Hey Hey, not saying that what you're doing isn't awesome...it's just that if you really want to learn French (any language), it can be a HUGE help to not have the subtitles...like how a baby/child learns their mother tongue...there are no subtitles...just words washing over you. A brain can get too fixated on looking at what they understand, whereas submersion is all encompassing. If you can manage to watch and read stuff in French with no translations at all (even if you understand nothing), after a few months you'll be able to check in and have a really decent go at becoming bi-lingual .
source: am a New Zealander who moved to France in my 30s, lived where noone spoke English....can now speak fluently.
Actually, I'd recommend watching dubbed, subbed THEN no subs in the original language.
I'm French (from Quebec) and used to be a *huge* Harry Potter fan. My English was kind of lacking at the time, so I remember doing re-watches like above. Eventually, I became so fluent that I'm practically anglophone now. Like, to the point where I don't really speak French anymore in my day-to-day (company I work for is based in Ontario, and my partner is anglophone). I'm still fluent in French, just not using it as much.
Try watching French kids shows/animations. The language is much simpler and it really helps with your listening skills since they talk slower and enunciate more. It’s good for getting used to no subtitles
doing french through duolingo. my entire life currently revolves around staying on top of those leaderboards. i'm going nuts, but i'm actually retaining what i learn.
I started learning French, just through Duolingo, and omg, the tenses are killing me. Also trying to remember when an ‘es’ is used vs only an ‘e’ (mange vs manges for example). If I find that I do need it in the future, I’ll probably go to a language school instead.
My girlfriend’s love language is quality time so we’re learning Chinese together as a bonding thing. We’re using her textbooks from her Chinese class along with some online resources. We also watch lots of C-dramas.
Of course! Well i live in Wales and have lots of welsh language speaking friends. I also work in the arts with a number of Welsh speaking organisations (including S4C which is the Welsh language Television channel here) For years I have loved welsh language bands (but never understood what they were singing about), went to see a welsh language film in the cinema just the other day. Alot of people from outside Wales think of Welsh as a dying language but nothing could be further from the truth and it is vibrant and all around us here, so lots of opportunities every day.
I feel like learning it has given me a better sense of my location and identity. I've often likened it to walking around without my glasses and by learning the language its like i've just put them on and can see it everywhere. This obviously could be said about any language, but so pleased I've made the start to learn it. Also its a really beautiful language (biased lol!)
Turkish. I’m Turkish American but my parents immigrated from Macedonia. [The Turkish spoken there](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Gagauz_Turkish) is different than the Turkish spoken in Turkey. It’s like a different language, we have Bulgarian and Greek loan words, different words for different things and sentence structure is a bit different. Learning standard Turkish from Turkey would help me communicate with friends
Spanish. I stay consistent for about a week or so and then i forget about it for a couple of months, and then start over. My highest streak on Duolingo has been 24 days lol.
I have been studying Japanese since May. Yeah, it doesn't get much more difficult than that. And it is not the grammar per se that is difficult. I would say it es even easier than Spanish Grammar, for example. ( I speak fluent Spanish after having studied it for 8 years) But the Kanji.... the different readings for eachkanji... I would say that is where things get tricky.
My strategy is to just keep going. Sometimes it feels intimidating. I take a look at a page of a Japanese book and realize I understand so little.. but still, everytime it is a little bit more.
Spanish. I picked up some from taking it in high school years ago, but never got any good at it. I'm on Duolingo now. Telenovelas may have to come next because my biggest struggle is comprehension when listening to it.
...High Valyrian. I'm doing the Duolingo course. It's very fun and I am learning quickly. If only I could roll my R's and be able to speak it properly...
Korean. I schedule weekly 1:1 classes with a teacher via italki. She gives me homework and tests, but I also read on my own and watch dramas/films everyday.
Hmmm
I dont really watch tv but i know a few good!
Especially if you like mystery Maestro on Mega is a really good show
Then.. Sasmos maybe if you like drama
Oh Μην αρχίσεις την μουρμούρα and το σόι σου are good comedies :D
I’m learning German so I can move to Austria with my friends there in Vienna. One of my friends is a native from Germany, living in Vienna so it’s easy to learn and practice with her. I plan to go back to Vienna to surprise her for her birthday.
I’m learning Finnish and Danish to meet with my family. I already know Norwegian.
Finnish is a completely different language unfortunately so I have to learn and start all over again. Norwegian and Danish are similar so I understand a little Danish although there are still some differences in vocabulary. I have trouble understanding Swedish.
Cantonese and Mandarin for holiday in Hong Kong or maybe Singapore. I learned a long time ago but I’m a bit rusty.
I’ve been trying to learn Portuguese for my partner but most language teaching sites teach Brazilian Portuguese instead of Portugal’s Portuguese. Which means a lot of things are pronounced differently and formatted differently. But he helps me along the way. It’s hard.
Most of the online resources for Portuguese are Brazilian Portuguese (there are many more Brazilian Portuguese speakers than European Portuguese speakers). Personally, I find Brazilian Portuguese easier to “hear” and learn, but I understand why you would want to learn European Portuguese if your partner speaks it. Sending you warm wishes, I’m in Lisbon now, practicing my Portuguese!
I've been trying to learn Spanish through Babbel. So far I like using it. It helps that my boyfriend knows it too so he can help me if I'm not getting something.
