What, in your opinion, is the best way to learn a new language? (without moving to that country)?

Question

I know some of a couple languages, but not enough to feel confident in a full blown conversation. Primarily spanish. I can understand more than I can speak, when I try to think of what to say I just blank out. Even if I can understand 90% of what someone is saying to me. Suggestions? I self study for the most part, i'm just curious what works for other people the best. Figured i'd post a question and get people some points!

Answer 1

This comes from personal experience.



To be able to fluently communicate in another language, you have to learn to THINK in that language. That is, when somebody asks you a question or talks to you - try to avoid translating it into your native language (English, I presume) then thinking of an answer and translating it back. It just won't work.



Once you are at a point when you understand 90% - do what I did. Watch movies in that language. Pick a few good movies that don't bore you. Ideally movies you're well familiar with, perhaps ones you watched before in your native language. But make sure that the movie is actually in that language, not translated (e.g you watched a translated version before). Watch that movie over and over. With each time you watch it, you'll understand a tinly little bit more of what is said. Don't stop until you understand the entire movie, every word in it... Then move on to the next one. You don't have to watch the same movie every day. Pick 5, and watch them all then start over. Just do it until you understand it all... And do make sure you like those movies, otherwise it will get boring too early for you.



When watching the movie, once again, try not to translate it to yourself. Try to UNDERSTAND the movie in that language. And think about what's going on in that language....



Then after some time of doing that you'll be able to apply the same technique to conversations. When someone asks you a question - you think about this question in that language and come up with an answer. Viola. You're done :)



Hope this will help you.

It worked for me.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Hello,



I would suggest taking classes and having your teachers drill you hard on the grammar. In Spanish and French I was initially able to understand things far earlier than I could spit them back and apparently that is very normal on the learning curve.



After classes be sure to put in 3 or 4 hours of study a day and get out on weekends and mix with the culture. A few stiff drinks at parties relaxes you and loosens your tongue better.

Bear in mind that you will learn a language like Spanish or French far quicker than Russian, Chinese or Arabic which have totally different alphabets syntax etc.





Cheers,



Michael Kelly

Answer 4

Do you want to make learning Spanish funny? Then you need to attempt this program from here https://tr.im/Wmn7W one of the languages of Rocket Languages.

The dialogues and lessons from this course are presented in a humorous and interesting way and unlike Rocket’s rivals; they don’t use a cookie cutter strategy (in other words the content is distinctive).

Members from Rocket Languages have entry to a learner’s forum for the specified language as nicely as a general forum for everyone. This is a excellent function to have since it allows individuals to request for clarification and engage with one another especially given that native speakers are actively moderating the forum.

Rocket Languages is the best on the web course of Spanish.

Answer 5

I learnt my Indonesian by myself from books. As I'm very good with English phonics, I simply transfer my set of phonics skills which comprise of letter-sound correspondence, decoding, segmenting etc into learning Indonesian. This speeds up my reading and writing.



However, to ensure that my oral and listening are on par with my reading and writing, I spoke to my Indonesian maid. All my new vocabulary that were learnt from books were applied in my daily conversation. I even read passages to my maid and she would correct me on my accent and pronounciation so that I sound more like a native speaker.



About a year plus after I became proficient, I went to Indonesia to attend my ex-maid's wedding. On my first trip, I could communicate very well with all the native speakers there because I learnt my standard Indonesian from the books. There were only some colloquial words which I did not understand and also some natives could express themselves in dialect but not so much in the standard way which educated Indonesians and I speak. I even managed to learn abit of their dialect.



I'm now learning German and Thai. For German and Thai, it's again attacking the language from the phonics approach. As for Thai writing script, it does not use the A-Z alphabets so I'm trying to decipher and find a words to read individual consonant, write and read all at the same time without learning ALL the Thai alphabets first (just like learning A-Z first).

Answer 6

Get as much material in that language as possible such as book's. cd's music even look online for online streaming of tv in that language it helps. Digest yourself in the language. and then try imagining situations and how you would deal with them then practice and soon you'll realize you have all the vocabulary you need .

Answer 7

Well, I learn languages at school, but I put podcasts on my iPod. (They're free) Try to get some from native speakers themselves. Also, books, dictionaries and translators help. Try this website for learning Spanish:

http://spanish.about.com//

The link is changeable. Like, if you wanted to learn French:

http://french.about.com//

German:

German.about.com

And so on...

Answer 8

What's the best way to study?



There are a number of different ways to study a language, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. You may find a combination of these is best for you.



* Group courses

* Individual lessons

* Teaching yourself

* Language exchange

* Picking it up by osmosis



Group courses

Studying in your country



If you can find a course in the language(s) you want to learn in your country this is quite a good way to study. A variety of courses are usually available, including part-time and full-time courses, short intensive courses and courses leading to qualifications. If you look around you can probably find a course that suits your requirements.



