what is the best method of learning another language?

Answer 1

Learning a language is an art form. It takes a lot of time, patience, and practice to get it right. Most of what was given as answers are correct. Formal classes are necessary for beginners since you need to have that guide to ensure you are using proper grammar, learning new vocabulary, and giving you the motivation to keep practicing. Once you further your development in a language, one should immerse themself into the culture. Language is tied to culture so tight that you cannot learn the language without learning the culture. As you become more knowledgeable in a language, you start understanding the idioms, humor, and idiocyncracies associated with that language. Also, each person has a different way of learning. Some are visual learners, relying on pictures and other visual ways of associating meanings. Another way is through aural skills. Some people are more inclined to rely on listening to hear the perfect tomes and intonations that go along with the language. And finally, the hands on approach. Others still are more comfortable with actually performing the required exercises to ensure that they can memorize what they learn in a more practical way. So, to answer your question, there is no "best way" in general. Since each person has their strong point in learning ability, that point must be harnessed, but not forgetting to ensure that the other skills are also developed to allow for a better learning experience to ensure that the language and the culture is engrained in one's mind.

Answer 2

The best way is total immersion - go live and work in a country where that language is the official language. The 2nd best way is to get a girlfriend or boyfriend who speaks the language. Third is by taking college level classes in that foreign language. The worst way to learn a language is by using a set of audio tapes, picture CDs, or any recorded language program such as Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, or Berlitz. No human interaction means no language acquisition. Very expensive and of little value. Watching TV is not a good method either for the same reason - no interaction.

Answer 3

Having been told by an Army recruitment sergeant that the results of my entry test indicated I could never learn a foreign language, I went to Germany in the Army and learned to speak German by going out and talking to the people every time I had a pass or leave. Returning to the States, I got sick of the bigotry here and went to Mexico where I learned Spanish very well within three years by working there, talking to the people, doing everything necessary to carry on life there, reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching the tv, going to the movies, eating out, and dating. I also read grammar books and kept a dictionary handy wherever I went. I talked to anyone and everyone because I wanted to learn the languages of those two countries. The best way to learn a language? This is what worked for me.

Answer 4

I think formal classes are one of the best way to learn a language instead of audio tapes, CD's and books. People tend to forget everything in a day or two if they have the CD's and stuff like that to work with. If you ever have questions, there'll always be a teacher to help you with whatever you need in a formal class. Also, the VERY BEST WAY to learn a language is by "Total Immersion", which is living in a foreign country ,with a foreign family and taking language classes of the language spoken in that country. I did it in Spain for a month and I had the best time of my life, and learned more Spanish at a faster rate with better pronunciation than I would in a classroom.

Answer 5

The answer to this question has literally taken me years of coursework to understand, and it's very much an open topic in my field of research, linguistics. While we don't completely know everything that works the absolute best for every single person, we definitely know some things that don't work. Here's some basic advice:

1. Make sure that you get a lot of exposure to material in the language that you understand. You have to give yourself input in the language so your mind will have something to learn. Watching movies, attending classes where the teacher and your classmates speak to you, reading books, chatting, and so forth are all good activities where you can get more exposure to the target language. Please make sure that you are getting understanding through the target language. That is, don't watch a movie with subtitles in English, for example, because your mind will pay attention to the English and won't need to learn anything through the target language.

2. Take opportunities to practice if you have them. But don't force yourself to practice things that you don't yet know, if you don't want to.

3. Language learning takes time. It also appears to take regular exposure to the language. If you study only occasionally (once in a week or less) then your mind will probably forget what you have learned between each study session and you'll progress slowly. I recommend daily exposure to the language if possible.

4. Here are some activities that we know don't work very well:
translating sentences back and forth between your native language and the target language
memorizing dialogues in the target language
repeating the same sentences over and over without appropriate context
These activities have their uses, but if these form the major part of your language-learning experience, you probably won't learn much.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions about this.

Answer 6

Immersion.

By that I mean not speaking in your native tounge and just listen to the new language.

Read books on that language, talk to folks that speak it.

That's how I learned German..

Answer 7

There are a lot of resources online. Seek out resources that have video clips and sound files as well as written material. I believe that you could college level Spanish online and not pay a cent!

http://www.handlethetruth.net

Answer 8

Living there. When you are hungry, thirsty and need toothpaste you learn fast.

Answer 9

Living there.

Answer 10

Living there and have a foreign girl/boy friend!