Learning languages online

[lissetetiff]

I always receive many invites asking me to take up free online lingual classes, but I have always been skeptical about the issue.

Is it advisable to take online language classes and if so, which are the best sites especially for learning Spanish?

[Welkom]

I am teaching myself Spanish using a few resources, I can't do video calls so have to do online lessons, here's what I use:

https://www.duolingo.com/ - I do at least 100xp per day, including at least 5 lessons, in 31 days I have done 28 skills.

https://livemocha.com/ - Useful for finding people to have conversation with, as well as this it has lessons that you can buy, you get currency by marking work done in your native language and then your work gets marked by native speakers of the language you're learning.

http://www.gospeaky.com/home/ - Similar to livemocha, useful for finding people to talk to. On here you can also video call so people can help you with speaking and listening too. In my opinion, this is better than livemocha because it's more like a Facebook chat style.

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=translate - Don't be afraid to translate words you don't understand, but be sure to try and work out the meaning first!

Tips:

Find a hobby you like and read news websites that revolve around that topic, mine is football, so I try to read Marca every day (http://www.marca.com/).

DON'T sign up for websites that have 'free trials' but require payment afterwards. These are a waste of time as you only get the very basics before having to pay, which you can learn on free to use websites, you're just asking for spam emails.

Get a Skype account if you don't have one already. A lot of people aren't always online on Livemocha or GoSpeaky, but they might be online on Skype. It's good for when those sites are down for maintenance too.

Listen to music in Spanish. I listen to Enrique Iglesias most days now, his music isn't bad and his songs are quite slow, so it's easier to translate as you listen.

Talk to people, they will help you understand the rules of the language.

I'm sorry if this is too long and not what you were looking for  :grin:

[Trellum]

Apart from the sites Welkom has mentioned, there are others you might want to check, like for example ''Memrise'', I really like the fact they offer a lot free courses in many languages!  It's amazing!  ''Polyglot'' is also a good site.  Verbix is really useful if you are having issues conjugating a verb, a lot languages are available. I highly recommend you to bookmark that site for future reference.

Right now I am learning dutch mostly online, also using a course that focus on active listening only, I use the sites I mentioned to you in the post, plus others I didn't mention because they are only targeted at people learning dutch. I also listen to podcasts in dutch

[lushlala]

I think this is a brilliant opportunity, if you can get your hands on it. Thanks guys for posting links to the online resources, some of which I've had recommended to me. I'm always promising myself to try some of them out before I consider paid, classroom based lessons, but I'm just so busy at the moment I can't seem to find the time

[turtledove]

I'm currently learning Spanish from Duolingo. It's quite simple, and you may not be fully fluent in the language even when you're done with the course. However, you can pick up a good few words and conversational phrases, and some good grammar. It's free as well, so all round it's totally worth it!

[lushlala]

I just remembered that one other site that seems popular and reputable is iTalki. I have seen it recommended time and time again on many of the discussion forums I'm a member of. I've yet to personally try it, but I reckon it's popular for a reason.

[booklover22]

I would be careful when you get those. I mean when someones says that they will give you something for free, they usually want something else from you. I never click on those things that get sent to me. I wouldn't want them to take my information or anything like that. I mean there are some trusted sites that you can use. You just have to go and look for them. There are also some apps that you can use that are pretty good.

[AdrianC]

Classes can get pricy, but there are some good options here: http://spanishhackers.com/3-best-sites-for-online-spanish-classes/

 

[Richard.H]

Hahaha, why being skeptical?

I mean, even if it's payed site there is usually a free trial - just try it and see. Skepticism is ok, but it won't bring you answers whether something is good or not.

Everyone is a little different, what might be a good method for one may not be so great for another. So the best thing you can try is to give it a shot and see for yourself.

Welkom gave you a nice list of things you could try out, so go ahead and give it a shot!

[LeesaJohnson]

It's a great idea, learning online. It will save your time as well as you can ask your question anytime. 

[sidney]

On 7/28/2015 at 9:07 AM, booklover22 said:

I would be careful when you get those. I mean when someones says that they will give you something for free, they usually want something else from you. I never click on those things that get sent to me. I wouldn't want them to take my information or anything like that. I mean there are some trusted sites that you can use. You just have to go and look for them. There are also some apps that you can use that are pretty good.

Well, I think that as long as they're not asking personal info like credit card numbers then I guess you'll be fine, and all you have to worry about is receiving spam emails. I know some sites can have viruses and will have your computer infected by one once you visit the site, but that's more common with porn sites, lol.