Learning other languages

[Fireballs]

Do many people here speak fluently in other languages?

I have decided I am going to learn another language and then travel around the country/s. Besides the fact that I will be raising my value, I have always wanted to be able to speak a different language and I'm at a point in my life where I can devote some time into it.

I also have the tough choice to make on deciding on a language. The ones I have in mind include Italian, Spanish and French.

Has anyone here done what I plan on doing? What were your methods of learning? I live in a small town so I'm not sure there are classes here so I may be restricted to books/cd's/online etc..

 

[Mike32ct]

I'm studying French on the side. I'm not fluent, but low intermediate and working my way up the ladder so to speak. I'm also now at a point where I can put a lot more time into it.

Since your first foreign language is the arguably the hardest to learn, it is essential that you pick the language that you are most passionate about. There has to be one language that you think sounds so cool that you could listen to it for HOURS even if you don't understand a MF'in thing that is being said lol.

The language learning community (online) is probably as vast as the seduction community with its many methods. But generally, Pimsleur CDs are popular with beginners.

 

[Eph]

I'm capable of holding a simple, basic conversation in Spanish (somewhat). I'm far from fluent unfortunately. Since I'm at (or near) an intermediate level, learning on my own isn't much of a problem. The only problem you find from learning other languages on your own is that you have no one there to correct your mistakes and sometimes no one to practice with.

For the moment I've more or less stopped learning Spanish, even though I really want to be fluent in it, since I have no one to practice with and correct my mistakes. I still try to keep it fresh in my mind though. I've also studied Japanese a bit on my own, though only pronunciation and hiragana (one of the three character sets - "alphabets" used). So, it's doable but try to find a pen-pal to help you learn and get some practice in. If you can't do that, then try to find some classes to take. You can't correct your own mistakes in a language you don't know, and you need as much practice pronouncing and speaking in the other language as possible.

As for which language, which do you want to learn the most? If you really can't decide, go with Spanish. Third most used language after Chinese and English, so there's plenty of amazing places to travel to where people speak the language. It's also pretty close to English (and Italian) so that's makes it a bit easier to learn.

For learning on your own, there are plenty of videos, websites, audiobooks, podcasts, etc that can help you learn. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend buying anything (other than classes) for learning other languages. You can learn just about as much as you want for free.

 

[Mike32ct]

Just one last random and unrelated thought....

One thing that makes pronunciation challenging is that we are so used to our native language, that we actually (consciously or unconsciously) are "embarrassed" to try to mimic a native speaker (in person or recorded) in a foreign language and pronounce things properly (or reasonably close ). It feels weird and tryhard, but it's something to get used to. So don't be afraid to "exaggerate" the pronunciation in the beginning. Sometimes, what feels exaggerated and tryhard (to you) is actually closer to what it should sound like. Don't be the guy just saying foreign phrases in an "English" way lol.

 

[Fireballs]

Just one last random and unrelated thought....

One thing that makes pronunciation challenging is that we are so used to our native language, that we actually (consciously or unconsciously) are "embarrassed" to try to mimic a native speaker (in person or recorded) in a foreign language and pronounce things properly (or reasonably close ). It feels weird and tryhard, but it's something to get used to. So don't be afraid to "exaggerate" the pronunciation in the beginning. Sometimes, what feels exaggerated and tryhard (to you) is actually closer to what it should sound like. Don't be the guy just saying foreign phrases in an "English" way lol.

I get what you mean. I just travelled around Europe for a month and I was just using very basic French/Italian/Turkish and some of the words felt so strange to say but I got used to it. My girlfriend is fluent in French so if I learned that, at least I would have someone to help out with pronunciation but I kinda want to do a different language to hers. I'm leaning towards Italian/Spanish.

 

[Moroder]

Way to go. Foreign languages will alter your perception about pretty much everything. If you make it to a decent level, you will discover books, movies, music, new ways of thinking, and so much more. This is the kind of endeavor that will really enrich your life and personality. Case in point: Cross-cultural Don Juanism. Just a glimpse from "Il sorpasso", featuring Vittorio Gassmann as master DJ and Jean-Louis Trintignant as AFC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43qsRNGDbFY

 

[Fedex]

I would recommend this website: https://www.duolingo.com/

For learning some of the most popular languages in the world.
The website has a very user-friendly interface and makes learning easily referable and interesting at the same time.

 

[Hydrak]

J'y aime. Je pensais lire francais il y a quelques mois et je le faisais tout d'un coup par hasard. Malheureusement, je ne peux pas te donner des idées.

Jag föddes i Sverige och är just nu bosatt i östra delen av landet. Jag läser Läkarprogrammet och ska disputera i framtiden. Jag är utåtriktad och ambitiös.

I love French, it's the most beautiful language in the world. Spanish is a dismal language to learn, and is commonly associated with poor people. French is the aristocrat of European languages, and is the unequivocal paragon of the English language.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Pimsleur CDs are popular with beginners.

If you can afford it, these are the best. ONLY listen / repeat. 30 mins a day, and in a couple months you can hold your own in a basic conversation.

Pretty expensive though.

Pimsleur.com

 

[Hydrak]

Good luck with your studies!