Learning a Second Language
- Thread starter panicbird
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FrozenChosen
Puritan Board Freshman
I haven't learned language independently, but I'm finishing up my first semester of German at AU. I enjoy it and hopefully I'll enjoy the second semester. It's hard as far as grammar mechanics go (you might not know what's going on in a sentence till the very end of the sentence) but a lot of the words are recognizable (as English is more Germanic than Romanic).
I already speak a second language - pig latin! Never had one lesson, either!
Seriously though - if you are taking German, I would suggest a book called English Grammer for Students of German. I'll look up the author later and let you know the name. It helped me enormously in my classes. My main problem with German grammer was that I didn't know English grammer.
Seriously. Never had to diagram 1 sentence in school. Ever.
Love those public schools!!!
Seriously though - if you are taking German, I would suggest a book called English Grammer for Students of German. I'll look up the author later and let you know the name. It helped me enormously in my classes. My main problem with German grammer was that I didn't know English grammer.
Seriously. Never had to diagram 1 sentence in school. Ever.
Love those public schools!!!
ChristianasJourney
Puritan Board Sophomore
How well do you want to learn this language.
I found Rosetta Stone software to be very helpful in learning a 2nd language. Though it's rather expensive. I was able to get a copy from a local library to borrow.
Now, to go work on my first language...:book:
I found Rosetta Stone software to be very helpful in learning a 2nd language. Though it's rather expensive. I was able to get a copy from a local library to borrow.
Now, to go work on my first language...:book:
The problem with learning German is talking like a native German speaker. Books don't help at all. The CD's I have heard are helpful with the sounds but it takes a person to show you how to form your mouth correctly, especially the l's and r's (and the umlauted "o"
.
I learned Spanish independently but worked with several hundred Spanish speaking people who were most helpful.
In learning a language, there are certain things you will never learn independently. For instance, if you ask a Mexican laborer "What is your problem?" or "What is the problem?" when his equipment breaks down he will not tell you what you want to know. On one occasion I was told, "It's not my problem, it's yours." I learned that I had to ask, "What happened?"
Languages have many idioms, some of which you can learn from a book but many are learned conversationally. There are language-learning groups on the Internet that you can join that have native-language speakers that are most helpful in language aquisition.
[Edited on 5-4-2004 by sundoulos]
.I learned Spanish independently but worked with several hundred Spanish speaking people who were most helpful.
In learning a language, there are certain things you will never learn independently. For instance, if you ask a Mexican laborer "What is your problem?" or "What is the problem?" when his equipment breaks down he will not tell you what you want to know. On one occasion I was told, "It's not my problem, it's yours." I learned that I had to ask, "What happened?"
Languages have many idioms, some of which you can learn from a book but many are learned conversationally. There are language-learning groups on the Internet that you can join that have native-language speakers that are most helpful in language aquisition.
[Edited on 5-4-2004 by sundoulos]
[quote:9182e0bb1a]
The problem with learning German is talking like a native German speaker. Books don't help at all. The CD's I have heard are helpful with the sounds but it takes a person to show you how to form your mouth correctly, especially the l's and r's (and the umlauted "o".
[/quote:9182e0bb1a]
That is very true. I didn't have much problem with pronounciation (I'm a pretty good mimic), but trying to figure out what the "indirect object" in the sentence was. If you've never learned English grammar, it's REALLY hard to apply grammar rules to a foreign language. I still don't get all the verb tenses - I know what's right (in English anyway) but I can't tell you why!
If you're not a good mimic, then you need CDs or something like that. But the book is a great supplement. Of course, with any foreign language, you will always read it better than write it, and understand it better than speak it.
Mary
The problem with learning German is talking like a native German speaker. Books don't help at all. The CD's I have heard are helpful with the sounds but it takes a person to show you how to form your mouth correctly, especially the l's and r's (and the umlauted "o"
. [/quote:9182e0bb1a]
That is very true. I didn't have much problem with pronounciation (I'm a pretty good mimic), but trying to figure out what the "indirect object" in the sentence was. If you've never learned English grammar, it's REALLY hard to apply grammar rules to a foreign language. I still don't get all the verb tenses - I know what's right (in English anyway) but I can't tell you why!
If you're not a good mimic, then you need CDs or something like that. But the book is a great supplement. Of course, with any foreign language, you will always read it better than write it, and understand it better than speak it.
Mary
[quote:1715a3a663]
If you've never learned English grammar, it's REALLY hard to apply grammar rules to a foreign language.
[/quote:1715a3a663]
That is so true. English is the only academic subject I did well in when in high school so language structure comes more easily for me (German came easy because I grew up speaking one of its dialects).
Many of my classmates in Greek class struggled so much because they didn't know English well. They would spend untold hours each evening trying to assimilate that day's lesson. Me -- I just worried about the vocabulary.
Being able to converse on a regular basis with native-language speakers is a boon, too. It really speeds up the process. There are German-language clubs in some of the larger metropolitan areas. Germans are very tolerant of learners.
If you've never learned English grammar, it's REALLY hard to apply grammar rules to a foreign language.
[/quote:1715a3a663]
That is so true. English is the only academic subject I did well in when in high school so language structure comes more easily for me (German came easy because I grew up speaking one of its dialects).
Many of my classmates in Greek class struggled so much because they didn't know English well. They would spend untold hours each evening trying to assimilate that day's lesson. Me -- I just worried about the vocabulary.
Being able to converse on a regular basis with native-language speakers is a boon, too. It really speeds up the process. There are German-language clubs in some of the larger metropolitan areas. Germans are very tolerant of learners.
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