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> Language learning in general though, I have found, is not that amenable to gamification. Some learning methods may be more efficient than others, but even wit

> Language learning in general though, I have found, is not that amenable to gamification. Some learning methods may be more efficient than others, but even with the most efficient methods, real language learning is still inherently and unavoidably a slog. So if you come across a method that makes it "easy", chances are it's not actually working Go to a foreign country and try to get laid. Genuine intrinsic motivation, and the difficulty increases with age. If nothing else, this education is good preparation for a career in business

wenc 6y ago
Heh, that's the usual advice. However if you ask certain polyglots, they will tell you that as a general rule (exceptions exist), being in a foreign country or having a romantic partner aren't necessary or sufficient conditions, and in fact can work against language learning. How so? Using a romantic partner as a language-learning partner gets old for said person after a while, especially if you're not actively making progress on the language on the side. Unless said romantic partner is a language teacher, it can be annoying for them to constantly be correcting your mistakes. Over time, this annoyance can actually harm the relationship. Also most native speakers of a language aren't always good teachers -- they may know how to use the language but usually can't explain how things work. It's better to get a tutor whose job is to instruct, bear with your mistakes, and go home after. It's easier to for someone to bear with your mistakes if they don't have to spend all their free time with you. As for language immersion by living in a country, you'd be surprised how that doesn't really work unless you're actively learning on your own or taking classes. Case in point: I lived in a French-speaking province for 4 years but can barely speak French -- I just never bothered learning. You'd think necessity would force one to learn but there are so many ways to get around actually doing it (e.g. hanging out with expats, using gestures/hand signs, Google Translate, etc.) On the other hand, there are folks who've never been in a Francophone country who can speak French at a high level, often through active learning. In fact, many polyglots often become fluent in a language without ever setting foot in the language's country of origin. The key really is putting in the work. Getting laid in a foreign country may help kickstart the process, but to achieve working fluency, there are no real shortcuts. (well, there is one, which is that you already know a related language. This is the only major accelerant. You can learn Afrikaans very quickly if you speak Dutch. Similarly for Malay -> Indonesian, Portuguese -> Spanish ... interestingly, this pair is asymmetric: Spanish -> Portuguese is harder than vice-versa)

wenc 6y ago

Heh, that's the usual advice. However if you ask certain polyglots, they will tell you that as a general rule (exceptions exist), being in a foreign country or having a romantic partner aren't necessary or sufficient conditions, and in fact can work against language learning. How so? Using a romantic partner as a language-learning partner gets old for said person after a while, especially if you're not actively making progress on the language on the side. Unless said romantic partner is a language teacher, it can be annoying for them to constantly be correcting your mistakes. Over time, this annoyance can actually harm the relationship. Also most native speakers of a language aren't always good teachers -- they may know how to use the language but usually can't explain how things work. It's better to get a tutor whose job is to instruct, bear with your mistakes, and go home after. It's easier to for someone to bear with your mistakes if they don't have to spend all their free time with you. As for language immersion by living in a country, you'd be surprised how that doesn't really work unless you're actively learning on your own or taking classes. Case in point: I lived in a French-speaking province for 4 years but can barely speak French -- I just never bothered learning. You'd think necessity would force one to learn but there are so many ways to get around actually doing it (e.g. hanging out with expats, using gestures/hand signs, Google Translate, etc.) On the other hand, there are folks who've never been in a Francophone country who can speak French at a high level, often through active learning. In fact, many polyglots often become fluent in a language without ever setting foot in the language's country of origin. The key really is putting in the work. Getting laid in a foreign country may help kickstart the process, but to achieve working fluency, there are no real shortcuts. (well, there is one, which is that you already know a related language. This is the only major accelerant. You can learn Afrikaans very quickly if you speak Dutch. Similarly for Malay -> Indonesian, Portuguese -> Spanish ... interestingly, this pair is asymmetric: Spanish -> Portuguese is harder than vice-versa)