Learning a new language

[bazza white]

I used duolingo for for a while but hit a wall and as soon as I put tablet down everything I learnt disappeared.


Someone did tell me don't use one method of learning use several. I used YouTube videos which helped.


Worst thing I did was stop. You need to keep at it and a trip to Mexico every year helped, the locals are great and really appreciate you trying and will help out when stuck.

[IanA2]

boyse7en said:

Mr. Nice Guy said:

I do one hour long German lesson per week through work and I use an app called Duolingo. I've been doing the lessons for 1 or 2 years and using the app on and off for around 6 months. The app is good but I still can't speak German, I think the only real way to learn a language is to be forced to speak it, i.e move there

That's true. I learnt French for years, but spending a teenage summer holiday in France with a family that didn't speak english improved my fluency massively. You know you are getting there when you don't have to "translate" a question in your head, but just answer it.

Unfortunately haven't had the need to speak french for years and have forgotten most of it now.

Can't help on how to learn as I learnt just living in Italy. That said, at the time, I had reasonable French and not so reasonable German which I think helped a lot. Much easier to learn a third/fourth language than a second, imo.

Check your local library, I know mine has on-line audio books which include many language courses.

I reckon you've cracked it when you start dreaming in the language, after a year or so all my dreams were in Italian, not so much these days.

[pitchfork]

http://www.conversationexchange.com/

Find native speakers on there and speak to them over Skype or in person. I speak to a number of Spanish speakers around the world and have met up with a few in my local town.

I also have Michel Thomas' course on my phone (as mp3's) and it's pretty good, but the man himself is extremely annoying, which limits the amount of time I can listen.

If it's Spanish you want to learn, there's a series on Youtube called Extra, which is a Spanish sitcom that uses simple sentences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfb9-ZTCA-E

(It's not particularly funny.)

EDIT: I've just seen that it's Italian you're interested in. Aw, well.

[McAndy]

Adenauer said:

You should read it again.

Mine were Italian, Japanese and Chinese, not English.

[Shnozz]

I have learned languages in various methods - the "traditional" methods from school (French, Spanish and Latin) through to more modern things like duoluingo.

I think the Michel Thomas style is fantastic. It may not be 100% correct due to some of the short cuts it takes but in terms of keeping one's interest and the speed of learning, it's brilliant IMO.

That said, I think a combined approach is no bad thing, so to add a second or third extra on top. Duolingo is an easy app to spend 5 mins on a day to refresh or learn the odd word here and there. Watching kids TV in your choice of language is also useful - essentially mimicking one of the methods by which the young would learn their chosen language themselves.

[shirt]

the michel thomas cd's do have merit. i bought the spanish course having been recommended it on here and was pleasantly surprised. its focus is to teach you conversational language skills and shortcuts, not the usual crap of saying your name and teaching you tenses etc. i put them on my ipod and listened on commutes and at work.

i'm now contemplating learning russian and first stop will be the MT cd's

[RizzoTheRat]

shirt said:

i put them on my ipod and listened on commutes and at work.

I tried listening to them in the car but found I needed to concentrate a bit more on them, they'd be ideal for a commute on the train though.

[shirt]

i was working in panama at the time, had the luxury of time and being able to listen to people during the day and my long haired spanish speaking dictionary to practise with in the evening.

i do think unless you have an end goal then learning is an uphill process. i started as i was hoping to land a job in panama. thats out the window now and i haven't done anything to further my spanish skills since.

[Shnozz]

RizzoTheRat said:

shirt said:

i put them on my ipod and listened on commutes and at work.

I tried listening to them in the car but found I needed to concentrate a bit more on them, they'd be ideal for a commute on the train though.

I found that the more exposure I had the better to any language - whether I was concentrating or not. I would leave the radio on foreign stations during the day too. You may only pick out the odd word here and there at first but you gain a familiarity of said words, the pronunciation of them, the speed at which they are delivered in the real world etc etc.

[8Ace]

sc0tt said:

I'm fine at bbq'ing and I've nailed speaking Australian.

"How ya garn" How are you.

"Hack a dart" Have a cigarette.

