A language learners’ forum

eido wrote:Then I'll commit this time. Sign me up for the B1 one with Icelandic. False beginner here.

I'm switching to Manx. There's more content available for learners that's free, and I want to explore this language and get some wanderlust out.

There's great resources for this language! Glossika, SaySomethingIn, LearnManx, and all the newspapers and radio shows. I won't have anyone to practice with, I don't think. If anyone knows any Manx speakers, hit me up. Small languages, assemble!

There are 10 days left to sign up and participate in the Free and Legal Challenge 2019. Can you learn a language for free with legal resources only from the web? Can you take advantage of your public library to learn a language? Can you find a native-speaker willing to help for free? Do you have what it takes to challenge yourself with less than optimal resources to learn a language?

I would like to register with Polish with a start date of March 15. I'll use the library version.

My reasons for choosing Polish, in no particular order:

There are plenty of free and legal resources available.

It is the language of my great-grandparents.

I have been to Poland and I liked it a lot. I hope to go back and spend time in the less touristy places. As an over-50 person, there is a reasonable chance of finding non-English speaking people to talk to while I am there.

There is good literature that has not been translated into English (or so I hear). That will be for after the FLC, but it is important to me.

Excellent animation and films that are not impossible to find in the USA.

I really want to learn a Slavic language. I have dabbled with Russian, but I think I might prefer Polish. This will be a great way to know for sure which one is the right one for me.

Hopping on this real late, but I'm going to sign up again this year, with French. Technically I'm a false beginner (I have a now completely defunct GCSE in it) but aside from seeing the occasional French tweet and one weekend in Paris three years ago, I've had no contact with the language in about twelve years. I know some basic words and will probably recall phrases, etc., as I go along, but it wasn't as if my level was high even when I was learning the language at school.

I'm looking forward to taking this challenge up again! (And this time, I'll properly notify you all if I drop out; unlike last time, where I just didn't study for ages, tried to convince myself that I would get back into it, and instead just kind of ducked away from the whole thing... ).

I hope we can cheer each other on! I really want to do this, but I want to do it without dropping my other languages.

Has anyone started yet? I listed my start date as tomorrow (15th).

I am not even sure what I want to use yet, but I do hope to use FSI. I think I will try FSI plus YouTube first.

Elsa Maria wrote:I hope we can cheer each other on! I really want to do this, but I want to do it without dropping my other languages.

Has anyone started yet? I listed my start date as tomorrow (15th).

I am not even sure what I want to use yet, but I do hope to use FSI. I think I will try FSI plus YouTube first.

We definitely can cheer each other on! God knows I’m gonna need all the encouragement I can get

I technically put my start date as the 14th and didn’t do anything today (well, yesterday) aside from browse FSI, but I’m good with that.

When I tried Polish last year, I didn’t really get Polish FAST, but I did use the DLI basic course for a while. Sadly, it has no audio, but it seems really extensive!

Elsa Maria wrote:I am not even sure what I want to use yet,

In case you haven't considered it, I wanted to suggest using the free resources for Polish on LingQ. With a free LingQ membership, you can find a lot of beginner RealPolish files...and obviously everything has audio + text.

StringerBell wrote:

Elsa Maria wrote:I am not even sure what I want to use yet,

In case you haven't considered it, I wanted to suggest using the free resources for Polish on LingQ. With a free LingQ membership, you can find a lot of beginner RealPolish files...and obviously everything has audio + text.

I did not know that, thanks. I thought that I would only get a free trial with LingQ, not that there is a free version. I'll look into it!
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Iguanamon, what is the rule on free trials from paid sites? Are they allowed?

Well, it is time for me to officially withdraw from this challenge. I have not done much with Polish since March. I dabbled, but that is really all. I did enjoy the the time I spent on Polish, and I did it without buying anything. I liked using Pimsleur, but I got tired of taking it back to the library. And it was only available to me on CD, which was frustrating. I only used it in my car, and I do very little driving. So I just used one of my audible credits for Pimsleur Polish. I think I would also like a textbook now. I'm leaning toward the Preston Publishing book (the one that Stringerbell recommends).

Iguanamon, I thank you for setting up this challenge and I am sorry that I did not complete it. It did save me money - by waiting, I have a much better idea now about what I should buy.

I remain very excited about the idea of learning Polish. I just have to see if I want to actually prioritize it.

Are you kicking this off for 2021 in January? Give us a year to do the FLC?