[be_free]

I'd like to self-learn a new language and would like to hear some suggestions from members on TSR. My main language is English, I can speak Punjabi and I have a GCSE in Urdu.

I was thinking maybe Spanish, but am not sure how useful it would be. I say Spanish because I've been told it's quite easy to learn.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[cgraham15]

Spanish!! Spain, and South America (except Brazil), an Central America, and Mexico in North America! It's one of the most spoken languages in the world. And the verb rules/grammar is easy to grasp.

Look at this, it gives you a quick glance at different languages
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com...ges/index.html

[JLXP]

Spanish is good! I'm self-learning Portuguese as i holiday there for a month every year, so would be good to pick up a few phrases!

[Giant]

If it's your first foreign language, I would highly recommend the international language of Esperanto

Although it only has about 2 million speakers worldwide, it was designed to be a very easy language to learn (you can become very proficient in just a few weeks) and will help build your confidence with languages in general. It is also very similar to French and Spanish - so will be invaluable if you plan to study these languages later on, as you will be more used to learning a language.

Honestly, it is really easy to learn (I learnt it in just a few weeks) and will cut down the time it takes to learn another language (especially a Romance language like Spanish or French) by several months.

http://www.fluentin3months.com/2-weeks-of-esperanto/ Here is a link if you wish to learn more about it, he sums it up a lot better than I do.

Good luck with whatever you choose

[cgraham15]

(Original post by Giant)
If it's your first foreign language, I would highly recommend the international language of Esperanto

Although it only has about 2 million speakers worldwide, it was designed to be a very easy language to learn (you can become very proficient in just a few weeks) and will help build your confidence with languages in general. It is also very similar to French and Spanish - so will be invaluable if you plan to study these languages later on, as you will be more used to learning a language.

Honestly, it is really easy to learn (I learnt it in just a few weeks) and will cut down the time it takes to learn another language (especially a Romance language like Spanish or French) by several months.

http://www.fluentin3months.com/2-weeks-of-esperanto/ Here is a link if you wish to learn more about it, he sums it up a lot better than I do.

Good luck with whatever you choose

or you could learn a language which has many speakers and its own country/ies. The few weeks it takes to learn this language, you could easily grasp the idea of another language.

[Naminam]

Spanish is a good choice because it is fairly easy to learn, easy for an English speaker to pronounce, and is very widely-spoken.

I like LiveMocha for language learning, give it a go. You can also find people to help you learn languages through the Interpals site.

[thegodofgod]

German is very good too, although it will take a lot of time before you master it completely

It will definitely teach you to be very disciplined though, e.g. word order, cases, grammar rules in general

[Giant]

(Original post by cgraham15)
or you could learn a language which has many speakers and its own country/ies. The few weeks it takes to learn this language, you could easily grasp the idea of another language.

I disagree. Personally, I found French very difficult at first with the endless grammar and syntax. There were also lots of irregularities that put me off the language initially.

However, Esperanto is designed to have no irregularities what so ever, and all grammar, syntax and words follow a logical pattern. I found that being able to learn this, and then getting back to French made French a lot easier for me to grasp and understand because I was used to learning a language and the steps one needs to go through to learn it.

I'm glad I learnt Esperanto because it has really refuelled my passion for languages and it helped me grasp some concepts in French that I had previously found very difficult to understand as they were not present in English.

[geetar]

I think looking at how easy or useful the language is is the wrong way to go about it. You should think whether you have an interest in the culture of a particular country or in its scenery, or history, or whatever. Think if there are any foreign films from a particular country you like the look of, or books. If you have an interest in Spain, learn Spanish. If you have an interest in Eritrea, learn Tigrinya. You are best placed to learn a language if you have a vested interest in the culture of the country that speaks it.