Society & Culture Learning a Language

[peternorth]

did chinese school as a kid. quit because i wanted to play on sat mornings.

at school it was french for 5 years. spoke a bit of frenchy in france then also. well a bit.

university mandarin for 3 years. was fluent and read newspapers alongside writing very well. however, 5 years of inactivity rendered my knowledge to just recognition and constantly thinkin "hey i know that character. i can write it but i cant remember how to say it".

then opportunity present for which gratitude was bestowed. i began working in an industry that required travel to and communication in mandarin. i visit the big communist nation on a regular basis but as luck would have it many people speak english there (in sales anyway). but although fluency and grammer isnt there, just gotta try and get the message across.
im sure on numerous times when asking for a price for a 20' container load of goods, ive asked sales girl for a night of pleasure. ok.

weird, when touching down in hong kong (via last plane out of melbourne) my cantonese floods back and speak tongue.

learning a language is great - and i think at school, students learn for the sake of getting good marks. life is more than that. to fully learn and excel, immerse yourself in the language/culture/country!

 

[RedBullRacing]

How many of you guys have learned a language or are learning a language?

Right now I'm in the super basic stages of learning Arabic and have only just learned things like one way connectors in their language.

Any helpful tips when learning a language?

Thanks

From what I've heard the best way is to listen, listen, listen. So many people have told me of how much of a waste of time grammar is, and how you can learn quickly in 6 months.

Listening, and repetition is really important, and the best way to get results is to utilize podcasts in your downtime in 30 minute blocks for most effective learning. Its surprizing when you calculate your downtime, you can get at least 15 hours a week easy.

 

[Frank Bunn]

As a new year's resolution I finally unwrapped a French language CD/book course that I bought in a charity book sale about 10 years ago. I've since discovered Duolingo.com so I'm using that daily to learn French. At the moment I'm about the "Richie Benaud on the 12th Man" level of proficiency but determined to keep going.

How did you go with it?

I'm watching a French TV series and I studied French at school for a while - so I thought I would brush up my skills to a decent level. I'm finding Duolingo really slow. You have to spend ages doing the repetitive exercises before it unlocks the next section.

 

[MrKK]

How did you go with it?

I'm watching a French TV series and I studied French at school for a while - so I thought I would brush up my skills to a decent level. I'm finding Duolingo really slow. You have to spend ages doing the repetitive exercises before it unlocks the next section.

Yeah, ashamed to admit that I gave it away. Just struggled to find the time to keep it up regularly and I got frustrated with Duolingo. I did have a brief trip to France after I wrote that and managed to use a bit of it.

 

[utility]

Repetition helps. Once you unlock you get access to more vocabulary. I've stopped using it but found it great for improving my reading.

I think the trick is to combine resources. For example, 15 minutes of Duolingo, 15 minutes watching/listening to a lesson on YouTube, 15 minutes book learning.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Repetition helps. Once you unlock you get access to more vocabulary. I've stopped using it but found it great for improving my reading.

I think the trick is to combine resources. For example, 15 minutes of Duolingo, 15 minutes watching/listening to a lesson on YouTube, 15 minutes book learning.

I was thinking that. A book for the vocab then Duolingo for pronunciation.

 

[STFUJEFF]

I can butcher little bits of a few languages
I have a pretty good ear and can pick things up reasonably fast
I try and use a program or book for a few weeks before going anywhere

Im also pretty good and sign language when the verbal ones fail me
grew up with a deaf neighbor

 

[utility]

I was thinking that. A book for the vocab then Duolingo for pronunciation.

Go for Pimsleur for pronunciation. Either that or talk with a human - sites like italki have cheap teachers and language exchange sites can be free.

 

[Caesar]

Did mostly Latin at school, kind of wish I’d opted for French or something

Always intended to leverage the Latin into other Romance languages but it never happened. Speak a smattering of Swiss-German thanks to an old girlfriend but that’s it

 

[Frank Bunn]

Go for Pimsleur for pronunciation. Either that or talk with a human - sites like italki have cheap teachers and language exchange sites can be free.

There must be heaps of French speakers who want to improve their English and could help me to learn their language.

I only picked French because I've got a good start with it. I'm tempted to learn something exotic. Duolingo has Navaho!