Is it difficult to learn a foreign language? (Why?/Why not?)?

Question

What do you think is the most effective way to learn a foreign language?

Answer 1

In addition to my native U.S. English I've learned Esperanto, Spanish, and German from books & tapes. I've also studied Polish, and Mandarin Chinese. Here are some things I've learned:

How easy or difficult a language is to learn depends on how different it is from other languages you already know. The easiest language I've ever learned is my second language, Esperanto. Knowing that helped me a great deal with Spanish, German and Polish (because Esperanto has a roots in Latin and Germanic languages, as well as Slavic languages).

Immersion in the language, living in another culture is, hands-down, the best way to learn a language. It's also the most disruptive to your life, and few can do it.

I used to know a couple (they moved away and we haven't kept in touch) who helped each other learn languages through immersion in their home. One knew Spanish and wanted to learn Esperanto, the other knew Esperanto, and wanted to improve their Spanish. They divided the week in half, and for half the week would only speak only Spanish at home, and for the other half the week would only speak Esperanto. They both improved rapidly.

If you're learning on your own, some general tips for learning languages:

1. Look at people's reviews on Amazon to determine what are some of the best courses. Go to the library and check out (audition) different types of courses, and see what works for you best. The correct answer for you may not be one course, but a combination.

3. Put aside 30 - 60 minutes per day and study some each day.

4. If you get discouraged, take a couple of days off, but set your next time to study and stick to it. If you go too long (say a week) between study sessions, you'll start forgetting.

5. Go into the experience realizing that you'll make lots of mistakes, everybody makes mistakes, don't worry about them and keep going. In other words, don't let your mistakes discourage you, everyone makes them, you're no different.

6. Try to find someone better than you in the language to speak with (preferably a native speaker). You can't learn to speak a language without speaking it. If you're trying to learn with someone else who is also learning, you'll lead each other into learning errors.

Answer 2

It depends. If you live in a multilingual society, you will find it quite easy to learn a few languages very young. If you can practice a foreign language on a regular basis, both spoken and written, with various people in diverse situations, you are likely to learn it fast. If you already know a few languages, you will know better how to learn a new one, as your experience will have grown. Then the language you are trying to learn influences the level of difficulty, some languages similar to a language already known will be easy to learn. Learning a new alphabet may add time to the learning process, on the other hand you may choose to learn a language only in order to speak it. The most important is your cultural affinity with the places where the language you wish to learn is spoken.

The most effective way to learn a foreign language is to live in a place where that language is spoken. If you cannot afford to travel, you may try to find some expatriates hangouts in your town. Having lessons at least twice weekly, where you can train situations with your teacher before applying them in real life is a good complement. When starting, two or three weekly lessonswill be a must, when you reach a comfortable level, once a week should be enough. You will need to find opportunities to listen to the language as spoken by various persons and read texts about different topics. Television can help, especially if you can watch a movie in that language while having subtitiles in a language you know.

Answer 3

Well, it also depends on what language (for example, learning Japanese and French isn't the same thing) and it also depends on your native language (learning French if you already know Italian is easier) and how many languages you know (learning your first foreign language is always the hardest), furthermore it also depends on the person, some have difficulties grasping that other languages may think differently others learn languages very easily. Lastly, it is also important whether you like that language or not: If you are learning it because it is compulsary then it will be way harder then if you learn it because you like it, you want to know how to speak it and because you would/do use/come across with it frequently/daily. All in all, I wouldn't say it is hard but time comsuming, though, on the other hands there are parts, which are difficult, or even basically impossible (attaining a perfect, native-like pronounciation, especially if there sounds that don't exist in your language and you are not so young any more, for example trying to learn how to pronounce the English "th" perfectly can be very difficult for native Hungarians in whose language that sound doesn't exist.)

Answer 4

It depends on the person. Some people have an aptitude for languages and are intelligent. They do well at learning languages.
The best way to learn a language is in school. In some areas, there are foreign language classes that start in elementary school.
I think Spanish is the easiest to learn. The words are pronounced the way they are spelled. There are not that many idioms to learn. For the most part, pronunciation is easily learned.
It has been said that English is the hardest to learn, followed by Chinese.

Answer 5

Here are some ideas many second language learners don't normally realize.

FIRST: Completely eliminate idioms when you speak. We use a LOT of phrases that are not understood in other countries, and they use ones we don't understand. Examples: Get to first base. Flip the switch. Hitch a ride. Hit the road.
Put yourself in the place of a new learner of English and ask yourself if you would really understand the meaning of 'hit the road' when you heard it, or would you litterally try to 'hit the road'?
Even between England and North America, for example 'knock someone up'. In North America it means get someone pregnant. In England it means knock on their door. So you can see how embarrassing it might be should you stumble on an idiom that means something else.

SECOND: Realize that it is not ALWAYS a one-for-one word exchange when translating. Some languages can express an idea in as little as one word compared to a few, and vice-versa.
Hand in hand with this, understanding that the idea being expressed is what's important, not the way it's said. Just because the sentence wasn't constructed the way we would have said it doesn't make it wrong.

LAST: I cheated. I learnt the worlds easiest language first and now I find I understand English better (my native tongue) and I'm in a better position to learn more languages.

That language was ESPERANTO. It is designed such that you MUST understand sentence structure, which helps to understand other languages. Plus you end up with a multitude of Esperanto friends; oh the burdens we bear.

Oh sorry. I forgot to mention, listen to and read as much as you possibly can, whenever you can. Immersion, immersion, IMMERSION!

Gxis!

Answer 6

The most effective way is to learn it at a young age. The other one is to be around people speaking the language (if you want to learn spanish, go to mexico for a few months, and you'll pick it up). It is very difficult to learn a foreign language once you've left like elementary school, because your vocabulary in you first language is beginning to grow, and adding another language to it makes it very difficult.

Answer 7

The first foreign language is always the most hard to learn.
Then everything goes easier.
Everything also depends on you. There are people who do it easy and who are not.
The best way as for me is to learn the basics with a teacher and then start practicing yourself. The best way is to go for a holiday to the country where the language you're learning is official, before that go to to the forums on this language, read more literature on it, etc.

Answer 8

They say children are better wired to learn languages than adults. That may be somewhat true, but if Mom and Junior move to an area that speaks a different language and Mom sits in the house doing housework and Junior is outside playing with the native kids, who do you think is going to pick up the language faster?

Answer 9

It depends on who you are. Foreign languages come very easily to me.
The best way to learn a foreign language is to learn it with other people. If you learn with a group, you could help each other out and make thing much more clearer.

Answer 10

It is difficult. Some people have more affinity to different languages than others. Also, it becomes more difficult the older you are. The most effective way to learn is to go to a class.