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Can we now see a similar article for how to learn a foreign language in 17 days while commuting 30 minutes each way to a 8 hour job 5 days a week and while rais
by vidanay 12y ago
Can we now see a similar article for how to learn a foreign language in 17 days while commuting 30 minutes each way to a 8 hour job 5 days a week and while raising a child or two?
Seems like just about anyone can learn to speak French when given the opportunity to immerse themselves in a bucolic French village with nothing to do!
- JoeAltmaier 12y agoWe may have to just concede that there's no good way to learn a language without immersing oneself in it. There's no reason it should be otherwise - we're not talking about memorizing facts. Language learning is retraining inner parts of our brains to automatically translate thoughts to vocalizations. There are biological limits to what can be accomplished.
- readme 12y agoIf there is any takeaway from the article, this is true. However you don't need to actually go to France. What you do need is a good native french speaker to speak with and tutor you intensively, at the least.
- jacquesm 12y agoI don't think that's true. You need immersion for different reasons as well: it exposes you to all the variations that people use rather than just one speaker and a range of voices and vocabularies, it also makes it harder for you to switch back to your native tongue temporarily. All of these will help you tremendously.
- kenshiro_o 12y agoI am currently learning Japanese. My level would be "lower intermediate": I can write hiragana/katakana and know about 100+ kanjis. But I am not satisfied with my oral fluency. What I have started doing recently is listen to a Japanese podcast on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/senakunes/easy-japanese-lesson-12-in-the-taxi-3 https://soundcloud.com/senakunes/easy-japanese-lesson-12-in-...) while doing my morning workout. Moreover, since my commute to work is short, I have also started watching a short 5min anime to pick up basic everyday Japanese conversational skills. Additionally, I plan to spend at least 10 minutes chatting in Japanese everyday to one of my colleagues who understands the language. I'll do this for a month or two and check where I am after this period. I do believe the key to learning any language (especially if you are not in the country) is to practise every day and use the expressions learned on the day in different contexts to cement them in your memory. This also means you most likely have to find someone who speaks the language fluently or at least understands it to an acceptable level. Obviously, I'll have to come up with another technique if I see no progress.
- keerthiko 12y agoI watched 1000+ hours of animé (which is an amazing pastime btw) and I am now effectively conversationally fluent in Japanese (I had a 6 hour date with a native Japanese girl almost entirely in Japanese, and it was the first time I spoke to a Japanese person). However, having no formal education in Japanese whatsoever, I can only dare to talk in casual contexts as I may make cultural errors (wrong level of respect or mixing dialect) and also cannot read or write. Consuming media in general and enjoying it is a great way to learn a language (Bollywood movies, k-dramas, animé, j-pop, French movies are well known language learning sources) for conversational experience - just keep consuming till you reach that point where the subtitles are less and less relevant
- glxybstr 12y agoi am also studying japanese - i'm on a similar level i would say. i know around 150 kanji and forgotten about the same amount. my problem is finding someone on a similar level to learn alongside - i've heard it's wise to have not only someone above your skill level, but also someone at your equal, to compete and learn with. if you're interested, i'd like to study together - send me an email.
- kenshiro_o 12y agoHey - I'd be keen yes. What's your email? (I could not find it in your profile).
- irongeek 12y agoThe article was pointless. The majority of us cannot abandon our responsibilities for weeks to immerse ourselves 24 hours a day in nothing else but learning a language.
- blacksmythe 12y agoIt is very feasible to learn enough of a foreign language from CDs to interact with people that don't speak any English. For romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian), the Michel Thomas CDs are the best that I have seen. For other languages, Pimsleur tapes are usually the best option.