Topic: Learning a new language.

[red mongoose]

I've been trying to learn Spanish recently and have difficulty with the listening, so I've started watching The Simpsons dubbed in Spanish. I know the general plot but find it difficult to pick out the words without Spanish subtitles. Anyone experience doing anything similar? Should I just repeat scenes until I get the words?

I got some Spanish learning CD's from the library and put them on my iPhone, then played them in the car through my car stereo. For my journalist job at the time, I had to drive all over the place, so I had a lot of time to listen. It was fairly passive, but I would repeat some of the words when I felt like it. Eventually, hearing the Spanish words became more natural for me. I focused mostly on learning more vocabulary words, so that I could try to say more things - I did that in Swedish as well and it helped a lot. What I tell my students now in Bangkok is that they really need that experience - they need to become more familiar with English sounds and inflections so it sounds more natural and recognizable to them. It was the same for me when I was trying to learn Spanish. I was only doing it for this Argentine girl, and once that fell through I gave up on Spanish, as you do 

[Komic]

Cheers for the responses, yeah think I will keep watching them and hopefully get a hang of what is a word and what is several words. Think Spanish subs on things where possible will help as well.

[RMG]

Want to learn a language, liking some of the suggestions on here but any advice on top of that for someone with Dyslexia?

[Ken-Obi]

Want to learn a language, liking some of the suggestions on here but any advice on top of that for someone with Dyslexia?

I think you can learn a language without having to read - the key is immersion; work a lot faster and more naturally than structured learning.

[Chakan]

I may have to learn Spanish, and now i'm learning there's like a 100 different versions of Spanish depending on where you come from.

[Gerry Attrick]

I may have to learn Spanish, and now i'm learning there's like a 100 different versions of Spanish depending on where you come from.

You're Gary Neville and I claim my fiver

[campioni]

I may have to learn Spanish, and now i'm learning there's like a 100 different versions of Spanish depending on where you come from.

Not really. There are variations between European Spanish and south-american Spanish and even between the south-american countries themselves but it would be similar to the variations in English between the UK, USA, Australia etc.

Within Spain itself there are other languages such as Catalan (&Valenciano), Basque, Galician but they are languages in their own right (and in some cases unrecognisable from Castillian Spanish) and the vast majority of people in those regions can still speak Castillian Spanish.

[Chakan]

Not really. There are variations between European Spanish and south-american Spanish and even between the south-american countries themselves but it would be similar to the variations in English between the UK, USA, Australia etc.

Within Spain itself there are other languages such as Catalan (&Valenciano), Basque, Galician but they are languages in their own right (and in some cases unrecognisable from Castillian Spanish) and the vast majority of people in those regions can still speak Castillian Spanish.

This whole paragraph sounds really contradictory since it starts out as "not really"

Anyway will see how it goes.

[RMG]

I love this Duolingo, what a site. 7% fluent in German.

Ich bin eine frau 

[CornerFlag]

I love this Duolingo, what a site. 7% fluent in German.

Ich bin eine frau 

Pop in your local charity book shop as well, see if they have any old books in the language you want to learn.  There's a hospice one by me that has a few German ones for a quid.  Bought a clearance one from the Blackwells in Liverpool Uni for a nicker and all.

[RMG]

Pop in your local charity book shop as well, see if they have any old books in the language you want to learn.  There's a hospice one by me that has a few German ones for a quid.  Bought a clearance one from the Blackwells in Liverpool Uni for a nicker and all.

How are you finding learning from a book?

I'm finding this way very refreshing.

[CornerFlag]

How are you finding learning from a book?

I'm finding this way very refreshing.

I'm not really learning from it so much, more a look through it every now and again as a supplement rather than a learning aid.  I figure most of the contact with German will be written (Aspekte is the book btw) so I wanted to get a feel of how it was written in fuller sentences.  The odd podcast I have as well with native speakers aids it too, I'm just basically throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.  Not had a ton of time to do it with uni though.  I did study it at GCSE though too.

[CraigDS]

Those who have used Duolingo, how long per day is it best to set aside for it?

