Starting a new language, better late than never?

[Destruction]

Inspired by Gillys quest to start a new career (good luck mate) I would like to ask advice of the forum on how best to learn a new language in these modern times. You might be saying to yourself why would anyone come into this forum and ask that when it has been shown that this isn't exactly the brains of Britain on here BUT we have quite a few members who have moved abroad and many English as a second language speakers.

Two points:

1) The Language in question I want to learn is German.
2) I would like to best use the most modern day techniques, without spending loads of money. FYI I already have an iPhone.

Cheers guys.

Ps. Any personal stories of how you learnt a language yourself are most welcome and interesting.

 

[JoeJoeJoeJoe]

http://www.linguascope.com/

Thank me later.

 

[mistermagic]

Having struggled with the language at matter for half of my life I'm wondering why. If it's just so you can express yourself decently while on a Bundesliga piss tour, I don't think you need to master the language all that much. It is quite hard (I could never quantify its level of difficulty and compare it to the French language which is also very hard and sometimes downright illogical) and you often resort to englishisms which makes your point understood by Germans.
The worst part is that Germans speak English as soon as they work out that you're not German. So you have to almost hold them at gunpoint and insist you speak German. It's very frustrating.

So, Dessy. Why do you want to learn German?

 

[Destruction]

http://www.linguascope.com/

Thank me later.

Cheers mate, will have a gander.

Having struggled with the language at matter for half of my life I'm wondering why. If it's just so you can express yourself decently while on a Bundesliga piss tour, I don't think you need to master the language all that much. It is quite hard (I could never quantify its level of difficulty and compare it to the French language which is also very hard and sometimes downright illogical) and you often resort to englishisms which makes your point understood by Germans.
The worst part is that Germans speak English as soon as they work out that you're not German. So you have to almost hold them at gunpoint and insist you speak German. It's very frustrating.

So, Dessy. Why do you want to learn German?

Well as mentioned previously in the Bundesliga thread I'm hoping to spend the last four months of this year studying in Germany.

Getting a bit sick of some of the shit going on in this country tbh so I'm considering the four months as a taster to possibly moving there permanently if I enjoy it. Hence now taking learning the language thing a bit more seriously.

 

[Son of Cod]

In terms of modern day techniques, Memrise is a really great app/site for learning vocabulary. I'm sure there are podcasts for native English speaking German learners, too. Modern day techniques are pretty all based around self study though, which will only get you so far. Rosetta Stone sucks for Korean, but might be worth checking out for German but I wouldn't bother paying for it.

One thing I do is to watch a Korean film/TV show with English subtitles, then a few days or a week or so later watch it again without the subtitles so that I know what is going on, but instead of relying completely on the subtitles I'm having to listen to the Korean and use the phrases/vocab/sentence structure I know to try to follow/review the story.

 

[lordofthepies]

It might be worth having some actual lessons too, if you don't mind spending a little bit of cash. We had 12 2-hour Spanish lessons (in a group of about 6) a couple of years ago and they were massively helpful. The man giving them is a Spaniard who works as a translator and just wanted to make a bit of extra cash in his spare time - I can't remember exactly how much they cost but they certainly weren't expensive. Duolingo is useful as an addition to other methods, but I wouldn't want to rely solely on that sort of thing.

There were loads of adverts for that sort of thing in Manchester on gumtree, although you might struggle a bit more to find them if you're in Preston.

 

[mistermagic]

Cheers mate, will have a gander.
Getting a bit sick of some of the shit going on in this country tbh so I'm considering the four months as a taster to possibly moving there permanently if I enjoy it. Hence now taking learning the language thing a bit more seriously.

I see. Any place in particular?

 

[Destruction]

In terms of modern day techniques, Memrise is a really great app/site for learning vocabulary. I'm sure there are podcasts for native English speaking German learners, too. Modern day techniques are pretty all based around self study though, which will only get you so far. Rosetta Stone sucks for Korean, but might be worth checking out for German but I wouldn't bother paying for it.