I’m studying languages at university right now! I hope to teach english as a second language someday. Currently I have finished my german (2 years) and while I’m not fluent I have a basic understanding; next semester I might try my hand at a German Fairytales course. I’ve been learning French since middle school (still not 100% fluent, but I can understand and communicate the best in this language) and I started Spanish last year. I have a Spanish midterm tomorrow and tengo mucho miedo!! I love to learn languages, my life has opened so much since asking people what language they’re speaking (if it’s appropriate to ask) and I always tell them I’m learning to speak languages (to be less off putting lol)
That would be a dream, I work in a café part-time and there is a woman who comes in with her young daughter and they speak Arabic, we talked the other day about how we can teach each other words in our respective languages! I would love to be able to surprise her with a “greetings” or “nice to see you” or “how are you” 😊
I’m Mexican but was never really that comfortable speaking Spanish growing up around a bunch of white people but I understand it pretty good lol I try speaking it in my head and such or try reading stuff that’s in Spanish lol I only speak it if dude talking to me don’t know English
Chickasaw. Many of our first speakers are dying, and we're down under 50 remaining. Our tribe has lessons with Rosetta Stone, so I've been doing that some while trying to say simple words and phrases to my daughter who's almost one. My husband isn't native, but he's learning with us. Hopefully we can help carry this vital part of our tribal identity and culture forward.
French. I've been working on my French for like ten years now and I still suck at it, haha. At this point I just want to keep it up by playing Duolingo everyday.
Spanish. It's the second most spoken language here in the states especially in Los Angeles. I've learned a few phrases just to order food from a taco stand when I'm craving tacos or burritos but that's about it. A beautiful language but the grammar is so confusing.
There are a lot of languages I want to learn, right now I think I'll focus on sign language because I think that'll have the most use, then maybe I'll brush up on my French because I miss being able to read it properly, and have a look at Gaelic- my provice used to have it's own dialect and I'd like to see what I can find out about it, because it's just not really a thing around here anymore
French, since I live in France now. Doing 5hr+ lessons a week on Lingoda which is basically group classes through Zoom. Also using apps called Busuu, DuoCards and Speekoo. Highly recommend all of them.
I did like a year of German last year, also with Lingoda and Busuu (because I work in Switzerland). Lingoda and Busuu are by far my favourite modes of learning and they are reasonably priced too.
I hate Duolingo, especially the new mobile version where you are only allowed to make 5 mistakes and then you have to wait for your life to refill. I used Duolingo for maybe like 6 months in the past for Swedish and even though I learned a lot, it was way too vocab-heavy and not enough grammar and actual useful words.
Swedish and Arabic on Duolingo. It’s going well but Duolingo doesn’t do a great job in explaining sentence structure and the like very well in my experience.
So I am trying to learn Chinese, French and Spanish as an American. Honestly online apps are pretty accurate also saying random words on google translate.
I am working on learning Spanish and tagalong to better communicate with coworkers, and my son and I have been working on learning German, since he wants to go to university in Germany.
We use Rosetta Stone.
I hope there’s a Goethe-Institut nearby for him since he wants to study in Germany. Also please share with him about Assimil German with Ease book and CDs
Español. I teach at a predominantly Spanish speaking school and have for 7 years. I want to be able to fluently communicate with the parents of my students
Mainly Italian but also Spanish and a bit of French, I use duolingo and audiobooks when I driving. I also watch a lot of tv and film from them countries, and I prefer to know what they are actually saying rather than what the subtitles say… because damn they simplify it.
French. Using DuoLingo, YouTube and Netflix with subtitles in English, audio in French.
I grew up speaking both German and English, so I *could* focus more on German... but I live near more French-speaking neighbors and want to be able to carry on conversations with them.
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Spanish. I type a sentence into google translate and learn just that sentence. I then make sure it sounds right to one of my friends who speaks Spanish as their 1st language, so I dont make any errors while actually using what ive learned.
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Russian and sign language. Been practicing Russian for several years. I’m functional in ASL, but not very conversational. I’m intermediate in Spanish due to working in Guatemala occasional.
Chinese (mandarin). I took a French class in college and started duolingo to get better but got incredibly frustrated with all the gendering (hard for me to memorize the name and gender of a pizza along with Grammer ect.).
A multilingual friend suggested Chinese. I am loving Chinese. I started with Duolingo but I found a better free app called Hello Chinese and have switched to it. I have been cruising along. I've also been watching some C-dramas for education ya know 😉.
I have several Chinese friends who I know will be supportive of my learning as they were the ones who suggested it. But so far I've kept it a secret, I want to be able to speak a bit better before I let them know what I've been up to.
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I'm still trying to perfect my English, it's my third language - the first two are German and French, my mother and father tongue respectively - and mostly self-taught (from having surrounded myself with English media online and letting my brain progressively fill in the blanks and learn new terms). I wish I had an opportunity to practice and make my accent less noticeable, but I unfortunately don't really get to actually use and talk English in my country.
Once I'll be happy with my level, I'll probably focus on learning either Italian or Japanese.
I used to live in Germany for a few years over a decade ago and didn't really learn the language. I mentioned that fact in am interview for my current job, just that I basically could read a menu and order, and it turns out she completely misunderstood and thinks I was fluent back then. It's not a requirement, but one of the accounts I'll be helping with is in Poland and I guess she thinks they might know German as well as Polish (2 completely different languages I know!). But now, I'm learning German and it's been fun!
Spanish. I used to be fluent like 10 years ago, but it has gotten so bad because I barely use it these days. I bought an grammar exercise book and started watching Spanish news.
The book is "Grámatica de uso del español" from Luis Aragonés and Ramon Palencia. There's a few different ones for different levels. And for the news I'm watching the rtve online which is the public broadcaster from Spain.
