Have you ever tried to learn another language?

[PumpkinTruffle]

For years I have tried to learn another language and during lockdown I tried to learn Spanish. I it took me two weeks before I could say a sentence, but I'm incredibly impatient and can't imagine myself ever being bilingual, but it's a dream! Has anyone ever learnt another language, if so, how on earth did you do it? And... do you think I'm your native language when you speak another?

No … You think in the language you’re speaking at the time. (At least, you think about what you’re saying in that language. You might simultaneously be thinking something else in English.)

What are you using to learn? Duolingo, radio, newspapers, evening class? And for what purpose? Do you want to read Dostoevsky in the original or train hop in Mexico?

I experienced Spanish as relatively easy to learn (though stopped because I had no need to use it) but perhaps you’d get on better with another language. Try German!

Yes. I'm learning Mandarin. I'e been doing it for a long time and I'm nowhere near fluent - I think fluency only comes with a) doing a lot of studying and - probably most importantly - b) immersing yourself in the language. (That's one of the reasons why university undergraduates have to spend time abroad in the country of the language they are learning).

I'm learning Ukrainian via Duolingo but I've not much chance to use it. I've been doing it since the summer I think and can say some very basic things. The different alphabet makes is difficult and I find some letters confusing and the grammar too. I'll never be fluent in it but it's keeping my brain doing something different to my every day stuff.

I know a few languages (only two fluently). Mostly, I learned in school. We watched italian programs when I was little with subtitles only and I had started to learn a bit of that too. In my 20's I had a job making phone calls in America so I had a chance to really practice my spanish and some french.However, lack of practice means I understand more than I can speak in most of the languages I'm familiar with , and it's all a bit of a jumble when i try to think of a word so it's all a bit pointless really.

When u reach a level.of proficiency in the new language you do start to.think in that language. It depends what level of proficiency you want. Duolingo has its uses as it focuses on repetition which helps recall the vocabulary. It not ideal,I dint believe for independence or high advancement. If u can spend some time in the country of the language u are studying,e.g. total immersion that, in my opinion,is the best way.

I learned Spanish, not fluent, wile living in Latin America. I now want to learn some Cantonese as our new neighbours are from China and the grandmother has just moved here. She doesn’t speak any English and I want to he able to at least say hello when I see her.

I was thinking in Spanish and now both myself and DH struggle for a random English word in a sentence and have to revert to Spanish.

I’ve studied four languages, but years ago. Still pretty fluent in one, basic in two, and the last one I self taught and is my favourite. Trying to relearn it on Duolingo but finding it slow going. I’ll add it to my “things to do next year” list!

I was learning Spanish for a few years and doing OK but my hearing got worse and I had to give it up. The reason? I lip read to help my hearing and you can't lip read a language you don't know! Gutted. Will go back to Duolingo at some point.

Yes, I speak two other languages, both of them only really got going when I lived in the countries. Assuming that's not an option, you need to immerse yourself as much as you can. Listen to podcasts in Spanish, watch Spanish movies/telly (original Money Heist for example, even if you've already seen it), read Spanish newspapers etc. Don't worry that you don't understand it all, that's the way it would be if you lived in Spain. The more you do that, the more it'll start to go in as if by osmosis, you'll be amazed. If you try to do it just from books it'll be slow.

I speak some Hindi from spending quite a bit of time in India. I did a course at a local college there. I learnt through the English alphabet which made it much easier.

Although the script is actually not as hard as you think. Im not fluent be any means but I got by travelling on my own.

im about to start online private classes.

Namechange as this could be quite outing!

I'm Spanish (and Catalan) so was raised speaking two languages, then started going to afterschool English classes at about 8yo, 3hrs/week.

I was good at it, so I kept it up until I was 20, 3hrs/week every week during the school year. I also started an English degree at 18 in Spain. At 21 I did an Erasmus in the UK, 9 months, which solidified everything for me.

For me it was probably a slower process, as I was a child and sometimes took the piss, and did waste a lot of time during my late teens, but I am now completely fluent AND think in English even though I ended up marrying a Spaniard (I eventually moved to the UK permanently) with whom I speak in Spanish.

Sometimes I will struggle to come up with a word, but to be honest I struggle with that with either of my three languages, it feels like juggling a thesaurus sometimes.

I read in English almost exclusively (and I read a lot) and watch TV shows in English exclusively. I also consume other kinds of media mostly in English. I already did all of this before moving to the UK for my Erasmus though.

I have also worked as an English teacher when younger - I think it's really hard to learn a new language proficiently as an adult, especially if you don't have a solid grasp on grammar (not just English grammar, but grammar as a whole). I did find learning some Latin in Secondary School helped with that.

I love language learning and am addicted to Duolingo. I've worked through Italian and mandarin there.
I did French and Spanish at school, and can think in French, rather than translate. In Spanish I still translate in my head, even though that's the language I use most often, we go to Spain a lot.

Christmas present to myself today was a 6 month subscription to Hello Chinese, which seems a lot more detailed than Duolingo.
I'm not abandoning Duo though - I'm over half way through the Welsh course 😊

I did lanuages at uni. You'll probably only make progress with sustained effort (e.g. learning grammatical concepts) and regular immersion in the language, whether in a country where it's spoken, or by surrounding yourself with people who speak it, or media that uses it.

Look up "Fluent in 3 months" - a language-learning blog written by a guy who dedicates a lot of time and effort to learning languages

yes, I'm bilingual plus speak two further languages to b2 standard (though can't really write one of them)

immerson is the key. watch tv, listen to podcasts in the target language. if you can, book an immersion holiday.

duolingo or babbel are good. other apps as well. but listening/watching can't be replaced by practicing with apps.

I can't translate either.
I soeak and think in other languages but if you ask me to translate I'm stumped.
that's a bery specific skill.

I speak three other languages to C1/C2 level (English MT) and another three to B1/B2. I’ve found that the languages I learned as an adult don’t “stick” as well as those I learned when I was younger. So although I am living in a country where I have the language to C1 level, I found that I lost a lot of it in the pandemic, because I wasn’t speaking it every day. One of my B2 languages I learned in my early 20s, and it comes straight back when I visit. My accent is also better, so most people think so am a second or third generation child born to emigré parents.

I've been doing Spanish on Duolingo for the last 18 months or so and am very happy that I can understand a lot of what is said in films/tv programmes, but am nowhere near fluent. Obviously my spoken Spanish is ver limited, so next steps are more immersion, as far as I can manage.

I can still read/understand French from school, but again speaking it is woefully poor.

I did identify part of the problem though- I view speaking other languages sub-consciously as 'performing', and get stage fright!😂