|
Purple sunset



Registered: 02/14/21
Posts: 1,698
Loc: No Path
|
Learning a new language 2
#28621950 - 01/15/24 09:47 AM (13 days, 5 hours ago) |
|
|
How long did it take you to learn a new language ? I've been forced to learn a lot in a short time being abroad. Getting the hang of it fast. They've been helping me correct myself a bit and I've been learning to teach myself
Been working really hard on learning the language where I'm at
It's a never ending job. Find myself memorizing words non stop. It's actually kind of nice. Learning new words is mostly the only thing I think about. My mind doesn't have much time to wonder and it feels rewarding. It's a really strong determination
It's seriously a lot of thinking. I don't think I've ever thought this much in my whole life. I just memorize words non stop 24/7.
I noticed if I try to memorize too many I don't remember any of them. Taking it small is best. I remember a few words within 24 hours.
Some of the words are easy. I memorize some of them the first time. Some take 24 hours to memorize. Only if I repeat it to myself all day and night. It goes into a vault in my mind. Now I find those words come at nothing on the spot
Been doing really well and putting it into life
Within weeks I only found about 2 or 3 people who could speak English or understand English well enough to have a actual conversation. I found they only know it, if it's for work. Like a really good job with lots of paper work or they were really determined to learn it
Most know some words in English here but not well enough to really have a conversation. Or they don't like speaking it. The only people i found who were really fluent in English were in the north
I like it a lot. It's a really big challenge for me. It almost defies the logic of how I'm used to building words and sentences. One word becomes a whole other word in a sentence sometimes with a totally different sound.
So learning words doesn't always cut it. It's like learning the same words 2 or 3 times sometimes. Getting the hang of it if I never stop. Knowing the words you have to pronounce it correctly as well
It's like being in a alien land
Edited by Purple sunset (01/15/24 09:49 AM)
|
Pluviophile
Stranger


Registered: 10/26/17
Posts: 3,093
Loc: Massachusetts
Last seen: 1 hour, 52 minutes
|
|
I’d like to start learning a new language. Probably Spanish as there are a lot of Spanish speaking people in my area. Also I have a couple Puerto Rican friends and I can pick up a few things they say already just from being around them for years.
What language are you learning?
|
JonBongGroovy


Registered: 01/23/15
Posts: 2,873
Loc: Hawaii
|
|
I could never learn a new language I'm too dumb. The stress itself would kill me too. I don't believe I have the ear for it either, for some reason I never pick up on it to make out what they are saying.
--------------------
|
Mystikal
Arranger



Registered: 11/13/21
Posts: 335
Last seen: 1 minute, 48 seconds
|
|
Its hard. I took Spanish all through school and some private tutoring. I spent about 6 months in Spanish speaking countries and my Spanish is not good. It might seem ok in class but I'm not able to make out what people are saying easily.
-------------------- Not all those who wander are lost
|
Purple sunset



Registered: 02/14/21
Posts: 1,698
Loc: No Path
|
|
You should learn it
I'm learning Italian so i can mostly live here one day. It helps I've been around it my whole life and I have family who are fluent back home to talk to. I only knew some of the language before I came here. It's a lot to learn
Mostly stay in the south and they almost speak a whole other language from the north where I went to visit some family. Had a really good time in the north never been until a few days ago
Went walking all over Milano all day into the night. love it there. Did some hiking in the mountains around the alps around the border of Switzerland and when it was time to come back down I was thinking oh shit
Coming down was like a psychdelic experience for me. Where I'm from in canada it's flat as it could ever be. One slip and you're dead falling miles down a mountain. Stepping down steep rocks with a view of nothing but down. Climbing up them is easy
I like the north so much that I might go stay there often. Had a whole basement to myself
I haven't done much hiking like that but I got used to it a bit and I'd do it it again. Went down really slow, step by step carefully
Edited by Purple sunset (01/15/24 10:10 AM)
|
micronaut
Triskelion Quatloo



Registered: 09/18/22
Posts: 59
Last seen: 4 days, 4 hours
|
|
Sounds like you are on the right path. Immersion really is the best way.
Listening to local radio and TV is a great way to get the hang of the tempo and rhythm of the local language.
I was raised in a bilingual. French and English. Growing up, there was some Spanish but I never really mastered it.
Fast forward to now, my kids are fluent in English, French and Spanish so I dove right in to recovering Spanish. It's work but well worth the effort. Plenty of good apps out there as well to help you along [I use DUOlingo]. Listening to telemundo TV has been great for me. Once you find yourself thinking or dreaming in the new language you know you are on the right track.
-------------------- If I’m not back in five minutes, just wait longer
|
Ditchdude
Stranger

