Learning New Languages

[Lume WMj 228]

Hello. 

 

Yesterday I went to a friend's party and I talked with a few people that I met there about learning languages - more specifically, about learning English (since it isn't our native language). They told me that, no matter how hard they studied, they could never reach a decent level of speaking. But when they asked me how I managed to learn it, it was honestly kinda hard to explain.

 

I've never really taken any specific English classes aside from the basics they teach in schools. I've learned everything I know today basically by myself, either from watching foreign movies, from playing video-games or from spending way too much time on the internet. Because of that, I personally think that English is rather easy to learn, given that it's commonly considered the universal language and all that. However, I find that most people here in my country don't share this same opinion. It's actually pretty difficult to find someone that speaks English fluently here, and when they do, it's because they studied it a lot throughout their lives.

 

So that kept me wondering: just how hard is it to learn a new language? Do some people have an easier time than others? As long as you're determined enough, is it possible to learn any other language if you want to? How many languages do you know, and how did you learn them?

[Shadow Beam 1,179]

I learned in pretty much the same way. Honestly english is a pretty simple language to understand and utilize.

 

As for my countrymen, if data is veridic there's an elevated number of people who can handle english efficiently.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Shadow Beam

[JeyWiz 1,097]

English, the international language is what I speak 90 percent of the time. 

 

I didn't really learn how to speak a language by watching movies or playing video games or anything like that.

 

I can speak a bit of Filipino, since the Philippines is where I came from. I learnt Chinese and German from school. In my opinion, German is much easier since a lot of word in the German language are very similar to English. i got an A for German. Chinese is a bit harder, since you have to also write all those characters and symbols and stuff. Also, the pronunciation of Chines words is pretty hard, considering that you also have to change the pitch of each word sometimes. 

Edited January 15, 2016 by DJ Gumball

[Fluttershyfan94 5,738]

Well it depends on people but when your native language is as difficult as mine it just makes others almost easy to learn. So therefore I speak, what would be considered "fluent" four languages I've aqcuired through learning in school as well as at home. Though admittedly it's been a while since I've used some of them. I have been studying a bit of Japamese on my own.

 

I believe you can learn anything, languages included so we all have the capability though some may find it easier then others.

[Lithophila 291]

Its hard alright. But it depends on how much effort you put into it. I mean i think if someone teaches you, or if you really feel devoted and motivation for learning then you can learn the language automatically if you practice it long enough. I studied Japanese for 2 or 3 years. I can speak somewhat a little bit, but barely enough to keep a conversation with a person. Although i think its thanks to my English teachers that i know how to speak and communicate in English, but games and movies sure have had a good fun motivational method. English is a pretty good language. Usually when something cool happend! Then you'd say it. Kinda like when you say something in another language, its easy to remember because it just sounds cool!.

 

Although Yes. Learning a plain new language from start will really take awhile i think to get used too. A different system and pronunciation. But aslong as you like it then keep on studying it

[Comic Sans 401]

In the past I have tried learning Spanish, but it didn't work out for me. I mean, I still remember the odd words and phrases, but the reason I was trying to learn it wasn't because I had a genuine passion or interest in learning it, it was simply for the sake of my boyfriend of the time since he lived in Argentina, so for us to be together, it would pretty much require me to have to learn the lingo. Visiting him was hard because I'd have a panic if he left my side even for a minute due to being my only daily translator of sorts.

 

Basically, I learn things best when I have a serious, genuine interest in it. That goes for all sorts of things, not just languages. Even with my severe lack of motivation, it does generally make things easier if I enjoy it. I'm incredibly interested in learning Japanese, but I'm slow to start because I'm rather taken aback by the characters and their meanings, but I think if I push myself and remind myself how much I love the language and would love to know it, I'll be able to do it.

[ARagY 1,152]

In an immersive environment and an actual drive,  it took me very few years to become fluent in English, even though I hate the language. With English I never really learned the rules of grammar or spelling, I've just always done what feels right. I can't give you any tip on that because I don't have any. Even though I am fluent (as you can probably see) my vocabulary is pretty limited to a few thousand words at best, and through those words I constantly cycle in my head for the next. Sometimes its a quick process, other times it's slow. It gets me into trouble when it comes to two similar-sounding words (mostly French cognates) I'm working with Spanish and German now.  

 

I MAY take Chinese, depending on the economic future of that. And Russian is the language I use the most and will continue to do so.

 

Also yes, anyone can learn a second language if they can speak their first. And secondly, it takes mostly a lot of time and effort. You need motivation, too, but that ties in with effort. You have to seek out the information to understand and you have to seek out better understanding. Because it's your brain. 

Edited January 16, 2016 by ARagY

[Sooshi 41]

I can speak only a little bit of German, basic bunches, and I'm still trying to learn that stuff properly. English as a first language here, however I'm stunted in the terms of language stuff. I took til 7th grade to properly learn English speaking wise to that of an elementary level, with being in speech classes for majority of my life and being on debate team to get over it. Learning how to speak a second language, considering that I butcher pronouncing most English words already despite it being my native language/mother tongue, is doom. Writing it, however? A bit easier.

[Wicked Funky 2,955]

I live in Sweden, I have never met a person here who doesn't know at least basic English. Me and my friends talk English rather then Swedish most of the time.

 

And just like you said, I learned alot of English from games, movies and the internet. I've also had four years of French, but since I didn't really use it outside of school I never really managed to  learn it fluently.

