I recently got accepted into an international exchange program through my university. It seems I’ll be living in Montpellier, France, for one year starting in early September.
There’s only one problem: I don’t speak French.
I’ve taken some basic classes, but I’m far from fluent. I understand many of my readers are multilingual, so I thought I’d ask the audience for help on this one. What is your advice for learning a foreign language?
I’ll be spending the months between April and August putting myself through second-language boot camp. Hopefully I’ll get a change to experiment with different tools to give myself a basic level of conversational fluency before I go to Europe. Any ideas are welcome!
Edit (Mar 18, 2009): I have the best audience on the web, and possibly also the smartest. It’s been less than a day, and already I have a few dozen comments. Thanks for all the advice, I’ll keep you guys updated on my progress.
I'm a speed-reading, vegetarian, holistic learning, productivity hacking recent university graduate. And, for the last five years I've been experimenting to find out how to get more from life.
I think you may benefit from a site like this:
http://www.interpals.net/index.php
You sign up, find the country of which you want to learn the native language and talk to people from that area. It’s a good way to submerse yourself within the language and perhaps meet some friends/penpals. I myself am trying to learn Japanese and this seems to be a nice supplement.
MIT also has free courses on the subject of foreign languages as well I believe
you need only two things: motivation and a habit. the rest is open to debate: classes or no classes, with audio guides such as pimsleur or teach yourself series. way too many different methods depending all on your prefered learning style. I’d like to rec you two sites which have several links to other very good language sites:
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com (AJATT)
http://www.thelinguist.blogs.com (Steve Kaufmann)
both start with the premise that you do something what you want in the language everyday. different then all classes I ever attended which always told me what to learn.
Considering that I have a +50hrs/week job and university (no languages) I adapted AJATTs method for my language (Russian) and it works for me very well. It became a habit and I got used to being always surrounded by russian (eg audiobooks, music, books, movies, etc)
But every language lover has his/her own methods to learn it.
>The Michel Thomas Method is an original method developed by Michel Thomas for teaching languages. Thomas stated that his students would be conversationally proficient after a few days’ study.[1]
>Thomas was hired by Raquel Welch, Barbra Streisand, Emma Thompson, Woody Allen and by Grace Kelly when she had to learn French rapidly after becoming engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Towards the end of his life he recorded audio versions of his courses that were especially popular in Britain.[2] The method first came to prominence in Britain, following a BBC television science documentary The Language Master, in which he taught French to sixth form students for five days at a further education college in London in 1997.[3]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Thomas_Method).
Scott,
Tim Ferriss of 4 Hour Workweek fame had some interesting things to say about strategies he uses to learn languages quickly:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/category/language/
Mark,
I’ve already read most of Tim’s stuff. He’s got neat ideas about everything, and as being an octolingual speaker, he probably has some idea what he’s talking about.
Jen,
Thanks for the links. I’ll look into it. My approach over the next few months is going to be to try as many different options as possible so I don’t get stuck with an inferior method.
Keep ‘em coming!
-Scott
Micheal Thomas French for beginners
+
Rosetta Stone
+
An interresting TV series (with not too sophisticated language, but not much slang) in french, as a habit once a week + make notes of words, idoms you hear there.
Congrats on acceptance! That’s really exciting.
I know people who swear by the Rosetta Stone program. The only downside is that it’s terribly expensive. It might be something to at least look into.
You’ve indicated in previous posts that you’ve got a copy of Tim Ferriss’s “Four Hour Workweek.” In the additional resources section of his website, he’s got an 80/20 approach to learning any language. This also includes lists of commonly used words in English (both written and spoken) for you to translate and practice.
I would also say that later on (once you gain more mastery with the language) that a copy of 501 French Verbs will come in handy.
Other than that, it sounds like you’re already starting early (the most important thing you could do).
Doh. 3 more comments happened while I was composing mine with basically the same info. Sorry.
I second the Tim Ferris one. I think for me it would be all about immersing yourself in the language as much as possible (Which no doubt you will have to do anyway!) Good luck with it, sounds like a good move!
my advices:
- read self-help blogs on foreign language ; )
- watch good films with subtitles
- use Google Toolbar instant translate
- try skypeprime to speak with a teacher (http://directory.skype.com/en/skypeprime/)
- just ask a french reader for some free chat (practice is ever better)
Hey Scott,
I’ve been reading your blog for a long time, I’m a student and I took off a year from school to go live in Italy—since then, I’ve lived in Italy Spain Argentina and Brazil, and I learned Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese enough to be conversationally fluent.