[Narwin Dunez]

Those who have used Duolingo, how long per day is it best to set aside for it?

You can breeze through a section or two in about 20 minutes I think. I found it very repetitive and some of the phrases were ridiculous

Yo soy un penguino
La arana comen pan

I am a penguin
The spider eats bread

Got me some funny looks in the airport duty free them phrases did.

[Ken-Obi]

Ah you'll be singing I'm The Walrus in Spanish soon then.

[kesey]

Je sais du parles Francais .

You know when your getting somewhere when you start pronouncing words with or without an H when you speak Engish. It's improving me Scouse anyway. .

['Mondzz']

Been fancying giving Spanish a crack for a while. Might give that Duolingo a go but would prefer some proper lessons. Anyone had any experience with lessons anywhere in Liverpool?

[Packalacky]

Speak French and Portuguese, understand Spanish but struggle to speak it. Best way to learn a new language is to live in the country where it is spoken. Also, Duolingo is a fantastic app.

[sharkeyb]

Trying to learn korean, the pronounciation is very difficult, trying to learn how to write and speak at the same time, not managed to find an app that helps, just been using website and books for the language structure.

if anybody knows any apps that can help let me know

[CornerFlag]

Trying to learn korean, the pronounciation is very difficult, trying to learn how to write and speak at the same time, not managed to find an app that helps, just been using website and books for the language structure.

if anybody knows any apps that can help let me know

It's not an app but have you tried visiting here: http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/ ?

There's a section HERE that has the audio formats.  Seems like a decent site to start in terms of speaking it although there's books you can buy.  Probably wouldn't bother if you have some already though.

[sharkeyb]

i've not tried it, ill take a look thanks.  i drive alot in my job, so looking to get a few mp3s in the car to learn as i drive.  trying to nail down at least an hour a day
always start with the alphabet and then move on to a feature like numbers or days of the week

starting work again tomorrow i'm eager to get into a routine now

[Ken-Obi]

Learning to read Korean is pretty easy as the Hangul follows a trend or pattern that you will recognise with scrutiny.

It is when it goes into practice that it gets difficult as a lot of it is based on adaptation to context.

[sharkeyb]

Learning to read Korean is pretty easy as the Hangul follows a trend or pattern that you will recognise with scrutiny.

It is when it goes into practice that it gets difficult as a lot of it is based on adaptation to context.

yeah I find that I can read it fairly quickly considering how long I've been learning, hoping to be able to have a very very basic conversation by the end of summer and be able to read quicker

[Ken-Obi]

yeah I find that I can read it fairly quickly considering how long I've been learning, hoping to be able to have a very very basic conversation by the end of summer and be able to read quicker

Oh and don't forget the deference terms as well as the Korean's propensity to shoehorn or clip sentences because it's easier or sounds better!

[Wallingtonian]

I can speak pretty decent French and basic German. Now living in Thailand I'm picking up Thai - slowly - as I go along. A friend of mine from the middle east told me he learned English when in Australia through the basic method of first getting to know the names of food and drink. Being able to order stuff expanded into knowing the English words for numbers. Pretty soon he was able to expand his vocabulary slowly and picked up the grammar over time. His English was very good after a couple of years.

My problem is that my wife speaks good English so I'm not going to learn much at home. But like my friend I found I was picking up the words for all the food and drinks in Thai and receptacles like glasses and bottles. Then you learn the numbers in Thai so you're able to order stuff in restaurants and bars where no-one speaks English.

After a while I suddenly realised how extensive my vocabulary was and how I could understand the gist of most conversations. The next step is to try to put everything I know into conversational Thai. I know all the useful phrases in Thai but being able to hold a proper conversation is still beyond me.

I haven't got the discipline to learn it through lessons but a couple of years ago I'd never imagine I'd know so much now. I'm hoping that I'll pick stuff up at a faster rate in the future as my vocabulary grows and would hope to be reasonably fluent in a year or two.

