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Learning a foreign language
Posted on 11/5/15 at 10:53 pm
Posted on 11/5/15 at 10:53 pm
How many of you have learned a foreign language after graduating high school? How long did it take to be good enough to survive in conversations? What method was most effective for you?
Posted on 11/5/15 at 10:53 pm to JeanPierre
I tried learning French in 2 months last year and failed....
Posted on 11/5/15 at 10:56 pm to JeanPierre
My friend went through the Special Forces language school and learned to get along passably in German in about three weeks. Total immersion works faster than anything else.
Believe it or not, watching subtitled movies and TV shows helps you pick up common phrases pretty quickly.
Believe it or not, watching subtitled movies and TV shows helps you pick up common phrases pretty quickly.
Posted on 11/5/15 at 11:01 pm to JeanPierre
I took classes at the alliance francais in NOLA for a while. It was a mixture of course work and group conversations (and a lot of wine drinking). After doing that for a year (1x per week or so), I had no issues travelling around rural France and communicating the basics.
I live in Germany now and have a private tutor twice a week and am immersed in the language. Way better, obviously, but it is a lot of work. After a day of meetings in German you will have a massive headache.
I live in Germany now and have a private tutor twice a week and am immersed in the language. Way better, obviously, but it is a lot of work. After a day of meetings in German you will have a massive headache.
Posted on 11/5/15 at 11:08 pm to JeanPierre
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/6/16 at 5:42 am
Posted on 11/5/15 at 11:21 pm to JeanPierre
quote:
learned a foreign language after graduating high school?
Spanish in college. Could read pretty well after two years. you learn what you work on. It takes 4 years to master any romance language. it takes 5 for Asian languages, because you are learning a representation system too.
pictograms. stylized pictograms.
Spanish is ideal because you are able to use it constantly in many regions.
Google is pretty handy to use to keep it up. You can read the press in whatever languages on Google.
I have spent a lot of time at work reading French and Spanish news.
This post was edited on 11/5/15 at 11:22 pm
Posted on 11/5/15 at 11:54 pm to JeanPierre
I want to learn French or Spanish... although I was told German would be easier to learn
Posted on 11/6/15 at 2:04 am to JeanPierre
If you are in college, learning a foreign language isn't too bad. Going to class and having someone instruct you makes it easy to get started. If you really want to learn the language and work towards it (study, practice conversations) you will do well.
If you are just doing this on your own, I would buy a introductory textbook or learning system. College level textbooks that have workbooks are great options.
I have studied foreign languages in both of these ways. With the college (or class) option I learn more, and faster, because of the constant schedule and instruction. The 'on your own' option is fine, you just need to be sure to make time and commit yourself to it. If you don't you will not learn much and have difficulty retaining what you covered. Trust me.
Don't just go with Rosetta stone, research other options. There are cheaper and better alternatives.
If you are just doing this on your own, I would buy a introductory textbook or learning system. College level textbooks that have workbooks are great options.
I have studied foreign languages in both of these ways. With the college (or class) option I learn more, and faster, because of the constant schedule and instruction. The 'on your own' option is fine, you just need to be sure to make time and commit yourself to it. If you don't you will not learn much and have difficulty retaining what you covered. Trust me.
Don't just go with Rosetta stone, research other options. There are cheaper and better alternatives.
Posted on 11/6/15 at 3:45 am to JeanPierre
Took Spanish I and Spanish II in high school.
My girlfriend's mom's side speaks nothing but Spanish. I can understand what they're saying and I can reply with terrible Spanish.. If it was the other way around, it would be like:
Q: How are you?
A: Yes
While it doesn't make sense, it's a positive response... So they get the picture
Sorry... Haven't slept in 2 days
My girlfriend's mom's side speaks nothing but Spanish. I can understand what they're saying and I can reply with terrible Spanish.. If it was the other way around, it would be like:
Q: How are you?
A: Yes
While it doesn't make sense, it's a positive response... So they get the picture
Sorry... Haven't slept in 2 days
Posted on 11/6/15 at 4:05 am to JeanPierre
I'm the only English-speaker in this village in the Gobi Desert. I speak nothing but Mongolian all day, and I still sound like a dumbass after a year and a half. I was intermediate low the last time I took a test. Mongolian is ridiculously hard though. I'm learning more about learning languages in general, and I think the next language I will learn faster. It takes a lot of work as you get older, I guess, but you can do it.
I could chit chat with people after about 6 months. I found that what I knew after I studied by myself just fell apart when thrust into a real situation. So it's about those live reps, even though you can understand it all at home it doesn't matter.
I could chit chat with people after about 6 months. I found that what I knew after I studied by myself just fell apart when thrust into a real situation. So it's about those live reps, even though you can understand it all at home it doesn't matter.
Posted on 11/6/15 at 6:15 am to JeanPierre
quote:
What method was most effective for you?
I never pass up an opportunity to warn people away from Rosetta Stone. It's garbage, especially if you are studying a language that uses a different script.
In short, Rosetta Stone uses the philosophy that you should learn a language now the way you learned English as a child. By this they mean that there is essentially no instruction or guidance in the lessons and that you are thrown right in.
The issue for me is that as adults, we have more available to us to learn a language. I would love to learn about sentence structure and other grammar rules by having them explained to me, not having to trudge through trial and error.
For example, I used Rosetta Stone for Persian/Farsi. Persian writing uses old and very formal words while the spoken version of the same sentence uses different words and conjugation. I had no idea of this by going through Rosetta Stone because they don't explain anything; I was totally confused. I started using Pimsleur software on the advice of a friend and found that there was this written/spoken difference and I realized I wasn't crazy after all.
Edit: In terms of suggestions in addition to good software, listen to news, movies, songs, and podcasts in that language. Watching German movies with the subtitles on did wonders for me. You always hear about foreigners learning English by watching Friends or The Simpsons, do the same with the language you're trying to learn. With Youtube, the Apple Store etc, it's cheaper and easier to do than ever before.
This post was edited on 11/6/15 at 7:00 am
Posted on 11/6/15 at 7:25 am to JeanPierre
I'm taking Japanese classes right now. Fricking hard as shite
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