Learning another language

What's the oldest people on here (who can) have learn't another language and how have you done it?

I've felt a bit ignorant for years only being able to speak English and pigeon GCSE French. Been on holiday in Spain several times recently and heard waiters speaking almost perfect English and just heard Radlinger speaking really good English in his interview.

At the risk of sounding a snob. I think, "If a waiter and a footballer can do it, I must be able to" - but, at the same time, I can't pretend I'm hugely motivated to do it [given so many others speak English]and think "You're a bit too old for all that learning malarkey now".

Inspire me people ...

 

We were speaking to Austrians the other day ( they hadn't heard of Radlinger or his wife) and you're right, they had amazing English.

I find I can understand a stuff but feel embarrassed speaking it. I wonder if that's the problem.

Apparently Pep Guadiola spent 5 hours a day learning English before he came over. I'm sure that would help.

 

I think it's really difficult to do unless you actually go over and immerse yourself in it.

 

Didn't speak a word of Russian until I was 25. Probably took me three years to get conversational, and another two after that to be really fluent. Had I not lived in the country, I'd say it would be pretty much impossible to get anywhere near functional, due to the complexity of the grammar and pronunciation, and the amount of colloquialisms in the spoken language. That opinion is backed up by how atrociously Russian undergraduates from the UK who come here for their year abroad speak the language on arrival.

 

I always learn a bit of a language when I go to a new country. It's mainly due to my over thinking everything though and I worry about how I would get by without any (even though I only ever go to tourist spots) and a little bit because I think it's only polite. As Helen says above though, I'm far too shy to dare speak it. I learn how to read and write basic key phrases well and then persuade my husband to learn a tiny bit and then when we are away he bloody loves to speak the language (which is weird as he's really shy normally about speaking to people). So, when we go anywhere, say a restaurant, I always whisper what to say in the language and then he calls the waiter over and says it. I've no idea why I won't just say it myself but I just sit in silence

I've found that the more languages I have dabbled in, the easier it gets. I learned German at school, then I had to teach myself Spanish during the 6 week holidays to teach the kids in my class (we found out a few years ago that we would be teaching it from September the last week before we broke up for the hols with no training). I've since learned a tiny amount of Italian, Catalonian and Greek. I now have to learn French and Luxembourgish as I'm going to a wedding in Luxembourg in October between my English friend and her French husband so it will be in both languages and of course his family and friends will be there.

 

I started trying to learn German about 2-3 years ago (at 45). Better at reading and writing than speaking and listening, but would need to spend some time in Germany or with German-speakers to really improve.

 

To really learn a language I think you need to be able to have regular conversations and a good reason to do it. My other half is French and so I have been trying to improve my GCSE french ever since I met her. There is learning the language grammatically and then there is the way that natives actually speak the language which is another thing altogether.

By way of encouragment I'd say that it's very doable to learn a language to a conversational level for holidays and things like that by learning a few key verbs and how to form sentences. You can then learn the vocabulary around food and drink , the weather , directions etc and your hobbies can get you a long way on holiday.

The better I get at French, the more I realise I don't know. For instance in French, we were talking this evening about how mosquitos sting in French , they don't bite and had a whole argument over which animals bite and sting

Michel Thomas or Paul Noble who adapts his methods are really good places to start for introductory courses. The main thing is not to give up, as it will take time unless you are living or immersed in the language you are learning. I listen to CDs in the car on long journeys. Basically the disadvantage with age is that you forget more, so you have to keep it up, little and often

 

We go to Germany 5+ times a year and despite being highly qualified in German (CSE grade 2 ....1983) and trying all apps it still doesn't sink in. I can order any amount of drink in perfect German (including accent apparently according to a fellow customer.....I was copying ) but still get a reply in English if they can speak it (usually can).....what's the German for demoralising ?

