What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

General discussion about learning languages
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Bruco
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What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby Bruco » Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:54 am

Please share your ideas
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Tristano
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby Tristano » Fri Mar 16, 2018 9:36 pm

There is no best way.
There are different ways, which all share a common point:

You have to study constantly and make steady improvements and at the end you will know enough of the language. Boring I know :ugeek:
Last edited by Tristano on Thu Apr 18, 2019 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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reineke
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby reineke » Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:21 pm

Your way.

A more reasonable approach:

What you need to know to learn a foreign language (free book).

This book is also available in translation.
¿Qué necesitas saber para aprender un idioma extranjero?
Turkish - Bir yabancı dil öğrenmek için neleri bilmeniz gerekir?

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/paul-nation
Last edited by reineke on Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby iguanamon » Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:44 pm

I can't tell you what is the best way to learn. You will have to find your own way. I'm not arrogant enough to tell you that my way is the best way. There are as many ways to learn a language on your own as there are people who learn them. I've seen that time and time again. The best way to learn a language on your own is any one you with which you will keep learning. What I can do is tell you what not to do to learn a language as a monolingual, adult beginner- assuming by "learn a language" that you mean to learn it to a high level- B2 or above.

1) Don't give up. Yeah, I know, it's an obvious one, but giving up is the one sure way not to learn a language. Do be persistent. On days when you can't be consistent, at least do something in the language. Being persistent keeps you in the game, being consistent wins the game.
2) Don't Be inconsistent; Do be regular and consistent with your studies every day. Do try to get in at least an hour a day, most days. 10-15 minutes a day won't cut it for an adult, monolingual beginner.
3) Don't try to learn multiple languages on your own as a monolingual, adult beginner. In my years here and on the old forum, I haven't seen much success come out of these folks- if success is defined as reaching a high level, B2 or above. If you can't learn one second language, how do you expect to learn three?
4) Don't be impatient. Yes, everyone is in a hurry nowadays. I know. It takes what it takes. It will take a while to train your listening to native-speed audio/speech- probably months, and your course's audio isn't sufficient to do the task.
5) Along with the above- Don't believe the course cover hype!!! Pimsleur won't teach you Spanish in 90 days. It will be good for your pronunciation, helping make the language automatic, and is a great compliment to a textbook with audio course. Assimil probably won't take you to B2 on its own. Hugo won't teach you "X in 3 months". Your course is a foundation upon which you can build your language skills. Your learning really begins after you finish your course.
6) Don't be a perfectionist. The perfect, while admirable and we all strive to be the best we can, is the enemy of the good in language-learning. Don't get so hung up on any particular thing that you let it stop you from moving on. You don't have to be perfect. Vocabulary repeats. Grammar repeats. Concepts repeat. At the same time, some parts of learning a language are critical. You have to know how to handle the subjunctive in the Romance languages, cases in German, noun-adjective agreement in Romance languages, etc. Know this, but it's ok to screw it up at first. Just keep at it and you'll get it through more drills, exposure, use and study.
If you start to read a native text while you are learning, you don't have to be perfect with it. Momentum is very important in language-learning and often underrated by learners.
7) Don't be afraid to make mistakes. We all make mistakes, even at high levels. As you advance you'll make fewer mistakes.
8) Don't expect any one particular tool, course or activity to do all of your heavy lifting for you.
9) Don't bite off more than you can chew as a beginner. If you can't conjugate verbs in Spanish you won't get much out of watching Almodóvar films with English subtitles. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't be listening to stuff you don't understand. Having it in the background can really help to get you used to the sounds and rhythms of the language as it is used by native-speakers.
10) Don't be afraid to ask questions. That's why we're here.

I know I've left some out here, but that's ok. Others will fill in the blanks, and provide their own take.

Since there are several ways to learn a language, and even a bad course book will teach you something, most methods will get you there eventually... as long as you are consistent and persistent. I wrote about how I learn languages in my log here, on HTLAL and in my signature link at the bottom of this post. Good luck!
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby smallwhite » Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:52 pm

5 x
Dialang or it didn't happen.

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PeterMollenburg
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sat Mar 17, 2018 3:21 am

I’m not even certain I’ve found my way, even though I’m well known for having done courses, courses and more courses, and even managed to motivate others to want to do more courses.

The reason courses have worked well for me, I believe, is mainly simply because I stuck at it. Had I stuck at some other method I might very well have progressed quicker... or slower.

In the end, use whatever method motivates you, because success in language learning is 99% consistency mixed with longevity and 1% method/materials.

That’s a rather rough analysis, but the point is, you will succeed with whatever motivates you to remained involved with the language for as long as it takes to reach your goal(s) (provided the method isn’t reciting the 10 most common words at the stroke of midnight every night while staring into a microwave with a dinosaur inside while driving a bus full of wizards the wrong way up the freeway).
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smallwhite
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby smallwhite » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:17 pm

OP's profile wrote:Joined: 16 Mar 2018 18:52
Last active: 16 Mar 2018 19:12
Total posts: 1


How is OP finding all this advice?
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby Cavesa » Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:15 am

Welcome!

11)Use the search function and ask more targeted questions. Your question would require everyone to write a novel for you (Iversen's guide to learning languages is an excellent resource, and an example of the best this forum can offer, and it definitely doesn't fit into one answer to your thread). Not that we wouldn't like to help, but we have already written exactly this many times. The better questions you ask, the better answers you get. A few tips: ask less generally. Give us some details about your learning and the challenges you are facing. This way, you'll be much more likely to make a few people with relevant experience give you answers tailored to your needs without wasting time on long posts that might be missing the point. :-)

example:
Q:"What do you think is the best way to learn a language? Please share your ideas."
A: We already have. This whole forum is it.

how to get better answers:
Q:Hi, I'm new here. I'd like to learn Swahili and I am a monolingual English native. My only experience with language learning were the high school Spanish classes, which didn't teach me much. How do I get started? How long will it take to get reasonably good at usual conversations? I would love to talk to my Swahili speaking future inlaws in their language.
Q:Hi, could you please give me some tips on language learning? I've been learning Spanish for four years on my own and Japanese for eight months with a tutor but I haven't been progressing well lately. I am rather good in Spanish but I still don't know how to get from the intermediate level to the real world use of the language with confidence. And in Japanese, I have no clue how to remember the kanji. What should I do?

We love to discuss language learning and we are happy to have you here. But it is nice, when a new member presents themselves and reads a bit of the forum first.
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby garyb » Mon Mar 19, 2018 11:19 am

I can't believe that people are taking this thread seriously.
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Re: What do you think is the best way to learn a language?

Postby rdearman » Mon Mar 19, 2018 11:25 am

garyb wrote:I can't believe that people are taking this thread seriously.

The advantage of taking it seriously, is that if someone were to do a google search for this phrase they'd end up here, and hopefully they'll get a lot of useful advice. :)
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