The main advantage of such courses is that you'll have a teacher or tutor to provide you with instruction, support and feedback and with whom to practice your language. You will also be studying with others who are at more or less the same level and you can compare notes with them and help one another. Formal courses also help you to structure your studies.



Taking a course is not for everyone however - some people don't feel comfortable in a classroom environment and prefer to study at their own pace and when it suits them.





Online courses



If you cannot find a suitable taught course in your area and are unable to spare the time to study abroad, you could consider online courses. There are plenty to choose from in a wide range of languages. Many are free but some you have to pay for. Some of the paid ones provide support from tutors via email, chat programs, video conferencing, telephone or even face to face.



Links to many online language courses



Transparent Language

Teaching yourself



There are many different courses designed for self-study available. These include textbooks, with or without cassettes or CDs, cassettes alone, videos, DVDs and CD-ROMs. Each type of course has its strengths and weaknesses which are discussed below.

Textbooks



If you want to learn how to read and write a language and are not bothered about speaking it, then all you need is a good textbook, a grammar and a dictionary.



Examples of this type of textbook include Peter Jones' excellent Learn Latin and Learn Ancient Greek, and Learn Russian by Ian Press.

Textbooks with cassettes or CDs



This type of course is probably the most popular and is designed to give you an all round knowledge of a language. Some courses focus more on colloquial language while others concentrate more on reading and writing. Most courses are intended for complete beginners or people with only minimal knowledge of the language. Intermediate and advanced level courses are available for some of the more popular languages, such as French, German, Italian and Spanish.



Examples of this type of course:



* Linguaphone courses are available for 100 languages and include all audio courses, explorer courses for those who just want to learn the basics, and in-depth courses for more serious students.

*



Teach Yourself and Colloquial courses - these are similar and are available for a wide range of languages; focus on teaching you everyday language, and introduce you to new alphabets or other writing systems where appropriate. Each course consists of a course book containing dialogues, grammatical notes, exercises and cultural information, together with cassettes or CDs with recordings of most of the dialogues and some of the exercises. Most of these courses are suitable for beginners. Intermediate-level courses are also available for the more popular languages, such as French, German, Russian, Spanish and Italian.



There are also Teach Yourself courses that introduce you to various writing systems, dictionaries, grammars and books about the culture of various countries.

* Powerglide courses are a fun and effective way to learn for French, German, Spanish and Latin. There are Powerglide courses for children and adults, each of which consists of audio CDs, textbooks and CD-ROMs. They use a variety of methods to teach you the languages, including role-playing, listening and repeating, mnemonics, games.



All audio courses



This type of course usually consists solely of cassettes or CDs, though some may also include a limited amount of printed material. All dialogues, exercises, instructions and explanations are recorded and the focus of these courses is teaching you to understand and speak the language.



Pimsleur language courses are the best known audio courses. They are very good at teaching you authentic pronunciation and a manageable amount of vocabulary. They also give you a good feel for the language you're learning. The Level 1 courses are suitable for complete beginners. More advanced courses are also available for some languages.

Computer-aided learning



Various language courses are available on CD-ROMs and DVDs. Each course is different but they generally include dialogues, audio, exercises and tests. Some also include phrasebooks, dictionaries, videos, games and provide online and/or telephone support.



These courses include:



* Teach Me! - include CD-Rom with vocabularly and grammar exercises, a series of graded stories and a talking dictionary. An accompanying booklet contains the text of all the stories, and an audio CD includes the vocabulary and the stories. Available for over 40 languages, including Bavarian, Breton, Cornish, Manx, Occitan, Quechua and Romansh.

* Rosetta Stone - various courses in 26 different languages from Arabic to Welsh. The courses are entirely in the language you're learning, and are an effective way to learn quite a lot of vocabulary and grammar.

* Transparent Language - a range of language courses for many different languages. Their site also includes useful phrases, games, cultural information, articles, quizzes and proficiency tests.

* A selection of multi-language courses



Audio magazines



Once you have got to grips with the fundamentals of a language, a great way to improve your reading comprehension and increase your vocabulary is to subscribe to one of the audio magazines produced by Champs-Elysées. These montly publications are available in French, German, Italian and Spanish and consist of an hour-long programme on CD or audio cassette covering a wide range of topics, such as politics, current affairs, sports, travel, film, and literature. The accompanying magazine includes a full transcript of the programme plus vocabulary and notes. Optional study supplements are also available.



You can find out more at: www.champs-elysees.com

Audio books



Listen to more than 25,000 audio books programs. Choose from popular and informative categories. Join now and receive free MP3 player.

Language exchange



A good way to practice and improve your L2 is to find a language exchange partner. This is someone who speaks your L2 and wants to learn your L1. Language exchange works best when both partners have roughly an intermediate level in their L2.



Language exchange is also a great way to meet people and make new friends.