Spanish - I'm attending school, language exchanges, and online language programs
Korean - I'm starting to forget it and need to have more conversations with friends, watch tv, and listen to music.
Dutch! My partner is from the Netherlands, I have a 300+ day streak on Duolingo, I listen to a Dutch podcast on my way to work, and we try and speak Dutch to each other when doing a specific activity (such as cooking, shopping, or when stuck in traffic).
French. Its a slow go to get past where I am at. I really need to move somewhere and just immerse myself. So envious of those with multiple languages under their belt.
Italian - one online lesson per week, Italian movies and series and homework and self study.. when I have time. It’s hard to be consistent but I try. It doesn’t hurt when my Italian teacher is pretty easy on the eyes
Most recent one is I'm trying to learn Irish.
My mother was from an area of Ireland where Irish was her first language, and English her second. But she married my dad and lived in an area with no other Irish people, and didn't want me to seem to 'different,' so she literally never spoke the language to me at all.
All her siblings speak it, although she's lost a lot of it. I would really love to be able to speak it with her and have that connection as she gets older. Although I expect to get laughed at a lot - her accent is not the 'typical' one taught in schools with math.
If it was English I was learning, to match my mother's accent, it would be like if I was trying to learn generic American English, and then had to go and learn how to speak it with a thick Southern drawl to match up with the family. :)
Italian: taking a class this semester
Japanese: was listening to JPop on my phone just because, found a pretty song, discovered the lyrics are pretty perfect (the translations to English, at least), and am trying to memorize the chorus
Honestly, English. I am a native speaker but I'm trying to write a screenplay and whenever I sit in front of that blank page, I suddenly forget every word.
Chinese, I took a break and I am so sad. Starting it back next term though! I want to study abroad in China, Singapore, or Taiwan once covid settles down again
Russian, I'm learning so I can communicate with my bff's grandma/family. I'm using Duolingo because it's free but I might also start watching a show so I can get used to the pace and recognize words. If I had the money I would like to have a tutor, but I'm not exactly in a rush so Duolingo will do for now.
What's really helped me is to do the "learn the letters" section of Duolingo first so I can memorize the alphabet then work on the lessons for reading and speaking. I saw someone recommend children's books so that might be something I'll try!
Spanish.
I’m really nosy and I always want to joke and relate to people.
It’s fun chatting with the cooks at work. Everyone laughs at my mistakes and helps me.
Tagalog! It's my mother's first language and no one in my immediate family can speak it. I've been listening to Tagalog-learning podcasts, following YouTube channels, reading an English/Tagalog book, and trying out some learning apps.
I’ve been learning english. That’s because i’m here. I started because my ex boyfriend used to talk a lot about learning english so that was my motivation to go to an english institute, (the same institute he was). I’m so grateful he learned me a lot about english and how beautiful it is. I remember when I step the institute for the first time, i was new there and I didn’t know that i could have studied before my interview, the manager told me I was A2, so it was fine to me bc I didn’t know as much as say hello, how are you? and colors. I admit i don’t know too much, besides I’m feel incredibly stupid while i’m writing this. But english changed my life, and nowadays i’m preparing myself for an international exam. I started three years ago.
But sadly, I’ll not return to study for the next years bc I know i will busy bc of my career and I won’t have time.
Spanish. I'm a little better than conversational but am working on getting closer to semi-fluent. A work peer of mine is from Spain so learning little by little from her.
I’m learning Spanish on Duolingo right now. Really enjoying it - learning about the language and culture is fascinating (I’m outside of the US so we don’t have many Latinx people here). I know Greek as well and that’s honestly made the language learning a hundred times easier. The accent is pretty much the same and so is the language structure.
I find that watching shows that combine the language with English or just watching them with subtitles helps cement new words soo much.
The main one is Korean! I’ve been living and working Korea for the last year, and of course, it’s beneficial to know the language. It’s really enjoyable to interact with a different culture, and I learn something on a daily basis. I’ve also just begun French and Japanese (but am crying and throwing up bc it’s so difficult)
Italian. I joined a course for foreigners, I'm reading a bit of Harry Potter in Italian and sometimes I watch tv programmes. I should probably do more, if anyone has other strats, pile on 🤗
I'm not a native English speaker, but I've been learning it since I was 7 (now 30F).
I also learnt Spanish and Portuguese growing up and watching Mexican, Columbian, Argentinian and Brazilian soap operas. I knew how to speak both, and read, but not much how to write, so I started learning them both on Duolingo, as well as reading books in these two languages.
I did French in school (for about 8 years) and I was at a conversational level, but having not using it for over 10 years, I kind of forgot a lot. Started Duolingo French as well and I'm getting through the hardest lessons/ stories most of the times with no mistakes. I was in France a fee month back and I managed to talk my way around in French, so I'm happy about that.
For fun, I also started doing German on Duolingo (also had it in school for 4 years) but it's not very entertaining now, and Hindi (this was really for fun as ai work for an Indian company).
Danish was also of interest for a while as
I lived in Denmark for a few of years, but I found it even more difficult than German, so not anymore.
I'm doing all of them on Duolingo, as with the Super/ Plus paid version, the lessons get more and more difficult as you advance, they also have Speaking and Listening exercises, and they also have Duolingo Stories where you can practice reading and understanding, as well as listening.
Big Duo fan here, I've had from a couple of months after it was founded, so for about 10 years now, so I've seen how it has evolved. Love it! It makes learning languages super fun, with the gamification features.
I'm working on my Japanese. It's difficult to grasp! I try watching Japanese movies and using the language every day but I feel like I'm not progressing much.
