Learning another language,....

[Merrida]

In many jobs, it comes in handy if you can speak at least one other language fluently. What I'm discovering (just because of where I live and because of the crowds we tend to attract), is that a lot more people are a lot more fluent in more than 2 languages than I ever thought....at the club, at the banks, at the pharmacies,....

We have trainers who speak in another language entirely while they train. We have two who speak Japanese fluently and their entire sessions are held in Japanese for the convenience of the clients. We have some trainers who are also fluent in Cantonese, Creole (which I don't really understand, I mean, as a language, even with French background, -- if anyone'd care to share), Hindi, Punjabi (lots and lots of Hindi and Punjabi)....

So my question is this: In my youth (you know, back in the days of dinosaurs) I spoke French (as my first language), German (I spoke German words, not the language, before uttering my first English/American words), and of course, English. I took some Spanish, some Italian, and brushed up on my German when I planned to go visit.

Time passes. So much is forgotten.

To anyone here who is a polyglot, do you have any recommendations for the best way for someone to learn additional languages?

Remember, I'm not a kid anymore, and I sincerely don't know if that plays a role in the learning process of languages. When I took Linguistics in school, I thought I'd die from an aneurysm in my brain as it exploded because it was much more complicated than I thought. (Not the same as learning a language,.....Linguistics, we learn formation, origin, etc.).

There are theories on immersion techniques, going back to school and just taking a language, tapes (don't work for me, I need to SEE the words written out, I'm not an auditory learner if that's the ONLY tool),...and then I saw a commercial for something called Rosetta Stone, (which I looked into and besides being very expensive),...it looked interesting. But anyone heard of it or tried it? Anyone have any first hand experience picking up new languages SUFFICIENTLY enough to converse with another beyond the basics of: "I'm allergic to shellfish," and "can you show me the way to the library?"

All idea welcome.

.

I have studied Turkish, Italian and French in preparation for vacation trips. I've tried various ways and I have learned the best by using those Idiot Guide books plus some audio tapes (specifically the To Go tapes/CDs by a person whose last name is Raymond.

But we all learn differently and the instructional aide must match our learning modality if it is to be effective.

I have always wondered about those Rosetta Stone courses you see advertised everywhere. And I have also seen the Pimsler courses. They are more pricey.

[TomG]

You never forget anything you learned in a foreign language. Bad news - you don't remember it when you want to unless there is a deep trigger.

All useless information to your problem. I'll write more. This is my profession.

[Rufiedodg]

Gilles O Einstein and Mark A McDaniel state the following about learning a new language from their book titled “Memory Fitness”

”Current evidence strongly suggests that your mind needs ton be challenged with “demanding” intellectual activity to keep your memory functioning well.
Learning a new language, or playing games that demand thinking (like bridge or chess) may help keep general memory abilities sharp, whereas passively watching television will not. The most critical point is that it is not what you do, but the degree to which you mentally challenge yourself in that activity. For instance, consider again watching television. This might well provide intellectual engagement if you are analyzing the styles of the across, figuring out the motivations of the characters, and anticipating what come next, and searching for a deeper meaning too the story.”

Dan

[Rufiedodg]

Typed to fast

Should read " styles of actors" and "meaning to the story"

Dan

[Merrida]

I was just curious if my trying to learn a language now would be more challenging than my trying to learn a language when I was younger. (Because obviously if more challenges were presented, I would need to know what/how so I could prepare).

I need visual triggers to learn a language as well as, not instead of, hearing them, because I tend to learn how to read and write languages a tad quicker than speaking them.

The languages I am interested in learning are not those I remotely consider my "mother tongues" (if I can have 2 tongues, that is,...but just in so much as they were spoken by me before English was spoken) of French (not yet at this time anyway), and German, (which actually yes I'd like to learn that, conversationally,....bear in mind & remember, while I knew German words as a child, it was enough for a kid to get her way around her grandparents, not enough to converse with a wide range of adults)....so yeah, at a point, "yes" to German, but it's not on the top of my list.