Do you speak a little bit of Spanish? If so, that’s a big help—after learning italian, it took less than 3 weeks to become fluent enough in spanish, and only 2 weeks for portuguese.
The biggest thing you need to do is TALK to people. Use edufire.com or something and hire a teacher who will talk to you. Go on couchsurfing.com and post a comment to the group for your city and ask if there are any french speakers who would be interested in an exchange. Use the Mixxer (http://www.language-exchanges.org) where, for free, people will chat and talk to you over skype in exchange for you helping them with english.
I would recommend you hire a french tutor, esp on edufire they are very cheap and even a few hours will help you get up to speed.
You have to start THINKING in the language. This means that when you are thinking, think in french, and if you don’t know a word in your head, write it down and look it up. Make flash cards. I have a Mac and use an app called Genius, and whenever I don’t know anyword, I write it down in my notebook, transfer it over to Genius, and test myself later in the day.
Watch tv with subtitles in french. Listening is hard, speaking is also hard, you need at least two prongs to solve them both.
Let me know if you have any questions—I’m in your boat right now (living in Brazil, about to move to India, Norway, etc—I learn a new language in every country). I can give you more pointed advice if you let me know.
-Maneesh
I have a unique idea for learning a foreign language. You could find a game or something interactive w/ live people that allows chatting. FOr example, the game Gunbound has tons of spanish speakers; Not only would it be fun, but you could pick up the language pretty quickly, though it may be slang, and assuming they actually want to talk to you
Here’s some ideas:
- A lot of English words are loan-words from French. Make a list of those, filter out the “false friends” and you’ve got a head start in vocabulary.
- I’ve found that grammar tends to come more or less automatically as you get exposed to the language. Learn and memorize the basics, but skip the more advanced stuff. Focus on vocabulary and comprehension instead.
- Verb conjugation in French is often just obtuse spelling rules thinly veiled as grammar. Most of the word endings don’t get pronounced. If you don’t have to write much, get the sounds right first. Worry about the spelling later.
- Learn some phonology. You won’t need to know all of the International Phonetic Alphabet, but learn about the nasal vowels, and the glottal R.
- Note that in English, if there’s stress on 1 syllable, all the other syllables get ignored a little. You don’t pronounce the unstressed vowels as clearly as you do with the stressed syllable. In French every syllable is pronounced clearly. Ze stress is alwàys, withòut exceptiòn, on ze last syllabèl.
- French spelling is as horrible as English spelling, but at least there’s some method to the madness. Once you “get it” it’s much easier to correctly infer the pronounciation of a word.
- Books and podcasts. Lots of books and podcasts. It worked for my spanish. I’m talking genuine French novels, not grammar books. At first, read the first 10 pages. Then read the first 20, then the first 30, and so on. The most important part is repetition.
- When you read, don’t look up every word. After a while your brain starts throwing back words at you it picked up as important. Look up those words in a dictionary. You’re much more likely to remember these, because your subconscious has already been processing the context in which they appeared.
I hope these help.
French is my second language, so I’ve been out of the “I suck”-stage for a while. But I started on Swedish 2 weeks ago, so I’m right in the middle (at the beginning?) of a new “I suck”-stage. It feels daunting, but I know it’s just a matter of time and lots of practice.
Learn 50 phrases and put your ego on the back shelf, if you have enough to get by and express a desire to learn as you talk to them- people will be more than happy to converse and teach you new words. Through immersion you’ll learn rather quickly, most importantly, you won’t sound like an audiobook or textbook.
I lived in Switzerland, I learned more in the first week talking to kids my age than the months of expensive German lessons. You already know about the hidden costs in free or tiy books
Hi Scott,
sent you a msg though your contact form.
Bonjour Scott,
I’m very pleased to hear that you might be studying in Montpellier next year. My old Econ teacher was from that town and always spoke very fondly about it.
