Ditto on Rosetta Stone. I’m learning German now, I like the program and it’s effective.
I would say the other important way to learn is to NEED to use what you are learning. I studied Spanish in HS and College but never really knew it until I lived in Miami and had to speak Spanish 75% of my workday. Now I’m (mostly) fluent.
Pimsleur works great, I’ve found. It teaches the basics. It’s pricey though, so consider downloading a torrent.
Well I am teaching myself sign language; don’t know if that counts as a language.
I took french for roughly 10 out of 12 school yrs, but didn’t really learn it until I started working w/ older ppl where french is there 1st language.(here in La.)
You definately need someone to converse w/ to pick up on it; IMO.
American Sign Language is most definitely a language.
-It can be taught and learned naturally (like we just keep talking to babies and eventually they get it, 2 years later they speak the langauge, if you are only signing to a baby, eventually they mimic your gestures and start to sign)
-it evolves naturally (we now say yeah, instead of yes (it’s shorter more efficient), small evolutions (abbreviations if you will) like saying carbs (instead of carbohydrates) are examples. In ASL, the sign for brother used to be signed “boy”+“same”+“family,” now it is signed with an abbreviated gesture that resembles the previous. )
So ASL is definitely a language, “Signed English” is not a language. It is English, but given a gesture for each word. In ASL, I don’t sign the word “and” there is only a pause between signs to indicate “and.” In Signed English, there is a sign for “and.” Signed English doesn’t evolve naturally, and can’t be taught naturally, one has to know spoken English first.
[quote]xXSeraphimXx wrote:
Has anyone here learned a new language on their own? How would one go about learning a language? Are there any programs or software that are any good?[/quote]
The difficulty depends on the language and you. I have learned (and am learning) several. German came very easy. I find spoken chinese pretty easy. Cambodian is hard for me. Much of the difficulty is in lack of reference materials. There is no pimsleur for Kmai(cambodian). Pimsleur is a great way to get started, but dont rely on only one method. Try several. And be sure, sure to speak out loud as you practice. People might look at you funny but dont worry, its part of the process.
Would anyone like to converse through PMs in spanish with me? I am in my 2nd semester of it for college(I need three) and I think it would help me to just have little conversations back and forth.
i was considering started a new thread, but this is titled “learning a new language” so here it is: I need help with Rosetta Stone.
I started using the Rosetta Stone to learn German just recently.
I am easily matching the common words to the picture. I know to pick a boy instead of a girl, and some different objects. I started just clicking on the right one by knowing only part of the sentence, but now I don’t know what the more important words mean, like the difference between shirts and jackets.
I just started so I can easily retake it, but I’m wondering if I’m supposed to look up words I dont know, or if it’ll teach me later.
You have to look them up unless you bought the workbook.