Learning a New Language

[AedanRayne]

I didn't see a thread like this and thought it would be a fun one! Currently, I'm studying to learn German and have found a few cool tools to help me along the way. It'd be a shame not to share them with ya'll and it'd be great if you could share yours (if you have them)! I'm currently taking classes to learn German (just started) & am using Rosetta Stone as well. Rosetta Stone is an incredible program (though kind of pricey) but it's worth it! http://www.rosettastone.com/

I downloaded an app called "MindSnacks - Learn German" on my iPhone and it's extremely helpful for learning new words and has some really fun games. You can search for "Mindsnacks" in the app store & search for the language you desire to learn (they have a huge selection). It's free for the first level and then $4.99 to get the rest of them but definitely worth the price IMO. http://www.mindsnacks.com/

What have you done / are doing to learn a new language?

 

[uhohtrouble]

Well I took 4 semesters of spanish in college and 3 classes in high school but I still suck. I just recently downloaded the iPhone app duolingo to brush on my skills it is pretty fun so far I am kind addicted to it now.

 

[Ann_Sulu]

That's such a cute game! If you need any help with German I'm more than willing to help, though I learned it from family so it was waaay easier for me. I did take high German in college, and have an Associates in it, but well, teachers generally suck from what I've seen. My best piece of advice for beginners is mnemonic devices. I find the most irritating thing about German to be the grammar. Often it'll make sense to me because I'm used to it, but trying to explain it to Americans makes all of us crazy. Oh, and I know this may sound stupid, but when it comes to learning genders for nouns make stupid sexist jokes to remember them. Fair warning, not saying you'll try this, but Google translate tends to be good at vocab with German, but bad with grammar. So if you're taking a class and use an internet translator...you'll fail. I've witnessed kids trying this a lot, last minute, when they forgot to do an assignment. I remember my teacher not being near as amused by this as the rest of the class when a guy meant to say "She got into an accident" and it translated it "She had an accident". It even auto-corrected to where technically what he said was "She peed herself."

Viel Glück!

 

[Nordling]

That's such a cute game! If you need any help with German I'm more than willing to help, though I learned it from family so it was waaay easier for me. I did take high German in college, and have an Associates in it, but well, teachers generally suck from what I've seen. My best piece of advice for beginners is mnemonic devices. I find the most irritating thing about German to be the grammar. Often it'll make sense to me because I'm used to it, but trying to explain it to Americans makes all of us crazy. Oh, and I know this may sound stupid, but when it comes to learning genders for nouns make stupid sexist jokes to remember them. Fair warning, not saying you'll try this, but Google translate tends to be good at vocab with German, but bad with grammar. So if you're taking a class and use an internet translator...you'll fail. I've witnessed kids trying this a lot, last minute, when they forgot to do an assignment. I remember my teacher not being near as amused by this as the rest of the class when a guy meant to say "She got into an accident" and it translated it "She had an accident". It even auto-corrected to where technically what he said was "She peed herself."

Viel Glück!

I loved Mark Twain's take on German:

http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html#x1

 

[SoTxBob]

I loved Mark Twain's take on German:
http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html#x1

These things are not words, they are alphabetical processions. ...one can open a German newspaper at any time and see them marching majestically across the page -- and if he has any imagination he can see the banners and hear the music, too.
Generalstaatsverordnetenversammlungen.
Alterthumswissenschaften.
Kinderbewahrungsanstalten.
Unabhaengigkeitserklaerungen.
Wiedererstellungbestrebungen.
Waffenstillstandsunterhandlungen.
....when one of these grand mountain ranges goes stretching across the printed page, it adorns and ennobles that literary landscape -- but at the same time it is a great distress to the new student, for it blocks up his way; he cannot crawl under it, or climb over it, or tunnel through it. So he resorts to the dictionary for help, but there is no help there. The dictionary must draw the line somewhere -- so it leaves this sort of words out.

:lol:
I love Twains ramblings.
He also nailed why I have voluntarily forgotten my 4 years of German classes.

 

[crappuccino]

What have you done / are doing to learn a new language?

well i learned english mainly from books and angry teenage retards on the internet. one of them is quicker, the other one has a nicer result. shitdick.

 

[bob]

What have you done / are doing to learn a new language?

