alt Hacker NewsWhat's the best way to learn a new language?
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Did I miss the part where the title was answered?
The article mentions some building blocks like microlearning, explains how researchers test people with, for example, fictional words and shapes to avoid that you draw on prior knowledge, states that "experts make a case for human instruction" (but not which case or how that human instruction should be shaped or structured), and shares shards of how well the author did on the different tests. There's a lot of links, which is nice, so I can dive deeper into the things mentioned (I've read a bit about 'statistical learning' and plan to read the linked paper on microlearning which is new to me), but I am not a step further in what (combination of) method(s) is the "best way" up learn a new language. Did I overlook it or fail to put some pieces together?
Edit: that microlearning paper (10.22034/meb.2022.355659.1066) is a waste of time if you've read the submission whence it was linked and know about spaced repetition. The paper makes a case that society has become more fast-paced since Charles Babbage made the difference engine in the 1800s and so microlearning can help us by breaking down lessons to fit into our day, lowers costs per lesson etc., but might also fragment the learning (and other obvious pros and cons). The most interesting part was a forgetting curve cited from another paper
For me, the sentence method works well.
1. I get new sentences from Glossika (they've thought through which sentences to present, and in what order — i.e., the curriculum). I get a few at a time — between 5 and 50, depending on how difficult the target language is / how close it is to one I already know.
2. I put those sentences into Mochi, with a template that automatically creates and embeds audio files of the target language.
3. I do the learning, memorizing, and reviewing of the sentences in Mochi using FSRS. I practice writing and pronunciation as I go along with the cards. (Using Mochi also helps me maintain languages I've learned in the same place.)
4. I return to Glossika and occasionally cram pronunciation practice from the human-generated audio there (Mochi is TTS, after all).
5. I supplement with TV and radio for immersion. When I reach a higher level, I start reading books.
6. Travel or living abroad, when I can.
The real trick is getting a couple new sentences and using SRS every day. Consistency moves mountains!
Things that worked for me:
- sing songs with lyrics and a dictionary at hand (listening and pronunciation)
- get a native speaker girlfriend/boyfriend (slangs and chit chat)
- practice role-playing scenarios like restaurants, movies, cabs, etc. (daily routine)
- finally, read the news and comment with your partner (conversation)
One last tip, always use wikipedia in the language you want to learn (vocabulary)
I spent my childhood in a rural town but learning Spanish from various teachers from 4th grade through high school. I always did well but focused too much on the process of Spanish such as getting very good at conjugating verbs without knowing what the meant
After several years away from Spanish I picked it back up in college and began traveling and living off and on in Latin America
I remember the first times I started dreaming in Spanish, or the first time I had a screaming match with someone trying to steal money from me. I would unconsciously think of a phrase in English and constantly be trying to convert it to Spanish all day long. It was the most fluent I’ve ever felt
A few months ago I went on a trip to Central America and was worried my Spanish would have been lost after over a decade away. Turns out that quite a bit is still there
Folks regularly compliment me on my pronunciation(which is hugely important and shows that you’re trying, folks give you so much grace if you don’t know the words but are trying)
I also find that I can speak far better than I can listen. I regularly have to ask people to repeat themselves or slow down, which is frustrating to me but what can you expect after not staying sharp?
Last thing: I’ll echo another commenter who said to listen to music. My high school Spanish teacher had us listening and singing shakira. She’d print off the lyrics and we’d sing along. This was hugely valuable for pronunciation and flow. Also, old Shakira stuff is great
Nothing beats the pressure of using a language all day in a place where they don’t speak your language.
I remember meeting a backpacker from another country who spoke English but would only speak Spanish to when we traveled and would pull out her dictionary regularly and make notes in her notebook. I learned that Germans are crazy disciplined and that that discipline pays off. Her Spanish was amazing after only a few months in the country
The best method, by far: https://www.languagetransfer.org/
1) Use Anki with pictures and pronunciation to get necessary vocabulary. But it needs audio to learn pronunciation. Very important. 2) Speak, listen, speak, listen with native speakers in person. _Nothing_ beats this! 3) Evening school is a bonus
I thought this was about programming languages before I saw it was from BBC, making me ask - what is the best way to learn a new programming language?
