Do you speak a second language?

[riverwed070707]

For fun, and because I'm never satisfied and always looking for new challenges to take on despite the fact that my husband thinks I'm far too busy as is, I decided I was going to start learning spanish this summer through our local community college's continuing education program. The course was cheap and I thought being in a classroom and having accountablility to be there each week would be a good way to decide if I liked it and it was something i wanted to pursue further after the course was done.

Well now the college isn't offering the class for summer. There isn't much for tutors around here and from what I can tell, none of the other colleges offer spanish classes.

I thought about something like Rosetta Stone (DH is interested in learning too so it would be nice we could both use it, although he already has a couple years under his belt) but I'm afraid I'll try it a few times and then not touch it again.

Found an old postthat had a site with free lessons but they are *really* old. Might give it a shot simply because it seems to be a similar learning style to the online or audio lessons.

So anywho, I was just curious firstly if anyone speaks a second language and what you think is the best way to learn -- well maybe *most* effective isn't the right question but is it worth it to try learning online or just wait til another course option comes along? Is learning online effective?

If you know a second language, has it benefited you in anyway for work? travel? Hard to do as an adult?

Love to hear others experiences.

[NetSkyBlue]

I majored in Spanish in college, and have also studied French, Italian, Latin and Modern Greek.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Rosetta Stone, because it's expensive, and it's not in any way culturally immersive. They'll show you an "American" picture of something, with the Spanish translation of that word. So little of speaking a foreign language is word-by-word translation.

Online learning only does so much for you - you can memorize word lists till you drop, but it's never going to substitute for live conversation with a native speaker.

You will completely miss out on idiomatic expressions, and lose the opportunity to ask "why do you say it that way?" when it's not a literal translation from English (as it most usually is not).

The first 4 languages I listed were all formal classrooms, high-school and university. I learned Greek from a lady in my community who taught it at her home. There were 3 of us in her class, and we had to purchase textbooks and we each paid her $10 a week, and she usually prepared a light meal for us while we were there.

I'm sorry to say, I just don't think there's any real substitute for a live teacher, preferably a native speaker.

[LuckyRobin]

I do like Rosetta Stone. It's not nearly as expensive as it used to be. Right now I'm learning Italian with RS. I know some Spanish, some French, (better at reading it than speaking it) a few scattered words in Portuguese and Korean. My husband is using RS to learn Gaelic. We're intending to get the Korean RS for DD (she's currently learning Japanese at school) and possibly the Mandarin one if she doesn't go to a college that teaches it (she wants to teach English in Asian countries for a few years and then work in translating, possibly at an embassy). I think there is a lot of value in learning another language or two, even if you are doing it just for fun.

[disneysteve]

Excuse me stewardess. I speak Jive.

Sorry but that's the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this thread.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yes but speaking an asian language isn't really enough. It's incredibly difficult to read and learn so you can speak but not really but literate when you travel in those countries.

[MonkeyMama]

Excuse me stewardess. I speak Jive.

Sorry but that's the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this thread.

LOL.

[dawnwes]

Not fluently, no, but I grew up overseas and used to be able to speak the language there quite well. I have lost much of it in the past 25 years of living in the US. I have also picked up some Spanish and can usually understand what people are saying, but don't feel confident enough to respond in Spanish back.

[MonkeyMama]

I have several friends/relatives who speak several languages. Some learned as adults. In general, the only way you are going to really learn any language is to be immersed in it (or practice practice practice - with native speakers).

I had some spanish software (not rosetta stone) at some point that my aunt found extremely helpful - but she was working in South America after being in Asia for decades. She would tell you mandarin was easier than spanish, to learn. But, I do think it was just such a huge mind shift after speaking Mandarin so long. Anyway, she found it helpful in addition to being 100% immersed in Spanish.

Clearly being able to speak and/or understand multiple languages is beneficial. Though I suppose it depends what those languages are and how much exposure you have to them.

[kork13]

Excuse me stewardess. I speak Jive.

LOVE that movie!!


I learned some German while living in Germany (age 8), then studied it in college as well. You can certainly learn it in a classroom setting, though you'll tend toward having an overly formal understanding, and you'll have trouble with conversational and "real life" application to some degree. The best way is to be immersed in it. There's really no substitute. To really learn a language, you need someone who can guide you through it and help you to actually live and think in the language of study.

