Ways to self-study a language
@lminhchi (62)
Hanoi, Vietnam
6 responses
@MALUSE (69409)
• Germany
14 Aug 20
I'm German. I've taught foreign languages (English, Russian, Italian) at secondary grammar schools for forty years. In my opinion, it's best to get the basics in a course with a good teacher. Once you've understood them, you can go on learning for yourself.
If you do everything on your own and nobody checks what you're doing, you may acquire mistakes that you'll never lose again. Besides, someone should check your pronunciation. A computer programme doesn't correct you.
But, of course, you can do what you want and think is best for you.
2 people like this
@lminhchi (62)
• Hanoi, Vietnam
14 Aug 20
Thanks for your great opinion. How long did it take you to learn a language to get fluent? Did you learn one language at a time or do you have any other self-learning methods?
@MALUSE (69409)
• Germany
14 Aug 20
@lminhchi I learnt English at school for nine years. Then I studied it at uni for six years together with Russian to become a teacher at secondary grammar schools.
I married an Italian. We talked German with each other. I wasn't keen on learning another language. But somehow I did learn Italian, too, from my visits to Italy.
The headmaster of my school wanted to introduce Italian as a third foreign language (after English and Latin) for the pupils and told me to teach Italian, too. So I did.
I took some courses for grown-ups in Turkish at a communal evening school just for fun. There are many Turks living in Germany. I learnt enough to fool our Turkish neighbours. They think that I know the language well although I only know very little.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (35500)
• United States
14 Aug 20
I don't speak another language, but I learned some Spanish from hearing them say it. I learned enough to get me a raise in pay, because I was the only cook that could communicate with them. It was fun.
1 person likes this
@d_red_madelaine (528)
• Philippines
15 Aug 20
Being in a foreign country, it's hard to learn and understand if your alien to their language. You should start at the basics first especially the numbers. And it's effective if you practice it everyday.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
14 Aug 20
When I was living in Estonia I didn't speak Estonian when I arrived. I didn't take any classes, but I had textbooks and dictionaries. I also asked my coworkers to help me with my vocabulary, pronounciation etc. After a couple of months I was able to understand most conversations in Estonian, but I made many mistakes when I spoke Estonian. There are many ways to learn a new language, and you can combine different methods like classes or online studies. If you know any native speakers you can also learn from them.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 Aug 20
@lminhchi You are welcome. In the past I use cassette tapes to learn languages. Today things are much easier. There are many language courses online.
1 person likes this
@jvicentevalera (13671)
• Santiago, Chile
14 Aug 20
I know what you mean however I suggest you to sign yourself up for English lessons at an institute where there are people familiar with the language who can guide you through their experience. That's basically how I learned English, I took a 3 years course, once I was done with grammar I started practicing on my own. If you want to train your ears so you can understand and get used to English language spend as much time as you can watching English videos on YouTube, try out any talk show interview, documentaries etc. That's how I always practice on my English on daily basis!
1 person likes this
@jvicentevalera (13671)
• Santiago, Chile
14 Aug 20
@lminhchi absolutely! And if you have questions don't hesitate to ask anybody!
