Alrikidokie

I think both ways have pros and cons; it depends on the type of learner you are. If you plopped me in a foreign country I think I would be overwhelmed and it wouldn't bode well. I'd end up consulting a language class regardless.

I don't think you could rely on only watching movies and paying attention to the dialogue but I do think it is a handy tool, especially with subtitles. I mean, all of the language classes I've taken have used movies as a learning tool.

I honestly thought I was going to learn the language of the Na'vi from Avatar. I was so gung ho about it but at the end of the day my obsession with the movie died down and I just dropped it.

I think I would draw, every item has a concrete image that goes with it so whether it's a cat, gato, or neko you're going to be able to communicate that image. I think trying to sign the language would work to. In this day and age there are so many translation apps going dumb doesn't mean the same thing that it meant years ago.

I think Italian is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. It's all in the flow and, for me, sometimes the vowels used and how frequently the occur effects how pretty a language is.

Thanks for the recommendation! I have an exam on Wednesday and really love flash cards for studying.

Well, I don't know about differences in two different languages but I think the differences in English throughout the United States are adorable. My boyfriend is from western North Carolina and instead of saying "it's raining" he says "it's putting down the rain." Then there's the "pop", "soda", and "coke" debate that never gets old!

I have never been able to dream in another language :/ It may be because I'm not fluent in anything other than English and the amount of words I know in other languages is limited.  It would be a wonderful experience though.

I don't think there's any such thing as too many new languages! Learning is never going to count against you, the more you know, the better off you are; the more well-rounded.

I'd love to try my hand at American Sign Language, no pun intended.

Kanshasai omedetou! (Japanese!)

I think it's hard to feel like you have a real handle on a language unless you properly accent the language. Words don't sound the same when you say them without a least a tiny hint of the native accent. It does sound flat and sometimes the way a word is said enhances it's meaning.

I'm currently learning Japanese and I honestly don't think it will ever be useful to me. I'll probably never go to Japan and I don't really watch anime all that much anymore :/

Well, I'm learning Japanese because I need a foreign language credit in order to get my degree but I'm learning Italian because I'm in love with the way it sounds and feels coming out of your mouth and the culture!

I'm pretty positive my first words were mom and dad, dad first of course because I was the biggest daddy's girl back then haha

My Japanese professor assigned us a textbook that includes short dialogues in at the beginning of every chapter. It's plenty helpful! You get to apply what you've learned to a real life situation.

This thread is literally a god send! I have finals coming up soon and this is one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp. There's so many of them! 

I've never thought about this as a method in language study but it's pretty great! A lot of the reason people learn new languages is because they want immerse themselves in a new culture.

Looks like I need to pick up a Japanese cookbook!

I've never personally been able to use learning software but I do know that some programs offer free trials of their software. Give it a try and if you like it then maybe it's worth the investment. It's worth is really dependent upon the kind of learner you are. How do you best learn? My advice would be to find a program with a trial and give it a go! Worst thing that can happen is you don't like it. 

Hello! Konnichiwa! Ciao!

How's it going?

I'm Ashlea! I'm a senior in college and I've just enrolled in Japanese 101. So far so good! I hope this forum can help me out a wee bit though. We will see!

Can't wait to meet some new people and learn some new things.