Is it true you can learn a language by...?

Question

Surrounding yourself in the culture? For example I live near the border and would love to know spanish... Can I pick it up slowly by watching spanish television and listening to spanish music? My friend told me his mom never taught him just like me but he picked it up by listening.

Answer 1

it's true, you can learn a language that way, but what's even better is if you immerse yourself as well as study

Answer 2

I learned English that way.

However, if you only watch TV, and never actually try to speak it, you will never learn how to speak it. The ability to understand a language, or even to read it, does not presuppose the ability to speak it.
"Surrounding yourself in the culture" is indeed very effective, but to do that you must also speak Spanish on the street when the opportunity presents itself. I seldom actually spoke English as a child, and sometimes it still shows when I open my mouth.

I know many people who can understand my native tongue almost perfectly, but cannot construct a single well formed sentence. Do not fall into that trap. Good luck!

Answer 3

YES! That is the best way (albeit the ONLY way) to learn a language. Lucky you are to live close to where you can immerse yourself. I live in the northeast but I love spanish, and it's hard to find ways to learn it up here. So yes, watch TV (with closed captioning if you have it) and listen to songs. Pick a couple of songs you like, look up the lyrics, memorize them. then repeat. I know some immigrants who learned english that way by listening to pop music.

Answer 4

It is possible. That's how I learn English.

By listening to others talk you can see how words are used and when to use it, by reading the language from posters, etc you learn grammar and how to write it. You expose yourself to the language, and unconsciously you will think about the language...Besides, if you live near the border, you're going to have to speak it a little to converse with the people there, that's Practice using the language right there :D

From thinking the language alot, you begin to understand it, and then....before you know, you have already learn it :D

And ofcourse, bringing a pocket dictionary with you helps alot too.

Cheers.

Answer 5

You might come up with some strange expressions occasionally, but immersion is agreed (see all the answers here) to be one of, if not the, best way to learn a language. Buying a 2-way dictionary will help, and of course study is still good.

Learning through cultural immersion is great fun. Just make sure to check out a range of different media - if you want to watch the TV for this, check out news, kids' shows, and dramas to get the widest exposure to different expressions and levels of formality. If you only ever watch soap operas, your vocabulary will be limited to describing who is having affairs with who :P

Answer 6

Immersion is one of the best ways to learn because you can pick up the idiomatic and slang meanings. If anyone wants to learn French, there is a series (from the early 90s) called French in Action, that helped me.

And yes, if you have access to foreign television and radio, utilising it may help.

Answer 7

Short answer: yes, it's true. :-)

It sounds kind-of far-fetched, doesn't it? It's true, though. I've known people who spoke no English, but after a year or two of watching American TV on their breaks at work, they could speak fluently.

It is commonly accepted and is considered fact that immersing yourself in the culture will (over some time) teach you the language.

Answer 8

God isn't in opposition to different languages - as you'll see he created them! Most of Jesus fans during the biblical money owed spoke a number of languages, so that they would unfold the well information. The purpose they began constructing the tower of babel, is for worry that God could scatter them over the entire earth, they didnt desire Gods rulership, they desired to have a good time themselves as a country. Jehovah noticed that that is what they started to do and there could be "not anything they are going to have in brain to do a good way to be impossible for them." So he noticed are compatible to disperse them by means of his method, versus permitting them their possess headship - that is the yearning of sinful mankind, the abuse of loose will. So on the subject of the Bible and of God, it's not fallacious to talk in tongues, or to converse, he simply intended for his motive to be fulfilled, and that's for mankind to poulate the complete earth. Good query regardless that, made me feel!

Answer 9

Yes, you can learn a language in that way. In fact, I think it is one of the best ways to do so, because you see people using it in it's context including pronounciation and accent. It's also good if you try to read it or speak small phrases to help it stick in your vocabulary. That's actually how children speak a certain language, because they grew up hearing it and got used to it, so they can speak it fluently. I don't remember my mom teaching me Tagalog (Filipino language), but whenever somebody says something in Tagalog, i always understand them because i got used to hearing it around me.

This advice should work for you too. Good luck!

Answer 10

Immersion is great - it forces you to learn. I spent a year as an exchange student in Germany and when I first arrived I didn't know a single word. Long story short, I learned very quickly.

Answer 11

If you are interested in Mandarin, I suggest you visit Hello! Mandarin' s Live Class, http://www.hellomandarin.com/, you will be able to learn Chinese face to face with Beijing teachers. You still can join online live class directly from Beijing and practice with volunteers. Online Course is much cheaper than classroom training if your budget is limited.
I hope this information is helpful to you.