Another great resource is Pimsleur. I've used their courses to learn Italian and German. It's a half hour of audio each day. The key is that you speak out loud. You can do it while cooking or driving, or any other activity that is routine and non-verbal. They teach you to pronounce phrases very well, and you learn the basic structure of the language. Once you can say "I would like a glass of wine", you can easily lea…
I used Pimsleur for Cantonese in 2010 during a trip to HK and have kind of mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it was good for pronunciation. Many people were shocked by how good my Cantonese sounded and had troubles believing me when I said I'd just gotten to Hong Kong. On the other hand, this caused some problems-- people consistently over-estimated my language abilities, and as a result said a ton of stuff I cou…
> On the other hand, this caused some problems-- people consistently over-estimated my language abilities, and as a result said a ton of stuff I couldn't understand.
In five months - no way. I went as an exchange student to the US with virtually zero spoken English. I met noone speaking my language for first few months, so it was as immersive as it gets (save getting an English-speaking girlfriend), and yet it took me 3 months to just start conversing. No way in hell one can learn to C1 fluency in 5 month even if it's an 24/7 effort.
absolutely agree, I would LOVE to hear the C1 French speakers demonstrate their savoir faire with la belle langue NOW, with further years of practice post-C1 mastery. I can guarantee that: 1) you will sound nothing like a native speaker 2) I will laugh
I find the doubters like yourself rediculous. Have you never emersed yourself in anything? Things that seem impossible aren't remotely when you take them seriously and let them consume your every thought. Focus 8 hours a day on memorizing the digit of pi, reading music, speed reading, multiplying four digit numbers in your head, "counting cards" in Blackjack, playing chess without sight of a board, learning JavaScript, playin Tetris, or whatever. You might find that what seems impossible now becomes second nature. You might find that taking something that is second nature to a higher level (speed-reading technical documents, reading symphonies, division in your head, beating level 41, or whatever) is doable in a few more months. Why wouldn't someone who has mastered the basics of a language, perhaps beyond the level of many native speakers in terms of grammar or vocabulary in say three or four months, not be able to reach a truly proficient level in just another month or two? The poster has devised a technique of getting to an accelerated level of learning as soon as possible. If you try, you might find you can do this, too. I won't laugh.
I agree with the parents that doubt the veracity of these claims. There is so much more to a language than just vocabulary and grammar that I can't imagine anybody picking up on their own in 4-5 months. For example, in Japanese, there are many levels of formality that affect the vocabulary you select as well as the way you say something. And it's not just a matter of using one level with a particular person, how form…
Japanese is notoriously hard to master. It's probably not very revealing to use your experiences with Japanese as a benchmark when the blog author is talking about his experiences with French, a language very close to English, particularly in vocabulary (for obvious historical reasons).
Agree on the Japanese point. The way you build sentences is just TOO different. You can definitely learn Japanese and speak it as a "gaijin" (meaning using european-style sentences with Japanese words) but speaking Japanese like a Japanese takes tremendous efforts and a serious re-wiring of your own brain as to how you approach language.
I'd seriously doubt if anyone can claim they can learn Japanese to a high level of fluency in a matter of months or even a few years.
I just don't believe his claim: "C1 fluency in French in about 5 months" if he started from 0 unless he didn't do anything but learning the language in the target country. C1 is a damn high fluency: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Re... "Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvi…
I have seen a lot of foreigners learning French (being French myself, and exposed to international students/professionals in various situations) and I have to seriously doubt that claim as well. I have seen some Americans learning French very fast, in a matter of 6 months, enough to be able to communicate and work in French on a daily basis, but there is no way they could be qualified as producing "clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects".
I trust that some language learning methods work better than others (we can see the disaster of language teaching in schools to understand that HOW you learn makes a difference) , this being said, time spent learning the language is often a critical factor to look at. 30 mins a day, for 5 months is not going to cut it, even with the methods described.
There's just so much the brain can absorb in a short time.
I think we should cut the guy some slack, here. He's laid out a structured plan for anyone to freely follow if they wish. Even if they don't follow it step-by-step, there are still some great tips to improve language-learning efficiency. Personally, this looks much more effective than the textbook I'm currently using so I'll give it a try. We have no idea whether his timeframe claims are true or not (in which case, h…
I speak three languages pretty well, two of them are of Latin origin (Spanish and Portuguese), and Spanish being my native language. I got really fluent in Portuguese in about 6 months, but those who know how close Spanish and Portuguese are, will know that that's not a hard task. But to get fluent in English it took me some years, living in the U.S. I also know enough to understand Polish, but speaking it is pretty…
There's only one way to know if he is lying or not. A Skype call between him and native speakers in the languages he claims to master.
Then, instead of a crazy person, you look like an asshole.
Talking into a communications device at normal volume makes you look like an asshole? O_o
First, no one talks on the phone at a normal volume when they're on the phone. They always speak louder in order to speak "over" the noise of the bus.
Second, yes, it totally does. The guy loudly talking into his phone is audible to everyone on the bus, thanks to the fact that he's speaking loudly. It's really obnoxious. e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0uTi2qkgf0
With that said, you could probably practice this stuff on the bus without being obnoxious by simply speaking more quietly. You'll still be more annoying than the quiet guy reading a book, but probably not unreasonably so.
I'm with you on the bombardment method. In terms of fluency, my Portuguese is 95%, my Spanish is 85%, my Italian is 50% and my French is probably 20%. Of course, these percentages would be best if broken down into reading, writing, etc, in order to get a clearer picture. I don't consider myself to be a quick language learner (ie, with a 'gift' for it) but I do believe that being passionate goes a long, long way and t…
I am actually in Brazil right now and I just started learning Portuguese a week ago. I am basically just watching How I Met Your Mother with Portuguese subtitles. Such a beautiful language. My French helps a lot though.
I know you're already an accomplished language learner, but why bother listening to English audio if you're learning Portuguese in Brazil? If you really need subtitles, at least it should be the other way round: Portuguese audio with English subtitles (readily available in DVDs, and maybe some cable channels too).
Another way is watching dubbed movies on (non-cable) TV. If you've already seen the movie, then you don't care if you miss 80% of the dialogue.
For Arabic I also recommend learning songs. I learned to read and write (but not understand anything) but the phrases I remember best are Wael Kfoury songs.
absolutely agree, I would LOVE to hear the C1 French speakers demonstrate their savoir faire with la belle langue NOW, with further years of practice post-C1 mastery. I can guarantee that: 1) you will sound nothing like a native speaker 2) I will laugh
I find the doubters like yourself rediculous. Have you never emersed yourself in anything? Things that seem impossible aren't remotely when you take them seriously and let them consume your every thought. Focus 8 hours a day on memorizing the digit of pi, reading music, speed reading, multiplying four digit numbers in your head, "counting cards" in Blackjack, playing chess without sight of a board, learning JavaScrip…
Not everyone has the ability or personality to be a hyperfocused genius working on a difficult task. Even if they could, it's simply doubtful that a learner would pick up everything necessary to be at C1 level in 5 months. On Chinese-Forums we have a few posters who have done intensive full-time study of Chinese using modern methods for months, and I don't believe any of them managed to achieve that level in several months. A2, B1, yes.
See this long debate about whether a guy can achieve C1 fluency in 3 months:
I just don't believe his claim: "C1 fluency in French in about 5 months" if he started from 0 unless he didn't do anything but learning the language in the target country. C1 is a damn high fluency: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Re... "Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvi…
It does not have to be a lie, he could be a prodigious talent and not know it. Some people learn certian things much faster then the general population. He may have a naturally high amplitude for learning language, add a very efficient learning method, and it is not far fetch.