Best way to learn a foreign language
- Thread starter UNC71-00
- Start date
Hire a talkative illegal immigrant.
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I know you probably don't have this option but just surround yourself w people who speak the language. Seriously though. My gf and her family are Khmu. That has to be one of the weirdest ****ing languages I've ever heard but I've been around them so much that I can pick bits and pieces of what they're saying in about any conversation. I sure as hell know when they're talking about me and I can speak a little of it too.
Just don't do it. Maybe the people who you'll be speaking with need to learn English.
I think ideally it's a combination of studying and immersion. Whether you use an online or recorded course or an in-person course depends on how you learn best, but ultimately in order to gain and retain conversational fluency you need to be around people speaking the language, and participate.
Take all that with a grain of salt as it's coming from somebody who struggled with foreign language more than any other "subject" in school. I did fine in terms of grades in French in high school, then Spanish in college, but when it came to understanding or participating in a conversation with native speakers of either, it just never clicked for me.
I really want to improve my Spanish. We have a Hispanic family next door with a daughter close in age to ours, and we like them. The parents both speak English well, but it would be nice to be able to reciprocate by speaking to them in theirs at least a little bit. I know some basic vocabulary, and at one time I had a little understanding of the conjugations, but when they're speaking to each other it might as well be Elvish for all I can pick out.
Take all that with a grain of salt as it's coming from somebody who struggled with foreign language more than any other "subject" in school. I did fine in terms of grades in French in high school, then Spanish in college, but when it came to understanding or participating in a conversation with native speakers of either, it just never clicked for me.
I really want to improve my Spanish. We have a Hispanic family next door with a daughter close in age to ours, and we like them. The parents both speak English well, but it would be nice to be able to reciprocate by speaking to them in theirs at least a little bit. I know some basic vocabulary, and at one time I had a little understanding of the conjugations, but when they're speaking to each other it might as well be Elvish for all I can pick out.
Elvish sounds cool. Does that mean I have nerdish tendencies
Yes, but that's ok. There's a support group. We meet on a message board called OOTB.
Just add "o" to your words
He's going to South America, so he's the one who needs to learn the local language.
Well then he needs to tell them to GFY and speak English. This is America (which technically still applies here).
Peru, if I'm not mistaken.
I've never really been anywhere where they don't speak English. I took 3 years of French in high school and another 4 semesters in college. So when my wife and I went to Montreal and Quebec City years ago, I thought I'd break it out. Much to my chagrin, everybody I interacted with told me, in English, to stop butchering the French language and that they'd be happy to speak to me in English. Kind of a bummer because I was trying to show off in front of my wife (girlfriend at the time).
I can't help you at all with Spanish. I can get around with French. But I'm fluent in redneck if you have a trip to Madison Heights, VA in the near future.
Over the years I've found that people appreciate you trying to speak to them in their own language and after a minute or two they will say "well in fact I do speak a little english". I think it shows a level of respect if a person just tries to speak to people in their own tongue. I've never been to Peru but my BIL just retired and is moving to Ecuador so I expect to go there soon.
That's because Quebecois are dicks. I think there's something about the language that makes you an effete a-hole.
It's the only place the French managed to successfully colonize with their own people. They think they're something special because of that fact.
Get this, every province of Canada, even ones that have no French population whatsoever, have to have bilingual signs. But Quebec doesn't reciprocate with signs in English.
They're arrogant bastards who think the country they live in revolves around them.
You've been to Quebec City? I liked it a lot there. My wife and I took a train from DC to Montreal and we stayed a couple nights there and then took the Canadian rail from Montreal to Quebec City and stayed there for 3-4 days (*on a side note, the Canadian rail beats the shit out of Amtrak). We stayed in the Chateau Frontenac. Damn cool place. We were there for New Year's (when it turned 1999). We did a couple bus tours and just hung out in the old city part. I don't remember everyone being especially rude. They just didn't like my stab at the French language. As I stated, I was a bit disappointed I didn't get to show off the French that I knew (un peu), but ultimately, that would have worn off and I would have been irritated that people weren't speaking English.
Remind me sometime to tell you how that trip ended. It took a major turn for the worst on the way home.
What better time than now?
If you really need to speak Spanish down there, be sure to start off every conversation with "vete a la mierda." They'll be incredibly impressed, and you'll be highly respected amongst your peers.
So i took 2 classes of french in hs and 3 at unc. (My unc french teacher was hot af btw). So i felt i had a good grasp of it. My summer job was managing a public swimming pool in swannanoa nc. I noticed a french family visiting and their 5ish year old kid was wading in the kiddie pool. I thought "nows my time to try out my french". I went up and asked the kid if the water was cold. Or so i thought. She started screaming and ran to her parents. They packed up and left.
@UNC71-00 in a serious answer to your question, download the app DuoLingo. It's free (so therefore already way better than the $400+ Rosetta Stone) and it provides you periodic updates as you progress through the lessons that you are "8% fluent in Spanish!" and stuff like that.
It teaches you vocab first, which to me is more important than verbs and sentence structure, and uses a ton of repetition to make it stick. I've had good success with it helping me re-learn Spanish and it helped me develop at least a basic sense of vocab for Italian. Hope this helps. It's free so you've got nothing to lose.
It teaches you vocab first, which to me is more important than verbs and sentence structure, and uses a ton of repetition to make it stick. I've had good success with it helping me re-learn Spanish and it helped me develop at least a basic sense of vocab for Italian. Hope this helps. It's free so you've got nothing to lose.
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