I want to learn a new language

[officelurker]

I really want to learn a new language. I want to learn Spanish, French, German, Arabic.

Is this an unrealistic goal? I am no genius by any stretch of the imagination, so can someone normal like you and me really learn to speak effectively all these languages?

I know Learning Stragegies has a language cd set called EasyLearn. I also know about Rossetta. I really would like to know from someones experience if they had with any of the two products.

Thank you.

[Matt Willard]

It's very realistic. And it sounds like you've got the motivation, that sounds good. One of the things I've discovered from my years of Spanish is that languages tend to share a lot of things, so even though I recommend understanding a language at the time, you'll have some experience in parts of the other languages already.

[jbischke]

Audio learning works really for this. The best part about learning a language via audio is that you can get a lot of repetition in. You'll still want to do a tutor or a class if fluency is your goal but you can get pretty far down the path with audio learning and greatly accelerate the process.

As for which programs to use, I run LearnOutLoud.com and since we sell most all of these I'm pretty familiar with them. It's generally thought that Pimsleur titles are the highest quality. Having said that, Rosetta Stone also gets good marks. I guess it depends on whether you are looking for something interactive (PC-based) or just something to listen to in your car, while commuting, etc. If it's the former, go Rosetta Stone. If it's the latter, go Pimsleur.

Haven't listened to the Learning Strategies ones yet but I've been really happy with all of the stuff I've bought from them in the past.

[b212]

Originally Posted by officelurker

I really want to learn a new language. I want to learn Spanish, French, German, Arabic.

Do you want to learn listening comprehension? speaking? reading? writing? All four? What you want to learn has a big effect on the best way to learn...another way to put it is what are you goals - do you want to understand spanish tv, read arabic web sites, etc. What level of proficiency do you want to achieve? That also is really important. Basic communication is _much_ easier than becoming fluent...

Without knowing in more detail what you are interested in, its hard to suggest methods, etc.

[Susie]

Yes it's absolutely possible; the key is persistence. You pretty much have to give daily attention to the language you are trying to learn in order to really learn it, and it takes time before you feel you are up and running and can really communicate. You might want to check out Barry Farber's book (also available in ebook) "How to Learn Any Language" for some motivating advice.

[stephencp]

Echoing b212's comments. You need to learn how YOU learn best. Rosetta stone was OK, but I like the Barron's volumes used by the State department. When you want to learn several languages it's VERY important to decide firmly on one and learn it. I spend ten years vacilating between really learning Spanish (since I "learned" it in high school), Japanase (since I "learned" it living in Japan), Chinese (since it's like Japanese - written, and I think it will be important in the future), Greek and Latin (as the foundation for the West.)
I would start one for a few weeks, then another ad infinitum....
Finally, I settled on getting fluent in Japanese first, since I already partially fluent.
Pick one and go!

Stephen
Power-Book Library: Free personal development, success, inspiration and motivational classics
Personality and Growth Bookshelf
Snappy Shop - Download what you need right now, instant shopping

[officelurker]

Thank you all for your encouraging words and your suggestions.

I currently drive alot so learning via audio is the best method for me at the moment. I don't really want to get into grammer and the written word at the moment. I want to be proficient in speaking the language.

Two products I am looking at are EasyLearn ($88 for beginners Spanish, German and French) and as pointed out by jbischke Pimsleur French only costs $274.00

So I am stuck at deciding which one will be best for me.

[SuperStar]

Shameless Self-Promotion:

My company makes a product called 3D Language, a virtual environment where you can practice speaking Spanish with the characters via voice-recognition. It isn't a full course to go from nothing to fluency (yet), but it works as a supplement to other products, so you can actually practice having conversations with people at your own pace.

Try it out: Learn Spanish With 3D Language

The demo is free and the add-on lessons are pretty cheap.

Jeff

[rossio]

I REALLY REALLY recommend trying Michel Thomas for learning these European languages. His approach is excellent and you really do learn very very quickly.

Def try it! I had great success with Spanish and know friends who are now living and speaking french in france after using his French program.

Amazon.co.uk: Spanish with Michel Thomas--Complete Course 8 CD Set: Books: Michel Thomas

Good luck!

Ross

[Brutha]

I think the main question is: "How much time do you want to invest?"
Traditional learning of a language needs around 1000 hours. Every one who can spend those 1000 hours is able to learn a language.
With accelerated learning efforts you can reduce that to maybe 300 hours, but that takes effort, so not everybody can learn a language in 300 hours.

[icesar]

Spanish is my native language, and I'm also fluent in French and can hold my own in Portuguese and Italian. For me, it was a question of necessity (I grew up moving a lot) so I may have some insight for you.

My recommendation would be to completely immerse yourself in one language to begin with. If you can, live somewhere or work somewhere where you're forced to speak the new language on a daily basis. Within 6-12 months you'll find yourself adequately fluent in a new language.

