Trellum

That's amazing   I actually suck at learning something using my ears (unless I have to repeat it over and over and keep reinforcing it constantly).  I do better when I'm given a lot examples, this worked great with math   Because once you get a lot examples, isn't hard to figure out how to solve a problem or equation.  Same happens to me with the languages... but I'm better at memorizing things   Like whole expressions, that's how I learnt english.  Books have never worked for me tho

Hebrew has vowels? They just don't tend to be written. At least, that is what I have heard before.

Hebrew has no vowels, at least that's what my hebrew school teacher used to say.  The hebrew alphabet has no vowels, but sometimes the nikkud are used (and that's why it is so easy to read religious texts).  But native hebrew speakers don't need this, because in Israel nikkud isn't used at all.  only on religious texts.  If you don't believe me, check this out: http://graftedinelena.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/the-hebrew-language-%E2%80%93-no-vowels/

Right, it has no vowels; it has instead 22 consonants and the words and sentences read from RIGHT TO LEFT!

I heard Yiddish speakers use nikkud a lot when they write, not sure about that.  I had an ashkenazi friend whose mother language was yiddish, but we never talked about languages...    We talked about a lot things, but languages never crossed our minds  

We all have different learning styles, and that's why some language learning methods fail for some, but for others they're an absolute success.  I actually found a very interesting article talking about the different learning styles out there, here is the link: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/type-of-learner-infographic/

After you read it, please let me know what kind of learner you think you are.  I personally think I'm a mix between visual and read/write.

For me the phrases worked best, specially useful with idiomatic expressions that one their own don't make a lot sense (if you separate each word and try to find the meaning of each one).  That's how I learnt english, first phrases, and if I really wanted to know the meaning of a word I used the dictionary, or asked a friend.  Learning phrases can be a bit tricky tho, but sooner or later you will need to expand your vocabulary.  Have you thought of making your own materials?? 

I liked to search for images, so I could later print them... I'd also write the name of the object in the language I wanted to learn. Because I'm a visual learner!

I know there are a lot people over here who want to learn spanish, some can already speak some and others are just starting.  I know they all have their own reasons to learn this language, but that made me wonder... what are you going to do once you learn to speak spanish really fluently? 

I mean, you must be planning to do something once you do that, right?  Because when you dedicate so much time to learn a language, I'm sure you will not just forget about it once you learn to speak it fluently.

Take me as an example, once I learn to speak dutch fluently, I plan to use it EVERY single day in the Netherlands   I'll be feeling so confident once I reach that level!

Well, this isn't really new for me   Hebrew has no vowels   I've been reading hebrew since I was little, mostly religious texts (they had nikkud) so reading them wasn't as hard as most people would think.  There aren't that many languages that use no vowels, so far the only voweless language I had heard about was hebrew. I don't think I'll be learning the colloquial version of it anytime soon

I'm currently studying dutch   I might be moving to the Netherlands soon, so I really need to learn at least the basics of this difficult language.  My boyfriend is a native dutch speaker as well, his parents are originally from Amsterdam, we would actually like to move to Hoorn next year, but we will see what happens. 

Right now I'm trying to learn the basics, so far I've learnt to say: Ik spreek geen netherlands!    My boyfriend says he will teach me to say even more things in the future.

Where are you from exactly, OP? Do you happen to be from north holland as well?

That's actually a very nice tip capa  :grin:  I never thought of that!  I might try that with hebrew one day! I guess this tip can be used with other languages as well

OP, you can try this web site: http://www.russianforeveryone.com/

In my opinion this web site is excellent if you're starting from zero.

I was really interested in learning esperanto when I was 17 years old, I actually met a 19 years old who spoke this language quite fluently... the guy was a genius!  He could also speak english very well, his mother language was spanish and he was trying to learn japanese as well.  I think he's now living in Holland

I'm not big fan of the language, but I've to admit I love how easy this language is to learn. Which isn't surprising, because that's why this language was created in the first place; to make it easier for everyone to communicate. Sadly this language isn't very popular, it wasn't back when I was a teen, and it definitely isn't now   I guess it needs a better marketing    Because there are a lot people out there who don't have the slightest idea this language even exists.

