<p>Any recommendations on the most effective way to learn (without the luxery of moving to a country where it is spoken)? Are college courses really the best way?</p>
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<p>I know some Russian from Pimsleur (Torrent if you understand what I mean).</p>
<p>In college I'm not sure what language I should take. I'm thinking maybe Mandarin Chinese, Russian or German. Chinese might be the one for business but it is kind of a ugly sounding language.</p>
<p>Chinese an ugly-sounding language? Usually I would hear that reserved for German or Russian. Chinese is normally criticized as harsh and unforgiving; Japanese is described as monotonous (and believe me, the recording tapes do not help). Korean I have never actually heard spoken.
I would recommend buying some books and studying nightly. (Preferably one would own something like Living Language or Pimsleur, a grammar book, and some other type of vocabulary forum like a textbook: I use about seven different texts, five character guides, two dictionaries and four grammar books, but that is going way overboard.) It usually has the same effect as a course if you are diligent about it.
That said, I am a student of Chinese.</p>
<p>Learning Arabic now, but I'm in college. Learning Arabic in college is probably the best way for me since I have amazing teachers. Going to start on Russian soon and Chinese in my last two years probably. For arabic now though, I use a thick grammar, introductory readings, a few dictionaries and DVD's.</p>
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<p>starting to learn irish gaelic now...ive tried books but the pronunciation is too difficult i recommend interactive software or online courses especially when live classes arent available</p>
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<p>Japanese sounds cool as hell, it isn't tonal like Chinese. Chinese just doesn't have any soul, it's a robot language :(.</p>
<p>Edit: Arabic sounds like an intense language. Watch a couple Israelis pull over some Arabs and there all yelling and cussing, that stuff is intense. German/Russian also sounds bad a$s to me.</p>
<p>yeah, it might just be me but I had a really hard time learning a language without a teacher. It's hard to get the accent and pronounciation right by just reading it from a book or even hearing it on CD. In a real class with a teacher, the teacher offers you instant feedback and can help correct mistakes before they become habits. After you know the pronunciation though, it might not be as hard to self study. I found flashcards really helpful for vocab.</p>
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<p>I have a thorough understanding of russian because i immigrated from Russia. While in U.S. I learned how to read, write, and speak in english. While in high school I took 2 semesters of spanish, 1 semester of honors spanish. Last year I took an AP spanish class and got an A there but only a one on the AP test :( That test was rigged I tell you argggg.</p>
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<p>Spanish, like 95% of the country's high school population</p>
<p>I'm trying to learn Japanese :D and the next one maybe Korean :D</p>
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<p>I have been studying Danish for a year now; I began to learn it through the "Rosetta Stone" program, which I recommend to everyone regardless of which language he or she selects.</p>
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<p>"Chinese just doesn't have any soul, it's a robot language."</p>
<p>. . .disagree disagree!:D Ｉwould've thought a tonal language is the opposite of being robotic/monotonous, actually.
Each to their own opinion of course. Methinks Chinese is beautiful. With lots and lots of soul. :)</p>
<p>---I'm currently attempting to learn Spanish, lol. My teacher's from Galician Spain and he is one reeaally passionate person, so i've been lucky. plus i get to listen to 15-minute outpourings on random aspects of spanish culture. . . </p>
<p>As 4 learning languages, I think the bestbestbest thing is definitely immersion in the native country. But before u get the chance to do that, i guess learning the basics thoroughly with a good book/course, making friends with people who speak that language, and falling further in love with it is a great enough start =0)</p>
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<p>I took a gap year in Japan, and took the japanese language proficiency test level 3 last december. this time, since i'm going to geneva, i'm learning french :D</p>
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<p>Learn HINDI... the Official Language of India</p>
<p>Chinese sounds really blunt and straightforward to me. Not harsh, but not exactly beautiful, either. French is beautiful. I've also heard that German and Russian are harsh, but to me, they sound pretty cool though.</p>
<p>Learn business languages: Spanish (for your local market), Chinese (for the exported jobs... no Hindi, though, because most Indians speak English), Japanese (electronics companies), German (many firms there), and I hear Russia is gaining some economic momentum, so put Russian on that list.</p>
<p>Mandarin is difficult--son says it was without doubt the toughest subject he had in HS--much tougher than all his APs combined (he's taken 4 & has 5 his semester). Everyone I know who has taken it has found it challenging. It will doubtless grow in importance as China's influence & economy continues to expand. Many colleges offer it & there are summer immersion programs offered as well. A friend's daughter took Mandarin thru HS & then at UVa (where she graduated in psychology & minoring in Mandarin). She's now in China, teaching English & is enjoying it so much she will likely stay longer than the year she originally planned.</p>
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<p>I've self taught myself some welsh and portuguese. The best system is to just stick with it- when your'e busy and you're schedule is tight, it's so easy for one day to turn to a week to turn to a month...you get the picture. I've got welsh pronounciation down but portuguese still plagues me. College classes are good to get it kicked off, but in the end it's up to you.</p>
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<p>I know Hindi, Bengali, English equally fluently. Fairly good with Spanish, and I think I am gonna take up German. Proficiency with languages will really help my in engineering :/</p>
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<p>I am currently learning Latin and Greek (ancient dialects). I must say that I am quite a bit better in the Greek department; Latin has not been my thing as much, but it is head over heals above Spanish and French.</p>
<p>A prospective Classics major, you might guess. :)</p>
<p>I plan also to take Russian in college, as I was partially fluent in the language when I was young but have since forgotten everything but 'moloko' and 'kak dyla' and 'harasho' and the like. I think having already been exposed to Russian will facilitate things, not to mention the the Cyrillic alpabet is directly connected to the Greek one. I have found it nice that I can read most Russian because of my knowledge of Greek.</p>
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