Hello everybody, and welcome to the second installment of Android Photography Showcase! In each post of this series, we'll showcase a small collection of photographs taken on a particular Android device. Up this time - the HTC Droid Incredible.
HTC Droid Incredible Android 2.2 w/ HTC Sense
Camera: 8MPAuto-Focus w/ LED Flash Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Today's photos come courtesy of Dmitri at Foto-Graphic.
Hello everybody, and welcome to the first installment of Android Photography Showcase! In each post of this series, we'll showcase a small collection of photographs taken on a particular Android device, starting this time with the Google Nexus One.
Google Nexus One Android 2.3.4
Camera: 5MPAuto-Focus w/ LED Flash Location: Allendale, MI
Much can, and has, been said about the benefits of learning a second language. However, actually doing so has traditionally been quite an arduous undertaking. Fortunately, modern technology brings with it the tools to make the process much less daunting.
The Google Translate app for Android (available here)
Okay, we have everything we need - now to choose a language. For the purposes of this guide, it will have to be a language that supports voice input in the Google Translate app.
Currently, this includes:
Afrikaans
Chinese
Czech
Dutch
English
French
German
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Latin
Malay
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Turkish
I've always found Japanese culture fascinating, so for me, it was an easy choice. Now that we've chosen our language, let the learning begin!
First, open another tab in your browser and head on over to http://www.youtube.com/. From here, we'll do a search for instructional videos on the language of your choice. An example search term might be "Learn to speak Japanese".
From those results, the video entitled "Learn to speak Japanese: No.1" sounds like it might be useful.
Indeed, a very helpful video, but really not much different from the way people have traditionally learned to speak a new language (other than the fact that the information is now much more easily accessible). So, here's the twist...
Grab your Android device and load up the Google Translate app. In the first drop down box, choose the language you want to learn (in this case, Japanese). In the second box, choose your native language.
Now, go to the video you've selected on Youtube and watch until the first word is taught (in the example above, hajimemashite, a polite greeting used when meeting someone for the first time). At this point, pause the video and return to the Google Translate app on your Android device.
Click the microphone icon next to the text input box. Now, attempt to say the word you just learned from the video.
If said correctly, you should be greeted with a screen showing the English translation. Be sure this translation matches that given in the video. Also note that Google Translate gives the spelling of the word using Japanese characters. This can be very helpful in cases where, as in the example video above, the words are only shown spelled phonetically in English.
Regardless of whether or not you got the word correct on your first attempt, it's a good idea to repeat this process several times for each word. Do this until you can pronounce the word well enough to get the proper translation result every time. This repetition will also aide in memorization. When you feel comfortable with the first word, move on to the next and repeat.
Obviously, learning basic word translations is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mastering a new language. But, hey - it's a start - and thanks to Google, getting started just got a whole lot easier!
Leave a comment below with your tips for learning a second language.
