Learning another language...

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Rosetta Stone is an absolutely awful choice (I got it for free and it still sucks). The answers to the exercises are completely obvious and the whole "no explicit grammar - acquire it like a child" approach is made moot by the fact that you try and figure out the grammar rules on your own anyway (an automatic process that a child does not engage in). </p>

<p>I found that by far and away the most effective way to improve my German was with Barron's Mastering German. All Barron's really did though was make slight modifications and put on CD the FSI standard government course, which is available here in far more languages FSI</a> Language Courses for free.</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, learning a language like a child... yeah, that works, but it's incredibly slow and inefficient. You took however many years learning English as a child, you'll want to learn your next language quite a bit faster.</p>

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<p>I guess whatever works, you aren't going to get fluent through any one program alone.</p>

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<p>@Ticklemepink - my parents don't have the time. i've had asked them multiple times...never worked out.</p>

<p>@awb1989 - have you found russian to be helpful/useful in any way? is it easy/moderate/hard for you to keep on using the language?</p>

<p>@bourne -that's a great idea...except that i prefer boys :)</p>

<p>So, I'm thinking that I'll just download either rosetta stone / pimselur in vietnamese and self-teach it to myself. I'm really motivated to learn this language so that I can write (& communicate with) to my parents better. I know it's going to be moderately difficult, but with my background I'm sure I'll do fine. </p>

<p>If I decide on Japanese, I definetly want to study abroad in Japan or vice versa with Chinese. Although I find Japanese more appealing because I'm a big fan of anime (this way I don't have to read subs < if you're a fan you'll know what i'm talking about). </p>

<p>Of the three languages which do you think can be more useful later in life? Chinese, Japanese, and Russian</p>

<p>I remember reading something about Russia and its growing economy...then again, China is going to be a major Eastern power or already is and the same goes to Japan..</p>

<p>The college I'm leaning towards teaches only Russian and Chinese. I don't know how I'm suppose to not lose these languages after I graduate...any tips?</p>

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<p>Just keep up with the languages and you won't forget em. Visit, (if you are american I wouldn't go say hi to putin lol) anyways just watch movies in that language read newspapers etc</p>

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<p>^^</p>

<p>What do you mean by don't say hi to putin? :/</p>

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<p>It was just a joke, Putin hates america.</p>

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<p>I know Vietnamese. but my parents really emphasized the importance of learning the language of the country where you come from so they force my sisters and I to speak it at home which we don't do most of the time. Do you know any Vietnamese at all? If you know the basics (the marks, simple pronounciation) then you can focus on the vocab and sentence structure which your parents could perhaps help you on if you ask them for help on a particular thing. Visiting the country is extremely helpful but you could also watch Vietnamese movies and try to speak with your parents in vietnamese (simple words/sentences such as are you tired, etc.). I wouldn't suggest listening to music because I can't understand anything but perhaps you could get something out of it. </p>

<p>I tried to teach myself Japanese once and I got the alphabet and random vocab but I wasn't very motivated and it was too difficult for me to teach myself without any help so I quit.</p>

<p>German and French, the languages I'm studying now, are pretty easy to catch on. If you don't want to take all of the language courses, I would suggest just taking the beginning classes and then teaching yourself from there is pretty easy.</p>

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<p>@ burgler09 -ahhh...lol i thought that you were saying not to say hi to one of the ppl here on cc...oh well lol :)</p>

<p>@ naturefreak525 - I can speak simple sentences and carry on very relaxed conversations. I can understand when people speak the langauge at a pretty intermediate to high level (depends on their voice). I don't know the marks or pronounciation, though. I can make out some words in a sentence, but that's about it. Oh, are you in college now or still a high school senior? how long have you been studing those languages (self taught/ school)? How well do you think you're doing in them?</p>

<p>My mom actually asked me why I wanted to learn Vietnamese (when I tried to talk to her). Needless to say, I couldn't communicate with her clearly enough of my reasons. I basically said, "So I can talk to you." She laughed. "Aren't you talking to me right now?" She thinks it's a waste of time....: /</p>

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<p>I've been studying Japanese on my own, and I've tried all the methods. Rosetta Stone is a complete waste of time (and a waste of bandwidth for my torrent server). Pimsleur is okay, but it goes very slowly through the material. I would recommend buying the Japanese for Busy People books (Kana version) after you learn how to read the hiragana and katakana. Just go through the lessons and learn the vocab (I wouldn't concentrate too much on kanji now though). I stream TV shows from Japan (news, game shows etc...not anime!). This helps with listening comprehension. I also take part in language exchanges on:
Language</a> Exchange Online via Skype on the Mixxer</p>

