Tips for learning a second language?

[Hazy992]

I want to move to Canada after I finish university, so I thought it would be a good idea to learn French. I know it's not essential as I'll be most likely going to Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary but it couldn't hurt. Plus it's just good to know another language, right? I know there are plenty of people on here that know more than one language so I was just wondering what you guys think is the best method for picking up a second language and if you had any tips?

Who knows? If I'm any good at it I might try and learn something else too (I've always wanted to learn Dutch and Russian)!

Thanks guys

 

[Zantos]

The best way to learn is to to just go somewhere where they speak french and pick it up as you go. But if you want a good grounding before you go there, I know a lot of people that take night courses at local colleges to learn the basics.

 

[Hazy992]

The best way to learn is to to just go somewhere where they speak french and pick it up as you go. But if you want a good grounding before you go there, I know a lot of people that take night courses at local colleges to learn the basics.

I think there is a local night class that I might check out. I go to Paris a fair bit so it'd be good practice. Thanks

 

[thylasos]

Go to a class, don't try to learn on your own.

Don't slack on the grammar; get that right, and the rest of the language is just a matter of building up vocab according to situation.

Immerse yourself in the language, be it via films/tv/music in the language, or spending time in areas where it's spoken. You'll pick up a fair bit from context, at the start.

Don't use Rosetta Stone or the other myriad language programs for PCs; they'll give you a basic collection of words and possibly help your accent, but not a true understanding. Besides, accent and pronounciation can be picked up from the aforementioned media and people.

Good luck, chap.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

I want to move to Canada after I finish university, so I thought it would be a good idea to learn French. I know it's not essential as I'll be most likely going to Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary but it couldn't hurt. Plus it's just good to know another language, right? I know there are plenty of people on here that know more than one language so I was just wondering what you guys think is the best method for picking up a second language and if you had any tips?

Who knows? If I'm any good at it I might try and learn something else too (I've always wanted to learn Dutch and Russian)!

Thanks guys

Immersion. Use is the key. I know several folks that learned a second language, but have lost it because of lack of use.

Once you start using the second language, keep on using it. For example, a friend learned Gaelic and kept it up by putting pot-it notes on everything with the Gaelic name of that object everywhere. Then, every day between 3 and 5 pm became "Gaelic Time" when she would only try to speak in the other language.

Being in Canada, you will probably have better access to French than she did to Gaelic here in the American midwest, but hopefully you get the idea.

 

[Hazy992]

Yeah I probably will start going to French classes to get the basics down. As for immersion I listen to a bit of French music already so that's a start I guess.

 

[thespyisdead]

i was born in Ukraine. spoke in Russian for the first 7 years of my life, then my mom got divorced, met my step father, who sadly is the only person i can father at this point, and then we moved to Finland. First i got the hang of verbal english in a few months (by listening, and what ever i was taught in Ukraine). then i got enrolled in an international school, where my studies were half in English, half in Finnish, which greatly supported my language skill growth. during the following summer i was immersed in a Finnish day camp, where i learnt finnish by using it and listening

the bottom line: the best way to learn is to fully, and completely immerse yourself in that language, or nothing will come of it, as it happens to be with the Swedish, which the Finnish government wants to stuff down every child's throat

 

[museofdoom]

Definitely take a class! Learning on your own would be nearly impossible because of all the little grammar rules. But don't worry, francais n'est pas difficile! (French isn't hard)

 

[CityofTreez]

Translate most of everything you read on the internet into that certain language. That helps you keep it up once you learn it.

 

[CATB320]

Take a class! Learning a language on your own -- especially French -- isn't a great idea. French pronunciation and grammar can get pretty crazy. Immersion is the best way to learn a language, but it's difficult to get into an environment that provides it.

 

[Eggsnham]

Living in a place where the language is predominately used is typically the best way.

However, since you said you'll probably be moving to a predominately English speaking part of Canada, maybe you should look into taking classes.

Failing that, there's always those language learning programs. For instance, Rosette Stone, I've heard that it's ridiculously expensive, and I have no clue if it's as effective as the ads make it out to be; but there are always alternatives.

At any rate, the key to it all is to practice. Try speaking the language to yourself whenever you're alone, etc. etc.

