Learning Languages..

[dmash]

^Yes, you're completely right, probably should of said that. I'm just used to always referring to it as Spanish/Espanol, guess it's the American in me

[aussy]

REALLY appreciate the input thus far guys, definitely why I asked here

I'm still 'in the process' of learning Spanish though and have quite a ways to go. Has anybody ever doubled up on learning languages before? or is it usually best to try and nail down one fairly well before moving to another? I'm almost thinking that if I go with Italian I might mix a few things up (as some things intertwine with Spanish).

I would avoid doing this if Spanish is your first, second language (unless you were taught English on a more formal level). I think its important to first understand the science of language, and figuring out how to spot its patterns and sequences. Otherwise it will all jumble together.

I studied French for about six years and Arabic for about four. I traveled to Egypt and Morocco (where I used my French more) for language immersion programs. I haven't used either in over a year, so whatever level of fluency I had is, for the most part, gone

[Acéphale]

[the-orb]

in Spain, "Español" doesn't refer to a language at all. The language that we call Spanish is called Castellano, as opposed to Catalan, Basque and Gallego, all spoken in Spain.

And I noticed they have their own language on street signs in the Valencia region.

Yes, that language is Valencian, although technically it's a dialect of Catalan. I didn't even notice it until I got on a bus and started reading some announcement, hehe. I never heard anyone speak it over there though, but maybe you need to go to the countryside for that.

I don't know if this will help with your decision but my personal suggestion is to do one language well instead of half-learning two languages. It feels so different traveling in a country where you can actually speak the native language well. You can get to a lot of the more remote places and those frequented by locals that you probably wouldn't feel so comfortable visiting as a regular tourist. So in your case, my suggestion is to stick with Spanish and maybe learn the basics of Italian so you can get by there. For traveling, Spanish in Spanish-speaking countries is much more useful than German in German-speaking countries. And I personally could get by in Italy not knowing any Italian but knowing Spanish.

[laughed]

Languages

just went through all the pages and didn't see a topic on this - (thanks for redirecting)
I speak English as my first language, my Spanish is a little rusty but I did study it for 6 years, not seriously though.
I am wondering what languages people speak here and if they have any advice on learning a new language. I know that google has a wealth of information but I'm hoping maybe we can talk about experience speaking the languages in their respective countries as well, and maybe talk about our experiences in those cities, countries.
I have gone back and forth for the past year about what I would like to seriously study - at first it was Mandarin, Japanese and then German, but now I think I am going the typical American route with French. I also think Portuguese is a fantastic language - so now I have narrowed it down to French, Portuguese and German. And really, German is in there because I think it is easier and I am most likely going to hit Berlin before I do France or Portugal...

[semper]

Going to do a concert in Moscow in two months, yay :)
I've never been farther east than Vilnius; so glad I'll finally see the big Wild East .

I want to make the most out of it, even if it's only for a few days. I speak Polish rather well, with its seven declinations, so i think I should be able to learn the basics of Russian quite fast.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good learning method? Anything I can download?

спасибо.

[phiman]

I speak German as my first language, English (evidently), French and i started learning Mandarin 'bout 7 months ago. Mandarin is really really hard to learn imo but nonetheless its so much fun. Being able to write sentences in hanzi is what makes the learning process so motivating. If you're interested in learning a foreign language - go for Mandarin.

[widmerpool]

Going to do a concert in Moscow in two months, yay :)
I've never been farther east than Vilnius; so glad I'll finally see the big Wild East .

I want to make the most out of it, even if it's only for a few days. I speak Polish rather well, with its seven declinations, so i think I should be able to learn the basics of Russian quite fast.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good learning method? Anything I can download?

спасибо.

I can't vouch for any particular school/teacher, but I see a lot of ads for Russian lessons over Skype.

I have been very happy with my Chinese lessons on Skype with a teacher in Beijing.

[Faust]

Does anyone have any experience with Livemocha?

[Stijn]

^ I've started learning Dutch that way and it worked great for me (made a break though, got to resume that course :p). I think it's an excellent system for people who have an easier time learning languages by practicing phrases directly rather than learning the rules first and then their application afterwards.

