What is the best way to learn a new language?
I would like some tips/advice on what ways to go about learning a new language, I currently know english, Gujarati(very little) and i am now about to start japanese. I "kind of" need these as i may decide to study abroad for my Uni. So if you could give me some advice and how to go about taking in a new language, it would be really appreciated. Thank you
Why do Americans & Brits tend to speak only one language?
Why do very few Americans and Brits speak more than one language? Because English is a lingua franca, thus negating the need. Learning langauges is challenging, and not only do you need good instruction, you need regular access to reading, writing and speaking practice. They find it astonishing that I can speak four, in Norway almost everyone can speak 3-5 languages. False. You're not actually from Norway and have been here at most a few months. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?... http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?... Most Norwegians can speak English to some degree of profficency. Many are not comfortable speaking English at all. With Swedish, no most Norwegians don't speak it unless they have a need to. It would be fair to say that most are in the habit of being able to read it without it giving too much of a headache. As for German, that's the most common (mandatory) third language taken in vidergående, but it's not true that most Norwegians are profficent in it. Languages are "use it or lose it," and there's not a lot of opportunity to use it in thsi country. Also, " there you're kind of seemed as stupid if you speak less than three languages." is completely false. That's not how society works here. This isn't a meritocracy, and people are judged on far more important traits. Do they not have the motive to learn it, or are they not forced to as much? If you don't have the need, haven't been exposed to other langauges, or have a very keen interest, it's really hard to maintain the focus it takes to learn a language to fluency. It also takes constant maintence. It's not a lazy thing anymore than it's not lazy of someone not to take the full calculus series and do differential equations in their spare time (and for some of us, at least, differential equations are far, far easier).
What is the best program to learn a new language?
I tried Rosetta Stone but that program only helps you learned he words of the language and does not help you learn grammar at all, so you may learn the language slightly, but you will be very illiterate, So what i am asking is what is your overall favorite program to learn a language, Not even looking for fastest learning but the BEST teaching so i get a thorough tutoring of the language. I do not care how much it costs either.
How do I quickly and efficiently learn a new language?
I speak presently 6 languages: French( Native), English, German, Chinese, Japanese and KoreanLet me tell you briefly how I did that.Put in your head that learning a language is easy, you just need time and patience, that’s allYou can absolutely become as fluent as a Native.Don’t listen to anyone telling you you can’t, most people around you don’t speak more than one language and have some fixed mindset about language learning which prevent them from being open to learning and improving. You are different. You know you can become VERY good if you just trust and do what I will tell you right after.Don’t rely on professors to teach you. A language is a tool of communication. It has to come from you and you have to be proactive to apply what you learn and improve fast.Find the best book to learn the language you target. Just one book is enough. Don’t fall into the “Application” mania. An application or a dictionary is just a tool, a “helper”.Every day, take 30 min to read that book until you finish the book. Go slowly, do all the exercices.When you have some very basics and you know few phrases, find some friend speaking the language and go practice what you learn. Don’t be afraid to fail or to speak incorrectly, no one will laugh about you. Everyone speaks incorrectly before speaking correctly. Just think about babies: If a baby was waiting to have the perfect grammar to start speaking, he would never say a word. Instead, use the “ Fail Fast Forward” approach. Fail quickly, then listen to the correction. Ask others to correct you. Then improve.When you understand few phrases and you feel you are okay to present yourself, start to watch dramas and series in the language you target. My advice is to watch dramas with subtitles in the language of the country language, NOT yours. The purpose is to listen. when you don’t understand, pause and search in the dictionary. make lists of words. If you don’t understand 100%, that’s okay. Try to understand the gestures and you will see that after some time, you will start to understand more and more.Repeat all those steps: Find more books, dramas, friends.Go to the country and study there. Speak with locals, be curious about the culture.With this method, you will be fluent in less than 1 year.Good luck.
Is it easier for a Japanese speaker to learn English than an English speaker to Japanese?
No, it isn't easier for a Japanese person to learn English than the other way round. The Japanese language has a set amount of phonetic sounds and pronunciations - once you learn the phonetic Japanese alphabet, it is the same all the way throughout the language. English is a mess-up of a language with lots of roots in lots of different countries and cultures as we were invaded a lot, like by the Vikings, Romans, etc. I think the Japanese language has something like 1,500 different sounds in the language but we have something like 15,00 or 25,000. I can't remember exactly but it is about 70-90% more than Japanese. So when we learn Japanese, we just have to cut back on sounds and use other sounds we already know but Japanese people have to learn a whole new set of sounds that their tongue is not used to making. The reason more Japanese people speak English than we speak Japanese, however, is because English is more widely spoken than Japanese and for some reason, us English speakers (like UK, US and Australia) don't like learning new languages and expanding their horizons. Hope this helps!
Why some people get upset when they hear someone speaking spanish?
Because most Americans aren't bilingual and only speak English, it annoys them that they should have to learn another language in their own land. Learning a language is a difficult task that requires a lot of effort, especially the older you are. So by combining conservative value with the unwillingness to undertake the long task of learning a new language, Americans prefer to be pissed about other languages being spoken in their land. Spanish, in particular, because of the mass migration from Latin America has created a rather large Spanish speaking population.