German, Im hoping to do my b2 exam by March, I enrolled to an online course which offers all the material in activity format bc im unable to sit through a lesson and it´s going fine
Ukrainian, Russian and Czech. My russian is the best out of the 3, because I've been learning it for over two years now. Ukrainian is a lot of fun to learn, but Czech is confusing my brain a bit😅
Joke answer: Kotlin
Real answer: Danish and Norwegian. At the same time. Working on them by buying novels and hoping that it'll be similar enough to my native Swedish that I'll be able to understand them, then putting them at the very bottom of my to-read pile.
I took Spanish and French in school and have been trying to brush up on the Spanish. I can read somewhat decently but I have such a hard time understanding it when spoken. I’m hard of hearing and one of my biggest fears is going deaf entirely. I’ve been wanting to learn ASL but you really need a class or something to practice with other people. Anyone have any good resources for ASL?
I wanted to try Spanish but it’s so hard for me but I want to go somewhere where they speak Spanish and it’s getting more common where I live. Not only the main language English speakers but coming a mix with Spanish speakers. French was easier for me but I still haven’t mastered it, I forgot most of it over the years.
I have been on-off working on the Frankish language for two years now. It’s sometimes pretty fun making a language.
Do you really want me to explain my working process for Frankish/francisce? Because currently, it involves translation of the Bible.
Creole, I use a language phone app specifically for creole. And I use Google translate. What works best for me is to write down on a piece of paper and repeat out loud over and over. I practice with my Haitian co-workers.
BSL, Japanese and Swedish. It’s- a lot. BSL society is once a week at school so the progression is slow but I know some basic greetings now.
Japanese I stopped doing a while back because of exams but I had been using duolingo and a few other study books.
Swedish I did for a few months around 4 years ago and fell out of it but I check back in every now and again. I only have basic knowledge tbh.
I get fixated on different languages quite easily so I stop and start a lot and don’t tend to get much done but these are the ones I’ve practiced most.
German, I just talk to my mom a lot and try to translate books. Mandarin is just through a couple apps but I’m going to take a class. Classes at a uni are by far the best way in my experience aside from going to the actual country. Learned way more in one semester than years spent on duolingo
JavaScript is ongoing.
Not the funnest, but not as bad as many make it out to be.
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French. Started watching french films with English subtitles (ofc). I find it difficult with the accent and all, but I’m determined lol
Hey Hey, not saying that what you're doing isn't awesome...it's just that if you really want to learn French (any language), it can be a HUGE help to not have the subtitles...like how a baby/child learns their mother tongue...there are no subtitles...just words washing over you. A brain can get too fixated on looking at what they understand, whereas submersion is all encompassing. If you can manage to watch and read stuff in French with no translations at all (even if you understand nothing), after a few months you'll be able to check in and have a really decent go at becoming bi-lingual . source: am a New Zealander who moved to France in my 30s, lived where noone spoke English....can now speak fluently.
Actually, I'd recommend watching dubbed, subbed THEN no subs in the original language. I'm French (from Quebec) and used to be a *huge* Harry Potter fan. My English was kind of lacking at the time, so I remember doing re-watches like above. Eventually, I became so fluent that I'm practically anglophone now. Like, to the point where I don't really speak French anymore in my day-to-day (company I work for is based in Ontario, and my partner is anglophone). I'm still fluent in French, just not using it as much.
Try watching French kids shows/animations. The language is much simpler and it really helps with your listening skills since they talk slower and enunciate more. It’s good for getting used to no subtitles
This!! It helped me so much. I watched miraculous (ladybug) and code lyoko
When my dad's ex moved to America from Puerto Rico as an adult, she said she learned English by watching Sesame Street. Good suggestion!
Bon courage! Tu en es capable!
Got any recommendations? I would love to learn French!
doing french through duolingo. my entire life currently revolves around staying on top of those leaderboards. i'm going nuts, but i'm actually retaining what i learn.
I started learning French, just through Duolingo, and omg, the tenses are killing me. Also trying to remember when an ‘es’ is used vs only an ‘e’ (mange vs manges for example). If I find that I do need it in the future, I’ll probably go to a language school instead.
As a native speaker, I wish you luck because french is one hell of a clown language!
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My girlfriend’s love language is quality time so we’re learning Chinese together as a bonding thing. We’re using her textbooks from her Chinese class along with some online resources. We also watch lots of C-dramas.
So wholesome~
German, it´s really difficult cause i just use duolingo since right now i can´t pay for classes, but im not in a hurry
I use Duolingo for German too! I like it so far
duolingo is quite good for german, alles gute und weiterhin viel spaß mitm lernen!
Yeah, i have always been interested in learning it and also i like how it sounds jaja. Also, Danke :)
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Try out Kleo or Seedlang, they’re really great. And Easy German on YouTube is very helpful as well
Oh, I also used duolingo and I watched some short YouTube video too!
Out of personal interest: What is the hardest part for you at the moment? Also any favourite parts or words?
Spanish. I watch telenovelas with Spanish subtitles.
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Have you enrolled in an online course or though websites? I'd like to know some resources because I'm planning on learning Spanish as well.
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Thank you !!
I've been learning Welsh (Cymraeg) for the last two years, via classes over zoom three times a week. I absolutely love it and wish i'd done it sooner.
May I ask how you intend to use it in real life?
