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Advice on learning another language?

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Try audio CDs or audio tapes of the Pimsleur method for your language of choice. Not only will you hear the proper pronunciations of the words, but the way in which the phrases are repeated in each lesson and between lessons will help you to recall phrases automatically.

I started to learn Mandarin with this method, because the sounds of Asian languages are difficult for many Westerners to pick up. I recently took a trip to China and had people from Beijing telling me my pronunciation was perfect and that I spoke mandarin with a perfect Pekingese accent! It was so much fun to see the look of surprise on their faces. yay!

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Try audio CDs or audio tapes of the Pimsleur method for your language of choice. Not only will you hear the proper pronunciations of the words, but the way in which the phrases are repeated in each lesson and between lessons will help you to recall phrases automatically.

I started to learn Mandarin with this method, because the sounds of Asian languages are difficult for many Westerners to pick up. I recently took a trip to China and had people from Beijing telling me my pronunciation was perfect and that I spoke mandarin with a perfect Pekingese accent! It was so much fun to see the look of surprise on their faces. yay!

zenmuhyung LT?!

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I can only agree. The best way to learn it is to hear it. I don't know what the Pimsleur method is, however.

I recommend trying to get movies, audio and books in that language about stuff that interests you. Read new books you wanted to read in English in that language (preferrably with subtitles). It will take you a lot of time to get through the books at first, but your natural interest in the subject will keep you going and your retention rate will be brilliant. Besides, you do things you would just do anyway and learn a language while doing it. So this way you don't have to spend extra time.

I learned English at school for years, but I only got good at it once I started watching English movies on DVD, watching Dilbert and listening to George Carlin. It was hilarious and I learned more with that method and I learned it better than I ever did at school. And I was a very good student.

Then, once you know the basics, find some places online to talk to people in that language, again preferrably about topics of your interest. This is crucial. It will not seem like learning a language to you. It is something natural, you just talk about your topic of interest. This will also allow you very early to 'think' in that language. And starting with that frame of mind alone boosts your learning speed tremendously.

Which language do you want to learn?

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Pimsleur has it's place for pronunciation and vocabulary, but I highly discourage using it to really learn the language. It falls far short of teaching grammar, the building blocks of a language.

I listened to the first 5 minutes of Pimsleur's Japanese course. It said "Watashi means I but when used in a sentence it's pronounced watashiwa" That statement is completely incorrect and will only confuse a student later on when they hear 'watashi ga', for example. I've seen people who have gone through most of the Pimsleur tapes asking very basic grammatical questions.

When I was studying Russian, I was told many times to avoid Pimsleur, and I did. It wasn't until a couple years later, studying Japanese, that I listened to some Pimsleur and realized how right they were.

I still say Pimsleur has it's place, but to really study a language, start with the building blocks. Get yourself a good grammar book. If possible, find a forum with other students of the language.

What launguage do you have in mind?

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Try audio CDs or audio tapes of the Pimsleur method for your language of choice. Not only will you hear the proper pronunciations of the words, but the way in which the phrases are repeated in each lesson and between lessons will help you to recall phrases automatically.

Actually, pimsleur is pretty good. I accidentally learned some German and Turkish about a year ago just listening through some of his audio clips (thinking about buying one) and I still can recall those phrases today. Although I think that the best method for your might depend on how you learned your first language. Me, I never really had classic grammar lessons (trying to remedy this with Peikoff's grammar series) so I found it difficult and ultimately impossible to learn a second language through classical grammar drills etc. Audio tapes seem to do it for me because that's really how I learned English. If however you were raised on a classical diet of participles and gerunds and whatnot, then you might prefer a book and worksheet type program. The problem with the lecture series is that they are usually quite expensive.

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I learned English at school for years, but I only got good at it once I started watching English movies on DVD, watching Dilbert and listening to George Carlin. It was hilarious and I learned more with that method and I learned it better than I ever did at school. And I was a very good student.

Absolutely. I had a wonderful English teacher. One thing he very highly recommended all his students was to practice, even if only passively (hearing and reading the language). I was lucky enough back then (early 80s), to have had access to US TV via cable. In no time flat, or so it seems now, I could ignore subtitles in American movies and follow the dialogue in English with a high degree of accuracy.

From my own experience I add: get two dictionaries. A bilingual one (English to whatever language you're learning), as well as one exclusively in the language you are learning. It's all very well to know what a foreign word means in English, but it's beter to learn how it is defined by the people who speak the language. Plus most dictionaries show at least some of the origins of a word. This can help you relate some words to others, and even let you know the meaning of words you've yet to encounter.

But always, always practice. Practice is how you hone all your skills, after all. Learning a language is no different.

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