Registered: 12/08/21
Posts: 240
Last seen: 2 hours, 19 minutes
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: micronaut]
#28622050 - 01/15/24 11:14 AM (13 days, 3 hours ago) |
|
|
Take some basic lessons. Get a few words and language rules. Dive into entertainment in the language you're studying. Repetitive choruses in songs made me look up words. Turn english subtitles on in shows from other countries. Eventually start watching woth the foreign subtitles. This is where I'm at now. Then take away subtitles all together. For me this is much harder. Maybe a few minutes of a free language app a day just to keep forward momentum. It's not quick, but I'm not convinced there is a quick way.
|
Purple sunset



Registered: 02/14/21
Posts: 1,698
Loc: No Path
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: Ditchdude]
#28622155 - 01/15/24 12:59 PM (13 days, 1 hour ago) |
|
|
We were eating beans so i said jumping bean
Edited by Purple sunset (01/15/24 02:20 PM)
|
Northerner
splelling chceker


Registered: 07/29/12
Posts: 14,139
Loc: FNQ
Last seen: 10 minutes, 57 seconds
|
|
I also lived in Europe for some years, threw myself headfirst into a country where no one spoke English. Was pretty hard for a while, missioning about trying to remember so many words. Then I met this au pair chick who was doing language night classes. It was exactly what I needed. Instead of trying to remember words I started learning phrases. Words are all good and fine in the supermarket when there's no picture on the packet, but learning how to express myself in ways... how to ask what's going on, how to give someone a compliment, how to tell someone what I'm doing... that stuff made a real difference and changed my experience rapidly. It didn't take long and I stopped thinking in English then.
--------------------
The nearest we ever come to knowing truth is when we are witness to paradox.
|
Joh.Ke
Stranger
Registered: 07/03/23
Posts: 348
Last seen: 9 minutes, 9 seconds
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: Northerner]
#28622302 - 01/15/24 02:59 PM (12 days, 23 hours ago) |
|
|
Personally I find it helpful to write down new words or expressions, and then go over them each night as I lie in bed. No distractions, no obligations, just pure blissful alone time where I can quietly sort out stuff in my head.
It also puts me to sleep really fast.
|
Purple sunset



Registered: 02/14/21
Posts: 1,698
Loc: No Path
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: Joh.Ke] 2
#28622314 - 01/15/24 03:16 PM (12 days, 23 hours ago) |
|
|
The phrases things is a good point thanks. Reading words sounds good. Been using a translation app so it shows you how to pronounce them as well. It can be tough to read the writing right
Talking to people here in what the translation taught me. They're showing me a more authentic way to say some of the words. Learning the traditional language is all. Also not everything adds up with the translation even if it's the proper grammar and spelled right
I also noticed words have a different wight to them here. Unlike where I come from. You don't say sorry here. I think I only said it once. They don't think the same about words
Noticed that with any of the friends I made from other cultures anytime I told then sorry it's almost like a offense where they think they did something wrong or something. Almost doesn't make sense unless you think about it a bit
Same with the word thanks. I'm usually really polite and well mannered in canada so I've been trying to figure out how to do it here best like how I'd do it there
It's really different
When I went somewhere like Australia it's a lot different there then canada but it felt like I drove down the road was all. Very similar in lots of ways and it was really easy to talk there to feel reciprocated and show it
Edited by Purple sunset (01/15/24 03:32 PM)
|
loladoreen


Registered: 05/25/20
Posts: 5,332
|
|
I just found a tutor for my grandsons to learn spanish. I will also be learning.
|
Joh.Ke
Stranger
Registered: 07/03/23
Posts: 348
Last seen: 9 minutes, 9 seconds
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: loladoreen] 1
#28622324 - 01/15/24 03:34 PM (12 days, 23 hours ago) |
|
|
Quote:
loladoreen said: I just found a tutor for my grandsons to learn spanish. I will also be learning.
It's a really good idea to teach a child a new language. Their capacity for language acquisition is at its peak and they pick up words like a sponge.
|
loladoreen


Registered: 05/25/20
Posts: 5,332
|
|
Agree. It is one of my biggest regrets that I have not learned yet. We can do it together
|
twighead
mͯó



Registered: 08/27/08
Posts: 29,550
Loc: Glenn Gould's Fuck Windmill
Last seen: 1 hour, 13 minutes
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: loladoreen]
#28622634 - 01/15/24 08:00 PM (12 days, 18 hours ago) |
|
|
I learned how to speak al behd
|
PatrickKn


Registered: 07/10/11
Posts: 20,561
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: twighead]
#28622675 - 01/15/24 08:29 PM (12 days, 18 hours ago) |
|
|
Gotta get our blitzball on.
|
B Traven
Stranger



