Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

General discussion about learning languages
golyplot
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby golyplot » Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:34 am

Watch lots of TV in the target language.
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PeterMollenburg
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby PeterMollenburg » Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:32 pm

Use a truck load of courses and pick everything apart
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trui
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby trui » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:21 am

Ask lots of questions, learn a few hundred words and master the basic grammar. And above all use the language to chat (through text and/or speech) with native speakers and to consume native content. Also attempt to write a diary or a novel or something. No SRS for me.
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby Chung » Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:03 pm

To answer the OP's question, I've usually been doing the following since leaving school:

1) Get urge/need to learn a new language.
2) Search Amazon for courses and reference material and read product reviews.
3) Search Google using relevant keywords (e.g. "course", "beginners").
4) Search HTLAL and start new threads like this one if necessary.
5) Buy one or two courses, a medium-sized two-way dictionary (75,000-125,000 entries) and a reference manual for grammar (this last one is more of a bonus item since they often aren't cheap). Work through the course(s) and reassess if I want to continue. This is the end of the line if by the time I finish the course(s) I decide to go no further. If I decide otherwise, then...
6) Look for Meetup groups or language classes to get some exposure in the flesh. While these are not as good as travelling to a place where the language is used natively, classes or meetup groups with people at a sufficiently high level still make the language come alive more than watching videos or using partners linked by a webcam.
7) Search Amazon, Google and HTLAL for more ideas and/or resources (this often means that I start using graded readers, and/or relatively simple authentic material such as comic strips, short video clips and short stories (for kids and adults alike).
8) Work with whatever resources and ideas in 7) which I decided to take on.

As far as costs go, I don't like to spend more than about $50 at the beginning (basically cost of a TY/Colloquial course, a medium-sized bilingual dictionary and maybe a reference book on grammar). Afterwards, I'm much less stingy, and can eventually acquire an embarrassingly large amount of material (with the associated financial sting especially when studying a language which is native to a place where things aren't cheap *cough*Finland*cough) as exemplified here.
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby Iversen » Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:16 am

Be clear about the purpose of each activity. Separate intensive study from extensive activities. The former teaches you concrete things, the second ones are basically training in using them.
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patrickwilken
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby patrickwilken » Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:38 am

1. Learn some basic grammar and pronunciation; use Anki to learn the 2000-3000 most common words; read lots of stock sentences to get a feel for how grammar works.

2. Start reading native materials intensively and extensively; watch TV shows without subtitles.

3. When ready start speaking and writing.
Last edited by patrickwilken on Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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1500 Movies : 1389 / 1500100 Movies : 4 / 100
50000 Pages : 41089 / 500005000 Pages : 0 / 5000

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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby Skynet » Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:15 pm

Here is what I did to reboot my fallen-into-disrepair-after-11-years-of-non-use French using 28 courses in 6 weeks during my summer break:

1. Set lofty goals that most will scoff at, and ensure that you prove them wrong. Find a valid reason WHY you want to learn a language and be sure that this reason is strong enough to tether you to the language learning desk for several years. (Sadly, this forum and it's predecessor are littered with disused accounts of members who were unable/unwilling to stay the course and simply quit.)
2. Use several beginner language courses - I would recommend multiple generations of both Assimil and Linguaphone plus an FSI Phonology course. Living Language Ultimate, Cortina and DLI French Basic are also very good options. Whatever you use MUST have audio.
3. Use courses in (1) simultaneously to engage in carpet-bombing of your mind to force it to rewire. The more intensive the campaign, the faster the rewiring. (I spent 11 hours a day in the first six days of my French adventure). The first week will be the most difficult, but do not give up as this is how the FSI/DLI have managed to train their employees for decades. (My mind balked at the prospect of being assailed by a foreign language and I did have several headaches and BSOD events as my brain was simply overwhelmed.)
4. Introduce native media (ideally those with a script) such as podcasts in the third week, and take special note of your dreams: they will be in French.
5. Keep adding more courses as you begin to realise that you're comprehending more and taking much less time to complete lessons.
6. Remember that as incredible as this forum is, trawling through other members' logs for hours on end (especially of those who do not study a language that you are either studying or plan to study) does not constitute language learning. This forum can very easily become your biggest impediment in your quest for language mastery. (I have personally struggled with this.)
7. As you complete more courses, ensure that you consume more and more native media (don't worry about not comprehending everything) and French In Action.
8. Once you have completed this, up the ante by doing advanced courses (Using French, Living Language Ultimate: Advanced, graded courses by CLE, Hachette and Didier whilst adding more native media: podcasts, TV and novels.
9. Do not rest on your laurels: get a language partner to practise your conversational skills.
10. Sit an exam to show that your efforts have not been in vain.

At the time of writing, I am currently on (8).
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garyb
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby garyb » Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:58 pm

Some posters have a very liberal interpretation of "50 words or so"!

(and that includes short posts with links to one's own far lengthier ones)
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby mvvelde » Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:27 pm

Personally, sometimes it seems like I don't have much time in my daily life to set aside solely for language. What I've found most helpful is to keep passively active in my the languages that I am strongest in...I have noticed that in doing so my mind often makes quicker connections to words of different languages that I've already studied (whether they be at a high level or only a few sentences).

Music or the radio/podcasts are quite helpful in this case. Since music genres are pretty international, it's quite easy to find foreign music in most genres. I like to put the sound of the language on in the background throughout the day, as I've found that I can absorb certain aspects of languages that I might not be that familiar with and also to improve the ones I've already studied. Such has been the case with French, Turkish, Spanish, and Italian.

I've also found that travel to an area where the language is widely spoken helps me to adjust my ear to the "music" of the language, and eventually helps with pronunciation. I've just recently taken a day trip to the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium and realized on the way home how much it helped attune my ear to Dutch and allow for the flow of other inactive languages I've studied. Again for speaking/interaction in a foreign language, I've found it quite helpful to force myself to think in the language whilst taking into account how I've heard the vernacular used by natives. This has done wonders for the flow of the language when I speak (and write in some cases).

As far as habits go, I try to use certain languages with certain people based on the native language or the capabilities of those that I interact with. Easier said than done of course, but it does help me.
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garyb
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Re: Your Language Learning Strategy...In 50 Words or so

Postby garyb » Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:28 pm

Anyway I should contribute something more useful... Mine, based on my own goals and interests (using languages socially and for travel), would be something like:

Work through a few courses. Then have a foundation of lots of input, focusing on modern everyday language, plus always be aware of and address priorities and weaknesses with specific practice and study. Work on speaking and pronunciation regularly unless you're gifted enough to not need to.
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