Anyone Learning a Language?

[whiteraven]

I think I've read similar threads about language learning, but I couldn't find one.

I've always liked learning new skills, and I enjoy language learning specifically. I'm currently using Duolingo to brush up on my German and learn Arabic, Scottish Gaelic, and Swahili. It's really hard for me to stick with one language (or one anything, really--I think I started a thread about this, and the consensus is that it's common), but right now I am obsessed with Swahili, and I've started adding additional resources to Duolingo to learn.

Anyone else?

 

[Friday]

I’m conversational in about a dozen languages. But? Only fluid in 2-5, and only expert in 1. Ironically? My best language? Is not my “first” language. Yep. My best language is English. My first language was Japanese.

On the upside? I “think” in pictures, rather than words, so language rarely hampers my everyday life.

 

[Weemie]

Yes, I have an unnatural affinity for languages (I can become fully conversational in a language in like 4 months), so I have loads of them on my Duolingo.

Unfortunately I'm still subject to the 'use it or lose it' part of languages so all the ones I've become conversational in, if I haven't used them for a while, I tend to go back to a worse level of knowledge. (I used to be fluent in Finnish but now I only remember very, very basic sentences like 'I speak English' and 'I love ice cream', but I learned at age 12!) There was a brief time me and my friend learned Norwegian, and we got to a very good level of conversation, I wouldn't say fully fluent but conversational absolutely. I lost this because we stopped being friends and I had no one to talk to, and my interest level dropped dramatically.

I'm fluent in ASL, Hebrew, Polish and obviously English at the moment. I learned Polish (which is so, so easy to learn for English speakers. The gendered part is the only challenge, but it's an entirely phonetic language with English word order, you don't get much better than that) through Duolingo and YouTube; the Duo stuff for Polish is extremely well done. Hebrew is less good, I actually focused on learning vocabulary only, then Hebrew word order, then Duo to patch some gaps and immersion through speaking with Israelis.

My advice for learning languages: the first words you need to learn are "how do I say [WORD] in [LANGUAGE]". Learn this in the correct word order and start talking to people from that community. If you can't in real life, you can find places online. I learned Finnish exclusively through habbohotel.fi (which doesn't work anymore, so don't bother using that link). I turned my Facebook page into Finnish, I joined Finnish forums, etc. Same with Polish, I found Discord groups and Polish groups here in my local area.

Second, focus on vocabulary. Forget about grammar, word order, genders, cases, etc. and just learn vocabulary. At first, you will probably sound like Yoda -- whatever. You're learning, they'll deal with it. The only thing you need to worry about is being able to communicate your meaning, even if you sound like a toddler. The thing is, once you start talking to ppl in the new language, they will actually help you along. You'll learn proper word order, you'll learn how to use genders, because you'll be hearing it all around you as well as slowly starting to study it on your own after you get comfortable with conversations.

Last but not least, for Hebrew or Polish vocabulary, or indeed any language with genders, focus on learning the male side first. You'll get further.

 

[Teasel]

I like using Duolingo, I enjoy it. I've 21 languages on the go though most of those I've barely dabbled with. I think I've learned how to play Duolingo much more than I've learned how to speak the languages, but I'm OK with that I think.

The languages I've learned most of are French, Turkish, Portuguese (Brazilian - it was my Brazilian friend who got me curious to learn what language could produce an accent like hers) Ukrainian, German, Welsh & Russian. Currently am just doing French everyday. I did start university in French so know a reasonable amount, and so am not really learning French through Duolingo, more reminding myself of it.

Anyways yeah, I enjoy it. Think I've some basic facility for learning languages. My crappy memory helps me forget em pretty quickly though too.

 

[BuildingSelf24]

It’s very easily to learn on Duolingo but it goes so fast. If I stop even for a short time, I forget what I learned. Writing helps the language stick better for me especially if it’s one like Japanese or Korean where you have to learn a whole new writing system. For the speaking part, watching movies, listening to music and podcasts helps. You naturally start to pick up different phrases.

 

[Weemie]

Writing helps the language stick better for me especially if it’s one like Japanese or Korean where you have to learn a whole new writing system.

Whew, good thing I'm functionally illiterate in Hebrew! Hah. I have a TBI that makes learning these systems extremely difficult, bordering on impossible. What helped me was taking each letter, making it really BIG, like on a whole ass piece of paper, then using haptic feedback to clue my brain in how the shapes are formed. Every time I read, I'm using gestures as well (it's helped actually to learn the alef-bet in Israeli Sign Language, because it makes me look less crazy).

I associate each letter to the sign language version, which allows me to get a better handle on the word. But it takes me like five times as long to read something than to hear/speak it (and I am far, far better at production than I am at understanding, in every language I learn -- I speak like a fluent person, with a good ass accent! My ability to hear and replicate sounds is quite good. The only sound that I cannot produce in the languages I know spontaneously [though I can within certain sentences, like I can say 'ani rotze' with a rhotic R but I cannot produce the rhotic R in other words/sentences with consistent accuracy.)

Anyway, so people get tricked into thinking I'm fluent, then start yammering on at me and I'm like oh okay!!! abawbndiawdaijgvdg!!! to you as well, sir!!! Personally I define myself as fluent in both of these languages even though my actual proficiency is nowhere near as good as English (reading and writing, particularly -- I learned how to do this in English before my TBI and fortunately retained my skills, though reading nonsense words or conlangs can throw me off, I managed to become fluent in Vulcan!) because I think I've learned them to the best of my actual capacity.

I will never be able to gain complete proficiency in Hebrew writing, it doesn't matter how long or how hard I study it (a TBI is not like a learning disability - without extensive neurological rehab at the start of your injury, your ability to regain skills is very limited. I did become better at certain things over the last 20 or so years, but I still was completely unable to learn new things that invoke the damaged processes in my occipital lobe) and because I can produce at a fluent level (I can even produce fairly competent Hebrew writing, I just cannot read it with any consistency).