My Journey to a Better Language Learning System • Hacker News Board

Re: My Journey to a Better Language Learning System

#131

Post by bradknowles » Sat, Oct 21, 2017, 8:48 PM UTC

KGIII wrote: post #86

akeck wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. If you were interacting for 16h a day "in country" for 7 weeks, then (16 * 7 * 7) + 150 + 85 = 1019 hours. If State Departments say 400 hours, then this sheds light on why many non-native fluent speakers recommend immersion - there's simply no faster way to meet or exceed 400 hours of practice than daily immersion.

Absolutely... Academically, I've only failed two things. Typing and Spanish. Today, I'm fluent in Spanish - though a bit slower than natives. Why? I spent a whole lot of time with my pidgin Spanish below the border. Eventually, I just learned. I did make an effort to learn a few things every day, but I ended up actually learning more than that and doing so without even realizing it. I can't write Spanish, but I can r…

I lived in Belgium for almost eight years. I tried to learn French, many times over. But it is a language that goes in one ear and out the other for me.

However, in those nearly eight years, my wife and I visited Italy at least three or four times, for a total of maybe three weeks.

I swear to $DEITY that I learned and used more Italian in those three weeks than I did French for the entire time I lived in Belgium.

For me, there are just some languages that are harder than others, and are unlikely to ever stick. But maybe that’s just me.

Re: My Journey to a Better Language Learning System

#132

Post by tchaffee » Fri, Oct 27, 2017, 3:15 PM UTC

nileshtrivedi wrote: post #128

tchaffee wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use movies a lot for learning a new language. Try using only the subtitles in the language you are learning. Subtitles in your own language will actually slow you way down. You'll stop hearing the words in the foreign language and just read your native language. At first it will seem very difficult to have only the foreign language subtitles, but once you start seeing the repeated phrases and see the context in whi…

The problem is that you have two things to learn: Foreign script AND foreign language. Subtitles in foreign language will also use their script which makes it completely incomprehensible to you. The barrier is too high. You're right though: At some point the support rails need to be taken away.

I just know what works the fastest for me, and why. Obviously, you should not be using movies as your only learning resource. You would also be studying the language. Therefore, you will recognize some of the script. You will start to see the words that are repeated over and over and over, and you will hear them too. I start watching movies from the day I start learning a language. I barely understand anything, but I start learning pretty quickly. Try both, and report back. I guarantee you will learn quicker if you only use the foreign subtitles.

Re: My Journey to a Better Language Learning System

#133

Post by tchaffee » Fri, Oct 27, 2017, 3:23 PM UTC

cloverich wrote: post #121

tchaffee wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use movies a lot for learning a new language. Try using only the subtitles in the language you are learning. Subtitles in your own language will actually slow you way down. You'll stop hearing the words in the foreign language and just read your native language. At first it will seem very difficult to have only the foreign language subtitles, but once you start seeing the repeated phrases and see the context in whi…

It's funny because as silly as your suggestion seems, this is how real language aquisition. I'm super interested in any more info you have about your success doing this! (I.e. Language learned or how long before things started clicking etc)

I learned Italian to the almost fluent level. I can conduct business and get through complex negotiations. I learned a little Spanish before having to switch to Portuguese for business reasons, and I'm now advanced beginner in PT after a few months. I have also learned a little Mandarin.

How long before things started clicking? Almost immediately. You recognize what you've recently learned from your other resources and you get to hear different pronunciations, accents, and even slurring. But to learn new things from context takes longer. It's very hard to say. I'm not keeping track of how many times I hear a slang phrase or some other common phrase before it sinks in. I would guess hundreds of times. But that's why this method works so well. The most common phrases and words will be repeated over and over even in one movie. So you are automatically getting more exposure to the most common words.

Re: My Journey to a Better Language Learning System

#134

Post by otterpro » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 9:04 PM UTC

bradknowles wrote: post #131

KGIII wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely... Academically, I've only failed two things. Typing and Spanish. Today, I'm fluent in Spanish - though a bit slower than natives. Why? I spent a whole lot of time with my pidgin Spanish below the border. Eventually, I just learned. I did make an effort to learn a few things every day, but I ended up actually learning more than that and doing so without even realizing it. I can't write Spanish, but I can r…

I lived in Belgium for almost eight years. I tried to learn French, many times over. But it is a language that goes in one ear and out the other for me. However, in those nearly eight years, my wife and I visited Italy at least three or four times, for a total of maybe three weeks. I swear to $DEITY that I learned and used more Italian in those three weeks than I did French for the entire time I lived in Belgium. For…

I believe it is also the way the languages are spoken and the phonetics. For me, French is very difficult to hear but Italian, Spanish, and even Japanese have very distinct pronunciation and phonetics, making it easy to understand.