Is anyone else trying to learn a new language?

[BrokenBoy]

I've been trying to learn a second language since I was 11 years old but I still suck at it. Like, I might understand a few disconnected words in a sentence, or short phrases. But my vocabulary is super tiny because I keep forgetting everything. Is anyone else going through something like this? Is anyone else here trying to learn another tongue?

 

[Aneka]

I've been trying to learn a second language since I was 11 years old but I still suck at it. Like, I might understand a few disconnected words in a sentence, or short phrases. But my vocabulary is super tiny because I keep forgetting everything. Is anyone else going through something like this? Is anyone else here trying to learn another tongue?

I've been thinking about learning Italian because I travel there a lot and have some roots there. I learned Latin at school and I understand many things written in Romance languages because most words are derivated from Latin, it's a good base to learn any romance language. Latin also had a big influence on all Germanic languages. Learning English wasn't hard for me because it's not that different from German, the vocabulary is similar. Reading and watching videos was more helpful than school.

 

[Progster]

I'm not actively learning a new language right now, but have learned many in the past. I find it easy to pick up new languages.
If learning isn't working for you, then you probably need to try a new approach or method. You could try making flashcards, or writing the words, or making a voice recording and playing it back. Also, try writing sentences in which you use the word you want to remember. Experiment and try different things, hopefully something will work better.

 

[OkRad]

Take a class or hire a tutor. There is no other way to master the fundamentals of a language, and the fundamentals are just the start. Immersion, of course is best, but in lock down, no traveling!

 

[BrokenBoy]

Take a class or hire a tutor. There is no other way to master the fundamentals of a language, and the fundamentals are just the start. Immersion, of course is best, but in lock down, no traveling!

How about playing video game in the language I'm tryna learn?

 

[Streetwise]

I've been trying to learn a second language since I was 11 years old but I still suck at it. Like, I might understand a few disconnected words in a sentence, or short phrases. But my vocabulary is super tiny because I keep forgetting everything. Is anyone else going through something like this? Is anyone else here trying to learn another tongue?

Yep do it all the time !!!,try language learning for young children ,BBC has Muzzy! (in Gondoland)you can watch some for free on YouTube or you can buy an online subscription\dvd's from muzzybbc.com or. other book stores?there's on offer at the moment because of school closures $44 for 3 months going to $156 for 1 year online access for one language plus 6 dvds .

you can also register with archive.org (internet archive based in San Franciscos Richmond district)
and watch a lesson of Muzzy in French ,they allow you to loan all media for 2 weeks! if you tell them you're print disabled, otherwise it's an hour ,they take a while to activate your print disabled status not months!.
type in Muzzy bbc ,they also have a lot more available because of school closures!

 

[_eri_bellehumeur]

Yes! Language is one of the things that have always really fascinated me- I tried learning french when I was young as it is one of my countries languages, and while I can read it okay, speaking it is difficult (lack of practice maybe?). I have tried learning many other languages (including Arabic, Gaelic, Cree, Welsh, and Dene) but recently Japanese has stolen my heart. I have invested in discounted classes online, bought books as well as using free resources. I'm trying to find Japanese manga that I can translate into english to get a more concrete understanding of grammar and improve vocabulary but it's proving difficult finding manga that hasn't been translated into english already.

I use flashcards and try to listen to the language everyday but it's mostly a struggle to stay consistent.

 

[Jeremiah]

How about playing video game in the language I'm tryna learn?

Funnily enough, that actually helped me learn English. Well, that and the internet.

 

[Johann]

I've been trying to learn a second language since I was 11 years old but I still suck at it. Like, I might understand a few disconnected words in a sentence, or short phrases. But my vocabulary is super tiny because I keep forgetting everything. Is anyone else going through something like this? Is anyone else here trying to learn another tongue?

是啊。去年我开始学习中文但是我的中文水平仍然很低。因为我的母语是英语，所以学习汉语很困难。还有我自己学的。我开始学习中文的时候我通过看YouTube视频和读中文书学习中文。

Yes. I started to learn Chinese last year but my Chinese level is still very low. Because my mother tongue is English, it is very difficult to learn Chinese and I learned it myself. When I started learning Chinese, I learned Chinese by watching YouTube videos and reading Chinese books.

Spoiler

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You can try a free software like anki that helps you learn vocabulary by using "spaced- repetition" . Simply, the software shows you a vocabulary word via a flash card and then you are asked to memorize the word. Depending on how well you remember the word, will determine how quickly or how far out the word will be shown again. If you remember the word well, you wont see it in the vocabulary deck for a while. If you cant remember vocabulary word easily, you will see frequently.

 

[Penumbra]

I'm interested in learning ASL. I tried learning a second language a few times, but nothing ever stuck. Auditory learning has always been difficult for me though. I think a more visual language might translate better for me.

 

[selena]

I thought I was great at languages because I could memorize Latin-based vocab words pretty quickly, but nah I suck and I've given up trying to learn any other languages. Language isn't just words, it's constructing sentences and being able to communicate with other people. Meanwhile, half of the time I open my mouth only gibberish comes out.

I'm also a text-based sort of learner and am generally effective at writing, and I've noticed the people who I think of as "great with languages" usually acquired their skills through listening and actually interacting with people who speak different languages--two things I'm terrible at.