[ARagY 1,152]

I live in Sweden, I have never met a person here who doesn't know at least basic English. Me and my friends talk English rather then Swedish most of the time.

 

And just like you said, I learned alot of English from games, movies and the internet. I've also had four years of French, but since I didn't really use it outside of school I never really managed to  learn it fluently.

 

You talk English to each other in Sweden? 

 

Also the French internet is surprisingly big. But it does take your own active effort to get into. There are French mlpforums for instance, french websites about science and cars and engineering, etc. Lots of interesting stuff is on sites ONLY in French. But its not something you'll run across unless you take the time yourself to search it, whereas its easy to find English-language content

Edited January 16, 2016 by ARagY

[Wicked Funky 2,955]

ARagY, on 16 Jan 2016 - 04:01 AM, said:

You talk English to each other in Sweden? 

 

Well, not all of the time but maybe half. It's quite common actually, alot of people here aren't exactly fans of Swedish...

[ARagY 1,152]

Well, not all of the time but maybe half. It's quite common actually, alot of people here aren't exactly fans of Swedish...

Seems rather unpatrioritc, any reason why? If you're not in the presence of foreigners I've never heard of a Swede not speaking Swedish. 

[Wicked Funky 2,955]

ARagY, on 16 Jan 2016 - 04:07 AM, said:ARagY, on 16 Jan 2016 - 04:07 AM, said:

Seems rather unpatrioritc, any reason why? If you're not in the presence of foreigners I've never heard of a Swede not speaking Swedish. 

 

It's mostly for practice when we do talk it, It's tough getting rid of the Swedish accent. I myself love Swedish though, but English is alot of fun to speak so why not change it up? At home and when talking to people I don't know to well I will of course speak Swedish, but when it comes to friends alot of people tend to turn to English from time to time.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Wicked Funky

[PROJECT: Simon 3,953]

English is my native language, even though I'm from Korea T^T <3  You have to always be serious when learning a new language. Otherwise, it'll be a waste of time.  

[LeonShi500 155]

I need to get around to learning Arabic and Sanskrit. Maybe Syriac/Aramaic, but only spoken.

 

I considered learning Chinese, but I know that's to messy for me.

[Venomous 18,813]

I took 2 years of German classes in high school.

The first year was simple because that was when we just learned the basics. I remember the second year being the more difficult year because we had to learn so much more and add that to what we learned the year before that.

 

I remember struggling quite a bit in that class.

It also didn't help that my instructor was sort of rude.

[Riganthor 483]

I have had lessons in English, French and german in school and English I can now talk pretty well there are still some words I dont know but in thos cases I just explain what I mean. French went decently because I have a french nephew but I let it go after 2 years and german even though its verry close to my original language was a hard one to learn and even now I cant really talk it that fluently.

[EpicEnergy 22,072]

I have a hard time learning new languages.

[Fluttershutter 2,118]

I think age and natural ability are a huge part of it. Little kids can pick it up easily and some people are just naturally good at it. The rest of us just struggle.

[Splashee 28,537]

I gave up learning new languages after ARM assembler. God those combinations of power saving RISC instructions hurt my little braino!

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

I’ve learned French for a while now and while I can write it decently I struggle to actually speak it correctly without a script which is kind of the point :/

[KatonRyu 1,026]

I don't consider learning languages to be hard, but the way I learn them is simply by being exposed to them a lot. English isn't my native language, but years of playing games, watching TV, and reading books have made me fluent in it all the same. Right now, I'm using Duolingo to learn a bunch more languages because I find them fascinating, and the app's way of teaching by simply repeating things an ungodly number of times works quite well for me.

What doesn't work for me is explicitly learning grammatical rules. I know next to nothing about the terminology, and the second someone starts to talk about things like 'nominative case', 'accusative case', 'genitive case', or any other kind of case I instantly lose focus and I have no idea what they're talking about. This holds true for every single language I know. For me, learning a language is as easy as just remembering how to write something in a specific situation, and extrapolating from there. In languages like Greek and Russian words change spelling constantly depending on the case, but since there's quite a bit of structure to when something is spelled a certain way, I just remember it, rather than looking at a complicated table of grammatical cases that means nothing to me.

I honestly think repetition and exposure are the best ways to learn languages, and that trying to learn by learning the rules is adding unnecessary complexity. I admit I'm only fluent in two languages, but I can't explain any rules in either of them, because I didn't learn them 'by the rules'. I will say that it sometimes helps me to translate things literally. Quite often phrases are translated in such a way that the meaning is preserved, but not the actual literal words. I find it useful, in those cases, to know the literal translation so I can better remember the way to structure a sentence. Some examples would be '私はトムです' (watashi wa Thom desu), which means 'I am Thom', but which more literally would be something like 'Concerning me, it's Thom'. Similarly, ' ему 15 лет ' is Russian for 'he is 15 years old', but literally translated it's more 'to him 15 years'. It gives a frame of reference as to how things are phrased, which you can then use when constructing your own sentences.

As for the ability to learn...I don't know. I do think it will be far harder for some people than for others, just like it is with anything. Some people consider math to be very intuitive and straightforward, but I just can't see anything in it. Formulae and numbers easily lose all meaning for me, and I'm glad I'm just about able to do simple arithmetic, and even then I tend to use a calculator for that to check if I did it right.