"Straya" Australia

Chucka browneye?

[romeogolf]

Another vote for DuoLingo.

I did A-level french and my partner started on DuoLingo about a year ago. We're now at a point that we can have basic conversations in French with little difficulty. While my knowledge is ahead of his, he's catching up quickly.

I would recommend using an online service along-side an Italian speaking friend or pen-pal of some sort.

[Dr Jekyll]

battered said:

Rule of thumb:
Reasonable proficiency: 100 hours
Proficiency: 1000 hours
Expert proficiency: 10,000 hours.

In this case it is like any complex task.

Multiply by a factor of 10 surely, otherwise you could take 2 weeks off work and gain a reasonable proficiency at the end.

[scherzkeks]

Mr. Nice Guy said:

I do one hour long German lesson per week through work and I use an app called Duolingo. I've been doing the lessons for 1 or 2 years and using the app on and off for around 6 months. The app is good but I still can't speak German, I think the only real way to learn a language is to be forced to speak it, i.e move there

This is particularly true with German. I am pretty good with languages, and studied German in high school and uni in the States, but that didn't amount to much when it came to living here. Takes many years in-country to learn it at a passable level, anyone saying otherwise is full of it.

In my experience, several years of total immersion are needed for just about any language though.

[battered]

No. 100 hours will see you having a pretty reasonable grasp of the rudiments of a language, if you go at it properly. You can't put all these hours into 2 weeks because that doesn't give you time to reflect on it, but if you had (say) 2 x 1 hour lessons a week and homework of 1 hour after each lesson, for 6 months, that's 26 x 4 hours. 100 hours, close enough. I reckon most of us would reckon on being able to hold our own in simple conversations, shops, restos, etc.

[Rosscow]

This thread has prompted me to look into the DuoLingo app - it's great!

It's fun, and it's quite addictive. I'm actually surprised how many words in French I know (I have a little pigeon French in my locker but always want to know more).

I'll be hitting this app a lot in the coming weeks before we go to France.

I really wish I paid more attention at school when it came to languages.

[battered]

scherzkeks said:

Takes many years in-country to learn it at a passable level, anyone saying otherwise is full of it.

In my experience, several years of total immersion are needed for just about any language though.

I disagree. I have lived in France, I was proficient after 3 months, expert after a year. Don't neglect that I spent some years learning it at school, and on holidays.

Oh, and I'm not full of it. I'm speaking at first hand.

[FlyingMeeces]

I learned German piecemeal from when I was quite young, then at school, then added Spanish to it. Got a GCSE in each - struggled a bit with Spanish as I did it from scratch in 2 years, but managed - and then as far as formal learning went that was that.

But my German, I kept using just a little bit. Appalling acapella German boy band. The libretto for The Magic Flute. Dodgy Harry Potter fanfic (never again!). Der Spiegel.

I reckon I lost maybe two thirds of what German I had at its peak, and virtually all of the Spanish I had learned.

Stumbled into Duolingo a few weeks back, it definitely focusses more on building a good foundation than on giving you workable language along the way, in terms of practical vocab and stuff, but I think it does it rather well. It's a good format.

[scherzkeks]

battered said:

I disagree. I have lived in France, I was proficient after 3 months, expert after a year. Don't neglect that I spent some years learning it at school, and on holidays.

Oh, and I'm not full of it.

You are, or we have vastly different ideas of what constitutes proficiency.

[battered]

scherzkeks said:

battered said:

I disagree. I have lived in France, I was proficient after 3 months, expert after a year. Don't neglect that I spent some years learning it at school, and on holidays.

Oh, and I'm not full of it.

You are, or we have vastly different ideas of what constitutes proficiency.

I'd say that running the technical and quality dept of a decent sized factory, in the local language, would fit most people's idea of "proficient". wouldn't you?

Still don't believe me? Well, be my guest. It makes no difference to my life, or my ability to still speak the language.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Kateg28 said:

I am now 8% fluent as of this morning.

Never mind Italian, I'm struggling with the English here.

What does 8% fluent mean? I've always thought being fluent in a language was either yes or no.

My French is OK, but I am not fluent.