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Let's face it learning a foreign language is one of those things that everyone would like to do but are either too busy, or not committed enough to do it. Sim
by hackerboos 12y ago
Let's face it learning a foreign language is one of those things that everyone would like to do but are either too busy, or not committed enough to do it.
Similar to fitness, those 2 barriers have spawned an industry of 'learn in your car', 'French in 30 days' and videos by polyglots who sell the idea that language acquisition is easy.
Now I'm going to tell you the hardest part of learning a foreign language.
There are no shortcuts. It takes time, it takes dedication and it will most probably cost money.
- jacquesm 12y agoI never spent a cent to learn new languages. Friendly strangers are really all you need. Time and dedication are required for mastery, but if you want to communicate with any stranger you usually can and learning is what we're built for. It's harder to not pick up a language if you live in a place where they speak one that you do not have under your belt yet than to pick it up. You should be able to do the basics in a few weeks or months, mastery will take (much) longer. If your goal is to blend in with the natives without getting any questions about your origins after the first three sentences prepare for a decade or more. That's a grade or two above fluency.