Registered: 03/10/20
Posts: 2,479
Loc: Central Megalopolis
Last seen: 1 hour, 56 minutes
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: twighead]
#28622698 - 01/15/24 08:42 PM (12 days, 18 hours ago) |
|
|
Funny thing is, in your native language or one that you're really familiar with, you don't really hear every word someone says. A lot of language is phrases, tone, body signals, getting the gist of stuff, etc.
I've devoted long periods of time to learning languages, only to watch the goal sort of evaporate on the horizon. Because it sort of doesn't really exist. You learn a language to achieve certain goals- communication in whatever situations you're in, ability to read literature and understand media, work in a professional environment, etc. And then you add in dialects. What does it mean to speak French? Or Spanish? Or Arabic? Or English? Unless you routinely travel the world while picking up languages, you'll always be able to find a place where the local dialect of a major world language is incomprehensible to you without careful study.
And then there's that weird false idea of speaking a language "perfectly." Which nobody can really do. But anyway, I think about some of the malapropisms and grammatical mistakes that I hear from certain non-native English speakers, and nine times out of ten they don't impede communication in any way. It's just a part of the person's accent. Same with pronuncation. And that in and of itself is how we ended up with a lot of the regional English accents in the US. People get together and communicate however they can. It can lead to situations like Spanglish, Minnesota English, Caribbean creoles, etc.
I've come to believe that the best thing to do is just get out and immerse yourself, and devote yourself to learning and listening. But don't count that as part of some journey to achieve whatever level of skill or proficiency. Just see it as hours logged being an adventurous human.
But, to sort of answer your question anyway, I'd say that aside from formal study which provided the foundation, it was about six months' worth of immersion for me to cross the line from "do I/will I ever really speak this language?" to "Am I out of practice?"
Edited by B Traven (01/15/24 08:52 PM)
|
Purple sunset



Registered: 02/14/21
Posts: 1,698
Loc: No Path
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: B Traven] 1
#28622866 - 01/16/24 02:01 AM (12 days, 12 hours ago) |
|
|
I woke up thinking my new words instantly and had a hard time memorizing them yesterday. Got those down. Now I'm moving on to a few more. It takes me all day and night to memorize them
On my way here i stopped at a air port in Germany and stopped in Switzerland. When I got to the Italian terminal I didn't know everything they said. All though i could recognize the language from being around it my whole life
Finding the terminal actually made me feel Lots of relief. I didn't recognize any German or whatever anyone was speaking but Italian is really familiar
I think that's why I'm catching on well with memorization. Some words come at nothing as soon as I hear the word because i already knew it
Six months immersion sounds good. Wanted to mostly do full immersion at some point when I can. Good things take time
Edited by Purple sunset (01/16/24 02:05 AM)
|
B Traven
Stranger



Registered: 03/10/20
Posts: 2,479
Loc: Central Megalopolis
Last seen: 1 hour, 56 minutes
|
|
That's such an awesome feeling!
-------------------- Beware of advice- even this.
|
Purple sunset



Registered: 02/14/21
Posts: 1,698
Loc: No Path
|
Re: Learning a new language [Re: B Traven]
#28623348 - 01/16/24 11:32 AM (12 days, 3 hours ago) |
|
|
For sure everyday for a few days now. I found it sinks in when i wake up. Been using doulongo. Youtube videos and the translation app
Can't seem to find any school where I'm from. So I was looking into a websites like italki. It's a online tutor one on one. It should also help
Besides all of that. Some family to talk to back home and determination. I should learn it well enough to do good
Everything has to be really relaxed for it to all sink in and I can't get distracted much. Really just focusing on this
Figured I'd make flash cards for work to pull out of my pocket and look at to never stop. Strong determination is the only thing that'll work and never giving up
Really want to come here one day and pretty much not go back to canada at all. It's much better here. Everything about it
Edited by Purple sunset (01/16/24 11:33 AM)
|
B Traven
Stranger



Registered: 03/10/20
Posts: 2,479
Loc: Central Megalopolis
Last seen: 1 hour, 56 minutes
|
|
Radio is awesome, find a station you like there and then keep listening to them online when you get home. It's kind of like keeping the immersion going in a passive way.
-------------------- Beware of advice- even this.
|
John_Brown
Stranger
Registered: 01/18/24
Posts: 2
Last seen: 4 days, 8 hours
|
|
Learning is really not easy, especially when it comes to learning a new language, I think everyone is looking for ways to make learning easier. I use for this https://mysupergeek.com/nursing-assignment-help-service, there is a lot of information, great help for a student. In which countries have you been and studied?
Edited by John_Brown (01/24/24 06:45 AM)
|
|