gracerph

Hello everyone! I have found practicing a new language with a group of people to be effective in helping me improve my learning. In this way, I get to know my mistakes and I get the help of my group when it comes to correcting my mistakes. We would speak together with the language we re studying and we get to see our individual strengths and weaknesses. Those who have the edge help those who are still having problems in their areas of weaknesses. Do you also practice in groups? What are your opinions about practicing in groups?

It really came as a surprise to me that Mandarin is now the most widely taught language because English is still my choice if someone would ask me what language I think of as the most used and taught language globally. I guess both mandarin and Spanish are gradually becoming more popular these days but English is still the universal language that people commonly use in my opinion.

I like this kind of attitude and I think that this can be one of the effective ways in taking the time for learning. No matter how busy your day is, try to find the opportunity to learn the language you want to learn during your free time. Spending even just a few minutes every day will eventually add up and before you know it, you have actually moved forward with your learning with these simple steps.

Thank you so much for sharing the site @Lingua Franca! I also tried checking it out and I'm actually very happy to find my native language as one of the languages played there. Sad to say that my flash player is not yet updated though so I haven't been able to open any game yet. Just like @lushlala, I'm definitely bookmarking the site.

I agree with you @Baburra. Although I also study on my own, there are just those days when I just don't have the motivation to do so, which would sometimes delay my learning because I tend to procrastinate. I find classroom learning helpful in this instance because it gives me a sense of formality and responsibility. Just like what you said though, I think it still depends on each individual characteristic of learners.

Hmm.. I dream a lot but I never really took note whether I was speaking in my native language or in another language. Every time I dream about something, they're usually fuzzy and when I wake up it's hard for me to remember the full details. It's interesting to know though that most of you do dream about the language you are trying to learn. I guess I'm just not that good in remembering my dreams.

Hello everyone! I find classroom learning to be effective in helping me learn a language because there is a constructive teaching plan that is formulated by teachers and everything about the language is tackled. Just like in regular schools though, there are also levels that have to be completed in order for me to fully learn the language. I'm happy with the end results though because at the end of each language course, I not only have learned a new language, but I also receive certification as proof of my learning. Aside from the formal classroom learning, I also make it a point that I do some further studying on my own when I'm at home. It may not be considered as studying, but I find watching films and shows regarding the language I'm learning as a helpful tool in my language absorption. How about you guys, how do you prefer your language study, in a classroom setting or in an informal way such as studying it on your own?

I agree with @Baburra. There are different techniques of learning a language but how effective they are differs from each individual. Aside from formal classroom learning, I found that the most effective informal learning for me is by watching shows or films on the language I am studying that have English subtitles in them. My repetitive exposure on how native speakers speak and pronounce their words through films and shows is helping me learn the basic communication skills in that language.

This is also one thing I have come to realize when it comes to learning, not just in language but in any kind of learning. I found that memorization is not really the key to effective learning. Understanding each concept well without having to memorize is better basing from my experience, because if you finally understand a concept by heart, you won't get lost at it no matter how it is jumbled or how confusing it can get. Memorization only twists my brain and I don't really learn anything from it. For me, there's a very big difference between memorizing and understanding, and the latter is always my preferred way of learning.

I agree. I found this to be true especially for children. I found that my son was able to easily grasp vocabulary learning when I encouraged him to play language games in English. As what @takibari said, I find language games to be helpful when it comes to improving one's vocabulary, especially for beginners.

Hello everyone! It is always fun to learn things through games and I think it's also the same when it comes to learning languages. I tried searching if there are indeed some language games available for download and there were a lot of them that came out from my search. I think that this technique of learning is most especially good for kids studying a certain language. There are also some adult language games for all adult learners out there. Have you ever tried downloading and playing games related to languages? How effective do you think are they?

We also have a sort of South and North here in my country. We have a lot of different dialects here but we all mostly speak Filipino, which is our National Language. People from the southern provinces have a different kind of accent though compared to the people living in the northern provinces. There are also some words which have the same sound and spelling but have different meanings when used in the south.

English was the only foreign language that I have learned from school, from my pre-school years up to my college years. I must say that I did take the subject seriously because I have always been fond and early exposed to it. My cousins, who used to play with me when I was still very small were of American descent, so they spoke in English during our play times. Even after college, I have made the effort to improve my English more.

I'm not a native English speaker but I have also taught English before. I would have to agree with Blaveloper. Don't get me wrong here, but I think that the two options that were provided in the OP both are wrong and incomplete in structure.

A friend of mine also does this whenever she's trying to learn a language and it seems to work well for her. She has actually inspired me to do the same. Posting words and phrases of the language you're trying to learn on your wall is a good technique in motivating you to learn, especially if they're all over. Every time you do your regular tasks, you get to look at those words and couldn't help but read them. You unconsciously keep on repeating reading them and you suddenly realize that you have actually mastered the words.