Yay nog een Nederlands sprekende :D!

My first language is dutch, I speak English of course, and a little French. I'm also trying to learn Japanese, going to Tokyo this summer!

[KingJulien]

I've been planning to move abroad for awhile now (I'm American), probably to teach English, since I think getting a job without being fluent in the language will be nearly impossible. I lived in Barcelona for awhile and loved it, and I'm a little torn between sticking with Spanish and moving somewhere like Argentina (my Spanish is ok but definitely not fluent), or starting over with French. Luckily the job I have now pays for up to two classes per semester, so whichever I choose will basically be free. What do you guys think? I'm leaning toward French at the moment just because I think I'd prefer to be in Europe.

Edit: also, looks like most of the classes available this summer are online, anyone had any experience with that? I'd just do rosetta stone for free but I don't think I'd be able to motivate myself enough.

[laughed]

i've been on the fence with many languages and like you i studied spanish for 5 years and sort of know it....i finally decided on french. The reason - i got a german tutor and the more that I started speaking it the more i realized how much the language really does sound like shit. Some author or filmmaker, etc. said something like that and I didn't agree - but now i do. Mandarin (guy up there said something about it) - cool language and as much as i would like to go to Hong Kong - not worth it for me.
boils down to french really is a beautiful sounding language, ladies love it (well, c'mon, they do, i'll always be doing things to impress the opposite sex!), and for me there are a lot of french writers that i would like to read in the original language - that and, uh - PARIS!
it may be sort of trendy to say you want to learn french but whatever - that's what i'm going with. I've done rosetta stone but you'll need to do more to learn it. I've got a french tutor now and I gotta say - i made the right choice. Even thinking about going to school to learn it.

[RK1]

Spanish

Reviving an old thread!
Throughout most of my spanish lessons in school I always had that attitude of "if i want to learn Spanish, I go somewhere they speak Spanish" and that obviously led to me not learning as much as I could have, even though it is a language I really would like to speak fluently.
Also, it's not something im proud of.

So school's finished and I can barely put together a sentence more advanced than "Me llamo xx y soy de Dinamarca"and I'm planning on a trip to South America, Colombia and Argentina.

I'm going to work as a volunteer in a not yet chosen project in Bogotá for approx. 2 months where I'll be staying with a host family and approx. 1½ month in Buenos Aires where I'll live with other volunteers from around the world.

How much Spanish could and should one expect to learn while staying?
I am aware that it differs from each individual but I'm really hoping to be able to at least have a conversation when returning home!
Also, does anyone have any experience with stuff like this that they would like to share?

[Resonkuken]

A few months here should do you fine. As long as you don´t keep to yourself and talk to people here you´ll learn fast. I´ve seen people I´ve tought from many different places (china, france, norway, canada, etc) pick it up after a few months (and a two week intensive course) but what helped them the most was working alongside people who spoke spanish. The language has a few complicated aspects like conjugation and, the amount of articles, how things have different "genders", i.e la mesa, el árbol, etc. Pronunciation is the easiest part, just remember it all sounds as it is written.

[i-d-g]

How much Spanish could and should one expect to learn while staying?
I am aware that it differs from each individual but I'm really hoping to be able to at least have a conversation when returning home!
Also, does anyone have any experience with stuff like this that they would like to share?

I'm American. I did a orientation semester in Italy this past spring, and I've never studied Italian formally. I was there for four months and it was the first non-English speaking country I've ever been to.

I'll never forget the feeling of getting outside of the airport and feeling a big knot in my stomach from nervousness.. The first two weeks I was too embarrassed to use any Italian in conversation. After that I started picking up exponentially, and by the two month mark, I could string together a coherent thought and make friends with the Italians at my school.

Through all of this, I learned that it's just a confidence thing. If you constantly feel too embarrassed to speak up, you're just going to get frustrated. Put yourself out there. The awkward encounters with strangers are the instances in which you learn and remember the most.

Who knows, if it works out well enough, you might go back in the future. I'm moving back to Italy in 10 days, and this time I'm staying for 3 years :)