boxst

Hello

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to learn another language? I have finally given in and decided to learn Polish.

Whilst being extremely intelligent of course, I seem to take to languages like an amoeba to hand gliding, so any advice is appreciated...

Thanks,

Steve

Turbohot

if you want to learn the language (spoken and written), it is easier. If you have to, it becomes more difficult.

Presuming you want to learn, learn small phrases first e.g. "Hi, how are you?" "Thank you very glad" etc. Then, go for grammar business. Buy translation material for self-help etc. but better learning takes place practically e.g. joining quality courses with real people. if you have time to do it, go for it. it takes a long time to learn a language, you have to be prepared for it. Anyone can throw set learnt phrases or a few in another language. But for learning it to converse efficiently, you have to start "living" that language.

Good luck, and I am sure some pundits will enlighten you here with good techniques.

What language do you want to learn, boxst? Some languages are easier to learn than other languages; some say. It is definitely easier to learn in younger years, as one is not so set in one's ways, and one's mind is less pre-occupied with less stresses and pressures of responsibilities.

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

There's really no substitute for SPEAKING the language of your choice, as often as possible to native speakers or others fluent.

It's how my French went from Schoolboy to being taken for Belgian-French.........I THINK because my northern accent comes across and my French is mostly learned from a bloke in Lille, which is a spit from Belgium.

Strange as it may see, once I started as a boy, I used to put myself to sleep at night trying to hold a conversation with myself in French.

It did two things:

1. You can REALLY do the accent without worry of mockery from peers, (important to a schoolboy), and
2. Eventually you will come to a stop on a certain phrase. The next day you ask/look it up......and away you go again.

mykp

from personal experience, get up and go on holiday there, you will pick the language up much quicker and a damn site easier than teaching yourself.

I moved to japan in 1996 and i had a basic overview of japanese but had to learn very quickly. however once you've learnt something and applied it, it becomes much easier because you are using it everyday.

One of the problems I had when learning Spanish at night school was you never get chance to use it, I only know one spanish person who lives in my community and its real hit and miss if you get to speak to him on a monthly yet alone daily basis. Going to college was not much different. I think you have to be genuinely interested in what you are learning otherwise you will not progress. I managed a GCSE in Spanish but would be hard pushed to use it properly now without practise.

Other than that, checkout the library and see if they have any DVD, CDs, talking books or even books which you can use, if you have the kind of brain I have then visual and verbal communication is best. For all those wanting to learn Japanese NHK, the japanese equivalent to the BBC, do an excellent series of learning japanese dvds which break everything down into small film clips.

Whatever language you finally decide on dont be afraid to voice what you are learning, after all you are going to have to speak it at some time, so why not speak it to yourself first to see what it sounds like.

The most important bit however is you must WANT to learn it, if its something you dont enjoy you wont progress, hence why I didnt do very well learning French!

mykp

you think thats bad, before I moved to Japan I went to night school and learnt a few basics. My teacher was a woman. I also learnt a few language phrases from my japanese girlfriend. When I went to live in Japan I would get strange looks from Japanese men whe I spoke - it had to be pointed out to me that the way I spoke Japanese made me sound like a woman as the way women pronouce certain words is different to men. Bit like mascaline and feminine in french. Not funny at the time

boxst

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to learn Polish -- and I don't have an excuse not to speak it already really. My wife is Polish and she speaks exclusively to my children in Polish -- I just have a switch in my head that filters anything not English!!

Steve

Turbohot

You can do it, boxst. I know a 40+ officer who speaks 6 languages. All these languages he learnt as an adult on his police job. He started to learn Polish only 3 years ago, and now he is fluent at it. It takes time, but you will get there. You are lucky to have a wife and children, to have a practice with.

Good luck