Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?

General discussion about learning languages
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mentecuerpo
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Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?

Postby mentecuerpo » Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:06 pm

Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?
16,578 views•Apr 22, 2021

https://youtu.be/Fd6Lp65xW40

[i]Neither "speaking from day one" nor "getting a good grammar book and dictionary" will enable a person to learn a language more quickly. These things can be part of a learning strategy. Mostly, however, we need to acquire the language through lots of exposure, lots of reading and listening.

0:00​ - Why I'm sceptical of claims that you can learn a language in a matter of months.
1:23​ - Some of the suggestions I found online for accelerating your language learning.
3:55​ - Can we make a jump in level from studying for a month/two months/three months etc.?
5:30​ - Learning the most common words in a language.
6:29​ - Should you even try to sound like a native speaker?


Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve.

I have the Berlitz German and French Audio CD:
"German in 30 days, French in 30 days.
Learn a new langauge in 30 simple lessons."

I like the CD's a lot but, if you do one lesson every day for 30 days, you will learn something that will help towards the goal of learning the language.

There is no quick fix. From my experience, learning a language requires daily contact with the language for months; depending on several factors (including how close or distant is the new language to your mother tongue), some languages will take less time than other languages.

Still, it will probably take daily contact with the language (preferably) for months to reach the conversational level or read a book without using a dictionary.
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Le Baron
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Re: Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?

Postby Le Baron » Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:06 pm

No.
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Agorima
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Re: Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?

Postby Agorima » Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:34 pm

Yet another thread of learning any language within a small amount of time?
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Re: Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?

Postby Le Baron » Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:10 pm

In some sense it's always worth addressing this topic because it's like a persistent gnat flying back into your view after being swatted away. There are questions to be asked.

Q: Why does it persistently arise?

A1: Because we want to believe in ways to do things in the shortest amount of time with the least effort. It's more about belief than anything else. Belief in the face of contradictory reality for the majority of people, but all that seems to be required is that an outlier comes along and tells a persuasive tale. Usually about having employed what seem like simple, reproducible steps. It's been the meat and veg of advertising for nearly 100 years: before and after photos, rags to riches, blah blah blah.

A2: Because there is a believable kernel of truth in it. In a month it is actually possible to get yourself from nothing to somewhat conversational. That's the end of the kernel of truth, because the variables around it are wildly variable. Some will get there faster and easier, some won't, some not at all. To not see this is like imagining that if you simply wear the same jacket as Brad Pitt, you are therefore equal to Brad Pitt. If a practised polyglot makes a 'in one month' etc video it's your duty to be sceptical as to how efficacious this will be for you. To asses the variables and realities and your circumstances. When we do this and get back to reality for a moment, we realise there's revising of scale to be done. Generally, because of the power of 'in one month' this revision is now seen as "failure".

A3: Willingness to accept a low bar (or even delude yourself) for the sake of matching a stated goal, no matter how unreasonable. It usually comes from not wanting to be the one who can't do what everyone else is apparently capable of. Even though most people aren't really capable of it, they just say it. So people start to think: "wait a minute, I learned German when I moved to Germany and I also speak reasonable Spanish, therefore I am equipped to fast-track myself in Russian. I'm a polyglot after all!" Or: "that guy is no better than me at French and he learned Spanish quickly, therefore I can learn Spanish!".

Probably lots more answers. It's a position which is bound to be taken up and developed among the polyglot community because we are aware of limited time in life-spans, limited leisure time away from work commitments, eagerness to put learning into practise. Hence the "pro" polyglots making a 'living' on YouTube telling everyone else how to be a polyglot even though you have life commitments outside of language learning.
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Re: Learn a Language in a Month: Is it Possible?

Postby rdearman » Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:18 pm

Yes, toki pona.

Toki Pona has only 120 words and uses only 14 letters. The grammar is simple and few words have more than two syllables.

You could probably learn it in a month.
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