So for me it's immersion in the language over a period of time that I hope will do the trick

[JURGENKLOPP]

I never thought I'd be one to learn a language but after going to South America in 2014 and meeting loads of people who could speak 2, 3 even 4 languages, I decided to give Spanish a go. Now, after about a year or so learning, I'm able to hold my own in a conversation and communicate pretty well. It helps that I've moved to Madrid. Learning more every day. Learning a new language is the best thing I've ever done.

[CraigDS]

I never thought I'd be one to learn a language but after going to South America in 2014 and meeting loads of people who could speak 2, 3 even 4 languages, I decided to give Spanish a go. Now, after about a year or so learning, I'm able to hold my own in a conversation and communicate pretty well. It helps that I've moved to Madrid. Learning more every day. Learning a new language is the best thing I've ever done.

How did you learn? Or was it just a case of being immersed in the language in Madrid?

[Chakan]

How did you learn? Or was it just a case of being immersed in the language in Madrid?

I'm curious to find this out as well, as I might be on the road to learning Spanish.

[jackh]

Has anybody ever attended any of the Spanish social events listed for Liverpool?

I'm tempted...but such a beginner that I'm not sure whether it's worthwhile at this stage.

[JURGENKLOPP]

How did you learn? Or was it just a case of being immersed in the language in Madrid?

I started off by using DuoLingo as well as listening to and making loads of notes from a podcast series called Notes in Spanish, it's a great site which I've found really handy. Has beginner, intermediate and advanced sections which allow you to familiarise yourself slowly. I'd be going through this and DuoLingo for about an hour and a half/2 hours a night.

http://www.notesinspanish.com/

Additionally I tried to listen fit it into most aspects of my life (this was before moving to Spain). I'd read news articles/Liverpool articles in Spanish, watch Spanish language films and listen to the music. I managed to find a Spanish person who lived in my town to speak to a bit as well. On top of this I decided to come to Madrid in the summer to take some classes then travel round Spain. In this time I fell in love with the city and decided to move over.

My advice is to practice, practice, practice... I'd repeat verb conjugations over and over in my head till I memorised them but different things work for different people. If you want to do it, go for it, it's probably the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Te deseo suerte tio!

[sidneyroughdiamond]

Setting a daily target on free websites such as Duolingo and Memrise is important as the daily repetition of learning a language is key. Try not to become disillusioned with yourself if you feel your not advancing quickly enough, it's a drip drip effect.

[sharkeyb]

Setting a daily target on free websites such as Duolingo and Memrise is important as the daily repetition of learning a language is key. Try not to become disillusioned with yourself if you feel your not advancing quickly enough, it's a drip drip effect.

yeah ive been listening to the same 20ish lessons over and over making sure,  once i feel confident i'll add a few more lessons in. you're right slower and repition is key

[jackh]

Enjoying learning Spanish.

One thing I would say is that it's worth making use of a few different methods.  We're overloaded with options and it's worth exploiting a few rather than focusing on one.

For me, Duolingo is great for vocab and memorising words within a particular category, whilst the Coffee Break Spanish podcasts seem really good for phrases and 'set piece' conversations.  I've been taking evening lessons too - these, or a good language book, seem much more effective in being able to develop an understanding the grammar.

The podcasts are great for anybody wanting to throw a few lines in during a holiday or something - or if you're meeting foreign language speakers through work/social activity and want to offer a few courteous lines, but I'm finding that using these (and Duolingo) as supplements for the lessons has got this language-learning thing to finally click (after many, many years!).

[jackh]

yeah ive been listening to the same 20ish lessons over and over making sure,  once i feel confident i'll add a few more lessons in. you're right slower and repition is key

With Coffee Break Spanish, I try and maintain a loose habit of listening to the lesson twice, then a third time during which I'll write the Spanish down and translate later, and then a fourth when I'll write the English down and translate later.

You might learn, say, four key phrases during a lesson but it's worth thinking about how you note them down.  Initially, I'll just list everything in the order it was spoken (this will include the variables within the question/response...this is where vocab-heavy Duolingo can help supplement the podcasts), but it's worth trying to get a bit creative with your Sharpie I'll often use square brackets in red to mark out the variable element in a key phrase for the lesson, and then mark out an 'options'/vocab box in read later on.

