Could we update the list of "similarities"?

Discuss the LLORG's and HTLAL forum's past and its future here.
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astromule
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Could we update the list of "similarities"?

Postby astromule » Mon Aug 17, 2015 3:41 pm

Hi! A few ideas:

1) Could we have our own table of "similarities" between languages? http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/ ... index.html
Not only for those that are already mentioned, but ideally for other obscure/not so popular languages aswell.

2) A list with the recommended study material for each language. I began a thread with that idea (viewtopic.php?f=17&t=781&hilit=Assimil+best), but perhaps we could eventually merge it with another list of languages. The list shouldn't be just a collection of links or a wall containing 100 different books, just the essentials for each level: beginner, intermediate, advanced. Perhaps a recommendation of 5 series and 5 movies aswell?
For example (quoting from emk's log):

Courses & Reference Works

Assimil's L'Égyptien hiéroglyphique. 101 lessons. Excellent, with a French base. The audio CDs are optional, but they make it easier to remember.
Allen's Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. A gentle overview of the grammar, with all kinds of very useful sections, including one listing and explaining about two dozen common particles.
Loprieno's Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction. Nice and meaty linguistic overview.
Collier, et al.'s How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs. A traditional-style course, with a strong emphasis on reading tomb inscriptions.



3) A system of "language mentors": people who have studied a language on their own, that have a certain knowledge of the material available (as opposed to people who learned the language living in the country, for example) and that are willing to answer questions for future language learners. "Which TV-series can you recommend me?" "I've finished my Assimil. What's next?". I can volunteer myself for Swedish. And I'd very much like to see emk for French. :)

What do you think?
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emk
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Re: Could we update the list of "similarities"?

Postby emk » Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:23 pm

astromule wrote:1) Could we have our own table of "similarities" between languages? http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/ ... index.html
Not only for those that are already mentioned, but ideally for other obscure/not so popular languages aswell.

The best place for working on this kind of thing right now is probably the wiki, which has nice editing tools, tables, and a Creative Commons license, so we can later re-use the content elsewhere if we wish. Plus, collaboration is easy.

One good entrypoint is the Learner FAQ, which tries to cover all the popular Advice Center topics from HTLAL, with links to articles like How to Start Learning a Language. I've also contributed to pages like French movies and series with accurate subtitles and the subs2srs articles.

And yes, once we know what's happening in the future, it would be good to link very prominently to the wiki, and to host some content on the same site as the forum.
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Re: Could we update the list of "similarities"?

Postby iguanamon » Mon Aug 17, 2015 5:18 pm

astromue wrote: A system of "language mentors": people who have studied a language on their own, that have a certain knowledge of the material available (as opposed to people who learned the language living in the country, for example) and that are willing to answer questions for future language learners. "Which TV-series can you recommend me?" "I've finished my Assimil. What's next?". I can volunteer myself for Swedish. And I'd very much like to see emk for French. :)


Essentially, that's what we do in the forum in people's logs and within the advice center and our own logs. One issue I see with having a formal system of mentors is that not all of us are here all the time and we may not be here over the longer term. As people's languages begin to mature, they tend to lose interest and post less. Another issue is being contacted randomly with no context. If a person introduces him or herself on the forum (with some good background about why and how they plan to learn "X") and then posts in the Advice Center or starts a log, that gives the experienced member a chance to see if the advice they have to share will be welcome or not.

I do like to try to help those who will accept it and want it. (Is that the right word, mentor? I just consider what I do dropping by occasionally and helping based on what I have done or tried myself). There are a few people who I do that for here, though I wouldn't consider them to be proteges. They are simply people who I connect with and whom I feel are genuinely interested and serious about learning a language that I am also interested in learning or have learned. I will practically bend over backwards to help someone who I feel has a genuine interest in learning a language for the long term and is not just into "collecting" languages like scouting merit badges. It does take some effort to provide a tailored, personalized and detailed response and I won't take that much time and make that much effort for just any random person who pm's me solely because my info may be linked to a particular guide. Mentoring is voluntary and totally up to the more experienced member's discretion. We have many, far more experienced learners here than I and not all are interested in or want to be that involved in mentoring. Speaking for myself, I look at it as giving back. Because I learned so much from others and I so much enjoy the rewards of having learned a a few languages to a high level, that I want others to have that too. That's one of the reasons why I write my log. Also, my way is not the only way for everybody. We all learn differently, and we all need to discover what may be right for us.

Perhaps the guides could point to the logs of active members who have successfully self-learned a second language. Then, if the beginner member wanted more detail, he or she could always post in the active member's log or send a pm with some background and a clear request for advice wanted, realizing that the member may be too busy to respond at length straight away.
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Re: Could we update the list of "similarities"?

Postby astromule » Mon Aug 17, 2015 5:37 pm

Agree on all points. I don't know what's going to happen with the future of HTLAL NG (until we choose an official name, I'm going to stick to that acronym), but in the old site there was so much information that it was very easy to get lost in it. I think that the ideas of linking to the Wiki and having a list of language logs from people who have been consistently been learning a second language are great.

iguanamon wrote:Perhaps the guides could point to the logs of active members who have successfully self-learned a second language. Then, if the beginner member wanted more detail, he or she could always post in the active member's log or send a pm with some background and a clear request for advice wanted, realizing that the member may be too busy to respond at length straight away.
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Re: Could we update the list of "similarities"?

Postby Serpent » Sat Jun 15, 2019 8:23 am

astromule wrote:1) Could we have our own table of "similarities" between languages? http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/ ... index.html
Not only for those that are already mentioned, but ideally for other obscure/not so popular languages as well.
bump. I think many of our potential members are going to be searching for comparisons. Is French easier than German? What are the main differences between Spanish and Portuguese? Are Dutch and Flemish the same language? etc
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LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
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