Ask HN: How did you learn a new language as an adult?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1622200

by rokhayakebe • 16 years ago

17 13 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

How did you come about learning a new language as an adult?

nazariusk• 16 years ago

Daily immersion in the language (articles/books/wikipedia/podcasts/newscasts/films) in addition to a decent grammar work book and a very good dictionary.

Don't bother keeping a good record of vocabulary.

You're brain will remember what you need to know, just keep doing it everyday (read/listen/watch then speak/write).

It's like exercising; a bit every day is (usually) better than a lot once a week.

Grammar drills, looking up dictionary definitions (use cases) and general exposure over a sustained period of time is by far the most realistic way to learn a language as an adult.

rokhayakebe2• 16 years ago

It's like exercising; a bit every day is (usually) better than a lot once a week.

+1.

ashconnor• 16 years ago

That upwards pointing arrow is like giving the comments you think help the discussion a +1.

CallMeV• 16 years ago

In short, the same way a musician in NY finds his way to Carnegie Hall. Practice.

321speak• 16 years ago

Hey! It just so happens my start-up is dedicated to creating fun language learning apps (free in app store), if you're learning Chinese or Spanish and have an iOS device, give it a whirl: http://321speak.com/

I pretty much comment on every hn language learning thread hoping for feedback...

DrumLady• 16 years ago

Wow, nice app! I tried the Chinese version on my 3g, I like how it has male and female voices, and the images and design was top notch. I tend to like the immersion style, it's how children learn basically. I can see this really being successful for travelers and kids, especially as software like rosetta stone is so expensive, and this seems at least on par if not better (from what I've seen so far). Bon chance! Are you planning other languages?

ramchip• 16 years ago

Same question was posted a few days ago:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1603562

wvl• 16 years ago

Just six days ago, this topic got a lot of discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1603562

edit: ramchip beat me to it.

pw• 16 years ago

I found this to be an interesting perspective on language learning as an adult: http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/01/koreans-english-acqui...

jdavid• 16 years ago

i am working on a browser plugin i call babelfin to help build vocabulary.

lovskogen• 16 years ago

Had 5 years of german. I'm from Norway, and most people have 3+ years of learning a 3rd language. But I only learned enough german to make fun of it :-/

Halli hallo wie geht es so? Ich bin eine kleine HN-er.

Ask HN: How did you learn a new language as an adult?

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