One thing I do is to watch a Korean film/TV show with English subtitles, then a few days or a week or so later watch it again without the subtitles so that I know what is going on, but instead of relying completely on the subtitles I'm having to listen to the Korean and use the phrases/vocab/sentence structure I know to try to follow/review the story.

Will download Memrise to my phone and I like the film idea, cheers cha.

It might be worth having some actual lessons too, if you don't mind spending a little bit of cash. We had 12 2-hour Spanish lessons (in a group of about 6) a couple of years ago and they were massively helpful. The man giving them is a Spaniard who works as a translator and just wanted to make a bit of extra cash in his spare time - I can't remember exactly how much they cost but they certainly weren't expensive. Duolingo is useful as an addition to other methods, but I wouldn't want to rely solely on that sort of thing.

There were loads of adverts for that sort of thing in Manchester on gumtree, although you might struggle a bit more to find them if you're in Preston.

That's certainly worth looking into.

I see. Any place in particular?

Biggest city I'll be visiting most frequently when I'm out there will be Frankfurt so I'll see how I find that. My Uncle lived in Dortmund years back and still raves about it but in reality it would be wholly dependent on where I could find a teaching job I'd guess.

 

[blade1889]

Duolingo is a decent starting point (and free...hey have a website and app I believe) but I wouldn't rely on any fo these no-contact types of thing like Rosetta Stone.

Would definitely invest in some lessons before throwing yourself in at the deep end like I foolishly did. Lessons are a great foundation and once you've got that you can pick up bits and pieces quicker as you can generally work out the context. I've found learning Spanish almost exponential in a way, very hard to start off with but as you learn more you pick up more.

 

[mente captus]

good luck

if you need some help dont hesitate to contact me

 

[GodsGift]

good luck

if you need some help dont hesitate to contact me

What's the German for "we got dicked by Dele Alli"?

 

[Abertawe]

German for cha??

 

[mente captus]

What's the German for "we got dicked by Dele Alli"?

gewinnt doch eure scheiß Freundschaftsspiele, juckt doch keine Sau, wir gewinnen Titel in der Zwischenzeit: Dele Alli.

 

[mente captus]

German for cha??

du, dich, ihr, euch...

 

[epic73]

Can't really help if you're not learning Japanese.

 

[Max]

I would endorse whoever said Duolingo, but really I think actual lessons are the best thing. Problem is this can rack up to be quite a lot of money.

For no reason other than boredom, last summer I tried to learn Swedish. Partly because of my faddish preoccupation with Scandinavia, and partly because I had heard that Swedish was easy. For the record, it is easy, and spectacularly useless. Anyway I found 1 90 minute lesson a week was enough, interspersed with Duolingo, a basic news website in the language that I would try to translate, and a children's Swedish book I was trying to translate to English.

Dedication is the key though. I moved jobs, couldn't have lessons with my tutor, and because I was only doing any of this for something to pass the time, I've mostly let all this drop, and it's amazingly how quick you forget it. So whatever you decide to do, set some actual, achievable targets, or your initial enthusiasm may fall by the wayside.

 

[mistermagic]

Biggest city I'll be visiting most frequently when I'm out there will be Frankfurt so I'll see how I find that. My Uncle lived in Dortmund years back and still raves about it but in reality it would be wholly dependent on where I could find a teaching job I'd guess.

Teaching English? I doubt you'll have trouble finding a job anywhere. I wouldn't recommend Frankfurt though. Never been a big fan. Munich is the best place in Germany of course but it's fairly conservative and with a quite low British contingent. Quality life though.

gewinnt doch eure scheiß Freundschaftsspiele, juckt doch keine Sau, wir gewinnen Titel in der Zwischenzeit: Dele Alli.

That's a good starting point for you, Des. Get your teeth stuck in right away!

 

[IanH]

You're in your 20s yeah Dessie?

I wouldn't say learning a new language was too late until you were in your coffin.

 

[Destruction]

You're in your 20s yeah Dessie?

