Looking for useful learning (techniques) of learning to speak another language.

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1. Looking for useful learning (techniques) of learning to speak another language.

2. To anyone who have experienced learning different languages, What are the quickest and easiest techniques of learning different languages?

3. The emphasis is learning to (speak) other languages.

4. The (reading and writing) aspect is not the goal.

5. I suspect that some techniques work better some people while other techniques might work better for other people.

6. I suspect that we all have different ways of learning.

7. What work best for you?

8. Just looking for suggestions.

9. The ultimate goal is take part in casual conversations in other languages.

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@Real Music,

The best way, in my experience (and I have studied 5 languages) is to find your necessary phrases and add on to them. E.G. I need to (eat, drink, go to)... I want... I would like... Where is, How far is ...etc., and then to learn the verbs and verb conjugations (I go, you go, etc). I.e. "We would like to go to Oia - how far is it? Can I walk there?"

I would certainly only focus on the immediate past, present, and future... you don't need all 14 tenses and moods to begin with. Everyone will understand, as we all do, when your knowledge of the language is limited.

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@Mame,

1. Thank you for your suggestion.

2. That is quite impressive that you've studied 5 different languages.

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@Real Music,

You're welcome. What language are you (thinking of) learning?

Back in my day, all Canadian students had to take French in high school (now there are many other options) and I also studied it at university. Then I went through a Russian author phase so studied that language for a while. Then I lived in Little Italy and fell in love with Italian, so studied that for a few years. Then I went to Greece for 10 weeks and learned quite a bit of Greek (speaking only). The last few years I've been studying Spanish. Don't get me wrong - I am nowhere fluent in any of them, but I (used to) find languages easy to learn and, for the most part, consistent. I can get by with my Spanish and French, and recently had to recall some Italian. The biggest problem I have is not being able to practice any of them. You really have to immerse yourself to get fluent, or have friends. Use it or lose it!

I did join a few Spanish meet-up groups but they mainly wanted to meet other Spanish-speaking people and socialize and I couldn't keep up. Perhaps I could now.

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@Real Music,

Piggy has been learning English for more than thirty years. But I don’t think I can “take part in casual conversations in other languages”.

Yes, schoolboys always are “looking for useful learning (techniques) of learning to speak another language.” But seems no one could be “successful”, including piggy himself thirty years ago…
Yes, “we all have different ways of learning”.

Living in the exact environment or say practice might be the best way to learn (speak) other languages. No “quickest and easiest techniques”, I think.
When piggy was a schoolboy, piggy found an interesting phenomenon: some classmates can speak Chinese much better than me, although they achieved bad scores in math and physics…Sometimes when they spoke some newest terms and words (which just popped up in society), piggy used to be puzzled and had to guess what they were talking…

Have a lovely day.

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@Real Music,

If you can make the time, spend at least 6 weeks in the country where you
want to learn the language and take a course there. There are so many travel & learn the language opportunities, it definitely would help you.

Watching TV (in that language) and reading aloud helps too!

Once you have conversational abilities in that language, seek out someone you can talk to regularly.

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@CalamityJane,

Yes, watching TV (in that language) is really a good way.
Piggy often watches English films on TV.“Star wars”, “1917”, etc

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Personally, I think it's an imitation technique. The best way to get the correct pronunciation, stress, and intonation of a language is to listen to how native speakers speak the language. And to want to speak like them, and imitate the way people speak through podcasts, youtube videos, songs, and movies, ..... It will improve as you learn.

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@Mame,

When I was younger watching TV helped. You just have to immerse yourself into the language. Listen to it daily. TV or radio is great for that. And slowly but surely you will start to understand words.

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How Many Words Do You Need to Know to Speak a Language Fluently?

Sep 9, 2021

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@emaggio,

Quote:

Personally, I think it's an imitation technique. The best way to get the correct pronunciation, stress, and intonation of a language is to listen to how native speakers speak the language. And to want to speak like them, and imitate the way people speak....

