Languages.

So - A few questions for you all.

How many languages do you speak?

Do you wish to know more languages? If so, which ones?

What do you think is the best way to learn a new language?

Do you value the ability to speak several languages? Are several languages of any use to you?

I've set myself an aim to be relatively fluent in 7 languages before I'm 25. I was most curious about how others went about picking up a new language. Any general recommendations?

I heard some say that the best way is to just surround yourself with vocabulary on a daily basis. I wouldn't really have any experience as my two current languages just came naturally to me as a child so I've never experienced the whole 'having to consciously learn' a language situation really. :huh: Doesn't mean I'm not going to try though! :silly:

How many languages do you speak? 2, English and French

Do you wish to know more languages? Yes If so, which ones? German, Italian, Latin

What do you think is the best way to learn a new language? Being immersed in an environment where the language is constantly spoken.

Do you value the ability to speak several languages? Yes Are several languages of any use to you? I live in a bilingual province so it is an absolute necessity for me to speak both languages in order to communicate with people.

Overall, I love different languages. I've always been fascinated by them as they enable us to communicate the same things in different ways.

Besides my native language (which is Danish), I speak (and understand) more or less 5 languages. English, German, Spanish, Norwegian and Swedish.

In school we learn English, German, and can then choose a third, Spanish or French - in addition we also learn a little Norwegian and Swedish - because the two languages ​​are so closely related to Danish.

Since children learn faster than adults, it is important that they learn languages ​​as they are young, they can always do more about the language they want to get really good at, when they get older.

My son, who is 11 years, have started to learn Chinese and also want to learn Italian and I think that I would to join him. :side:

I know that you can get far with just English, but it is nice to be able to talk to people in their native language.

Envy wrote:

Do you value the ability to speak several languages? Are several languages of any use to you?

I've set myself an aim to be relatively fluent in 7 languages before I'm 25. I was most curious about how others went about picking up a new language. Any general recommendations?

I heard some say that the best way is to just surround yourself with vocabulary on a daily basis. I wouldn't really have any experience as my two current languages just came naturally to me as a child so I've never experienced the whole 'having to consciously learn' a language situation really. :huh: Doesn't mean I'm not going to try though! :silly:

I value the ability to speak several languages very much! All the languages that I know are useful to me. I only regret that I'm not more fluent with them or with more languages becasue I have situations where I could really use another language.

I think it's the easiest to pick up a foreign language when you are really young and surrounded by that language in some way.

I learned English and German pretty much only through tv (I very rarely watched Croatian tv then and still do now). I also did an English course when I was young and I learned both languages at school too (German only in high-school).

I learned Italian in elementary school and also did a course, but I don't have anyone to practice it with and I don't have Italian channels on tv, therefore my Italian is very rusty. I think I'll do another course when I get some time, just to polish it up so I'm comfortable using it...

Although, when I think about it, my English and German speaking skills have gotten rusty too. I think I haven't spoken any English in the last year at all. At least when you once get fluent, it's easier getting back into practice. Practice makes perfect.

Surrounding yourself with a language is a very good recommendation. That's one of the reasons I forced myself to start writing on a forum - just for practice.
(I went back to reading some of my first posts here (from 2 years ago) and I was shocked a bit with seeing how I've improved from those days. :woohoo: Maybe it's not much, but I feel I'm better now...)

As to more recommendations: I think those summer language courses held in the countries were they speak that language are a good thing. You get sightseeing and studying a new language all in one.

(Oops - Didn't know a past thread existed - It didn't come up on my search somehow :S)

Any recommended self-tuition courses?

The problem with one of the languages I want to pick up is the difference between the written stuff and the spoken stuff, so being on Chinese forums won't have the same effect. It's why my cousin can read and write Chinese but he can't speak it - And unlike him, I can speak it but I can't really read or write.

The difference between Cantonese spoken and Cantonese written is just like the difference between \"Getting a bite to eat\" and \"We are going to have lunch\". Sort of. :S If you only know the street-language, you're essentially learning anew to get the written stuff learned..

>.< I'm going to work on my Chinese written stuff, French + Spanish speaking, listening and writing for the next year or two. Once the Chinese written stuff is down, it should be relatively easy to transfer to Mandarin seeing as it's the same written, just a different pronounciation.

Envy wrote:

(Oops - Didn't know a past thread existed - It didn't come up on my search somehow :S)

Any recommended self-tuition courses?

(The search engine searches by default only threads from a year ago and newer, so you have to change the setting manually to \"any date\" to be sure that there isn't an older thread around.)

I wouldn't really recommend self-tuition. Self-tuition is good when you know the basics and you just want to get better and broaden your vocabulary, but if you aren't sure about the pronunciation, writing, grammar etc. I think it's best that someone who knows teaches you. Otherwise you never know if you perhaps learned something wrong...

Also, self-tuition can be very slow with the progress. I think the fastest and best way to learn is with a professor and/or native speaker or one of those intensive summer courses I spoke of. I know people who didn't know one foreign word who went on such a course and came back speaking the language really good (naturally not fluent, but not plain beginner level either)