Learning languages is the new fashion...

[LaurV]

This may be a post for Ross' devil's dictionary thread, but I can't find it now, and I am very busy wondering how polylingual bullshit looks like...

Should I click it? Should I not? Who knows what BS it will bring to my computer...


Joking apart, a very good site to start studying almost any language, which offers right now about 60 languages, and you can pair two of your favorites (like "from:to") download the free MP3s, put them on a stick or CD and listen to them in your car on the way to job. Most languages have both male/female speakers and there is also possible to download only the monolingual files, for any language.

Tip: the files are quite beginner level, usual expressions, mostly present tense, so if you have any idea of the language, better download the mono of the target language first, go through it (possibly higher speed, the pace of the courses is also very slow), and if there is something you can't understand, then take the from-to pair. Otherwise forget it and move to other things more useful for you, you will only waste time with these courses. If you are really beginner with some language and want to learn its usual expressions, then taking the reverse pair (to-from) may work better for you. For example, if you are native English and want to learn Spanish, it may be better to get the Spanish-to-English files. For me, that works much better. Why? That is very simple, when you first hear the phrase in your native language, you are concentrating on that phrase, thinking to it, and how to translate it. That is wasted time from the learning point of view. When you first hear the phrase in the target language, then you will concentrate to understand and translate that in your own language, therefore the time (till you hear the correct translation) is spent on analyzing the foreign language phrase. Anyhow, it may be silly, but that works better for me. You can take any files, any combination, all are free...

Another nice point of this is that all languages follow the same structure, which you will learn after going few times through the lessons with your favorite target language, in one direction or the other. Then, you can switch to mono lingual, which will immerse you better in the language, and you can learn faster. Then you can start learning any totally new language by going directly to the monolingual part. No English (or your native) because you now already know the order, and this helps you in understanding the new language under "immersion" conditions. I went through RO-EN and EN-RO and also EN-EM and viceversa (which is totally funny for me, I don't know why) and I already learned the order of the sentences, so that I dared to tackle with mono-ES, mono-TH and mono-ZH (I am not a totally beginner in these three) and I am so enchanted of the results (i.e. I understood almost everything) that I am tackling now some language on which I didn't know any word before (and it is different of everything I knew). Of course, I have big problems with the sounds and memorizing, but at the time I am listen, I know what it says because I have the order of the sentences in my brain (I can not recall the order, but I can follow it, once the lesson starts). This is difficult to explain, but it is a nice feeling of accomplishment.. if you know what I mean...

[retina]

Originally Posted by LaurV

... the pace of the curses is also very slow ...

That is one of the first things I like to learn in a new language, how to curse people.

[LaurV]

haha... fixed it.

Well, actually when you live in a country where no one can speak your language, that (swearing) is the second thing you learn. I went through it few times and I have a good experience. Hint: The third thing is the food (dishes) you like.

[LaurV]

From the series 'we love justin': me learning Spanish on Duolingo, and this is where my baby monkey avatar worth all the money...

(hell man, where do you get these sentences from? )