Some problems arise here because the languages I want to learn (there's more than one and luckily no time limit, this is just for me) also require a different "alphabet."

I want to learn Hindi, Punjabi, Japanese, Italian (this is Boston after all), and the very applicable (unfortunately, but don't get me started): Spanish (which should probably come to me okay as it's a romantic language, its similarities to French, and I took a few classes in it, but only knew enough to get by as an obvious tourist who didn't ask many questions,....)

At some point I'd like to learn Russian as well.

But those are the primary ones I am interested in, they all have an effect in my life primarily due to clientele and languages that are spoken.

.

[LiftGirl]

I do believe you learn languages easier when you're younger, but I guess it's never too late. OK, that wasn't too helpful.....

[TomG]

You can learn much faster as an adult than as a child. The advantage a child has over you is a child can pick up a language faster than, as opposed to you vs. the child deliberately trying to learn it. Deliberately trying to learn a language is faster than just picking it up (obviously). A child will sound fluent while you never will. Think of it this way: if you wanted, you could speak any language as well as Kissinger speaks English.

Don't get stuck on labeling yourself as better at written, seeing things written, etc. It ain't necessarily so - it depends on how you are going about the learning.

[Merrida]

Originally Posted by TomG

You can learn much faster as an adult than as a child. The advantage a child has over you is a child can pick up a language faster than, as opposed to you vs. the child deliberately trying to learn it. Deliberately trying to learn a language is faster than just picking it up (obviously). A child will sound fluent while you never will. Think of it this way: if you wanted, you could speak any language as well as Kissinger speaks English.

Don't get stuck on labeling yourself as better at written, seeing things written, etc. It ain't necessarily so - it depends on how you are going about the learning.

Thanks for the info Tom, as well as the explanation of what makes the difference between how a child "picks up" a language vs. when an adult makes a conscious effort "to learn" a language. That may explain why I spoke French fluently as a kid (of course it helped that no one spoke English in my extended family,...my parents did of course, but back then, it was not uncommon for married couples & their kids to live with the parents of one of their parents,...and one set of grandparents spoke French, no English. The other set spoke German, no English. That makes growing up an interesting experience,....retrospectively speaking).

But the way you explained it makes perfect sense, and I understand, now I get it. This gives me a better understanding of the what's, why's and how's. Thank you.

As for labeling myself, I'm going based on my experience (beyond that of being a child) when I was actively learning languages (either for school or for the fun of it, -- I did both). What I learned about myself was that when I got those cassette tapes (hey at least I didn't say 8-track tapes! I can hear 50% of the DF kiddos saying, "whaaaaat?!")....anyhoo, when I tried the audio tape only approach, I sucked in a big way. I totally could not absorb the material.

Text book only approaches didn't help because I couldn't hear it being pronounced, so I never knew if I was interpreting it correctly.

Therefore I figured, some type of combination. What would be nifty would be a combination of texts, DVD's even as if I could "watch" like being in a classroom, plus a CD to play in the car and practice along with. But a mix of all 3 would work (at least that's what worked in the past). Auditory only, I blow. It doesn't sink in. So then, and now, I guess I just need a variety of stimulation.

One thing I did learn was if I tried to learn 2 languages at once,...it wasn't a good idea, especially if they were too close.

To anyone else out there who's learned languages, for holidays or school or for fun,....did you find learning one at a time worked out better? What methods did you use (thanks pierini for your recommendation, I'll look into that,....do those books come with CD's too, btw?)

Pierini? How hard was it to learn Italian?

[The Flash]

It is much easier to learn a new language when you're younger (funny how that works) but that doesn't mean it's impossible to learn at a later age either. My first language was Portuguese followed by English when I entered the school system. Along the line, I learned Spanish because it's pretty close to Portuguese. But what really helped me to learn Spanish was my mom always having it on the TV. So that would be my first bit of advice. Try watching TV in your foreign language of choice or use subtitles to help. Also, a lot of community colleges offer foreign language classes for a pretty good price so you can check that out and learn with others or you could also go the old book and audio tape method. Either way, practice makes perfect. Good luck!

