Question to those who have learnt languages fluently

[Ellie]

Slightly random for mc-market I know.

I’m in a situation where I want to learn a language as fast as possible and I’m going to start dedicating a lot of time to it during the weeks after October so I thought I’d ask the community:

Have you learnt another language after turning 18? (Aka outside of school)
How did it go?
What would you suggest to those trying to learn outside of school?

Or in general, any advice for learning a language would be great!
I have always sucked at learning languages, I was pretty proud of getting a C in Spanish at GCSE and I haven’t touched a language textbook since. Before that I got something like 2% in Latin so learning German is feeling pretty darn scary now.

Any and all comments would be appreciated

 

[pet]

There's an app called "Duolingo" which has helped me learn a bit of spanish since I'm gonna start learning it in school in a few months. I'd recommend finding a dedicated youtuber who does videos on the language e.g i found a german guy who made tons of videos about stuff ranging from pronunciation to grammar & basically just anything

(https://www.youtube.com/user/MeisterLehnsherr) - German guy

 

[Landon]

Learning a language after elementary school is much harder, just because of how the brain develops. Not impossible, but I find it funny how schools put foreign languages in the last years of school, where it's much harder to learn.

As for learning, I've heard the best ways are to just talk to someone who is native to that language. Apps like Duolingo can help you learn the vocabulary, but as for just every nitpick of the language, try and talk to someone. From what I've read, most people do very good by going to a country that predominantly speaks that language, but may not be an option if you're on a budget.

 

[Violet]

As a kid in a foreign country you're pretty much forced to learn the language of the country you're in. Once you get older it is really hard to learn a different language. You have to put a lot of time and be really dedicated to learn a language if you're over 18. I have been wanting to learn japanese and probably will do it sometime in the future. Books and apps are the best solutions.

 

[tuzlu]

I learnt a few languages after turning 18 though I would say only one of them stuck with me. My main advice would be to focus on applying the language. All the grammar in the world won't help you if you have problems with listening comprehension, informal/casual and speaking in general. Get a good foundation through books (no, Duolingo will not be sufficient), then either look for a tutor (I can recommend italki, used it before) or find a tandem partner to practice with.

 

[Ellie]

There's an app called "Duolingo" which has helped me learn a bit of spanish since I'm gonna start learning it in school in a few months. I'd recommend finding a dedicated youtuber who does videos on the language e.g i found a german guy who made tons of videos about stuff ranging from pronunciation to grammar & basically just anything

(https://www.youtube.com/user/MeisterLehnsherr) - German guy

Thank you for the YouTube suggestion, I haven’t thought of that before so I’ll definitely look into it I’ve done some duolingo and I plan to continue but it feels very slow paced so far and easy to forget

 

[pet]

Thank you for the YouTube suggestion, I haven’t thought of that before so I’ll definitely look into it I’ve done some duolingo and I plan to continue but it feels very slow paced so far and easy to forget

The more you do it consistently the faster and better you'll get. Motivation is key, if you wanna learn anything.

 

[Valentino]

Okay why did I thought this was a programming thread...
Apparently I only speak that lol.

 

[Ellie]

well I learnt german fluently when I was young cause for some stupid reason my mum wanted to move here so I was forced to learn it, I started with just watching german TV

Oh damn that’s a bit of a sudden change of environment, I’m currently looking for shows to watch when I can understand a bit more to actually be able to follow along. Thanks!

As a kid in a foreign country you're pretty much forced to learn the language of the country you're in. Once you get older it is really hard to learn a different language. You have to put a lot of time and be really dedicated to learn a language if you're over 18. I have been wanting to learn japanese and probably will do it sometime in the future. Books and apps are the best solutions.

I’ll look into books when I get home for sure, but you’re right it’s a lot harder to quickly pick up on subjects when you’re out of school. I wish in earlier years they had been a lot more forceful with language studies at my school... maybe it would have been easier to pick up again later in life.

I learnt a few languages after turning 18 though I would say only one of them stuck with me. My main advice would be to focus on applying the language. All the grammar in the world won't help you if you have problems with listening comprehension, informal/casual and speaking in general. Get a good foundation through books (no, Duolingo will not be sufficient), then either look for a tutor (I can recommend italki, used it before) or find a tandem partner to practice with.

Good idea, I’ll see if my local university does language courses Or tutoring because you are right, a text book and duolingo doesn’t compare to casual conversation which is what I need to be able to engage in ASAP. Though I will still do both in the meantime. Thank you for the suggestion I’ll look into italki as I haven’t heard it before.[DOUBLEPOST=1569183586][/DOUBLEPOST]

The more you do it consistently the faster and better you'll get. Motivation is key, if you wanna learn anything.

As with anything I’m feeling pretty motivated and honestly I have to do it so we’ll see how it goes![DOUBLEPOST=1569183733][/DOUBLEPOST]

Learning a language after elementary school is much harder, just because of how the brain develops. Not impossible, but I find it funny how schools put foreign languages in the last years of school, where it's much harder to learn.

As for learning, I've heard the best ways are to just talk to someone who is native to that language. Apps like Duolingo can help you learn the vocabulary, but as for just every nitpick of the language, try and talk to someone. From what I've read, most people do very good by going to a country that predominantly speaks that language, but may not be an option if you're on a budget.

You’re definitely right, i feel if they pushed languages on me earlier in school instead of making it a really casual class you don’t have to care about then at least later in life I may have found it easier to pick back up.
I’m actually in the country a lot of the time now so I will try to talk more but being the socially awkward thing I am its increasingly hard to try and talk in the language, even simple phrases that I know by now. But I’ll definitely try! Thank you!

 

[Ellie]

Bruh Im taking mandarin in highschool and this shit is hard. I can already speak english and spanish fluently but learning a diff language like mandarin is like trying to read a minecraft enchaning table.

I can only imagine, starting the year below me everyone had to learn mandarin in addition to the other mandatory languages. I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that!

 

[Marchi]

Slightly random for mc-market I know.

I’m in a situation where I want to learn a language as fast as possible and I’m going to start dedicating a lot of time to it during the weeks after October so I thought I’d ask the community:

Have you learnt another language after turning 18? (Aka outside of school)
How did it go?
What would you suggest to those trying to learn outside of school?

Or in general, any advice for learning a language would be great!
I have always sucked at learning languages, I was pretty proud of getting a C in Spanish at GCSE and I haven’t touched a language textbook since. Before that I got something like 2% in Latin so learning German is feeling pretty darn scary now.

Any and all comments would be appreciated

I speak Albanian ( my main language ) Greek ( second ) and English ( Third ) Well the only language i have learnt fast and easy is english, best way to learn languages is to hang out with random people online, i learnt english from playing games and talking with people over the internet.

 

[Violet]

I speak Albanian ( my main language ) Greek ( second ) and English ( Third ) Well the only language i have learnt fast and easy is english, best way to learn languages is to hang out with random people online, i learnt english from playing games and talking with people over the internet.

Honestly same with how I learned my english.

 

[DarkKnights22]

Try Rosetta Stone

 

[Steampunk]

German is actually quite easy when you get into it. For instance lots of the words are the same as english or very logical...

 

[Arik]

My recommendation to learn a language is to surround yourself with people who commonly use both english and the said language. You will begin to pick up words and such and it will make learning easier. (This is to enhance the learning I wouldnt use this as a pure method of learning). I learned 3 languages doing this.