Language Learning

[michael71]

I've decided to put some effort into becoming multilingual, lets call it a mid-life crisis as I'm also learning the guitar. I can speak some basic french and german (from my school days) but would like some suggestions on one or two languages to work on that would be a decent starting point. Travel quite a bit so keen on Spanish, Portuguese and Italian as options while working on the French and German can't be ruled out.

Also with learning a new language, any tips on good websites, podcasts, books etc to use? (and yes, I've considered paying for an hour or two with a beautiful touring lady for some additional extracurricular practice).

[Lara Mills]

I'm using memrise (mobile app) to help me with French. It's free, and works on the premise that if you repeat and memorise something enough, you will learn it. I don't use it as often as I should but it is helping me a little They've got a huge range of languages on there, too, which makes it the perfect starting point.

[bettercallsaul]

some people are going to act the bollix here abduction give you smart arse answers but im also looking at language options . Spanish , Italian or Russian and even Chinese being considered .
depends how well you will use your new language really . no point learning it other wise .

Chinese is not easy,i have learned five languages and this is by far the most difficult i have attempted!

[michael71]

some people are going to act the bollix here abduction give you smart arse answers but im also looking at language options . Spanish , Italian or Russian and even Chinese being considered .
depends how well you will use your new language really . no point learning it other wise .

Well it could prove very useful in my line of work, open new opportunities with overseas clients etc (cue setting myself up for more quips) but not restricted to which one(s) I spend the time learning, any would be beneficial. Chinese seems horrendous to learn, would love to be brave enough to learn Arabic but again, looks horrendous. Baby steps at this stage!

Thanks Lara for the Memrise suggestion, it sounds great and will certainly download it and give it a whirl.

[willieh]

I've decided to put some effort into becoming multilingual, lets call it a mid-life crisis as I'm also learning the guitar. I can speak some basic french and german (from my school days) but would like some suggestions on one or two languages to work on that would be a decent starting point. Travel quite a bit so keen on Spanish, Portuguese and Italian as options while working on the French and German can't be ruled out.

Also with learning a new language, any tips on good websites, podcasts, books etc to use? (and yes, I've considered paying for an hour or two with a beautiful touring lady for some additional extracurricular practice).

Funny that as now that I have more time on my hands, I am improving my French. The trick is to immerse oneself in it. Learn at least the basic grammatical structures first and then start leaning the vocabulary. Then when you have the basics listen to it as much as you can, read it and, watch the national news station of that country. It is amazing how that works! Seriously!

I'm using memrise (mobile app) to help me with French. It's free, and works on the premise that if you repeat and memorise something enough, you will learn it. I don't use it as often as I should but it is helping me a little They've got a huge range of languages on there, too, which makes it the perfect starting point.

We, you and I, really must retire to the South of France.

Chinese is not easy,i have learned five languages and this is by far the most difficult i have attempted!

[Lara Mills]

We, you and I, really must retire to the South of France.

Oh, if you insist

Anyway, back on topic.

I know some people use DuoLingo and Babbel (is that how you spell it?) but I couldn't get to grips with DuoLingo. I loved Babbel, but then they updated the app, I lost all progress I'd made, and it no longer listens to how you say words to check pronunciation. It's worth checking out the apps on an app store. There's bound to be hundreds.

[2camp]

I love languages and speak Irish, Spanish and French fluently,
I am hoping to tackle another language later on in the year if time permits.

[Alex.xx]

I would go for Spanish. I think it (apart from Chinese) is one of the next big languages after English.

Recommendations:
some courses are free, some paid few euro, also smart phone app avialable and syncs with devices, excelent algorithm for repetitions; I have used it for English Proficiency and passed, also have written own courses when revising to exams on other topics;
The world best software for learning languages is the Rosetta Stone. Expensive too.

My Sis has tought herself Spanish watching their TV, mainly soaps.

So, whatever works.

[2camp]

I found Spanish not too bad to learn and knowing Spanish would help greatly if decided to learn Italian.
Sadly I never hardly use the Irish language but feel better knowing I can speak it being my own native language.

[bettercallsaul]

I would go for Spanish. I think it (apart from Chinese) is one of the next big languages after English.

Recommendations:
some courses are free, some paid few euro, also smart phone app avialable and syncs with devices, excelent algorithm for repetitions; I have used it for English Proficiency and passed, also have written own courses when revising to exams on other topics;
The world best software for learning languages is the Rosetta Stone. Expensive too.

My Sis has tought herself Spanish watching their TV, mainly soaps.

So, whatever works.

Imagine if you learn english from watching a soap,and you pick Eastenders would be interesting to hear a cockney Hungarian