[Merrida]

Originally Posted by The Flash

It is much easier to learn a new language when you're younger (funny how that works) but that doesn't mean it's impossible to learn at a later age either. My first language was Portuguese followed by English when I entered the school system. Along the line, I learned Spanish because it's pretty close to Portuguese. But what really helped me to learn Spanish was my mom always having it on the TV. So that would be my first bit of advice. Try watching TV in your foreign language of choice or use subtitles to help. Also, a lot of community colleges offer foreign language classes for a pretty good price so you can check that out and learn with others or you could also go the old book and audio tape method. Either way, practice makes perfect. Good luck!

Okay so let's say I pick Spanish first. Would I watch the show in Spanish with English subtitles so I can try to make correlations in my brain between what I hear in Spanish, read in English, and attempt to understand what the translations mean as they occur? Watching, listening and reading in Spanish without the benefit of some type of translation, ....seems maybe I wouldn't get it.

Speaking of colleges, community or otherwise, I wonder if I could AUDIT a class. I know that I would need to get special permission from the teacher to do so, and that isn't given lightly. A drawback is that you (generally) cannot participate. You cannot ask questions, get called on to answer, take exams/tests/quizzes, etc. "Audit" means just that: At least back when I was in college, I remember some college kids auditing classes, and (in most cases) they couldn't participate on any level, they merely observed. It also obviously goes without saying you do not earn credits either. So it's a cheap way to get exposed, but you don't get the interaction, corrections, feedback and confirmation that what you're picking up is even correct.

That said I've also seen teachers who started off letting kids audit but over time sort of incorporated them into the class anyway, permitting them to test and participate, and even get graded. Of course still no credits, but some teachers seemed a tad more lax with how involved they'd let the auditor get.

Anyone ever audit a class before?

Any teachers here permit people to audit their classes? (If so, only students, or even non-matriculated students?)

I'm looking into all options to find the combo of what I can afford and what'll be effective.

.

[Lady C]

Where I attended school - if you audited the class you still had to pay the fees. It was almost a much as the tuition and fees. So why audit. Take the plunge and do the class.

There are lots of good programs on the internet for free. Like this one. Learn Spanish or this one. Learn Spanish Free Online

[Merrida]

Originally Posted by Lady C

Where I attended school - if you audited the class you still had to pay the fees. It was almost a much as the tuition and fees. So why audit. Take the plunge and do the class.

There are lots of good programs on the internet for free. Like this one. Learn Spanish or this one. Learn Spanish Free Online

I'll check it out. I'm certainly open to options.

In my experience, and in my perfect little world, I'd still like to find a blend that has worked for me in the past which combines: a book (a tangible, paper book I can flip through & carry with me wherever I go that doesn't need an internet connection),....a tape or CD so I can hear the words pronounced, and/or a live person, such as in a classroom or even watching a DVD.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions and ideas, and I am going to look into them all because I need to find the "method" or "combination of methods" that work for me, for where I am in my life now and for my given purposes.

I wouldn't audit a class anyway because pay or no,.....as you said, I'd WANT the credit for being there, AND I'd want to know I can participate fully. (Last time I saw anyone audit one of my classes, bear in mind it was 20 years ago, things may have changed).

[The Flash]

I would watch it in English with Spanish subtitle first if possible. You're going to be learning basic text first so this will help bridge the link between English and Spanish. I really think you should check out the local communtiy college because I think that's where you'll get the most for your money. I've seen language classes offered during the summer at my local JC for $99.

[gcs118]

If you are unfamiliar with the language, watch the film/show in a language you know fluently (English) and the subtitles in the foreign language (Spanish or whatever). You won't be able to pick out individual words because you don't know the words yet, so seeing the foreign words help. When you have a better grasp of the language, I recommend the reverse, only using the English subtitles as a crutch to give you a ballpark idea what words you should be listening for. Also read as much as you can in that language!