 

[BoltzmannBrain17]

I had German 1 last semester and plan on taking German 2 next year. I don't know if I'll ever be interested enough to go further but it's definitely a fun class.

 

[VictorR]

是啊。去年我开始学习中文但是我的中文水平仍然很低。因为我的母语是英语，所以学习汉语很困难。还有我自己学的。我开始学习中文的时候我通过看YouTube视频和读中文书学习中文。

Yes. I started to learn Chinese last year but my Chinese level is still very low. Because my mother tongue is English, it is very difficult to learn Chinese and I learned it myself. When I started learning Chinese, I learned Chinese by watching YouTube videos and reading Chinese books.

I'm pretty impressed! "水平" is easily a 2nd/3rd year college Mandarin course term. I always found it fascinating how simple characters combine to give meaning to more complex things, sometimes in a funny way:

同学：请问 "turkey" 在中文叫社么？
老师："fire chicken"

BTW, I believe that "还是..." would be preferred over "还有..." but if there's one thing I'm bad at it's explaining language.

 

[Major Tom]

Been trying for 12 or 13 years now and I'm immersed in a different country. I think it's something some people have the knack for and others do not. I definitely do not.

 

[Progster]

There's also the free app Duolingo and others like it, Memrise for example. It has an amazing number of languages and I used it for a while. I gave it up though, because it had started to become an obesssion (to complete a certain number of lessons per day), and then I was having anger issues with making a mistake and feeling that the lesson was ruined because of just one mistake - not reasonable or logic I know, but it it's one of those things that make me wonder whether I might have OCD. It frustrated me a lot. It didn't work for me because of the way I am, but works for most people.

 

[Dadamen]

English is not my native language, so I'm actually learning it, I'm also learning German, I feel I'm pretty good in English, but not so good in German.

 

[Suzanne]

I am a dunce with languages! I live in France and have done for close to 20 years, but by no means am I fluent.

I may be able to get by, but for the years I have lived here, I should certainly not just be able to get by. But, because I live here, I am always asking a French friend to tell me what such and such is in French.

I know a tiny bit of Korean, but again, that is due to watching Korean dramas, but compared to many who watch them, I am stupid with the language, which just confirms that part of my brain does not want to work.

I joke that I would like to bit hit on my head and perhaps that would help.

 

[Trophonius]

Yes, German! And I haven't passed the very last exam of English (CPE), you could say I'm still learning it. Took two years of Greek in the past, I forgot it nearly all, and since it's not a priority I don't think I will resume its study any time so

After I get some degree of fluency in German I plan to study French, then maybe Russian or Korean.

 

[Soleil]

I don't really understand how to have conversations, but I'm actually pretty good at learning languages. I took Spanish in middle school, Japanese and German in high school, and then Sanish, German, and Japanese at a local community college.

Now I'm learning Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Norwegian, Irish, Welsh, and ASL. Mostly I use Duolingo, but I also have Babbel. Right now my focus is on Irish. since I'm currently reading books on Irish folklore.

How about playing video game in the language I'm tryna learn?

That's definitely a help! Though you may end up learning words that are useful in the game, but not so much in real life, like "holy water" or "monster".

I also recommend watching movies or TV shows in that language (like watching anime in Japanese).

Funnily enough, that actually helped me learn English. Well, that and the internet.

A friend of mine learned English that way too! And now he's basically fluent. He makes a lot of errors sometimes, but they're the same errors a native speaker makes all the time.

 

[Sabrina]

I've been trying to learn a second language since I was 11 years old but I still suck at it. Like, I might understand a few disconnected words in a sentence, or short phrases. But my vocabulary is super tiny because I keep forgetting everything. Is anyone else going through something like this? Is anyone else here trying to learn another tongue?

What's that second language?

I'm teaching myself German with Duolingo (the app) now, but it's my fifth language, not the second. I learned the second and the third a long time ago, with regular classes in language institutes. I could travel abroad to practice them, too.

English, my second language (although I might have had some of it left in my unconscious because I lived in the US for the first two years of my life), was mostly self taught.

I was a teenager back then, and I would have never dreamed of the wonders that exist today available in internet to learn a language. Back then, I listened to my parents' LPs, such as The Beatles, and learn the lyrics that came written on paper, or I'd read all The Baby Sitter's Club books with a dictionary by my side, for example.

Anyway, if you want to learn a language, you have to convince yourself that if a baby can, so can you! And you have to make it fun and immerse yourself in it.

For example, I downloaded the app TuneIn (in which you can find radio stations all over the world) so I can listen to a German station everyday while I prepare and have breakfast, so my brain learns even if I'm not paying attention.

A language has to do a lot with listening, with getting the accent, that's the way babies learn. They listen and repeat, over and over, even if they don't get what they're saying at first.

When my kid was six-years-old (he's also an aspie) he used to watch Curious George over and over for like six months, for example (for him English is his "first" language, because that's how I raised him, even though we're in a country that speaks another language, or that English isn't my own mother tongue).

I also watch Peppa Wutz (Peppa Pig in German) because that cartoon has a great pronunciation in English for beginners, so I guessed that in German it would be the same. It is, I can almost understand a whole episode now.

The most important part is that you get to have as much contact with the language as you can, and have fun! And also take advantage of all the resources that internet offers.