Waaay OT: Kind of? Languages? Bucket list?

[verticaldoug]

I think the key to learning a language is a willingness to make mistakes. Children say many funny things because they have not mastered a language. Adults tend to be too embarassed to try and this iimpedes their learning.

[toastedbread]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

I think the key to learning a language is a willingness to make mistakes. Children say many funny things because they have not mastered a language. Adults tend to be too embarassed to try and this iimpedes their learning.

It definitely helps to practice with someone you're comfortable around. If they're making fun of any slip ups, you'll find it much harder to progress.

[MadRocketSci]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

My wife is czech and when I was commuting by bicycle for about 40 minutes one way I would listen to pimsleur czech lessons twice a day. I picked it up pretty fast going from hearing white noise (czech is WAYYYY different than english) to understanding basic conversations.

I had to quit due to severe lack of time but hope to pick it up one day and still remember most of the first lessons pack I purchased.

the nice thing about pimsleur is that it really drills that stuff deep into long term memory....i have to switch between languages so right before i leave for wherever I pop the last lessons into the car player and I've pretty much recalled what was covered for the whole intro set. the downside is you don't know how to say all that much, but in my experience it's enough to get started and traveling and evokes appreciative smiles from the natives

[vav]

Hey; if you are thinking of learning Spanish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LjDe4sLER0

[zennmotion]

I have learned 4 languages as an adult- French Spanish and two African languages (Bambara and Lingala). One of my lasting gifts from my Peace Corps experience is learning how to teach yourself a new language- our 3 month pre-service training required us to "learn" two languages at one time- French and a local language. Of course you can't get fluent in one let alone both in that time but we learned how to continue to teach ourselves once we started service- I'd say that it took me about 8-10 months of immersion. For me, hanging around kids and older people was what worked. Kids laugh at your mistakes and teach you idiomatic phrases, and older people have all the time and patience in the world to tell stories. Losing your inhibitions to make mistakes is the most important thing to learning quickly, personality is much more important than language "ability" IMO.

[zennmotion]

For anybody who has Spanish on their bucket list, I highly recommend Eco Escuela as a great experience in Guatemala. This is an eco-tourism project sponsored by Conservation International. You take small group spanish classes 4 hours/day from CI-trained teachers and board with a local family, and there are guided cultural excursions to Mayan ruins, rainforest hikes etc. Ever smelled a cinnamon tree forest? Definitely off the beaten tourist path, with very simple but comfortable accommodations in peoples homes- my family had a 9 year old who taught me most of my verbs and a few killer basketball moves as well. The school is an income source for the villages and it's really an amazing experience- you can choose your length of stay 1 week or longer. I went from zero to conversant in 6 weeks. It's a great alternative vacation, and less expensive than the typical gringo tour, and it provides income for some very poor people as well.

http://sp10.conservation.org/learn/c...guatemala.aspx

[1happygirl]

Definitely Spanish would be the most praktisch.

Will utilize all the suggestions here and for sure check out Pimsleur (maybe on iPad/Pod)?

I want it to be challenging, but not undoable.
ZM: so many smarties here

Originally Posted by zennmotion

I have learned 4 languages as an adult- French Spanish and two African languages (Bambara and Lingala). .

later in life learners (again very encouraging)
I see most already had language exposure experience by then however

[1happygirl]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

My wife is czech and when I was commuting by snip.

You are also cheating lol!!!!
hmmm…
Pick a language, pick a partner. tee hee. I could become fluent faster…..
just kiddin

[1happygirl]

Originally Posted by weisan

(snip) Although I must say, it seems to get harder the older I get. I learned two new languages when I was 38 and it was, by far, the most difficult endeavor I have ever undertaken. It was so painful, I vowed I will not go through something like this ever again, not if I can help it.
(snip).

lol W:
Thanks for the vote of confidence (and you already knew several)

Just kiddin'

I am not frightened easily lol

[ultraman6970]

Take some classes and go to the country that speaks what you want to learn, the issue is this... is totally different being in a place and forced to understand and be understood than try to catch up stuff from the web or a program.

Good luck with whatever you want to learn.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by 1happygirl

I am not frightened easily lol

Go for it!
No pain...no gain.

[happycampyer]

Late to this thread—lots of great suggestions. I became fluent in French at age 30, but it was through total immersion. Started with conversational immersion courses (5 hrs/day, 5 days a week). Even if you could only do that for two weeks while on a "vacation," you'll learn more in that two weeks than you will in a year with tapes/classes/internet at home. The reason I put vacation in quotes is that it's exhausting. They key is getting your brain to stop translating, and that's really hard to do without immersion.

Some things to do that are "fun"—

Listen to music in the foreign language. Sing along to the lyrics, and eventually translate them. Great for pronunciation, vocabulary, phrasing, idioms, etc.

Watch news or anything else you can find in that language on tv/Internet (dubbed sitcoms you've seen before are great). News is great because the speakers have really clear diction, and you know generally what the topics are (current events, sports, weather, etc.).

As mentioned before, watch movies with subtitles and, if you can find them, dubbed (if in English originally). Even better, watch foreign movies. If you can get them in a format where you can turn subtitles on and off, watch the movie first without subtitles—maybe even several times—then watch it with English subtitles. Then watch it again several times without.

Buy books you know well in English translated into the foreign language. Start with easier pieces, maybe children's books, poems, etc.

Probably most importantly, find people with whom to speak the language. This can be hard to do without paying someone (tutor, etc.) but it's the best way to learn. Friends who are native speakers, shops, etc.

In a nutshell, one can definitely learn a foreign language past the age of 18, but unless one is gifted at learning languages, it's hard work. The more fun you can make it, the less you'll notice how hard it is.

[1happygirl]

Originally Posted by happycampyer

Late to this thread—lots of great suggestions. I became fluent in French at age 30, but it was through total immersion. snipped here

WOW!!! That's great.
I am already utilizing the great and helpful suggestions here. I am a hard worker and very determined once I am set on a course of action.
So thanks everyone for your helpful replies and your time in responding.
Only idea I can't take into action is the immersion suggestion but that is on the plan list for the future.
really liking the 'vacation' language idea (even though it's hard work)

[djg]

Happy Girl, once upon a time I was fluent in French. Now . . . well, I've got a decent accent (thanks to a long-ago residence in Blois), but it's fair to say that I'm rusty -- I can fake it in the right context, but I've forgotten tons. I'd like to get it back.

And for reasons that aren't really reasons, I'd kinda like to learn Yiddish.

As for learning languages later in life, I'll say my dad -- who spoke seven languages, give or take -- did a respectable job learning Spanish in his 30s and French in his late 40s. Dad took a course or two but he'd also just watch a bunch of movies and really look and listen. Likely it helps if you spoke several languages as a kid and I think it's fair to say that he had a knack for it -- probably more than most of us, myself included. Still, living around DC you run into plenty of world-wide types and I've seen adults with the World Bank and other international organizations do a credible job with a new language (or building on rudimentary and faded high-school learning) as adults. Immersion can help immensely, I think. College French on top of high school French -- it all took off when I went to France and lived with a French-speaking family and had to function day-to-day in French.