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I learned Italian pretty quickly years ago. I did 15 words each night. After a month you should know around 300-400 words. Then learn verb conjugations.
It helped I was in the service stationed over seas. Listen to the radio and TV. Immerse.
Been trying to learn Lakotah for nearly five years now. Have a number of Lakotah friends that refuse to speak to me in english.
The difficulty is there are very few Text books available. However ther is a Lakotah language Newspaper put out on the Cheyenne River reservation, that does help.`
For those not familiar with Lakotah, it is one of the primary Sioux languages.
Been trying to learn Lakotah for nearly five years now. Have a number of Lakotah friends that refuse to speak to me in english.
The difficulty is there are very few Text books available. However ther is a Lakotah language Newspaper put out on the Cheyenne River reservation, that does help.`
That is very interesting 'Woodrow'. I have been learning the Cherokee language and always wanted to learn the Lakota language. A very beautiful language I must say.
That is very interesting 'Woodrow'. I have been learning the Cherokee language and always wanted to learn the Lakota language. A very beautiful language I must say.
I speak Acadian French and Hebrew as well.
My second wife was Cherokee. We used to live not very far from Tahlequah, OK
I still remember quite a bit of Tsalagi
I speak a few languages, the main ones I use are English and Arabic. I'm fairly proficient in Darija (Moroccan Arabic) and do understand the Qur'anic Arabic. Although I'm beginning to read and write more in MSA (Modern Standard Arabic)
Ugh, I SO want to learn Spanish fluently. I've tried dvds and cd programs. They don't work well for me. I need to meet some Hispanic women and hang out with them and only speak Spanish. I don't know how to do this without seeming like a weirdo. I should check into Spanish conversation groups/clubs. Maybe you can check into that in Honolulu. I heard from my best friend who lives there that there are Chinese and Japanese language groups. ??? Something to check into.
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When I was stationed in Germany I asked a co-worker (she is French-Canadian..but speaks native-level German) what would be the best and fastest way to learn German? She told me..."Get a German girlfriend!" Not that I did...but I thought it made sense. And of course, I'll have issues with my wife if did. I think I understand that you want to become fluent in Spanish? You also mentioned something about Chinese and Japanese language groups. Are you also interested in learning these other languages? Slow down a bit...best to learn one language at a time.
I speak fluent Spanish. Started with the basics learned from from books and CDs...and even took a couple of Spanish classes in college. In college I joined a Hispanic Club...and ultimately became its president. I even met a beautiful girl from Mexico..at the club...and the rest is history. I learned a lot from her...and from others also...men and women. Our meetings were conducted mostly in Spanish...so it was inevitable...that I would eventually become fluent in the language. Also spent a lot of time going to parties and other social events with native Spanish-speakers. To enhance my learning, I watched Spanish language shows on TV, went to Spanish-language cinemas...and ate at Latino restaurants to practiced ordering in Spanish. When I was stationed in Germany a couple of years ago...I visited Spain as often I could. It was only a two-hour flight from where I was at. Got used to hearing and speaking Castillan...not quite the same as the Spanish we normally hear and speak in the U.S. And picked up Catalan as well. That's another language in itself!
You're right. The natural and saturation approach is the best way for learning any language. You don't have to learn from women only...learn from everyone...and anyone who speaks the language. Every opportunity I get to chat with Spanish-speaking folks (or any other language; I speak five now), no matter the gender or age, I do it.
A combination of learning methods works well if used diligently and with passion...and consistently. But you have to start with the basics. Books and CDs are good for starters...as you are not always going to run into opportunities to carry on conversations with native speakers. And you do need to learn the vocabulary at first before you can even start talking about anything. Take it one lesson at a time. Usually starts with the usual greetings...because that's how you start conversations anyway.
