Learning new languages.

[broneck]

So I'm really bored and want to learn French. Anyone have any experience learning a new language later in life (i.e. past 18)?

I have a rudimentary knowledge of the language as I was taught a lot of the basics from a young age, but I'd like to get to a level of conversational fluency.

Any programs to investigate? Any to avoid? Is Rosetta Stone a complete crock of shit?

I defer to experts here. If you just want to tutor me for free, I'll take that too.

[boy better know]

programs are useless, practice with native speakers

my first language is french and although in quebec we start learning english in elementary i couln't it speak conversationally until i started to hang out with english-speakers

pm me if you want a tutor

[jyoni]

I have a set of tapes i bootlegged that is rooted in colloquial conversation. i would have to hunt down the publisher so lmk if you're interested. my set is japanese and includes things like "now ask if she would like some beer" and lingual wordplay in the lessons. it isn't spiketv level shit though, it's a solid program.

[jyoni]

but yeah, native speakers and/or media immersion is essential.

[ROYALEFATALE]

total immersion is obviously best, rosetta stone works well for developing a foundation, if you use it enough...i use a mix of rosetta stone and audio/video, does the job but of course nothing is better than practicing with a native speaker

[swooc]

i've been studying french for around 2 years now via one on one tutoring. i can get by with basic conversation but as mentioned you really need to be with native speakers all the time to become fluent. if you don't, you will forget words and lose your momentum.

[jaac]

gonna learn japanese next year, heads gonna explode. Dude i work with is getting straight HD's doing spanish,french,german and italian, he studies so hard, told me he gets really mixed up sometimes as well.

Edited December 7, 2011 by jaac

[conqueror]

i tried learning japanese whilst i was there for 3 months in 2009, and then in my first year of university at 24 in 2010. for the first semester i went really well, but when kanji was introduced i got really burnt out and quickly lost interest/failed. kinda sucked, but oh well. i don't have any advice or knowledge about french, but in general i'd just advise that you make sure you are learning the particular language for a specific reason - if you're doing it just because you're bored you probably won't go too well and will lose interest. also, try not to get burnt out or take on too much at once which alot of people do when they first begin - don't be deterred if you find it too 'hard' (which was my excuse).

edit: a more successful story - i had a former friend who started learning japanese at 25 and became fluent (JLPT1) by 29, although he worked his fucking ass off to get that far. japanese is generally considered the hardest language for an english speaker to learn behind arabic and chinese so it wasn't easy.

Edited December 7, 2011 by conqueror

[jaac]

Good info, im pretty prepared for it to be fuckin hard. I'm less worried about the written language, just wanted to get a head start before possibly moving there after graduating. Interest/challenge as well obviously. My friend told me i can go visit his grandma anytime (japanese stereotype miyazaki grandma) and she will chat with me/give me hela food.

[mmfood]

One the that has helped me is to watch films, french films for example, with french subtitles and films in english with french subtitles. It has helped me pick up on how to pronounce particular words and how they are spelled. You'll still have to study the language but doing this will supplement your studies.

[alexryb]

i'm a french major, and i didn't start really learning the language until my freshman year at the university. it's been a rough journey, and i've mostly learned how to write french, not speak it. it seems like, after almost four years, i can almost write as well in french as in english, but my speaking skills are real shit.

this: http://duolingo.com/

looking interesting. i guess you translate sentences from various websites and learn while you do it. it's only in spanish and german right now, but i think french and some others are coming soon.

[ifeelasleep]

i recommend you learn how to construct basic sentences and some grammar before you dive into immersion. Watch a lot of movies youve seen before in english, you get your ear accustomed to hearing the language while knowing what happens in the film.

I came to paris without knowing shit and it took me a long time to open up because i didnt have a base (it also had to do with me being a pussy).

its all about repetition, if you want a method i recommend this dude's blog, just use what he says for french:

http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/

[Magsåvningsreserven]

anyone wanna race me in duolingo (i started 10 mins ago, french)

 

i'm magnetiques

[King Tut]

I'm taking Chinese in Uni and loving it got myself a calligraphy pen and just enjoying the art of calligraphy !

[Rightyow77]

I grew up speaking Spanish, and picked up English when I moved to the states. I am currently learning Nahuatl and would like to learn Japanese. I can hold a conversation in French and Portuguese, but it is really not pretty. My time in school has helped me polish up my writing in Spanish, which I initially struggled with. 

 

Nahuatl is an interesting venture, as it is essentially a dying language. My tutor is a buddy of mine that grew up speaking it along with Yucatec and Spanish. 

Edited September 26, 2013 by Rightyow77

[RayRei]

In my third year of Japanese at Uni and going for a minor. When I switched from community college with a very laid-back teacher and no work at all it made a huge difference. I studied my ass off those two years because I genuinely enjoy learning languages and am ambitious but at my new Uni, the class is a ton off work and its a very very good thing. I'm swamped all the time but I can watch things with out subs and get the just of it for the first time. Not to mention my reading and writing has skyrocketed. I find with Kanji especially it just gets more fun as you learn more. 

Anyway I really wanna teach myself more Korean, does anyone of a good recommendation on a textbook. Anything on par with Genki?

Btw, I don't think Japanese is that high on the difficulty scale for english speakers. Lithuanian, many Scandinavian languages, Viet, Thai, hungarian, are worlds harder.

Edited September 28, 2013 by RayRei

[captainkim]

Some semi useful websites if you haven't already known about them (maybe more for Japanese, Mandarin, Korean)

 

livemocha.com (have to pay now used to be free, but it was a pretty good resource has a bunch of activities and opportunities to work with fluent speakers, staff)

sharedtalk.com (part of rosetta stone, but you can match up with speakers from other languages to practice)

lang-8.com (just like a daily journal for practicing writing but not sure they have French)

 

I dunno I'm a heritage Korean speaker, and i've studied French, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin (currently) probably post-18. I suck at French, but I think i'm very basically conversationally fluent in three languages: Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese. Nothing is better than just dedication and persistence. Just committing yourself to studying everyday will be important. I'd also just check out Frenchpod.com. I use Chinesepod.com which is from the same company and it's incredible resource.