Learning a new language

[windsor_hills]

I’ve always wanted to learn another language. I’ve just come back from holiday and whilst there was using the few words of Spanish that I know. I would like to be much better though, as I literally only know a few words.

Has anyone else learnt a new language (other than when they were at school)? How did you go about it and what advice would you give?

Thanks

[taylaboo]

My sister did Spanish at the local college in the evenings. She enjoyed it so much she did the second and third year and is now fluent. The courses usually start in September when the kids go back to school.

[EssexSue]

My late Father learned Spanish at evening class before moving out there.

[Cherrypie]

I did a Spanish degree at uni - I’d say you need some kind of course to learn the structure of the language - how to conjugate the verbs etc ( you do it every day in English so it’s just to understand how it works in another langauge) after that it’s just learning vocabulary really x

[Purplefrog]

I'm learning German with Duolingo.
We have German friends and I'm always surprised how much I'm managing to absorb from a free online course. Just wish they'd speak slower though 😂

[Tinkerbell]

I moved to Spain almost 6 years ago. My Spanish was very limited. I am now 80% fluent.

Here are my top tips

1. Verbs, verbs, verbs. Verbs are the basis of the Spanish language.

2. Pronunciation- totally different to English as in the use of tildes and the pronunciation of every letter with a few exceptions.

EG

3. Whatever you learn in Class or online will eventually bear little resemblance to the Spanish spoken in Spain... IE just like the U.K. regional dialects are strong and even the Spanish argue about certain words and the pronunciation of them!

4. practice... Read in Spanish, Watch TV in Spanish , listen to the radio. Immerse yourself

In my opinion, formal classes are the best way forward. Internet learning like Babel Duolingo are ok but nothing beats formal language learning. If you are going to learn online make sure it’s mainland Spanish. In the picture above Papa is both father and potato in South America Spanish whereas here it’s Padre and 🥔 patata

[Loulou127]

I’m learning Welsh, going to school once a week for 2 hours, it’s taking a while to learn but I’m enjoying the learning and the socialising too, I didn’t really do any languages at school so nothing to compare it too at all x

[Mad Hatters]

I’ve been using Duolingo to learn Spanish. It’s pretty good and has taught me quite a lot. Thankfully my wife is fluent as she grew up over there so helps me with the bits that aren’t quite right.

[Disney_time]

I'm learning Italian at a local Uni's daytime classes for over 50s. It's a points bearing class i.e. exams 😮. I've only been doing it one year, but after 3 years, I'll get a certificate of open learning.

I have to say I really enjoy the weekly classes and feel I am making progress, however, outwith the class it's a different story. I'm not too confident and scared I'll make a fool of myself. Off to Italy next week, so we'll see how I get on.

Duolingo helps, as does watching Montalbano, as even if I only get every 9th word or phrase, it helps me to see how far I've come in a year.

[THE WIZARD]

Join a class for beginners, there is nothing worse than joining a class that has people going just to improve! You end up getting left behind! See if your local Uni runs a course, they really are excellent as you have to do homework & exams this really concentrates your mind. I have done both French, because I need it for Canada even tho they speak Quebecois, & Italian but have not kept up the Italian (busy with other stuff) but may just go back to it to keep the brain active. Get some DVD films in the language especially films you know it's amazing how you can understand that way.