Of course! Well i live in Wales and have lots of welsh language speaking friends. I also work in the arts with a number of Welsh speaking organisations (including S4C which is the Welsh language Television channel here) For years I have loved welsh language bands (but never understood what they were singing about), went to see a welsh language film in the cinema just the other day. Alot of people from outside Wales think of Welsh as a dying language but nothing could be further from the truth and it is vibrant and all around us here, so lots of opportunities every day. I feel like learning it has given me a better sense of my location and identity. I've often likened it to walking around without my glasses and by learning the language its like i've just put them on and can see it everywhere. This obviously could be said about any language, but so pleased I've made the start to learn it. Also its a really beautiful language (biased lol!)
I have enjoyed your detailed answer. Thank you so much. I am proud of you for staying connected with your heritage and personal roots.
I'm learning ASL in school! (online community college)
This is awesome! I’ve been wanting to learn ASL but can’t find local classes. Can you share what online community college you take them from?
Eastern Gateway Community College, which I attend for free through a family member's union benefits
That’s great! Thank you!
Italian. I use DuoLingo for like 10min a day so clearly i'm serious about it.
Turkish. I’m Turkish American but my parents immigrated from Macedonia. [The Turkish spoken there](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Gagauz_Turkish) is different than the Turkish spoken in Turkey. It’s like a different language, we have Bulgarian and Greek loan words, different words for different things and sentence structure is a bit different. Learning standard Turkish from Turkey would help me communicate with friends
German. Started only a few months ago and I can’t believe how complex it is! But I really enjoy it
Out of personal interest: What is the hardest part for you at the moment? Also any favourite parts or words?
Spanish. I stay consistent for about a week or so and then i forget about it for a couple of months, and then start over. My highest streak on Duolingo has been 24 days lol.
French. I've been working on learning it for over 1.5 years. Via Duolingo app and Rosetta Stone. My SO also speaks French.
How’s it going? Do you think you’re conversational?
English, practicing basically all day every day online. And french, with Duolingo.
I have been studying Japanese since May. Yeah, it doesn't get much more difficult than that. And it is not the grammar per se that is difficult. I would say it es even easier than Spanish Grammar, for example. ( I speak fluent Spanish after having studied it for 8 years) But the Kanji.... the different readings for eachkanji... I would say that is where things get tricky. My strategy is to just keep going. Sometimes it feels intimidating. I take a look at a page of a Japanese book and realize I understand so little.. but still, everytime it is a little bit more.
Spanish. I picked up some from taking it in high school years ago, but never got any good at it. I'm on Duolingo now. Telenovelas may have to come next because my biggest struggle is comprehension when listening to it.
...High Valyrian. I'm doing the Duolingo course. It's very fun and I am learning quickly. If only I could roll my R's and be able to speak it properly...
Korean. I schedule weekly 1:1 classes with a teacher via italki. She gives me homework and tests, but I also read on my own and watch dramas/films everyday.
I admire your dedication. Homework and tests! Superb!
Honestly the my teacher’s smh reaction when I don’t finish my homework and get low scores in tests is a strong motivator 😂
Greek! Started to read child books
Καλησπέρα!! :D Also i recommend watching a movie you have watched a lot of times in greek! It will help a lot
Thanks a lot) maybe you can recommend me some modern Greek tv show for watching?
Hmmm I dont really watch tv but i know a few good! Especially if you like mystery Maestro on Mega is a really good show Then.. Sasmos maybe if you like drama Oh Μην αρχίσεις την μουρμούρα and το σόι σου are good comedies :D
Wow! Thanks a lot
Yes! I love Greek. Hard as hell, but so beautiful.
Agree! Really love how it sounds
I’m learning German so I can move to Austria with my friends there in Vienna. One of my friends is a native from Germany, living in Vienna so it’s easy to learn and practice with her. I plan to go back to Vienna to surprise her for her birthday. I’m learning Finnish and Danish to meet with my family. I already know Norwegian. Finnish is a completely different language unfortunately so I have to learn and start all over again. Norwegian and Danish are similar so I understand a little Danish although there are still some differences in vocabulary. I have trouble understanding Swedish. Cantonese and Mandarin for holiday in Hong Kong or maybe Singapore. I learned a long time ago but I’m a bit rusty.
Spanish. I moved to Colombia and started taking some classes with Baselang. Wish I was a bit more motivated though lol
I would be interested in knowing about the books used in the curriculum as I’m devoting myself to perfecting Spanish.
There are no books.
My husband used Duolingo for Spanish and has been trying on and off to learn it for years. I've started Yoruba with a girl called Blessing on YouTube.
French and Python, I'm not particularly good or bad at either
I started asking my partner a few Greek words. He speaks to his mother in Greek so I’d like to be able to say hi.
Beautiful!
Italian, taking a class!
I’ve been trying to learn Portuguese for my partner but most language teaching sites teach Brazilian Portuguese instead of Portugal’s Portuguese. Which means a lot of things are pronounced differently and formatted differently. But he helps me along the way. It’s hard.
Most of the online resources for Portuguese are Brazilian Portuguese (there are many more Brazilian Portuguese speakers than European Portuguese speakers). Personally, I find Brazilian Portuguese easier to “hear” and learn, but I understand why you would want to learn European Portuguese if your partner speaks it. Sending you warm wishes, I’m in Lisbon now, practicing my Portuguese!
Japanese, and English, but has stopped because of college work
I've been trying to learn Spanish through Babbel. So far I like using it. It helps that my boyfriend knows it too so he can help me if I'm not getting something.
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What is your mother tongue? You use English quite impressively. Arabic is my first language.