 

[Rodrigo Girao]

But don't worry, francais n'est pas difficile!

It's not the hardest tongue, but it has some tricky, annoying quirks. My pet peeve is the vigesimal system. I mean, quatre-vingt, that's like "four score" - so archaic, and needlessly complex! Why can't they just say septante, huitante, and nonante as the Swiss do? And don't get me started on that damn échelle longue insanity...

 

[museofdoom]

But don't worry, francais n'est pas difficile!

It's not the hardest tongue, but it has some tricky, annoying quirks. My pet peeve is the vigesimal system. I mean, quatre-vingt, that's like "four score" - so archaic, and needlessly complex! Why can't they just say septante, huitante, and nonante as the Swiss do? And don't get me started on that damn échelle longue insanity...

Yeah their numbers are a bit ridiculous, especially when you get high into the hundreds: neuf-cent-quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. 999. I have only been learning French for 2 years though, so I have yet to experience too many annoying quirks.

 

[Smiles]

I want to move to Canada after I finish university, so I thought it would be a good idea to learn French. I know it's not essential as I'll be most likely going to Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary but it couldn't hurt. Plus it's just good to know another language, right? I know there are plenty of people on here that know more than one language so I was just wondering what you guys think is the best method for picking up a second language and if you had any tips?

Who knows? If I'm any good at it I might try and learn something else too (I've always wanted to learn Dutch and Russian)!

Thanks guys

just to warn you, Canadian french is different from France french, and Frenchies kinda look down their nose at you if you speak Canadian french to them. I've heard its likened to redneck dialect in the states. I don't think think french canadians have the same feelings but I could be wrong.

 

[Hazy992]

I want to move to Canada after I finish university, so I thought it would be a good idea to learn French. I know it's not essential as I'll be most likely going to Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary but it couldn't hurt. Plus it's just good to know another language, right? I know there are plenty of people on here that know more than one language so I was just wondering what you guys think is the best method for picking up a second language and if you had any tips?

Who knows? If I'm any good at it I might try and learn something else too (I've always wanted to learn Dutch and Russian)!

Thanks guys

just to warn you, Canadian french is different from France french, and Frenchies kinda look down their nose at you if you speak Canadian french to them. I've heard its likened to redneck dialect in the states. I don't think think french canadians have the same feelings but I could be wrong.

I'd be learning European French anyway so it's ok

 

[gazumped]

Watching TV/films in French dub with English subtitles on is a good way to get used to the way it sounds, its pacing and accent and so on. Watching things where you already know the story well with dub only, no English subtitles, is a good way to practice recognising how sentences work, because you can fit the basic French you know into what you know the dialogue should translate into.

Plus it's an excuse to watch TV and films!

 

[NorthernStar]

Send me a PM if you ever consider learning Dutch ;-) I'm a native speaker so maybe I can help you out a bit.

I think most people have already said it, but the best way of learning a language is immersing yourself in the language, i.e. go to a French-speaking area.

Picking up basic grammar books that are used to teach a language in schools is always a plus, I'm sure you could find those on e-bay.

And one final tip: talk to people who speak the language. Find French speaking people online, through fora, etc, and talk to them The more you force yourself to speak the language, the better you'll become.

Good luck!

 

[Drtfgf5]

I speak fluent English and French
I just took notes and made sentences when I was in a French class.
So my advice, start taking classes for it :3

 

[dsh]

I've never studied French, but FWIW I'm not sure how effective just jumping into immersion learning would be; I think the contemporary language-learning literature advocates classroom-style study first (including the dreaded rote memorization of vocabulary), and then immersion-style learning later, once you reach basic competence and have a decent understanding of the grammar. At least that's how I learned (Japanese and Korean) and it seems to have been pretty effective.

Also, I did use both Rosetta Stone and the Pimsleur programs when I was just starting my studies, and I found that while they are limited in scope and pretty useless after just one year of classroom study, they do a lot of good for a true beginner. Pimsleur Japanese is probably the one reason why I didn't go screaming to the registrar to drop out of Japanese I after the teacher began conducting the first class entirely in Japanese. But yeah I think all three techniques have their place in language-learning.