I find it a [_____] way to learn!

[Ken-Obi]

Has anyone had a go at learning Arabic from scratch? (I'm a Caucasian Welshie with absolutely no heritage or family links to any of the Arabic nations) If so, what learning tools did you use?

Just having a think a year or two in the future about doing an MA in Middle Eastern studies/history. I feel if I was going to do it, that I would want and strong grounding in a number of the languages from that part of the globe, and if I prove to be hopeless at it, then perhaps it's not something I should consider.

This could be you in 3 years.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/USt_hFVNHXM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/USt_hFVNHXM</a>

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Has anyone had a go at learning Arabic from scratch? (I'm a Caucasian Welshie with absolutely no heritage or family links to any of the Arabic nations) If so, what learning tools did you use?

Just having a think a year or two in the future about doing an MA in Middle Eastern studies/history. I feel if I was going to do it, that I would want and strong grounding in a number of the languages from that part of the globe, and if I prove to be hopeless at it, then perhaps it's not something I should consider.

I did it from scratch. No background either. I figured it would help with work before they put me where I am now, I ended up having to pick up another related language as well due to the locality. I would put my level at average to above average, if I really wanted to up it I know what to do, it's more than enough for reading and communication now but a big advantage is living in an environment where you're constantly exposed to it / don't need to go very far to immerse yourself in it.

I don't think I can be of much use to you where it matters - learning tools - as I did it old school, some boring old book that quickly got me confused within the first few pages in the explanations of sukoon and tanween without even attempting to pretend that this wasn't going to be a slog.

You look at the apps, youtube vids etc these days I'm sure happy they actually highlight the beauty of what you're about to do first.

What I can say is - don't worry about learning the alphabet and writing too much, it's easier than it looks, do it at your own pace. Don't worry too much about pronounciation either, with your background it's a guarantee you will have difficulty pronouncing and linking some of the letters - ayn, ghayn, maybe dhaud, the 'r' is also very nasal among others - these aspects will take work. What you can do first, right away is start building up the database of sound to meaning from whatever source you find entertaining - subtitled movies, subtitled songs, children's books - that is, in essence - the language.

The book was only good for the foundation of the writing system, the 3 forms of each alphabet obviously and some grammar. With Arabic, for a non-native, you'll find very quickly that building up the base isn't the issue, it's the long term work needed to be able to read publications comfortably when they don't provide the marked short vowels and other grammar related markings at all. That will take a lot of work. The initial bit is ok.

Reading  back, this post really isn't much use besides saying that path has been walked from your background, it can be done I suppose, hopefully you get someone more current in his learning to contribute to share materials.

[Claire.]

I saw arabic on duolingo... maybe it's only on the website. Or I'm talking shit.

Latter soz. I was messing with the languages dropdown and it's in there.

[Claire.]

Learn French first

[Claire.]

Haha, yeah you can do Arabic on DL but it's limited at the moment to other native languages like French.

Signed up to memrise today and saw there's a basic Arabic course.

[Caligula?]

One summer a few years ago I found myself between jobs with not much to do so I decided to try and learn a new language. Sort of a spur of the moment thing. I had recently traveled to Romania and loved it, so out of the blue I decided Romanian it would be.

I bought a teach yourself guide, specifically the "Complete Romanian: A Teach Yourself Guide" from Amazon.



It came with a lengthy book and two cd's. I spent most of the summer going through it. The book started off easily enough, but it got tough when it came to grammar. I stuck with it though, and 3 years on I'm now fluent in the language. Speaking is a challenge, but I'm able to read and understand almost everything. Obviously, I've since practiced loads more and have seen films, read books, downloaded apps, etc but it was that book and two discs that pretty much got it all started for me. Within weeks (I was about halfway through the book) I found myself being able to read Romanian websites, articles, etc and understand most of it. It's not intuitive and you have to have the will to stick with it and devote the time, but I recommend that series highly. They have teach yourself guides for almost every language too, and they're not expensive.