<p>You basically talk to people on skype, teach them your language and they teach you theirs. This builds up listening/speaking comprehension while having fun and meeting new people too.</p>

<p>Good luck with your studies!</p>

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<p>I've been teaching myself Japanese too. It's funny, I've made the exact same experiences as Pistolen08.</p>

<p>Rosetta Stone sucks. It's boring, doesn't teach you anything except for some vocabulary, doesn't have good exercises, etc. Waste of time.
Pimsleur and most other Audio Programs suck as well. They're boring and if you don't listen to the same lessons many times you won't remember anything. At least it's like that for me, if you're more of an auditory learner it might fit you well.</p>

<p>My suggestions:
- Books. I don't know the book Pistolen08 suggested, but I highly recommend "Japanese from Zero" (1-3). You don't need any previous knowledge for this book. Look it up on Amazon. Also very good are the flashcards for Kanji and Kana, also to be found on Amazon.
- Podcasts. I like listening to podcasts on my way to College. I recommend japanesepod101.com. Register and pay one time, download all the episodes, cancel subscription ; )
- Japanese friends or people on Skype. Well, I have a Japanese girlfriend and many Japanese friends so I don't need to talk to people on Skype, but finding Japanese people might not be that easy if you're not living in CA or HI... I also used the Skype method Pistolen08 suggested for other languages I was learning some time ago and I highly recommend it. Another site to find language exchange partners is mylanguageexchange.com, or just start writing to random people on skype search : )</p>

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<p>I'm in college right now. I've been studying German since middle school and French since freshman year of high school. My Vietnamese, I think , has actually gotten a little better now that I'm away from home. I think it's because I don't want my roommate or some people to understand what I'm saying sometimes so it makes me work harder to try to get things across clearly. That could be a good reason for you to tell your mom, if you like. haha.</p>

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<p>take a look at the Language</a> Learning Forum website. It is specifically for people learning on their own.</p>

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<p>I also recommend a program called "Anki". It's a flashcard program that can be used to learn kanji+vocab etc...
SourceForge.net:</a> Anki</p>

<p>I would also suggest the textbook series "Genki" if you want to use the books that colleges use. They can be a little pricey, but some people swear by them.</p>

<p>I wouldn't try to learn from watching anime, because a lot of fansubbers suck at translating. Stick with the proven methods. The only real way to become fluent is to go to Japan and converse with natives though. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Experienced language learner here.</p>

<p>I also picked up Spanish from my parents, but it was also a pretty low level.</p>

<p>I ended up teaching myself, as well as learning Portuguese. </p>

<p>My experiences: </p>

<p>Rosetta Stone - horrible program. Just not worth it at all unless you can get it for super cheap (under $100, and that's pushing it)</p>

<p>Pimsleur - it's good, but horribly overpriced for its quality. You don't learn very many words, but it's a decent foundation until you get into more advanced things.</p>

<p>I want to point you to probably some of the greatest resources for language learners:</p>

<p>Language</a> Learning Forum</p>

<p>Amazing language learning forum; there's a hyperglot professor there (speaks many languages, very intelligent guy) that writes a ton on the forum, answers questions, shares his experiences, etc. Everyone there is a language enthusiast, and happy to help. It's decently active, but it has room to improve in that area.</p>

<p>And finally, the language programs I think you SHOULD be using:</p>

<p>FSI</a> Language Courses</p>

<p>
[quote]
the home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>These are great courses, used by the Foreign Service Institute which intensively trains their diplomats in the language for so many months before sending them off to do the job that they need to do. </p>

<p>They're pretty old (but still great) and part of the public domain now, so they're absolutely free and legal from this site. However, not all programs are available on there, some are incomplete, etc. </p>

<p>Vietnamese unfortunately isn't available there, but these programs can also be purchased completely remastered with a physical booklet and CDs instead of reading a PDF and MP3s on the computer. They're pretty expensive though; look into Barrons FSI (I think that's the product).</p>

<p>Chinese has a ton there, however what they have isn't on par with their other programs such as Spanish. </p>

<p>If you have any questions, let me know.</p>