 

Can definitely read it better than hear it.......lots of the northern English language lends itself to German

 

I started learning German in 1993 at the age of 38, mainly because I love skiing and wanted to join in conversations etc in my favourite skiing place, Austria. I had O level German from school days, and thought I'd forgotten it. I went to Barnsley college and the tutor there suggested I should start on the second year of a 2 year course, because my O level German was still there and it would "come back". He was right.

After a year at Barnsley college I did an adult course at Sheffield Uni, and met a skint German student teacher who wanted to learn English, but couldn't afford it so offered German tuition in return. It was a perfect match and I learnt a lot from her. Eventually I met my wife, from Hamburg, and of course my German got better and better as I spent more time with German friends and family.

Today we speak German the whole time at home, in Dodworth but also in Norderstedt near Hamburg. My wife speaks English too but we only use it when out with English friends.

The key is immersion. It's almost impossible to learn a language on a couple of hours a week. Get yourself a satellite with channels in your chosen language and watch the news. Read books, kids' books at first. If you repeat a word and its translation 10 times, it will "stick". Expand your vocabulary first, as that's the key to enjoying a conversation - the grammar can come later.

It's hard work, no short cuts, just hard work, but great fun. Good luck, und viel Spaß!

 

Demoralisierend

 

I thought it was "Oh fu(k it ) "

 

Vielleicht sollten wir einen "Deutschen Abend" für die nächste BBS-Gruppensammlung planen?

 

You have my admiration for learning Russian as I learned a bit of Bulgarian and having to learn to decipher the script really adds another level of difficulty. Used to give me headache having to sound out the words and then understand them!

 

I felt like that when trying to learn Greek. I only learned basic bits but felt like tearing my hair out. It's the only one I've had a go at so far where I was better at speaking and listening than reading and writing it.

 

When I lived in Spain I taught myself the basics to get by.. Add to that over a short period of time I managed to be fluent.. Although this only applied when I was legless through ale..id get
p1s.. sed then end up arguing with myself talking in English answering in Spanish... Waiters taxi drivers shop owners and folk couldn't work me out... Sober I struggled..been that long now since Spain I've forgot most of it...
Fast forward some years I ended up living in Portugal.. Only this time the woman in my life at the time was Portuguese... Struggled at first but once confidence came I could hold my own in most conversations.. My daughter who's 12 lives in Portugal with her mum fluent in both English and Portuguese switches between both like a flick of a switch..
She tells me my Portuguese is terrible my grammer is bad..I came out of Portugal some 10 years ago. Moved back to bsly after I split with daughters mum.. Ive been back numerous times for holidays and to see daughter... However in April my wife and I went over for a holiday and on two separate occasions I got asked if I was Portuguese due to the way I spoke
I also got compliamented on my grammer. and pronunciation.
That said I really have to concentrate on what they say to me due to been deaf as an old door knob.. Plus I find I can struggle at times due to not hearing or speaking it often enough ..

 

After running it through google translate.....I'm not your kind of boy

 

That's a great point, it's the very thing that blocks progress. I was like that too at the start, and the people I was trying to speak to just switched into English. It's a huge confidence barrier to overcome, but if you stick at it and overcome the shyness, you'll find your progress multiplies from that point.

We really ought to organise a get-together for budding German speakers on here. I'll bring my wife to make sure we don't teach each other bad habits!

 

As others have said, I learnt Italian only by living in the country for 3 years (and marrying an Italian woman). There's always a limit to what you can learn from a book.
About 10 years ago I took A level and got an 'A', not that that means much these days, but as I haven't lived in Italy for a bit I am probably quite rusty.
If you are motivated there are plenty of free TV channels to simulate 'full immersion', but you also need a 'mother' figure who you can ask questions of, because there'll be all sorts of idiomatic expressions and cultural references you'll never understand. Especially when you throw regional dialects into it as well. I've made a few attempts to learn a bit of Spanish and French as well on the back of my Italian, but it seems way too much work without much incentive. I'd only bother if I got work out there. If you don't use it, you lose it.

Btw, I would say watching films in the language you want to learn, with subtitles switched on in the language you want to learn (not English) was always useful for me.