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A_wrenn

New member
I have tried to learn other languages for years. I'm a native English speaker and took French and Spanish in grade school. I've retained little to none of those languages. I've also tried Rosetta Stone and several different language learning apps such as Duolingo and Mango to learn German, Russian, Arabic and Dari. While I feel like they have their place, the most success I've ever had was when I was living and working on a daily basis with native speakers. Has anyone had success with one of these programs? Is there a better program out there for languages?

Note: I realize that some of my problem may be that I'm not sticking to ONE language for an extended period of time. That said, I wanted to put this out there to hear from you guys if you've found a better solution. Thanks.
 

ImagineIt!

New member
Like you, I took French in school (three years in college) and have retained little. I spoke better Italian after just two weeks in Italy, than I spoke French after studying it in school for three years. Or so I thought. While I was in Italy, I went to dinner alone one night. They seated me next to a French couple who spoke no English. When I began trying to converse with them, I was shocked at how much I remembered when "put on the spot." A lot of it is using it on a regular basis (you can get foreign language radio stations on your computer, among other things). I now use Duolingo for Italian, and I'm progressing well. Consistency is the key.

For great tips on learning a language, Tim Ferriss (who is multi-lingual) has a blog post called "12 Rules for Learning Foreign Languages in Record Time." I highly recommend it. Go to https://tim.blog. The post is from 2014, but it's archived and you can access it from the list of topics on the right.
 

lashley101

New member
I have tried to learn other languages for years. I'm a native English speaker and took French and Spanish in grade school. I've retained little to none of those languages. I've also tried Rosetta Stone and several different language learning apps such as Duolingo and Mango to learn German, Russian, Arabic and Dari. While I feel like they have their place, the most success I've ever had was when I was living and working on a daily basis with native speakers. Has anyone had success with one of these programs? Is there a better program out there for languages?

Note: I realize that some of my problem may be that I'm not sticking to ONE language for an extended period of time. That said, I wanted to put this out there to hear from you guys if you've found a better solution. Thanks.
Hi A_wrenn,

I understand the frustration that some of these programs bring. If you've read my posts on the other language topic in this forum then you'll understand why.

If you truly want to gain fluency in a foreign language then you must have dedication to it that is sustainable over time. Like ImagineIt! said, consistency is really important in language learning (I'm sure that's something that can go without saying though, but is often something that a lot of people downplay).

But if your goal is true fluency, then I hate to say that I don't think any program can do that for someone. As I mentioned in the other topic for this forum, I think the BEST way to become fluent in a language is to live in a country that speaks the language. Now, I understand that most of us have jobs, and families, and other obligations that don't allow us to jet off across the country to do that.

My second best suggestion would be to hire a native speaker for private lessons. Speak, speak speak, Listen, listen, listen. And repeat. That's the second best option for someone to gain fluency in my opinion. You can have your tutor come over for 2 hours to simply talk and learn how to say items around the house (if your are a beginner) or if you are intermediate level you can have them come over for conversation hours over coffee. This is phenomenal way to inch towards fluency. Even having them accompany you to the grocery store where you learn food items. All of this helps so much more because you are listening to the person speak the language, you get to practice speaking to them, and you are learning new words and verbs.

As for a third suggestion, if you are beginner and can't pay for private lessons then watch children's shows in the target language you want to learn on YouTube. Watch children's movies in that language. Try to read basic books in the target language. And once you get more confident and learn more then you can try watching normal TV shows on Netflix in the target language.
 

A_wrenn

New member
lashley, I completely agree with you. As I said, living and working with native speakers was by far my most successful attempt to learn a new language. I really like your suggestion about watching shows in the target language (whether its childrens shows for beginners or Netflix for intermediate to advanced). That was something I hadn't considered before but makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the suggestions.

Do you have a background in foreign languages?
 

lashley101

New member
lashley, I completely agree with you. As I said, living and working with native speakers was by far my most successful attempt to learn a new language. I really like your suggestion about watching shows in the target language (whether its childrens shows for beginners or Netflix for intermediate to advanced). That was something I hadn't considered before but makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the suggestions.

Do you have a background in foreign languages?
Hi A_wrenn,

Thanks for the reply! I'm glad you like the watching TV shows in the target language suggestion. It's something that really helped me when trying to improve my Spanish.

I am a native English speaker, but am fluent in Spanish. It's been quite a process for me trying to learn the best ways to become truly fluent in Spanish (i.e. not just having basic conversations with spanish speakers, but actually becoming really proficient in the language on a professional and academic level).

It hasn't been easy gaining fluency, but along the way I've learned so much about language learning and what truly works best for the go-getters who want to actually become fluent. I've found that the best ways to gain true proficiency in a language is to ditch any language learning apps and programs (that are mostly geared towards translation) and turn to things like reading books, magazines, news articles, going to conversation tables, talking with native speakers, and of course traveling to countries that speak the language for extended periods of time to better my Spanish.

I know most people probably don't want to hear my not-so-positive opinions on most language learning apps and programs, but I'm just speaking the truth from my personal experiences in gaining proficiency in a foreign language. Unfortunately, I think its common for many people to proclaim, "oh i want to become fluent in ____" and expect that a program/app will do the trick. But, that's honestly far from what gaining fluency takes. It takes an incredible amount of dedication and passion that lasts over time to gain fluency. I think its common for people to do Duolingo for some weeks or maybe a couple months and then give up. Gaining fluency takes tons of practice speaking it to native speakers and listening to them speak and reading in the language etc.

As you can probably tell, I'm really passionate about helping those who want to gain fluency in a language by providing them with my most helpful tips. However, I've found that many people say they want to become fluent in a language, but don't actually want to put in the work that it takes to reach that level. They get frustrated after several Duolingo sessions and expect programs like Rossetta Stone to make them fluent. In reality, it takes so much more than that and I don't think most people quite understand the dedication it takes to become proficient on an advanced level.

Hope my opinions help!
 

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