I took French, German, and Italian in junior high, but by the time I got to high school there were a lot of budget cuts, and advanced language classes stopped. By the time I got to college, I foolishly thought I had to study 'real' subjects, and I put aside my love for languages. So now I'm married with a great career, but I've never realized my dream of becoming fluent in a foreign language. I can't just take off to live abroad for a year, nor can I drop everything to go back to college full-time. What are my best options at this point? Native speaker tutor? Pimsleur CDs? A combination of both? Any intensive programs out there for adults that you recommend? Thank you so much for your time! Merci/Danke/Grazie!
2007-03-18 15:03:31 · 10 answers · asked by Lapin 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Total Immersion ! The longer, the better ;-)
2007-03-18 15:44:23 · answer #1 · answered by Rick 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really have a love for languages, just like me. Besides French, I studied German as a foreign language in my late twenties . I even completed the German language study for six semesters or two years in an institute. Very beautiful and challenging language!
Immersion is the best way of getting the feel and imbibing the nuances of different words of any language. I recommend reading of good reading materials, especially children's books and popular magazines of the language. But since you are busy with your career, you might as well be content with a professional tutor in your area, who's a native speaker. With a tutor, you get a chance to really speak the language. You have to focus only on one language, though, to be effective.
You may watch movies on cable and in DVDs too. It helps especially if you watch it first without the subtitles and just comprehend it. Then read good books on the language you're learning.
2007-03-18 15:57:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is extremely rare for adults to become fluent in a foreign language. I've learned through my years of foreign language study that the age cut-off is around 7 or 8 years. If you begin learning a language past that age, you will probably not achieve complete fluency (native speaker level) unless you were to become completely immersed in that language. Usually this is only achieved by living in a foreign country where that language is spoken. The Pimsleur series is good (as far as I've heard), but your best bet is to interact with native speakers as much as you can (to improve listening and speaking skills) and to immerse yourself in the language by reading printed materials, writing in the language and by taking in media such as music, films, etc.
Bonne chance!
2007-03-21 19:04:40 · answer #3 · answered by kartoffelpuffer79 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I took French in college, and didn't ust it at all until a couple of years ago when business took me to Paris for a couple of months. After a bit of time there, I was doing not badly at all, which suggests that immersion would be the way to go. If you can find a class at a local university that you can audit, you might do well.
Go ahead and indulge your love of language. It's a wonderful passion to have.
De rien, Bitte, Prego!
2007-03-18 15:09:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will need the Dwight Gradin Method..(PILAT)and some deep intent. Immersion whenever possible; that is, find a community where English isn't spoken but your target is and go there and spend as much time as you can there. Also I recommend
Rosetta Stone. And a tutor....best wishes.
2007-03-18 15:10:54 · answer #5 · answered by karen i 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely hire a tutor for an hour or so everyday. What language are you planning on learning? I'm learning Spanish, although it's a class offered in my high school.
2007-03-18 15:07:39 · answer #6 · answered by OwNaGeR 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Quite a rare passion.........exactly hire a tutor at wotever tym convenient also get some teaching CDs good 1 n if u wanna joinn an academy go for da nearest option ..............good luck n keep ur passion n urself alive..........!!!
2007-03-26 07:37:53 · answer #7 · answered by PuFFsss 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sprechen zie Deutsche? Your best bet is to look at the night courses at your local tech college. Many offer course in foreign languages and since the courses are at night they would not interfere with a day job.
2007-03-18 15:07:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
practice makes perfect as u must always conversate with ur friends everyday even though u say wrongly.
2007-03-18 15:10:24 · answer #9 · answered by robert KS LEE. 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Try
http://www.RosettaStone.com
THE best!
2007-03-25 20:15:25 · answer #10 · answered by miladybc 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