My mother learnt French in a year when she studied at university in Grenoble. She says that she learnt it by simply immersing herself in French culture. (I believe that she worked babysitting for a French family). Speaking personally with my experience in learning Spanish, I agree with her. The more you practice and try to speak it every day, the better you will get. Are there are any francophones at your university/in your town? Practicing a little with them (even basic small talk) will help tremendously.
In the mean time, I would highly recommend reading the news in French (http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/) or (http://www.tv5.ca/sujets/actualites.html).
I have a long list of excellent French movies, if you wish to explore that route. I’ve heard immense success stories from watching movies in a foreign language.
Music lyrics are always good to listen to! I have many good bands to recommend (Garou, Les 3 accords, Les Comboys Fringants, Les Enfoirés…even Céline Dion would be fun haha.)
Finally, if you’re up for the challenge, I would also recommend reading two short, simply-written and very thought-provoking French classics (“Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de St-Exupéry and “L’enfant multiple” by Andrée Chédid).
I’d be very happy to help you if you have questions with French grammar/vocabulary or if you want further resources.
Bon courage!
Cordialement,
-A
P.S. Friendly tip: You’ll make your life a lot easier if you learn your basic set of verbs quickly (être,avoir,aller…).
Best tenses to know: present, imparfait, passé composé and futur. These will allow you to communicate effectively, you don’t need to worry too much about the others quite yet.
One other thought: A buddy of mine recommended a free computer program called “Before You Know It”. You can download it on http://www.byki.com/
You also might want to check out a free-computer program called “Before You Know It”. (http://www.byki.com/) My friends tell me that it’s quite good.
(Sorry if you received this post twice.)
-A
What made you want to go to france? and how’d u apply for the exchange?
yo Scott,
good luck bro, sounds like an awesome opportunity. I’ve followed your blog for a while and noticed your Pagerank has dropped massively down to 0!! Have you been penalised for paid links in your sidebar or something?
- read French books
- watch French movies with and then without English subtitles
- When you go there speak no other language but French
Hi Scott,
For me, the best way to learn a language is learn the basics (like verbs and grammar) pretty much the old school way. Then its key to immerge yourself in the language as much as possible.
I like watching French films: hearing the French phrases and reading the subtitles at the same time. Once your French gets better, you can switch from English subtitles to French ones.
“Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain” and “L’auberge espagnol” are fun movies to start with!
Focus on listening and speaking, because in your daily life in France that will probably be more important than reading and writing.
And understanding a foreign language with all its slang (that you can’t learn from a text book) will be overwhelming at first!
Dont let that scare you
Good luck!
Jennifer
When I learned Tibetan (6 years ago) I used several techniques…
Listen to it as much as possible, for French there’s gotta be a gazillion French podcasts, repeat after them, you won’t know what you are saying to begin with but it will help you improve your pronunciation skills (the most difficult part in mastering a language).
Alternatively watch French films, you’ll realize that you can actually understand a lot more just by looking at their body language. (If you think about it this is how we learn our native language to begin with)
Flash cards, I used the old fashion ones but nowadays you can even use software such as ANKI (less paper and if you got an ipod touch or iphone you can bring your flash cards with you). In the beginning I would memorize (properly) 50 to 60 words a day, once you cover your basic vocabulary you can reduce the amount of words. I guess there’s no need to tell you that your basic vocab consist of all the words you’ll use in your classes and daily activities.
Learn to think in French, first things first, once you learn a word use it all the time (except with people that might not appreciate it), for instance if you learn the word for tree, every time you see a tree repeat it (preferably out loud), as you progress start making up sentences (for example in your internal dialogue) don’t worry about the grammar, if you are listening to podcasts from native French speakers even if it’s not completely right you’ll sound native (as you might be able to tell I’m not an English native speaker, well, I’ve notice that most native speakers don’t talk properly anyway… and when they do they are criticized, as Obama was).
Last but not least find someone to talk to in French (the early you do it the best) I used to have a Tibetan girlfriend and that helped a lot, just cos I used to spend a lot of time with her, besides she used to give me all the ins and outs regarding slang and all that stuff that schools hardly teach you. If you don’t want to do that (or can’t) you can always find someone to talk to through skype. Just consider that they might need your help spending some time talking to them in English.
Never ever get frustrated, just think about it this way, how long has it taken you to master your language, how many movies have you watched, how many books have you read and people you’ve interacted with… so don’t expect this to happen over night.
