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.

Language for me is a social thing. One can never fully learn a language without speaking it out and practicing it with actual people. We learn languages so we can communicate better with people of different languages. So I think that despite the emergence of technological features and innovations to help us translate and learn languages through apps and the internet, they will only serve as minor guides for us. Still, our learning primarily comes from our interaction with other people who speak our language and the language that we are trying to master. So, my answer is a big NO.

I also think that it really depends on the how you will use your English proficiency test. Here in the Philippines, most foreign nationals who come to study English in our country are preparing themselves for TOEFL. Most of them are Koreans who are also planning to pursue further studies in the US and other English speaking countries. I myself am more familiar with IELTS because I have taken it 3 times as a requirement for work or study purposes in most English speaking countries. I have passed all 3 IELTS exams but it usually expires after 2 years so it has to be taken over and over again if you're not yet dispatched to your country of choice.

I definitely agree with the majority here. I too would sometimes compare how my mother tongue is translated in English and I could not avoid noticing differences in them. I guess nothing really beats the original. Despite losing some of the original essence of the language being translated, I still find translations very helpful in helping people understand things even in their general form.

I agree with @rz3300. Learning English or even any language through songs can be very helpful but I also would not say that it should be the major tool for learning a language. People do learn in different ways and some can learn faster with the use of songs, some by watching and listening to other people speak the language, some by reading, and some by conversing with learned or native speakers. If learning English through songs is the most effective way for someone, then he/she could focus more on it.

Hello everyone! August is a whole month for celebrating our native language here in the Philippines called Filipino. During this month, schools would usually hold programs showcasing our Filipino language. Students would either dance, sing, recite poems, perform skits, and many other activities with the use of the Filipino language. Do you also have a celebration in your country for your native language? How do you go about it?

Hello everyone! I only know a limited number of languages and so far, it has been easy for me to absorb and learn the basics of the foreign languages I've been trying to learn. Maybe it's also because I am more exposed to native speakers of my languages of interest. Most especially when it comes to the Korean language, I have a number of Korean friends and I also used to teach English to Korean students that's why I also got to learn their language straight from them. I'm just curious as to what language is hardest to learn and why. What was the hardest language you have learned and how much time did you spend to learn it?

I also do this at times, not only when it comes to language practice but most especially when I have to talk in front of a lot of people or do a job interview. I find it even more effective if I talk to myself in the mirror. When I get highly immersed with my self-conversation, I begin to forget that I am actually talking to myself but I feel like I'm actually conversing with another person. I really think this is a good technique because you get to practice the language you're learning not only in your thoughts. You get to hear your strengths and weaknesses while talking and be able to correct them before even immersing yourself to talking with another person using that language.

My cousin is a specific example of someone who studied a language for a job opportunity. She was an English teacher for Koreans here in our country and when the opportunity for a higher salary and a teaching job in South Korea was offered to her, she didn't hesitate to learn the Korean language and accepted the offer. She's almost 10 years in South Korea now and she's staying there for good because her husband also lives there. As for me, yes, I would try learning another language if it is required for me to get a job. I always consider new learning as an opportunity for me to grow as a person so even if it's not for a job, I would still consider learning any new language if I would be given the chance to.

I have also used Google translator many times but I usually do it in words or short phrases. It is a good tool for translating words but I noticed that the translation is either bad or incomplete whenever I try translating a whole sentence, especially the long ones. So I just divide each sentence into parts before I enter them for translation.

I agree with you. Teachers are very important in any part of learning including language study but a big part of succeeding at it also depends on the learner him/herself. A teacher could be great at his/her craft but if a student doesn't have the effort to absorb and understand what is being taught, then learning is greatly impaired.