Language learning

[Tail End Charlie]

I figured - there ain't no isio nor efo round this way!

Well I'm learning mainly via one of the Welsh Gov-subsidised courses, which are differentiated into N and S versions, but I did blitz through the DuoLingo course last year and I try to go back and do at least one practice lesson most days. They try and standardise it somewhat across the course as a whole, but when there are consistent regional distinctions such as gyda/efo gyda/gan dych/dach they chop and change, and sometimes you get a whole lesson of one or the other. Then there are specific things that get relegated to lessons about 'dialect', so sometimes the whole lesson is in Gog and sometimes in South Walian. I'd prefer it if you could opt for one version and then choose to do the odd lesson to familiarise yourself with variations, but there you go...

Ah you've answered my thought above.

 

[DaveReading]

I know what you mean, it’s never worked for me before and it’s clearly not perfect but I’m making progress and enjoying it this time. And it’s free!
What online programmes would you recommend?

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to learning a foreign language (I teach ESOL, for my sins).

That said, I'm a big fan of the radiolingua.com podcasts, which cover French, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish and Chinese.

But IME there's no substitute for learning in a class environment, preferably with a native speaker - but then I would say that, wouldn't I?

 

[cookiemonster]

Thanks. I'm teaching Y6 French now so this might work for them.

It will as she has a GCSE French section with videos.

 

[Chislenko]

I suppose if one good thing is to come of covid / lockdowns it is that people will have sought to take up running / cycling, learn new skills / languages etc. That can only be good long term if people stick at it.


For the people on this thread who are learning Welsh when things open up again if you get the opportunity (especially if your employer pays!!) I can highly recommend the Suggestopedia method used by this chap.

http://www.welshnot.com/ioan-talfryn-the-dragon-needs-two-tongues/

 

[Tenkaykev]

I mentioned upthread about my dabbling my toes in the German language. Reading some of the posts about people learning Chinese has got me thinking. I've always found the thought of it too daunting, with no sort of "anchor point" of recognising speech patterns and sounds that you get when learning a language such as German/ French / Spanish etc.
Our daughter in law is Chinese, originally from Harbin. It would be nice to learn a little bit of her language so could anyone recommend a suitably gentle, easy to follow method?
TIA

 

[matticus]

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to learning a foreign language (I teach ESOL, for my sins).

That said, I'm a big fan of the radiolingua.com podcasts, which cover French, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish and Chinese.

But IME there's no substitute for learning in a class environment, preferably with a native speaker - but then I would say that, wouldn't I?

Totally agree (I've learned in school (including exchange trip with French family, that was a real breakthru!), and an adult (including on hols), and tried all the technologies. You can learn from all these things, but a good class is easily the best.

 

[dodgy]

The Internet has made learning languages easier than it ever has been, I'm amazed the average Brit not only just speaks English, but has never made the slightest attempt at anything else (source* Seeing Brits struggle to say please and thank you in France and Spain).

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Our daughter in law is Chinese, originally from Harbin. It would be nice to learn a little bit of her language so could anyone recommend a suitably gentle, easy to follow method?

I found this a reasonably gentle style of course, using a native speaker teacher and an English speaking student going through the lessons and pronunciations.

Learn Chinese Pronunciation and Tone - Online Course (futurelearn.com) (other languages are available here too)

 

[theclaud]

Ah you've answered my thought above.

I'm not absolutely sure how Duolingo handles this - I'm too much of a tragic swot to mess it up on purpose and see what happens, but I did decide that rather than end up learning a weird hybrid of both I would choose the southern version to answer where the answer format allows - usually it accepts this even if the question/lesson uses the Gog one - this may not be the case where the whole lesson is about 'dialects'. But it will punish you if you mash them together and it messes with mutations etc: eg the syntax of possessives in Gog causes mutations that aren't needed in Swansea (Mae ganddi hi geffyl instead of Mae ceffyl gyda hi). I say 'punish' , but really I just mean an owl looks disappointed and your phone makes a minor-key sound.

 

[Dayvo]

I think I’m a bit weird here as I think Finnish is fantastic.

I agree, it is.
I’ve been to Suomi many times and never managed more than a three word comment.
I’m always amazed that pets (seem to) understand their Finnish owners’ commands. (yeah, I know, it’s all about tone and expression, but still).

And how about this for a palindrome!😮😬😶
The longest known palindromic word is saippuakivikauppias (19 letters), which is Finnish for a dealer in lye (caustic soda).

 

[cookiemonster]

I agree, it is.
I’ve been to Suomi many times and never managed more than a three word comment.
I’m always amazed that pets (seem to) understand their Finnish owners’ commands. (yeah, I know, it’s all about tone and expression, but still).

And how about this for a palindrome!😮😬😶
The longest known palindromic word is saippuakivikauppias (19 letters), which is Finnish for a dealer in lye (caustic soda).

How about this for a finnish word -

kahdeksansataakahdeksankymmentäkahdeksan

888 in Finnish.

 

[bitsandbobs]

I'm afraid it didn't work for me. All I can say in Dutch is "I love you" and "eyelashes".

Yes, the curious word "wimpers".

 

[cookiemonster]

The Internet has made learning languages easier than it ever has been, I'm amazed the average Brit not only just speaks English, but has never made the slightest attempt at anything else (source* Seeing Brits struggle to say please and thank you in France and Spain).

It's because so many countries around the world have English as one of their official languages, and that many people worldwide want to learn English, mainly (here in Asia anyway), so they can understand Hollywood movies.

Also, the problem I had when I was living in Finland, people want to improve their English and it's seen as good manners too in the Nordic/Scandinavian nations. I did have to ask them, very politely, to talk to me in Finnish as I was trying to learn their language. This wasn't taken as an insult as they were delighted that anyone was wanting to learn Finnish.

But what many native English speakers don't realise, and I realised this when I started learning other languages, is that you would learn more about your own language by learning other languages and that isn't a bad thing.

 

[gavroche]

When I was teaching adult French classes, my students always appreciated having a native French teacher as I could teach them colloquial French that an English native teacher often could not.

 

[bitsandbobs]

I agree, it is.
I’ve been to Suomi many times and never managed more than a three word comment.
I’m always amazed that pets (seem to) understand their Finnish owners’ commands. (yeah, I know, it’s all about tone and expression, but still).

And how about this for a palindrome!😮😬😶
The longest known palindromic word is saippuakivikauppias (19 letters), which is Finnish for a dealer in lye (caustic soda).

Got to love a language that has a word for coming home on a Friday after work and sitting in front of the telly on your own in your underpants drinking a beer.