Basically that’s it, if I can think of something else I’ll let you know
PS. Instead of repeating over and over a verbs conjugation, make up a story using that verb in all of its tenses, that will make you practice vocab and other grammar stuff rather that just verbs…
Bonjour
immerse as much as possible, so avoid english-speaking people, avoid french people trying to misuse you to learn english, and over all : watch TV news daily, eg TF1 at 8pm. Having the images in background while the speaker comment will help you a lot to catch it.
That’s was I did in FIU @ Miami in 1990. And I got an excellent push in only 2 months.
Then, when you will be back, use your french, or you will loose it within 3 years.
Regs,
Charles
I’d advise you to pick up the Michel Thomas CDs. You can pick up the language really fast (to speak primarily) and it really works, I learnt Arabic and German in 2 months (each took a month because I was highly irregular).
Get a french girlfriend. “Lessons” will be much more tolerable, potentially even fun.
Hey Scott, I’ve picked up quite a few languages quite quickly, including Thai, Afrikaans and French.
I find what works best for me is games. So for example I downloaded a french version of ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ onto my computer and played for an hour or 2 each day, you’ll be amazed at how much you pick up
Hope that helps
Cheers,
Glen
Scott
its all about practising the language with French ppl , trust me that will force u to talk in French
make sure that don’t speak Eng 
Nouf
As a college junior currently studying abroad in Spain with a similar background to your own (basic understanding, no fluency), I can tell you that far and above the most important thing is to converse as much as you are able, about anything and everything, with native speakers. You need to get the language out of your head and onto your tongue.
In my experience, this is the only way the brain can truly re-wire to a second language, allowing you to draw upon what you know and use it in real-world situations. Applying the language only to paper, or speaking with non-natives who are learning like you, just isn’t going to cut it in the end. You might learn some new vocabulary but you won’t learn how to truly talk. This, of course, is a major reason for studying abroad in the first place.
I would say start by watching movies to tune your ears, and then seeing if there are any exchange students in your home university who speak the language with whom you can talk, go out to coffee with, or anything that forces you to converse. There may be other methods for reaching out to native speakers available to you which I don’t know, but I’d make that priority number #1 to figure. Most speakers are happy to share their language, and just as happy to correct you when you screw up.
Because language is so thickly interwoven with culture (from commonplace expressions, to where, how and why you say particular things), it can be very difficult to get a jump on the learning process before you hit the runway. But if you want to prep your skills before you get there, I would absolutely recommend finding native speakers, talking with them or better yet DOING something with them. That will undoubtedly help the most.
I’m learning French too, and I’ve tried a lot of different methods.
My advice is to make sure your method allows you to have FUN doing it. There’s nothing worse than reluctance and tedium when it comes to learning.
I found Rosetta Stone and flash cards both tedious. Michel Thomas Method is great, give it a try. http://www.livemocha.com is also a great site but I haven’t explored it much yet.
I’m taking classes from l’Alliance Francaise in Winnipeg and I love it. They have branches all over the world.
Learnt french as an adult and now speak it fluently. I learn’t it by the full imersion technique- that takes you from zero to fluent in about 6 months. The only downside is it pretty much destroys your soul for the first 3 of those months. Here how it goes:
Step 1 – Move to France
Step 2 – Don’t hold any conversations in any language other than french (except a weekly phone call to your mother) – that means ignoring other english speakers even if you know who they are
Step 3 – Read french books (and only french). Start with kids books, then move onto teenagers books then adult novels
Step 4 – only watch french TV (yes I know its complete Cr*p) and surf french internet sites.
It is also strange but true that speaking a foreign language is one of the very few things in life for which a little alcohol is helpful. It may be because making a fool of yourself is most definitely part of the progress.
Bon Courage!!!
One answer Scott: http://www.LingQ.com
I noticed someone else mentioned Steve Kaufman. I have been teaching English for years, and this is by far the BEST language system I have ever found. Just try and out and you’ll be impressed.
I am an English tutor at LingQ, but I obviously won’t get your business so I’m not trying to sell you! Just try it man.
Hi Scott.