I wouldn't say learning a new language was too late until you were in your coffin.

28 mate, not looking forward to 30 already.

 

[IanH]

I'm 30 in October, and have just finished reading my first book in Catalan.

i believe the best advice anyone can have regarding languages is to think of your hobby (so for you Dessie, hats and spot-on predictions) and start doing your hobby in the language you want to learn. so go shopping on german head based accessory websites and read nostradamus in german.

I basically learnt spanish thru harry potter, football manager and fucking south american girls. all great hobbies. all equally great without actually having a clue what was happening at first. now i can read most books in spanish and play for a spanish (well, catalan) football team. strangely the south american girls are even more of a mystery than ever

 

[Destruction]

I'm 30 in October, and have just finished reading my first book in Catalan.

i believe the best advice anyone can have regarding languages is to think of your hobby (so for you Dessie, hats and spot-on predictions) and start doing your hobby in the language you want to learn. so go shopping on german head based accessory websites and read nostradamus in german.

I basically learnt spanish thru harry potter, football manager and fucking south american girls. all great hobbies. all equally great without actually having a clue what was happening at first. now i can read most books in spanish and play for a spanish (well, catalan) football team. strangely the south american girls are even more of a mystery than ever

This is some Grade A advice that would see me grow not only linguistically but also as a person of the world. Cheers cha.

 

[Mr. Scruff]

The most important thing is being able to use the new vcab your studying. No matter how many times you review a word if you don't have any output method your brain wont retain it. When you learn new words make sure you know how to express it in a sentence or phrase. Someone else has already mentioned memrise which is an amazing tool for learning but you need to combine it with other things.

I've mainly used memrise to learn Chinese chraracters of which I now must know over 3,000. But I've combined it with listening to chinese pod. I also have a notebook which I carry around with me everywhere and use when I'm studying. If I come across any interesting words or phrases I like or aren't sure how to use they go in there which I review regularly.

I obviously have the advantage of living in the country of my target language so it's all around me but as a good majoirty of the foreingers here prove thats not enough. Try not to do something passively and then count that as studying. Putting on a German film with English subtitles, listening to a language pod whilst paying no attention and stuff like that is almost worthless. You need to be doing something actively for your brain to retain it.

As otherwise mentioned, hot girls are also a great way to practice. Be selfish though, don't let any Germans you come across speak to you in English. Keep speaking in German and they should relent , if not you still keep speaking German. My rule here is that I don't speak English unless I'm being paid to, you should take a similar attitude in Germany if you want to progress.

One more thing I would say is that is German really worthwhile? It might be easier in the short term but as already mentioned they can all pretty much speak English anyway. I reckon Spanish, French or even Italian or Greek would provide you more opportunities to converse with people who dont speak English.

 

[mente captus]

The most important thing is being able to use the new vcab your studying. No matter how many times you review a word if you don't have any output method your brain wont retain it. When you learn new words make sure you know how to express it in a sentence or phrase. Someone else has already mentioned memrise which is an amazing tool for learning but you need to combine it with other things.

I've mainly used memrise to learn Chinese chraracters of which I now must know over 3,000. But I've combined it with listening to chinese pod. I also have a notebook which I carry around with me everywhere and use when I'm studying. If I come across any interesting words or phrases I like or aren't sure how to use they go in there which I review regularly.

I obviously have the advantage of living in the country of my target language so it's all around me but as a good majoirty of the foreingers here prove thats not enough. Try not to do something passively and then count that as studying. Putting on a German film with English subtitles, listening to a language pod whilst paying no attention and stuff like that is almost worthless. You need to be doing something actively for your brain to retain it.

As otherwise mentioned, hot girls are also a great way to practice. Be selfish though, don't let any Germans you come across speak to you in English. Keep speaking in German and they should relent , if not you still keep speaking German. My rule here is that I don't speak English unless I'm being paid to, you should take a similar attitude in Germany if you want to progress.