Wow, that's amazing   You started learning enlgish so young!  You must have an incredible willpower, because not many 12 year olds can speak english fluently!  When I was that age I couldn't understand a word of that language, and sometimes that frustrated me a little.  Over here most high school students can't speak enlgish fluent, our educative system is failing us :/  I actually never had english when I was going to the elementary/junior/ high school!

I had some when I was going to the junior high, but everything I learnt there was: ''I'm from Cholula!''.  LOL.  Very bad!  Things don't improve once you go to high school... it seems the students spend 3 full years stuck with the verb ''to be''.

I actually worked for a while in Norway, I was an au pair and lived with a Norwegian family.  I really recommend this culture exhcnage program, the pay isn't too bad either, plus you get to meet a lot amazing people while you are working abroad.  This job made me a more independent and open person, plus I met my first boyfriend this way.  I had never been so happy in my life before, not the way I was when I was living and working in Norway.

I have found Pimsleur to be not all that great. It's okay in addition to other things, but it's very poor on it's own; especially with the expensive price, though you can at least check out Pimsleur from your local library sometimes. It does, at least, have an advantage over just plain workbooks in that you're actually listening to the language and developing a more or less proper accent right from the start. A book can't really do that.

To be honest I don't think this kind of method work for everyone, it worked for me tho   But... if you come to think about it, I'm the kind of person who can't learn by studying a book full of grammar rules and repetitive exercises.  I learnt english on my own by just immersing myself and looking at the things the users in yahoo chat used to write, but I know not a lot people have learnt english this way. 

The OP must experiment until she finds something that really works for her.  For me it's the immersion method; no books, no grammar rules, no repetitive exercises; just listening and looking at examples.

Right now I'm trying to learn dutch because I might be moving to the Netherlands next year.  I must admit dutch isn't my favorite language to learn, mostly because the pronunciation is a real nightmare... writing it isn't any easier either.  I don't like how many consonants are grouped together in a single word either. So I'm basically learning this language because I really have to 

Maybe you should try to find some pen pals to practice with on Skype   It's even better if those ''pen pals'' are also advanced students of this language.  Because that way is easier to find more topics to talk about... because when you speak with a native speaker of the language you're trying to relearn, then you might face a dead end. So to keep the interest alive, the best thing you can do is to talk with someone who is also interested in practicing the language

You can also watch movies, watch videos on youtube or even listen to music in that language!

It really depends on where you are and what languages you know.

One of my old Spanish teachers also spoke Russian. Not many people living around here speak Russian. So, during summers, he would get a job as a translator for any Russian tourists or whatever; I think he actually worked for an embassy? I don't remember. There was just enough work that he made pretty good money with it. I THINK he could've lived off just that, but he liked teaching, but it's been years so I don't remember exactly.

There are plenty of online translation jobs, if you're fluent. Again, it depends on what languages you speak.

And I think you'll find that if you look around... there are a lot more jobs requiring bi/tri/etc-lingualism than you might believe.

Yeah, it really depends in the language and the place where you live.  I was actually capable to land a good job some years ago because I could speak and write english well.  That's how I started working online   I had to quit that job quite recently tho, because my then boss was trying to make my life and work impossible, so I had no choice but quitting.  It was good money, but peace of mind is more important, plus I got really angry because he kept making up silly rules so he always had an excuse to send my work to the trash bin   There were months he'd not pay me all my salary... I had to correct the mistakes he found first.

Hello everyone!  I know there are a lot people out there who started learning a new language at a very early age, some people started learning a bit late.  I'd like to know at what age you started to learn a new language, I'd also like to know the reason and which language you were trying to learn.  It'd be nice if you could also tell me if your attempt to learn said language was successful or not.

To answer my own question, I was 16 years old when I started learning a new language.  I started learning english on my own, I used yahoo! chat for that, I remember I liked to sit and just look at the things people over there used to write (main chatroom).  After that I decided the next best step would be to try using what I had already learnt by getting some pen pals. 

It took me around 6 months until I could hold a decent conversation with someone in english   It took me years to polish it, and even now I feel I still have a lot to work on. 

This leaves me with the question... how old were you when you started learning a new language?