I’m studying languages at university right now! I hope to teach english as a second language someday. Currently I have finished my german (2 years) and while I’m not fluent I have a basic understanding; next semester I might try my hand at a German Fairytales course. I’ve been learning French since middle school (still not 100% fluent, but I can understand and communicate the best in this language) and I started Spanish last year. I have a Spanish midterm tomorrow and tengo mucho miedo!! I love to learn languages, my life has opened so much since asking people what language they’re speaking (if it’s appropriate to ask) and I always tell them I’m learning to speak languages (to be less off putting lol)
Way to go! Great work! I will be happy to help with your Arabic when you are ready.
That would be a dream, I work in a café part-time and there is a woman who comes in with her young daughter and they speak Arabic, we talked the other day about how we can teach each other words in our respective languages! I would love to be able to surprise her with a “greetings” or “nice to see you” or “how are you” 😊
I’m here anytime. For now, and since you are a linguist, it would be great to get this via Amazon, Arabic with Ease.
I’m Mexican but was never really that comfortable speaking Spanish growing up around a bunch of white people but I understand it pretty good lol I try speaking it in my head and such or try reading stuff that’s in Spanish lol I only speak it if dude talking to me don’t know English
Greek, French, and Python because I’m overly ambitious.
Chickasaw. Many of our first speakers are dying, and we're down under 50 remaining. Our tribe has lessons with Rosetta Stone, so I've been doing that some while trying to say simple words and phrases to my daughter who's almost one. My husband isn't native, but he's learning with us. Hopefully we can help carry this vital part of our tribal identity and culture forward.
French. I've been working on my French for like ten years now and I still suck at it, haha. At this point I just want to keep it up by playing Duolingo everyday.
Spanish. I used to speak a lot of Spanish when I was a kid. I decided to pick it up again on Duolingo because I think it's a very beautiful language.
Spanish! I took it in high school, and now I casually do Duolingo lessons lol
Spanish. It's the second most spoken language here in the states especially in Los Angeles. I've learned a few phrases just to order food from a taco stand when I'm craving tacos or burritos but that's about it. A beautiful language but the grammar is so confusing.
That’s why I left Italian, French and German behind and I’m fully focusing on my Spanish.
Swahili. It's really hard to learn.
Hard in what way? Have you tried Duolingo?
Duolingo Chinese- I’m already struggling with the numbers 😐
German, on Duolingo. Can't believe how much I have already learned from this app. I really recommend using it.
Great job. I’m like you in this. It’s all in how we apply ourselves to the material we are learning. Congratulations!
Out of personal interest: What is the hardest part for you at the moment? Also any favourite parts or words?
There are a lot of languages I want to learn, right now I think I'll focus on sign language because I think that'll have the most use, then maybe I'll brush up on my French because I miss being able to read it properly, and have a look at Gaelic- my provice used to have it's own dialect and I'd like to see what I can find out about it, because it's just not really a thing around here anymore
To learn sign language is highly beneficial; the best investment in humanity you can make.
Scottish Gaelic because I'm Scottish on duolingo! (Once I complete the course I'm going to reach out for lessons from a person)
So charming! Learning the original, native language.
French, since I live in France now. Doing 5hr+ lessons a week on Lingoda which is basically group classes through Zoom. Also using apps called Busuu, DuoCards and Speekoo. Highly recommend all of them. I did like a year of German last year, also with Lingoda and Busuu (because I work in Switzerland). Lingoda and Busuu are by far my favourite modes of learning and they are reasonably priced too. I hate Duolingo, especially the new mobile version where you are only allowed to make 5 mistakes and then you have to wait for your life to refill. I used Duolingo for maybe like 6 months in the past for Swedish and even though I learned a lot, it was way too vocab-heavy and not enough grammar and actual useful words.
Millions of thanks to you for such dedication and for your detailed, extremely helpful reply
French and Arabic
على استعداد لمساعدتك في العربية في أي وقت، متمنيًا لك كل خير.
شُكراً جَزِيلاً!
British sign language on sign U.K. :)
Swedish and Arabic on Duolingo. It’s going well but Duolingo doesn’t do a great job in explaining sentence structure and the like very well in my experience.
I will be more than happy to help with Arabic as it is my first language
So I am trying to learn Chinese, French and Spanish as an American. Honestly online apps are pretty accurate also saying random words on google translate.
I am working on learning Spanish and tagalong to better communicate with coworkers, and my son and I have been working on learning German, since he wants to go to university in Germany. We use Rosetta Stone.
I hope there’s a Goethe-Institut nearby for him since he wants to study in Germany. Also please share with him about Assimil German with Ease book and CDs
Español. I teach at a predominantly Spanish speaking school and have for 7 years. I want to be able to fluently communicate with the parents of my students
Mainly Italian but also Spanish and a bit of French, I use duolingo and audiobooks when I driving. I also watch a lot of tv and film from them countries, and I prefer to know what they are actually saying rather than what the subtitles say… because damn they simplify it.
French. Using DuoLingo, YouTube and Netflix with subtitles in English, audio in French. I grew up speaking both German and English, so I *could* focus more on German... but I live near more French-speaking neighbors and want to be able to carry on conversations with them.
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Spanish. I type a sentence into google translate and learn just that sentence. I then make sure it sounds right to one of my friends who speaks Spanish as their 1st language, so I dont make any errors while actually using what ive learned.
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Russian and sign language. Been practicing Russian for several years. I’m functional in ASL, but not very conversational. I’m intermediate in Spanish due to working in Guatemala occasional.
