I've recently decided that I'm going to work at learning both Russian and German, starting with German. And I was wondering; what is the best way to get started on that, short of actually moving to or living in that country?
The best way to learn a foreign language, short of living in that country
- Thread starter twistedmic
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I learned English by learning it IN English, so maybe you know someone that speaks German? or you could try what Canada's doing and label everything in German along with English labels. Thanks to that, I now know what various things are in French pomme=apple sans sucre=no sugar
I learned English by learning it IN English, so maybe you know someone that speaks German? or you could try what Canada's doing and label everything in German along with English labels. Thanks to that, I now know what various things are in French pomme=apple sans sucre=no sugar
I'm learning German, so I'll tell you what I've done:twistedmic said:
Sign up to German chat rooms (I play habbo.de now and then).
Try to say everything you see in German (wiktionary.org is a great place to get the gender and word for nouns, ajdectives and verbs. It even has mutiple translations for words and can distinguish between tear (crying) and tear (a rip)).
Use Google Translate when not sure of your sentence structure (but don't rely on it. Google Translate tends fluctuate being informal and formal, as well as using plural and singular language).
Listen to German music (if you like metal, I suggest Rammstein).
Use german.about.com. I find it a brilliant resource for the 4 German cases and the adjective endings.
Change your keyboad input to German and buy a German keyboard, so you can input ß, ü, ö and ä.
And, as others have said, change you computer's language, Facebook (if you have one) language and phone (if possible) language to German. Even download the German version of your internet browser. It automatically connects to the German version of, for example, Facebook when typing in Facebook.com
Hope I helped.
Viel Spaß.
EDIT - Also, learn nouns with their gender, such as "tree" as "der Baum" instead of just "Baum". It'll help when you have to change "der" into "den", "dem" or "des" later on.
Attend classes. Seriously it's the best way.
I've attempted learning Japanese a couple of times before, but I only started making any noticeable progress when I signed up for a Japanese class.
And this is coming from someone that speaks 3 other languages already, so I'd say that I have a a talent in learning languages.
I've attempted learning Japanese a couple of times before, but I only started making any noticeable progress when I signed up for a Japanese class.
And this is coming from someone that speaks 3 other languages already, so I'd say that I have a a talent in learning languages.
I think it depends on how much/fast you want to learn, to be honest. You can't beat immersion for quickly getting to grips with a language, and there's some good suggestions about that already. If you want to understand how those languages work rather than simply using them, your best bet is probably classes (depending on the teacher). I personally find the structured approach more useful than spending the same amount of time alone with a textbook. Talking with people is the most useful, of course, but it's often a pain to find people with that kind of patience, especially if you're a beginner.
I guess it also depends on what you want from the languages. Are they hobbies? Are they work-related? Do you intend on eventually going to these places/living there? They're all good reasons to study, but the vocabulary/command of grammar (and of course motivation) differ in each case, as do the effectiveness of the learning methods you adopt.
Personally, I cannot understate how much focusing on verbs helped my German. Possibly because I'm terrible at learning vocab, verbs are the most flexible way to get meaning across; if you don't know the word for 'fork', you can always describe 'that thing you eat with', as long as you know enough verbs. Verbs for the win!
It's probably worth mentioning that it'll take ages to get 'good' at the languages in question, but that it's well worth it. Keep it up, take your time with it, and try to make it part of your daily/weekly routine. A little and often will keep it fresh in your mind. I don't know how much help all that is, but however you choose to do it, good luck!
I guess it also depends on what you want from the languages. Are they hobbies? Are they work-related? Do you intend on eventually going to these places/living there? They're all good reasons to study, but the vocabulary/command of grammar (and of course motivation) differ in each case, as do the effectiveness of the learning methods you adopt.
Personally, I cannot understate how much focusing on verbs helped my German. Possibly because I'm terrible at learning vocab, verbs are the most flexible way to get meaning across; if you don't know the word for 'fork', you can always describe 'that thing you eat with', as long as you know enough verbs. Verbs for the win!
