I have studied Latin, German, and Spanish. I know approximately 10 words in any of those languages. I feel like a total and complete failure, especially considering I am getting my Masters in Anthropology this fall and am sadly ill-equipped to study any group beyond those who speak English without the aid of a translator, which is a dubious practice at best.
I want to learn SOMETHING with enough fluency to at least be comfortable trying a conversation with someone who is a native speaker. I would also like to be able to watch my Korean Dramas and Japanese anime without subtitles, but that is just a nerderific side note.
So I suppose my point in starting this tread is to first ask those of you who do know a foreign* language how you did it. Also, maybe point me and others to good reliable resources for language learning. Maybe even impress me with how many languages you do speak. There is a special place in my hear for linguistics and foreign language majors.
*note, foreign here is not meant as an Anglo-centric term encompassing only those languages which aren’t English. Since English is my mother tongue, any other language is foreign, but if you are not a native English speaker and have learned English I would like to know how you did that as well.
Six months of intense language training in a formal setting is how I did it for three languages. A better way is to move somewhere where they don’t speak English. Then it’s sink or swim. There’s always Rosetta Stone, but I haven’t used it, so couldn’t tell you how effective it is.
I took German classes for three years in high school, and my first year in college.
When I lived in Indonesia, I took a crash course in conversational Indonesian. I also had a couple of Indonesian girlfriends; that made learning the language a LOT easier!
I want to get Rosetta Stone but I am leery of dropping x amount of moola on something that may or may not work, and perpetuate my never ending cycle of failed language study
My self esteem is already tenuous, I’d hate to risk damaging it after spending a couple hundred, LOL
Truly, the best way to learn a new language is immersion. Go someplace where you’re forced to speak it every day to get by and you’ll learn at least the basics in just a few months. I don’t know anyone for whom this method has ever failed.
Like everyone has said, go live in a country where your desired language is spoken. This is much easier than trying to learn in a classroom, because you will have real world images and daily situations to associate with phrases, expressions, words. For a weird example, I still remember that I learned the Japanese for “I feel the need to urinate frequently” (Japanese uses an unexpected phrasing from an English speaker’s point of view) almost 30 years ago from reading symptoms listed on a sheet that I had to fill out at the hospital, and having to ask the nurse “What does this mean?” It’s not a phrase I have ever needed to know since then, but it always stayed with me.
Get a job proofreading/checking translations from your target language into English. You will pick up a huge amount of vocabulary if you do this dilligently (thoroughly comparing the translation with the original to make sure that no elements of meaning have been omitted, and faithfully checking the dictionary every time you encounter a word in the original that you do not know).
Date/marry someone who speaks your desired language; it is better if they do not speak much English, and if you have some basic level of proficiency, it is best if they do not speak any English.
Watch movies that you are already familiar with but that have subtitles in your desired language. Because you are already familiar with the movie, you can focus on the expressions and vocabulary used in the subtitles. Watch movies with the audio in your desired language with the closed captioning in that language also on. You will retain it better if you are hearing it and reading it at the same time.
Took five years of German at school then didn’t use it for 10 years and totally forgot about it. Then I had a German girlfriend (who couldn’t speak English). Extremely effective. I am quite fluent now !
I was the same with German at some point, having forgotten all of m classes. But just because you can’t think of more than 10 words doesn’t mean that you don’t know more. They will come back from your memory if you begin practicing.
It’s amazing how much words and phrases that pop up in ones head just by walking around thinking of things one might have to say to people. It has happened to me both in Germany and in France.
There was another language thread recently where someone mentioned Michel Thomas. I did a search and he has an iPhone app so I bought the first lesson for German. I took 2 years of German in high school and I’ve joked that all I can remember is how to sing “Mein hut er hat drei ecken” (a childrens song) but the conversational style of his lessons has brought a whole bunch more back.
It’s not cheap - they sell each hour for $4.99 so all the way to the end of one language is probably going to be about $200 but you can try it for $5 and see if it’s working for you.