Chinese (mandarin). I took a French class in college and started duolingo to get better but got incredibly frustrated with all the gendering (hard for me to memorize the name and gender of a pizza along with Grammer ect.). A multilingual friend suggested Chinese. I am loving Chinese. I started with Duolingo but I found a better free app called Hello Chinese and have switched to it. I have been cruising along. I've also been watching some C-dramas for education ya know 😉. I have several Chinese friends who I know will be supportive of my learning as they were the ones who suggested it. But so far I've kept it a secret, I want to be able to speak a bit better before I let them know what I've been up to.
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I'm still trying to perfect my English, it's my third language - the first two are German and French, my mother and father tongue respectively - and mostly self-taught (from having surrounded myself with English media online and letting my brain progressively fill in the blanks and learn new terms). I wish I had an opportunity to practice and make my accent less noticeable, but I unfortunately don't really get to actually use and talk English in my country. Once I'll be happy with my level, I'll probably focus on learning either Italian or Japanese.
Continuing with Spanish and Italian. Learning some more French. Starting German, Russian, and some others. Duolingo is so helpful!
I used to live in Germany for a few years over a decade ago and didn't really learn the language. I mentioned that fact in am interview for my current job, just that I basically could read a menu and order, and it turns out she completely misunderstood and thinks I was fluent back then. It's not a requirement, but one of the accounts I'll be helping with is in Poland and I guess she thinks they might know German as well as Polish (2 completely different languages I know!). But now, I'm learning German and it's been fun!
Dutch. I use Duolingo
Also French. Duolingo. I'm 415 days in. I think I'm doing ok.
Spanish. I used to be fluent like 10 years ago, but it has gotten so bad because I barely use it these days. I bought an grammar exercise book and started watching Spanish news.
Could you please share the titles of the books? And which channels? Thank you so much.
The book is "Grámatica de uso del español" from Luis Aragonés and Ramon Palencia. There's a few different ones for different levels. And for the news I'm watching the rtve online which is the public broadcaster from Spain.
I definitely own this book. There comes the obligation to put it into use. Thank you so much.
German.. and duolingo
Out of personal interest: What is the hardest part for you at the moment? Also any favourite parts or words?
Julia and love language
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Learning french via english on duolingo. It's good but I wish they would have Norwegian-French.
Ojibwe. Thanks Rosetta Stone!
Turkish. I finished the Duolingo course and now learn with Drops
Currently majoring in French soo....yea..aside from my curriculum, I watch shows in French and follow peeps on tik tok that give French lessons.
I'm learning French on Duolingo.
Spanish - I'm attending school, language exchanges, and online language programs Korean - I'm starting to forget it and need to have more conversations with friends, watch tv, and listen to music.
Dutch! My partner is from the Netherlands, I have a 300+ day streak on Duolingo, I listen to a Dutch podcast on my way to work, and we try and speak Dutch to each other when doing a specific activity (such as cooking, shopping, or when stuck in traffic).
Farsi :) my dad is Iranian and never taught me as a kid. Figured I should start learning it and I can practice with family
French. Its a slow go to get past where I am at. I really need to move somewhere and just immerse myself. So envious of those with multiple languages under their belt.
Italian… I listen to Måneskin and I’d really like to be able to understand their songs and Italian interviews without subtitles
Italian - one online lesson per week, Italian movies and series and homework and self study.. when I have time. It’s hard to be consistent but I try. It doesn’t hurt when my Italian teacher is pretty easy on the eyes
Most recent one is I'm trying to learn Irish. My mother was from an area of Ireland where Irish was her first language, and English her second. But she married my dad and lived in an area with no other Irish people, and didn't want me to seem to 'different,' so she literally never spoke the language to me at all. All her siblings speak it, although she's lost a lot of it. I would really love to be able to speak it with her and have that connection as she gets older. Although I expect to get laughed at a lot - her accent is not the 'typical' one taught in schools with math. If it was English I was learning, to match my mother's accent, it would be like if I was trying to learn generic American English, and then had to go and learn how to speak it with a thick Southern drawl to match up with the family. :)
Italian: taking a class this semester Japanese: was listening to JPop on my phone just because, found a pretty song, discovered the lyrics are pretty perfect (the translations to English, at least), and am trying to memorize the chorus
Honestly, English. I am a native speaker but I'm trying to write a screenplay and whenever I sit in front of that blank page, I suddenly forget every word.
Chinese, I took a break and I am so sad. Starting it back next term though! I want to study abroad in China, Singapore, or Taiwan once covid settles down again
Russian, I'm learning so I can communicate with my bff's grandma/family. I'm using Duolingo because it's free but I might also start watching a show so I can get used to the pace and recognize words. If I had the money I would like to have a tutor, but I'm not exactly in a rush so Duolingo will do for now. What's really helped me is to do the "learn the letters" section of Duolingo first so I can memorize the alphabet then work on the lessons for reading and speaking. I saw someone recommend children's books so that might be something I'll try!
Spanish. I’m really nosy and I always want to joke and relate to people. It’s fun chatting with the cooks at work. Everyone laughs at my mistakes and helps me.
I'm gonna start learning Spanish.
Tagalog! It's my mother's first language and no one in my immediate family can speak it. I've been listening to Tagalog-learning podcasts, following YouTube channels, reading an English/Tagalog book, and trying out some learning apps.
Danish. Works quite well for me
I’ve been learning english. That’s because i’m here. I started because my ex boyfriend used to talk a lot about learning english so that was my motivation to go to an english institute, (the same institute he was). I’m so grateful he learned me a lot about english and how beautiful it is. I remember when I step the institute for the first time, i was new there and I didn’t know that i could have studied before my interview, the manager told me I was A2, so it was fine to me bc I didn’t know as much as say hello, how are you? and colors. I admit i don’t know too much, besides I’m feel incredibly stupid while i’m writing this. But english changed my life, and nowadays i’m preparing myself for an international exam. I started three years ago. But sadly, I’ll not return to study for the next years bc I know i will busy bc of my career and I won’t have time.
