- Forum >
- Topic: Duolingo >
- World's hardest language prac…
World's hardest language practice challenge! (Holiday edition!)
(Click "follow discussion" if you intended to.)
What else could the world's hardest language practice challenge be? It's a singing challenge! And it's really fun so don't run away xD
It can be hard speaking another language around other people. New languages can feel like a tongue twister, especially under pressure. Want to work on that? Record yourself singing and post it here! (You should because it was fun and not terrifying at all*): Go to https://clyp.it and record yourself singing a song in the language you're learning. (Please don't use real name for your Clyp account.) December's theme? Holiday! (Seasonal works too.)
Bloopers followed by laughter encouraged :D
Mind you, if you record yourself and decide not to post it, that's ok. You'll still have tried a new, hopefully fun way to improve your language skills.
Ready? Set. GO! 。。。
(Psst, if you're nervous, you can click here for courage)
(Still not quiet there yet? Click for even more courage).
。。。 .
Finished? Good job, click here to relax (unless you don't like cats!).
*I lied. Recording myself was mortifying. But, I did it because it was for Duolingo.
PS, In what other ways has music helped you with your language studies?
Image sources 1, 2
50 Comments
For my entry, here is a clip of me "singing" Ari No Mama De (the Japanese version of "Let it Go") I dunno how people get their voices that high, but mine just doesn't. lol. Original version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq8TkiHk7uk
I can't find it in there...
And before you ask, anyone who thinks I can ever be persuaded to record myself singing anything in a foreign language and put it on the internet for the world to hear is off their rocker. I'll sing in French or Polish, but NOT in front of anyone who would have any clue what it's actually supposed to sound like. :p I'll substitute with videos of what I'll sing, with rather better singers than me doing it.
In Polish: Irena Santor - Pójdźmy wszyscy do stajenki
In French: Luciano Pavarotti - Cantique de Noël (O Holy Night)
And thrown in for good measure, in German: Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht
I know, tell me about it. I have 10 siblings, and the youngest always get the family benefits. I mean, the older ones start to spread out working at airports and mustang challenges, then the little ones come and do the talking, get all the social experience, then sarcastic and witty qualities. Lol. I can't say much, because I'm number 7. So I'v got quite a bit of older siblings benefits ;)
One of my favorite ways to listen to it is like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS0T8Cd4UhA. that way I get all the flavors blended into one basket :)
2007
2007
Yay! Lucky me!
Your challenge made me realize that other than maybe Feliz Navidad I only know German and English Christmas songs... Luckily a lot of those have been translated into lots of languages.
I love the challenge. I loved it so much I tried despite that almost all of my language experience with Chinese has been written rather than spoken. (Remembering the Hanzi, mostly) I did like you, Usagi, and went with Let It Go in my target language because it was easy to find the pinyin and I don't know any authentic Chinese winter songs.
Listening to my recording now I see that I'm not very good at speaking as one could expect lol. It was also a bit silly of me to try and match the pitch of the singer rather than try the old "Sing an octave lower" trick so my voice breaks at the climax of the chorus.
Warning: This clip is very loud and contains poorly pronounced Mandarin so please lower the volume. https://vocaroo.com/i/s1Krz2zrHbvB
I had fun despite my poor singing. I like to think that my voice breaking has a bit of a comedic effect. I'd certainly have fun singing it in a Guangzhou karaoke booth with friends and that's what matters. Good singing and good luck to you all!
Dr_Patriot, I had the same problem with voice breaking haha. I recorded myself a few times while I was learning the song, because I thought, if I record every time I learn, from the first try, then I will be less nervous! The version I posted, I missed an entire 2 or 3 lines because I was distracted by my cats. They were rambunctious. You'll even hear them scratching at the litter box and running around in the background in my clip. haha.
I'm glad you decided to participate despite inexperience speaking Chinese. This is definitely mean to be a fun challenge to encourage people to challenge their nerves and go ahead and use their voices knowing others will hear it. :)
Here's my contribution: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Zu7sYk9jxW
My singing voice is completely out of practice. I hope we can do this regularly, in which case I think we will see my voice improving along with my French.
Here's a link to a site with lyrics for a whole bunch of French Christmas carols: http://paroles2chansons.lemonde.fr/paroles-chants-de-noel
I wish I had something like that for Russian too...
OmegaGmaster, The clyp website didn't work on your phone's browser? I wonder if they have an app :thinking-face: Outside of those suggestions, I don't know what to suggest. As it was, I had to ask other moderators to help me figure out how to record my voice and then post a link to it. :( But, if someone can help you figure out how to successfully participate, I'll give them 3 lingots!