Unfortunately, that's typically not a widely available option, so I'd personally say to take whatever opportunities present themselves. Even if you only gain a moderate understanding of the language, it's a start, and it gives you an appreciation for something outside of your "norm". If you can get a deal on Rosetta Stone, or any other software program, give it a try. It certainly won't hurt. Check out your local community colleges as well--they often offer language classes at a relatively affordable cost.

[skydivingchic]

I've tried to learn Spanish off and on for a number of years. Its hard to do as an adult and I am insanely jealous of the kids that grow up in dual language households. But I digress. If you really, really want to get started, Rosetta Stone or equivalent certainly won't hurt. But those types of programs are also not great in my opinion. The classes at your local community college should be a step up and can get you much further with some dedication on your part.

As has been said, however, there is simply no substitute for being immersed in the language. I spent ~2 1/2 weeks in Peru in a Spanish language immersion program (was supposed to be 9 weeks, but it got cut short due to a family emergency). Those weeks were vastly more effective and productive than all the time I'd spent in classes and self study in the States. By the time I left, I was beginning to think and speak much more smoothly and thinking in English was becoming difficult. That said, I'm very glad I went there with at least the basics covered.

I found the Practice Makes Perfect workbook series extremely helpful in my studies, both in the US and while I was in country.

Speaking some Spanish has been helpful for me during travel as well as at home. There are a lot of Hispanics where I live and I've found that they always appreciate when you try, even if your Spanish isn't great. Some day I will get back to Peru to finish what I started and hopefully finally become fluent.

Good luck in your endeavors!

[Radiance]

English!



My native language is Spanish, I learned English by taking local classes (I was 25) and then I landed a job back in my country that required English.

Years later I moved to US, living in South Florida, Spanish is very useful to me.

So, I would say best way to learn is take classes and then immerse yourself. Listen to music, radio, read, find a penpal, or better yet a boyfriend/girlfriend who speaks the language.

If you don't use it, you loose it.

[disneysteve]

Seriously, Airplane jokes aside, I took 9 years of Spanish in school through college. I have a half-decent grasp of vocabulary but my ability to actually converse is extremely limited. I'm able to understand others speaking far better than I'm able to respond to them. Still, this comes in handy quite a bit at work where I have many Spanish-speaking patients. Most of them speak English, too, but they are more comfortable speaking Spanish. Even when speaking English, they tend to blend in Spanish words so it is helpful that I understand them.

When we have traveled to Spanish-speaking countries, it has been helpful to be able to read signs, menus, etc., even though most were bilingual.

[riverwed070707]

Thanks for all the feedback. 1000% agree about immersion and I actually hope to take an extended volunteer trip at some point in the not so distant future which will be the perfect immersion experience. It's a large part of why I want to learn-- I'd like to have the basics down so I can get more from it down the road.

[jeffrey]

For anyone interested in learning a language for free online, I would recommend this:

Duolingo | Learn English, Spanish and German for free

Here is an article about it:

Learn a language, translate the web - tech - 11 January 2012 - New Scientist

Also an excellent TED talk on it:

Luis von Ahn: Massive-scale online collaboration | Video on TED.com

[phantom]

I took 4 years of Latin in high school and 4 semesters of Japanese in college. I can't do much with either language.

With Latin, I can't remember any declensions or conjugations, so I can't write anything, and my vocabulary has been slipping away so I can't guess at translations much either. About all I can really do with my Latin skills is recite the opening of the Aeneid in a dramatic voice.

With Japanese, I do a bit better since it's an easier language and I find reason to use it a bit more often. I play an Asian board game called go, and I like to use Japanese problem books. I can read enough Japanese to know whose turn it is, tell which diagrams show the right solution, and guess at some of the comments. I can do pretty well with Chinese problem books too since many of the important characters are the same. I recently told a Chinese friend that it looked like the instructions for a problem in a Chinese book said to light the board on fire, and he told me my Chinese was pretty good because it said to find a fiery move.

I actually worked for a company that did something similar to Rosetta Stone for a few years. I always thought I should take the time to use some of our software and see what I could learn. But, we mostly focused on curriculum for the military, and I really wasn't motivated to learn how to question someone in Iraqi about an IED at a checkpoint.