One more thing I would say is that is German really worthwhile? It might be easier in the short term but as already mentioned they can all pretty much speak English anyway. I reckon Spanish, French or even Italian or Greek would provide you more opportunities to converse with people who dont speak English.

thats would be a great idea if we wouldnt speak about german.

the german language is united through its written form (standard german).

we have a huge amount of regional/ local dialects here and even for native speakers its very hard to understand germans from other regions.
as an example i wouldnt understand the german from a guy who lives in Kaiserslautern, Nürnberg or Stuttgart as it is a complete different language to me.u

i think i couldnt explain it any better, so:

 

[Destruction]

The most important thing is being able to use the new vcab your studying. No matter how many times you review a word if you don't have any output method your brain wont retain it. When you learn new words make sure you know how to express it in a sentence or phrase. Someone else has already mentioned memrise which is an amazing tool for learning but you need to combine it with other things.

I've mainly used memrise to learn Chinese chraracters of which I now must know over 3,000. But I've combined it with listening to chinese pod. I also have a notebook which I carry around with me everywhere and use when I'm studying. If I come across any interesting words or phrases I like or aren't sure how to use they go in there which I review regularly.

I obviously have the advantage of living in the country of my target language so it's all around me but as a good majoirty of the foreingers here prove thats not enough. Try not to do something passively and then count that as studying. Putting on a German film with English subtitles, listening to a language pod whilst paying no attention and stuff like that is almost worthless. You need to be doing something actively for your brain to retain it.

As otherwise mentioned, hot girls are also a great way to practice. Be selfish though, don't let any Germans you come across speak to you in English. Keep speaking in German and they should relent , if not you still keep speaking German. My rule here is that I don't speak English unless I'm being paid to, you should take a similar attitude in Germany if you want to progress.

One more thing I would say is that is German really worthwhile? It might be easier in the short term but as already mentioned they can all pretty much speak English anyway. I reckon Spanish, French or even Italian or Greek would provide you more opportunities to converse with people who dont speak English.

Some good advice, cheers Scruffy. I know I could get by for four months in Germany without taking much interest in learning the language such is the competence of the average German to converse in English, but for the first time in my life I actually want to learn a second language. Especially as I'm looking into the possibility of living there full time if I like it. I would have no motivation for the other languages as I can never see myself ever spending more than a couple of weeks there on a holiday. Couldn't live in France - rude (MM aside), Italy - corrupt, Spain - can't drink tap water and Greece - unstable economy and poor standard of football.

thats would be a great idea if we wouldnt speak about german.

the german language is united through its written form (standard german).

we have a huge amount of regional/ local dialects here and even for native speakers its very hard to understand germans from other regions.
as an example i wouldnt understand the german from a guy who lives in Kaiserslautern, Nürnberg or Stuttgart as it is a complete different language to me.u

i think i couldnt explain it any better, so:

Yeah I can see this being a real ball ache. The German girl I know is from Bavaria and she's told me she can't understand some of the people she meets at Uni from further north so I'll have no chance.

 

[mistermagic]

We're not rude. We just don't like anyone.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

We're not rude. We just don't like anyone.

Neither do we, but we're generally polite about it.

 

[Destruction]

Getting into this Duolingo app.

Der wasser und brot.

 

[mente captus]

Das Wasser und das Brot ( water and bread)
or
Das Wasser und Brot ( water and bread)
or
Bei Wasser und Brot ( to be in prison)

most nouns ending in -er are neuter

das Wasser
das Messer ( knife)
das Fenster ( window)

 

[johnnytodd]

My German name in school was ' Manfred '

hope this helps your quest.

 

[Van Der Graaf]

Has anyone got any tips with learning the more obscure(ish) languages?

I'm moving to Poland in Jan/Feb so want to start learning that, as I don't want to rely on speaking english/broken German as has been the case in the past. I also want to learn serbo-croatian as a passing interest (that, and I think my future could be in that part of the world).

I've always sucked at languages, but I'm only 19 so guess I have time.