time and effort at CantoneseClass101 with a brand new feature, My Report. You can find it in “My Account” in the upper right corner of the CantoneseClass101 site. Or, just click here to log in and access it!

Here’s what you need to know: My Report tracks your personal study stats, like…

• Total Time Studied
• Flashcards Studied
• Lessons Completed

…and gives you the overall totals and breakdowns on a monthly and daily basis. That way, you’ll know exactly how much time and effort you need to put in.

Here are some cool things you can do with this:

1. Set small, achievable goals! Why? They’re easy! Achieving goals is motivating. And once you knock one out, just set a new one and start building progress over time!

• Study 10 flashcards and 10 lessons a day.
• Study for 30 minutes a day.
• 30 hours of time spent on lessons as a monthly goal.
• 50 lessons completed as a monthly goal.
• 200 flashcards studied as a monthly goal.

2. Get an overview of your effort. Sometimes, you just need to step back and see the big picture for a motivation boost. How long have you been been studying Cantonese? And how much effort have you put in?

3. Adjust your learning routines. Feel like you’re not making enough progress? Take a look at how much time you’ve spent! If your current routine isn’t working out for you, spend more time and study more lessons.

And most importantly, use it to track your time and effort. These are the 2 things that’ll dictate your Cantonese learning success. As Einstein said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

Let us know what you think of this new feature! You can find My Report in “My Account” in the upper right corner of CantoneseClass101, or just click the link below.

Click here to access My Report!

Thanks for reading!
Team CantoneseClass101

P.S. Unlock the complete CantoneseClass101 learning system at 20% OFF with this special discount. Start speaking Cantonese from your first lesson. You get over 110 hours of audio & video lessons from real teachers. That’s not all. Get instant access to in-depth Lesson Notes, Exclusive Apps, Premium Study Tools and Smart Progress Tracking Software to ensure your success!

Click here to learn Cantonese with Premium at 20% OFF!

Hi there Listener!

Hope you’re not too tired from smashing your Cantonese learning resolution and just generally being awesome (you are pretty awesome). We wanted to swing by and quickly update you on what happened this month. We’ve got new lessons, new vocab lists and some awesome free features! Keep reading to find out how you can upgrade your Cantonese in 2015.

In this month’s newsletter:

1. New Vocab Lists! Learn Faster with our NEW Vocabulary Lists
2. New Lesson Schedule! New Weekly CantoneseClass101 Lesson!
3. New! My Account Updated! Customize Your Username & More!

1. Learn Faster with NEW, Redesigned Vocabulary Lists!
Want to learn vocabulary more efficiently? Check out our NEW Vocabulary Lists! With our new word lists, you can zoom in on words and look up their definitions, toggle transliterations on/off, view your word list in a slideshow and much more! If you’re a Premium member, you can send all of these words and phrases to your Word Bank or Flashcard Decks with 1 click. Want to know more?

Click here to learn more about your NEW vocabulary lists!

2. 2015 Lesson Schedule: New Cantonese Lessons for the New Year!
Ready to take your Cantonese to a new level? New lessons started on January 5th, 2015 and they’re sure to improve your Cantonese and have you making progress throughout the year. Get a sneak peek at the upcoming lessons at the link below! Remember, all new lessons are free for 3 weeks.

Click here to see the 2015 lesson schedule at CantoneseClass101!

3. New! My Account Updated! Customize Your Username & More!
Good news! We’ve made My Account, where your subscription and account details are set, all shiny and new. Looks aside, there are some snazzy things you can now do. Want to change your username? You can easily do it in the Account Info section of My Account. Want to add a picture of yourself? Add it with Gravatar. It’ll show up in the comments that you leave around CantoneseClass101! But this is just a small update, and even more is coming soon!

New & Redesigned! Click here to see the UPDATED My Account.

Hello Listeners!

If you want to become better at speaking, writing and understanding Cantonese, you NEED to know more words. (We’re sorry listeners, there’s no way around it!)

If you want to learn vocabulary fast, you must be able to read and understand it instantly!

That’s why we’ve redesigned our vocabulary lists to help you learn faster (and make your eyeballs happy too). All it takes is a few minutes to review a list. And the result? You know more Cantonese. But, let’s get into what’s new with your Cantonese Vocabulary Lists!

Click here to see the new design and learn more vocabulary!

Pretty spiffy, right?

With bigger text, more space, a shiny new font and the ability to zoom in on words and look up their definitions, this is a brand new tool that you won’t mind staring at for hours (but with our new feature improvements, you won’t need to!).

Plus, Slideshow View is available FREE to all users! Learn visually and with audio as you review the words in a slideshow. This is a new addition to the word lists!

Click here to see the new design and learn more vocabulary!

Your vocabulary lists now come with:

• NEW! Layout Design with improved look
• NEW! Slideshow Vocabulary View
• NEW! Bonus Audio Lesson for the Words (Play Audio)
• ‘One Click Send’ to My Word Bank (Premium Users Only)
• ‘One Click Send’ to My Flashcards (Premium Users Only)
• Toggle Grid View/List View
• Romanized Words – View ON/OFF
• Word List – Audio Preview
• Popup Dictionary – Words/Phrases

No more straining your eyes, no more wasted time. Your new Vocabulary Lists let you control how much you learn and how quickly.

Premium Users: Want to remember these words forever? Add them to your Word Bank with one click for later review. Or instantly send a word or the entire list to your Flashcards deck to master it all.

And if you’re not a Premium user, here’s a quick 20% OFF that unlocks those features plus our entire Cantonese learning system. That’s over 100 hours of audio and video lessons, lesson notes, premium study tools, exclusive apps and more!

Click here to unlock Premium and save 20% at CantoneseClass101!

To your fluency,

Team CantoneseClass101

P.S. Want to go Premium AND get our entire Cantonese learning system?
Take advantage of this quick 20% OFF and get unlimited CantoneseClass101 access. All lessons, all lesson notes, exclusive apps, study tools – they’re all yours. Upgrade now and start speaking Cantonese from the very first lesson.

Click here to learn Cantonese at 20% OFF with unlimited Premium access!