From there, I would work on a third, and then a fourth language. It helps if they're related (eg. Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese).

The bottom line is that it is hard work, but possible and very rewarding. Good luck!

[officelurker]

Thank you all so much for your input, I really appreciate it all.

Just one more question:

My wife is from a foreign country. I was born and raised in North America. I would like her to speak and learn English as spoken in here. She does speak English. She wants to adopt the accent and she want to be able to know the phrases and a bit of slang we use here. Currently she is on work leave for 8 months after the birth of our son. Do you have any audio recommendations she could use? She is not a big fan of television.

[LifeFirst]

Move to that country then....that's the best way to learn.

[alexb5784]

I've used Pimsleur and Assimil with great results. I was really lazy when it came to my French, but now I am putting in the effort to learn. Both systems are a little expensive (Assimil $100 and Pimsleur $350) but you can get the programs for free at your local library. Good luck!

[Ibanez]

This might be of assistance to you..

FSI Language Courses

Save what you can on your comp from that site so you don't eat up their bandwidth.

Personally, if you are wondering about the order in which to learn. I think Spanish would be an easy transition if you are a native english speaker, then maybe German, and French then Arabic. I would learn french before arabic because it is my understanding, from what I have heard others talk about, is that French is widely understood in the arabic world and sometimes preferred because of dialect differences in Arabic around the regions.

[C33]

Hi,

I taught French to adults for 3 years and am a native speaker. I found out through my experience that it is important to determine if you have visual memory or aural memory.

If you are a visual person, you should ALWAYS see the words that are spoken( for example, if you have a c.d or a tape playing, you should be able to read the script you are hearing.) and spend a lot of time writing down what you hear. For example, you should write down every piece of information that is new to you( vocabulary, verbs, etc...). One of the little trick of the trade would be to watch films with subtitles in the language you are learning. (if you are learning French you should watch a French film with FRENCH subtitles) or to read a book with the same book on a cd playing behind.( This is the method I used to improve my English: I locked myself in my room every night for 1 month and played the cd of one of my favorite books while reading at the same time.) Choose the material according to your level: Children stories are great because they use simple words and are very repetitive.

If you are more of an aural person, you should record new information and listen to it over and over. Listen to the radio in the language you are learning while doing written exercises.


When learning the language, you should set time AWAY from hearing your native language. For example: do not listen to English speaking radio or watch t.v while doing exercises. You should immerse yourself completely in the language.

Children books and kindergarten exercise books are wonderful to learn, they are fun and visually attractive.

For French (and I believe for a lot of languages) this is what could speed up your learning tremenduously:

Learn by HEART the following 3 verbs in the present:

TO BE, TO HAVE, TO GO.

This way, you are read to speak in the past and the future:

I have done, I have gone etc.... I will do, I will go.

This should be the FIRST thing you do before you even put your nose in any book or program: learn these 3 basic verbs THE FOLLOWING WAY:

In the affirmative form: I am
Interrogative form: am I?
And negative form: I am not

In French most affirmative sentence can become a question if you add: Est-ce que" at the beginning.
Ex: Je vais= I go
Est-ce que je vais: Am I going...?

It is very important to KNOW these verbs so well that you don t have to think about them at all, it should be mantra like.

Use a sample question such as I am happy, I am not happy, Am I happy? or anything that you would like to be able to say:I am going to the movies, I am not going to the movies, am I going to the movies?

Once you get to a specific program, any program, you will be able to recognize these words and it will make you feel more comfortable, no matter which method you use.

There you go, I hope it is helpful and not too "bossy".

Most importantly: have fun with it!

Bonne chance!

[seasoned]

Apparently(I haven't tried it yet), the BEST overall is generally believed to be "tell me more".

easylearn looks like it might be nice, and tries to give a good basis, but it doesn't cover arabic.

Pimsleur is nice, but perfunctory(You spend more time, and the knowledge is basic, but you DO get it down).

I CAN tell you Michel Thomas is pretty good.

FSI can be good.

BTW One word on Arabic. There are MANY dialects! Keep that in mind when you look.

Steve

[hoofhearted]

Try the rosettastone software, it works with images and voice recognition, good stuff.

[bobo]

It´s absolutely realistic. Not as easy as it is for kids to absorb new languages, but 3,4 or even five langauges is really not impossible at all. And there´s keys to every language and mutual rules that you can remember. C33 gave some excellent advice.

[SaberToothDream]

Once you start getting the basics down of whatever language you're trying to learn I would suggest trying to find groups or friends you can speak with on a regular basis to put the language into practice. I've found meetup.com very helpful in that area. I found a french speaking group in my area and we meet twice a week to speak french at a cafe or bar. It's a great way to meet people and keep up your language skills. They usually have different groups for different levels. Good luck!

[supertom]

yeah just remember inArabic the that different meanings sometimes mean the same expression.