Advice for Learning a Second Language

[dntspard]

So part of my long term goals is trying to become a more rounded person and learn other languages. So is there any advice or suggestions, apps/books/websites/etc, that fellow rebels would recommend to help. 

[Frost of the Gloaming]

I have heard good things about Rosetta stone, and by real people not just friggin radio ads (Thanks pandora)

 

imho if you really want to learn a language you need to immerse yourself in it; I would check out meetup.com to see if there is a "group" that meets to only to speak said language. The local German club used to have a once a month dinner where you were only allowed to speak German at the table and if you didn't know the word they would help you out with it, it was fun.

[Merrye]

I would say find a tutor or take a class.  Every language has different nuances to them.  You want to make sure you get basic information about language structure and grammar.  Also, see if you can find a native speaker to practice with.

[Jakkals]

Speak it. As many words as you know, as often as possible, with as many people as possible.

 

The rest you can pick up as you go.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how grammar works.

[Duality]

If ever you need help with French let me know!

 

Ma langue maternelle est le français

[Q_est]

Check out fluentin3months.com - it's to language learning what nerdfitness.com is to fitness  

The emphasis is on speaking from day one, not being afraid to make mistakes, talking > study, and plain hard work. 

[Kevin Mack]

I've played around with Mango. It's mostly tourist type language, not really trying to make you fluent. I get it free for work, if I was paying I'd want something more robust. 

[KAllen]

Which language are you trying to learn?  That might have some bearing on how to learn it.  If you're learning Spanish, in the US you're better off learning Latin America than Spanish Spanish.  Their is a difference.  It's like learning French and going to South Louisiana trying to speak to the Cajuns who speak "Cajun French"...won't work. 

[dntspard]

The tutor/class is great if I had time or money for it, but most of my time is taken by work and workout. I'm actually trying to learn French right now, but have a list of languages I want to learn. Right now i'm using duolingo to study with my friend but my work hours have been kinda screwed up with new job so can only have an hour or so every few days. 

 

I'm actually going to look over some suggestions...except Rosetta Stone since limited on income right now and can't spend several hundred dollars at the moment. 

[Shortkaik]

Here are the resources I've used for French and Italian.  I'm really bad at languages but at least they make it a bit fun:

 

LiveMocha - this lets you get in touch with other people, and has very well laid out lesson plans.  You can earn points to access lessons by 'marking' other people's answers to some questions (in your native language.)  You can also pay to access extra lessons (I bought their 1-month unlimited for $10 at the time I was using it)

 

Duolingo - This one is pretty good for learning vocabulary, and depending on the language, it also gives you a chance to practice translating real articles.  It's free, and there is a mobile app.

 

MindSnacks - this is an iOS game that helps you learn almost purely vocabulary by playing mini-games.  It's fun and good for learning some basics like numbers, months, etc.

 

But as to what the others have said, a tutor is great and learning through practice is best.  Speaking it really teaches you to use it best.  I can read french fluently but I cannot speak it for the life of me, since I just have not had the guts to practice in the real world!

 

What languages are you interested in?

 

I would like to get better at French with some real practice... my kids started French immersion the last couple of years and I feel so bad when I cannot help them with their homework! @Duality, maybe you could give me some help?

[LessJos]

I learned best/most while travelling. If you can try either a language course in the country that speaks the language. Most of them offer stays with hostfamilies which is an amazing way of travelling and learning the language. Or you could look into organizations like WOOF where you can work and travel. That definitely also forces you to use the new language.

[Red1263]

There's also italki.com, in that website, you can find language partners and skype/chat with them in order to improve your skills. There are also various other free websites if you look hard enough. What language(s) are you trying to learn right now?

[Vella]

As someone who would love to be a polyglot but has so far failed to stick with a language for long enough to get conversation-good, I had most success with Japanese so far, simply because of my love of anime.

Since then I've realised that what works best for me (flashcards and reciting verb conjugations never seemed to stick for me) is to pick up a book in the language (especially one translated by a good translator; if you've got the linguistics skills to read and compare the grammar, you'll pick up a lot), or a subtitled movie in the language and learn it that way.

 

For me, it was a great way to practice my comprehension skills without the stress of being in an actual conversation, and it exposed me to uses of the language that native speakers wouldn't use around me normally, because I'm just learning.

[Ennue]

My native language is Dutch, and I learned English when I was young so I just kind of picked that up as I went along. I'm now trying to learn French and it's difficult without having native speakers around... But I'm going to give LiveMocha a try, it looks good!

[Volki]

I second the fluentin3months.com

at least browse his articles they have so many great tips on learning languages

the best of luck, I am learning Spanish at the moment and have found a lot of tips on there that I wouldn't have thought of

[Timmy M]

my brother's pretty much fluent in french, did it at university and spent some time (and probably the rest of time due to his GF) in Quebec, he's got the full harry potter series in french and i'm gonna do my best to read Philosophers Stone on my hols next week (with its english counterpart next to it of course), i know that won't necessarily help learning to speak it but it'l be good for grammar and getting my head into it

[Countess D'If]

The Duolingo app is great for practice. It's bringing back my four years of Italian that I never use

[I-Jo]

I just started Rosetta stone this morning.

 

I did one lesson and got a 66%  :/  I do not forsee my language learning process going well- but I'm excited.  I listen to a crap ton of Arabic music- so I'd really like to be able to sing along without singing about some super politically charged theme LOL.

 

Plus it's useful for other things- like listening into the owners of the restaurants where I work!