I learned French fluently in adulthood. I did it by moving to France. Now, though it’s a great way to learn, it’s also very lonely and isolating, even if you’ve got someone with you. There’s joy in little triumphs, but there’s also a lot of frustration, mental exhaustion, and the occasional weeping breakdown in a train station. It’s a great experience but it’s not one I’d suggest for everyone, and not always practical if you need to live and work.
Michel Thomas is good, for sure, though there’s always one ‘student’ on his tapes that leaves you wanting to pull your hair out. But listening to something can only take you so far. You really need the interaction to build your skills. In nearly every city there are language courses and personal tutors - in my mind, this is absolutely essential. You need to bounce language off someone else, not just recite it out loud in your car or living room.
Since living in Europe, I’ve picked up what my husband and I call “hotel and restaurant” Italian, Spanish, and German. I can order a glass of red wine, easily understand at least 90% of menus, check into my hotel room, and make myself understood if I have a complaint about something. The trick is: nouns! They’re easy to learn. Cling to them like a life raft. You build all your sentences around nouns (easy!) and other stuff (more difficult!), but when you’re trying to get a simple point across, using the correct noun and getting close enough to the verb (even if improperly conjugated) will have it so most people will get what you’re going for. Focus on everyday nouns and then build sentences around them. Once you learn how to say, I don’t know, “The cat eats the cake”, you can learn how to say “The cat wants to eat the cake”, “the man wants to eat the cake”, “I want to eat a piece of cake”, and so on.
Total immersion is the way to go.
Nothing forces you to learn a language faster and better than being in a position where you need to communicate to eat, drink, poop, pee, get around town, shop, work, watch films and TV, read newspapers, meet people and have sex.
I would go so far as to say it is probably cheaper to go and park your ass in some foreign country for six months, than spend triple that amount taking language lessons over many years in your native country. Plus, by actually going there, you not only learn the language, but the culture as well. And it is fun!
The OP should keep in mind that many people seem incapable of learning a foreign language. I’ve known people that could not master the simplest of phrases in a language full of cognates such as Spanish. No matter how hard they tried, correct pronunciation seemed beyond their reach, and the ability to master the grammar rules an impossibility. So don’t beat yourself up too badly.
do not expect miracles. How long did it take you to speak English more-or-less correctly? Several years. Speaking another language more-or-less correctly will not be a matter of weeks.
And a few dos:
do use what you know. I seriously doubt you only remember ten words in Spanish: what are they, the numbers from one to ten? But if you refuse to use what little Spanish you have because “it’s not perfect”, it won’t get better, it’ll get worse.
that means in your thoughts, too. In your time off, practice thinking in the language you’re learning; at the beginning you’ll be translating all the time, but eventually there will be some expressions you think directly in the “new” language; as time goes on there will be more and more of them.
do use the language(s) you already know to build your knowledge of the new one. You already know what a noun and a subject and a pronoun and a verb are, right? OK, so you can apply that knowledge in other languages; the specific words will be different, their usage and positioning as well, but there’s a lot of learning you already did with English that you can reuse in other languages.
Another do (thanks ChefGuy): fuck correct pronunciation; for the first couple of years (and, depending on phonetic differences, always) you’re aiming for understandable. Don’t let “perfection” keep you from reaching “good enough”.
Great suggestions thus far.
An easy little boost to your language acquisition is to listen to songs in that language. The slower tempo, drawn out vowels, rhyme scheme, repeating lines – these all help you learn the language.
Fantastic! I love all those suggestions, and I think most could work for me except the significant other one. I don’t think my husband would go for that one!
I am working on getting Mr. R to revisit joining the Navy after Pharmacy school, because I grew up a military brat and I want to be in a position where we are paid move to another country, not only for the language learning, but for the cultural growth and experiential possibilities, and to expose my children to a more worldly point of view.
Have him get an advanced nursing degree, or a PA license, then he can join the Foreign Service medical corps and you’ll see more of the world and get much better pay/retirement/housing than the military will ever be able to provide.
:: a café in the far reaches of Flugelheim ::
:: you spot a very attractive specimen of humanity ::
(you, arm-waving)
You are beautiful! Want to hook up and learn the language of love?
(your desire, arm-waving)
And how many hectolitres of turpentine would you like to order, sir?