Try Lingq, the basic level is free, you can find a lot of material to read and listen, signup for conversations (non free), etc. The site is directed by Steve Kauffman, a guy that can speak in 10 languages.
http://www.lingq.com/
By the way my best live practice in French was in a trip to Montreal. As a Canadian, it would be easier for you to spend some weeks there.
Wow! Thanks for all the advice everyone. I wish I could thank everyone individually for all their tips, but I’m overwhelmed by all the great advice.
I’m going to start looking into some of these different programs you recommended, and I’ll keep the blog updated on my progress.
-Scott
Bonjour Scott, I m reading your blog on regular basis.
I m french and I have been in UK for two years. I picked up the language quite quickly and made progress since I started working and studying in an english only environment.
I felt language courses were a waste of time (even in UK). even studying english in school for ten years before ( after 4 years you stay at the same level really ).
Now I ve started to learn Mandarin. My intuition tell me I have to go to Taiwan to learn and progress quickly and it s what I m going to do. I ll teach french and english over here and I ll talk with many people ( as I have already many friends in Taiwan ).
So my advice is : listen french radio , watch french movie , read french books, There are many good one and the style is often refreshing as very different from anglophone production.
Go to France before you start your program, take a short course and a job, or get involve in some activity or job to talk with people. Don t stay with other foreigners , isolate yourself from them, don t speak a world of english while you are here. You can also live with a french family ( maybe through couchsurfing or try to find a job “au pair” ( taking care of household duties ).
I m so sorry france don t have so much course in English ( only few MBA I guess ). It s part of our culture I guess, french used to be the first speaking international language a long time ago. Montpelier is a fantastic student city, very lively. You ll definitevely enjoy it.
Bonne chance !! And thank u for your blog and advices
Thanks Cedric!
Salut Scott!
I’m french too and agree with the previous comment, Montpellier is a great city for students!
I’ve learned English and spent more than a year in the states, German, and am now starting Chinese.
What works best for me is intense practice, but not only with educationnal material. Everything from ebooks to radio programs to movies works. Just do it every day.
I also arranged to meet a chinese girl who needed lessons in french, and will give me help on Chinese. I find it very helpful to have someone you can rely on.
Anyway, have fun learning and speaking French!
Hey mate – Sorry if anyone has already mentioned this as I’m not prepared to read through everyones posts.
Pimsleur French – Expensive – but worth it.
[...] Ask the Readers: Advice for Learning a Foreign Language [...]
Hi! I love your blog.
I’m italian and I spent eight months in Paris during an exchange program.
It’s good that you’ve taken basic french classes. That’s important! But I think that you are going to learn the language when you’ll be living there. Or at least, this is my experience. At first it can be awkard and sometimes frustrating, but you will get better everyday. Just talk to people, make friends, strive to understand, and when you don’t, ask for help! Watch french tv, read newspapers and magazine. I’m sure it will be such a wonderful experience. Studying and living abroad totally opens up your mind.
Anyway, before getting there, read online newspapers and try listening to spoken French. Try http://www.rfi.fr/ , they have a section called “le journal en français facile”
good luck!
Salut Scott!
It’s probably been said already but I think the big secret to learning a language is total immersion. Learn a bit of the basics at first and then talk to anyone and everyone, make French speaking friends and use the language as much as possible while not talking in English, because undoubtedly they’ll want to practice their English on a native speaker. And don’t worry about screwing up, a lot of people appreciate when you’re making an effort speaking their language.
As for university courses, they tend to focus on memorizing theory rather than conversation and aren’t that helpful when you want to say talk to friends or order a baguette. This past year I’ve been learning Italian and after taking two levels of college courses I’m planning on working at an Italian restaurant because it’ll probably give me more practice than those classes did.
Bonne chance!
Hey Scott!
For reviewing your vocabulary, the free programme mnemosyne ( http://www.mnemosyne-proj.org/ ) is absolutely perfect! It’ll be more and more difficult and time intensive to review thousends of words. The special feature of mnemosyne is a rating system for how well you remember the word – from 0 to 5. Depending on your rating the program will time automatically when to ask for the same word again. This leads to the most efficiant and time-saving review, since you are the one who can evaluate yourself! Out of thousands of words, the mnemosyne will only check the few dozens daily, that you really need to review, as soon as you get used to it and use it properly.