1. Over the last month or so, this has been a technique I've been using through the online Pimsleur learning course for learning Mandarin.

2. So far, this online learning course has been very helpful and I will continue with the course.

3. For me, learning both, the (exact literal translation) and the (exact word order) is extremely important.

4. I am only referring to learning how to listen and speak the language.

5. Learning to read or write in the language has never been my goal.

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@CalamityJane,

Quote:

If you can make the time, spend at least 6 weeks in the country where you
want to learn the language and take a course there. There are so many travel & learn the language opportunities, it definitely would help you.

Regarding spending 6 weeks in the country where I want to learn the language, I don't see that happening.

Quote:

Watching TV (in that language) and reading aloud helps too!

1. Reading and writing in Mandarin has never been my goal.
2. I do plan to watch netflix Mandarin movies and Mandarin tv series.
3. Do you recommend that I turn on the English subtitle?
4. Or do you think the English subtitles will distract me from actually learning Mandarin?

Quote:

Once you have conversational abilities in that language, seek out someone you can talk to regularly.

1. That is something I plan to do once I reach a certain level.
2. That will be the ultimate test to find out how well I can listen and speak Mandarin.

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@Real Music,

Real Music wrote:

3. Do you recommend that I turn on the English subtitle?
4. Or do you think the English subtitles will distract me from actually learning Mandarin?

It depends. If you have basic knowledge of Mandarin already then I would not turn on English subtitles. The more you hear the language the better and yes, the subtitles may distract as they don't give you the actual translation of each word, they give you the gist of what is said.

I don't see that you can learn a language without reading and writing in it. Small children learn a language using different brain functions. Adults learn a language with more difficulties and reading/writing is an added tool in learning.

English is not my first language and starting in 3rd grade, we were taught writing a sentence in English and underneath wrote the words in our own language. The sentence structure was not correct, of course, but the teacher emphasized on pupils learning the word for word translation first, memorizing it and grammar came last.

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A few years ago I bought the Spanish version of Rosetta Stone. I only used it for about a month, you have to sound out the words while wearing a headset with a microphone. Well the microphone broke and I could never get ahold of anyone on the phone to have it replaced.

1 Reply

@jcboy,

Having a Spanish speaking partner should be sufficient for you to learn from him, no?

1 Reply

@CalamityJane,

Oh I can understand a lot of Spanish I just can't speak it very well. He doesn't speak much Spanish since we moved to CA, probably afraid of being deported Razz

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@jcboy,

Hahaha....

My Spanish vocabulary is just enough for domestic maid talk.

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@jcboy,

jcboy wrote:

Oh I can understand a lot of Spanish I just can't speak it very well. He doesn't speak much Spanish since we moved to CA, probably afraid of being deported

I thought I told you before; they can't deport a Puerto Rican.

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@CalamityJane,

Quote:

I don't see that you can learn a language without reading and writing in it. Small children learn a language using different brain functions. Adults learn a language with more difficulties and reading/writing is an added tool in learning.

1. Although, it's not my goal to learn how to read or write Chinese characters, I do use Pinyin in my Mandarin learning.

2. Pinyin is a system used to represent the sounds of the Mandarin Chinese language using letters of the Latin alphabet. It is used to help learners of Chinese to learn how to pronounce Chinese words before they tackle the complex Chinese writing system. Pinyin uses a combination of 26 Roman letters and diacritics to represent the sounds of Chinese. It is frequently employed as a tool to assist students in mastering proper Chinese pronunciation and speech

3. Although I have a very long way to go in learning Mandarin, I feel that I am getting noticeable better in my learning.

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@Real Music,

To learn how to speak another language effectively, focus on talking rather than reading and writing. Try different methods to see what works best for you, as everyone learns differently. You can practice speaking with native speakers or through language exchange programs to immerse yourself in the language. Make it a habit to practice every day, even if it's just for a short time. Use language apps, podcasts, or online courses designed to improve speaking skills.

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Looking for useful learning (techniques) of learning to speak another language.

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