How to Practise

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fionn95
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How to Practise

Postby fionn95 » Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:56 am

Hey,

So I am 'learning German'. I have been messing about with German for a few years but it is always very stop start. I need to speak with German speakers via Skype or something similar to make any progress really. My level is pretty basic, A2 at the most, but I really need websites or advice on how to find Germans willing to help me!
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basica
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Re: How to Practise

Postby basica » Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:23 am

I stopped and started with Serbian many times before I finally started to make some real progress with it. I'm only in the early stages still - about a midrange A2 but I got there from a place where I effectively knew little more than some memorised phrases. How I did this was finding a routine, and sticking with it. That's the only way to proceed is to find something and go "I will keep doing this till I get to the end of it". For me my routine consists of regular conversations with natives, daily use of Anki, Memrise and Glossika and the occasional use of a textbook of some kind.

Since you're learning a far more popular language than me, you have far more choices. I suggest you don't get too carried away, just pick a couple of things and then just stick with them till you get to the end of them. Whether that be Assimil, Teach Yourself, Duolingo or something else - pick something and take it to the end. A little bit of practice every day is far better than a lot of practice periodically. If you're at an A2 level, then I think you're definitely ready for conversation as well. Find a tutor or someone to do an exchange with and keep it regular - you'll really start to notice the improvements after a few weeks.
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Re: How to Practise

Postby astromule » Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:04 am

This was written by one of the greatest polyglots of all time, Alexander Arguelles.
In a nutshell, @basica is right: choose a method that suits you and stick to it. Have you tried Assimil?

THE FORMULA TO LEARN LANGUAGES -Arguelles-

Quoted from http://writeparagraphs.blogspot.co.uk/2 ... s-for.html

There is a formula, but it is not magic or secret. It is: Right motivation; plus Good materials; plus intelligent methods; plus Systematic regularity; plus thousands of hours.

On right motivation, you have to really want to learn, you have to like learning, you have to believe that it is valuable to learn, you have to enjoy learning, and you have to sustain these feelings over the long term.

Good materials: different people learn in different ways, so materials that might suit some might not suit others. That said, some materials are much more comprehensive, thorough, and accurate that others, so you need to look around and compare rather than just buying what is marketed widely, and you also need to use a variety of approaches rather than just one.

Intelligent methods: you have to know how to use your materials, adapt them to suit you, and develop a rhythm for balancing new materials with review so that you do your linguistic exercises with good form.

Systematic regularity: you need to study at the same place and at the same time every single day, at least until studying becomes an ingrained habit. After that, you can be more flexible and even take a day off now and then.

Thousands of hours: these might actually only be hundreds of hours, but they will feel like thousands upon thousands, and indeed that is what you need to get really good. Furthermore, these hours really need to be spread over months and years. That is, you can study intensively to a certain degree, but you need time to digest what you learn as well, and to let it start to grow on its own, so you can’t just cram this time in all at once.
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Brun Ugle
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Re: How to Practise

Postby Brun Ugle » Sun Aug 02, 2015 5:04 am

Have you tried the website Italki? You can find professional teachers, informal tutors (you have to pay, but there are a lot of cheap ones for most major languages) or if you want free, you can find a language exchange partner. Then you can talk via Skype.

If you are using a phone or tablet, there is an app called Tandem for language exchange that is pretty good too. It's also free.
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Re: How to Practise

Postby zenmonkey » Sun Aug 02, 2015 8:58 am

As already stated, you have:

  • Shadowing with ASSIMIL
  • Finding a Skype partner with italki

You can also practice oral production with shadowing other material like songs - emk has outlined how to create cards from songs, for example.
You can possibly find a German language Stammtisch in your town by looking one up in meetup.com.

Other online language exchanges that might work:
  • UniLang
  • https://www.tandemexchange.com/en/
  • http://www.conversationexchange.com
  • http://www.tandemcity.info/formacion/en30_tandem-by-internet.htm - lists several other web sites


Contact a user here for Skype or WhatsApp sessions.
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Re: How to Practise

Postby Soclydeza » Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:35 pm

I'll second the iTalki idea (not necessarily iTalki, but something that will get you speaking). I used to be on and off with my German, when I was maybe somewhere around A2 I had the opportunity to participate in a pseudo-conversation at work and never looked back; that's when I really started to seriously study. It's one thing to study from a book, but to actually use it, no matter what level, is very fun and encouraging and shows you that you're actually learning a language as opposed to just studying some abstract subject. It brings things to life.

I'd also get something for personal study, such as Assimil. You're at the right level for it and it does wonders for listening and reading comprehension, as well as general language learning.
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cod2
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Re: How to Practise

Postby cod2 » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:58 pm

I used to (still do) speak with myself in German. Makes a tremendous difference.
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