For myself, I’ve learned 2000 Japanese Kanji 2 years ago. Hard enough, but the reviewing was even a bigger challenge. Until I found mnemosyne! Check it out, hope you’ll like it
And I’ll keep enjoying reading your blog (and wait for the first french posting :p
Niko, from Germany
Salut Scott!
Great to hear that you’re going to learn French in France! Congrats! I’m sure it will be an extraordinary experience for you!
I’ve been living in Sweden for a 1,5 year but have been actively learning Swedish only for 6 months and now understand, speak (with an accent though) and write it fluently. The first year I was studying Hebrew at a European Institute for Jewish Studies in Stockholm where the language of education was English. Originally I come from Russia where I got BA in French linguistics. I also speak Italian and understand German pretty well (I had an Italian boyfriend and took a one-year intensive course in German).
I’ve read all the advice you got from your readers and here’s mine:
- try a free course at http://www.LingQ.com as Jonathan suggested (I’ve just checked the Swedish course out and sounds really good), don’t pay for courses and tutors, your new French friends will be your teacher and books, tv and radio programs will be your course materials!
- pay attention to what Cedric said: get a job where you have to interact with many French speakers, listen to French radio (don’t force yourself to understand what they say, just get used to the intonation and the melodie of the language), watch French movies with English subtitles (you’ll pick up a lot of usefull words and phrases in no time), isolate yourself from other foreigners, avoid speaking English (with French people it’s easy, most of them simply don’t know or are afraid to speak English), try CouchSurfing (it’s a great way to make new friends).
But (I know you won’t yet still I need to make sure you) do not get an Au-Pair job!!! (it’s little talk and a lot of work, there are much better ways).
- the Tibetian Re Guy advice might be useful. But note that having a Frech girlfriend might not be very helpful. I myself had lived with a Swedish guy for 8 months but we spoke English all the time, because in a relationship you need to understand and be understood quickly. And then I bet you already know the translation of “je t’aime” and “mon amour”.
- don’t read books for kids, teenagers or classics unless you’re really into it (which I doubt), read stuff you’re truly passionate about intead! I started learning Swedish from little brochures on ecology and organic products (my subject of interest) that I found for free in supermarkets.
Wishing you an awesome unforgettable experience in France!
Valentina
Thanks for the continued support!
with all your great posts you give support to us, so when needed you get the same in return
)
[...] of my biggest goals at the moment is learning to speak French. I’ve had of hundreds of different methods suggested to me. But I realize that the biggest factor [...]
I just realized I’ll probably be checking back at this article in a year’s time, to read all your visitors’ advice. Because I’d like to spend my third year of university in a Spanish speaking country (latin America, ideally)… but I don’t speak a word of Spanish!
Seems like you’re always a year ahead of me Scott :p (okay, actually you’re more than a year ahead with some things, but anyway…)
Hey Scott,
Just to give you some perspective on my own language experience, I’ve studied Latin (prose and poetry), and Chinese (simplified). I’m pretty advanced in Latin, but I’m a bit of a beginner in Chinese. Here are just a few of my own tips on learning a new language. One of the best ways is to practice speaking it to friends who are better than you at the language as much and as often as possible. Depending on your language level proficiency, you can try some of the following.
Pronunciation – Mixing languages
That is, speaking part English and then injecting as many French words in as possible. The main benefits of this exercise are that you get to exercise your memory of vocabulary as well as your pronunciation. Some secondary benefits of this are you increase your listening comprehension as well. This technique only works well when used around friends who know your native language as well as the foreign one.
Grammar – Reading and Writing
Knowing the grammar is fundamental to proper reading and speaking. If you know the grammar, you should be able to write. Since French and English use the same alphabet, writing words and spelling shouldn’t be too much of an issue. However, the grammar will most likely be quite regimented in a fashion similar to English or more closely, Latin.
Anyway, have lots of fun learning French and I look forward to reading more of your posts!
The website freerice.com offers French language learning (you can select it in the Subjects tab). It also donates 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program for each answer you get right.
Just watch a LOT, watch a lot a lot a lot in that language, with subtitles.
I’m dutch, and I can speak fluent English, because we have a lot of English television, with subtitles.
So everyone in Holland can speak some english!
Stefan/DSK
TheDutchSchoolKid.blogspot.com