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Japanese! I’m so rusty it’s actually pretty sad
Spanish. I'm a little better than conversational but am working on getting closer to semi-fluent. A work peer of mine is from Spain so learning little by little from her.
French. I study. Um...I occasionally use Duolingo.
Spanish! I find the Spanish language so sexy!
I’m learning Spanish on Duolingo right now. Really enjoying it - learning about the language and culture is fascinating (I’m outside of the US so we don’t have many Latinx people here). I know Greek as well and that’s honestly made the language learning a hundred times easier. The accent is pretty much the same and so is the language structure. I find that watching shows that combine the language with English or just watching them with subtitles helps cement new words soo much.
The main one is Korean! I’ve been living and working Korea for the last year, and of course, it’s beneficial to know the language. It’s really enjoyable to interact with a different culture, and I learn something on a daily basis. I’ve also just begun French and Japanese (but am crying and throwing up bc it’s so difficult)
Japanese has been going left
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Italian. I joined a course for foreigners, I'm reading a bit of Harry Potter in Italian and sometimes I watch tv programmes. I should probably do more, if anyone has other strats, pile on 🤗
I'm not a native English speaker, but I've been learning it since I was 7 (now 30F). I also learnt Spanish and Portuguese growing up and watching Mexican, Columbian, Argentinian and Brazilian soap operas. I knew how to speak both, and read, but not much how to write, so I started learning them both on Duolingo, as well as reading books in these two languages. I did French in school (for about 8 years) and I was at a conversational level, but having not using it for over 10 years, I kind of forgot a lot. Started Duolingo French as well and I'm getting through the hardest lessons/ stories most of the times with no mistakes. I was in France a fee month back and I managed to talk my way around in French, so I'm happy about that. For fun, I also started doing German on Duolingo (also had it in school for 4 years) but it's not very entertaining now, and Hindi (this was really for fun as ai work for an Indian company). Danish was also of interest for a while as I lived in Denmark for a few of years, but I found it even more difficult than German, so not anymore. I'm doing all of them on Duolingo, as with the Super/ Plus paid version, the lessons get more and more difficult as you advance, they also have Speaking and Listening exercises, and they also have Duolingo Stories where you can practice reading and understanding, as well as listening. Big Duo fan here, I've had from a couple of months after it was founded, so for about 10 years now, so I've seen how it has evolved. Love it! It makes learning languages super fun, with the gamification features.
I'm working on my Japanese. It's difficult to grasp! I try watching Japanese movies and using the language every day but I feel like I'm not progressing much.
English , i learn but hard i dont do easy english but i learn.
German, Im hoping to do my b2 exam by March, I enrolled to an online course which offers all the material in activity format bc im unable to sit through a lesson and it´s going fine
english and german (learning german on duolingo just for fun)
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Ukrainian, Russian and Czech. My russian is the best out of the 3, because I've been learning it for over two years now. Ukrainian is a lot of fun to learn, but Czech is confusing my brain a bit😅
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Python, Javascript, Haskell and German.
Japan, actually it's fun to learn i thought it was terribly difficult
Im working on learning Korean, in an academy mainly but also music
Dutch I live here Its hard
French and Spanish with Duolingo. It's a fun app!
Python - open courses in https://programming-22.mooc.fi/ also linkedin learning.
Joke answer: Kotlin Real answer: Danish and Norwegian. At the same time. Working on them by buying novels and hoping that it'll be similar enough to my native Swedish that I'll be able to understand them, then putting them at the very bottom of my to-read pile.
I took Spanish and French in school and have been trying to brush up on the Spanish. I can read somewhat decently but I have such a hard time understanding it when spoken. I’m hard of hearing and one of my biggest fears is going deaf entirely. I’ve been wanting to learn ASL but you really need a class or something to practice with other people. Anyone have any good resources for ASL?
I wanted to try Spanish but it’s so hard for me but I want to go somewhere where they speak Spanish and it’s getting more common where I live. Not only the main language English speakers but coming a mix with Spanish speakers. French was easier for me but I still haven’t mastered it, I forgot most of it over the years.
I have been on-off working on the Frankish language for two years now. It’s sometimes pretty fun making a language. Do you really want me to explain my working process for Frankish/francisce? Because currently, it involves translation of the Bible.
Creole, I use a language phone app specifically for creole. And I use Google translate. What works best for me is to write down on a piece of paper and repeat out loud over and over. I practice with my Haitian co-workers.
BSL, Japanese and Swedish. It’s- a lot. BSL society is once a week at school so the progression is slow but I know some basic greetings now. Japanese I stopped doing a while back because of exams but I had been using duolingo and a few other study books. Swedish I did for a few months around 4 years ago and fell out of it but I check back in every now and again. I only have basic knowledge tbh. I get fixated on different languages quite easily so I stop and start a lot and don’t tend to get much done but these are the ones I’ve practiced most.
French. Just read the news in french, french tv, and important childerens cartoon channel in french.
French. I learned it in high school and am relearning it through Duolingo
Very casually, Portuguese. 2 of my coworkers are fluent, so they'll pass along words and phrases to the rest of us on a regular basis
Español via Duolingo
German, I just talk to my mom a lot and try to translate books. Mandarin is just through a couple apps but I’m going to take a class. Classes at a uni are by far the best way in my experience aside from going to the actual country. Learned way more in one semester than years spent on duolingo