I'm guessing the answer is making small things, but what exactly? I've made so many to do list apps I don't know what to do with them
I recall that my old German teacher taught us that listening to Music in a particular language, and watching TV where they speak a language, were the two best ways to learn a languages.
Her reason for why: Context and various slang words are grasped much quicker compared to the cumbersome process of repeating of words and phrases (She did not omit the need of the latter though).
She was great, 60 years old at the time and had us repeat the lyrics of Rammstein songs in class, her favorite band.
Michel Thomas is the answer (or it was for me anyway as someone previously TERRIBLE at languages)
BBC made a documentary about him where he teaches a French gcse to the 6 worst kids in the school, in I think 2 weeks. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL94A517B00A16C187&si=4eAv...
He was also in the French resistance, survived concentration camps and is generally a very interesting person.
I learned Spanish just by being immersed and not really worrying about anything.
I mostly just focused on real, practical vocab. And the verb conjugation came with time.
I ignored verb conjugations at first - eg "He eat food."
Then learned present tense and used tricks to speak past and future tense "Tomorrow he eats food" (but you don't even need present tense for that!)
Then learned the simpler of the two ways to speak in the future - it's equivalent to "I am going to __" rather than "I will __" (in Spanish each verb needs conjugation when saying I will, but you use infinitive when saying going to.
Likewise I picked one of the past tenses (one refers to specific point in time, other is just "in the past"). Doesn't matter, in practical usage.
The rest - progressive, imperative, etc all comes with time. You don't really "need" them though. I still don't know the subjunctive tenses (which are sort of hypothetical, feeling etc) and effectively communicate with people about literally anything.
Most important of all, you just have to be humble, get rid of your pride/shame, and be willing and eager to make mistakes. I've spoken with thousands of native speakers and never had a bad experience due to lack of proficiency, even when I knew nothing. This is what most learners of language (or anything) lack, and they therefore are too afraid to ever actually practice. They need a psychologist more than a language teacher.
I love brazilian Portugese becuase I love Brazil and it's people and culture. So I listen to a lot of brazilian music and I am always curious about lyrics. I try to sing along, but it's hard sometimes to read it in english and pronouncate, sometimes 't' is 'chi' ... I might be wrong , I am new to the language and I am learning. I have picked up a lot of words in my subconscious and I know what they mean and this is probably a good way learn in my opinion.
Assimil, L-R method (parallel texts w/audiobook), essentially redoing a grade school education, AJATT, ginormous Anki decks full of sentences...
Does the article actually answer the question of the headline?
Live with it, think in it.
Watching kids TV
Learn your own languages' grammar.
Then learn (in all tenses) the below verbs that are (usually) followed by infinitives
Can / am able Must/ to have to To want to
Then, 'to be' and 'to have' (to go with the above).
Vocabulary...including a boatload of infinitives.
It’s true that 70% of a language is about ~100-300 words. In linguistics this is called the “core sight set”. If you’re in a pinch traveling I recommend asking an AI for the 300 most frequent word core sight set and cramming these with Anki. You can get gist with about 10 hours of study and be much more useful than 100 hours of Duolingo. With the core sight set and a generous amount of loan words and gesticulation you can communicate practically any necessity to anyone. It will by no means be elegant or poetic but it gets the job done reliably. It’s the 10,000 word long tail of vocabulary where a language shines but it’s the first 300 where it lives and breathes.
Just read the language's wikipedia word by word, each time trying to predict the next word. After several repetitions you'll be an expert in that language, easy peasy.
I'm doubtful there's a universal best way to learn a new language. Part of learning a new language is learning how to learn a new language - what works and what doesn't for you.
For me, doing something everyday[Duolingo], and one on one tutorial instruction[1] have had the biggest payoff. The first for rote memorization, vocab, and exposure to grammar. The second for listening, speaking, and filling in grammar gaps. For Americans, the price of international individual instruction is surprisingly inexpensive due to the dollar being the reserve currency. That translates to about €135/month for to learn French. The workload and cost are both sustainable and my weekly session has become one of my most looked forward to things I do each week.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_2_sigma_problem