I learned "acting out" approach when I was a student at the Defense Language Institute (Monterey, CA)...learning French...and later, Chinese-Mandarin. From the lesson on the book...act out the exercises. Go about your home mumbling in the language you are studying. As you walk about...recite the names of the objects and items you see..in Spanish. You can add statements to those names. ..in the manner shown on the lesson you're on. As you say the phrase...act it out at the same time. Ask questions to yourself...and answer the questions yourself. Donde esta el libro? Extend your hand, pointing towards the table, and say: El libro esta encima de la mesa. Que es esto? Esto es un lapiz. Or recite phrases like...Manana me voy al club para practicar espanol. Sorry, I don't have the capability to add on the appropriate accent marks for the Spanish words. But you get the idea! You can even use those yellow (or any color) POST IT! stickies. You can write the names of objects/items around the house in Spanish on the stickies...and stick them on the object it pertains to. As you walk about....call out the names...say something about each item (in Spanish)...and pretty soon, you won't even need to use those sticky reminders. Make it fun...and if need be, messy. And don't concern yourself about rules of grammar! When toddlers begin to learn to speak...they have no clue about proper grammar usage whatsoever. As they hear adults speak "correctly"...that's how they'll learn the language...also correctly. Likewise, if adults speak to the young ones incorrectly...that's how they'll learn it. By the way, I am still learning new languages...and relearning the ones I have not used in a while. In the town where I live now...I met a lot of Russian-speakers. I am relearning that language (I studied during high school). And Portuguese...as there are a lot of Portuguese-speakers in my town also. And Tagalog, French, Thai, Italian.....
Unless you already know a great deal of vocabulary...start learning them. Then continue to learn more...and more. And as you learn them, use them in everyday situations. Act them out. This is the natural way of learning any language.
There is an excellent source book I would like to recommend: BILINGUAL VISUAL DICTIONARY...A Dorling Kindersley Book. It is an excellent "visual" (pictorial) dictionary broken down by topics. I use it constantly. I am still learning. It shows words in Latin-American Spanish as well as Castillan. They also have them in other languages.
Now, get out there and become fluent!
Last edited by FCStraight; 05-19-2014 at 09:26 AM..
Reason: Correct minor typo.
I want to learn Russian in preparation for when my bride arrives in the mail!
Seriously, though, I DO want to learn Russian and then visit...and possibly meet a nice lady to bring back!
My friends that have done that are all happy as can be...the women in general over there are more traditional and well kept, educated and lady-like....and they revel in their femininity! Oh my! Sadly, despite the media, only less than 1% are actually interested in moving to a new country.
Ugh, I SO want to learn Spanish fluently. I've tried dvds and cd programs. They don't work well for me. I need to meet some Hispanic women and hang out with them and only speak Spanish. I don't know how to do this without seeming like a weirdo. I should check into Spanish conversation groups/clubs. Maybe you can check into that in Honolulu. I heard from my best friend who lives there that there are Chinese and Japanese language groups. ??? Something to check into.
Also, try reading bilingual signs, Spanish advertisements on billboards and busses, bilingual labels on products and instruction sheets. Bilingual labels on the aisles of Lowe's home improvement stores. Listen to the slow lyrics of songs on Spanish radio stations. Commercials on Spanish television. Select the "English subtitles" feature while you watch Spanish TV shows and soap operas, so you can compare the 2 languages simultaneously. Buy Spanish magazines and especially look at the advertisements. Spanish is literally all around you in many parts of the U.S.
German. I understand it, and I can speak it well, its the writing Im having problems with I've never been good with spelling and grammar not even with my native language ( Spanish).
German. I understand it, and I can speak it well, its the writing Im having problems with I've never been good with spelling and grammar not even with my native language ( Spanish).
German is an exceedingly easy language to spell. Almost everything follows rigid spelling rules, very few exceptions. Sentence structure, and the use of "case" and "gender" flip out the average english speaker (me). Sounds like you just need more practice writing.
I'd kind of like to learn Spanish or Russian, just for living in this world. Not sure where I'd ever practice russian if I learned it - I lost a lot fo the German I did learn for the same reason.
I started learning German when I was 12 but lost interest. Switched over to Japanese @ 14. I invested a lot more time in Japanese because I got import games as well as anime and eventually I'd like to visit the country. My ultimate goal for Japanese is to read, write and speak the language fluently but the language books aren't really doing me any justice and I'm losing my confidence.
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Anyone learning a langage?