I've used http://www.livemoca.com....it has a wide range of options, from free online lessons, to pay as you go tutorials, to full on prepaid lessons with teachers. The best part of the site is the online community, and the way all the options use them to bring you together with others learning the language you're interested in, as well as encouraging you to be a reviewer of other's submittals in your native language.

The free lessons, in addition to the common picture/word association interface, each have writing and speaking parts that make use of the current lesson and build upon the previous ones, as well. Those are the two parts where others in the community can critique your work, because you upload it to the site. You can quickly build up a "friend's list" based on the value of the feedback: those friends are then notified when you've completed something for review.

It's about as good as you can get, if free is a criteria.

 

[NoelleBright]

I'm learning French!
http://www.duolingo.com
It's free and a really awesome website but the only language options are German, French, or Spanish.

 

[robss96]

http://www.busuu.com/

 

[Just Me]

Immersion in the country and language is always cited as the best way to learn a language. Barring that, it appears you have gone with some of the better methods. It really helps to find native speakers that you can practice with, either online or in person.

I lived for 8 years in Germany, took four years of high school German and my Spanish is actually better than my German. :lol: The Spanish, I have just picked up from being semi immersed in it at work and having some friends whose first language is Spanish. :twocents-02cents:

 

[Crumb]

I managed to get my hands on a cracked pirated Rosetta Stone, along with heaps of languages but no online support ( :shhh: don't tell anyone, it's just bloody expensive otherwise) ... mainly because I wanted to learn something new.

with that said, I am regular visitor to quite a few Russian models, so when I did finally get my hands on the RS, I started out with the Russian language (because I thought it might be fun to converse a little bit in her native language). It was going ok, my pronunciation was off sometimes, but otherwise, ok... until late in the first language pack, I came across a section that totally kicked my ass and I was deflated... and I stopped.
I still have Swedish and German installed as well... just have to get motivated again to start learning.

 

[SpecialK]

I aced 4 years of Spanish in HS but still suck haha! I am currently borrowing CD's from the library
to learn again and find them very helpful!

 

[Ann_Sulu]

Omg how could I forget to mention Lonely Planet books! The are cheep as hell, and the best phrasebooks I've come across. My Japanese one I'm looking at says USA 9 bucks and UK 5 pounds. They're also pocket sized. I have one for each of my languages I know, and love them!

 

[MyraNorth]

I only speak English fluently for the time being, but I really want to learn a variety of languages over the course of my life. Rosetta Stone really is an amazing program! With it, I dabbled a bit in Japanese but didn't stick with it (I will one day; that is definitely a language for me!), and German. The German, I stopped when college started up in the fall because I need allll my studious energy for that but I really enjoyed it. When the time is right, that's definitely the first one I'll devote myself to learning fully.

 

[spikyhaired]

I'm not fluent in anything other than English (my native tongue), but I've used Pimsleur to brush up on a few key words and phrases in different languages.

http://www.pimsleur.com/

Pimsleur focuses almost exclusively on auditory lessons to learn to speak the language. Some of their language courses include written materials, but it is definitely an approach focusing on learning to speak (as compared to speak and read) a language.

FYI - You can usually get the first session (20-30 minutes in length) for a language for free from the website. The first lesson generally teaches you how to ask in the foreign language "Do you speak English?" and how to say "I don't speak <the foreign language>." Plus a few pleasantries.

The Pimsleur method is sometimes described as obsolete as most of the material was developed in the 70s-80s, but its key feature is (in rough terms) spacing the repetition of learning over time, a proven method for exposure and building of retention.

I've not personally used the Language 101 method, but I've heard good things and will probably try it the next time I need to pick up a bit of a new language.

The Language 101 http://language101.com/ approach uses the same type of spaced-over-time exposure and recall to build memory. They have a smaller selection of languages, but their application is web-based and automatically tracks what you've learned and with which topics you are having trouble. It then dynamically adjusts to provide the proper level of exposure to help build memory.

 

[Dolicky]

I love languages, although I can't speak many of them myself (yet). I'm surprised no one has mentioned Benny the Irish Polyglot (http://www.fluentin3months.com/). If you're interested in communication rather than technical learning, then he's your dude. His idea is to focus on using the language from your very first day.

This page will give you a bit of an overview of him and how he learns languages so quickly.

Enjoy!

 

[RoryPond]

Crazy times! I'm learning German too but it's as a class in university. I need to study more though. I can read more than I speak! I might pick up that app to help me out.