It's probably worth mentioning that it'll take ages to get 'good' at the languages in question, but that it's well worth it. Keep it up, take your time with it, and try to make it part of your daily/weekly routine. A little and often will keep it fresh in your mind. I don't know how much help all that is, but however you choose to do it, good luck!
Set games to german.
Listen to german music (yeah I admit to listening to Rammstein in my young days...).
Watch movies with either german speech and english subtitles, or if that's not possible, english speech and german subtitles.
Wait as time goes by and your transformation is complete.
Listen to german music (yeah I admit to listening to Rammstein in my young days...).
Watch movies with either german speech and english subtitles, or if that's not possible, english speech and german subtitles.
Wait as time goes by and your transformation is complete.
I am in a similar predicament as you. I have been wanting to learn Russian for a long time, but just can't really find a good way how to. I tried looking at online lessons, but they were just too boring for me really. I have decided today to play through Metro 2033 with the language set to Russian, I will also look through the internet to try and find other methods to learn the language.
Unfortunately nobody I know can speak ANY language other than English, let alone Russian, so I am definitely on my own with it...
Unfortunately nobody I know can speak ANY language other than English, let alone Russian, so I am definitely on my own with it...
Immerse yourself in the language.twistedmic said:
Entertainment, books, other forms of media, these types of sites -
Friends that speak the language, etc.
But work on the proper grammar and sentence structure at the same time!
You can't have both develop at different routes, or it'l be catastrophic.
*Russian here*
Replacing common sentences with German while talking with friends is a good way to get comfortable with the language.
A combination of classes and reading. You need a class (or study group) to get a real grasp on the language and - more importantly - get into contact with speakers.
Reading: read books, newspapers, and websites in the language to get a feel of the language in actual use and increase your vocabulary.
Reading: read books, newspapers, and websites in the language to get a feel of the language in actual use and increase your vocabulary.
Think about how you learned your native tongue, now try to apply as many things that helped you learn your native tongue as a kid to Russian and German. Read, talk and listen to both languages. Submerse yourself in it as best as you can.
nitpicky-alarm: it's "der baum", male form^^Creator002 said:I'm learning German, so I'll tell you what I've done:twistedmic said:
Sign up to German chat rooms (I play habbo.de now and then).
Try to say everything you see in German (wiktionary.org is a great place to get the gender and word for nouns, ajdectives and verbs. It even has mutiple translations for words and can distinguish between tear (crying) and tear (a rip)).
Use Google Translate when not sure of your sentence structure (but don't rely on it. Google Translate tends fluctuate being informal and formal, as well as using plural and singular language).
Listen to German music (if you like metal, I suggest Rammstein).
Use german.about.com. I find it a brilliant resource for the 4 German cases and the adjective endings.
Change your keyboad input to German and buy a German keyboard, so you can input ß, ü, ö and ä.
And, as others have said, change you computer's language, Facebook (if you have one) language and phone (if possible) language to German. Even download the German version of your internet browser. It automatically connects to the German version of, for example, Facebook when typing in Facebook.com
Hope I helped.
Viel Spaß.
EDIT - Also, learn nouns with their gender, such as "tree" as "Das Baum" instead of just "Baum". It'll help when you have to change "das" into "dem" or "des" later on.
on topic: nothing will work as well and as quick as professional lessons. everything else is nice to get some basics, or to improve on what you learned. but short of real lessons, everything else will result in a lot of errors and/or huge gaps in the language.
there is no easy way exept living in a country of that language. don't foll yourself, it's a ton of work (especially with hard languages like russian or german. there are way easyer ones, like french and english.)
I would have to suggest taking classes, as if you do just watch movies in German / play games in German / change your computer to German, then that's just learning the vocabulary, which can make trying to speak German pretty confusing if you don't know the word orders, the participles, the verb forms, the -ives and the such like. As for Russian, I would assume classes would be the way forward too, as I'd say learning any language pretty much follows the same pattern.
Kathinka said:
Right you are.I got confused because when I went for a interview for a German class, the teacher told me to say "Das ist ein Buch und das it ein Baum". I, incorrectly, remembered "das" as "the" instead of "that".
Thanks.