Yeah for me it is a hobby but I eventually would love to work doing something with languages but I think the prospects of that isn't very good.

I used to think that as well, but actually I was capable to get several good jobs thanks to my english.  If I hadn't learnt english some years ago, I'd not have been able to get the jobs I got.  So don't think learning a language is useless, it can actually help you in the future   It can open a lot doors, and in the right timing... you might actually be offered a really unique and special chance thanks to the languages you have learnt. 

I'm 100% sure I'd not be where I am now if I hadn't learnt english when I was 16 years old.

Learning languages is definitely a hobby for me. In fact I used to have very high goals for myself when it came to learning so many languages in a certain amount of time. In the end I fell short of all of the goals.

I decided to look at it more as a hobby and it has been a lot more enjoyable since then. I don't have much spare time these days but when I do, learning other languages is a great way to entertain and educate myself.

Same here, I was planning to learn so many languages, but in the end I fell short and now I only speak two languages fluently... I can read hebrew as well, but that's it!  I'm trying to learn dutch because I might be moving there, but to be honest dutch is one of my least favorite languages to learn.  I never thought of learning it... not even when I was planning to learn several languages! 

It's nice you're trying to take it wasy now   Learning languages is a really enriching hobby that can open a lot doors for you

That's so nice!  It must be so exciting!  Because you will be going to Sweden so soon, and this will be the ultimate swedish test!  So you better hurry   It's so nice of her to have accepted to teach you some swedish.  Actually my boyfriend is my personal teacher; he's the one who is teaching me some dutch.  I'm trying really hard to learn it because we might move to the Netherlands soon (we'd like to get married).

That's my main  motivation.  To be honest I'm not a big fan of the dutch language, I'd prefer to be learning swedish instead of dutch   I find it WAY easier to learn... dutch is a lot like german, but it's more like a horribly misspelled version of it!  A lot words sound like german, but when you have to write them... oh my!! 

A very nice video for anyone trying to learn dutch.  Sadly this girl doesn't seem to be uploading new videos to this channel 

In my country young people like to use slang words a lot, the most popular words are:

Guey - Something like ''dude''.

Pendejo - idiot

Que padre! - Cool!

Codo - stingy

Sale - OK

Orale - Ok, but can also be used when you hear something that surprises you.

Lana - Cash

There are more, but I left some out because they're kinda vulgar 

That kind of things annoy me so much, I take my time to write full words... why can't they take the time to do the same??? 

You should see what kind of things are happening to my mother language, young people are chaging it a lot!  I've heard rumors over here, people no longer using the ''h'', because the ''h'' in spanish is a mute one. So a lot people (even the ones writing for Yahoo!  Mexico) are doing it, not all of them, but some.  Some people defend this by saying that a language must ''evolve'' in order to survive.  RIGHT!

It's definitely a hobby for me, but i've been so strapped for time lately i've definitely been putting it on the back burner. I feel like if i had a job in language arts, or some type of translation job, i would make more of an effort to learn more languages. The nice part is that French, Italian, and Spanish are so similar, so picking them up is just moving a few words around.

It's nice you still find time for this amazing hobby, if you do it right... it can really enrich your life.  Take me as an example, if I had never learnt english, I'd not have been able to take the amazing chances as they came .  I mean, maybe they'd have presented themselves (I doubt it), but I'd not have been able to take said chances if I had never learnt english.  So you never know what kind of doors that new language you are learning could open to you in the future  

Very good question!

I have started to learn Swedish because it sounds really interesting and unique when spoken. I am doing this in spare time after work and on weekends; so I would regard it as a hobby.

OMG Rosson!!  I also wanted to learn Swedish when I was younger! I actually wanted to learn swedish, norwegian and finnish! I was so in love with the nordic mythology back then, I still like it a lot and love reading about vikings and things like that, but my priorities have changed   I no longer have time for this kind of things anymore, you're so lucky you still find time to learn a new language.

I never thought of learning a new language for fun, you'd need to have a set of really special friends for that to be considered to be really fun   I actually met a 19 years old guy a while ago, he could speak 4 languages already!  I was just 18 back then, so I felt quite jealous!  I decided I'd try to learn a new language as well, but I lacked the motivation and stopped