Learning a new language

[Billy the Fish]

I'm thinking of learning a new language, most probably spanish, and would like to know if anyone else has tried from scratch and what your experience of it was like.
I do alot of driving and train journeys for work so a cd course would be quite convenient, has anyone used them and are they any good? Any suggestions and recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

[Nibble]

My brother learnt Chinese from scratch and his teacher told him one of the best ways to learn a new language from scratch is to get hold of some childrens school books in that language. As in the books Spanish (or whatever language) children learn from at school. They cover the basics of their language, punctuation, the right sounds etc. My brother got a load from Borders and he said it accelerated his learning very quickly.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I'm thinking of learning a new language, most probably spanish, and would like to know if anyone else has tried from scratch and what your experience of it was like.
I do alot of driving and train journeys for work so a cd course would be quite convenient, has anyone used them and are they any good? Any suggestions and recommendations would be much appreciated.

Pick a language you are actually going to use. You'll learn some then forget it if you don't use it. I spent a few months learning German on the train up to Londinium everyday, but never used it and can rememeber very little now.

 

[tip top]

I spent three years living in Spain and started from scratch with this audio before we moved out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spanish-Michel-Thomas-Complete-Course-Set/dp/0340780673

Very good IMO.

 

[pasty]

Probably not a lot of use for a train journey, but I learnt Dutch when I was living over there by watching television. The Dutch tended to leave programmes in English and put Dutch subtitles on the screen. Reading the subtitles whilst listening to the English was great.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I spent three years living in Spain and started from scratch with this audio before we moved out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spanish-Michel-Thomas-Complete-Course-Set/dp/0340780673

Very good IMO.

Was just looking at that on amazon, nearly all of the reviews are good, I may well indulge. I will also check out the basic school books like nibble suggested, cheers guys

 

[Trufflehound]

Probably not a lot of use for a train journey, but I learnt Dutch when I was living over there by watching television. The Dutch tended to leave programmes in English and put Dutch subtitles on the screen. Reading the subtitles whilst listening to the English was great.

Only problem is the standard of the subtitling is pretty crap here. Even I can spot when someone says "Tuesday" and the subtitle says "Saturday".

But yes, somehow I too managed to learn Dutch simply by being here. After 19 years I can almost write it like an 8-year-old...



For something a bit more practical though, I learnt (some) Italian using the Hugo's "Italian in 3 months" book & tape course, and that seemed to work reasonably well.

 

[Muhammad - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

apparently, my missus said that i picked up serbo croat in about 7 hours last friday

 

[csider]

Mate of mine talks "Four Pint Hungarian" and he didnt buy a book or anything...It just sort of happens.!

 

[Lady Bracknell]

I learnt Italian from scratch and pretty scratchy is exactly what my Italian is!

However, I'd always advise learning a language that you know you'll use so that there's a practical application for it. I'd also advise starting by getting a good grasp of the grammar too and don't be tempted to take classes aimed at equipping you with a tourist vocabulary.

Not that I've done what I'm advising, mind! Instead, I've picked up an extensive and somewhat bizarre Italian vocabulary but can't actually conjugate any verbs. Thus I understand a surprising amount of what is said to me but can't actually string a sentence together in reply. Hence I'm planning to take Italian at GCSE level.

 

[NMH]

One thing I'd mention, is that 'textbook' language isn't necessarily what the people speak. I'm sure most people might think that's an obvious thing to say, but you can learn the 'right' way to speak another language, yet still find you're helpless when you actually get the chance to converse with people of that language.

Imagine learning textbook English, and then traveling Britain!

"ay oop chuck, what's your'n?" "um....I don't think I did - I am not actually sleepy"
"get em in lar, your round" "Do you think so? I'm on a diet"
"alright son?" "er, yes indeed, the sun is very nice"

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

I learned German from scratch, and can interpret now for German patients who come over on the cruises! As Nibble says, children's books are the best to learn from, becuase they cover the various technical bits in very easy terms! Tapes are also pretty handy, as you learn the pronounciation from them.

Also, the CGP books for GCSE / A-level languages are very useful

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Also - watch cartoons that you know really well (finding nemo was the best for me) with the languages subtitles, or in the other language with english subtitles - it's amazing how much you'll pick up

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I learnt Italian from scratch and pretty scratchy is exactly what my Italian is!

However, I'd always advise learning a language that you know you'll use so that there's a practical application for it. I'd also advise starting by getting a good grasp of the grammar too and don't be tempted to take classes aimed at equipping you with a tourist vocabulary.

Not that I've done what I'm advising, mind! Instead, I've picked up an extensive and somewhat bizarre Italian vocabulary but can't actually conjugate any verbs. Thus I understand a surprising amount of what is said to me but can't actually string a sentence together in reply. Hence I'm planning to take Italian at GCSE level.

It helps if you HAVE to speak the language, or starve. That was my situation when I found myself living (on my own) in Italy in the seventies - in a place that in those days had no tourists, and therefore no English-speaking locals.

But Roz is right about learning the grammar. I still have an exercise book in which I wrote out all the rules that you need to know to speak with confidence. And there's a load of them that can be easily memorised - if you take the trouble to do so.

It's also worth concentrating on learning lots of idioms and colloquialisms.

 

[Starry]

i learnt english from scratch. i grew up in egypt so everyone spoke arabic and my parents spoke only in gaelic or arabic. never english. my father does not speak any english now and my mother has broken english.

i watched english television and begged, borrowed and sometimes stole from hotels the english newspapers. i am very bad with grammar. you all have probably noticed i know i say "my daughter have a pink jumper" when it's "my daughter has a pink jumper" type things a lot but considering i did not have any proper lessons i don't think my english is too bad.

my children are learning spanish and they have the regular lesson books etc but their teacher recommend "Learn To Speak Spanish" it's a nintendo DS game and apparently gives you the basics and a good base to build from.

 

[BensGrandad]

I drove to Cyprus a few years back and was speaking to a soldier, wouldnt give me any info just that he was in the army and we were talking about learning a language as I wanted to learn Greek. He told me that he learnt to speak arabic and could now speak it like a native, in 6 weeks by spending 12 hours day in front of a computer with an Arabic language course. He said that some education authoritys in Wales were going to try the method on 6 year olds to teach them french obviously not 12 hours a day but all day every day for a given time.

I didnt learn Greek at it was extremely difficult can't understand why because there are lots of young children in Cyprus speak it fluently.

 

[Lady Bracknell]

It's also worth concentrating on learning lots of idioms and colloquialisms.

Indeed. It's vital to know the difference between yer fennel and yer finocchio.

 

[BensGrandad]

I have always maintained that they want I currency in Europe so why not 1 language and the language that is the 2nd most spoken as a native tongue is English, after Mandarin Chinese, and it is also the most spoken 2nd language.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Indeed. It's vital to know the difference between yer fennel and yer finocchio.

*rubs right earlobe with forefinger*

 

[Lady Bracknell]

I have always maintained that they want I currency in Europe so why not 1 language and the language that is the 2nd most spoken as a native tongue is English, after Mandarin Chinese, and it is also the most spoken 2nd language.

Have you no romance in your soul? One language for an entire continent? Or in the case of Bexhill-on-Sea, the incontinent.